We were both panting as our orgasms eased, leaning heavily on each other.

Swallowing hard, I spoke breathlessly. “I guess you like the ring.” His rough laugh filled me with joy.

FIVE minutes later, I lay wilted and sated on the couch, unable to move. Gideon sat at his desk looking pristine and perfect, radiating the health and vitality of a well-fucked male.

He went through the teleconference without a hitch in his stride, speaking mostly English, but opening and closing with conversational Japanese, his voice deep and smooth. His gaze slid over me now and again, his mouth curving in a ghost of a smile laced with undeniable masculine triumph.

I supposed he was entitled to it, considering I had so many postorgasmic endorphins floating through my system I felt almost drunk.

Gideon finished his call and stood, shrugging out of his jacket again. The gleam in his eyes told me why.

Mustering the energy to raise my brows, I asked, “We’re not leaving?”

“Of course we are. But not yet.”

“Maybe you should cut back on those vitamins, ace.”

His lips twitched as he freed the buttons of his vest. “I’ve spent too many days fantasizing about fucking you on that couch. We haven’t covered even half of those fantasies yet.”

I stretched, deliberately enticing him. “Can we still be naughty now that we’re married?”

From the spark that lit his amazing eyes, I could guess his views on that.

By the time we left the Crossfire at nearly nine o’clock, Gideon had answered the question definitively.

21

GIDEON AND I were sitting on the floor of my living room eating pizza in our sweats when Cary came in a little after ten o’clock. Tatiana was with him. I reached across Gideon for a packet of Parmesan cheese and whispered, “Baby mama.”

He winced. “She’s trouble. Poor guy.”

That was my thought exactly as the tall blonde walked in and wrinkled her nose rudely at our pizza. Then she caught sight of Gideon and flashed a come-hither smile.

I took a deep breath and told myself to let it go.

“Hey, Cary,” Gideon greeted my best friend before tossing his arm over my shoulder and burying his face in my neck.

“Hey,” Cary said. “What are you guys watching?”

“End of Watch,” I answered. “It’s really good. You two want to join us?”

“Sure.” Cary caught Tatiana’s hand and led her toward the couch.

She didn’t have the grace to hide her disapproval of the idea.

They sat on the couch and settled into a comfortable tangle that was obviously familiar for them. Gideon pushed the pizza box their way. “Help yourselves, if you’re hungry.”

Cary snagged a slice, while Tatiana complained about him jostling her. I was bummed that she couldn’t be more comfortable hanging out. If she was going to have Cary’s baby, she was going to be in my life, and I hated the thought of that relationship being awkward.

In the end, they didn’t stay in the living room long. She insisted that the handheld camera shots in the movie made her queasy, and Cary took her back to his room. A short while later, I thought I heard her laughing, making me think her biggest problem was the need to keep Cary all to herself. I could understand that insecurity. I was intimately familiar with it myself.

“Relax,” Gideon murmured, urging me to lean into his chest. “We’ll work it out with them. Give it some time.”

I caught his left hand hanging over my shoulder and toyed with his ring.

He pressed his lips to my temple and we finished watching the movie.

ALTHOUGH Gideon slept in his apartment next door, he came over early enough to zip me into a sheath dress and fix me some coffee. I’d just finished putting on some pearl earrings and was stepping into the hallway when Tatiana appeared heading from the direction of the kitchen with two water bottles in her hands.

She was buck naked.

My temper almost boiled over, but I kept my tone calm. The pregnancy certainly didn’t show, but knowing about it was reason enough to skip the shouting match. “Excuse me. You need to have clothes on if you’re going to walk around my apartment.”

“It’s not just your apartment,” she shot back, tossing her tawny mane over her shoulder as she moved to pass me.

I thrust my arm across the hallway, blocking her way. “You don’t want to play games with me, Tatiana.”

“Or what?”

“You’ll lose.”

She stared at me for a long minute. “He’ll pick me.”

“If it came to that, he’d resent you and you’d lose anyway.” I dropped my arm. “Think about that.”

Cary’s door opened behind me. “What the fuck are you doing, Tat?”

Turning my head, I saw my best friend filling his doorway wearing only his boxers. “Giving you a good excuse to buy her a nice robe, Cary.”

His jaw tightened and he waved me off, opening his door wider in a silent order for Tatiana to get her bare ass back in there.

I resumed my trek to the kitchen, my teeth grinding together. My mood worsened when I found Gideon in the kitchen, leaning back into the counter and leisurely drinking his coffee. He wore a black suit and pale gray tie and looked unbearably handsome.

“Enjoy the show?” I asked tightly. I hated that he’d seen another woman naked. And not just any woman, but a model with the lean, willowy body type he’d been known to prefer.

He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Not especially.”

“You like ’em tall and skinny.” I reached for the cup of coffee waiting for me on the counter beside him.

Gideon set his left hand over mine. The rubies on his wedding band sparkled in the bright kitchen lights. “Last I checked, the wife I can’t resist was petite and voluptuous. Spectacularly so.”

I closed my eyes, trying to push past my jealousy. “Do you know why I chose your ring?”

“Red is our color,” he said quietly. “Red dresses in limos. Red fuck-me heels at garden parties. A red rose in your hair when you married me.”

That he understood soothed me. I turned into him, pressing my body to his.

“Umm,” he purred, hugging me close. “You’re a soft, delicious little handful, angel.”

I shook my head, my anger melting into exasperation.

He nuzzled his nose against my cheek. “I love you.”

“Gideon.” Tilting my head back, I offered my mouth and let him kiss my bad mood away.

The feel of his lips on mine never stopped making my toes curl. I was slightly dazed when he pulled back and murmured, “I have my appointment with Dr. Petersen tonight. I’ll call you when I’m finished and we’ll see what we want to do about dinner.”

“Okay.”

He smiled at my blissfully nonchalant reply. “I can set up an appointment for us to see him Thursday.”

“Make it for next Thursday, please,” I said, sobering. “I hate to miss any more therapy, but Mom wants me and Cary to go to a charity gala this Thursday. She bought me a dress and everything. I’m afraid if I don’t go, she’ll take it the wrong way.”

“We’ll go together.”

“Yeah?” Gideon in a tuxedo was an aphrodisiac to me. Of course, Gideon in anything or nothing turned me on, too. But in a tux … Dear God, he was sizzling.

“Yes. It’s as good a time as any to be seen out together again. And to announce our engagement.”

I licked my lips. “Can I take advantage of you in the limo?”

His eyes laughed at me. “By all means, angel mine.”

WHEN I got to work, Megumi wasn’t at her desk so I didn’t get to see how she was faring. It kind of gave me an excuse to call Martin, though, and see if things with him and Lacey had panned out after our wild night at Primal.

I pulled out my smartphone to program a reminder and saw that my mom had left a voice mail the night before. I listened to it on the way to my desk. She wanted to see if I wanted hair and makeup done before the dinner on Thursday, suggesting that she come over with a beauty crew and we could get dolled up together.

When I reached my desk, I texted her back, letting her know I loved the idea, but time would be tight, since I wouldn’t be getting off work until five.

I was settling in for the day when Will stopped by.

“Got plans for lunch?” he asked, looking cute in a plaid shirt only he could pull off so well and a solid navy tie.

“Not another carb feast, please. My butt can’t take it.”

“No.” He grinned. “Natalie’s past the brutal phase of her diet, so it’s getting better. I was thinking a soup and salad bar.”

I smiled. “I’m game for that. Want to see if Megumi wants to come?”

“She’s not here today.”

“Oh? Is she sick?”

“Don’t know. I only heard about it because I was the one who had to call the temp agency for someone to cover for her.”

I sat back with a frown. “I’ll give her a call on my break and see how she’s feeling.”

“Tell her I said hi.” He drummed a beat on the top of my cubicle wall and headed off.

THE rest of the day passed in a blur. I left a message for Megumi on my break, then tried to reach her again after work as Clancy drove me to Brooklyn for my Krav Maga class. “Have Lacey call me back if you’re feeling too sick,” I said in my voice mail message. “I just want to know you’re okay.”

I killed the call, then sat back and appreciated the grandeur of the Brooklyn Bridge. Going through the massive stone arches soaring over the East River always felt like traveling to a different world. Below, the waterway was dotted with commuter ferries and a lone sailboat heading out into the busy New York harbor.

We reached the long off-ramp in less than a minute and I turned my attention back to my phone.

I called Martin.

“Eva,” he answered cheerfully, clearly recognizing my number from his contact list. “I’m glad to hear from you.”