Tempting Nora

by Evanston, A. M.

  "What exactly happened?" Gideon looked her in the eye.

  At that moment, she wasn't sure she wouldn't rather be talking about kissing. Gideon was scaring her.

  "Amon introduced himself and I told him to stop following me." She wrinkled her nose due to the memory. "When he grabbed my arm, I told him I'd douse him with pepper spray if he didn't let me go. After that, he released me and left."

  "You threatened to douse Amon with pepper spray?" Gideon looked as if she'd offered a starving lion a piece of chewing gum.

  "It worked, didn't it?" She grinned. "I don't think he'll be bothering me again."

  Gideon didn't say anything, but he was rigid in his chair. The only time she'd seen him this tense was when he'd told her about the woman who'd died in the earthquake.

  "Hey, it's okay." She gave him a comforting smile. "I'm tough. I can handle him."

  "Not this guy, Nora." He traced the bruises on her arm. "I know you aren't going to like it, but I'm going to have to stick to you like glue from now on."

  "Why?" He was like a second shadow already.

  "I just do." His jaw clenched. "Let me know if you ever leave your apartment. I'll walk you wherever you need to go. That includes to work."

  "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever—"

  "Nora," he growled, cutting her off. "Don't even start."

  "Geez." The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

  "I'm like this because I don't want anything to happen to you," he said. "You can't push me away. I'm trying to help."

  There was something strange about Gideon's eyes. His irises were as black as night, even though they'd been caramel colored a second before. Even the way he stared at her was different. This was the first time she could ever remember being intimidated by him. She found herself leaning back, trying to put distance between them even as he held her hand. Gideon was still Gideon, but some primal part of her mind screamed that he was a threat.

  Gideon must have seen the fear in her face because he said, "I'm sorry I'm scaring you."

  The darkness faded from his eyes and the strange energy that hung around him like a cloak dispersed. Finally, he was himself again. She breathed a sigh of relief, wondering why her heart leapt as if she was being chased by a wild animal. This was Gideon, for crying out loud. The worst thing he'd ever done was kiss her in public. She shook herself off, feeling silly that her skin was covered with goosebumps.

  "That guy must be really dangerous to make you react like this," she said.

  "You have no idea what he could do to you." Gideon shuddered at the thought. "Promise me you'll let me help you. I know that goes against your independent nature, but I care about you and you can't face Amon on your own."

  For a moment she didn't say anything. Instead she just watched as Gideon ran his fingers over her bruises again, his expression pained.

  "Do you care about me that much?" she asked.

  The guy met her eyes, still holding her arm as if it was precious.

  "That should be obvious," he said.

  She let out a sigh.

  "Then whatever you think you need to do, do it." She couldn't believe she was giving him permission to hover.

  "Thank you," Gideon said, sounding like he meant the words.

  Still the man kept running his fingers over the bruises, his eyes dark and sad.

  "I'm really okay," she said.

  "I just hate the fact that you were hurt because of me." He looked so pained it was heartbreaking. "This is my fault."

  "How is this your fault?" It wasn't like he was the one who'd grabbed her arm. "I know you'd never hurt me. Even when we're arguing, you're gentle."

  "It just is." Gideon shook his head.

  Just as she was about to question him, the waiter walked over and cleared his throat. She realized that the two of them were practically nose to nose, talking in hushed voices. Gideon was even still running his fingers down the inside of her arm. To a casual onlooker, the two of them looked like lovers in the midst of a passionate conversation. Heck, even a pretty redhead was staring at them, her eyes wide.

  The thought had her sweating as she leaned back.

  "What can I get the two of you?" the waiter asked.

  "Nora?" Gideon nodded at her, signaling she should go first.

  "A hamburger with fries."

  And heaven help me, I need an entire cheesecake for dessert.

  ****

  Nora stood in the restaurant bathroom an hour later, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't believe how tired and worn down she looked. It was a wonder that she had to keep fending off Gideon's advances. The man should have been repulsed by the sight of her. As she sighed and studied herself, she was assaulted by a tornado of thoughts. Before she'd gone to the bathroom, Gideon had acted normal again, but she could tell that he was stressed. On top of that, she still couldn't believe her own feelings for him. It was enough to make her want to bury her head in the sand.

  Of course I don't want to like Gideon. I know he isn't going to stick around.

  Her own thought stung. Good grief, she'd turned into such a whiner. She hated that. There was nothing—absolutely nothing—wrong with her. So what if she wasn't perfect? She was unique, darn it! Unique! Being unique was way better than looking like every other woman on the planet.

  Her confidence bolstered, she headed out of the bathroom and walked over to her table. Unfortunately, her seat was occupied by someone new. The beautiful redheaded woman who'd been watching Gideon earlier was now sitting in her chair. When the immaculate beauty smiled, the light reflected off of her white teeth. At that moment, all Nora's hard-won self-confidence flew out the window. And the mayhem didn't stop there. No, she was pretty sure any semblance of self-esteem she had left was then hit by a truck, doused with gasoline, and lit on fire. She couldn't even blame herself for feeling downtrodden this time. After all, a woman who looked like a goddess was sitting in her chair, hitting on the man who was supposedly her date.

  This was why she hadn't wanted to get involved with Gideon. The man probably collected women like stamps. To someone like him, she was a game. If she wasn't, then he would have shooed the beautiful redhead away. As her eyes burned with unshed tears, she whirled around, not caring in the slightest that Gideon had warned her an hour earlier that he didn't want her to go anywhere without him. If the man truly cared about her, then he wouldn't be flirting with the redhead.

  She was heading for the door when Gideon called, "Nora."

  Instead of slowing down, she picked up her pace. After she rushed outside, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Before she could break into a run, Gideon seized her arm and stopped her.

  "Let me go, you cad." She fought to break his grip.

  Right now she wanted to escape more than anything else in the world.

  "What are you doing?" Gideon pinned her to his chest. "Hold still."

  "I will not, you jerk." She squirmed in his grip. "I can't believe you. I actually thought you were a good man, but you were flirting with some other woman when I was in the bathroom. I was such an idiot to think that there was even a shroud of decency in your body."

  "I wasn't flirting with her." Gideon tightened his grip, his eyes narrowing in frustration. "I've been trying to convince that woman to leave your chair for the past two minutes. If you'd come a little closer, then you would have heard me telling her that I wasn't interested."

  "Yeah, right." She sniffed, but she wasn't fighting as hard.

  "That's exactly what happened," he said. "If you don't believe me, I'll go back to that wretched woman and shake the truth out of her."

  When she finally looked at his face, she knew he was telling the truth. The pain in his eyes was too real. No man could be that good of an actor.

  "Really?" She stopped struggling.

  "Of course." He nodded. "If you'd only come closer, you would have known that I was trying to get rid of her."

  At that moment, she realized she'd overreacte
d. When she'd walked over to the table, she'd been looking at the woman, not at Gideon. For all she knew, he could have been angry and she hadn't even realized it. She gnawed at her bottom lip, tasting blood. One second she'd been watching them, the next she'd been so upset she couldn't breathe. Heck, she'd been about to cry. She was not the type of woman who dissolved into tears at the drop of the hat, but Gideon had reduced her to someone who sniveled over nothing.

  As she groaned in self-disgust, Gideon finally released her arms and touched her cheek.

  "Why the heck did you run like that?" he asked. "You should have come over. I would have explained it all."

  "I was upset." She shrugged. "That woman was draping herself all over you."

  "Yeah, but you should have known I wouldn't lay a hand on her," Gideon said.

  "How would I know that?" She raised an eyebrow. "The truth is I don't even have a right to be angry. The two of us aren't together. The only reason you follow me around is because I'm the odd duck who won't sleep with you and you find that intriguing."

  "You think that the only reason I'm still hanging around is because I want to sleep with you?" He acted as if she'd slapped him.

  "You haven't told me otherwise," she said in her defense.

  The words made him stiffen.

  "Fine. You're right, but let's clear everything up now." Gideon placed his hands on her shoulders. "Nora, I'm with you because I like you, not because I want to sleep with you. I still desire you—there's no denying that—but I'm going to stay by your side no matter what happens. I haven't touched another woman since I started pursuing you. I don't intend to either. Happy?"

  To her surprise, she was happy. So happy she could have laughed out loud. Darn it all. She shouldn't have felt warm and bubbly, but she did. She had to wrestle the smile off of her face.

  "I guess that'll do," she admitted, trying to maintain her composure.

  Gideon laughed and tugged at a strand of her hair.

  "You scared me," he said. "How could you even think that the redheaded woman was an issue? She can't compare to you."

  She liked the way he talked about the redhead as if she was a puddle of slime.

  "Call it a lapse of judgment?" She gave him a hopeful smile.

  To her surprise, Gideon threw back his head and laughed.

  "Yeah, we can call it a lapse of judgment," he said.

  "Good." She breathed a sigh of relief.

  "By the way, would you care to have another lapse of judgment before we go inside and order dessert?" He grinned roguishly. "I could sure use a kiss after that scare."

  She frowned suspiciously at the door.

  "You really weren't flirting with the redhead?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Nora…" He rolled his eyes.

  "Fine." She hesitated before wrinkling her nose. "Just one."

  "That's what you said last time," he said.

  She shot him a glare that could have curdled milk.

  "Okay, just one," he said quickly.

  "That's better." She nodded.

  For a moment Nora hesitated, but then she lifted her head. As Gideon ran his thumb over her cheek again, she couldn't help but think of the words he'd spoken a few minutes before. "I still desire you—there's no denying that—but I'm going to stay by your side no matter what happens." Maybe she shouldn't have trusted his words, but she wanted to. Besides, maybe she needed to start believing in people again. She didn't have a reason not to put her faith in Gideon.

  She eyeballed his lips, more ready to be embraced at that moment than ever before.

  His arms came around her. She melted against him, offering her mouth for him to kiss. His lips touched hers, gentle and tentative at first but then gaining passion as he continued. He tangled his fingers in her dark hair as he groaned against her skin. Her heart stirred again. No, it more than just stirred. Her heart soared. She sighed, running her fingers over his strong back. Finally, after she'd touched him enough, she buried her fingers in his silky hair.

  As she succumbed to rapture, she decided maybe it was okay that she liked Gideon. She'd never liked somebody before. She was a twenty-eight-year-old woman who hadn't even known what longing and passion felt like until Gideon came into her life. At that moment, she decided she was going to accept her feelings for him. If she wasn't just a challenge to Gideon, then there was no reason she couldn't like him. At the thought, something dangerous within her was unleashed. Normally, Gideon was the one who led the kiss, his mouth roving over hers with wild desperation. This time, she was going to take control.

  She tightened her fingers in his hair, forcing his mouth harder upon hers. The man grunted in surprise before responding with equal fervor. Even the painful pressure of his mouth consuming hers was delightful. As she tasted him, his hands explored her body in a way that made her skin drip with sweat. This was desire. This was longing. This was want. She'd bristled about being kissed in public, but now she realized that the onlookers were the only ones keeping them from going too far. Remembering her scruples was all fine and good until Gideon embraced her.

  Unfortunately, the man broke free at that moment, gasping for air. Once he recovered, he looked down at her as if he'd never quite seen her before.

  "What are you doing to me, woman?" Gideon said. "With how I lose control, a person would think you were the one with special powers."

  If she wasn't so dazed, she might have thought something was odd about his statement.

  "Woman…powers…uh-huh," she murmured.

  "So it is my kissing ability that's melting your brain." The smirk returned to his face.

  The words woke her right up.

  "Yeah, right." She crossed her arms.

  "You're back to your feisty self." He grinned at her. "Good. Now let's go inside and order some dessert."

  "Dessert." She perked up.

  "Yeah." He was beaming. "I'll even order you more than one piece of cake."

  "Gideon, I…I…" I don't think you're so horrid after all.

  "Are you going to get all sentimental on me just because I'm buying you some cheesecake?" His eyes sparkled. "If you are, bring on the compliments."

  "You're insufferable." She glared at him.

  "Yeah, yeah." He winked. "I like you too. Now let's go."

  He seized her hand and dragged her back into the restaurant.

  ****

  While Gideon drove down the road, Nora stared out the window, trying not to feel smug. The redheaded beauty who'd approached Gideon at the restaurant had shot dirty looks at her all through dessert, proving that the woman had truly been turned down. She knew that she shouldn't have been happy somebody else had been rejection, but she was. Heck, she was having a hard time not dancing in her seat.

  As Gideon pulled into her apartment parking lot, she grinned at him. Unfortunately, she saw that his fists were clenched on the steering wheel. All of her happiness disappeared in a flash. I know he's concerned because of that Amon guy, but why the heck is he so worried? I told him the man fled when I threatened him with pepper spray. Frowning, she placed her hand on Gideon's fist. The man met her eyes.

  "I'm sure Amon isn't anywhere around." And if he was, she'd douse him with pepper spray.

  "Yeah." He nodded, even though he still appeared uncertain. "But just in case, I want to look around your apartment again."

  "That could be a problem." Mr. Fleas and Chubby were inside.

  "Why?" He raised an eyebrow.

  "Mr. Fleas might try to bite off your leg again." The last thing she wanted was for the dog to attack Gideon.

  "I'm not exactly terrified of your three pound dog." Gideon laughed.

  "Hey." She slapped his shoulder. "Be nice. My three pound dog has the heart of a lion."

  "That may be true, but he doesn't have the body of one." Gideon climbed out of the truck and smirked. "I should be fine. I'm not worried about Mr. Fleas."

  She jumped out of the truck too and Gideon met her at the sidewalk.

  As they walked s
ide by side, Gideon slipped his hand into hers. She wondered how she'd grown so comfortable holding hands with him. Before Gideon, she'd been an awkward mess, especially when it came to hand holding. Her palms would grow sweaty and she would tremble all over. The whole process made her wince. Maybe that was another reason why she'd never dated much. Holding hands and swapping spit hadn't been pleasant.

  But then there was Gideon. Even when he annoyed the crap out of her, holding his hand was nice. Heck, she was normally so busy bickering with him that she didn't have time to develop sweaty palms. Kissing him was great too. It led her to wonder why Gideon was so different from everybody else. He made her feel comfortable yet aroused, secure yet excited. For whatever reason, Gideon was just so…so…perfect.

  She gave a small smile.

  As they made it to the door of her apartment, Gideon tugged at her hand.

  "What are you thinking about?" He studied her.

  She must have been making a strange face for him to ask that.

  "Nothing." No way was she telling him what she'd been thinking about. The information would go straight to his head.

  "Uh-huh." He frowned in disbelief. "I bet you were thinking about me."

  "You're right." She nodded. "I was thinking of all the possible ways I could murder you and make it look like an accident."

  "You're a liar." He patted her head affectionately. "Fine. Don't tell me. But since you wore such a dreamy expression, I'll be angry if I find out you were thinking about Robert and not me."

  "I wasn't wearing a dreamy expression." She touched her cheek, horrified.

  "You were too." He leaned against the wall. "I'm surprised you didn't give a girlish sigh and say, 'Oh Gideon, you're so handsome and gorgeous and—ouch!'"

  She pinched his arm. It was childish, but she couldn't help herself.

  "Keep your cheeky comments to yourself or else I'm not going to let you into my apartment." She shoved her key in the lock.

  "How did you learn to pinch so hard?" He wrinkled his nose. "Geez."

  "You're such a whiner." She shook her head and opened the door.

  "And you're an abuser," he said. "Whenever I go on a date with you, I need to wear chainmail to protect me."