Gideon’s head tilted to the side as he observed me. “You want to invite a seventeen-year-old to dinner with me and your dad.”
“No, I want your family to meet my family.”
“She’ll be bored.”
“How would you know?” I challenged. “In any case, I think your sister hero-worships you. As long as you pay attention to her, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”
“Eva.” He sighed, clearly exasperated. “Be real. I haven’t the slightest idea how to entertain a teenage girl.”
“Ireland’s not some random kid, she’s—”
“She might as well be!” He scowled at me.
It struck me then. “You’re afraid of her.”
“Come on,” he scoffed.
“You are. She scares you.” And I doubted it had anything to do with his sister’s age or that she was a girl.
“What’s gotten into you?” he complained. “You’re stuck on Ireland. Leave her alone.”
“She’s the only family you’ve got, Gideon.” And I was willing to support that choice. His half brother Christopher was an asshole, and his mother didn’t deserve to have him in her life.
“I have you!”
“Baby.” I sighed and wrapped my legs around him. “Yes, you’ve got me. But there’s room for more people who love you in your life.”
“She doesn’t love me,” he muttered. “She doesn’t know me.”
“I think you’re wrong about that, but if not, she’d love you if she knew you. So let her know you.”
“Enough. Let’s go back to talking about s’mores.”
I tried to stare him down, but it was impossible. When he considered a subject exhausted, there was no continuing it. So I’d have to go around it instead.
“You wanna talk about s’mores, ace?” I traced my lower lip with my tongue. “All that melty gooey chocolate on our fingers.”
Gideon’s gaze narrowed.
I ran my splayed fingers over his shoulders and down his chest. “I could be persuaded to let you smear that chocolate all over me. I could also be persuaded to smear some all over you.”
His brow arched. “Are you trying to bribe me with sex again?”
“Did I say that?” I blinked innocently. “I don’t think I said that.”
“It was implied. So let’s be clear.” His voice was dangerously low, his eyes dark as his hand slid up under the hem of my tank top and cupped my bare breast. “I’ll invite Ireland to dinner with your father because it’ll make you happy and that makes me happy.”
“Thank you,” I said breathlessly, because he’d begun to tug rhythmically on my nipple, making me whimper in delight.
“I’m going to do whatever the hell I want with melted chocolate and your body because it’ll please me and that will please you. I say when, I say how. Repeat that.”
“You say—” I gasped as his mouth wrapped around my other nipple through the ribbed cotton. “Oh, God.”
He nipped me with his teeth. “Finish.”
My entire body tightened, so quick to respond to that authoritative tone. “You say when. You say how.”
“There are things you can bargain with, angel, but your body and sex aren’t negotiable.”
My hands clutched his hair, an instinctive response to his relentless, delicious milking of my sensitive nipple. I gave up trying to understand why I wanted him in control. I just did. “What else can I bargain with? You have everything.”
“Your time and attention are the two things you can leverage. I’ll do anything for them.”
A shiver moved through me. “I’m wet for you,” I whispered.
Gideon stepped away from the railing, carrying me with him. “Because that’s how I want you.”
Chapter 12
Gideon and I arrived back in Manhattan just before midnight on Sunday. We’d spent the previous night sleeping apart, but most of the day together in the master bed. Kissing and touching. Laughing and whispering.
By silent agreement we didn’t talk about painful things during the rest of our time away. We didn’t turn on the television or radio, because it seemed wrong to share our time with anyone. We walked on the beach again. We made long, slow, lazy love on the third-story deck. We played cards and he won every hand. We recharged and reminded ourselves that what we’d found with each other was worth fighting for.
It was the most perfect day of my life.
We returned to my apartment when we got back into the city. Gideon unlocked the door for us with the key I’d given him, and we entered the darkened space as quietly as possible so that we didn’t wake Cary. Gideon gave me one of his soul-melting kisses good night and headed to the guest room, and I crawled into my lonely bed without him. Missing him. I wondered how long we’d be sleeping apart from each other. Months? Years?
Hating to think of it, I closed my eyes and started to drift.
The light flicked on.
“Eva. Get up.” Gideon strode into the room and straight to my dresser, digging through my clothes.
I blinked at him, noting that he’d changed into slacks and a button-down dress shirt. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Cary,” he said grimly. “He’s in the hospital.”
* * *
A cab was waiting for us at the curb when we left my apartment building. Gideon ushered me in, then slid in beside me.
The cab seemed to pull away very slowly. Everything seemed to be moving slowly.
I clutched at Gideon’s sleeve. “What happened?”
“He was attacked Friday night.”
“How do you know?”
“Your mother and Stanton both left messages on my cell phone.”
“My mother . . . ?” I looked at him blankly. “Why didn’t she . . . ?”
No, she couldn’t call me. I hadn’t had my phone. Guilt and worry drowned me, making it hard to breathe.
“Eva.” He put his arm around my shoulders, urging me to rest my head against him. “Don’t worry until we know more.”
“It’s been days, Gideon. And I wasn’t here.”
Tears poured down my face and wouldn’t stop, even after we arrived at the hospital. I barely registered the exterior of the building, my attention dulled by the hard driving anxiety pounding through me. I thanked God for Gideon, who was so calm and in control. A staff member provided the number of Cary’s room, but his helpfulness ended there. Gideon made a few middle-of-the-night phone calls that got me access to see Cary, even though it was well outside visiting hours. Gideon had been a very generous benefactor at times and that wasn’t easily dismissed or forgotten.
When I stepped into Cary’s private room and saw him, my heart shattered so completely, my knees went weak. Only Gideon kept me from falling. The man I thought of as my brother, the best friend I’d ever had or ever would have, lay silent and unmoving in the bed. His head was bandaged and his eyes blackened. One of his arms was stuck with intravenous lines, while the other was in a cast. I wouldn’t have recognized him, if I hadn’t known who he was.
Flowers covered every flat surface, cheerful and colorful bouquets. There were balloons, too, and a few cards. I knew some would be from my mother and Stanton, who were certainly paying for Cary’s care as well.
We were his family. And everyone had been there for him but me.
Gideon led me closer, his arm tight around my waist to hold me up. I was sobbing, the tears flowing thick and hot. It was everything I could do to remain silent.
Still, Cary must have heard me or sensed me. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. His beautiful green eyes were bloodshot and unfocused. It took him a minute to find me. When he did, he blinked a few times, and then tears started rolling down his temples.
“Cary.” I rushed to him and slipped my hand in his. “I’m here.”
He gripped me so tightly, it was painful. “Eva.”
“I’m sorry I took so long. I didn’t have my phone. I had no idea. I would’ve been here if I’d known.”
“S’o
kay. You’re here now.” His throat worked on a swallow. “God . . . everything hurts.”
“I’ll get a nurse,” Gideon said, running his hand down my back before slipping silently out of the room.
I saw a small pitcher and cup with straw on the rolling tray table. “Are you thirsty?”
“Very.”
“Can I sit you up? Or no?” I was afraid to do anything to cause him pain.
“Yeah.”
Using the remote lying near his hand, I raised the top part of the bed so that he was reclined. Then I brought the straw to his lips and watched him drink greedily.
He relaxed with a sigh. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, baby girl.”
“What the hell happened?” I set the empty cup down and grabbed his hand again.
“Fuck if I know.” His voice was weak, almost a whisper. “Got jumped. With a bat.”
“With a bat?” Just the thought made me physically ill. The brutality of it. The violence . . . “Was he insane?”
“Of course,” he snapped, a deep line of pain between his brows.
I backed up a half step. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t. Shit. I’m—” His eyes closed. “I’m exhausted.”
Just then the nurse came in wearing scrubs decorated with cartoon tongue depressors and animated stethoscopes. She was young and pretty, with dark hair and sloe eyes. She checked Cary over, took his blood pressure, then pressed the button on a remote wrapped around the guardrail.
“You can self-administer every thirty minutes for pain,” she told him. “Just press this button. It won’t dispense a dose if it’s not time, so you don’t have to worry about pressing it too often.”
“Once is too often,” he muttered, looking at me.
I understood his reluctance; he had an addictive personality. He’d traveled a short ways down the junkie road before I kicked some sense into him.
But it was a relief to see the lines of pain on his forehead smooth out and his breathing settle into a deeper rhythm.
The nurse looked at me. “He needs his rest. You should come back during visiting hours.”
Cary looked at me desperately. “Don’t go.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Gideon said, reentering the room. “I’ve arranged to have a cot brought in tonight.”
I didn’t think it was possible to love Gideon more than I already did, but he somehow kept finding ways to prove me wrong.
The nurse smiled shyly at Gideon.
“Cary could use more water,” I told her, watching her pull her gaze reluctantly away from my boyfriend to look at me.
She grabbed the pitcher and left the room.
Gideon stepped closer to the bed and spoke to Cary. “Tell me what happened.”
Cary sighed. “Trey and I went out Friday, but he had to bail early. I walked him out to grab a cab, but it was nuts right in front of the club, so we went around the corner. He’d just taken off when I got nailed in the back of the head. Took me straight down and whaled on me a few times. Never got a chance to defend myself.”
My hands began to shake, and Cary’s thumb rubbed soothingly over the back.
“Hey,” he murmured. “Teaches me. Don’t stick my dick in the wrong chick.”
“What?”
I watched Cary’s eyes drift shut, and a moment later it was clear he was sleeping. I glanced helplessly across the bed at Gideon.
“I’ll look into it,” he said. “Step out with me for a minute.”
I followed him, my gaze repeatedly turning back to Cary. When the door closed behind us, I said, “God, Gideon. He looks terrible.”
“He got knocked around good,” he said grimly. “He’s got a skull fracture, a nasty concussion, three cracked ribs, and a broken arm.”
The list of injuries was horribly painful to listen to. “I don’t understand why someone would do this.”
He pulled me close and pressed his lips to my forehead. “The doctor said it’s possible Cary will be allowed to leave in a day or two, so I’ll make arrangements for home care. I’ll also let your work know you won’t be coming in.”
“Cary’s agency needs to know.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Thank you.” I hugged him hard. “What would I do without you?”
“You’re never going to find out.”
* * *
My mother woke me at nine the next morning, gliding fretfully into Cary’s room as soon as visiting hours began. She pulled me out to the hallway, drawing the attention of everyone in the immediate area. It was early, but she looked amazing in eye-catching red-soled Louboutins and an ivory sleeveless sheath dress.
“Eva. I can’t believe you went the entire weekend without your cell phone! What were you thinking? What if there had been an emergency?”
“There was an emergency.”
“Exactly!” She threw up one hand, since the other arm had her clutch tucked beneath it. “No one could get hold of you or Gideon. He left a message saying that he was taking you away for the weekend, but no one knew where you were. I can’t believe he was so irresponsible! What was he thinking?”
“Thank you,” I interjected, because she was getting wound up and repeating herself, “for taking care of Cary. It means a lot to me.”
“Well, of course.” My mother took it down a notch. “We love him, too, you know. I’m devastated this happened.”
Her lower lip trembled and she dug in her bag for her ever-ready handkerchief.
“Are the police investigating?” I asked.
“Yes, of course, but I don’t how much good it will do.” She dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “I love Cary dearly, but he’s a tramp. I doubt he can recall all the women and men he’s been with. Remember the charity auction you attended with Gideon? When I bought you that stunning red dress?”
“Yes.” I’d never forget it. It was the night Gideon and I first made love.
“I’m certain Cary slept with a blonde he danced with that night—while they were there! They disappeared and when they came back . . . Well, I know what a satisfied man looks like. I would be surprised if he knew her name.”
I remembered what Cary had said before he fell asleep. “You think this attack has something to do with someone he slept with?”
My mother blinked at me, seeming to remember that I didn’t know anything. “Cary was told to keep his hands off ‘her’—whoever ‘her’ is. The detectives will be coming back later today to try to pull some names out of him.”
“Jesus.” I scrubbed at my eyes, needing my face wash badly and a cup of coffee even more. “They need to talk to Tatiana Cherlin.”
“Who’s that?”
“Someone Cary’s been seeing. I think she’d get a kick out of something like this. Cary’s boyfriend caught them together and she ate it up with a spoon. She loved being the cause of the drama.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck, then realized the tingle I felt was for another reason entirely. I looked over my shoulder and saw Gideon approaching, his long legs closing the distance between us with that measured stride. Dressed for work in a suit, with a large cup of coffee in one hand and a small black bag in the other, he was exactly what I needed at just the moment I needed him.
“Excuse me.” I walked toward Gideon and straight into his arms.
“Hey,” he greeted me, with his lips in my hair. “How are you holding up?”
“It’s awful. And senseless.” My eyes burned. “He didn’t need another disaster in his life. He’s had more than his share.”
“So have you, and you’re suffering along with him.”
“And you’re doing the same with me.” I pushed up onto my tiptoes and kissed his jaw, then stepped back. “Thank you.”
He handed me the coffee. “I brought some things for you—a change of clothes, your cell and tablet, bathroom stuff.”
I knew his thoughtfulness had to come at a price—literally. After a weekend away, he should be digging his way out of a small mountain o
f work worth millions, not running around taking care of me. “God. I love you.”
“Eva!” My mother’s startled exclamation made me wince. She advocated withholding the words I love you until the wedding night.
“Sorry, Mom. Can’t help it.”
Gideon brushed coffee-warmed fingertips down my cheek.
“Gideon,” my mother began, coming up right beside us, “you should know better than to take Eva away without any means of calling for help. You do know better.”
She was clearly referring to my past. I wasn’t sure why she thought I was so delicate that I couldn’t function on my own. She was far more fragile.
I shot a sympathetic glance Gideon’s way.
He held out the bag he’d brought for me, the calm and confident look on his face conveying his total comfort in dealing with my mother. So I left him to it. I didn’t have it in me to deal with her until I’d caffeinated myself.
I slipped back into Cary’s room and found him awake. Just the sight of him made the tears well and my throat close up tight. He was such a strong and vibrant man, so full of life and mischief. It was the worst pain to see him looking so broken.
“Hey,” he muttered. “Quit the waterworks every time you see me. Makes me feel like I’m gonna die or something.”
Hell. He was right. My tears didn’t do him any good. Instead, what little relief they gave me just put more of the burden on him. I needed to be a better friend than that.
“I can’t help it,” I said, sniffling. “It sucks. Someone beat me to it and kicked your ass before I could.”
“Is that right?” His scowl faded. “What’d I do now?”
“You didn’t tell me about Brett and Six-Ninths.”
“Oh yeah . . .” A bit of his old sparkle came back into his eyes. “How’d he look?”
“Good. Really good.” Very hot, but I kept that thought to myself. “Although right now, he might not look much better than you.”
I told him about the kiss and the resulting fight.
“Cross threw down, huh?” Cary shook his head, then winced and stopped. “Taking on Brett took guts—he’s a barroom brawler who loves a good fight.”
“And Gideon is a trained mixed martial artist.” I began digging through the bag Gideon had brought. “Why didn’t you tell me Captive Soul had signed with a major label?”