Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“So, that kiss…” Gideon trails off, but some of the stress finally leaves his jaw.
“He was just messing with me,” I say. “Teasing. He doesn’t want to be anything more than friends again, and neither do I. He’s a good guy, deep down, but Adrian is…” I hesitate, not wanting to speak too plainly until I know the nature of Gideon and Adrian’s relationship. “He can be a lot. And not always the most thoughtful person. By the time we broke up, it was pretty clear that we didn’t have much in common.”
“I can imagine,” Gideon mutters.
My brow furrows. “How do you know him?”
He pulls in a breath, but our waitress appears again at that exact moment, setting a plate of steaming, lemon-and-sugar-scented pancakes between us. “Here you go. A stack of lemon souffle pancakes. Can I get you two anything else? Would you like another plate? Extra napkins?”
“No, we’re fine,” Gideon says, before glancing my way. “I mean, I’m okay with eating off the same plate if you are.”
“Yes, that’s fine.” I twitch my lips in the server’s direction but abandon my attempt at a smile as soon as she turns away. “So?”
“Let’s eat first,” he says, collecting his fork and knife and laying his napkin on his lap. “I want you to try these. They really are fantastic. The secret to the perfect bite is to get some of the pancake, some of the gooey lemon stuff, some whipped cream, and a hint of powdered sugar, all in the same bite.”
I start to insist that I’m not hungry, but then I catch another whiff of the pancakes and my mouth starts to water. “It does smell really good.”
“Tastes even better.” He finishes compiling the perfect bite and reaches across the table, offering it to me.
I open my mouth, gaze locked with his as he sets it on my tongue. I close my lips around it, thinking about other things I’d like to close my lips around. Then the explosion of lemon and vanilla hits my taste buds and I moan, my lashes fluttering as I swallow.
“Wow.” My tongue slips out to collect the powdered sugar from my bottom lip. I moan again and reach for my coffee, taking a slow sip, relishing the way the slightly bitter liquid somehow makes the sweetness of the pancake even more delicious.
Gideon curses beneath his breath. “Stop.”
I lift innocent eyes to his. “Stop what?”
“I’m already hard beneath the table,” he says in a voice too soft for any of the couples around us to hear.
Instantly, my nipples begin to ache, and my panties are damper than they were before. “Oh no,” I whisper, catching a bit of whipped cream on the tip of my fork. “Was it something I did?” I swipe my tongue across the whipped cream, licking it off the fork tines with delicate attention, heat dumping into my bloodstream as Gideon’s jaw clenches and hunger fills his eyes.
“I want to take you back to my apartment,” he says, “and tease you until you beg me to fuck you.”
Holy Moses.
This man…
He’s as sexy as I remember and he makes me feel more beautiful, more desired than I ever have before. Whatever his problem is with Adrian, I know we can put it behind us. Adrian’s a part of my past. He’s just a friend now. And honestly, he’s a friend I would be fine seeing less of if he isn’t Gideon’s favorite person.
I’m not about to abandon my real ride-or-dies for a man, but Adrian is…problematic, and I have enough problems right now. Trying to live up to my father’s expectations and prove to everyone at Watson Global that I’m not some undeserving nepo baby, has had me on edge since the day I arrived back in New York.
Noelle was right—I need to let off some steam and do something just for fun. Just because it feels good. But I don’t want to do that at some pretentious party.
I’d much rather let off steam with Gideon, back at his apartment.
The apartment I had no idea he had…
“Why didn’t you tell me you have a place in New York?” I ask.
“I knew it would complicate things,” he says without missing a beat. “I have a place in the city, and I stay there when I come into town on business, but I’m only here a few times a year and never for more than a week at a time. My life isn’t in New York anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time. And when I did live here, things were…hard.” He glances down at his hands. “I’m much better suited to a smaller city, where it's easy to get outside and hike or climb year-round. It would be hard to give that up, even for the chance at a relationship that made perfect sense.”