Crossfire 01 Bared to You (24 page)

“I like you naked
in private
,” he muttered. “I’ll need to be with you whenever you go to the gym.”

“I won’t complain, since I’m very much enjoying the view at the moment.” Plus, I was perversely excited by his possessiveness after the hurt he’d inflicted with his withdrawal Saturday night. Two very different extremes—the first of many, I was sure.

“Let’s get this over with.” He grabbed my hand and led me away from the locker rooms, snatching two logo’d towels off a stack as we passed them. “I need to fuck you.”

“I need to be fucked.”

“Jesus, Eva.” His grip on my hand tightened to the point that it hurt. “Where to? Free weights? Machines? Treadmills?”

“Treadmills. I want to run a bit.”

He led me in that direction. I watched the way women followed him with their gazes, then their feet. They wanted to be in whatever section of the gym he was, and I couldn’t blame them. I was dying to see him in action, too.

When we reached the seemingly endless rows of treadmills and bikes, we found that there weren’t two treadmills free adjacent to each other.

Gideon walked up to a man who had two open on either side of him. “I’d be in your debt if you’d move over one.”

The guy looked at me and grinned. “Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Gideon took over the man’s treadmill and motioned me to the one beside it. Before he programmed his workout, I leaned over to him. “Don’t burn off too much energy,” I whispered. “I want you missionary-style the first time. I’ve been having this fantasy of you on top, banging the hell out of me.”

His gaze burned into me. “Eva, you have no idea.”

Nearly giddy with anticipation and a lovely surge of feminine power, I got on my treadmill and started at a brisk walk. While I warmed up, I set my iPod shuffle to random and when “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake came on I hit my stride and went full-out. Running was both a mental and physical exercise for me. Sometimes I wished just running fast could get me away from whatever was troubling me.

After twenty minutes I slowed, then stopped, finally risking a glance at Gideon who was running with the fluidity of a well-oiled machine. He was watching CNN on the overhead screens, but he flashed a grin at me as I wiped the sweat off my face. I swigged from my water bottle as I moved to the machines, picking one that give me a clear view of him.

He went a full thirty on the treadmill; then he moved to free weights, always keeping me in his line of sight. As he worked out, quickly and efficiently, I couldn’t help thinking how virile he was. It helped that I knew exactly what was in his shorts, but regardless, he was a man who worked behind a desk, yet kept his body in combat shape.

When I grabbed a fitness ball to do some crunches, one of the trainers came up to me. As one would expect in a top-of-the-line gym, he was handsome and very nicely built.

“Hi,” he greeted me, with a movie star smile that showcased perfect white teeth. He had dark brown hair and eyes of nearly the same color. “First-timer, right? I haven’t seen you in here before.”

“Yes, first time.”

“I’m Daniel.” He extended his hand, and I gave him my name. “Are you finding everything you need, Eva?”

“So far so good, thanks.”

“What flavor smoothie did you go for?”

I frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Your free orientation smoothie.” He crossed his arms and his thick biceps strained the narrow cuffs of his uniform polo shirt. “You didn’t get one from the bar downstairs when you signed up? You’re supposed to.”

“Ah, well.” I shrugged sheepishly, thinking it was a nice touch all the same. “I didn’t have the usual orientation.”

“Did you get the tour? If not, let me take you around.” He touched my elbow lightly and gestured toward the stairs. “You also get a free hour of personal training. We could do that tonight or make an appointment for later in the week. And I’d be happy to take you down to the health bar and scratch that off the list, too.”

“Oh, I can’t really.” My nose wrinkled. “I’m not a member.”

“Ah.” He winked. “You’re here on a temp pass? That’s fine. You can’t be expected to make up your mind if you don’t get the full experience. I can assure you, though, that CrossTrainer is the best gym in Manhattan.”

Gideon appeared at Daniel’s shoulder. “The full experience is included,” he said, coming around and behind me to slide his arms around my waist, “when you’re the owner’s girlfriend.”

The word “girlfriend” reverberated through me, sending a crazy rush of adrenaline through my system. It was still sinking in that we had that level of commitment, but that didn’t stop me from thinking the designation had a nice ring to it.

“Mr. Cross.” Daniel straightened and took a step back; then extended his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Daniel has me sold on the place,” I said to Gideon, as they shook hands.

“I thought I’d done that.” His hair was wet with sweat and he smelled divine. I’d never known a sweaty man could smell so damn good.

His hands stroked down my arms and I felt his lips on the crown of my head. “Let’s go. See you later, Daniel.”

I waved good-bye as we walked away. “Thanks, Daniel.”

“Anytime.”

“I bet,” Gideon muttered. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off your tits.”

“They’re very nice tits.”

He made a low growling noise. I hid my amusement.

He smacked my butt hard enough to send me forward a step and leave behind a hot sting even through my pants. “That damned Band-Aid you call a shirt doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Don’t take long in the shower. You’re just going to get sweaty again.”

“Wait.” I caught his arm before he passed the women’s locker room on the way toward the men’s. “Would it gross you out if I told you I didn’t want you to shower? If I said I want to find someplace really close by where I could jump you while you’re still dripping sweat?”

Gideon’s jaw tightened and his gaze darkened dangerously. “I’m beginning to fear for your safety, Eva. Grab your stuff. There’s a hotel around the corner.”

Neither of us changed and we were outside in five minutes. Gideon walked briskly and I hurried to keep up. When he stopped abruptly, turned, and dipped me back in a lavish heated kiss on the crowded sidewalk, I was too stunned to do more than hold on. It was a soul-wrenching melding of our mouths, full of passion and sweet spontaneity that made my heart ache. Applause broke out around us.

When he straightened me again, I was breathless and dizzy. “What was that?” I gasped.

“A prelude.” He resumed our dash to the nearest hotel, one I didn’t catch the name of as he pulled me past the doorman and crossed straight to the elevator. It was clear to me that the property was one of Gideon’s even before a manager greeted him by name just before the elevator doors closed.

Gideon dropped his duffel on the car floor and busied himself with figuring out how to extricate me from my sports top. I was slapping his hands away when the doors opened and he scooped up his bag. There was no one waiting on our floor and no one in the hallway. He pulled a master key out of somewhere and a moment later we were in a room.

I pounced, pushing my hands up beneath his shirt to feel his damp skin and the hardness of the muscles beneath it. “Get naked. Like
now
.”

He laughed as he toed off his sneakers and yanked his tank over his head.

Oh my God…seeing him in the flesh—all of him, as his shorts hit the floor—was synapse frying. There wasn’t an ounce of excess flesh on him anywhere, just hard slabs of honed muscle. He had washboard abs and that super sexy V of muscle on his pelvis that Cary called the Loin of Apollo. Gideon didn’t wax his chest like Cary did, but he groomed with the same care he showed to the rest of his body. He was pure primal male, the embodiment of everything I coveted, fantasized about, and wished for.

“I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I said, staring unabashedly.

“You’re still dressed.” He attacked my clothes, whipping my loosened top off before I took a full breath. My pants were wrestled down and I kicked my shoes off in such a hurry that I lost my balance and fell on the bed. I barely caught my breath before he was on me.

We rolled across the mattress in a tangle. Everywhere he touched me left trails of fire behind. The clean, hardworking scent of his skin was an aphrodisiac and intoxicant at once, spurring my desire for him until I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

“You’re so beautiful, Eva.” He plumped one breast in his hand before taking my nipple into his mouth.

I cried out at the scorching heat and the lash of his tongue, my core tightening with every soft suck. My hands were greedy as they slid over his sweat-damp skin, stroking and kneading, searching for the spots that made him growl and moan. I scissored my legs with his and tried to roll him, but he was too heavy and too strong.

He lifted his head and smiled down at me. “It’s my turn this time.”

What I felt for him in that moment, seeing that smile and the heat in his eyes, was so intense it was painful. Too fast, I thought. I was falling too fast. “Gideon—”

He kissed me deeply, licking into my mouth in that way of his. I thought he could really make me come with just a kiss, if we stayed at it long enough. Everything about him turned me on, from the way he looked and felt beneath my hands to the way he watched me and touched me. His greed and the silent demands he made on my body, the forcefulness with which he pleasured me and took his pleasure in return, drove me wild.

I ran my hands through the wet silk of his hair. The crisp hairs on his chest teased my tightened nipples and the feel of his rock-hard body against mine was enough to make me wet and needy.

“I love your body,” he whispered, his lips moving across my cheek to my throat. His hand caressed the length of my torso from breasts to hip. “I can’t get enough of it.”

“You haven’t had very much of it yet,” I teased.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have enough.” Nibbling and licking across my shoulder, he slid down and caught my other nipple between his teeth. He tugged and the tiny dart of pain had my back arching on a soft cry. He soothed the sting with a soft suck; then kissed his way downward. “I’ve never wanted anything this badly.”

“Then do me!”

“Not yet,” he murmured, moving lower, rimming my navel with the tip of his tongue. “You’re not ready yet.”

“What? Ah, God…I can’t get any readier.” I tugged on his hair, trying to pull him up.

Gideon caught my wrists and pinned them to the mattress. “You have a tight little cunt, Eva. I’ll bruise you if I don’t get you soft and relaxed.”

A violent shiver of arousal moved through me. It turned me on when he talked so bluntly about sex. Then he slid lower and I tensed. “No, Gideon. I need to shower for that.”