Reflected in You: A Crossfire Novel

exceptionally understanding girlfriend under the circumstances, don’t you think?”
    His brow arched.
    “I mean, I’d like to see what you would do,” I went on, “if you came over to my place and caught an ex-boyfriend stepping outside still tucking his shirt in his pants. Then, when you came upstairs, you found my couch messed up and me fresh from a shower.”
    Gideon’s jaw tightened. “Neither of us wants to see what I’d do.”
    “So we’re both agreed that I’ve been pretty damn awesome under extraordinary circumstances.” I crossed my arms, knowing how that would showcase the assets he loved. “You’ve made it very clear how you’d choose to punish me. How would you choose to reward me?”
    “Is it my choice?” he drawled, his eyes heavy-lidded.
    I smiled. “No.”
    He set my bra on his keyboard and unfolded from the chair in a leisurely, graceful rise. “Then that’s your reward, angel. What do you want?”
    “I want you to stop being grumpy, for starters.”
    “Grumpy?” His lips twitched with a suppressed smile. “Well, I woke up without you, and now I face two more mornings of the same.”
    I dropped my arms to my sides and went to him, placing my palms flat to his broad chest. “Is that really all it is?”
    “Eva.” He was such a strong, physically powerful man, and yet he could touch me with such reverence.
    I ducked my head, knowing something in my voice had given me away. He was too perceptive.
    Cupping my jaw in his hands, Gideon tipped my head back and searched my face. “Talk to me.”
    “I feel like you’re pulling away.”
    A low growl rumbled through the air between us. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. That doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about you.”
    “I feel it, Gideon. There’s distance between us that wasn’t there before.”
    His hands slid down to my neck, wrapping around it. “There’s no distance. You’ve got me by the throat, Eva.” His grip tightened fractionally. “Can’t you feel that ?”
    I sucked in a quick, tight breath. Agitation spurred my heartbeat, a physical response to fear that came entirely from within and not from Gideon, who I knew absolutely would never physically harm me or put me in danger.
    “Sometimes,” he said huskily, watching me with searing intensity, “I can hardly breathe.”
    I might’ve broken free if not for his eyes, which revealed such yearning and turmoil. He was making me feel the same loss of power, the same sense of being dependent on someone else for every breath I took.
    So I did the opposite of running. Tilting my head back, I surrendered, and the tingles of fear left me in a rush. I was learning that Gideon was right about my desire to give up control to him. Doing so soothed something inside me, some need I hadn’t realized I possessed.
    There was a long pause, filled only by his breathing. I sensed him warring with his emotions and wondered what they were, wondered why he was so conflicted.
    He released the tension with a deep exhalation. “What do you need, Eva?”
    “You—a mile high.”
    His hands slid over my shoulders and squeezed, then caressed the length of my arms. His fingers linked with mine and he nuzzled our temples together. “What is it with you, sex, and modes of transportation?”
    “I’ll take you anyway I can get you,” I told him, repeating the sentiment he’d once said to me. “It’ll probably be next weekend before I’m good to go again, thanks to my period.”
    “Fuck.”
    “That’s the idea.”
    Reaching for his coat, he wrapped it around me and ushered me out of the cabin.
    * * *
     
    “Oh, God.” My hands fisted the sheets beneath me, my back arching as Gideon pinned my hips to the bed and fluttered his tongue across my clit. My skin was coated in a fine sheen of sweat, my vision blurring as my core tightened viciously in preparation for orgasm. My pulse was thrumming, racing in unison with the steady hum of the jet’s engines.
    I’d come twice already, as much from the sight of his dark head between my legs as from his wickedly gifted mouth. My panties were ruined, literally shredded by his grip, and he was still fully dressed.
    “I’m ready.” I pushed my fingers into his hair, feeling the dampness at the roots. His restraint was costing him. He was always so careful with me, taking the time to make sure I was soft and wet before filling me too full with his long, thick cock.
    “I’ll decide when you’re ready.”
    “I want you inside—” The