Gideon made a face at me. “Probably, but he also recognized loyalty just as well as he does now. I ended up wheezing in the nurse’s office for my efforts, but from that day forward, he had my back no matter who came at me. He’s supported everything I’ve wanted to do, taken me in when I couldn’t stand to live with my family any longer. So the least I can do is make sure homicidal maniacs aren’t breaking down his front door.” He shot another glare at the surveillance footage.
The vulnerability he’d offered with the things he’d revealed squeezed my heart. I had the urge to lean in and steal another kiss—to keep kissing him until I’d melted all the doubt out of him. He was gorgeous and stoic and strong in ways he didn’t even seem willing to admit to himself.
And he was Wylder’s best friend.
Gideon probably wouldn’t have kissed me earlier if I hadn’t caught him by surprise. I wasn’t going to throw a wrench into their long-standing friendship. It was bad enough having Wylder treating me like a second-class citizen without me making Gideon a target by association. If he’d even want to be associated with me that way.
“I have full faith in your abilities,” I told him. I had to smother a yawn. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. I know I don’t have any authority around here, but that’s an order.”
There was something softer than usual in Gideon’s eyes as he gazed back at me. “Thank you for listening and not treating me like something pitiful afterward. With whatever authority I have, I’m saying I think you should get some sleep.”
“You might be right about that.” Reluctantly, I got to my feet. “Make sure you get a little rest in there somewhere too.”
I walked to the door, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to open it without saying something. I turned back to look at Gideon, finding him still watching me. Something in his gaze sent a fresh flicker of heat through my chest.
“Since we’re being honest,” I said, “I wanted to kiss you again just now. But I can tell how important your friendship with Wylder is, and you’ve obviously seen how he feels about me these days, and I don’t want to cause any tension between the two of you by going for it. What happened this evening won’t happen again. Just—just so you know.”
Gideon stared at me for the space of a few heartbeats. His silence said enough. Before I totally humiliated myself, I ducked out of the room and hurried down the hall to mine.