Taming the Last St Claire (20 page)

‘The question I should have asked you yesterday morning was why me?’ he repeated, dark eyes compelling. ‘Why choose
me
as your first lover?’

Joey felt the colour drain from her cheeks, and she
leant against the edge of the door as her knees felt weak. ‘Couldn’t this have waited until morning?’

‘No,’ Gideon said determinedly, and he stepped forward into the apartment before firmly moving Joey away from the door and closing it behind him. ‘Why me, Joey?’ he prompted again huskily.

She swallowed hard. A lump seemed to have lodged in her throat, and her lips felt stiff and unyielding. The chances of him ever realising what question he should have asked yesterday morning had been pretty slim in her estimation. She wouldn’t have mentioned it at all if she hadn’t believed that.

She moistened the dryness of her lips. ‘Well, I had to start somewhere—’

‘Don’t!’ Gideon rasped harshly, and reached out to firmly grasp the tops of her arms, that compelling dark gaze holding hers captive. ‘You’re twenty-eight years old, very beautiful, with a keen sense of humour, fun to be with—’

‘Much as I’m enjoying this paean of praise, Gideon—’

‘So why, when dozens of men must have wanted to make love with you,’ he continued, talking over Joey’s attempt at mockery, ‘did you wait until I came along to make love for the first time? With a man who more often than not annoys you intensely?’

This was a continuation of her nightmare, Joey decided. She had fallen asleep after all, and this was a really bad dream. A very realistic bad dream, admittedly—Gideon’s fingers felt firm on her arms, and she could feel the warmth of his breath ruffling her own tousled hair—but he couldn’t possibly really be here in her apartment at two o’clock in the morning—nor could they be having this conversation!

‘I think it’s probably overstating it slightly to say that dozens of men have wanted to make love to me—’

‘Joey, I realise this is how you normally get through your day, but for once will you just stop making a joke out of everything?’ Gideon’s expression was fierce as he shook her slightly.

Should she be able to feel those fingers holding her arms if this was just a nightmare? And should she be feeling slightly dazed from Gideon shaking her if she was actually asleep?

If the answer to both those questions was no, then Joey was in serious trouble!

She eyed him guardedly. ‘You’re really here, aren’t you?’

Gideon’s answer was to pull her hard against him as he lowered his lips to capture hers in a kiss that was as intense as it was punishing. His eyes glittered deeply gold when he finally lifted his head to look down at her. ‘Does that seem real enough to you?’ he demanded gruffly.

Yep—she was in serious, serious trouble!

Gideon gave a rueful laugh as he saw the sudden panic in Joey’s expression. ‘Shall we go into the sitting room and talk about this?’

‘As I’ve already said, it’s two o’clock in the morning—’

‘I’ve already conceded that it is,’ Gideon drawled, and turned her in the direction of the sitting room. ‘If you want to wait until morning to continue this discussion, then fine. I’ll just sleep on the sofa again.’

‘I can’t possibly go back to my bedroom and fall asleep knowing you’re out here on my sofa!’ Joey returned sharply, obviously horrified at the very thought of it.

Gideon tilted his head in consideration. ‘Why can’t you?’

‘Because—Well, because—You can’t stay here again tonight,’ she insisted firmly.

‘Tell me why not?’

Her mouth firmed. ‘I don’t have to tell you anything except goodbye!’

‘Would my telling you that I’ve fallen in love with you make the prospect of my staying here tonight more or less horrifying?’

Gideon held his breath, all the uncertainty, the disbelief, the fear that he had known as he’d paced his own apartment earlier, trying to make sense of his own feelings and finally succeeding, coming back with a vengeance.

What if he had totally misjudged this situation? What if the conclusions he had come to about their lovemaking yesterday were completely wrong? What if he had just made a complete idiot of himself by telling a woman who cared nothing at all for him that he had fallen in love with her?

So what if he had?

He had spent the last twenty-five years being emotionally restrained. Never really making a home out of any of the apartments he had lived in. Dressing conservatively. Driving equally unimaginative cars. Choosing friends who demanded nothing of him and women who demanded even less.

Making an emotional fool of himself was long overdue!

Although Gideon really hoped—prayed—that it wasn’t going to happen with Joey.

She eyed him warily as she slowly moistened her lips again with the pink tip of her tongue. ‘And are you actually telling me that? That you’ve fallen in love with me?’ she said huskily.

Gideon returned her guarded gaze. ‘Oh, yes.’ The admission was accompanied by a smile, which turned rueful as he obviously saw her complete shock.

‘I—But—You
can’t
have fallen in love with me!’ she protested incredulously. ‘You think I’m outspoken. And rude. And pushy. And—’

‘Yes, I did think you were all of those things.’

‘But you don’t any more? ‘

‘No, I don’t. What I think—know—is that I’ve fallen in love with you. That I want to ask you to marry me.’ Gideon held his breath once more as he waited for a response.

It was that very self-consciousness that gave Joey the hope that she wasn’t dreaming this after all. Surely even in a dream Gideon wouldn’t look this uncertain of himself?

If not, had he really just said he was in love with her? That he wanted to marry her?

Gideon reached out and clasped both her hands in his. ‘I realise this is too sudden for you—that I’ve done very little to endear myself to you. Hell, I’ve done very little to endear myself to
anyone
for the past twenty-five years,’ he acknowledged in disgust. ‘But if you’ll let me—if you’ll give me a chance, Joey—I swear that I’ll do everything possible, whatever it takes, to help you fall in love with me too.’

She could only stare at him, sure that the strain of the past few days must have sent her completely out of her mind. Gideon loved her and wanted to marry her? Maybe if she kept saying it over and over again to herself she might actually come to believe it!

She swallowed hard before taking in a deep, determined breath. ‘You asked why you, Gideon,’ she reminded him.

‘You don’t have to answer if you would rather not,’ he assured her hastily.

He was still massively uncertain, Joey realised wonderingly, totally incredulous that Gideon, a man always so sure of himself, was obviously completely unsure of her and how she felt about him.

Novel as that was, Joey found she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all!

‘The “why you” is easy, Gideon,’ she said softly. ‘It’s true that when I first met you I believed you to be arrogant, aloof, superior, sarcastic—’

‘Stop, Joey!’ he groaned.

‘But I also thought,’ she continued firmly, ‘that you were the most gorgeous, sexy man I had ever set eyes on. I wanted us both to rip our clothes off right then and there and lie naked together on white silk sheets.’

‘Red. The sheets were always red satin in
my
fantasies about the two of us,’ he explained self-consciously at Joey’s questioning look.

‘You’ve had fantasies about us making love too?’ Joey stared up at him in wonder.

Gideon nodded. ‘I’ve spent the last week doing little else,’ he admitted. ‘In every venue and position possible—and some that probably aren’t!’

‘I’m shocked, Gideon!’ Joey gave a choked laugh as she finally started to believe that he really
did
love her.

Gideon loved her!

He really loved her!

‘No, you aren’t,’ he shot back.

‘Well…no, not really. Perhaps
hopeful
best describes it?’ Her eyes shone a mischievous green.

‘Hopeful?’ He looked even more uncertain.

‘Gideon, haven’t you realised yet that I’ve fallen in love with you too?’ She finally allowed her eyes to glow with the emotion.

He looked down at her searchingly, wanting to believe, but afraid to hope that he really had just heard Joey say that she was in love with him. At the same time he knew that she couldn’t possibly love the emotionally repressed man he had been for so long.

‘Don’t even try to make any sense out of it, Gideon,’ Joey advised him huskily. ‘I’ve discovered that falling in love isn’t rational. Or logical. Or even sensible. It just
is.’
She gave a joyous laugh. ‘And I happen to love you very, very much. So much so that if you don’t soon finish what we started yesterday morning, then I really will have to start ripping your clothes off!’

Something seemed to swell in his chest—to break loose, to shatter—and as he felt his love for Joey expand and grow, filling the whole of his being, he realised that it was the shield he had always kept around his heart.

‘I love you so much,’ he choked out emotionally as he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in the silky softness of her hair as he held on tightly. ‘Will you please marry me?’

She clung to him just as tightly. ‘Maybe I should just check out that experience over stamina theory before I give you my answer?’

He gave a triumphant laugh, knowing that he would always treasure the love and laughter Joey had so joyously brought into his life.

‘Mmm, I think you might be right—experience is so much more…
delicious
than stamina,’ Joey murmured a long time later, nestled in Gideon’s arms, her head resting on his shoulder, in the aftermath of lovemaking beyond her wildest dreams.

He quirked blond brows. ‘I’m willing to give you another demonstration if you still have any doubts?’

Joey laughed huskily, completely satiated. ‘I don’t,’ she said softly, fingers playing lightly with the dusting of hair on his chest.

Gideon settled her more comfortably against his shoulder.
‘Are you going to tell me now why you deliberately chose not to sing professionally?’

Joey’s breath caught in her throat. ‘You realised that, hmm?’

Gideon turned to face her and ran a finger lightly over her flushed cheek. ‘You have the voice of an angel.’

‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

‘I would.’

Joey grimaced. ‘I made a promise to myself—a vow—that I wouldn’t.’ She shook her head. ‘I loved singing. When I was younger it was my vanity, if you will. But then Stephanie was injured in a car accident when we were ten years old. She couldn’t walk. And I—I made a vow that if she could just walk again—’

‘You would
give up
singing?’ Gideon realised incredulously. ‘That is so—so …’

‘Stupid?’ Joey supplied ruefully.

‘So typical of the warm and generous person I know you to be,’ Gideon corrected. ‘You were willing to give up something you loved very much if your twin could walk again.’

‘Well…yes. Because I loved Stephanie more,’ she explained.

Gideon had already known that from their conversation this past week. He hadn’t believed he could love Joey any more deeply, but in that moment he knew he did.

‘I believe it was your singing voice that I fell in love with first,’ he murmured. ‘When I heard that voice rising to the roof of the church at Jordan and Stephanie’s wedding I really thought I was listening to an angel.’

‘Stephanie asked me to sing at the wedding, and I—well, I thought that as it was for her it wouldn’t be breaking my promise.’ Joey smiled tremulously.

His arms tightened about her. ‘Will it be breaking your
promise if you sing just for me sometimes, Joey? And for our children?’

Her eyes widened. ‘Our children? ‘

‘Half a dozen of them, I think.’ Gideon nodded. ‘All with your beautiful red hair and green eyes.’

‘If some of them are boys they might just have something to say about that!’

‘They’ll love you so much they won’t care,’ Gideon assured her indulgently.

‘You really want half a dozen children?’ Joey repeated wonderingly.

‘Well…maybe just four—if you think six is too many?’

Joey thought six children sounded perfect—all with their father’s blond hair and warm chocolate-brown eyes.

‘Of course you’ll have to marry me first,’ Gideon insisted.

‘Of course.’

‘Is that a yes?’

Joey reached up to coil her arms about the bareness of his shoulders. ‘That’s most definitely a yes!’

There was another lengthy silence while Joey showed Gideon just how much she loved and wanted to marry him.

And Gideon immediately reciprocated by showing Joey—time and time again—just how much he loved
her,
would always love her, for the rest of their lives together.

Six weeks later

‘Did I ever remember to thank you?’ Gideon murmured softly.

Both Lucan and Jordan were standing beside him in the church to act as his best men, all three waiting for the moment when the organist would begin to play and Joey
would enter the church, followed by Stephanie and Lexie as her bridesmaids.

Lucan raised dark brows. ‘Thank us for what?’

Gideon gave a rueful smile. ‘For knowing before I did that Joey was the one woman in the world who could make me feel complete.’

His older brother returned that smile. ‘She’s wonderful, isn’t she?’

‘Well, of course Joey’s wonderful,’ Jordan put in. ‘How could she be anything else when she’s Stephanie’s twin? ‘

‘I think he’s slightly biased,’ Lucan murmured dryly. ‘But I’m glad it’s worked out for you and Joey, Gid,’ he added warmly, and the organist began to play in announcement of Joey’s arrival.

It had more than worked out for Gideon and Joey. The past six weeks had been the best of Gideon’s life. And today was their wedding day. The very first day of the rest of their lives.

As he turned to watch the woman he loved with all his heart and soul walking down the aisle towards him, looking stunningly beautiful in her long flowing white wedding gown, and with that same certainty of love shining in her eyes only for him, Gideon had absolutely no doubt that they would spend the rest of their lives together, blissfully happy.