Page 33 of A Love So Wrong
"Gid-"
And for the second time that night, her words faded on her tongue as Gideon pulled his shirt from over his head. While she had felt that their new way of life had caused her to gain weight, she knew for certain not a damn thing had changed for Gideon. His morning calisthenics, combined with his frequent use of his gym membership, had kept his body hard and lean. Muscles rippled with each movement as he threw the shirt to the floor and stepped forward.
"Get in bed," he commanded.
With her eyes still trained on the hard rise of his pectoral muscles, she nodded like a fool. Shakily, she turned and pulled back the covers. Slipping into the cool sheets, Jade scooted over until she was pressed against the far wall. Unlike the handful of times before when she had slept in this bed, this time, her pulse drummed in her ears, and her stomach knotted with nervous fire. Taking hold of the covers, Gideon replicated her movements, and Jade could feel the soft material of his pajama pants slide against her bare leg as he laid down beside her.
On either end of his bed, there was a small square window with rounded edges. Tilting her head upwards against his pillow, Jade could see the stars glimmering weakly through the window's black tint. An arm, heavy and strong, reached over her and flipped the switch on the wall, turning off all the lights within the vehicle. Darkness draped over them like a blanket. Gideon did not pull back his arm, instead, he let it rest across her waist before tightening around her and pulling her close to him. Jade involuntarily let out a small gasp. His body was so firm and hot beside her, she could feel every inch, every groove of his muscles pressing into her back.
"Jade?" he spoke, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear and rustling her hair.
She opened her lips and let out a shaky, "Yes."
His arm tightened around, pulling her somehow closer, ignoring the second gasp that escaped her lips as he nestled her bottom into him. Jade's heart hammered in her chest as she felt the unmistakable ridge of his manhood.
"Don't ever do anything like that ever again," he said harshly.
Jade wanted to argue, she wanted to tell him she would, in fact, do that again if his life was at stake—but she didn't. It was the way his heart hammered into her back or the way he held her so tight against him she could scarcely breathe. She realized fully then and there that he had been truly afraid for her.
Not willing to lie, Jade said nothing as she placed her hand on top of his where it covered her stomach.
"I didn't mean to scare you," she whispered, closing her eyes, focusing on the puffs of his breath against her ear.
His chest sent little vibrations through her back as he spoke. "Scare me? Jesus Jade, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you appear behind that asshole. I know I have a streak of white in my hair because of that. I can’t get the image of your calm face out of my mind as you racked that damn gun. It was so damn sexy and horrifying all at the same time," he grunted.
Jade's cheeks burned at that statement.
"What kills me is that you think I wasn't two seconds from grabbing that guy's wrist and beating the shit out of him," he grumbled with exasperation. "In the future, please let me handle it. I’d honestly rather have gotten stabbed than have to see you put yourself in danger."
She would not agree to that, she thought with a frown. Besides, she was the one with the gun, if anyone was in danger during that moment, it was him, but Jade kept her mouth shut.
"Now tell me you love me and go to sleep, so I can purge that moment from my mind," he groused in her ear.
Smiling, she hugged his arm tighter to her and replied obediently. "I love you, Gideon."
He gave her a satisfied grunt before falling asleep.
~*~
Jade was miserable. Looking over her shoulder, she glared at the tall figure running full speed on the treadmill. Wearing a sweat-soaked shirt and a pair of silver-blue basketball shorts, Gideon was the current crowning glory in Denver's Total Burn Fitness gym. Jade counted no less than twelve women ogling him as they pretended to work out conveniently near him. Disgusted, she turned back forward on her spin bike and peddled faster. She was sweaty, tired, and in pain. Why did she agree to come work out with him while she was on her period? She could have just sat in the truck in the parking lot and extended her earlier conversation with mom.
Pushing herself straight up on the bike, she let her legs slow down to a stop, she knew why. Because she knew this would happen, and she told herself like the idiot she was that maybe her being there would somehow prevent Gideon's awesome aura from shining so brightly and pulling in these skanks like moths. Jade snorted as she got down from the bike. Yeah, right, she thought, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she had no idea how she deluded herself into thinking that. With her hair in a pitiful sweaty ball at the top of her head and curly tendrils sticking to the side of her face, she felt like a sweaty, bloated monster.
Nope, she was done. She was far too tired and in too much pain to even continue this charade. Walking to the locker room, she staunchly ignored the pull to look Gideon's way. Inside she rounded the corner and went to her locker before carrying her things to an open shower stall. Peeling off her sweaty clothes, Jade stuffed them all into a mini plastic bag she brought before stepping into the hot spray. This was the one good thing about coming in, she thought with a sigh, a shower with no time limit. Unlike the seemingly hundreds of truck-stops she had visited over the past months, here she could stand under the hot water's spray for as long as she wanted. Taking the time to wash her hair, Jade tilted her head back as she rubbed the shampoo into her wet curls, allowing her mind to drift, and as expected, her mind drifted back to that damn kiss.
It had been two days since that night and hundreds of miles since then, but Jade still couldn't push it out of her mind. Everything about it felt electrifying. It wasn't how he meant it, and she knew that, but her body didn't seem to give a toss. It was wrong how she obsessed over it, but she did anyway. There was something startlingly virile about Gideon at that moment. Standing before wrapped in anger, it was as if her brain was forced to wake up and fire different synapses pushing her to fully see Gideon as the man he was. That damn kiss, those damn glittering eyes as he lowered his face to hers, it was all embedded into her mind now, and she couldn't seem to shake it. It felt as if she had been thrust through a door and now couldn't turn back. Everything he did pricked at her awareness: every bulge of his bicep peeking out from under his sleeve, every yawn that exposed the strong column of his neck and that glorious bobbing Adam's apple. Heaven help her, even the way his groggy deep morning voice grumbled a good morning to her as he scratched his stomach, subsequently flashing his abs, killed her a little. Before they were all things she let slide past her awareness, now, now they were the nails in her coffin.
With her hair scrubbed clean, Jade leaned against the wall and let out a groan. What in the world was she going to do?
Hearing the sound of women's voices echoing off the locker room walls, Jade forced herself out of her worried thoughts and looked down at the faint red swirls of blood going down the drain. First thing she was going to do was go to the store for more tampons. She had two left, and that just wouldn't work. Getting dressed, she sat down in an empty seat at the vanity and began blow-drying her hair. Behind her, two women undressing by their lockers began to giggle.
"Oh my God, yes," the one woman with the pixie cut exclaimed. "He looked so good, I thought I was seeing things."
"I know," her friend gave a dramatic groan as she pulled her towel from the locker. "Those curls make me want to just run my hands-"
Jade's hand began to shake in anger. It didn't take a genius to know who they were talking about. Clicking the blow dryer to a higher setting, she drowned out their noise. Finishing up as fast as she could, Jade walked out of the locker room and out of the gym, not bothering to look around for Gideon. He was probably flashing that smile of his or showing off his fresh haircut he got that morning to some horrible woman anyways. A sharp pain in her stomach only soured her mood further as she stomped across the parking lot. Tossing her bag into the truck, Jade made her way to the grocery store across the street.
The May weather in Denver was a bit brisk, but it felt great against her warm skin. All last night, she tossed and turned in her bunk going from burning hot to cold with every adjustment she tried to make. Maybe tonight she would crack open one of her bunk's windows, she thought as she pushed her cart down the aisle. Grabbing a tiny rack of ribs, big enough to fit in her Instant Pot, and a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce, she made her way down to the toiletry aisle. Grabbing a box of tampons, Jade paused at the aisle's end-cap display of dark chocolates. Jade smirked as she looked longingly at the box, these corporate marketing departments really knew what they were doing when they thought of where to place the chocolates. Finding the cheapest box, she headed to the register.
