Then he was gone, slipping into a cabin in the back and shutting the door.

I scowled.

"He's so damn moody."

"And seriously hot.

What he does for that suit ."

Most suits made the man.

Gideon did things to a three-piece suit that should've been illegal.

"Don't distract me with his looks," I groused.

"Give him a blowjob.

That's a guaranteed mood improver."

"Spoken like a man."

"You expected something different?" Cary grabbed the frosty glass bottle holding the excess water that wouldn't fit in my crystal tumbler.

"Check this out."

He showed me the label, which was branded to the Cross Towers and Casino.

"Now that's swank."

My lips twisted wryly.

"For the whales."

"What?" "Casino high rollers.

Gamblers who don't blink an eye at dropping a hundred grand or more on the turn of a card.

They get a lot of comps to lure them in - food, suites, and travel to and fro.

My mom's second husband was a whale.

It's one of the reasons why she left him."

He shook his head at me.

"The shit you know.

So this is a company jet?" "One of five," the attendant said, returning with a fruit and cheese tray.

"Jesus," Cary muttered.

"That's a damned fleet."

I watched as he dug a travel packet of Dramamine out of his pocket and washed the pills down with his Bloody Mary.

"Want some?" he asked, tapping at the wrapper on the table.

"Nope.

Thanks."

"You gonna deal with Mr.

Hot and Moody?" "Not sure.

I may just pull out my e- reader."

He nodded.

"Probably safer for your sanity."

Thirty minutes later, Cary was snoring lightly in his fully reclined seat, his ears covered with noise- canceling headphones.

I watched him for a long minute, appreciating the sight of him looking restful and relaxed, the shallow grooves around his mouth softening in slumber.

Then I got up and went to the cabin I'd seen Gideon disappear into earlier.

I debated knocking, then thought against it.

He was shutting me out elsewhere; I wasn't going to give him the opportunity to do so now.

He glanced up when I walked in, his face showing no surprise at my abrupt appearance.

He sat at a desk, listening to a woman who was speaking to him via satellite video.

His coat was hung on the back of his chair and his tie was loosened.

After that one brief glance at me, he resumed his conversation.

I started stripping.

My tank top came off first, followed by my sandals and jeans.

The woman continued talking, mentioning "concerns" and "discrepancies," but Gideon's eyes were on me - hot and avid."We'll pick this up in the morning, Allison," he interjected, hitting a button on the keyboard that darkened the screen just before my bra landed on his head.

"I'm the one with PMS," I said, "but you're the one having mood swings."

He pulled my bra into his lap and leaned back in his chair, setting his elbows on the armrests and steepling his fingers together.

"And you're putting on a striptease to improve my mood?" "Ha! Men are so predictable.

Cary suggested I blow you to make you happy.

No .

don't get excited.

That's not going to happen."

I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my panties and rocked back on my heels.

I had to give him points for keeping his eyes on mine and not on my breasts.

"I think you owe me, ace.

Big-time.

I've been an exceptionally understanding girlfriend under the circumstances, don't you think?" His brow arched.

"I mean, I'd like to see what you would do," I went on, "if you came over to my place and caught an ex- boyfriend stepping outside still tucking his shirt in his pants.

Then, when you came upstairs, you found my couch messed up and me fresh from a shower."

Gideon's jaw tightened.

"Neither of us wants to see what I'd do."

"So we're both agreed that I've been pretty damn awesome under extraordinary circumstances."

I crossed my arms, knowing how that would showcase the assets he loved.

"You've made it very clear how you'd choose to punish me.

How would you choose to reward me?" "Is it my choice?" he drawled, his eyes heavy-lidded.

I smiled.

"No."

He set my bra on his keyboard and unfolded from the chair in a leisurely, graceful rise.

"Then that's your reward, angel.

What do you want?" "I want you to stop being grumpy, for starters."

"Grumpy?" His lips twitched with a suppressed smile.

"Well, I woke up without you, and now I face two more mornings of the same."

I dropped my arms to my sides and went to him, placing my palms flat to his broad chest.

"Is that really all it is?""Eva."

He was such a strong, physically powerful man, and yet he could touch me with such reverence.

I ducked my head, knowing something in my voice had given me away.

He was too perceptive.

Cupping my jaw in his hands, Gideon tipped my head back and searched my face.

"Talk to me."

"I feel like you're pulling away."

A low growl rumbled through the air between us.

"I've got a lot on my mind.

That doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you."

"I feel it, Gideon.

There's distance between us that wasn't there before."

His hands slid down to my neck, wrapping around it.

"There's no distance.

You've got me by the throat, Eva."

His grip tightened fractionally.

"Can't you feel that?" I sucked in a quick, tight breath.

Agitation spurred my heartbeat, a physical response to fear that came entirely from within and not from Gideon, who I knew absolutely would never physically harm me or put me in danger.

"Sometimes," he said huskily, watching me with searing intensity, "I can hardly breathe."

I might've broken free if not for his eyes, which revealed such yearning and turmoil.

He was making me feel the same loss of power, the same sense of being dependent on someone else for every breath I took.

So I did the opposite of running.

Tilting my head back, I surrendered, and the tingles of fear left me in a rush.

I was learning that Gideon was right about my desire to give up control to him.

Doing so soothed something inside me, some need I hadn't realized I possessed.

There was a long pause, filled only by his breathing.

I sensed him warring with his emotions and wondered what they were, wondered why he was so conflicted.

He released the tension with a deep exhalation.

"What do you need, Eva?" "You - a mile high."

His hands slid over my shoulders and squeezed, then caressed the length of my arms.

His fingers linked with mine and he nuzzled our temples together.

"What is it with you, sex, and modes of transportation?" "I'll take you anyway I can get you," I told him, repeating the sentiment he'd once said to me.

"It'll probably be next weekend before I'm good to go again, thanks to my period."

"Fuck."

"That's the idea."

Reaching for his coat, he wrapped it around me and ushered me out of the cabin.

* * *

"Oh, God."

My hands fisted the sheets beneath me, my back arching as Gideon pinned my hips to the bed and fluttered his tongue across my clit.

My skin was coated in a fine sheen of sweat, my vision blurring as my core tightened viciously in preparation for orgasm.

My pulse was thrumming, racing in unison with the steady hum of the jet's engines.

I'd come twice already, as much from the sight of his dark head between my legs as from his wickedly gifted mouth.

My panties were ruined, literally shredded by his grip, and he was still fully dressed.

"I'm ready."

I pushed my fingers into his hair, feeling the dampness at the roots.

His restraint was costing him.

He was always so careful with me, taking the time to make sure I was soft and wet before filling me too full with his long, thick cock.

"I'll decide when you're ready."

"I want you inside - " The plane shook suddenly, then dropped, leaving me weightless but for the suction of Gideon's mouth.

"Gideon!" I trembled through another climax, my body arching with the need to feel him in me.

Through the roaring of blood in my ears, I heard a voice making an announcement over the comm system, but I couldn't register the words.

"You're so sensitive now."

Lifting his head, he licked his lips.

"You're coming like crazy."

I gasped.

"I'd come harder if you were inside me."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"It doesn't matter if I get a little sore now," I argued.

"I'll have days to recover."

Something sparked in the depths of his gaze.

He rose up.

"No, Eva."

My postorgasmic haze faded at the harshness of his voice.

I levered up onto my elbows and watched him begin to strip, his moves quick and economically graceful.

"My choice," I reminded.

In short order he removed his vest, tie, and cuff links.

His voice was too even when he asked, "You really want to play that card, angel?" "If that's what it takes."

"It'll take more than that for me to hurt you deliberately."

His shirt and slacks followed more slowly, a striptease that was far more seductive than mine had been.

"For us, pain and pleasure are mutually exclusive."