“You don’t,” Heather agreed. “However, I can think of no other explanation. It’s time to have Charlie test your blood.”
“And that could solve the mystery?” I demanded, feeling like Alice falling through the Looking Glass.
“It might. It might not,” Heather replied, running her hands through her attractive short pixie cut and making it stand on end. “I just don’t know, Daisy.”
“Charlie can take a sample tomorrow,” Gideon said, standing in the foyer of my house.
I screamed.
“Not exactly the reaction I was looking for,” he said with a grin as he crossed the room, pulled me to my feet and hugged me like he would never let go. “You scared the hell out of me when you almost didn’t come out of Steve’s mind, Daisy.”
“That would be awful, considering Hell is where you reside,” I said with a laugh as I breathed him in.
He smelled like sexy, soapy man. He smelled like happiness and home.
“Very funny,” he whispered in my ear and took a little nip that sent happy chills through my body.
Heather cleared her throat. “I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Then don’t,” Gideon said.
“Be nice,” I chastised Gideon as I disengaged myself from his embrace.
I felt the loss of his heat acutely, but since both he and Heather were here, we needed to talk.
“Are all three of you back?” Heather asked, getting right to the point.
Gideon nodded. “We are.”
“Did you find Clarissa?” I asked. Her name on my lips made a fire burn in my chest. I despised her.
“No,” Gideon replied, staring at me strangely.
“Do I have cookie crumbs on my face?” I asked, brushing my mouth with my hand in embarrassment.
“Your eyes,” he said, squinting in shock.
“Angel eyes,” Heather said, tossing me another small box of contact lenses to wear when I was around my human friends.
“That happened when you came out of Steve’s mind?” Gideon asked, still staring.
“I guess it did,” I replied, feeling wildly self-conscious. “Do you hate them?”
“I could never hate anything about you, Daisy,” he said as relief washed over me. “I’m just surprised. That’s all.”
“You see why I want Charlie to test her blood?” Heather asked.
“I do,” Gideon replied. “Not sure it will tell us much. Does Daisy leave a footprint?”
“No,” I said, wanting to be part of the conversation since I was the subject. “However, I did throw Candy Vargo as high as the house and ripped the door off of Heather’s car while it was moving.”
“Don’t forget you put your foot through the floorboard when you slammed on the brakes,” Heather reminded me with a chuckle. “Totaled my car.”
“Yep. Well, that’s what you get when you try to mow down Karma and then crash into my house,” I replied tartly.
“Should I ask as to why this occurred?” Gideon asked, biting down on his lip to suck back a grin.
“Nope,” I replied. “Suffice it to say, each time I mind dive into the dead, I gain new super powers.”
“That has to stop,” Gideon said flatly. “The mind diving. You could have died last time.”
“I’ve advised the same,” Heather added.
“For the time being, yes. I’ll stop,” I said with a raised brow.
No one was going to tell me what to do except me. I was a grown woman and old enough to make my own decisions and my own disastrous mistakes. While I appreciated their concern and took their advice seriously, they were not my keepers.
I was my keeper.
“I need to speak with Michael,” Heather said, grabbing her purse.
“I know not of whom you speak,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.
She slapped herself in the forehead. “My bad, Miss Shakespeare. I need to talk to John Travolta,” she amended. “Better?”
“Much,” I replied.
“Do you have anything you want me to tell him?” she asked, heading for the door.
“Nope. Anything I want to tell him, I’ll say to his face,” I told her.
“That should be fun,” Heather commented.
“A freaking riot,” I agreed with a humorless laugh.
“Alrighty then,” she said. “Don’t you guys do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“And what exactly won’t you do?” Gideon inquired, walking over to the couch and scratching the dogs.
“Nothing,” Heather said, walking out the front door with a parting laugh.
“That certainly leaves a lot of options,” I said.
Gideon glanced over at me with an expression that made me forget how to breathe. “It most certainly does.”
Chapter Eleven
Having the talk was horrifying.
Having the talk with someone who was a gazillion years old was downright bizarre.
Everything up till this moment had been amazing. We’d made out like teenagers then I’d filled him in on what had happened while he was gone.
I told Gideon about the luncheon, the aftermath with Missy and the alarming talk with Birdie. Like Heather, he’d never heard of a Soul Keeper. Could a Soul Keeper really exist if the Grim Reaper and the Arbitrator between Heaven and Hell knew nothing of it? Was that possible?
Everything was possible.
Even the dreaded talk…
“So, I think we should get a few things out of the way before we go any further,” Gideon said, pulling me onto his lap.
Gideon’s physical beauty still threw me at times. His lips were sexy and swollen from our massive couch make-out session and his shirt was torn. No one should look as good as he did. My body tingled from head to toe and I was positive my hair looked like I’d been electrocuted. However, my lust-addled brain wasn’t working well enough for me to care.
The man was created for kissing.
“Right,” I muttered, pulling my shirt down and straightening my clothes. “Birth control?”
“Do we need it?” he inquired.
I was sure I turned bright red, but I held his gaze. I was forty and this was a responsible, albeit unsexy, conversation we were having. It wasn’t as if this would be the first time I’d had sex. I’d been married for a long time. Of course, Steve was gay, but that was beside the point. “Yes to the birth control. I mean, I’ve never been regular, but I still get my period. And now that I know ancient Immortal swimmers can make a baby, I think we should take precautions.”
“Ancient?” Gideon inquired with a chuckle.
“Bad word choice,” I mumbled, wondering how many more mortifying things would fly from my lips. Probably a lot.
“Not to worry,” Gideon assured me with a wink. “I won’t debate the truth.”
Gideon snapped his fingers and produced a large box of condoms. Tossing them onto the coffee table, he looked at me and grinned. “Done.”
“Okay,” I said, amused and impressed. “You think we’re going to need that many?”
“Yes, I do,” he replied silkily.
My face felt like it was on fire.
“Well, umm… I have a clean bill of health,” I said, kind of wanting to die. “I’ve had my yearly check-up and I’m good to go.”
“Immortals can’t carry disease,” he said, enjoying my discomfort.
“I know this is hilarious to you,” I snapped. “However, we’re grownups—you more than me—and this is what grownups do before they bang.”
Gideon’s delighted laugh went all through me. I craved his laughter as much as I craved the rest of him.
“I agree,” he said, still smiling. “I have an important question for you, though.”
“What?” I asked, racking my brain for what I’d missed. I’d read a few articles on what potential sex partners should discuss and some of it didn’t apply to us. “Oh, wait. I’m supposed to ask you what you like.”
Gideon leaned back on the couch and put his hands behind his
head. “You,” he said. “I like you.”
“I meant sexually speaking.” I narrowed my eyes playfully. I seriously wanted to jump him. My impulse control disappeared when he was near.
“My answer remains the same,” he replied. “And you? What do you like, Daisy?”
I sighed. The truth shall set you free or make the hot man on the couch toss you off of his lap and run like hell.
“Honestly, I don’t even know,” I said, no longer embarrassed. I was a grown-ass woman and I would own my sexuality and my lack of practical knowledge in the sex department. I was in love with the man I was talking to, and he loved me. “At forty, I wouldn’t say I’m experienced. If I think about it too hard, I get terrified that I’m going to suck at it. But when you kiss me, all I want to do is crawl inside of you and stay. I want to touch you so badly, it’s all I can think about.”
Gideon closed his eyes and smiled. “I have no damn clue what I did to deserve you, but I’m not letting go. Experience means little to nothing. What matters is us. Period. I love you and want to make you happy in every way possible. If something doesn’t feel good, you tell me. I’ll find something that feels very good. Trust me.”
Words were some seriously great foreplay. At least, Gideon’s words were.
“Will you do the same?” I asked. I was tempted to rip off his clothes and skip over the rest of the responsible adult conversation.
“I will. I promise.”
I nodded and felt sexier than I had in a very long time. The talk wasn’t stupid or embarrassing. It was impowering. Being honest with someone you loved and wanted to be with was so right.
“I read a few articles,” I admitted with a wince.
“About sex?” he asked, sitting up.
“Yep—more of a list of questions to feel each other out.”
“Hit me,” Gideon said.
“Mmmkay,” I said with a giggle. “Number one. What kind of relationship is this?”
“An endless one,” he replied without hesitation, pinning me with a look that sent my heartbeat into overdrive. “Your thoughts on that?”
“I’ll cop to liking the way you think,” I told him. “Has to be exclusive.”
“No-brainer,” Gideon said, raising a brow. “On both sides.”
“Well, duh,” I shot back with a grin. “You’re pretty much the sexiest person alive, Grim Reaper.”
“Right back at you, Death Counselor.”
Wrinkling my nose, I sighed. “I’m forty,” I reminded him.
“And I’m older than dirt.”
“Fine point. Well made,” I conceded. “We’ve already covered protection. We haven’t discussed fantasies and fetishes.”
Gideon couldn’t suppress his grin. “No fetishes. Many fantasies concerning you.”
“Same,” I said, falling further under his spell. “Oh… what was the important question you wanted to ask?”
Gideon sat up straighter and cleared his throat. His expression grew serious. My stomach tightened and I wondered what the heck was about to come out of his mouth.
“Would you like to examine my balls before we start?”
“Umm… no. I’m sure your balls are fine,” I choked out, trying my best not to laugh.
I failed.
“You sure?” he teased.
“I’m really sorry about the ball discussion Steve and I had,” I whispered. “That must have been all kinds of awkward.”
“I rather enjoyed hearing you talk about my balls,” he replied with a naughty smirk. “Haven’t had my privates discussed in public… well… ever.”
“I’m great for things like that,” I said weakly. “Gotta stand up.”
“Why?” Gideon asked, tightening his hold on me.
“Because when I’m close to you, I feel like a horny teenager,” I said, escaping his grasp with ease. “Can’t think straight.”
I wasn’t lying. It was surreal. I’d loved Steve and would get little tingles when I was around him in the beginning, but it didn’t compare to the enormity of what I felt for Gideon.
“How did you do that?” Gideon asked, shocked.
“Do what?”
He shook his head and looked down at his hands with curiosity. Flexing his fingers, he clapped his hands. A massive bolt of lightning flew from his fingertips and blew up the armchair.
“Oh my God!” I shouted. “Lightning in the house is off limits.”
What the hell did I just say? Never in my life did I think I’d have to make lightning rules for inside the house. It was insane. However, not as insane as what Gideon had just done.
“Needed to test them,” he told me as if that was a reasonable answer.
“How’d they do?” I demanded, slapping my hands on my hips and staring at my chair with dismay.
“Good news. They work.”
“Bad news,” I snapped. “You ruined my chair.”
“Whoops,” Gideon said, waving his hand and repairing the chair.
Standing my ground, I glared at the man who only moments ago I wanted to bang—well, I still wanted to bang him… “This isn’t going well.”
“I could have blown up the house,” he pointed out.
“Not helping.”
“Got it,” he said, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “I’m sorry.”
I was aware he was trying not to grin. While his apology was sincere, his actions were a little sucky. As attracted as I was to the Grim Reaper, it would get old fast if he blew up all my stuff.
“I accept… this time. Lightning belongs outside, not in the living room. You feel me?”
“I feel you,” Gideon said.
“I mean, I don’t want to be a downer, but I like my house.”
Gideon put his hands up and grinned. “I like your house too. I’ll keep all explosions outside from this day forward. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Gideon replied, and then looked down at his hands again. “Daisy, how did you get out of my embrace?”
“It’s not that I didn’t want you to hold me,” I assured him. “I just can’t make coherent thoughts when you do. I needed space to think.”
“Not what I meant,” he said, glancing up at me. “Come here, please.”
“Since you asked nicely, I will. But no more lightning, dude,” I said, falling on top of him and wrapping my arms around him. “Now what?”
He wrapped his arms tightly around me and buried his face in my hair. The feeling was as close to magic as I’d ever come.
“Now try to get away,” he instructed.
“What if I don’t want to?” I teased.
“Daisy. I’m not joking. Try to leave my arms.”
Gideon was odd at times, but as he’d said, he was older than dirt. I’d play along and see where it was going. I remembered Jennifer telling a story about the games she and Dip Doody played in the bedroom. Now I wished I’d paid better attention. However, if he incinerated any more furniture, he was in deep shit.
“Fine,” I said, slipping right out of his embrace and skipping across the room. “Are you going to chase me?”
Gideon’s mouth was agape. He stared at me then paled as he examined his hands again.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling panicked that he might feel the need to test his hands out again. Not to mention, his reaction was wildly unsettling. “What did I do?”
“You did the impossible,” Gideon said as a small grin of absolute puzzlement pulled at his lips. “No one can escape my hold unless I let them.”
“Then you must have let me,” I said, not following.
“I did not,” he replied. “Letting you go is not in my wheelhouse. Ever.”
“Good to know,” I teased. “I plan on keeping you too.”
“Daisy, you don’t understand,” he said, standing up and approaching me. “If you can escape death, you can escape anything.”
“You’re making me a little nervous,” I told him. “We both know I’m becoming a fr
eak of nature. Maybe it will go away.”
“Have any of your powers decreased?”
Had they? Nope. They’d become more intense. “No.”
“Do you feel different?” Gideon asked.
“I don’t think so,” I said, looking down at my body.
Gideon paced the room, glancing up at me every so often. Shit. I’d totally ruined what was potentially going to be the best night of my life so far by escaping from his embrace. Of course, him burning my chair with a bolt of electricity didn’t exactly help set the mood either.
“Can we just pretend it didn’t happen and go back to making out?” I suggested. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
Gideon crossed the room in three steps, took me in his arms and spun me around like I weighed nothing.
“This is fucking perfect!” he shouted.
“Getting dizzy,” I told him, hanging on for dear life.
“Sorry,” he said, putting me down but keeping me close. “Fucking perfect.”
“What’s perfect?” I asked, eyeing him with concern.
Taking my hand and leading me to the couch, he seated me then squatted in front of me. “If you can get away from me, you can get away from her.”
“Her who?” I asked, confused.
“The Angel of Mercy,” he said, his eyes darkening with hatred. “She won’t be able to hurt you.”
“When you say hurt…”
Gideon was quiet for a long moment. “As in destroy you,” he said flatly. “She won’t be able to. You can get away.”
“Or I can fight.”
“Bad plan,” he said. “Very bad plan. When you back an animal up against a wall and its existence is at stake, it will do anything to take others down with it.”
That scenario didn’t sound like a good time. The best option was that Clarissa was found by one of the Immortals before she tried to finish what she had begun with me.
“Why the hell is the Angel of Mercy—a complete oxymoron—after me in the first place?” I hissed, growing furious. “When it started, I thought it was because of you and me. However, Steve’s death was long before I even knew you. She has it out for me for another reason altogether.”
Gideon squinted and tilted his head to the side. “I hadn’t put that together.”
A Most Excellent Midlife Crisis: Good To The Last Death Book Three Page 10