“Actually, I didn’t until right now either,” I told him.
We sat in silence and stared at each other for a few minutes. The plot kept getting stranger.
“You think she’ll come after me?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t put anything past Clarissa,” he ground out. “There was a reason Tim, Candy and Heather stayed with you while Charlie, John Travolta and I searched for her.”
“Thank you,” I said with a small grin.
“For what?”
“For calling my sperm donor John Travolta.”
Gideon laughed and kissed my nose. “It’s my great pleasure to make you smile and to piss the Archangel off. It’s killing him to have to answer to the name.”
“Warms my heart,” I said with a giggle, and then stiffened as a horrible thought dawned on me. “Shit. I think he knows.”
“He knows what?”
“I think John Travolta knows why she’s after me. His reluctance to go after Clarissa and his lifelong denial of being my sperm donor adds up to something very off,” I said, feeling ill. “I’d bet my squatters and my newly acquired car-door-ripping skills on it.”
Gideon looked at his watch and swore under his breath. “It’s midnight.”
“Tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll pay Darth Vader Daddy a visit in the morning.”
“With me,” he insisted.
“That’s fine,” I agreed. “I don’t know where he lives anyway.”
“We have about eight hours till it’s socially acceptable to smack down John Travolta,” he pointed out.
“What in the world will we do with eight hours?” I asked with a naughty grin. To hell with reality. I wanted to bang my beautiful lover. For all I knew, tomorrow could be my last day on earth… “Should we blow up more stuff? Outside?”
“I have a much better idea,” Gideon said. “You up for it?”
“I do believe the question is are you up for it?” I shot back.
Gideon threw his head back and laughed. “I am very up for it.”
“Very?” I asked, pulling my shirt over my head and tossing it aside.
“Very. Very. Very up for it,” he said, taking me into his arms and kissing me until I forgot my name.
“Wait,” I said, glancing around. “If we do it here, we might have an audience.
Gideon paused and then grinned. “Do you trust me?”
“Should I?” I asked.
“You should,” he replied.
“Then yes. I trust you.”
Famous last words.
However, I was definitely right to have trusted him.
Surprisingly, the Grim Reaper was a very trustworthy guy.
Chapter Twelve
“Where are we going?” I asked, peering out of the car window as we sped through the night. The stars danced on the horizon and a sliver-thin moon floated in a cloudless sky.
Gideon drove with a sure hand and a lead foot. It didn’t bother me a bit since I drove the same way. I had a general idea of our location, but we’d taken a lot of turns and I couldn’t be sure.
“It’s a surprise,” Gideon replied, watching the road.
“I’m not great with those,” I told him, noticing the big box of birth control sitting between us.
My smile grew wide. I ceased to care where we were going and just wanted to get there. While my world might be imploding, tonight was going to be perfect.
“I have a hunch you’re going to like this surprise,” he said, pulling off the road and cutting the engine. “We’re here.”
“Umm… okay. Wow.” I smiled politely and tried to figure out where here actually was.
All I could see were rolling meadows and trees. It was thirty degrees outside and there were no buildings in sight. I had to admit the property was gorgeous bathed in starlight, but it was freaking freezing outside. He was insane if he was planning to have sex on a blanket in the icy outdoors.
“You like it?”
“Is that a trick question?” I asked, trying to gauge how to proceed.
Gideon laughed and gave me a quick, hard kiss. Grabbing the condoms, he opened the driver’s side door and stepped out of the car.
Dammit. I probably should have asked a few more potential sex partner questions. However, banging outside in the winter hadn’t come up on the list.
“Why don’t we do it in the car,” I called out, shivering as a chilly wind whipped through the interior.
“You cold?” Gideon inquired with amusement in his tone.
“It’s winter,” I reminded him with an eye roll. “If you think you’re going to get me naked in thirty-degree weather, we need to chat.”
Again, he laughed.
As always, his laugh made me weak.
However, not weak enough to bang in a bone-chilling outdoor backdrop.
“Dude. Seriously,” I complained. “This really isn’t working for me.”
“Hush,” Gideon said, opening my door and extending his hand. “You said you trusted me.”
Nodding my head, I sighed. “I did,” I admitted. “But if this is your idea of sexy and romantic, we have a problem.”
“Come with me.”
Gideon took my hand and led me away from the warm car. The sound of frozen leaves crunching beneath our shoes didn’t really set the right mood as far as I was concerned, but I’d told him I trusted him. And I would keep on trusting him until he suggested removing even one item of clothing in this cold.
“How far are we walking?” I asked.
“Till we get there,” he answered with a grin.
“You’re one of those guys,” I muttered.
“Yep,” he agreed with a chuckle.
As we carefully walked down a wide tree-lined trail, the air warmed dramatically—to about eighty degrees. I sucked in a shocked breath and glanced up at Gideon.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
“I do.”
The trail opened up to a breathtaking garden that in no way, shape or form should have been alive this time of year. Enormous cream-colored lilies—bigger than any I’d ever seen—shone in the brilliant starlight and spilled from delicate trellises. Tall grasses swayed seductively and the warm breeze rushed over my cheeks like a caress. Flowering vines of riotous colors made a fragrant wall around the garden.
“What the heck?” I gasped. My mouth had fallen open and I wondered if we had walked into a different dimension.
“Still trust me?” Gideon asked, enjoying my reaction.
“Yes,” I said, grinning like an idiot. “How?”
“A beautiful woman deserves to be surrounded by beauty when…”
“When she’s about to check out the Grim Reaper’s balls?” I inquired, trying to keep a straight face, but failing.
“Among other things,” he shot back dryly, removing his winter coat and tossing it to the ground.
I shrugged and removed my coat as well. When in Rome—or wherever we were…
“Can I ask where we are?” I questioned, smelling one of the roses as I wandered the garden.
“You may,” Gideon said, watching me.
I waited for the answer but it never came. Eyeing him with amused annoyance, I blew out an audible sigh. “I have to ask twice?”
“I think there are many things you might ask twice for this evening,” he replied casually as he removed his shirt.
I almost fainted.
“Oh my god,” I choked out. “That should be illegal.”
Gideon was otherworldly beautiful—the ridiculous kind of gorgeous—gray-blue eyes, messy blond hair and a rock-hard body. It made me a little self-conscious about removing my own clothes.
However, the naked lust shining in his eyes did a whole hell of a lot for my ego.
Glancing away to squash the insane impulse to tackle him to the ground, I repeated my question. “Where are we?”
“Do you not like what you see?” Gideon asked, observing me bury my head in a lilac bush.
“I like it too much,�
� I told him truthfully with my head still in the bush. “I don’t really trust myself not to attack you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” he admitted. “Being attacked by you would be outstanding.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” I replied, turning around and squinting my eyes. It made him appear a little blurry. However, even blurred the man was just as hot. Damn. “I knocked down a tree and pulled a car door off its hinges. If I were you, I’d be worried about my balls.”
Gideon’s burst of laughter was all I needed to let go of my inhibitions. It was probably a very good thing he was Immortal, since I was unsure of my own strength.
“We’ll get to my balls shortly,” he said. “As to where we are? We’re on a piece of property I recently bought.”
Glancing around, I took it in. It was magical. I still had a difficult time getting comfortable with the magic, but it didn’t scare me. Magic was a part of the man I loved. I had every intention of loving every facet of him. Besides, I had my own magic. I could glue a squatter back together in no time flat. Not quite as sexy as Gideon’s magic, but it was something.
“You have a house in town and one in Hell,” I pointed out. “Why do you need another piece of property?”
Gideon walked me over to a bench I hadn’t noticed.
“Well, you see,” he said, sitting down and pulling me onto his lap. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman—a funny, kind, thoughtful and very smart woman—who gave an undeserving man a gift. The gift of starting over. She wanted to build a real and lasting foundation. The man figured it might be handy to have a place to build the house.”
My body began to tingle and my heart pounded in my chest.
“So, you were thinking to build the foundation right here?” I whispered.
He nodded and grinned. “Every room can be built carefully and with love. Each stone can be chosen by the beautiful woman and the man who can’t live without her.”
I trembled in his arms. It wasn’t from the cold. The chilly air didn’t exist in the enchanted bubble Gideon had created.
“That’s a huge step,” I said softly, brushing his hair off of his forehead.
“One of many hopefully.”
“That was seriously hot,” I said with a giggle.
“I aim to please.”
“You’re doing very well,” I told him.
“Do you think I’ll get into your pants this fine balmy evening, Death Counselor?” he inquired with a lopsided grin.
“Odds are very good, Grim Reaper.”
Standing up and placing me on my feet, he led me to an archway covered in a cascade of sparkling gold flowers.
“What’s beyond the archway?” I asked as my stomach tightened with anticipation.
His carnal grin sent a thrill through me. I grinned right back.
“I was thinking the bedroom could be over there,” he said, pointing beyond the archway.
“Oh really? And what else do you have planned?”
“It’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait and see,” he informed me as he walked through the archway and disappeared from sight.
While surprises weren’t really my thing, this one sounded promising. Good things were supposed to come to those who waited, and I’d waited a very long time to feel like this about someone.
“Where did you go?” I called out as I followed the path he’d walked.
“I’m in my favorite room in our house,” he yelled back. “You might want to check it out.”
“Maybe I will.” I laughed as I pushed my way past a fragrant weeping cherry tree in full bloom. Exotic flowers and shrubs that I’d never seen before lined the golden-pebbled path that led to the man I searched for. Bending down, I picked a bouquet of purple and blue glitter-encrusted daisies and tucked them into my hair.
“Are you lost?” Gideon called.
“Nope, just got waylaid by the scenery.”
“Scenery is pretty damned good in here.”
“On my way, Mr. Impatient,” I said with a laugh as I picked up my pace then stopped dead in my tracks. I’d entered yet another garden.
The garden where carnal dreams were made.
There were daisies everywhere—every color and size imaginable. They shimmered and swayed in the breeze. Gideon had chosen the flower that matched my name and had lost his mind with the décor. I’d never been anyplace so decadent and lovely. Daisy-shaped jeweled candles hung in the air connected to absolutely nothing but magic. The best part was the massive bed in the middle of the bedroom—and the man who was standing next to it.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, trying to take it all in. “You did this for me?”
“I’d do anything for you, Daisy.”
How was it possible to love someone so much, so quickly? Would we last? Would the foundation be strong enough to rock? Because I was positive we would rock it…
Gideon’s lust-filled gaze followed me as I walked around the area and touched the different daisies.
“They’re breathtaking,” I said.
“They don’t hold a candle to you,” Gideon replied.
I’d never felt so beautiful, so wanted—so powerful. Who knew a fallen Angel… a Demon, would be the man I would love with my entire soul?
The emotion was too much. I didn’t know if I was about to cry or laugh or run for my life. It was perfect—too perfect. I wasn’t sure I could live up to my surroundings.
“Are you crying?” Gideon asked, walking toward me.
“Happy tears,” I promised, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.
He kissed away a tear I’d missed. “We should probably be naked for what I have planned next.”
I nodded. “That’s usually how it goes.”
“And you can make sure my balls meet your satisfaction.”
My laugh rang out and echoed through the garden. All thoughts of not being good enough evaporated. The Grim Reaper had my heart and knew exactly what to do to put me at ease. His sense of humor was as sexy, if not sexier, than the rest of him.
“I appreciate your willingness to be so open about your balls,” I told him as I pulled my shirt over my head and stepped out of my pants.
“My pleasure,” Gideon replied, removing his clothes with inhuman speed.
“Wow,” I choked out in awe.
He was a Greek god come to life. Every inch of Gideon was perfect, including his very up for it privates… and even his balls. The evidence of his desire made me bold, and I removed my bra and panties with a giggle.
“You’re magnificent,” he said as his eyes devoured my nakedness.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” I shot back.
Gideon’s grin widened. “And my balls?”
I felt the heat start in my chest and crawl up to my face. I was never going to live down the fact that I’d had a conversation about his balls with my dead husband. Never.
“Your balls are very bally,” I said, walking over to him and cupping the topic of our conversation in my hand. “I heartily approve of your balls.”
Gideon sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. His eyes went from gray-blue to a sparkling red. His need was unmistakable.
“My bally balls approve of being handled,” he said.
“And the rest of you?” I teased.
“The rest of me would be fucking delighted to become acquainted with you.”
“That’s a good thing since I plan on handling all of you.”
Gideon let his head fall back on his shoulders and he groaned. “Daisy, this is going to be over before it starts if you keep saying things like that.”
“That would be a shame.” I walked over to the bed and lay down. “I have some parts that would like to get acquainted with you, too.”
Gideon literally sprinted to the bed and jumped on it. The movement bounced me high in the air. He caught me effortlessly and straddled me over his chest. Slowly, I ran my hands over his strong body, memorizing him. His hands explored my curves. My body grew hot with
need and I couldn’t get enough of touching him or feeling his hands on me.
I closed my eyes and let my other senses take over. It was fun and natural… and amazingly right.
“Daisy, I want you to keep your eyes open,” Gideon said, running his strong hands over my shoulders then cupping my breasts. “I need to make sure you’re with me the whole time.”
Opening my eyes, I smiled. “I’m here. I’m right where I want to be.”
Leaning forward, I brushed my lips over his and felt the tingle shoot straight to my toes. If this was what kissing him did to me, I couldn’t fathom what the rest would feel like.
“More,” he insisted, tangling his hands in my hair and deepening the kiss.
Our tongues danced and my body began to move in a rhythm that was unfamiliar and wildly freeing. My insides felt molten, and I was slowly coming apart in his arms. Crawling off of him, I pulled him on top of me. All of his hard against my soft was almost enough to send me over the edge. Gideon feathered my neck and face with kisses that left me breathless. Strong waves of desire pulsed through me.
“You good?” he asked. His eyes were hooded and his voice was rough with lust.
It was all kinds of sexy.
“Yes,” I said. “More please.”
His smile was naughty. I wanted to kiss it off his lips.
But Gideon had other ideas.
Extremely good ideas.
Gideon’s mouth and hands were weapons of sexual destruction. I had never wanted to be destroyed in my life until now. I writhed against him and ran my nails down his back.
“You have the condoms?” I asked, breathing hard as his kisses moved from my neck to my breasts.
“Yep. Don’t need them yet,” he said, moving lower. “Trust me.”
“Oh my God,” I cried out as he kissed a place I’d never been kissed.
My back arched and a shudder of pure delight consumed me. The sound of his laughter at my reaction didn’t make me self-conscious at all.
“Good?” he questioned.
“Umm… yes. So good. You are amazing at that.”
“Thank you,” he said with a laugh.
“No, thank you.”
My breasts felt heavy and swollen and every other part of me felt like a live wire. My body rocked as Gideon took me to heights I didn’t know existed. Fisting his hair in my hands, I let the moment take me.
A Most Excellent Midlife Crisis: Good To The Last Death Book Three Page 11