GIDEON MADE IT until Wednesday. Three long-ass days in Seattle while he met with the first of the prospective fits he had for one of his clients. The guy was an advertising genius, though he was a little too free spirit for Gideon’s straight-edged client. It might not be a deal-breaker, but it was something to take into account.
He shrugged out of his suit jacket and stared at his phone. Lucy hadn’t called and she hadn’t texted after the one letting him know that she was safely home. He had left New York with every intention of giving her the space she obviously wanted, but three days out of town had given him clarity.
She was running scared.
Seeing Jeff had screwed her up, and Gideon understood that. She hadn’t wanted to further break herself open for him, and he respected that.
But she was closing him out.
He tossed his jacket on the bed and dialed her before he could think of all the reasons it was a bad idea. She hadn’t brought him into this to work her shit out—she just wanted a husband and sex lessons. Too damn bad. She signed up for me—and that’s what she’s going to get.
“Lucy Baudin,” she answered.
“Hey.”
A long pause. “Hello, Gideon.”
He hated the awkwardness seeping into this conversation before they’d exchanged half a dozen words. If he let it, it would become downright painful. Unacceptable. Gideon had never met a challenge he wasn’t willing to go around, over or through, and a simple conversation wouldn’t be the thing that stopped him in his tracks. “How’s your week going?”
“Long, and it’s only Wednesday. One of my clients is being difficult, and I’m having to work around her just to help her, which makes everything twice as challenging.”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“I always do.”
He dropped into the chair next to the desk. This wasn’t working. Lucy held herself distant—polite—but there was none of the intimacy they’d started building. He hadn’t even realized it was happening until that softness disappeared. One way to put them back on solid ground. “You home?”
“Yes. Hanging out with Garfunkel and wading through some old accounts for my current case—and drinking wine. This kind of investigating always requires wine.”
“Naturally.” He settled back into the chair and kicked off his shoes. “What are you wearing?”
Her surprised laugh was music to his ears. “Phone sex? Really, Gideon? Isn’t that a bit juvenile?”
“We already had this discussion.”
The amusement faded from her voice. “I suppose we did.”
“On second thought, don’t tell me what you’re wearing. Show me. You by your computer?”
“Always.”
“Give me two seconds.” He grabbed his laptop and brought it online. A few button pushes later and he had a video call going through to Lucy.
She answered, looking unsure. “I guess I can hang up now.”
“Yeah.” He set down the phone and shifted to get comfortable. She looked good. She sat on her couch in the middle of several stacks of files, one housing her cat, and wore a fitted tank top and sleep shorts. Her shirt was thin enough that he could see the faintest outline of her nipples through the white fabric, and her sleep shorts gapped around her upper thighs in a way that made his mouth water. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She spoke just as softly. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks.” He pulled his tie loose and tossed it onto the bed. “Have to look the part, though this guy isn’t formal at all. He’s a big fan of flannel, hair gel and skinny jeans.”
She laughed softly. “Poor Gideon. You’d look downright fetching in flannel, but I like you without a beard. I’ll hold out judgment on the skinny jeans, though they present some interesting possibilities.”
His cock went rock-hard at the desire warming her expression, but he kept his tone light. “I’ll be sure to pick up something while I’m here.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.” But he wanted to show her that he valued her opinions. Gideon had never owned a piece of flannel clothing in his life, but if Lucy thought she’d like the look, he’d give it a shot. He noted the hesitance in her body language and refocused. “You always lounge in that sort of thing?” He waved to her clothing.
“This? Yes, I guess so.” She shrugged. “It’s comfortable.”
“It’s sexy as hell.” He set his computer on the desk and leaned forward. “Let those thin little straps slide off your shoulders. I want to see you.”
“Right now?” She looked around as if expecting him to jump out of a closet and tell her it was a joke. Lucy tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
She might very well not be, but if she didn’t want to talk to him, then he’d keep them in the roles she’d set out for them. “Close your eyes.” He waited for her to obey. “How do you feel when you take everything you think you should be feeling out of the equation?”
“Warm. Turned on.” She hesitated. “A little intimidated. It’s different when you’re here with me, touching me. There’s no room for being self-conscious.”
“I’ve been thinking about you for five long-ass days and thinking about all the things I want to do to you when we’re alone again.”
“Things...” She licked her lips, one of her tells. Oh, yeah, she liked this when she stopped remembering the reasons she shouldn’t.
He kept going, pitching his voice low and intimate. “That lingerie shopping date we have? I’ve been thinking about sitting there and watching you come out of that room wearing one of those getups. Maybe you’ll tease me, make me wait for it.”
“Like this.” She used a single finger to inch first one strap off her shoulder and then the other. The upper curve of her breasts caught the fitted fabric and he had to bite back a curse.
“Exactly like that. You know how bad I want it—want you—but I think you’ve got a little sadist in you because you like pushing my buttons. Making me crazy.”
“I do.” Her lips quirked up in a smile. “You’re so controlled all the time. I like seeing what happens when the leash snaps.”
He liked that she liked it. Gideon spent most of his days aware of how he presented himself and how everything from his tone to his appearance to his walk could be interpreted by clients and prospectives alike. He never let himself relax, because even in a social setting, there was no telling who was around.
There wasn’t anyone around now—no one but him and Lucy.
“If I was there, I’d tug that top of yours a little lower. Yeah, like that.” He watched, mouth dry, as she inched it down, stopping just below her nipples and then baring her breasts completely. “Exactly like that.”
“This feels so dirty.” She opened her eyes and pressed her lips together. “Would you...?”
“Tell me what you want and it’s yours.” He craved her words as much as he craved her touch. One was out of the question for the next few days—the other she gave him after the briefest hesitation.
“Unbutton your shirt.” She leaned forward, the move making her breasts bounce a little. “I love your shoulders. Your suits have this way of masking how muscled they are, and seeing you shirtless makes me feel like it’s my birthday.”
He straightened so he could slip his shirt off and drop it on the floor. They stared at each other for a few seconds, Gideon drinking in the sight of her while she appeared to give him the same treatment. He spoke the second he saw doubt start creeping into her blue eyes. “Your breasts look like they ache. Palm them for me.”
She instantly obeyed and then took it a step further and lightly pinched her nipples. This time he couldn’t hold back his low curse. “Yeah, just like that.”
“Are you...? Will you...?”
He instantly understood what she meant. “You want my cock?”
“Yes. Show me.” She writhed a little, her hands moving with more purpose on her breasts.
He tilted his computer screen so the camera took in his lower half. He moved slowly, teasing her, and undid his slacks to withdraw his cock. He gave himself a long stroke and was rewarded with Lucy’s moan. “You like that.”
“I like that a lot.”
“Take off your shorts. I want to see you stroking that pretty pussy until you come for me.”
She barely hesitated this time before she released her breasts and lifted her hips to slide the shorts off.
He stroked himself again idly. “Spread your legs—yes, like that. Show me how you like it the same way you did that first time.”
She slipped her hand between her thighs, parting her folds to draw a single finger over her clit. It was the single most devastating thing he’d ever seen.
Gideon watched avidly, taking in every detail and imprinting it into his memory. It was shitty not being able to be there and touch her, but it allowed him a perfect view and the distance to appreciate it in a new way.
Lucy was fucking magnificent.
After the first halting touches, she gave herself over to her pleasure—to both their pleasure—and stroked faster. Her head fell back against the couch and her body bowed as she pushed two fingers into her pussy. “I wish you were here.”
“Saturday. I’ll make it worth the wait.”
“I don’t know if anything is worth the wait.” Her words were breathy and her breasts quivered with each exhalation. She managed to open her eyes. “I’m close, Gideon. Are you close?”
He’d been teetering on the edge the second she’d taken off her shorts, holding on through sheer force of will. “I’m close.” He spoke through gritted teeth. Pressure built in his spine and his balls drew up, his cock swelling at the sight of her stroking herself to orgasm.
Lucy let her head hit the back of the couch again, but she kept her eyes open and on him as she fucked herself with her fingers. Her breath turned even choppier.
“Next time...” He had to stop and restart the sentence when she gasped. “Next time, you’ll bring out that toy of yours. I want to see it sliding into you, vibrating and making you crazy.”
“You make me crazy.” Her back arched and every line of her body stood out as she came with his name on her lips.
Gideon couldn’t hold on after that. He stroked faster, harder. She lifted her head in time to see him come in several spurts onto his stomach. He stared down at it marking his body and wondered when the hell his life had taken a hard right turn. A month ago he would have laughed someone out of the room for suggesting he’d be participating in a video call with mutual masturbation, let alone with Lucy Baudin.
And yet...here they were.
He reached down to grab his shirt and wipe himself off, and checked on her. Lucy had slid down to lie on the couch, and she watched him with a sleepy smile. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
Her smile widened. “What look is that?”
“One that says you’re thinking filthy thoughts.” He liked that look. A lot.
She swept her hair off one shoulder and it pooled around her head on the cushion. “That’s because I am thinking filthy thoughts.” She bit her lip and then rushed on. “What time do you fly in Friday?”
“Our appointment is...” He stopped short. A slow tendril of pleasure that had nothing to do with sex rolled through him. “You want to see me Friday night.”
“If that’s okay. I know you’ll be tired.”
“It would take a whole hell of a lot more than a few hours’ plane ride to make me too tired to see you. Though I don’t fly in until after eleven.”
She smiled. “I’ll leave the key with the doorman.”
Fuck yes. He damn well knew he was reading more into that choice than he should be, but it was hard not to. That simple sentence, more than anything else they’d done to this point, signaled her trust in him. “I’ll stop by my place to drop my shit and then I’ll be there.”
“Perfect.” She stretched. “Thank you for this, Gideon. All of it.”
Strangely enough, he felt like he should be thanking her. He’d spent a long time just going through the motions and, for better or worse, Lucy had woken him up. He wanted to keep talking to her, but a quick glance at his phone showed that it was well past ten on the East Coast. “Don’t let those files keep you up too late.”
“I think I’m done for the night.” She pulled on her shorts and resumed her comfortable-looking spot. “I had this really gorgeous guy call and talk me to orgasm just now, and I’m feeling all loose and relaxed, so I’m going to jump in the shower and head to bed to read for a bit. One of my favorite authors has a book out and I’ve been dying to start it.”
I wish I was there. He didn’t say it again. It was one thing to put those words out there when talking about sex—it was entirely another to do it now that the desire had cooled.
It was the truth, though.
He wanted to be there to pull her into a relaxing shower, to exchange small talk about nothing important while they got ready for bed, to settle in while she read her book and he finished answering the last few emails of the day. Gideon wanted it so bad, he could barely breathe past the need.
He couldn’t say any of that now without scaring the shit out of Lucy.
But he managed a smile. “You’ll have to tell me about it when I see you.”
Lucy gave him a strange look. “You want to hear about my book?”
“Sure.” If only because it was something she was interested in and obviously passionate about—and had been for as long as he’d known her, though she used to hide them under a pillow when he and Jeff would walk into the room. Jeff had always made snide comments that he covered up as joking, and Gideon should have paid more attention to Lucy’s reaction to those comments. He’d known his friend was a jackass, but he hadn’t realized the depth of the damage Jeff was dealing her.
“That’s nice of you to say, but we really don’t have to talk about my romance novel addiction.”
Damn it, she was doing it again. He leaned forward until his face filled the video screen. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know. Nothing but honesty between us, remember? It interests you, so I want to know more. It’s as simple as that.”
She opened her mouth, seemed to reconsider arguing with him and shut it. “That makes sense.”
“Because it’s the truth.” He stomped down on his anger. Hard. It wasn’t directed at Lucy, and it wasn’t fair to take his fury at himself and Jeff out on her. Gideon kept his tone low and even. “Enjoy the rest of your night, Lucy.”
“You, too.” She looked away and then back at the camera. “If you change your mind about Friday, I’ll understand.”
God, she was fucking killing him. “I’ll see you Friday night.”