Reflected in You: A Crossfire Novel

never.”
    “There have to be at least a half dozen people freaking out because they can’t run something by you.”
    He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “They’ll deal with it.”
    Pleasure surged through me. “I have you all to myself?”
    “Completely.” His mouth curved in a wicked smile. “What will you do with me, angel?”
    I smiled back, ecstatically happy. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
    * * *
     
    We went for a walk on the beach.
    I rolled up a pair of Gideon’s pajama bottoms and put on my white tank top, which was indecent since my bra was heading back to New York along with Gideon’s cell phone.
    “I have died and gone to heaven,” he pronounced, checking out my chest as we strolled along the shore, “where the embodiment of every wet-dream, spank-bank fantasy of my adolescence is real and totally mine.”
    I bumped my shoulder into his. “How do you go from devastatingly romantic to crude in the space of an hour?”
    “It’s another one of my many talents.” His gaze dropped again to the prominent points of my nipples, which were hard from exposure to the ocean breeze. He squeezed my hand and gave an exaggerated happy sigh. “Heaven with my angel. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
    I had to agree. The beach was beautiful in a moody, untamed way that reminded me a lot of the man whose hand I held. The sounds of the surf and the crying of the gulls filled me with a unique sense of contentment. The water was cold on my bare feet, and the wind whipped my hair across my face. It had been a long time since I’d felt so good, and I was grateful to Gideon for giving us this time away to enjoy each other. We were perfect together when we were alone.
    “You like it here,” he noted.
    “I’ve always loved being close to the water. My mother’s second husband had a lake house. I remember walking along the shore like this with her and thinking I’d buy something on the water for myself one day.”
    He released my hand and draped his arm around my shoulders instead. “So let’s do it. How about this place? You like it?”
    I glanced up at him, loving the sight of the wind sifting through his hair. “Is it for sale?”
    He looked down the stretch of beach in front of us. “Everything’s for sale at the right price.”
    “Do you like it?”
    “The interior’s a little cold with all that white, although I like the master bedroom the way it is. We could change all the rest. Make it more us.”
    “Us,” I repeated, wondering what that would be. I loved his apartment with its old world elegance. I think he felt comfortable at my place, which was more modern traditional. Combining the two . . . “Big step, buying a property together.”
    “Inevitable step,” he corrected. “You told Dr. Petersen failure isn’t an option.”
    “Yep, I did.” We walked a little farther in silence. I tried to figure out how I felt about Gideon wanting to have a more tangible tie between us. I also wondered why he’d choose joint property ownership as the way to achieve it. “So I take it you like it here, too?”
    “I like the beach.” He brushed his hair back from his face. “There’s a picture of me and my father building a sand castle on a beach.”
    It was a miracle my steps didn’t falter. Gideon volunteered so little information about his past that when he did, it was nearly an earthshaking event. “I’d like to see it.”
    “My mother has it.” We took a few more steps before he said, “I’ll get it for you.”
    “I’ll go with you.” He hadn’t told me why yet, but he’d told me once that the Vidal home was a nightmare for him. I suspected that whatever was at the root of his parasomnia had taken place there.
    Gideon’s chest expanded on a deep breath. “I can have it couriered.”
    “All right.” I turned my head to kiss his bruised knuckles where they rested on my shoulder. “But my offer stands.”
    “What did you think of my mother?” he asked suddenly.
    “She’s very beautiful. Very elegant. She seemed gracious.” I studied him, seeing Elizabeth Vidal’s inky black hair and stunning blue eyes. “She also seems to love you a lot. It was in her eyes when she looked at you.”
    He kept looking straight ahead. “She didn’t love me enough.”
    My breath left me in a rush. Because I didn’t know what had given him such tormenting nightmares, I’d wondered if maybe she’d loved him too much. It was a relief to know that wasn’t