Gideon’s jaw clenched, and he suddenly turned and walked away. Jessica cursed, the tears falling down her cheeks. He wasn’t worth her tears, but they fell anyway. She felt Reid’s arm around her.
“Could you help me get my trunk to the car?” Jessica asked, taking in a ragged breath. She knew when to retreat. She hadn’t meant to see him again. She would leave and find another way. There were other avenues. This time she would leave Reid out of it. She wouldn’t let Gideon Michaels dictate the way she lived her life.
“Sweetie, you can’t drive down the mountain in the dark.” Reid pulled her close. She knew she should push him away. He was the reason she was here. She couldn’t. She just burrowed closer. “Let me take you to your room. We’ll talk about it in the morning, okay? I’m so sorry. If I had thought he would react like this, I would never have invited you.”
She laughed a little through her tears. “What did you think he would do?”
Reid’s green eyes were sad as he looked down at her. “Fall at your feet and beg your forgiveness because you’re everything he ever wanted in a woman?”
She shook her head. “Silly man. I have it on the greatest authority that I’m not his type.” She glanced at the window. The snow came down hard and fast. Reid was right. She wasn’t driving down the mountain tonight. “Take me to my room. Luckily, I brought a couple of books. In the morning, I want to go home, okay?”
“I’ll drive you myself if I have to.” His hand wound around her waist. He picked up her trunk with no effort at all. “How about I settle you in, and then I’ll go grab us some dinner. I’ll build a fire, and we can cuddle. I won’t leave you alone.”
She sank into Reid’s comforting warmth and let him lead her.* * * *Gideon strode away, his stomach in knots. He carefully schooled his face. There were plenty of seminar participants watching his retreat from a five-foot-three-inch curvy brunette who knew exactly how to rip his heart out.
Of course, she wasn’t trying to hurt you, the rational part of him said. She was trying to understand why you’re such a fucking asshole.
What had she done that was so terrible? She’d been open and completely giving when they made love. He’d punished her for another woman’s crimes. He’d taken a long-time friendship and tossed it away because he couldn’t handle getting involved with another woman. Jessica had been brave. He’d been a coward.
Gideon opened the door and dragged cold air into his lungs. He lifted his face and let the snow fall on him, willing it to penetrate his body and worm its way into his heart. He preferred the cold of the last several months to the ache seeing Jessica again caused.
He remembered the day he hired her. She’d been twenty-four and fresh faced. She’d been eager to learn. Against his better judgment, he’d hired her on the spot. She tirelessly helped them build their law practice. How had he repaid her? He’d fucked her senseless and told her she wasn’t his type.
But she was. That was the trouble. He knew now that he had a type, and it was very specific.
He should have either not hired her at all or realized he was never going to be his father’s golden boy and accepted it. He’d been willing to marry Anna to please his family. He’d been willing to marry Anna to further his career. Anna was a practical girl. They’d had an ironclad arrangement. She got his money and connections. He got to please his family. She was beautiful and came from a good background, but her family money had dried up. They would never sleep together and had agreed to divorce if either found a person they wanted to be with. He didn’t need to know about her lovers and she didn’t need to know about Reid.
It was a simple exchange that went very wrong. Two weeks before their wedding, she’d discovered him in bed with Reid. Anna had gone straight to his father and found another way to get at the Michaels’ family fortune. She promised to keep her mouth shut about their son in exchange for two million. His father paid her off and then promptly cut off Gideon. That was the night he’d found Jessica in the office. He’d taken comfort in her softness and acceptance, then pushed her away as fast as he could.
Gideon shivered. It was really cold. The snow was starting to cling to him. She hadn’t mentioned his name to Reid in six months? He’d thought of her every second of the day. And she’d been visiting BDSM clubs with Reid.
He remembered the way her naked backside felt in his hands while he spanked her saucy ass. Jessica was a spit-fire when pissed off. The back of his head still stung from her shoe. If he looked at it logically, he knew Jessica had been wet and ready at the end of that spanking. It probably wouldn’t have taken much to get her on her knees sucking his cock despite the fact that they had an audience.