The Gideon Affair

“Deal,” she drawled. Oh, my god, what have I done?

Looking rather pleased, Edward gave her another head-to-toe once-over, pausing on the peaked nipples barely concealed by the stretchy fabric of her dress.

Back on the road, she willed her anxiety away as they drove the short distance to the exclusive gated beach road leading to Casa Shaw. Shit was about to get real.

“Ready?” Edward asked with his hand held out for her to grab. “I turned off the light at the bottom of the stairs so hang on to me and be careful.”

Guiding Paige down a flight of wood steps took but moments. The girl didn’t know the meaning of being careful and bounded down to the sand like a kid who’d just heard the recess bell ring.

“Oh, wow.” Flinging her arms wide, she whirled around with her face shining in the moonlight. “I love the beach at night.” She was whispering as if it was some deep, dark guilty secret.

“Come on, Moon Babe. Let’s walk.”

When she eagerly took his hand, a veritable Wikipedia page fell out of her mouth as she rambled on about tides and lunar cycles. Edward felt a surge of happiness so overwhelming, he had to wonder how he’d gotten to thirty-two without ever knowing such contentment.

They’d strolled from the warm sands down to the wetter part of the shoreline and had taken maybe a dozen steps when Paige shrieked and started dragging him away from the surf. “Your pants will be ruined if they get wet.”

What? His pants? Fuck his pants. He couldn’t care less, not when he was enjoying himself so much.

Without warning, she dropped to her knees and started methodically rolling up the hem, enough so the bottoms didn’t end up seawater soaked and caked with wet sand.

When she finished the first leg and shimmied in the sand to the next, Edward swallowed hard. Paige on her knees at his feet was too fucking much for his brain to comprehend. Especially when she kept looking up at him with an expression that confirmed, yes, she knew exactly how provocative their positions were.

Resting on her feet, she surveyed her handiwork then so slowly he was sure time stalled, she quite boldly looked him over. The amount of time Paige spent studying his thighs made him light-headed. She wet her lips over and over, a sure sign that she was struggling with some impulse or another. He wondered what it could be.

And then her gaze lifted to his rather obvious erection. He couldn’t help it. Just being around her when she was so at ease and lighthearted turned his flesh hard and aching. No one but Paige had ever been so free-spirited and authentic around him. It was fucked up in some way. There had been plenty of women in his life—all of them temporary and quite a few just for the moment. Those ladies, willing and capable to the last one, simply played a part that did not require an actual co

She blinked twice and said nothing. All she did was stare. Edward put a finger under her chin and lifted. Eyes that looked huge in an otherwise serene face locked on his. So still, he wasn’t entirely sure either of them was breathing, he used his thumb to swipe along her bottom lip. She shuddered slightly but never looked away.

“That’s for you—when you’re ready.” The words came out of nowhere. It wasn’t what he’d intended to say.

Drifting clouds shadowed the moon, leaving them in semi-darkness. A prickling sensation rushed up his neck. He wanted her so much; the need left a taste in his mouth. In all honesty, he couldn’t take another second of Paige on her knees.

Sliding his hands under her arms, he lifted her off the sand and hauled her body against his, immediately aware of her hands stroking his chest. Once plastered together, Paige wrapped her arms around his neck and went for his head. Nails scraped his scalp sending shudders of pleasure into every corner of his being.

This time she didn’t bother waiting for him to kiss her. Seizing the initiative, she went up on her toes for better access and angled her head just so, then started slowly nibbling on his lips. The thrilling sexiness of her teeth and lips getting busy held off his temptation to crush her to him and kiss her stupid.

When he tried to control the near-kiss, she eased off. Recognizing the signal, Edward reached for her ass instead because there was no way in hell he wanted her to stop. That one small action told him so much. She needed control. Not all the time—that much he already knew. But his sexy friend had needs that he was happy to meet. Did she want to take the lead? Fine with him. For now.

When he grabbed her bottom and lifted till they fit like puzzle pieces, her toes barely touched the sand and her soft warmth cradled his throbbing staff. At that moment, the nibbling stopped, as did everything else, until she aimed for his mouth. Then all hell broke loose.

Hungry, desperate lips clashed. There was no pause as they devoured each other. Paige sucked on his bottom lip; he squeezed her ass and ground their bodies together. The fingers in his hair were massaging his scalp, telling him where she wanted his head. He followed her lead, kissing her as wildly as she writhed in his hold. When her tongue invaded his mouth, the grunt that rumbled up from deep inside him had a primal quality to it when the sound mixed with the thundering surf.

Tearing his mouth away, he growled against her neck. “Put your legs around my waist.”

Paige moaned then he heard his name. “Edward …” The wavering in her voice excited him. This was no randy starlet willing to debase herself for a celebrity. He bet she’d never lost control out in public and knew without a shadow of a doubt the same would be true in bed. Right then and there, his mission in life was to make her surrender everything to him.

“Do you trust me, babe?”

“Yes.” The lack of hesitation or pretense pretty much sealed her fate.

“Then wrap those wicked legs around my waist and hold on tight. Don’t worry,” he chortled as her ass got a hefty squeeze. “I’ve got you.”

Without any effort whatsoever, her arms around his neck tightened, and she pulled her legs up as he held her bottom, opening wider to wrap them around his middle. They each shuddered when her heat hit his flesh. No fucking way was any more kissing going to happen until he got them somewhere private.

Striding with Paige firmly pressed against him, Edward worried he’d embarrass himself before they got back to the house because, unbelievably, he was so turned on that a spontaneous orgasm was a distinct possibility. She wasn’t playing fair either because as he walked, navigating them safely across the sand, Paige was mauling his neck. She had a handful of his hair in one hand, and she had pulled open the neck of his shirt with the other. The girl might have some vampire blood rolling through her veins if the way she destroyed his flesh was any indication.

When he got them to the stairs, he firmed up his grip while she tightened her legs. It would be a fucking miracle if they made it to the top with his sanity intact. The minute he started climbing, Edward knew he was fucked. Each time he surged up a step, his aching erection pushed into her hot center. In his mind’s eye, he envisioned them naked; his cock buried deep, her whole body lifting as he impaled her with each step. Oh, god. Not good. Not good at all.

On the deck, his hands greedily pawed the bare skin on her legs, dimly but magnificently aware that she was rolling her hips in slow, maddening circles, tantalizing his manhood with the sensuous encouragement.

Enough. Keeping one arm under her ass, he reached for her hair, tearing it loose and fisting a mass of curls, then claimed her mouth in no uncertain terms. He was on fire; the flames of sweet desire she evoked fa