Captivated by You (Crossfire#4) (12 page)

I found Arash waiting outside my suite with a room service cart. “What the fuck is the matter with

you?”

I had to back out of the way before he rolled right through me.

“Quit your bitching.” He grinned, pushing the cart off to the side and raking me with a glance.

“Save the marathon sex for your honeymoon.”

“Don’t listen to him!” Eva shouted through the bedroom door.

“I won’t.” I turned away from him. “He doesn’t work for me anymore.”

“You can’t hold it against me,” Arash said, following me into the living room. “Wow. Your back

looks like you got into a brawl with a mountain lion. No wonder you’re tired.”

“Shut up.” I snatched my shirt off the floor.

“You didn’t tell me Eva was in San Diego, too.”

“It was none of your business.”

He held up both hands in surrender. “Truce.”

“Don’t say a word about Yimara,” I told him quietly. “I won’t have her worrying about that.”

Arash sobered. “It’s done. I won’t mention it again.”

“Good.” I went to the cart and poured two cups of coffee, preparing Eva’s the way she liked it.

“I’ll take a cup,” he said.

“Serve yourself.”

His lips curved wryly as he joined me. “Is she coming out?”

I shrugged.

“She’s not mad, is she?”

“I doubt it.” I took both mugs to the coffee table, then went to the wall where the controls for the drapes were. “It takes some work to piss her off.”

“You’re good at it.” He smiled and settled into one of the armchairs. “I recall that viral video of

you two scrapping in Bryant Park.”

I shot him a look as sunlight began pouring into the room. “You must really hate your job.”

“Tell me you wouldn’t be curious if I eloped with a chick I knew only a couple of months.”

“I’d send her my condolences.”

He laughed.

The bedroom door opened and Eva stepped out dressed in her clothes from the night before. Her

face was freshly washed, but the dark circles under her eyes and her swollen mouth made her look

both well fucked and extremely fuckable. With her bare feet and barely tamed hair, she was stunning.

Pride swelled my chest. Uncovered by the lack of makeup, the dusting of freckles on her nose made

her adorable. Her body told you she was a dream to fuck, the confidence in her posture told you she’d take no shit from anyone, and the mischievous amusement in her eyes told you there would never be a

dull moment.

She was every promise, every hope, every fantasy a man could have. And she was mine.

I stared. Arash stared, too.

Eva shifted her stance and smiled shyly. “Hi.”

The sound of her voice snapped him out of it. He pushed to his feet so quickly he spilled his coffee.

“Shit. Sorry. Hi.”

He set his mug down and brushed the stray droplets off his pants. He went to her and held out his

hand. “I’m Arash.”

She shook it. “Nice to meet you, Arash. I’m Eva.”

I joined them, pushing Arash back with my forearm. “Stop drooling.”

He glanced at me. “Funny, Cross, you ass.”

Eva laughed and leaned into me when I slid my arm around her shoulders.

“It’s good to see he works with people who aren’t afraid of him,” she said.

Arash winked, blatantly flirting. “I know how he operates.”

“Really? I’d love to hear all about it.”

“I think not,” I drawled.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, ace.”

“Yeah, ace,” Arash taunted. “What have you got to hide?”

I smiled. “Your corpse.”

He looked at my wife and sighed. “See what I have to deal with?”

6

A LATE-AFTERNOON OUTDOOR lunch, in beautiful San Diego, with the three most important men in my

life definitely ranked at the top of my best-moments-ever list. I sat between Gideon and my dad, while Cary lounged in the seat directly across the table from me.

If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said I was apathetic about palm trees. I had a

new appreciation for them now that I hadn’t seen one in a while. I watched them sway gently in the

warm ocean breeze and felt the kind of peace I chased but rarely caught. Seagulls competed with

pigeons for the scraps under tables, while the not-too-distant crash of waves against the beach

underpinned the bustle of the packed restaurant.

My best friend’s mirrored shades hid his eyes, but his smile came often and easy. My dad wore

shorts and a T-shirt and had started out the meal unusually quiet. He’d loosened up after a beer and now looked as comfortable as Cary. My husband wore tan cargo pants and white T-shirt, the first

time I’d ever seen him in light-colored clothing. He looked cool and relaxed in aviators, his fingers linked with mine on the arm of my chair.

“An early-evening wedding,” I thought aloud. “Around sunset. Just family and close friends.” I

looked at Cary. “You’ll be the man of honor, of course.”

His mouth curled up on one side in a lazy smile. “I better be.”

I glanced at Gideon. “Do you know who you’ll ask to stand with you?”

The tightening of his lips was nearly imperceptible, but I caught it. “I haven’t decided yet.”

My happy mood dimmed a little. Was he debating whether Arnoldo would be suitable, considering

the chef’s feelings toward me? It made me sad to think I might strain that relationship.

Gideon was such a private person. Although I didn’t know for sure, I suspected he was tight with

his friends but that there weren’t many of them.

I squeezed his hand. “I’m going to ask Ireland to be a bridesmaid.”

“She’ll like that.”

“What do we do about Christopher?”

“Nothing. With luck, he won’t come.”

My dad frowned. “Who are we talking about?”

“Gideon’s brother and sister,” I answered.

“You don’t get along with your brother, Gideon?”

I explained, not wanting my dad to hold anything against my husband. “Christopher’s not a nice

guy.”

Gideon’s head turned toward me. He didn’t say it aloud, but I got the message: He didn’t want me

speaking for him.

“He’s a total douche, you mean,” Cary interjected. “No offense, Gideon.”

“None taken.” He shrugged and then elaborated for my father. “Christopher views me as a

competitor. I’d have it differently, but it’s not my choice.”

My dad nodded slowly. “That’s too bad.”

“While we’re discussing the wedding,” Gideon segued smoothly, “it would be my pleasure to

provide transportation. It would give me a chance to contribute, which I’d appreciate.”

I took a deep breath, understanding—as I knew my father would—that my husband’s directness and

tact made him hard to refuse.

“That’s very generous of you, Gideon.”

“It’s a standing offer. With an hour’s notice, we can have you in the air and on your way. It’ll make it easier for you and Eva to work around your schedules and maximize your time together.”

My dad didn’t answer right away. “Thank you. It might take me a while to get used to the idea. It’s

a bit extravagant, and I don’t want to be a burden.”

Gideon pulled his shades off, baring his eyes. “That’s what money’s for. All I want is to make your

daughter happy. Make that easy on me, Mr. Reyes. We all want to see Eva smiling as much as

possible.”

It sank in then why my dad was so opposed to Stanton paying for anything. My stepdad didn’t do it

for me; he did it for my mom. Gideon would only ever consider
me
when making decisions. I knew my dad could live with that.

I caught Gideon’s gaze and mouthed,
I love you
.

His grip on my hand tightened until it hurt. I didn’t mind.

My dad smiled. “Making Eva happy. How can I argue with that?”

THE smell of freshly brewed coffee brought my well-trained senses to life the following morning. I

blinked up at the bedroom ceiling of my Upper West Side apartment and gave a sleepy smile when I

discovered Gideon standing beside my bed, stripping out of his shirt. The sight of his leanly muscular torso and washboard abs almost made up for the fact that I’d obviously spent the night alone after

falling asleep in his arms.

“Good morning,” I murmured, rolling onto my side as he pushed his pajama bottoms down and

kicked them off.

Whoever said Mondays sucked had obviously never woken up to a naked Gideon Cross.

“It will be,” he said, lifting the covers and sliding between the sheets with me.

I shivered as his cool skin touched mine. “Yikes!”

His arms slipped around me, and his lips touched my neck. “Warm me up, angel.”

By the time I was done with him he was sweating and the coffee he’d brought me was cold.

I didn’t mind in the least.

I was in an excellent mood when I got to work. Morning sex contributed to that, of course. Also the

sight of Gideon getting dressed for the day, watching him transform from the private man I knew and

loved into the dark and dangerous global magnate. The day only got better when I exited on the

twentieth floor and saw Megumi sitting at her desk.

I waved at her through the glass security doors, but my smile faded the moment I got a good look at

her. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes. Her usually sassy asymmetrical haircut looked limp and overlong, and she was wearing a long-sleeved blouse and dark slacks that were out of place

with the August mugginess.

“Hey,” I greeted her when she buzzed me through. “How are you? I’ve been worried about you.”

She gave me a weak smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m totally antisocial when I get sick. I just want to curl up in bed and be left alone.”

Her lower lip quivered and her eyes grew shiny with tears.

“Are you okay?” I glanced around, worried about her privacy as other employees passed through

the reception area. “Did you see a doctor?”

She started crying.

Horrified, I stood frozen for a minute. “Megumi. What’s
wrong
?”

She pulled off her headset and stood, tears spilling down her face. She shook her head violently. “I can’t talk about it now.”

“When is your break?”

But she was already hurrying to the bathroom, leaving me staring after her.

I headed to my cubicle and dropped off my bag, then went down the hall to Will Granger’s desk. He

wasn’t there, but I found him in the break room when I stopped to grab some coffee.

“Hey, you.” His eyes behind his square-framed glasses looked as worried as I felt. “Did you see

Megumi?”

“Yeah. She looks wiped out. And she started crying when I asked how she’s doing.”

He slid the carton of half-and-half over to me. “Not good, whatever it is.”

“I’m bad with not knowing. My imagination runs wild. I’m bouncing between cancer, pregnancy,

and everything in between.”

Will shrugged helplessly. With his neatly trimmed sideburns and subtly quirky-patterned shirts, he

was the sort of affable and easy-natured guy who was hard to dislike.

“Eva.” Mark stuck his head in the door. “I’ve got news.”

My boss’s bright eyes told me he was excited about something. “I’m all ears. Coffee?”

“Sure. Thanks. See you in my office.” He ducked back out again.

Will grabbed his mug off the counter. “Have a good one.”

He left. I hurried to get the coffee ready, then went to Mark’s office. He’d taken his jacket off and was studying something on his monitor. He looked up, smiling when he saw me.

“We’ve got a new RFP request.” His smile widened. “And they asked for me specifically.”

I tensed. Setting his coffee down, I asked warily, “Is it another Cross Industries product?”

As much as I loved Gideon and admired all that he’d accomplished, I didn’t want to be totally

overshadowed by his world. Part of who we were as a couple was two people who had separate

working lives. I enjoyed riding to work with my husband, but I needed to say good-bye to him, too. I needed those few hours when he didn’t consume me.

“No, it’s bigger.”

My brows rose. I couldn’t think of anything or anyone bigger than Cross Industries.

Mark slid a picture of a silver-and-red box across the desk to me. “It’s the new PhazeOne gaming

system from LanCorp.”

I settled into the seat in front of his desk with an inner sigh of relief. “Sweet. Sounds fun.”

IT was a little after eleven when Megumi called to see if I was free for lunch.

“Of course,” I told her.

“Someplace quiet.”

I considered our options. “I’ve got an idea. Leave it to me.”

“Great. Thanks.”

I sat at my desk. “How’s your morning been?”

“Busy. I have to get caught up.”

“Let me know if I can help with anything.”

“Thank you, Eva.” She took a deep, shaky breath, her composure slipping. “I appreciate you.”

We hung up. I called Gideon’s office, and his secretary answered.