Entwined With You

hurts.”
    “Baby.” I kissed him sweetly, our lips parting and clinging. “I just want you to be happy. Preferably with me. And I really want you to stop hurting yourself over what was done to you. You were raped. You were a victim and now you’re a survivor. There’s no shame in that.”
    He turned and pulled me deeper into the water.
    I settled beside him, my hand on his thigh. “Can we talk about something? Sexual?”
    “Always.”
    “You told me once that you don’t do anal play.” I felt him tense. “But you’ve … we’ve …”
    “I’ve had my fingers and tongue inside you,” he finished, studying me. He’d altered with the change of subject, his hesitation replaced by calm authority. “You enjoy it.”
    “Do you?” I asked, before I lost the courage.
    He breathed heavily, his cheekbones burnished by the heated water, his face exposed by his slicked-back hair.
    After long moments, I feared he wasn’t going to answer me. “I’d like to give you that, Gideon, if you want it.”
    His eyes closed. “Angel.”
    I reached a hand between his legs, cupping his heavy sac. My middle finger extended beneath him, brushing lightly over the puckered opening. He jerked violently, his legs slamming shut, sending water sloshing to the lip of the tub. His cock hardened like stone against my forearm.
    I pulled my trapped hand free and gripped his erection in my fist, stroking, my mouth taking his when he groaned. “I’ll do anything for you. There are no limits in our bed. No memories. Just us. You and me. And love. I love you so much.”
    His tongue thrust into my mouth, a greedy and slightly angry foray. His hand at my waist tightened, his other hand covering mine and urging me to tighten my grip.
    Gentle waves lapped against the sides of the bathtub as I pumped his erection. His moan tightened my nipples.
    “
I
own your pleasure,” I whispered into his mouth. “I’ll take it if you won’t give it to me.”
    He growled, his head falling back. “Make me come.”
    “Any way you want,” I vowed.
    “W EAR the blue tie. The one that matches your eyes.” I had a direct view into the walk-in closet, where Gideon was picking out the suit he’d wear to wrap up the week.
    He glanced over to where I sat on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom, a cup of coffee in my hands. His mouth curved in an indulgent smile.
    “I love your eyes,” I told him with an easy shrug. “They’re gorgeous.”
    He unhooked the tie from the rack and stepped back into the bedroom with a graphite gray suit draped over his forearm. He wore only black boxer briefs, affording me the joy of admiring his leanly ripped body and taut golden skin.
    “It’s uncanny how often we think alike,” he said. “I picked out this suit because the color reminds me of
your
eyes.”
    That made me smile. I swung my legs, too full of love and happiness to sit still.
    Laying his clothes on the bed, Gideon came to me. I tilted my head back to look up at him, my heart beating strong and sure.
    He cupped the sides of my head, his thumbs brushing over my eyebrows. “Such a beautiful stormy gray. And so very expressive.”
    “A totally unfair advantage for you. You read me like a book, while you’ve got the best poker face I’ve ever seen.”
    Bending over, he kissed my forehead. “And yet I can never get away with anything with you.”
    “So you say.” I watched him start to dress. “Listen, I want you to do something for me.”
    “Anything.”
    “If you need a date and it can’t be me, take Ireland.”
    He paused in the act of buttoning up his shirt. “She’s seventeen, Eva.”
    “So? Your sister is a beautiful, classy young woman who adores you. She’d do you proud.”
    Sighing, he grabbed his slacks. “I can’t imagine her being anything but bored at the few events appropriate for her to attend.”
    “You said she’d be bored having dinner at my place and you were wrong about that.”
    “
You
were there,” he argued, yanking up his pants. “She had fun with
you
.”
    I took a drink of my coffee. “You said anything,” I reminded.
    “I don’t have a problem going dateless, Eva. And I told you I won’t be seeing Corinne anymore.”
    I stared at him over the rim of my mug and didn’t say anything.
    Gideon shoved his shirttails into his slacks with obvious frustration. “Fine.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You could refrain from grinning like the Cheshire cat,” he muttered.
    “I could.”
    He stilled, his narrowed