Bared to You

this-close
to being too much, but it didn’t
cross the line. Instead, Perrini’s was exotic and
luxurious, an indulgent treat for those who could
afford it. Like my mother, who’d just finished a
milk-and-honey bath when we arrived.
I studied the menu of treatments available,
deciding to skip my usual “warrior woman” in favor
of the “passionate pampering.” I’d been waxed
the week before, but the rest of the treatment
—“designed to make you sexually irresistible”—
sounded like exactly what I needed.
I’d finally managed to get my mind back into the
safe zone of work when Cary spoke up from the
pedicure chair beside mine.
“Mrs. Stanton, have you met Gideon Cross?”
I gaped at him. He knew damn well my mom
went nuts over any news about my romantic—and
not-so-romantic, as the case may be—
relationships.
My mother, who sat in the chair on the other
side of me, leaned forward with her usual girlish
excitement over a rich, handsome man. “Of
course. He’s one of the wealthiest men in the
world. Number twenty-five or so on Forbes’s list, if
I’m remembering correctly. A very driven young
man, obviously, and a generous benefactor to

---

many of the children’s charities I champion.
Extremely eligible, of course, but I don’t believe
he’s gay, Cary. He’s got a reputation as a ladies’
man.”
“My loss.” Cary grinned and ignored my violent
headshaking. “But it’d be a hopeless crush
anyway, since he’s digging on Eva.”
“Eva! I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.
How could you not tell me something like that?”
I looked at my mom, whose scrubbed face
appeared young, unlined, and very much like
mine. I was very clearly my mother’s daughter,
right down to my surname. The one concession
she’d made to my father had been to name me
after his mother.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I insisted. “We’re just…
friends.”
“We can do better than that,” Monica said, with
a look of calculation that struck fear in my heart. “I
don’t know how it escaped me that you work in the
same building he does. I’m certain he was smitten
the moment he saw you. Although he’s known to
prefer brunettes…Hmm…Anyway. He’s also
known for his excellent taste. Clearly the latter won
out with you.”
“It’s not like that. Please don’t start meddling.
You’ll embarrass me.”
“Nonsense. If anyone knows what to do with
men, it’s me.”
I cringed, my shoulders creeping up to my ears.
By the time my massage appointment came
around, I was in desperate need of one. I
stretched out on the table and closed my eyes,
preparing to take a catnap to get through the long
night ahead.
I loved dressing up and looking pretty as much
as the next girl, but charity functions were a lot of
work. Making small talk was exhausting, smiling

---

nonstop was a pain, and conversations about
businesses and people I didn’t know were boring.
If it wasn’t for Cary benefitting from the exposure,
I’d put up a bigger fight about going.
I sighed. Who was I fooling? I’d end up going
anyway. My mom and Stanton supported abused
children’s charities because they were significant
to me. Going to the occasional stuffy event was a
small price to pay for the return.
Taking a deep breath, I consciously relaxed. I
made a mental note to call my dad when I got
home and thought about how to send a thank-you
note to Gideon for the hangover cure. I supposed I
could e-mail him using the contact info on his
business card, but that lacked class. Besides, I
didn’t know who read his inbox.
I’d just call him when I got home. Why not? He’d
asked—no, 
told
—me to; he’d written the demand
on his business card. And I’d get to hear his
luscious voice again.
The door opened and the masseuse came in.
“Hello, Eva. You ready?”
Not quite. But I was getting there.
After many lovely hours at the spa, my mom and
Cary dropped me off at the apartment; then they
headed out to hunt for new cuff links for Stanton. I
used the time alone to call Gideon. Even with the
much-needed privacy, I punched most of his
phone number into the keypad a half-dozen times
before I finally put the call through.
He answered on the first ring. “Eva.”
Startled that he’d known who was calling, my
mind scrambled for a moment. 
How did he have
my name and number in his contact list?
“Uh…
hi, Gideon.”

---

“I’m a block away. Let the front desk know I’m
coming.”
“What?” I felt like I’d missed part of the
conversation. “Coming where?”
“To your place. I’m rounding the corner now.
Call the desk, Eva.”
He hung up and I stared at the phone, trying to
absorb the fact that Gideon was moments away
from being with me again. Somewhat dazed, I
went to the intercom and talked to the front desk,
letting them know I was expecting him and while I
was talking, he walked into the lobby. A few
moments after that, he was at my door.
It was then that I remembered I was dressed in
only a thigh-length silk robe, and my face and hair
were styled for the dinner. What kind of
impression would he get from my appearance?
I tightened the belt of my robe before I let him in.
It wasn’t like I’d invited him over for a seduction or
anything.
Gideon stood in the hallway for a long moment,
his gaze raking me from my head down to my
French manicured toes. I was equally stunned by
his appearance. The way he looked in worn jeans
and a T-shirt made me want to undress him with
my teeth.
“Worth the trip to find you like this, Eva.” He
stepped inside and locked the door behind him.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good. Thanks to you. Thank you.” My stomach
quivered because he was here, with me, which
made me feel almost…giddy. “That can’t be why
you came over.”
“I’m here because it took you too long to call
me.”
“I didn’t realize I had a deadline.”
“I have to ask you something time-sensitive, but
more than that, I wanted to know if you were

---

feeling all right after last night.” His eyes were
dark as they swept over me, his breathtaking face
framed by that luxurious curtain of inky hair. “God.
You look beautiful, Eva. I can’t remember ever
wanting anything this much.”
With just those few simple words I became hot
and needy. Way too vulnerable. “What’s so
urgent?”
“Go with me to the advocacy center dinner
tonight.”
I pulled back, surprised and excited by the
request. “You’re going?”
“So are you. I checked, knowing your mother
would be there. Let’s go together.”
My hand went to my throat, my mind torn
between the weirdness of how much he knew
about me and concern over what he was asking
me to do. “That’s not what I meant when I said we
should spend time together.”
“Why not?” The simple question was laced with
challenge. “What’s the problem with going
together to an event we’d already planned on
attending separately?”
“It’s not very discreet. It’s a high-profile event.”
“So?” Gideon stepped closer and fingered a
curl of my hair.
There was a dangerous purr to his voice that
sent a shiver through me. I could feel the warmth
of his big, hard body and smell the richly
masculine scent of his skin. I was falling under his
spell, deeper with every minute that passed.
“People will make assumptions, my mother in