Life was sweet.
“You’re thinking awfully loudly this morning.” Gideon’s voice was a sleepy rumble behind her. Possibly, she decided, she might let Gideon demonstrate a little more of his stamina before she had to head off to work. Carly rolled over as Gideon nuzzled at her hair.
“Strangely, I think I’m starting to like the fact that you’re sniffing at me all the time. And I’m not really thinking. Just enjoying.”
“Ah, well. You can do that as loudly as you want.” His mouth curved up into a sexy smile, and though she hadn’t thought it possible, Carly found it even more ridiculously appealing than before. Probably because she’d had a very thorough demonstration of how multitalented that mouth happened to be last night. She blushed at the memories. She couldn’t help it.
Gideon brushed her hair back over her shoulder, letting his fingers trace a path over her collarbone. His amber eyes were warm with humor when he cocked his head at her. “Come now, you aren’t going to be embarrassed, are you? Not after the wild thing you were last night.”
She snorted. “I’m not a wild anything.”
“Hmm. Must have been some other woman that gave me these scratches, then.” He rolled just enough onto his stomach for Carly to see the bright red lines that sliced across his broad shoulders, as well as down the length of his back. Carly’s eyes widened. God, had she done that? Gideon was still smiling, but she was completely mortified.
“Oh, God, Gideon, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” The words tumbled from her lips in an embarrassed rush, not stopping even when Gideon laughed.
“If I hadn’t enjoyed it, you’d know. Believe me, you can hurt me like that any time you like.”
Gideon leaned forward to rub his nose against hers, and Carly sighed with helpless amusement. She was glad he was pleased, even if she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about her new status as “sexual animal.” Gideon had certainly brought out an interesting side of her, though, no matter how she decided to feel about it. She’d think about it later. Maybe after exploring that new side in a little more depth.
“So, anytime, like, mmm, now?”
The lack of anything covering the two of them left Carly in no doubt as to Gideon’s feelings on that. He laughed, a husky roll that had her ready to pounce immediately.
“I think I’ve created a monster.”
“Damn right, Dr. Wolfenstein. And your new creation is hungry.” She grinned wickedly as she reached down and wrapped her hand around the hot length of him, eliciting a laughing groan from Gideon.
“Never let it be said that I’ve shirked my duty.” He rolled to pin her beneath him, nibbling at her neck with small, tickling bites that had Carly giggling. He was just starting to work his way downwards when the phone erupted into loud, jarring rings. This time Carly groaned, and it wasn’t with pleasure.
“It’s not even seven.” She heaved a gusty, irritated sigh and flopped her head back onto the pillows. “I don’t think anyone is obligated to answer the phone before at least eight.”
“It could be my brother. Did you happen to check the messages last night?”
Carly lifted her head back up, blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she was rolling them. “Somehow, I seem to remember being a little busy for that.”
The ringing abruptly stopped.
“It didn’t ring for long. Couldn’t have been very …”
Gideon just shook his head. “Wait.” As if on cue, the phone erupted anew. He sighed. “It’s Gabriel. He won’t be happy I haven’t called.” Gideon slid off the bed and padded around to pick up the phone, leaving Carly to admire him in all his glory.
She wrinkled her nose. Looked like admiring was all she was going to get to do for the moment. Well, she shouldn’t be the only one suffering.
“Hi, Gabe,” Gideon said as soon as he picked up the phone, and then winced at whatever the reply was. Carly couldn’t quite make it out, but it was loud. She got up and stretched languorously, arms above her head, enjoying the heat that put into Gideon’s eyes.
“I’ll just go put the coffee on,” she said with a sweet smile.
Gideon nodded, placed a hand over the mouthpiece. “I think I saw your pajamas crumpled up in the corner over there.”Carly shook her head, fluffing her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t say anything about putting on pajamas. Just coffee.” She turned to sashay out the door and down the hallway, feeling wonderfully decadent prancing around naked in her own house, especially under the appreciative eye of the equally naked hunk in her bedroom. Just outside the door, she turned her head back to give Gideon a saucy grin, laughing when she saw that his gaze was now fixed on what he’d rather charmingly termed her “delicious wee round bottom.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re … hungry.” The pained expression on his face was priceless as she turned and walked away, sure it wouldn’t be too long before he’d be out to join her for some sort of naked breakfast. Among other things.
She’d never been comfortable enough with men to tease them like this, Carly marveled as she moved down the hallway, feeling his eyes on her every step of the way. But with Gideon, she felt powerful. When she would normally shrink back, he pushed her forward. When she started to get shy with him, he emboldened her. He’d all but worshiped her body, making her feel cherished, beautiful, and refreshingly wanton.
Powerful. Carly turned the word over in her head as she got out a filter, measured the coffee. She grinned over the forgotten cartons of Chinese food he’d obviously ordered in lieu of actually cooking anything last night.
It wasn’t a word she would have ever thought to use to describe herself, but with Gideon, somehow it applied. That was just how he made her feel. Powerful, and very, very female. So she smiled to herself, sang a little Aerosmith as she started the coffee maker … what better way to wake up than with a little “Love in an Elevator?” … and danced naked in her little kitchen to celebrate the beginning of another day.
Sometimes, she decided, it was awesome just being a girl.
t t t
“Damn it, Gideon, I’m not going to waste all of my best curses on you if you’re not even going to pay attention.”
Gabriel’s voice barely registered in Gideon’s ear as he watched Carly saunter away from him down the hallway and around the corner, adding a bit of wiggle to her walk, he was certain, just to drive him completely and utterly out of his mind. Sadly, at this point in his little adventure, it wasn’t likely to be a long trip. It might help, he decided, if he could just rid himself of the constant and overwhelming desire to nibble on every last inch of smooth, creamy curve that had just pranced away from him. Would giving in do it, Gideon wondered? It couldn’t hurt to try. Several times, if need be.
“Hmm?”
Gabriel’s sigh was gusty. “Exactly. I’ve been trying to get ahold of your sorry hide for twenty-four bloody hours now, to tell you that Malachi and his lovely mum want a piece of us so badly that you ought to get yourself and your little friend out of there and back here as soon as possible, and …” He paused in his diatribe, and as understanding dawned, amusement flooded his voice. “Oh. Oh.”
With Carly now out of sight, Gideon’s attention returned fully to the conversation, and as his luck would have it, he didn’t care a bit for what he heard in his brother’s voice.
“Don’t,” he growled. As was his wont, however, Gabriel blithely ignored the warning.
“I do believe I’ve just discovered what’s been keeping you away from the phone.”
“Gabriel.”
“I also,” Gabriel continued, his deep voice brimming with the delight Gideon was sure he was feeling at having caught his eternally responsible older brother in such a compromising situation, “am now quite sure I know why you’re so happy to hear from me.”
“Gabriel.” What could he say? At this point, any sort of denial was useless, both because he didn’t much care to lie about it, and even more because Gabriel was so thrilled with his conclusion that there was no way in hell he was going to let it go. Best to just be done with it and move on. Of course, that was easier said than done.
“So when do I get to meet her?”
“You don’t.”
“Like hell. Unless your brain was completely disengaged during the earlier bit of our conversation, you’ll recall I said you need to bring yourself and your new girlfriend back here, and as quickly as possible. I had the distinct displeasure of lunching with Auntie Mo and her darling boy yesterday.”
Gideon frowned, waiting for it. It would have been inaudible to anyone else, but the undercurrent of worry beneath Gabriel’s good humor rang out clear as a bell to him. “And?”
“Oh, no dramatic monologue of admission or anything.” He chuckled, then modulated his voice into an uncanny impression of their aunt’s sharp snarl. “You foul, disgusting creatures … you shall never stop me from returning you to the excrement from which you sprang!”
“We may well hear that before long, you know.” Gideon’s mouth twisted into an unwilling grin. Leave it to Gabriel to bring levity to any and all situations, particularly those that least called for it.
Gabriel’s voice sobered. “I wouldn’t doubt it. The woman, as you know, hates me at the best of times, but yesterday … she removed herself from the restaurant, I believe, to restrain herself from simply tearing my throat out right then and there. Not that she would have beaten me to the draw, you know, but still. She’s losing what small handle she keeps on that violent temper of hers.”
Gideon moved to the rumpled bed, sat down. “And Malachi?”
“He’s in a state. Looks like he hasn’t slept in a week, and something about his eyes … he was never stable, but I’d say he’s going as mad as his mum. Twitchy, angry, lots of blathering on about how we have no class …”