Book 1 - Page 81 (2/2)

My brows lifted at his introduction. Was he protecting his ident.i.ty? Or his personal s.p.a.ce? Either way, I liked his response.

Cary came back into the room with a bottle of wine and two gla.s.ses. ”Come on,” he said, gestured down the hallway to his bedroom.

Tatiana gave a little wave and preceded Cary out. I mouthed behind her back to Cary, What are you doing?

He winked and whispered, ”Picking another cookie.”

Gideon and I called it a night shortly after and headed to my room. As we got ready for bed, I asked him something I'd wondered about earlier. ”Did you have a f**k pad in college, too?”

His T-s.h.i.+rt cleared his head. ”Excuse me?”

”You know, like the hotel room. You're a randy guy. I just wondered if you'd had some kind of setup even then.”

He was shaking his head as I ogled his divinely perfect torso and lean hips. ”I've had as much s.e.x since I met you as I've had in the last two years combined.”

”No way.”

”I work hard and I work out harder, both of which keep me pleasantly exhausted most of the time. Occasionally, I might've gotten an offer I didn't refuse, but otherwise I could take or leave s.e.x until I met you.”

”Bulls.h.i.+t.” I found that impossible to believe.

He shot me a look before he headed toward the bathroom with a black leather toiletry bag. ”Keep doubting me, Eva. See what happens.”

”What?” I followed him, enjoying the sight of his delectable a.s.s. ”You're going to prove that you can take or leave s.e.x by doing me again?”

”It takes two.” He opened his bag and pulled out a new toothbrush that he extricated from its packaging and dropped into my toothbrush holder. ”You've initiated s.e.x between us as much as I have. You need the connection as much as I do.”

”You're right. It's just...”

”Just what?” He pulled open a drawer, frowned at finding it full, and moved on to pull open another.

”Other sink,” I said, smiling at his presumption that he would get drawers at my place, too, and his scowl when he couldn't find them. ”They're all yours.”

Gideon moved over to the second sink and began unpacking his bag into the drawers. ”Just what?” he repeated, taking shampoo and body wash over to my shower.

Leaning my hip into the sink and crossing my arms, I watched him stake his claim all over my bathroom. There was no doubt that's what he was doing, just as there was no doubt that anyone walking into the room would know right away there was a man in my life.

It struck me then that I had a similar claim on his private s.p.a.ce. His household staff had to know their boss was in a committed relations.h.i.+p now. The thought gave me a little thrill.

”I was thinking about you in college earlier,” I went on, ”when we were eating dinner, imagining what it would be like to see you around on campus. I would've been obsessed with you. I would have gone out of my way to see you around just to enjoy the view. I would've tried to get in the same cla.s.ses as you, so I could daydream during lectures about getting into your pants.”

”s.e.x maniac.” He kissed the tip of my nose as he pa.s.sed me and went to brush his teeth. ”We both know what would've happened once I saw you.”

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