“Your control,” I gasped, speeding up the tempo.

“Because I’m topping from the bottom,” he said darkly. “You pretend to be in charge, but that’s not what you want. I know your secrets, Eva. I’ll know them all. There’s nothing you can hide from me.”

He put the pad of his thumb to his lips and ran his tongue across it in a slow, sensual lick, his eyes never leaving my face. Reaching between us, he rubbed my clit in hard, quick circles and I came with a cry, my sex milking his cock in ecstatic ripples.

He exploded into action, catching me close and rising, bearing me down to the couch on my back as he pushed off the floor with his feet, driving that final thick inch of cock inside me. Then he was fucking me with a violent, primal hunger, powering through the ripples of my climax in the race for his own.

Throwing his head back, he gasped my name and jerked inside me. He spurted hotly, groaning, his hips still thrusting as if he couldn’t stop.

Blinking, I came to, slowly aware of moonlight on the ceiling. A pillow cushioned my head and the warmth of a comforter blanketed my nude body.

I turned my head to look for Gideon, but the space beside me was empty, the covers disturbed but folded up neatly. I sat up and looked at the clock. It was almost three in the morning.

Sitting up, I looked toward the bathroom, then the hallway. Faint light filtered in through the crack of the partially closed door. I climbed out of bed and went to it, unhooking the robe that hung on the back. I slid into the peacock blue silk as I left the room, cinching the belt while I walked to Gideon’s home office.

It was the light from that room that lit the hallway and I squinted as I entered, my eyes unaccustomed to the brightness. I took in the scene with a swift glance: the puppy asleep on the dog bed and the pensive man sitting at his desk. His gaze was on the collage of photos of me that graced his wall, his arms balanced on the armrests of his chair, a tumbler of amber liquid held between his hands.

He looked at me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, padding across the room in my bare feet. “You’re not avoiding the bed, are you?”

“No. I should,” he qualified, “but no. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Want me to wear you out?” I offered a smile, which probably looked silly considering I had one eye closed against the glare.

My husband set his drink down and patted his lap. “Come here.”

I went to him, curling up against him with my arms around his neck. I pressed my lips to his jaw. “Something’s bugging you.”

And it had been bothering him all night, whatever it was.

Nuzzling the tip of his nose against the curve of my ear, he whispered, “Is there anything you haven’t told me?”

I frowned and pulled back, searching his face. “Like what?”

“Like anything.” His chest expanded on a deep breath. “Do you have any secrets left?”

I absorbed that, feeling an odd twisting in my stomach. “Your birthday present. But I’m not telling you what it is.”

A tiny smile softened his mouth.

“And you,” I murmur, charmed by that smile. “All the pieces of you that only I know. You are a secret I will keep until I breathe my last breath.”

His head bowed, his hair briefly shielding his face. “Angel.”

“Has something happened, Gideon?”

It took him a long moment to reply. He looked at me. “Would you tell me if someone you knew, someone close to you, was doing something illegal?”

The twisting in my gut turned into a knot. “What have you heard? Is some gossip blog spreading lies?”

He grew tense. “Answer the question, Eva.”

“No one’s doing anything illegal!”

“That’s not what I asked,” he said patiently but firmly.

I recalled the question. “Yes, I’d tell you. Of course. I tell you everything.”

He relaxed. His hand reached up and touched my face. “You can trust me with anything, angel. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

“I do.” I caught his wrist. “I don’t understand why you’re talking like this.”

“I don’t want any secrets between us.”

I shot him a look. “You’re the one who’s been guiltiest about that. You never used to tell me anything.”

“I’m working on that.”

“I know you are. That’s why things are really good between us right now.”

The soft smile came back. “They are, aren’t they?”

“Totally.” I kissed his smiling mouth. “No more running, no more hiding.”

Adjusting his hold on me, Gideon stood, lifting me with him.

“What are we doing?” I queried, burrowing into his warm body.

He headed back to the bedroom. “You’re going to wear me out.”

“Yay.”

The next morning passed like the morning before, with Gideon up at the usual time while I lazed naked in the bed like a sloth.

As he knotted his tie in the closet, he glanced away from the mirror to look at me. “What are your plans for the day?”