WHAT’S THE HARM that could come of it?
Lucy forced herself to look at Gideon. His expression was as open as she’d ever seen it, inviting her to take this first step with him. First step into what, though? It had been an off-the-cuff thing to tell him that she wanted today, but through her shower and then his, the importance of that statement—this plan—had grown to epic proportions.
It felt like a date.
Except she wasn’t supposed to be dating Gideon. She was supposed to be dating the men Gideon set her up with.
He didn’t look particularly concerned that they had left the boundary of their agreed-upon relationship in the rearview. He offered his arm, the old-world gesture so very Gideon.
She slipped her hand onto his arm and fell into step with him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe it was. She didn’t know anymore. These days, it felt like up was down and down was up, and Lucy was bouncing somewhere in the middle.
“How was your trip? Other than having to fend off a city full of free spirits.” She injected false sympathy into her tone. “You poor thing.”
Gideon shook his head. “You mock me while you were here, safe in New York. The people on that coast aren’t anything like our people. They chat.” He gave a mock shudder. “You wouldn’t last two days.”
“On the contrary, I’m not nearly as cranky and antisocial as you are. I’d be fine.”
“There is that.” He pulled her to a stop at the curb as cars whizzed past. “It was a productive trip. One of my prospective fits looks like she’ll work out, and I managed to source a secondary backup in Portland. Those two cities are filled to the brim with tech geniuses, so if I can lure either woman over here, they’ll have jobs waiting.”
A barb of something like jealousy embedded itself in Lucy’s throat. He’d spent a full week in endless meetings between Seattle and Portland, and a few of the people he’d met with had been women. It shouldn’t matter. Lucy had no claim on Gideon. Not really. They might be exclusive for the time being, but there was a looming expiration date. He could have plans to hook up with one of those women—or both—and Lucy didn’t have the right to be upset about it.
That didn’t change the fact that her chest ached at the very thought.
“Maisey Graham has been married to her high school sweetheart since the month after graduation, and he owns his own business, so relocation isn’t out of the question.” Gideon spoke low enough that she had to lean in to hear his words, very carefully not looking at him. “Jericha Hurley will be eighteen in two months, though she’s damn near a certified genius and she’s got her pick of companies vying for her attention.”
He knew.
The ache in her chest got worse. She managed to breathe past it—barely. “It’s none of my business.”
“Honesty, Lucy.”
She didn’t want to be honest. She wanted to shove her head in the sand. They crossed the road and kept going down the block. She tried to pinpoint exactly what the problem was. Easy enough—I’m jealous of the thought of Gideon spending time with other women. Not just spending time, though. Having long meetings, likely alone, on the other side of the country. “It’s not that I think you’d do that after you told me we were exclusive.”
“The fear is there all the same.” He set his free hand over hers and squeezed. “That’s not something you just get over.”
Maybe she would have. If she’d put half the effort into dating that she’d put into her career, she’d have worked through what was apparently a hair trigger. Or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. There was no way to tell, and it was a moot point. “We have to fix this.”
“What?”
“This is another issue. I can’t very well marry someone if the thought of them being alone in a room with a woman is going to send me into a jealous spiral. They’re all businessmen, and so that sort of thing will pop up. There’s no avoiding it.” She latched on to the idea, turning it over in her mind. “We can start at the lingerie shop.”
Gideon pulled them out of the path of foot traffic and guided her to the brick wall of a nearby storefront. He let go and took her by the shoulders. “Lucy, stop.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. I’m not being crazy.”
“Everything about this situation is crazy. No, don’t get your back up. It is and you know it, and I’m here willingly, taking part in it.” He looked like he wanted to shake some sense into her. “You’re asking me to... What? Flirt with someone in front of you? More?”
More?
Her entire body clenched as if trying to reject the very idea of Gideon doing more with someone else. I am out of control. “If that’s what it takes.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not. You pick one of these assholes and he flirts with another woman in front of you—or at all—and you get out, Lucy. You hear me? That is not normal, and no man who respects his partner would put them in that situation where they have to wonder if something more is going on. I would never so much as look at another woman if I was with you—in your presence or not.”
“But—”
“But nothing. There are a lot of gray areas in relationships. This isn’t one of them. Short of there being extenuating circumstances that are agreed upon by both parties, there is a clear line and no one should be crossing it.”
She stared. This was supposed to be all in theory—a test run of sorts—but Gideon spoke like it was a personal attack on him. Because it is. She didn’t know what to do, so she slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a hug. “I’m sorry.”
He cursed, but he wrapped his arms around her. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I’m blurring the lines.” She wasn’t even sure where the lines were at this point. Having sex was one thing, though they hadn’t even done that right because she was too busy enjoying herself to pay attention to whatever he tried to teach her. On what was supposed to be her second date, she was more excited about pushing Gideon’s buttons than she was about meeting her actual date.
And now she was getting jealous.
He pulled her tighter against him. “We’ll talk about it tonight.” He stepped back and reclaimed her hand. “Come on.”
Lucy didn’t know whether to look forward to the conversation or to dread it. When she’d initially brought it up, she’d deluded herself with the falsity that she had everything under control. Twenty minutes into this day and she’d proved herself wrong half a dozen times. Gideon was probably going to sit her down and explain how out of line she’d been lately.
Let it go. You can obsess about every word and touch and meaning once he’s left tonight.
Strangely enough, that made her feel better. Or maybe it was his fingers laced through hers as they walked down the street. Two blocks later, he pulled her to a stop in front of a boutique lingerie shop. “Yes?”
She took in the window display, a perfect blend of tasteful and risqué. The mannequins reclined on a lounging sofa, both wearing jewel-toned bustiers, ruffled boy-short panties, with garters and thigh-highs. One had on a lace shrug that looked like something out of an old black-and-white movie. “Yes.”
She couldn’t wait to get into that dressing room with Gideon.
* * *
One minute Gideon was leading Lucy into the lingerie boutique, the next, a whirlwind of a saleswoman had stationed him in one of the private change areas and led Lucy away. He blinked at the opening leading into the rest of the store but didn’t move from his assigned spot. That was smoothly done.
Content to leave Lucy at the mercy of the woman, he surveyed the changing area. It was a clever design, each of the three doorways leading to a small sitting area and an individual change room. The whole setup created the feeling of an intimate environment for shopping for the most intimate of clothing. He approved.
Gideon hadn’t decided whether now was the time to play on Lucy’s fantasy of change room sex. He’d intended it initially, but their conversation on the walk over had put things up in the air. He’d already pressed her hard just by staying last night. Her showing signs of jealousy was a sign that she felt more than just sexual attraction, but it obviously set her off balance and made her uncomfortable.
He sat back and scrubbed a hand over his face. The truth was, he didn’t know how to play this. He’d made his career on being able to read people and find good fits, but he was fumbling around in the dark when it came to Lucy. He felt like he was back in high school, trying to express interest without hanging himself out to dry and becoming the laughingstock of the school.
Except the stakes were a whole hell of a lot higher now.
The saleswoman had hustled Lucy into the change room so fast, he hadn’t seen more than a flash of bright colors attached to hangers before the door shut. The saleswoman—a little Goth woman who stood five feet tall, if that—emerged a few seconds later. She had purple streaks in her black hair and a lip ring. She winked at him and raised her voice. “You let me know if you need any different sizes or want to try something else. There’s a button in there that will ding me, but otherwise, I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thank you.” Lucy’s voice was muffled.
The saleswoman stopped next to him. “Special lady you have there.”
“Yes.” She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know. She lingered for a second, something obviously on her mind, but he didn’t have the patience to deal with it when he could hear the slide of cloth against skin in the dressing room. “Thank you.”
“Let me know if you need anything. We have coffee and water.” She waited half a beat and then was gone, striding out the door and into the main boutique.
Gideon drummed his fingers on his knee and waited.
Then waited some more.
Five minutes later his frayed patience gave out. He rose and stalked to the dressing room door. “Lucy.”
“Yes?” She sounded small and unsure.
“Do you need assistance?”
“No.”
He stared at the door, willing her to open it. She didn’t. Gideon sighed. “Is there a problem?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I just feel absolutely ridiculous.”
He considered and discarded several responses to that. None of them was worth the breath it would take to give them voice. “Open the door.”
“It’s fine, Gideon. This was a silly idea. Just give me a minute to change back into my clothes and we can find something else to do today.”
“Open the door,” he repeated.
Her bare feet padded over the tiled floor and he held his breath as they approached the door. And then it was open and a vision from every one of his fantasies stood in front of him. Lucy wore nude-colored thigh-highs, held up by an emerald garter belt. Its decorative lace almost hid the fact that her panties barely hid anything at all. And the bustier was a work of art, offering her breasts with peekaboo lace that showcased her nipples apparently by accident. The whole thing was a goddamn tease and he loved it. “You look ravishing.”
She put her hands on her hips, at her sides, and then finally crossed them over her chest. “Ravishing is a strong word.”
“It fits.” He stepped into the dressing room and shut the door behind him, unable to take his eyes off her. “If you don’t like it, divine, exquisite and breathtaking are also accurate.”
Her eyebrows inched up. “Do you have a thesaurus tucked into your back pocket?”
“Don’t need one.” He stopped in front of her and uncrossed her arms so he could see her. As with all things Lucy, both she and the lingerie were even better up close. Gideon stroked his hands down her sides and ran his thumb over the garter belt. What he found had him going to his knees in front of her. “Your panties are on top.”
“Well, yes.” A blush spread over her pale cheeks and down her chest. “I’d already decided to buy it based on the color, so I wanted the full effect.”
There was only one reason to wear panties over the garter belt; they could be removed while leaving the rest of the lingerie on.
Gideon hooked the side of the thong with his thumbs and looked up her body to her face. “Yes?”
“Yes.” The word was barely more than a stirring of the air between them.
He slid her panties down her legs, taking his time. “I’m buying this for you. Don’t argue. This isn’t a disagreement that you’ll win.”
“This getup is incredibly expensive.” As he crouched, she lifted first one foot and then the other so he could remove the thong completely.
“Worth every penny.” The garter belt framed her pussy to perfection, an offering he couldn’t have resisted if he’d tried—and Gideon wasn’t interested in trying. He guided one of her legs over his shoulder, a position that left her completely at his mercy. “Just a taste.”