Page 35 of Forbidden Games

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 donethatright 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?”

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