The dog wagged his tail, but he was panting and sweaty. She heard a crash and a thud as Chubby tried to extract himself from behind the flower pot and ended up knocking the whole thing over. The cat, covered in dirt, plodded into the kitchen.
She heard another series of loud crashes as Chubby knocked his food dish across the kitchen floor. It looked like the feline had his heart set on breakfast again.
Weird. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything's fine again.
Yet when she placed her hand against the dog's heaving sides, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She could only pray that this—whatever this was—wouldn't happen again.
****
That afternoon, Nora stood in the tea shop, ringing up an order. She smiled forcefully at the pleasant young woman she was helping, but her mind was elsewhere. As ridiculous as it was, she was still focused on that morning's episode with her animals. She was so out of it that she almost punched in the wrong numbers on the cash register, which was pretty hard to do considering how easy the machine was to work.
"Darn it, it's raining," the young woman groaned. "I didn't bring an umbrella."
"Huh?" Nora was still thinking about Mr. Fleas doing sprints around her table.
"Rain. Outside." The young woman stared at her as if she was unhinged.
"Oh." Nora shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, I was woolgathering. What about the rain?"
"It's coming down hard." The young woman pointed outside.
Sure enough, it was raining cats and dogs. Already the sidewalk was shimmering with water. Nora groaned. The weatherman had said it was supposed to be sunny all day, so she'd walked to work instead of taking her car. She looked down at her t-shirt and jeans. If the weather didn't let up, she was going to be soaked through by the time she got back to her apartment.
"Darn it." She cringed. "The storm came out of nowhere."
"Yeah, I know." The young woman was also wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "You wouldn't happen to sell umbrellas, would you?"
"I wish we sold umbrellas, but we don't," she said. "I'm going to be walking home in the storm myself."
The young woman sighed but then froze. Confused, Nora followed her gaze. A man was coming through the door wearing a black leather jacket and a snug pair of jeans.
It was Gideon.
"Kill me now," Nora said. "I'd rather have it rain fireballs than this."
"I see you're as dramatic as always." Gideon headed toward her, a massive grin on his face.
Naturally his massive grin only made her want to shoot him in the leg.
"You two know each other?" the young woman asked as she eyeballed Gideon. Probably, she was hoping for an introduction—which she wasn't going to get.
Nora and Gideon spoke simultaneously.
"No," she said.
"Yes," Gideon said.
She glared at the guy as he chuckled. The young woman looked wary, which was just as well. Nora didn't want her getting any ideas. After all, Gideon wasn't a standup guy. A woman could do a hundred—no, a thousand—times better than him. Heck, she'd probably find better dating prospects in a high security prison.
"What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"And I thought I told you that I have no intention of doing any such thing." He leaned over the desk, his grin widening. "You're going to have to deal with me. Of course, you could just give up now and stop torturing yourself. It's always great to spend rainy days in bed. What do you say?"
"Heck no," she snapped.
"You sure?" He gave a sardonic grin. "My place isn't too far from here."
Her nostrils flared. She wanted to kill him. Already she could imagine her fingers curling around his neck.
"Um, bye." The young woman shot them a nervous look and headed for the door.
Nora groaned and hung her head. Thanks to Gideon, the customer would probably never come back to the store again. She could stand to lose his business—heck, she wanted to lose it—but not anybody else's. Even though she didn't own this tea shop, she took her job seriously.
"Do you have to talk like that?" she asked as the customer walked out the door.
"Talk like what?" Gideon ran a hand through his dark hair.
"You know exactly what I mean." She scowled at him.
"I'm not great at mind reading." His eyes flickered toward her lips. "I'm great at many other things, just not that."
"You're disgusting." She growled, her eyebrows furrowed. "And because of what you said, that woman probably won't come back to the store."
"What did I say that was so bad?" he asked.
"You were talking about, well, you know." Her cheeks grew hot.
"What?" Gideon grinned.
"You know what I mean." She was shaking because she was so angry.
"Do I?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, you do." If he only knew how close he was to being punched…
"People were less sticks in the mud in the seventeenth century," he said. "You can't even talk about coming back to my place without turning red."
"What?" she sputtered.
"You heard me." He leaned in closer and looked her straight in the eye. "You're a stick in the mud. A prude."
His words stung, even though she was trying hard not to let him get to her.
"I am not." She gave an indignant sniff.
"Then let me ask you a question." He grinned. "How many times have you been kissed?"
"How many times have I been kissed?" she repeated dumbly.
"That's what I asked." Gideon nodded, his eyes glistening.
For a moment she was silent, her mind reeling. Kevin had forced a kiss on her in a parking lot after a date. After him, she'd been with a man named Tyler. Then there had been Robert. Yes, she'd kissed Robert. He'd asked her how she felt about him and she said she didn't know. The next thing she knew, he laid one on her. It had been a swift, unnatural affair for them both. He was too much like her older brother for her to consider him boyfriend material.
"Don't tell me you've never been kissed." Of course Gideon had to fill up the silence with another jab.
"I've been kissed." She slammed her hand down on the desk in frustration.
"How many times?" Gideon asked.
"Why do you care so much?" she asked. "I don't have to tell you anything."
He chuckled. "I don't think you've ever—"
"Three times, okay!" Her nostrils flared in her frustration. "I've been kissed three times."
"Three times in total?" He scrutinized her.
Blood rushed to her face. Okay, so she hadn't been kissed that many times. So what? It wasn't like a person's worth was decided by the number of kisses they'd had.
"Yes." She gave an indignant sniff.
"Wow." Gideon stared at her in disbelief. "Three times in your entire life. I can't even imagine that."
"Shut up." Her fists clenched at her sides.
"I'm really surprised." Gideon eyeballed her.
"Why?" Her brows furrowed in frustration. "Unlike you, I don't make a game out of trying to seduce as many people as possible."
"Ouch." Gideon clapped his hand to his chest as if she'd stabbed him. "I was going to pay you a compliment, but after that comment, I don't think I will."
"I don't like compliments anyway." She snorted.
"If that's the way you want it…" Gideon gave a nonchalant shrug and leaned against the desk.
To her surprise, the man fell silent. She wasn't sure why, but that bothered her, even though it shouldn't have. She found herself casting glances at him, waiting for him to open his mouth to say something to annoy her. When he didn't, she was left with nothing to do but study him.
When he's silent, I can actually see why women like him, she thought with a frown.
His shoulders were broad and he had the body of an athlete. When he wasn't smiling, his caramel eyes were dark. He looked like the type of guy who had way too many secrets, which was why it was even mor
e dangerous to get attached to him. But that didn't mean she couldn't study him when he hung around. At least he was easy on the eyes.
She must have been watching him for a bit longer than she thought because he gave a bewitching grin.
"You're staring," he said. "Like what you see?"
She hurled a bag of tea at him. It bounced off his head and landed on the floor. He didn't as much as flinch.
"Way to damage the merchandise." Gideon scooped up the bag of tea.
She shook her head and grabbed the tea from him. I'm too tired for this. With a frown, she glanced at the clock and saw it was one o'clock.
"Are you going to leave anytime soon?" she asked.
"Nope." He winked at her. "I'm going to harass you all day"
I'm going to kill myself, Nora thought, her eyebrow twitching.
****
Four o'clock came surprisingly fast, considering the fact that Nora was being pestered by the world's most annoying fly. Or maybe time had passed quickly because she was being pestered. Of course, she wasn't happy about him hanging around. She'd spent the last three hours in a state of perpetual rage. In fact, she was so annoyed that she was certain she would be thinking about him tonight, even when he wasn't around. For some reason, the stupid man had wedged himself in her mind and stayed there.
"What are you muttering about?" Gideon eyeballed her.
She hadn't even realized she'd been muttering.
"You, of course." She seized her purse, grateful her shift was over. "Did you enjoy spending the last three hours hanging around a tea shop for no reason?"
"I had a reason." Gideon smirked. "You're my reason."
She felt her face grow hot and gnashed her teeth. Why on earth was she blushing?
"Has anybody ever told you that you have cute cheeks?" Gideon leaned closer. "You have a dimple right there."
The man had the nerve to brush his finger against her cheek. The single touch made tingles zoom through her limbs, leaving her breathless. When she looked into Gideon's eyes, she let out a groan. He reminded her of a succulent dessert—rich, decadent, and completely unhealthy. The problem was she wasn't great at avoiding desserts. Heck, she'd had a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast. How could Gideon make her goo-goo eyed so fast? One second she was annoyed with the man, the next, she was tempted by him.
As Gideon kept touching her cheek, his words from the night at the bar echoed in her head: "I can make tonight the night of your life. One night of pleasure—no strings attached, no phone numbers exchanged." The words reminded her of Gideon's horrible intentions. This man was a danger to women everywhere. Heck, he probably carried more diseases than a sewer rat.
She slapped his hand away.
"Don't you dare touch me without my permission," she said.
Gideon recoiled, his eyes darkening.
"You're good," he said. "I'll give you that."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm complimenting you." Gideon shrugged, the grin returning. "You have self-control like nobody else I've ever seen."
Yeah, right. Two nights ago she'd eaten an entire package of brownies in one sitting. She had no self-control whatsoever. No, what she had was a brain.
"Whatever." She tightened her grip on her purse.
Just as Gideon opened his mouth to speak, the door to the shop opened and the evening clerk, Maura, walked into the room. Nora thought the woman looked like a pleasantly plump version of Jennifer Aniston.
"Hey," Nora said.
"Hey." Maura looked up. "It's raining like—oh."
Maura laid eyes on Gideon for the first time. The woman gasped as her cheeks flushed. Oh, great. Even Maura stops dead for this playboy. As Nora gave a pained sigh, Gideon shot her a curious look.
"We had a lot of sales this morning," Nora said. "I think the new strawberry green tea will be a big hit."
"R-really?" Maura was still staring at Gideon and not paying attention to Nora at all.
For heaven's sake, he's not that handsome! she screamed in her mind. But when Nora turned to glance at the guy, she realized that he was. He looked like he'd walked out of a movie. If only he wasn't such an animal…Her eyebrow twitched.
"You okay there?" Gideon waved his hand in front of her face.
She was yanked back to reality.
"Fine." She turned toward Maura. "I'm leaving now. Mr. Fleas needs to be let outside."
"Mr. Fleas?" Gideon gave her an incredulous look.
"My dog." She spared him a glance before returning her attention to Maura.
"Right." Maura finally tore her eyes off of Gideon. "See you tomorrow."
"Bye." Nora waved.
When Nora headed to the door, Gideon followed her. She wasn't sure what was worse—the pouring rain outside or the fact that Gideon was her second shadow. She stopped just before heading outside.
"You're not following me," she said.
"I'm just walking you to your car." Gideon bowed his head. "I'm trying to be a gentleman."
Gideon was about as gentlemanly as a slap to the face.
"I walked here," she said triumphantly. "You can't escort me to my car."
"Do you have an umbrella?" Gideon looked her up and down.
To her surprise, the man sounded concerned. It took some of the edge off of her annoyance. She wasn't sure what to make of him when he was showing some humanity.
"No, I don't." She tugged at her shirt. "I'll be fine, though. I've walked home in the rain before."
"I'm giving you a ride," Gideon said.
"No, you're not." She glared at him.
"Are you seriously being stubborn right now?" His jaw clenched. "I'm trying to take care of you."
"I don't need you to take care of me." She'd never needed anybody to take care of her. That was how she'd survived so many years without parents. "I can handle myself."
"I know you don't need me to take care of you." A vein throbbed in his jaw. "But I want to take care of you. Why would you make things harder on yourself?"
For a moment, she didn't say anything. She couldn't. This side of him was new. She was used to the womanizing, perverted Gideon, not this. He obviously cared if she was cold and wet.
And she wasn't sure what to make of that.
Before she could digest the sudden change in him, Gideon swore and tugged off his leather jacket. He seized her arm and forced it into a sleeve.
Nora began to protest, "I don't need—"
"I know you don't need my jacket," he interrupted. "Take it anyway."
Before she could jump away, Gideon zipped up the jacket. It was warm and smelled like sweet cologne and Italian leather. As she glanced at him in confusion, the man seized her hand. For a moment she was shocked by how warm he was—it was almost like there was a burning inferno inside of his body—but then he dragged her out the door before she could think more about it.
The moment she was outside, she was hit by icy rain that burned her skin like acid. He started to run and she followed him. It felt like an eternity until he pulled her over to a black pickup truck. He unlocked the vehicle and opened the door for her. Teeth chattering, she hopped inside, her jeans already soaked through. She rubbed her hands together to try to make her skin warm. It wasn't doing her much good, but it gave her something to do other than focus on the chill.
Gideon climbed behind the wheel. He started the truck and turned on the heater, but he didn't drive.
"You okay?" Gideon faced her, his mouth thin.
"Uh-huh." She nodded, despite the fact she was shivering.
When he noticed she was rubbing her hands together, he seized them and warmed her fingers with his palms. Despite the fact that he'd been running in the icy rain too, he was still hot. She looked into his caramel eyes and saw concern. Strange. Very strange.
Wait a second. He's touching me. I shouldn't let him touch me.
She pulled back and straightened up.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm already warm."
At first Gideon didn't say anything. Instead he just stared straight out the window.
"You can't stand it, can you?" he finally asked.
"Stand what?" She had a feeling she wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed.
"The thought of somebody helping you," he said.
Yep, she knew it. She hated these kinds of conversations.
"That isn't true," she said.
"It seems true to me," he said.
"I let Robert help me." She shrugged.
"Hmmm." Gideon's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "I'm starting to feel jealous."
"You have no reason to be jealous." She and Gideon weren't together, after all.
"I don't know about that." The man chuckled and pulled out of the parking spot.
At first Nora didn't say anything. She stared out the window and saw a woman struggling to run through the downpour in jeans and a t-shirt. That could have been me, she thought, gritting her teeth. As much as she hated to admit it, Gideon had helped her today. She would have had a heck of a time walking a mile in this weather.
"Thank you, by the way," she said.
"It's no problem." Gideon nodded.
"Just so you know, this doesn't change things between us." She shot him a half-hearted glare. "I still don't like you."
The man just threw back his head and laughed.
Chapter Four
That night, Nora's eyes flew opened when she heard a distant thud. She rolled onto her side, convinced that she'd been woken up by Chubby knocking his food dish across the kitchen floor. That was when she spotted the fat cat on a chair, snoring surprisingly loud for a creature so small. Was it Mr. Fleas who'd made the sound? She looked down at the end of the bed and saw that the dog was also asleep.
I swore I heard a sound…
But if she'd heard something, wouldn't Mr. Fleas start barking? Yeah, it must have been her imagination. Or a part of a dream, maybe. She'd always had nightmares ever since she was young. Unfortunately, as much as she tried to tell herself that it was nothing, her mind didn't quite agree with her.
Groaning, she sat up. Maybe some chocolate would help calm her nerves. She cast a nervous look at the hallway that led to the kitchen. As ridiculous as it was, she wished that Mr. Fleas was awake to keep her company. Yeah, he was so tiny that if there was somebody in the house, he wouldn't be of much use, but still...Unfortunately, even as she squirmed in bed, Mr. Fleas didn't so much as open an eye. She'd expect that from Chubby—the cat slept like the dead until it was time to eat—but not Mr. Fleas. Of all the times for the dog to be in a coma, it had to be now.
Tempting Nora Page 4