With a low growl, he stopped dancing and claimed her mouth with his own.
The kiss was devastating, making her knees want to fold so he had to tighten his hold on her, shifting her to an angle to accommodate her bump. That tilted her head just enough to seal their lips with erotic perfection.
He didn’t keep it to a quick punctuation to prove a point, either. Adara put up a hand to the side of his head, thinking, People are watching, but he gave her tongue a wicked tag and she couldn’t help letting the kiss deepen and continue.
Oh, this man could kiss.
A cleared throat brought her back to reality with a thunk that she felt all the way into the flats of her feet. A woman’s amused Irish lilt said, “Don’t interrupt them. They’re adorable.”
“Nic,” Adara breathed in recognition of her older brother and his wife, growing hot with embarrassment as she realized what a show they’d been putting on. “Hi, Rowan. It didn’t sound like you’d make it.”
Her brother and his wife were beyond star power, Nic in a tuxedo and Rowan showing off her lithe dancer’s body with an off-the-shoulder figure-hugging green gown.
“Evie got over her cold and we wanted to see you again,” Rowan said.
Nic leaned in to kiss Adara’s cheek before he shook hands with Gideon.
Something passed between the two men that she couldn’t quite interpret and didn’t get a chance to study. Having kept up via webcam, she and Rowan had become tight friends and that gave them plenty to talk about. The rest of the evening passed in a blur of catching up while also going through the routine of photo ops and speeches for the anniversary celebration, partaking of the buffet, and finally returning to the penthouse exhausted but still keyed up.
“That went well, don’t you think?” she asked Gideon as she removed her earrings. They were enchanting cascades of diamonds commissioned to match her ring. She’d almost ruined her makeup when he’d presented them to her before they’d left earlier in the evening, she was so affected by his thoughtfulness.
Gideon made a noncommittal noise.
“No?” she prompted, alarmed that he might have noticed a flaw she’d missed.
“Hmm? No, it was fine. Perfect. Excellent. I’m a bit distracted. Look, you get ready for bed and I’ll be in soon. I’d like a nightcap.”
“Oh. Okay.” Adara’s startled confusion was evident, but Gideon didn’t attempt to explain himself.
He breathed a small sigh of relief as she disappeared and didn’t see the full measure of bracing whiskey he poured for himself or the rabid way he drained it. Despite the burn that promised forgetfulness, he wasn’t able to stop replaying his conversation with her brother.
“I’d like a word,” Nic had said when both their wives had been drawn across the room by some fashion marvel.
“Now is fine,” Gideon had said, keeping one eye on Adara, premonition tightening his muscles.
“Understand first that I’ve always felt protective of Adara, even when the only thing she had to fear was a nightmare. Knowing what I abandoned her to, I’m sick with myself for not trying to contact her sooner. I’ll be on guard for her the rest of my life.”
“Reassuring,” Gideon had muttered.
“The way you two were arguing at the end of my driveway wasn’t,” Nic retorted sharply. “When you first arrived in Greece. Not reassuring at all.”
Gideon knew better than to show weakness, but he flinched involuntarily. “I thought she was meeting another man. Tell me how you would react if you thought your wife was stepping out on you.”
“She wouldn’t. But...” Nic shrugged, seeming to accept the explanation for Gideon’s temper that day. “Regardless, I’m a man who collects the facts before he reacts.”
Gideon had spilled a dry laugh at that point, enjoying the euphemistic phrase “collects the facts.” “You mean you had me investigated.”
“I don’t have to hire people to do my legwork,” Nic said disparagingly.
“No,” Gideon snorted, wishing for a drink at that point. He’d known from the outset that Nic could be a threat, but he hadn’t expected this. Not now when he and Adara had both found such happiness. “What did you learn?” He surreptitiously braced himself.
“What do you think I learned?” Nic asked, narrowing his eyes. “Nothing. Which doesn’t surprise you, does it?”
“Of course it does,” he’d lied. “I’m all over the internet.”
“Gideon Vozaras is,” Nic agreed. “He’s never made a wrong move. Some of his early business dealings weren’t as clean as they could have been, but that’s every scrappy young man trying to make his mark. Those men don’t usually appear out of thin air, though.”
Gideon had calmly stropped his knuckles on his jaw, trying to disguise that he was clenching his teeth. “I’m fairly protective of Adara myself, you know.” He flashed a glance from her laughing face to the vague resemblance of her features in her brother’s rigid expression.