The Gideon Affair (22 page)

“Paige,” he murmured, taking the bag they’d been mocking off her arm. “Come here a moment. We should talk.”

He led her to the sofa by her hand and sat them down without letting go. There were things to say—important things—that he’d be a fool to overlook.

She sighed heavily and flopped down like a ragdoll, all gangly legs and waving arms. Before he got a single word out, she hurriedly blurted, “Nobody’s going to believe this, you know.”

That was where she was wrong. This charade that wasn’t said more about him than any carefully crafted press release ever could. Maybe Gideon Shaw was a pussy magnet with an overactive libido, but he was a different sort of animal. Edward craved what his parents had. A loving marriage with a partner who challenged and supported. Who knew the meaning of family and the importance of commitment.

“Honey,” he assured her with a squeeze of her hand, “one look at your legs in that dress and all the bullshitters will shut the fuck up.”

She looked at him skeptically.

“And we have a secret weapon, babe. Something I bet you never thought would come in handy.”

“What’s that?”

“Caro,” he drawled. Looking at his watch, he rolled his eyes and grinned. “Mickey called her. Said he had an important assignment that only she could handle. About half an hour ago, the first leak referring to our secret romance will find a way onto every social media feed in North America. By tomorrow night, your pink ball of fluff assistant will be ‘caught’ out, probably at the Grove, when she’ll spill the beans with firsthand info.”

“Oh.” She seemed perplexed and not at all convinced. “So she knows this is all fake?”

And there it was. The real problem. Fake, my aunt Bessie’s ass.

Edward brought her hand to his mouth. Kissing her knuckles, he shook his head and made her look at him. “No, Paige. This isn’t fake. That night at my house changed everything.”

“Edward, come on,” she groused.

“Give it up, babe. Pretending our only motivation is my career just cheapens what we know is going on.”

“It feels like cheating,” she murmured.

“Look at me.” Uh, shit. He hadn’t meant to sound like an ogre. Oops.

“Oh, no you didn’t.”

She had him. He grinned.

“Babe,” he chortled, glad for his slip because her reaction gave him more than a foot in the door. At this one moment, he was going to slip right past her defenses. “How can this be cheating if we’re close enough for you to call me on my shit? Think about it, honey. We’ve known each other a long time.”

She nodded solemnly, her eyes wide with cautious agreement.

“Saying we’re friends is the fucking understatement of all time.”

“You know this sucks, right?” She sounded peeved, but the warmth of her hand and the way she softened under his touch told him there was a lot more going on.

“It does, it does,” he murmured. Time to lighten the mood. “But you know … from a dude’s perspective—this shit is priceless.”

The arched eyebrow and pursed lips almost got her pinned to the sofa. “Do tell.”

Ha! He predicted an arm slap or shoulder shove and some stifled laughter.

“Babe,” he answered in a practiced Gideon Shaw sexy drawl. “Guys don’t get all dewy-eyed over the details. By cutting out the dating dance and going straight to an engagement, I can focus on your seduction and fuck that other shit.”

Her shriek of outraged laughter made him smile, and he hit the daily double on his prediction earning two arm slaps, a shoulder shove, and a surprise tickle attack.

They laughed and rolled around on the sofa—Paige gave as good as she got until he took the advantage when she lost her balance and managed to roll her under him. With both of her wrists extended above her head in his grip and a thigh wedged high between her legs, she was helpless to his tickling as he reduced her to shuddering wails of pleading to stop.

In her struggle to buck him off, the dress had slid up to reveal not much in the way of undies. The playful moment vanished. He looked at her. She stilled and went wide-eyed with recognition of the provocative position they were in.

Time got wonky as the kidding turned to passion. How long did they stare at one another? Hard to tell when the only thing his mind could process was Paige pinned beneath him. Her heat was burning the thigh pressed to her mound.

“This is not fake. We are not cheating. None of this sucks.”

He used his free hand to massage her breast through the slinky fabric. She wasn’t wearing a bra. When his thumb rubbed a hardened nipple, he groaned. And that sound she made? Fuck, it cut right through him and went straight to his groin.

“Shit.” He kissed her because he had to. Her long, lithe body fit his perfectly, allowing him to drown in the allure of her unique femininity. In a nutshell, she turned his dick to stone.

Paige was the one to slow things down and thank god for that because he’d lost it way too fast.

“E-Edward,” she groaned. “Oh, oh. Stop. Please.”

Releasing her wrists, he dropped his forehead to hers and eased off. Catching his breath was no easy task.

She put her hands into his hair and held on. “I have something to tell you.”

It was weird how with just a few words, an explosion of fear, something he’d only ever felt when he was in Iraq, could completely wipe everything else out.

Was she going to blow his world up? That was what a rejection would feel like. His true feelings for Paige were a fuck-ton more powerful than he’d previously thought. He raised his head and searched her eyes.

“I, uh … well, what I mean to say is …”

Oh, pooh. Why was she stalling? Things were moving so fast that unless she interjected some very basic truth into the proceedings, she was afraid things might quickly careen out of control.

She’d never been a bullshitter and felt no need to play word games. ‘Straightforward or fuck off’ had been her tongue-in-cheek motto ever since she could remember. This was not the time to disregard her inner voice. The one that demanded she put it all out there. She’d see how he reacted and then maybe know what to do.

“I think …” She paused and frowned. “No, that’s not right. Um, actually, I’m sure that I’m kind of in love with you. Have been for a while, too.”

She figured he’d be shocked. Or skeptical. She briefly wondered if her admission would be like throwing ice water on their ardor. Mostly, she didn’t know what to expect. This was a relationship on the supersonic fast track. Her fingers on his scalp tensed.

Edward’s gaze softened, and he slowly smiled. The smile reached his eyes, and he looked at her as if she was a long-lost masterpiece, newly discovered. What would he say? She held her breath waiting for his reaction.

Surprising her, he sat up, scooping her with him so easily she was grateful for the assist. Grabbing the hem of her dress, she grappled with pulling it over her exposed thighs, crossing her legs in a ladylike way as much as possible.

He didn’t hide that he was quite thoroughly checking her out with this thrilling half-grin that did nothing to ease the ache of want she could no longer deny.

They were side by side on the sofa, turned toward each other, his knees touching hers. It was intimate yet oddly comforting, too.

“Paige Turner,” he murmured with a deep chuckle. “I knew you were going to fuck with my head from the first time we talked.”

What the hell did that mean? “Well, you started it,” she stammered.

Edward lowered his tone and answered as if he was doing a stern voice-over. “Yes, and you finished it.”

She watched mesmerized when his hand drew lazy circles on her crossed knee. Oops, had she just whimpered?

“Those 'kind of in love with you' feelings are returned.”

Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god.

He let his words sink in while doing some sexy mojo, panty-melting thing to her leg. This time, the whimper was real. So was his shit-eating grin.

Filled with a sort of electric jolt of pure, unequaled happiness, Paige arched an eyebrow at him and quipped, “How the hell did you end up with the upper hand in this? From where I’m sitting, buddy, you should be kissing my ass for putting up with your crap. Not distracting me with your sexiest man moves.”

He laughed loudly. Then, in one smooth move, he took one of her forearms and gave a short but meaningful tug that propelled her half across his legs. Her legs flailed about in a most unladylike way, and she ended up laying across his lap.

“If ass kissing is on the menu, I propose this position,” he snorted with amusement as his big hands framed her bottom.

“Edward!” she shrieked, frantically trying to back off his lap. “Don’t you dare.”

Wow. They’d always been physically playful with one another. Paige was never one to shy away from a challenge, especially one thrown down by a boy.

But this? This was new. And awfully exciting. The idea of some naked bed wrestling sounded moooost appealing.

One problem. He wasn’t just anybody. Getting intimate with Edward would change everything. For the only time in her life, she understood the fine line of emotion separating sex from making love.

“I won’t sleep with you,” she blurted clumsily before thinking it through. Damn. Really? She sounded like an outraged nun.

“S’cool with me.”

He. Was. Laughing.

At her.

“Babe. Relax. If all this was about was getting laid, you’d be butt-fucking naked, on your back, with those damn sexy legs wrapped around my neck.”

Heat shot into her neck and onto her face at his evocative words. As far as descriptions went, that was a good one. When she finally found the nerve to look him in the eye, he was openly smirking. “The part where I’d be hammer-fucking you into next month was implied, right?”

Instinct. That was what it was. Reflex. Her hand shot out, closed fisted, and walloped him on the bicep. Hard.

“Fuck you, Shaw.”

She bit her lip to stop from smiling, but the effort was useless. His booming laughter was infectious. Good time for a pivot.

“Don’t you have a beard contract or something like that for me, ‘cause there’s only so much of this nonsense I’m gonna put up with.”

Hot fucking damn but she was good. He suddenly understood why she was so effective in a negotiation. The lightning bolt admission of her feelings was a smart play. He respected that Paige wasn’t going to let this turn into a game and good for her. Showed him she was the woman he’d always assumed her to be.

But that admission also put him in the position of having to re-evaluate how this evening was going to go. They were in this for real. Sure, putting on a show for the media was business. But pinching her nipples and giving her a throat exam with his tongue … well, that had been personal.

Because timing was everything, Edward started to rethink what he was doing. His hand slipped into his pocket as he rose to stand before her. The soft, velvet pouch was easy to find with his fingers. Feeling the little square, he located the impression that the ring inside left.

His gran’s ring. Marsh and he had several pieces of her jewelry, but Edward ended up with the unique 1920’s Art Deco style diamond ring. It was distinctive and beautiful, just like Paige. But now wasn’t the time.

The military had taught him many things including how to think on his feet when conditions changed and plans were shot to hell. The gods must have been paying attention because with a flash of rock-solid certainty, he knew what to say next … something guaranteed to bring a smile to her face.

Putting a little bit of distance between them, he went to stand by the arched door. Standing at her knees had been too much for him. Looking down and seeing her at eye level with his crotch was a no. This seemed much safer.

“There’ll be no contracts between us, babe,” he snickered with a mocking roll of his eyes. “But I do have a surprise,” he teased. “One I hope you like.”

Her head snapped up, and he chuckled when he saw the interest twinkling in her eyes. A surprise? Paige was a sucker for surprises.

“Oh god, what surprise?” She shot to her feet. “I’m kind of on max overload from this Chinese water torture surprise-a-thon.”

He snorted. “Good one.” Shrugging off the comment, he drawled, “This is a Banning surprise. Gideon has nothing to do with it.”