Bared to You: A Crossfire Novel

“You’re the best.” I shoved my bag at him.

I showered and cal ed my mom from the phone in my room, wincing at her strident, “I have been trying to reach you for days!”

“Mom, if it’s about Gideon Cross—”

“Wel , of course, it’s partly about him! For goodness’

sake, Eva. You’re being cal ed the significant woman in his life. How could I not want to talk about that?”

“Mom—”

“But there’s also the appointment you asked me to make with Dr. Petersen.” The note of smug amusement in her voice made me smile. “We’re scheduled to meet with him Thursday at six o’clock in the evening. I hope that works for you. He doesn’t do many evening appointments.”

I plopped backward onto my bed with a sigh. I’d been so distracted by work and Gideon that the appointment had slipped my mind. “Thursday at six wil be fine. Thank you.”

“Now, then. Tel me about Cross…”

When I emerged from my bedroom dressed in jersey pants and a San Diego State University sweatshirt, I found Trey seated with Cary in the living room. Both men stood when I came in and Trey gifted me with an open, friendly smile.

“I’m sorry I look so ragged,” I said sheepishly, running my fingers through my damp ponytail. “Taking the stairs at work almost kil ed me today.”

“Elevator take the day off?” he asked.

“Nope. My brain did. What the hel was I thinking?” Spending the night with Gideon was enough of a workout.

The doorbel rang and Cary went to get it while I headed into the kitchen for the Cristal. I joined him at the breakfast bar as he signed the credit card receipt and the look in his eyes when he glanced at Trey had me hiding a smile.

There were a lot of those looks going back and forth between the two men as the evening progressed. And I had to agree with Cary that Trey was a hottie.

Dressed in distressed jeans, matching vest, and a long-sleeved shirt, the aspiring veterinarian looked casual but wel put together. He was very different personality-wise from the type of guy Cary usual y dated. Trey seemed more grounded; not quite somber, but definitely not flighty. I thought he’d be a good influence on Cary, if they stayed together long enough.

The three of us made it through two bottles of Cristal and two pizzas between us, plus al of Demolition Man before I cal ed it a night. I urged Trey to stay for Driven to round out the Stal one mini-marathon; then I went to my room and changed into a sexy black baby dol I’d been given as part of a bridesmaid gift bag—sans the matching panties.

Leaving a candle burning for Gideon, I crashed.

I woke to darkness and the scent of Gideon’s skin, the lights and sounds of the city shut out by soundproofed windows and blackout drapes.

Gideon slid over me, a moving shadow, his bare skin cool to the touch. His mouth slanted over mine, kissing me slow and deeply, tasting of mint and his own unique flavor. My hands slid down his sleekly muscular back, my legs parting so he could settle comfortably between them. The weight of him against me made my heart sigh and my blood warm with desire.

“Wel , hel o to you, too,” I said breathlessly when he let me up for air.

“You’l come with me next time,” he murmured in that sexy and decadent voice, nibbling at my throat.

“Wil I?” I teased.

He reached down and cupped my butt in his hand, squeezing and lifting me into a deft rol of his hips.

“Yes. I missed you, Eva.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, wishing I could see him. “You haven’t known me long enough to miss me.”

“Shows how much you know,” Gideon scoffed, sliding downward and nuzzling between my breasts.

I gasped as his mouth covered my nipple and sucked through the satin, deep pul s that echoed in the clenching of my core. He moved to my other breast, his hand pushing up the hem of my baby dol . I arched into him, lost to the magic of his mouth as it moved over my body, his tongue dipping into my navel, then sliding lower.

“And you missed me, too,” he purred with masculine satisfaction, the tip of his middle finger rimming my cleft. “You’re swol en and wet for me.” He pul ed my legs over his shoulders and licked between my folds, soft and provocative laps of hot velvet against my sensitive flesh. My hands fisted in the sheet, my chest heaving as he circled my clit with the tip of his tongue, then nudged the hypersensitive knot of nerves. I keened, my hips moving restlessly into the devious torment, my muscles tightening with the clawing need to come.

The light, teasing flutters were driving me insane, giving me just enough to make me writhe but not enough to get me off. “Gideon, please.”

“Not yet.”