Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Gideon plops two in the glass before sliding the drawer closed and turning to face me. “Whiskey preference? I have a nice Hakushu single malt from my last hiking trip in Japan.”
I arch a wry brow. “You drink whiskey on your hikes?”
He smiles one of his wicked smiles, and my stomach flips. Damn, I’ve missed that grin. I’ve missed this man. Even with the specters of Adrian and our doomed relationship haunting the evening, I still feel so comfortable and welcome in his home.
“No, after,” he says. “Nothing like a giant steak and a glass of whiskey after a five-day hike over a mountain.”
I hum jealously. “Sounds amazing. I’ve never done more than a weekend trip. School was too intense to get away for longer than that and I didn’t want to let the butterflies and seabirds down in the summers.”
“What about when you were younger? Did your dad ever take you hiking?”
I snort out a laugh. “If only you knew how funny that was.”
“He’s not an outdoorsman?”
“That’s putting it mildly. He won’t even go golfing without bug spray and extra shoes to put on as soon as he steps off the green. Nature is too messy and unpredictable for my father. We did museums and fancy restaurants when I was a kid, not hikes or playgrounds.”
Sadness creeps into Gideon’s voice as he says, “Adrian used to love the Central Park playgrounds when he was a kid. We’d go to a different one every time. Some of my best memories with him are there.”
I reach over, pushing the glass of ice closer to his side of the island. “I think you need whiskey more than I do. And I told you, I don’t want to drink alone.”
His gaze locks on mine, making my blood rush faster. “If I have a drink with you, I’m going to kiss you. And if I kiss you, I’m not going to want to stop.”
My nipples poke shamelessly against the silky fabric of my dress in response to his words, giving me an idea.
“That would be terrible,” I murmur as I lean forward. The neck of my borrowed gown falls forward, baring more of my already scantily covered breasts. Gideon’s focus drops to my chest, heat flaring in his eyes that fills me with a dizzying mixture of longing and guilt.
I shouldn’t be teasing him, flirting with him. But the more I think about everything Adrian has said about his father over the past year, the less I feel he deserves the right to stand between us. Yes, it sounds like he was manipulated by his mother, but he’s not a child anymore. He’s old enough to know better than to treat a man who’s clearly eager for a meaningful relationship with his son like an irritating inconvenience.
Or an ATM.
It honestly disgusts me.
I hold on to that feeling, letting it banish my guilt as I trace my clavicle with one finger. “Really terrible,” I repeat. I catch one spaghetti strap on my manicured nail and guide it down over my shoulder until my right breast is completely bare to his gaze.
Gideon hisses in a breath, his jaw clenching. “One night. I know that’s what we said before, but I really can’t let this go any further. I wish I could, but…”
“One night,” I echo, my panties already soaked. Right now, I’d say yes if he offered me five minutes. I’m pathetic when it comes to this man, so desperate for his touch that before I know it, I’m drawing my dress over my head and dropping it to the glossy wood floor. When I’m in nothing but my panties and the kitten-soft thigh-high stockings I’m so grateful I let Noelle talk me into, I take a step back from the island and nod to my left. “I assume the bedroom’s that way?”
“Fuck the bedroom,” he mutters.
A beat later, he’s sliding up and over the island in one smooth motion that reminds me how much I love the way he moves. His confidence, his control, the way his strong muscles flex beneath his clothes—everything about him turns me into a puddle of boneless desire.
seventeen
GIDEON
I pull her against me, urging her thighs up and around my waist.
She obeys my unspoken direction without hesitation, twining her arms around my neck as our mouths collide. I kiss her hard, one hand braced under her ass, the other fisted in the hair at the nape of her neck, so starved for her, I can’t hold back.
Sydney matches my intensity, groaning against my lips as our tongues dance and her breath comes faster. “I thought I was exaggerating it in my memory,” she says between kisses as I carry her across the living room toward the master bedroom. “I kept telling myself it wasn’t as hot as I remembered. That there was no way you could make me feel like I’m going to explode with just a kiss.”