“Yeah, Shannon. ‘Cept for the tat and the citified accent he’s picked up, even our parents can’t tell us apart.”
“It seems the night of the after party, Grant thought it would be fun to play the lead guitarist for Northern Exposure.”
“I didn’t say much and put on some of Gid’s clothes, including the boots he’d left in his dressing room. It worked like a charm as usual. I fooled the twins, but Reynolds knew it was me. If he led you to believe it was Gid, he was playing you, as Gid said. I’m real sorry, Shannon.”
Shannon wept openly then, her face buried in her hands. A horrible mistake compounded by his meddling manager had kept them apart, had kept Gideon away from her son. She felt sick. She should have known he wouldn’t do something like that to her, not Gideon. She should have trusted him. No wonder he was so angry.
Absently, she heard the men talking and then the door closed. Wallowing in her misery and guilt, she didn’t bother to see who had left. When the couch shifted beside her and his strong arms enveloped her, she completely broke down. Her hands clutching his shirt, still open in front from his little demonstration, she buried her face against his bare chest and wept, the years of pain and loneliness evident in her tears, but now they included tears of guilt.
He held her throughout the violent deluge of tears. When her breathe came in long, shuddering, racking gasps, he shushed her, rocking her gently. “Hush, Shannon, that’s enough. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Pushing her off him, he wiped her face with his loose shirt tail. “Come on, honey. Calm down so we can get things settled.”
“How? What are you planning to do?”
Taking her face between his hands, he wiped at the tears that continued to fall with his thumbs. She couldn’t stop blubbering and could barely catch her breath. Fear started to coil in her belly. What did he mean by settle things? Surely, he wouldn’t try to take Eli from her.
“Please, Gideon. I’m sorry, but don’t take Eli. He’s all I have. I—”
“Dammit, Shannon, what have I done to make you think I would do something like that? What kind of asshole would take a child from his mother?”
Relief flooded through her, but she had hurt him yet again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just he is all I have in this world.”
“Not anymore—now you have me.” Getting up, he walked across the room and grabbed a box of Kleenex off her bookshelf. When he returned, he held one up to her nose and ordered, “Blow.” Stuffing a few more into her hand, he outlined his plan. “First, you are coming home with me. I can’t bear to think of you and my son in this roach-infested, shithole of an apartment.”
That sounded wonderful to Shannon, but she couldn’t let him do that. “No, Gid. I couldn’t impose like that.”
“Having my son close to me is not an imposition. I need to get to know him and want him with me.”
“But I… We aren’t—”
“We aren’t what? In love? I don’t know about you, but since the day you walked out on me, my life has been on pause. Unlike you, I didn’t have any misperceptions about that night. All I knew is that you were pissed about something—what it was, I didn’t know. But I never stopped thinking of you, wanting you back, loving you.”
“Oh, Gid… I never stopped loving you either. I was just so hurt and angry. I was hoping we could salvage something when I found out I was pregnant. I tried to contact you.”
“Ray didn’t give me your messages.”
“It was him. He said you knew about the baby and didn’t want it. I was devastated, worse than when I thought you cheated. And then when he gave me that check…” Another sob escaped as she relived that day in Ray’s office.
“It was all Ray, Shannon.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket and gave it to her, waiting as she read, watching her face turn pink with anger.
“That rat bastard! I’d like to go over to his office and kick him where it hurts. He treated me awful, Gid. Like one of your groupies who intentionally got pregnant. He is a pig.”
“He’s a fired pig.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and I think I may have broken his nose. It was a parting shot. It was all I could do to keep from beating the hell out of him while he wrote out that confession.”
Shannon giggled. She wished she could have been there to see it. “How did you stand him all those years? He’s worse than a pig.”
“Yeah, calling him one insults the pig.” He smiled then, the first one she had seen in almost ten years. “As for the rest of my plan, after you and Eli move in and we get settled, you and I are getting married.”
“What? But how can you want to after what I did.”
He pinched her chin softly and angled her face up to his. “I’ll admit that I’m hurt you didn’t trust me, Shannon. But anger and placing blame won’t change what happened or make up for the time we’ve lost. I never stopped loving you and have wanted you back in my life every day.”
His lips, which had been hovering inches above hers as he spoke, lowered and captured hers in a sweet kiss. It ended too soon as he continued speaking of his grand plan. He had their future mapped out; it filled Shannon with a mix of emotions, ranging from joy to trepidation. There was doubt that he could still love her. He’d thought she’d abandoned him heartlessly for a decade. What if he were doing this out of a need to have Eli in his life? But he’d said he still loved her.
Trust him, Shannon,
she warned herself. Not doing so was what had put them in this situation to start with.
“We’ve wasted enough time, don’t you think? We also have Eli to consider. He deserves to know his dad and to have a family, Shannon. I’m sorry if you don’t feel ready for this quite yet. All I can say is if you don’t love me anymore, that’s tough. You’ll have to suck it up and learn to all over again. I’m not spending another day away from my family.”
“I don’t need to suck it up or learn over again, Gid. I love you too—never stopped.”
He exhaled, relief evident in his expression. Although he’d spoken with conviction, Shannon realized he hadn’t been as certain of the outcome as he’d seemed. He gathered her into his arms and she melted willingly into his embrace. She had missed those arms so badly.
“You can’t imagine how happy I am to hear that.” He kissed her deeply then, robbing her of breath and the ability to think of all the changes that were about to happen in her and Eli’s lives.
As perceptive as ever, Gideon seemed to read her thoughts. As he pulled his mouth away to look meaningfully in her eyes, he murmured, “We’ll iron out the details once I get you two home. There’s just one more important thing to discuss.”
“Anything.”
“Be careful what you agree to, babe. This one may come as a bit of a surprise.”
“What is it?”
“You remember how we used to play with bondage and spankings?”
She nodded, a flush heating her cheeks, not entirely sure where he was going with this.
“Well… I want that for real this time around.”
“I don’t understand. You want to spank me for real?” The thought of being over Gid’s lap—bottom bared, thighs quivering with anticipation—awakened her long since dormant libido. She felt her panties dampen as her sex was inundated with arousal.
“Yes, but that’s not exactly what I meant. All of our play was about D/s, me in control and you submitting. I want that for real this time, Shannon. I need to be in control of this relationship so I can make damn well sure nothing like this misunderstanding ever happens again.”
“You want to dominate me outside of sex, you mean? Like a slave?”
“No, I don’t want a slave or a wife that doesn’t think or do for herself. I don’t want to dictate your every move, but I do want to be in charge of us, of our life together, both in and out of the bedroom.”
“You mean like Justin and Roxie?”
“You know about them?”
Shannon’s lips quirked, giving a hint of a smile at his startled expression. She wasn’t as inexperienced back then as he’d thought. “Yes, she told me about it, and I walked in one time when she was getting a spanking. She didn’t seem to be objecting to it at all.”
She seemed to thrive on it,
Shannon thought. She had kept up with Roxie and Justin in the tabloids and they were still going strong after all this time, which was rare with celebrities. Maybe it had something to do with their lifestyle.
“Then you know how domestic discipline works.”
It was Shannon’s turn to be surprised. The kind of relationship he wanted had a name? It was a real thing? Wow! Who knew? Maybe she was naïve, after all. Half listening, she heard him continue, “Justin doesn’t rule with an iron fist, just a firm, guiding hand. That’s what I want for us.”
“So you’d spank me for real? What would earn me a spanking, Gid?”
“We’ll establish some ground rules that we both agree on. The primary rule will be honesty always, Shannon. We’ll rebuild trust as we go along, but we can’t allow anything like what happened before to split us apart again. If you walk in on me with twelve naked bimbos in my bed, I want you to trust that I love you and am faithful to you first, then ask questions.” His hand came up and curled around the nape of her neck. “You can’t react by running away and hiding like you did last time, Shannon. You can’t risk what we have together on a misunderstanding.”
“I know that, Gid, and I’m really sorry.” She bowed her head, guilt-ridden over a stupid case of mistaken identity.
“I’m not saying the whole thing is your fault, babe, but I am holding you accountable for not trusting me and not even giving me a chance to explain.”
“Where were you that night anyway?”
“I was waiting at the hotel, like we planned.”
“Didn’t you get my message?”
“No. I don’t remember getting a message.”
“I was running late and called Ray while you were still on stage. He seemed pleased, said he wanted you to stay for the wrap party anyway since there would be media there.” Silently they stared at each other as another piece of the puzzle fell into place. “Oh, Gid, he told me to come by the Palladium instead, that he’d give you the message.”
“I’m not surprised.” His eyes were near black as he seethed with rage. She could tell he was trying to get his anger under control when he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. If she were a nice person, she’d warn Ray Reynolds to get out of town—maybe out of the country. Except she couldn’t muster the energy to feel nice at the moment, let alone be charitable toward the slimy agent.
Finally, he opened his eyes and she could tell his anger was in check, his eyes once again their usual appealing green. “Never mind Reynolds. I’ve taken him out of the picture.” His lips claimed hers in a kiss full of love, warmth, and seduction. He broke it off much too soon, for Shannon’s liking, and she moaned in disappointment.
“Sorry, babe, I don’t want our reconciliation to be rushed. Making up and getting married are hurried enough. I want you settled at home before we move on to—” He paused for a moment before continuing, giving her a flash of his sexy trademark smile that melted panties round the world. By now, hers were surely smoldering. “I was gonna say before we move on to make-up sex, but that kind of trivializes it, I think.”
“I don’t mind make-up sex. I’ve never had it before, but I hear it’s fantastic.” She rubbed against him, pressing her face into his.
“Shannon, don’t tease me. I’m not starting something on your couch that will be hurried or interrupted midway. Our reconciliation is going to be celebrated with romance, a little wine, soft lights, and music, and it’s happening in my bed. Got it?”
Nodding, she cuddled up against him; she couldn’t bear to let him go. His groan when she hitched a leg over his lap was music to her ears.
“Don’t make me start our new beginning with a spanking, Shannon. I said we’d have to wait.” He set her away and then adjusted himself. Shannon giggled as she watched him try to do it subtly, then grinned when he finally stuck his hand down his pants and did it right.
“Quit teasing me, babe. I’m on a tight wire as it is. Keep it up and my control might just snap.” Clearing his throat, he stood, putting even more distance between them. “When will Eli be home from school?”
Glancing at the clock which read 1:30 p.m., she said, “I only have about an hour until I meet his bus.”
“Great, that gives us time to pack.”
“Now?”
“Of course, did you think I’d let you stay in this dump another night?”
“It’s not that bad.”
He shot her an incredulous look, a finely arched brow communicating his utter disbelief of her words.
“Fine, it’s that bad. But it’s all I could afford, Gid.”
Pulling her up off the couch, he was unable to resist touching her and wrapped her up in his arms once again. “I want you in my life, Shannon, and in my house and happily back in my bed. I promise you won’t ever be forced to ‘get by’ again. No more scrimping and cutting corners just to make ends meet. I want to take care of you and Eli, honey, in style.”
She could feel his erection, full and hard, pressing against her lower belly. Her body responded with a shiver. She wanted him to take care of her too, but she didn’t mean financially at that moment. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. Let’s get packing.”
With another quick press of his lips, she knew she’d made the right decision. She did love him, and she was tired of going it alone. Letting him have the reigns after a decade of doing it all by herself sounded heavenly.
“That’s my girl.” With a final squeeze, he went out in the hall and came back with a huge suitcase and a smaller overnight bag.
“You were pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you, Mr. McCord?”
He had the decency to look a little uncomfortable over his high-handedness, but only for a second. Then he winked and gave her another devastatingly sexy smile. “No, but if I learned one thing in scouts as a boy, it was to always be prepared.”
Chapter Seven
Gideon turned his Mercedes into his gated driveway, stopping to enter a code on the keypad before continuing up a long, shaded, winding drive. As they approached the house, Shannon’s jaw dropped. He glanced at her as the house came into view. He’d bought the 7,500 square foot Spanish style house with six bedrooms and eight baths about three years ago. At the height of the housing bubble, it was a steal. He didn’t need so much room, but the pool out back and the views of the Pacific were awesome. He had to go to the pier for beach access but he didn’t mind with it only a mile or so away.