Chapter 6

I wake up shivering, drenched in cold sweat. The leather sofa is an icebox against my clammy skin. I sit up, trying to shake off the fog in my head. The new bandage feels tight on my foot and I immediately know Gideon didn’t redress it.

Butterfly band-aids cover the scrapes on my arms.

The room is bathed in a muted, afternoon light filtering through sheer curtains. Gideon stands by the window, his back rigid, shoulders hunched as if burdened by an invisible weight.

With effort, I mange to get up. The need to comfort him pulls me to him and I limp my way to him. He turns to face me. His eyes meet mine, but his face is etched with a grim agony. Even though he is looking directly at me, his gaze seems to pierce through me, fixated on something I can’t see.

I lean in and wrap my arms around his neck, whispering, “I’m here, Gideon. I’ve got you.”

His eyes focus on me and he crushes me to his chest. His grip is bruising and desperate. He buries his face into my neck, and I feel the ragged rise and fall of his breath. His fingers dig into my waist as if afraid I’d vanish into thin air.

“Are you feeling okay?” His voice is muffled by my curls. I nod against his chest. He pulls back, his thumb brushing my jaw.

“I came so close to losing you,” he whispers, his voice breaking as if the thought is too much to bear. His gaze drops to my throat, and he gently caresses the spot where Rick held the knife.

“Hey, look at me…” I demand, my voice trembling as I see the mist in his eyes. “You found me in time. I’m here, and it’s all thanks to you.” The thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t feels mind-numbing.

His voice is tinged with sadness. “As soon as I could, I rushed back home. I thought you’d be waiting for me. But when I got here, the cabin was empty. You’d been talking about leaving and with the roads open, I feared you left without a goodbye.”

I see the anguish in his eyes, as if he’s replaying that moment. “Then I heard your screams,” he says, his voice cracking. “I ran out there and found you held at knifepoint. I saw red. It’s a good thing I asked Liam to meet us here.”

I run my fingers through Gideon’s scruffy beard, “So, what happened to Rick?”

Gideon’s expression darkens. “Liam got his details from the federal database. Turns out, he has a history of stalking. He was released from prison just over a year ago. Liam confronted him with facts and punches, and he confessed.”

I brace myself, feeling the weight of the moment, “What did he say?”

Gideon tenses, as if reluctant to share it with me. His eyes are filled with a mix of sadness and frustration. “He trailed you home that night from the cafe where you met. He placed a GPS tracker on your car. That’s how he followed you everywhere and knew you came here.”

The room feels like it’s closing in on me. My mind races with the realization of how many times Rick was near, how often our paths crossed. How will I exorcise his phantom presence out of my mind?

Gideon’s voice is a soft murmur, “Once you’re feeling better, we’ll go to the courthouse and get a restraining order. It’s over now, Ariel. He’s gone and you are safe.”

But the fear churns inside me. I clutch his shirt, my knuckles white with the force of my grip. “Gideon,” I say, pointing to my temple, “He’s not gone, not from here.”

He watches me, his expression blank.

I force the words out, feeling exposed and raw. “I still feel trapped in his arms. What if the ghost of his touch, the constant need to look over my shoulder, never goes away?”

Gideon grips my chin and lifts my face, his tender touch a sharp contrast to the violent rage blazing in his eyes. “Ariel, I wanted to rip Rick apart limb from limb for putting his hands on you. I’ve endured a lot in my life, but seeing Rick threaten you with that knife is what will haunt me forever.”

The hunger in his gaze betrays his dirty thoughts as he says continues, “You’ve carved a space in my heart. I will let no one be a danger to you again, I promise.”

Gideon’s confession crashes over me like a tidal wave. I feel the weight of his words and the storm of emotions they carry. Tears well up in my eyes, his words cutting deep into my heart. My pulse races, no longer from fear but from the overwhelming realization that I’m dangerously close to falling for him.

That truth echoes through me, and I wrap my arms around Gideon’s neck. I crash my lips against his, molding them together in a searing kiss. A burning desire surges through my veins. I can feel the heat radiating from him, his rough hands hold my waist in a bruising hold.

Gideon bites my lower lip and I press myself against his chiseled body. My fingers tangle in his hair as he fists my curls and gently tugs on them. I pull him closer, my nails digging into his back, demanding more.

When I reluctantly pull back, I smile at the hazy look in Gideon’s eyes and feel my heart beating hard and fast as I try to untangle my thoughts from the overwhelming lust.

“I came here with no plan, driven by a desperate need to feel safe. In your arms, I found safety and so much more.”

I see Gideon’s eyes widen in surprise and I chuckle, nuzzling his neck with my lips. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. I want to stay in your arms, Gideon, if you’ll have me, because you’ve come to be very important to me too.”

Gideon’s face splits into a big smile and he responds with his delicious lips moving seductively against mine. But just when I begin to lose myself in the kiss, he pulls back.

“We shouldn’t, Ariel. You’ve been through so much today and you’re hurt too,” he tells me, his eyes dark with lust but concern shining through. His hands linger on my arms as he slowly withdraws.

I grab at his collar, not letting him move out of my arms. “Rick almost killed me today. Everything that happened today made me see how fragile life is. All I know is I don’t want to let another moment slip away.”

He grabs my chin and tilts my face up as his other hand nestles in my hair. His touch is no longer gentle.

“Ariel,” he says, determination echoing in his voice, “I will touch and lick you, tease and worship this sinful body for days on end, so much so that you will lose track of time.”

Gideon pulls me hard against him. His fist in my hair tightens. He leans down to my ear and his breath burns me as he continues, “I will keep you on edge, so fucking close, that all you will know is the desperate need to come around my cock.”

His hushed words sound deafening in the quiet room. The feel of his hard cock against my belly leaves me breathless. Before I know it, Gideon flips me around with a sudden, fluid motion, and pushes me hard against the wall. The rough wood is cold against my overheated skin, and Gideon cages me in with his body.

I am breathless, and so is he. I feel like I am going to turn to ash as he traces a finger down my throat. I gasp when he rubs his thumb against my hard nipple poking through the sweatshirt. His eyes darken with a sinful promise as he continues, his voice a seductive rumble. “My every touch, every kiss, every lick of my tongue, every bite, every drop of cum in your tight pussy will banish his every trace.”

Gideon leans back and looks right in my eyes as he whispers, “And then, after driving you mad, I will fuck you so hard and make you scream so loud that it will turn his memory into a mere whisper.”

I gasp at his filthy promise and he crashes his lips onto mine with a fervor that takes my breath away. His kiss is a potent mix of desperation and need, his tongue and touch demanding. I part my lips and his taste bursts into my mouth as he tangles his tongue with mine. My fingers find their way into his hair, tugging him closer as if I could fuse us together.

His kiss is hot and insistent against my sensitive skin, marking me as his. His ragged breath matches the pounding of my heart. His lips close on the throbbing nerve on my neck and he bites, hard.

An unfamiliar combination of pain and pleasure floods through me, pulling a strangled moan from my throat. His roaming hands move to my ass and he grabs them as he pulls me against his hard cock. My back arches against the wood behind me, and I anchor myself by tugging at his shirt.

Gideon rips open his shirt that I am wearing. The buttons clatter on the ground. There is a lingering chill in the air but it’s his dark eyes that gives me goosebumps. Unable to stay away, he recaptures my lips in a heart-melting kiss as he takes each breast in his hands. I moan into our kiss when he rubs his rough thumbs over my nipples.

Suddenly, I am overcome with a wild urge to drive him crazy, as crazy as he is making me. Drunk on this need, I reach down and cup his hard cock straining against the denim. Gideon freezes and I swallow his groan as I rub, feeling his heat on my palm. He pulls back, and his eyes meet mine, wild and simmering with need.

I open the fly of his jeans and his cock springs free, making my pussy throb in delight. My fingers glide over the silky skin of his hard length with a slow, deliberate rhythm. I slide my thumb over the sensitive head of his cock, smearing the bead of moisture that’s gathered there. His hips jerk involuntarily. The reaction is instant—visceral, and it sends a surge of power through me.

“Ah, fuck,” he hisses when I gently squeeze and move my hand in a twisting motion. His eyes darken, the usual emerald eyes now almost black, pupils blown wide with lust.

I stroke him harder, faster, watching the way his face contorts with pleasure, the way his muscles strain as he fights to keep his control. With tousled hair, unbuttoned shirt, and a wild glint in his eyes, he looks as if he is teetering on the edge but restraining himself. It makes me realize just how much he is holding back, and all I want in this moment is for him to let go.

“Gideon, I want you. I need you. Not to purge Rick’s memory, but because when hold me, touch me, nothing else exists. No one else. You’re all I want... all I need. Maybe I should show you,” I purr and drop to my knees before him, the icy chill of the floor seeping through my clothes.

I look up at him and his smoldering eyes fuel the fire already burning hot and low in my pussy. I press my thighs together and lick my lips, catching the way his muscles tense beneath his open shirt.

In one smooth motion, I take his cock in my mouth, inch by inch, until the tip of his cock touches the back of my throat. Gideon chokes on air and grabs my hair until my scalp tingles, making my pussy clench.

Gideon jerks his hips, and a deep, guttural groan escapes him as I start to move, sucking him at a lazy pace. I swirl my tongue around the tip of his cock with each bob of my head. His taste explodes in my mouth, salty and musky. I moan around him, the vibration making his cock twitch in my mouth.

I can feel him trying to be gentle but the last string of his control snaps when I take him in deeper, gagging slightly. His cock pulses on my tongue, thick and rigid. I can’t help but whimper when he holds me in place with a tight grip on my hair and begins thrusting in my mouth. I breathe in through my nose and dig my nails in his thighs, pulling him deeper.

Gideon watches me with awe and hunger, breathing raggedly, his voice strained, “I have dreamt about fucking your sweet mouth since I tasted these luscious lips.”

The sound of his voice vibrates through me, fueling the fire already burning hot and low in my belly. His words spur me on and I hollow my cheeks, taking him in deeper. I suck harder, my hand stroking the base of his cock in rhythm with my mouth.

“Fuck, yes. Take it all in, baby.”

The tension in his body builds, a coiled spring ready to snap, but I keep my movements slow, controlled, wanting to savor every second, every drop of pre-cum. I pull back slightly, letting his cock slip out of my mouth with a wet pop and kiss my way down to his tight balls. I take one into my mouth and roll my tongue around it.

“Tease me more and you will find me buried deep in your pussy,” Gideon vows, his voice barely more than a growl.

“Is that a promise?” I ask, my throaty voice drips of anticipation.

“It’s a guarantee,” his thumb caresses my cheek as I watch emotions play hide and seek in his eyes.

“Anticipation is a bitch, isn’t it?” I ask him, a wicked smile plays on my lips as I spread the drop of pre-cum on his cock with my tongue.

“Ariel…” His voice is a low growl, a warning, but there’s no mistaking the hunger in it, the raw, electrifying desire that pulses between us. Gideon goes wild, gathering my messy hair in his hands and shoving his cock back in my mouth. He tilts my throat so that he can thrust in deeper. Tears spring to my eyes but my weeping pussy relishes being at his mercy.

The groan that escapes him is deep and primal, and it reverberates through me. I slide my hand up his thigh, my fingers digging into the firm muscle as I take him as deep as I can, until I can’t breathe, until his hips buck and a string of curses tumble from his lips.

Suddenly, Gideon pulls his wet cock out of my mouth and bends down to kiss me. He sucks my lower lip and the thought that he can taste himself on me gives me a thrill. He pulls back, a playful glint in his eye, and the world tilts as he lifts me effortlessly into his arms.

His massive and muscular build is a perfect counter to my smaller frame and I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist. The move wedges my pussy right on his straining cock and I dig my nails in his shoulders, anchoring myself.

“It’s my time to satiate my thirst,” he nibbles on my earlobe and carries me with ease to the bedroom. He kicks the door open and crosses the room in a few quick strides before throwing me onto the bed. I bounce on the mattress, a laugh bubbling up in my sore throat which turns into a gasp when Gideon jumps on top of me.

“So what am I to do with you?” he murmurs, hovering over my lips. His emerald eyes have turned onyx with molten lust, his pupils dilated. I hold my breath in anticipation.

“What do you want to do to me?” I ask in a throaty whisper, each word dripping with need.

He chuckles darkly as he trails kisses on my cheek, on my jaw, down my neck. “I can’t even tell you in words what I want to do to you. This is something only my lips can show you when I kiss you.”

He captures my lips and kisses me wildly. Tongue and teeth clatter and fight for control. He wins when I gasp as he pushes my panties aside and thrusts two fingers deep in my throbbing pussy.

The walls clench around his calloused skin and he pumps them in and out of me at a slow pace. “And my hands can show you when they touch you.”

Gideon curls his fingers inside me and my hips buck against him. I let out a shaky breath, my eyes fluttering shut. His teeth dig into the soft flesh of my shoulder, the bite stinging, and my pussy tightens around his magical fingers.

“And my body can show you when my cock is buried deep in your needy and soaking cunt, fucking you hard.”

Yes! A part of my soul screams in my ears. That’s what I need. His fingers move in and out of me at a torturously slow pace, and then his thumb finds my swollen nub. My eyes roll back in bliss when he starts trailing lazy circles around it. I feel like I’m burning from the inside out.

“Then what’s stopping you?” I ask, breathless with the need for him to do just that.

“If you’re asking me what’s stopping me from fucking you? The answer is nothing,” he thrusts his fingers in and out, and when he adds a third finger, my toes curl and my back arches off the bed. The pleasure builds, coiling tighter and tighter until I feel like I might shatter under the weight of it.

“I just intend to make you beg for it. Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?” he smirks and pulls one nipple between his teeth and the other between his fingers, cutting off my laugh. Agony and ecstasy melt together, burning me like molten lava.

“Gideon,” I gasp, his name more of a plea. He hears me, his eyes darkening with a wild hunger.

“Look at me, Ariel,” he murmurs, and it takes everything I have to open my eyes and meet his gaze.

“That’s it,” he says sucking my breast deeper into his mouth as his fingers pick up the pace, pushing me closer and closer to the edge. “Beg me, baby. Tell me what you want.”

The world narrows down to just him, his touch, his voice, and the way he’s watching me like I’m the most important thing in the world. I shut my eyes and beg, “Please, Gideon.”

“Look into my eyes and tell me. Now.”

Gideon’s dark eyes hold me captive as he rubs my clit harder and the pressure inside me boils over. “I fucking need you so bad it burns. Fuck me, Gideon, please!” I cry out, riding his fingers, mindless with desire.

“That’s it, baby, fuck my hand,” he growls, circling my clit faster as he fingers me fast and hard. “Show me how you are going to milk my cock when I am buried deep in your cunt.”

His words shove me over the edge. My orgasm crashes through me, my muscles clamping down around his fingers. I scream his name, my body convulsing around his fingers. He doesn’t stop, his thumb on my clit drawing out every last drop out of me.

I try to catch my breath and Gideon stretches over me, his lips brushing mine in a kiss. The aftermath of my orgasm still pulses through me, but his relentless kisses reignite the fire.

In a swift motion, Gideon flips me onto my stomach, my cheek pressed against the cool sheets. His firm hands grip my hips, pulling me back towards him, as he pushes my legs apart. He positions the tip of his cock against my pussy exactly how he wants, caging me under him.

He tangles his fingers in my hair and pulls them taut. The sharp sting on my scalp makes my pussy drip with need. The head of his cock rubs in between my slick folds, and a low sound escapes him, somewhere between a growl and a sigh.

I push my sopping wet pussy back against him and he presses his weight onto me. His voice, low and rough, vibrates with an intensity that thrills me. “You only belong to me,” he declares, a possessive growl underscoring his words.

He thrusts his thick cock into me with a force that rips a scream from my throat and only stops once he is buried deep in me. He traces the shell of my ear as he whispers the words that claim me, “You’re my girl, Ariel. Only mine.”

My body responds to his every word, my pussy walls clenching around his cock, pulling him deeper. When Rick had said those words, my soul had recoiled in revulsion. But hearing them from Gideon as he fucks me feels completely right. He pulls it all the way out before slamming deep into me again. His massive cock stretches me to the point of pain and it makes me whimper under him. “Oh fuck, yes! Only yours, Gideon.”

Gideon pulls my arm behind my back between us, restricting my movement even more. All I can do is surrender to this wild man, and I love it.

His thumb finds my clit again and makes torturous circles again as he begins thrusting in and out of my soaking cunt. He pants and hides his face in my curls with each thrust.

“I could play with your body until the end of time, Ariel, and still be greedy to touch you, taste you, fuck you.”

My body shakes under his, my hands clutching at the messy sheets under us, and I move my ass in rhythm with his cock. The smooth skin slides easily inside me, the thumping sound echoing in the still room.

I bite my lip and whimper as he rubs his thumb on the hard nub faster, breathing into my ear. “Oh, baby, this need in your voice drives me crazy.”

Each thrust of his cock and his thumb playing with my clit make my cunt constrict against his unrelenting cock and the tension in my body builds again. Gideon wraps one hand around my throat while his fingers press on my clit, pushing me over the peak.

“Come around my cock, Ariel. Let me feel you, baby,” he commands and I shatter under him. My pussy grips him in a chokehold as Gideon rides out my orgasm, and he intakes a sharp breath. The blinding wave of euphoria leaves me trembling and gasping for breath.

Gideon pulls out, flips me around and thrusts into me again before I have a chance to open my eyes. He pins my hands above my head and I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer. His other hand cups the back of my neck, tilting my head to look into my eyes.

He kisses me again, but this time it’s different—deeper, more consuming, as if he’s trying to pour every ounce of him in me. He fucks me with wild abandon, his thrusts both desperate and demanding. The room is filled with the sound of our ragged breathing, the thumping of our bodies and the creak of the bed beneath us.

Gideon’s name escapes my lips in a breathless moan, and he responds with an animalistic growl, his grip on my hips tightening as he pounds his cock harder and faster into me.

Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, Gideon pushes his hands under my ass and with an animalistic growl, begins to pound his cock harder and deeper into me. His balls slap against my ass, and the head of his cock hammers on my g-spot again and again. Our climax builds, the tension between us reaching a fever pitch.

The pleasure coiling inside me snaps with a blinding force and I scream, “Gideon, I am going to…”

“Look at me,” he orders me. I meet his gaze filled with a primal hunger.

“This time, I want to watch you come apart on my cock,” he demands and pins me underneath his heavy body as he drives his cock into me with an unhinged ferocity. My orgasm tears through me, splintering my soul and fusing each piece with Gideon.

Through my blurry vision, I see the last thread of his control snap and his thrusts become erratic, his hips moving in a frantic rhythm. My overstimulated cunt draws him in deeper, milking him and with a loud, guttural groan, Gideon thrusts deeply one last time. His cock pulsates inside me, filling me with his warmth, and his grip tightens on me as if he can’t bear to let go.

Gideon collapses on top of me, our hearts pounding in sync. He rolls us both, pulling me above him, his arms a warm embrace. I close my eyes, savoring his steady breath beneath my cheek.

When I open my eyes, I find Gideon watching me with a tender gaze. He caresses my cheek with his thumb and presses a soft kiss on my swollen lips. A magnetic pull draws me to him, and my body feels delightfully sore as I stretch over his firm form. I trace his hard muscles with my fingers.

With a smirk on his face, Gideon asks me, “So?”

Mischief glimmers in his gaze and I know what he means but I play coy, “So, I baked you some bread.”

Gideon laughs, the sound deep and rich. He wraps him arms tightly around my waist and asks, “You baked me bread?”

“You skipped breakfast, so I took matters into my own hands,” I stick my tongue out at him. I push myself up on my wrists and ask him, “Hungry?”

Gideon’s expression shifts, a look of desire darkening his features. “I’m ravenous, baby,” he replies, his voice a deep rumble beneath me, and I feel his cock hardening a little under me.

“But not for bread,” he crushes me to his chest and pulls my lips in a hard kiss as he flips me over, rolling on top of me.

I gasp at the sudden shift and a flutter of excitement stirs low in my belly. “You can’t be serious, Gideon!” I whisper and pull my lower lip with my teeth.

Gideon groans softly as he releases my lip and traces it with his thumb. His eyes darken when I take his thumb in my mouth and bite it. He presses me into the mattress, his weight a consuming presence over me.

“Baby, I’m insatiable when it comes to you. Let me prove it to you,” he promises and captures my mouth in a fiery kiss, his lips hot and demanding.

And that’s exactly what Gideon does all night. His every kiss reveals the bottomless depth of his desire for me. Our hearts intertwine as resolutely as our bodies, binding us together in a promise of unspoken love.