Entwined With You

eyes sliding down my body to where my robe had fallen away from my bare legs.
    “Don’t get any ideas, ace. I already put out this morning.”
    “Do you have a passport?” he asked.
    I frowned. “Yes. Why?”
    Nodding briskly, he reached for the tie I loved. “You’ll need it.”
    Excitement tingled through me. “For what?”
    “For travel.”
    “Duh.” I slid off the bed onto my feet. “Travel to where?”
    His eyes held a wicked gleam as he swiftly and expertly knotted his tie. “Somewhere.”
    “Are you shipping me off to parts unknown?”
    “Wouldn’t I love to,” he murmured. “You and me on a deserted tropical island where you’d be perpetually naked and I could slide into you at any moment.”
    I set one hand on my hip and shot him a look. “Sunburned
and
bowlegged. Sexy.”
    He laughed and my toes flexed into the carpet.
    “I want to see you tonight,” he said, as he shrugged into his vest.
    “You just want to put it in me again.”
    “Well, you did tell me not to stop. Repeatedly.”
    Snorting, I put my coffee down on the nightstand and shrugged out of my robe. Naked, I crossed the room, skirting him when he made a grab for me. I was opening a drawer to choose one of the lovely Carine Gilson bra and panty sets he kept stocked for me, when he came up behind me, slid his arms beneath mine, and cupped my breasts in both hands.
    “I can remind you,” he purred.
    “Don’t you have a job to get to? Because I do.”
    Gideon pressed against my back. “Come work with me.”
    “And pour your coffee while waiting for you to fuck me?”
    “I’m serious.”
    “So am I.” I spun so quickly to face him that I knocked my purse onto the floor. “I have a job and I like it a lot. You know that.”
    “And you’re good at it.” He gripped my shoulders. “Be good at it for me.”
    “I can’t, for the same reason I didn’t accept help from my stepfather. I want to make it on my own!”
    “I know that. I respect that about you.” His hands caressed my arms. “I clawed my way up, too, with the Cross name trying to drag medown. I’d never take the effort away from you. You wouldn’t get anything you didn’t earn.”
    I suppressed the twinge of sympathy I felt for Gideon’s suffering over his father, a Ponzi scheme swindler who’d taken his own life rather than face jail time. “Do you really think anyone is going to believe I got the job for any reason other than I’m the chick you’re sticking it to now?”
    “Shut up.” He shook me. “You’re pissed off and that’s fine, but don’t talk about us that way.”
    I pushed at him. “Everyone else will.”
    Growling, he released me. “You signed up for a CrossTrainer membership even though you’ve got Equinox and Krav Maga. Explain why.”
    I pivoted to yank a pair of panties on so I wasn’t arguing while buck naked. “That’s different.”
    “It’s not.”
    I faced him again, stepping on stuff that had fallen out of my purse, which only made me madder. “Waters Field and Leaman isn’t in competition with Cross Industries! You use the agency’s services yourself.”
    “Do you think you’ll never work on a campaign for one of my competitors?”
    Standing there in his unbuttoned vest and impeccable tie, he was making it hard for me to think properly. He was beautiful and passionate and everything I’d ever wanted, which made it nearly impossible for me to deny him anything.
    “That’s not the point. I won’t be happy, Gideon,” I said with quiet honesty.
    “Come here.” He held his arms open for me and hugged me when I walked into them. He spoke with his lips against my temple. “One day, the ‘Cross’ in Cross Industries won’t refer to just me.”
    My anger and frustration simmered. “Can we not talk about this now?”
    “One last thing: You can apply for a position just like anyone else,if that’s the way you need to do it. I won’t interfere. If you get the job, you’d be working on a different floor of the Crossfire and climbing the career ladder all on your own. Whether you advance won’t be up to me.”
    “It’s important to you.” It wasn’t a question.
    “Of course it is. We’re working hard to build a future together. This is a natural step in that direction.”
    I nodded reluctantly. “I have to be independent.”
    His hand cupped my nape, holding me close. “Don’t forget what matters most. If you work hard and show skill and talent, that’s what people will base their judgments