Chapter 17 #2
I started with the information Eugene had compiled about Winston’s death, which was mostly a recap of the festival meeting.
Attendees were listed as: Leon, Avery, Henry, Gideon, Az, Lily, Winston, Mei, Rue, Elwood, Declan, and Eugene.
He’d noted how construction noise was heard during the meeting until Winston called Jim, and how it started up again sometime after Winston left to talk Jim into staying on the job.
“Right.” I nodded. “Then Mei, Avery, and Az all left at the same time. And Henry and Rue left together, too. So, if any of those five had picked up a crystal, you’d think the others would’ve noticed.”
“So the rest of us are all suspects because we were alone with the crystals.” Gideon raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not saying it’s us,” I said. “I’m just trying to be methodical.”
When Gideon laughed, I finally realized he’d been teasing me. “Okay. What else do we know?”
“Winston died sometime before we found him in the morning.” Then I read the list of attendees again. “Leon does seem like our most likely suspect still. I wonder if Lily saw anything. She might have still been on the street when Leon left.”
“You’d think she’d have said something when we spoke with her earlier.”
“Except we were talking more about Jim and the dagger, not about Winston,” I pointed out. “And she might not even realize if she saw something important.”
“Right,” Gideon said.
We both turned our attention to the timeline for Jim then. It wasn’t as detailed. Eugene had included when Gideon and I had talked with him in the morning, and the approximate time of his death based on Mellgren’s opinion.
Then there were the outstanding questions. Most of the big ones about Jim would be answered after we talked to his crew. Then again, maybe once we confronted Leon, this would all be over and we wouldn’t have to ask any more questions at all.
To Eugene’s list of questions, I added the one for Lily about Leon. I printed my words in block letters. Based on the vibration of Eugene’s shadow, I didn’t think he was impressed with my non-loopy contribution to the board.
Seeing everything all laid out like this, I was still convinced Leon was our best bet. I glanced at my phone. It was still several hours before the festival ended. So now what?
I didn’t want to go back out there. The heat had been stifling when we’d been out there earlier, and it would only be hotter now.
“This is great, but we don’t have much to add.”
“Maybe we need a break for a bit,” Gideon suggested, as if reading my mind.
I nodded. “Do you want to come upstairs while we wait for the festival to finish?”
Gideon stared into my eyes for a long moment, as if he was checking to see what I meant.
Oh, did that sound like I was inviting him up for…
uh… some alone time? Heat flooded my cheeks, but I didn’t try to take back my invitation.
Elwood wouldn’t be home for hours, so we’d have the place to ourselves.
In fact, that sounded like a spectacular idea the more I thought about it.
All the sweet kisses over the last few days had felt like they were leading to this point.
A very long foreplay. And that kiss last night?
That had stayed with me for a long time after I crawled into bed.
Just thinking about it now made my skin heat in anticipation of what might come once we were alone.
Tulip sighed. “I guess I’ll go and sit behind the counter again…”
Eugene shook.
“Are you sure?” Tulip asked the shadow. “I thought you were done. But, yes, I’d love to help you some more.”
I think I needed to learn how to read shadow language, because I never would’ve guessed that was what he’d communicated.
Gideon and I slipped from the room as Tulip unraveled more red yarn from a skein. Neither she nor Eugene seemed to notice us leaving. Although who could really tell with Eugene?
As I led Gideon to Elwood’s apartment, my pulse quickened. I licked my lips, remembering all too well the heated kiss we’d shared the night before. I didn’t want to stop at a kiss this time, though.
My attraction to Gideon had been intense from the beginning, but it became a nearly tangible entity when we entered the apartment. My body felt alive with my need for him.
“Dec…” Gideon’s tone of voice suggested he was about to make some excuse. I put my finger over his lips. He waited. The heat of his breath swirled over my hand.
“I know,” I said. “I know it’s fast. I know we don’t know a lot about one another. I know I just broke up with someone.”
Gideon growled at the mention of Josh. I moved my hand to caress his cheek.
“But I’m attracted to you.” I swallowed. “I want to explore this with you.”
“I wasn’t going to stop this,” Gideon said as he pressed his cheek into my palm. “I don’t think I could. I’ve never felt this way about someone before. I want to get to know you…”
“Good,” I said. “Kiss me.”
“Always.” Gideon wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
Desire shot through me. It felt like lightning, leaving a trail of red-hot heat in its wake. I’d never responded like this to anyone. Ever. How could I want him so much already? Everything about this man excited me. He could probably look at me at this point, and I’d come.
His lips brushed against mine. It was sweet. It was tender. It wasn’t what I wanted.
I arched into him as I opened my mouth. He grunted and tightened his arms around me. His face knocked against my glasses, pushing them askew, but I didn’t care. I just wanted more of Gideon.
“Yes.” I groaned.
That was more like it. I wanted him to lose control, because I couldn’t be the only one barely hanging on.
The air between us felt charged. An almost tangible something connected us, flowed over us, and tickled our skin.
Was this just an extension of my attraction to Gideon?
Was it more? I didn’t know. And right now, I didn’t care either.
Gideon pulled back and stared at me in wonder. “You taste like spice cake. Is that your magic?”
“Don’t know, but I hope you like spice cake,” I whispered as I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck to pull his mouth back to mine again.
He must have been okay with it, because he was kissing me again. I lost myself in the feel of his mouth and his body and his hands. I clutched his broad shoulders. I rubbed my hips against him. I let out very manly moans.
At least I hoped they sounded manly.
I was being ridiculous, wasn’t I? Because who the fuck cared about how my moans sounded?
“Need to touch you,” I said.
“Yes,” he agreed.
Our words broke whatever scant control we’d had. Suddenly, he was tugging at my shirt. I was working to open his belt. Skin. I needed to feel his skin beneath my fingers. I needed to feel his hands on me.
There was the sound of fabric ripping. Then my torso was bare without us ever breaking our kiss. I’d never liked that shirt anyway. His hands glided over my heated skin with a firm touch. I’d never been so turned on in my life while still dressed from the waist down.
“Too many clothes,” I mumbled against his mouth. I was desperate to feel every part of him.
“Yes,” he agreed again. This time, it sounded more like a growl.
And wasn’t that hot as fuck?
And I loved how he was so damned agreeable to all my brilliant ideas.
“Wait, do we need condoms?” I didn’t know how far we were taking this today, but we should be prepared, right?
Gideon shook his head. “Don’t need them. Wolf shifters can’t spread infections or diseases like that.”
I was going to ask more questions, because how was that even a thing? But then Gideon drew his tongue over my neck, and I didn’t care about the details. I could figure that out later. Much later.
Hands stroked and explored and caressed as we removed each bit of clothing from one another. Gideon pulled back and stared into my eyes. His amber irises almost appeared to be glowing, and I wondered if that was his wolf pressing forward.
Was it weird that seeing that turned me on?
“Need to explore you,” he mumbled.
I thought he might step back. Take a look.
But nope. He pressed his face against the side of my neck and inhaled deeply.
His short beard scraped across my sensitive skin.
Then he nipped gently at my throat before trailing his tongue down to my shoulder.
I held my breath. Would he bite me? Fuck. I think I might even like that.
He grunted in pleasure as I curled my fingers into his hair and held on as he continued his exploration lower. I hadn’t even realized I was bucking against him until his large hands bit into my hips to hold me still.
“Gideon…” I whispered in a pleading tone.
“Fuck,” he murmured against my chest. “I’ve dreamed about getting you naked from the moment I met you.”
I closed my eyes and shuddered as his tongue flicked over my nipple. They weren’t usually that sensitive, but today it was like every part of my body was clamoring for his attention. Then he moved lower again. At the first brush of his hot breath across my cock, I blinked open my eyes to watch.
Fuck. The sight of Gideon kneeling in front of me made me dizzy with want. His mouth was a mere whisper away from my erection. He held my gaze as his tongue slipped over the tip.
My knees collapsed beneath me. I was sure Gideon could have held me up, but instead, he guided me to lie on the floor beside him. The cool hardwood felt good against my flushed skin.
Then Gideon crawled over me, covering me with his body.
There was something about this position that did it for me.
I felt protected, as if he was putting his body between me and the rest of the world.
And I instinctively knew it was true. Gideon would shelter me from any hardship the world tried to throw at me.
He was my protector. My wolf shifter lover. My…
It felt like the answer was right there, on the tip of my tongue. Because this was much more than mere attraction or lust.
As he pressed sweet kisses to my face, I reached between us and took our lengths in my hand.
We both groaned. I loved everything about this moment.
I wanted to remember every little part of it, from the feel of him pressing me to the floor to his hard length gliding against mine.
Precum dripped over my hand. I spread it across our cocks.
Lube would have been better, but fuck if this wasn’t sexy as hell.
“Sweet Goddess, Declan…” He moaned as he bucked into my grip, drawing his cock against mine. Each thrust pushed me closer to the edge. “I’m going to…”
“Yes. Just like that.” I tightened my grip around our cocks as I threw my head back and rocked my hips against his. Then I was coming. My release shot between us.
Gideon grunted. His teeth scraped over my shoulder before he twisted his head away. He jolted against me once more before he slammed his mouth to mine as his release spurted across my stomach.
We lay on the floor for a few minutes as our bodies cooled. Then Gideon groaned and rolled to the floor beside me. I pulled off my glasses. They’d fogged up, and I didn’t need them right now anyway. I tossed them over to where we’d dropped my clothes.
“Fuck,” he said as he stared at the ceiling. “I can’t believe we didn’t make it more than two feet inside the door.”
I grinned at him. “That was pretty amazing.”
He shook his head at me as he stood up, but I could tell he was pleased. He extended his hand to me. “Come on.”
“Round two?” I asked as he pulled me to my feet.
“I was thinking about having a shower, but…”
I laughed and pulled him toward the bathroom. “There’s no reason we can’t do both of those things at the same time.”