The limo ride home was relatively quiet. Gideon said something to the driver, who looked startled but scrambled out of the car to open the door for us both.

Then we were sliding into the seat next to each other in the back, and I was so glad Gideon chose the seat next to me. I leaned into him while he wrapped an arm tightly around my shoulders.

He had looked so furious, and not in the cold, harsh way of being screwed over on a contract. It was something a lot hotter that had made him slap Hayden so hard the crack had echoed through the room.

That simple gesture had given me breathing room, made me feel less like I was my ex’s bitch and more like I was… my own person. Free, like when I’d first signed with Prestige.

“You okay?” I murmured.

Gideon laughed breathily, and his hand rose to idly stroke the hair at the back of my head. “I should be asking you that. I’m fine.”

“Seeing Alex again…” It occurred to me that I didn’t really know how Gideon felt about him. The public split had been nasty, but nobody had been gossiping about whether his heart was really Alex’s or not.

“Seeing Hayden,” he countered, but his tone was gentle. He leaned forward to rummage in one of the limo’s compartments.

An unconscious shudder worked its way through my body, and Gideon’s arm around my shoulders tightened for a moment. Being in his arms let me smell that wonderful, soapy spice that made all my tensions unwind every time.

“It wasn’t easy,” I agreed quietly. “Alex told me… I’d never have to be around Hayden. Until tonight, he never had us meet. But I guess he decided, fuck it, torture me a little… brought him along tonight.”

“Sadistic little asshole,” Gideon murmured, his voice hard. He was pressing something into my hand. “I shouldn’t have let you go with him.”

“I wanted to. It was a mistake, but you let me make it myself.” I realized my nails were biting into my palms. I accepted whatever Gideon gave me, which turned out to be a chocolate square. Once I rubbed the marks out of my palms, I popped the square into my mouth and rested one hand on his knee.

“Are you done making me watch you make mistakes?” he asked, his voice gentle.

I winced. Yeah, it couldn’t have been easy letting me walk away -- to his ex, no less -- but Gideon had done it. He’d respected me that much. And everything before that… all the drinking and partying, very nearly drugs…

“I’m done,” I agreed quietly, rolling the chocolate under my tongue. Then, I winced again. “I’m sorry for fucking up.” As far as I knew, Prestige hadn’t suffered, but Gideon…

If he really cared about me like he seemed to, he had.

“I’m sorry I threw you in the deep end,” he answered, that deep rumble of his voice soothing me in its tremors through my chest as our sides pressed together.

This was getting a little heavy. “Okay, our mutual apologyfest is done,” I said, grinning. I licked the chocolate off my teeth and swallowed a few times.

He let me deflect with that humor. “Fine,” he teased. “You smell nice.”

“Oh, compliments. I like those better.” I grinned again. The chuckle was slow, but it came nonetheless. God, even when I was reeling from shame and shock, Gideon could still make me laugh.

He rubbed my arm and murmured, “Bet you taste nice, too.”

I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t help laughing, clutching my bag of clothes to my lap. I hadn’t even bothered pulling on my jeans before making my exit. That line was damn smooth. “Why don’t you find out?”

“Do you want me to?”

The question made my breath catch in my throat. There was no question -- not at all. I’d always wanted Gideon, every second, in every way. Even over this last painful month of spiraling into obscurity, I’d thought about him.

Specifically, I’d wished he wanted me as more than a warm, pretty body in his bed.

“What are we?” I countered, trying to keep my voice steady. I was terrified of the answer, but after everything that had happened tonight, what was the worst that could happen now? I’d already hit bottom.

“That’s up to you. I like you… a lot more than I’d hoped,” he admitted. “I wasn’t planning to date again until I was at least forty. And I wasn’t planning to date another model. I also wasn’t planning on meeting you. I missed you a lot this month.”

I swallowed hard. Okay… communication. I could do this. I followed his lead. “Yeah, same. Hayden pushed me around a lot -- a bit physically, mostly emotionally, you know? I was all, I won’t date, too. But you seemed… seem… different. And… Christ knows I missed you, too. Even though we only barely saw each other before, that was better than nothing.”

“So, are we doing this?”

My heart thudded, and I turned my head to make direct eye contact with Gideon. Those blue eyes were sincere as he intently waited on my answer.

“Yes,” I murmured, my heart thudding with excitement as I squeezed his knee. I was rewarded with a rare, broad smile that stretched at the corners of Gideon’s lips until his cheeks rounded.

“Great,” he whispered, then patted my knee. “We’re headed back to mine, is that okay?”

Then my chest tightened. Shit. I had to come clean. “Ah, yeah… about that.” He just raised an eyebrow, and I went on. “I don’t actually live… where I said I did.”

“I couldn’t have guessed.” The dry sarcasm dripping from his lips made me laugh with surprise. “I’ve known since the beginning.”

“Wh-why’d you even hire me, then?” I stuttered, caught completely off-guard.

“I knew you didn’t work where you said you did, too. I thought it was ballsy to lie your way up. I wanted to see if you could prove yourself on your own merits instead of your resume.”

I flushed with embarrassment. I hadn’t exactly done that.

He chuckled gently and pulled me in for another half-hug. “I’m glad you didn’t work out as my executive assistant, to be honest. You would have sucked taking orders, and I’d have been a dick giving them.”

I burst out laughing, relief washing through me as I leaned back in my seat again. Gideon had given me enough chances and rope to hang myself with, and he was still taking me back. I wasn’t going to use his generosity again.

“Are you getting me back to work modeling?”

“I thought about something else, actually,” he answered. “I’ll talk more about it tomorrow, once we give the middle finger to those dicks’ lawyers.”

I relaxed and put my head on my new lover’s shoulder for a moment. More than feeling ashamed of my downward spiral, I was bored and restless. I wanted to work hard and earn my own money, even if it wasn’t on the runway.

Hell, part of me wondered if I’d be better-suited behind the scenes, where nobody would look twice at me or expect me to power through a week of work on half a dozen salads, a few bottles of champagne, and a line of coke.

I knew two things for sure: first, that I was a damn good model, and second, that this fact didn’t mean I should be one.

The foyer of Gideon’s house made me suck in my breath with shock.

Holy shit. He’d modeled for Quantum, the magazine of all the fancy pants business gays, in his own front hall? They’d brought in different furniture -- more swanky dark carved woods, and the lighting had been different, but the wallpaper and tile was unmistakable.

“Hmm?” Gideon hummed, kicking off his shoes and nudging them into his closet.

I followed suit. “Just… nothing.”

Then, his eyes lit up with amusement. “You recognize this place?” He wasn’t helping me off with my jacket, letting me choose whether to strip it off or not.

That was kind of sweet, and totally missed the mark on what I wanted right now. I dropped my bag of clothes and stuff to the floor and shook off the jacket in a smooth snap of my arms, then handed it over to him. “Maybe.”

To his credit, Gideon’s eyes stayed on my face and not the underwear that was all I was left in now. “You studied up on everything I’ve done?”

“…Maybe.” I was blushing, the heat crawling down my face and chest now. I knew I was turning bright red as far down as my chest, and up to my ears. “Shut up and kiss me.”

Gideon’s laugh was gentle and affectionate as he snaked his arms around my waist, yanking me against him.

We kissed deeply, him pressing me closer to him. Despite the heat of my blush, the hallway was cool under my feet and around me.

After a few deep kisses, he murmured, “Want some more clothes?”

“I want fewer, actually,” I whispered against his wet lips. I ran my tongue slowly across his lower lip, then sucked it between my lips and nipped lightly.

Gideon’s eyes were hazy now, his breathing rough. “That way,” he whispered once he could speak again, pushing me towards a door.