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While she’d studied the subject of sexual inti in person were two different things Reading about the states of arousal had been nothing like experiencing theue stroke on a nipple ood hadn’t prepared her for the wet heat of his as release that had clai at the foot of the stairs
In the starlight, she couldn’t read his expression She couldn’t see if he was re, too "I need to talk to someone," she admitted "You came to mind"
His eyebrows rose "Okay That’s a new one I haven’t seen you in four years and you thought of me?"
"Technically you saw me in the warehouse"
One corner of his ful for me, too" The almost-smile faded "What do you want to talk about?"
"It’s work related, but if you don’t want to have a conversation, I can leave"
He studied her for a few seconds "Come on in I’m too wired to sleep after I work I usually do Tai Chi to relax, but having a conversation works, too"
He walked past her She rose and followed hi and open, with plenty of wood and high ceilings Gideon flipped on lights as he reat roo s that looked out onto the darkness While she couldn’t make out details of the view, she had a sense of vastness beyond
"Is the house on the edge of a canyon?" she asked
"Side of a mountain"
He went into the kitchen There were plenty of cabinets, lots of granite countertops and stainless appliances He pulled two beers out of the refrigerator and handed her one
"I thought you were avoiding me," he said
"I was, but now that we’ve spoken there didn’t seeaze was steady but unreadable She had no idea what he was thinking His voice was appealing, but that was y than any interest in her Gideon had one of those low, ruood on the radio He could ent sound sexy if he put any effort into it
He flipped off the kitchen lights She blinked in the sudden darkness, then heard lass door Moonlight illu onto ould be the back deck of the house She followed
There were a few lounge chairs and a couple of s The trees angled down--Gideon hadn’t been kidding about the house being on the side of a mountain
She settled in a chair close to his, with one of the tables between theainst the cushions and stared up at the star-filled sky The half- the quiet forest and still mountain
The air was cool, but not cold In the distance she heard the faint hoot of an owl An occasional leaf rustled
"I can see why you like it here," she said, reaching for her beer "It’s restful You’re close enough to town to get to the station but far enough away to not have to deal with toothe winter?"
"I didn’t last year We hardly had any snow But it’s going to happen" He shrugged "I’ht, because of hisShe’d noticed that she and Justice often cales but with the sa of her friend
"I couldn’t talk to Justice about this," she said
Gideon raised his eyebrows "All right"
"I thought you’d want to knohy Because he and I are like fa herself toward hiain A powerful aze drifted to his hands She was tall, but with Gideon she’d felt delicate For a few hours in his bed, she hadn’t been frighteningly brilliant or freakishly organized She’d been a woman--just like everyone else
"So what’s the proble to her study of his hands, and the resulting memories "It’s the town"
"You don’t like it here?"
"I like it very much" She drew in a breath "Thethe festivals Pia Moreno had been doing it for several years, but she already has three kids and is pregnant with a fourth It’s too ed "You’d be perfect for the job"
"On the surface The logistics would be easy enough, but that’s not the point It’s the significance"
"Of the festivals?"
She nodded "They are the heartbeat of the town Tio out with my friends, they often talk about festivals fro to trust theood job"
"Of course I’ll do the work It’s more than that"
"You’re scared"
Felicia drew in a breath "I wouldn’t say scared"
He took a drink of his beer "You can pick so word if you want, but you mean scared You don’t want to let theht I was the most direct person in any conversation," she murmured
GIDEON LEANED BACK in his chair and closed his eyes It was safer than looking at Felicia, especially in reen eyes and flame-red hair, she was a classic beauty Hoould she describe herself? Ethereal, maybe He smiled
"This isn’t funny," she told hiht His situation was ned his life so that he chose if and when he interacted with anyone Last night Ford had been his surprise guest Tonight it was Felicia The difference was he’d been comfortable around his friend Not soonly a few feet away
It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable, it was that he are Of the soft sound of her breathing Of the way her hair tumbled over her shoulders Of how she occasionally looked at hi stirred It had been dorroin was painful Thinking pure thoughts didn’t help, mostly because he didn’t have any where she was concerned Of course noas left with a hard-on and nowhere to put it, so to speak
He glanced at Felicia and wondered what she would say if he told her he wanted her Any other woht start taking off their clothes as a way to say yes But what about Felicia?
He figured there was a fifty-fifty chance she would discuss the biological process of arousal and an erection in such scientific terms that the blood would retreat in self-defense, thereby solving the problem On the other hand, she could do what she’d done when they’d met in Thailand--look him directly in the eye and ask if he wanted to have sex with her