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 Yeah, I really miss the little man.
 I m sure you do.
 He was the best frog I could have ever asked for.
 Your best friend was a frog?
 I lived way out of town, you see. There weren t really any other
children my age for at least six miles, so I made friends with whatever
I could find oww! He yelped when Katherine struck her fist into
his shoulder. He rubbed the spot and looked surprised at how hard she
hit him.  Damn, you got one hell of a hook, Kat. What d you do that
for?
 I cannot believe you!
 What?
 Here I was tending to your battle wounds and listening to your
heart wrenching story about you losing your childhood friend, and it
was a damn frog, she said, fists on her hips.
 Yeah, but it got you going, didn t it? He winked at her.  I bet
you thought about comforting me in my moment of weakness,
weren t you?
 Shut your mouth, you rat bastard, before I 
72 Christine Michaels
Gideon caught her hand before it could strike his face. He pried
her fingers apart and brought them to his lips, kissing each finger tip.
Katherine found it increasingly difficult to be embarrassed about how
easily she fell for his charms.
 I m sorry, Kat, he whispered against her skin as he kissed her
palm, the inside of her wrist, the crook of her elbow. She shivered.
Jesus, God.
Katherine s eyelids fluttered closed before she could will them not
to, and a soft sigh crossed her lips. When she opened her eyes again,
they met his and held. He looked up at her with the most apt
expression, as if trying to drink her in. She cleared her throat.
 You know, you need to stop using this arm until I get it
bandaged.
Immediately, Gideon s eyes lost their softness. The moment was
gone.  Yes, ma am.
She finished cleaning his wound and started tearing an old
nightgown into strips she could use to wrap his arm when a thought
came to her.
 Gideon, where did you get your name?
He looked puzzled.  My name?
 Yes. It s so&  She pondered for a moment, trying to find the
right word.  It s so biblical.
Gideon smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.  I suppose you can
say that. It s meant to be.
Something about the way his voice sounded made Katherine
glance up from her work and meet his eyes. There was a story behind
it, she surmised, but she kept her mouth shut. If he wanted to tell her,
he would do it of his own accord.
The room fell into silence for a few moments, but to Katherine,
they seemed interminable. She could hear the floorboards creak when
she shifted her weight, could hear Gideon s quiet breaths, felt every
fiber in her shirt as it moved against her skin.
Kat Rides the Iron Men 73
 My mother was Indian, he began,  and my father was a white
man. I don t have many memories of her. She died when I was
young. His teasing smile left his face with his confident air and the
remarks intended to fire her blood. Gideon stared at the wall in front
of him, his deep voice hypnotically quiet, lost in reverie.  I don t
think my father was ever the same after her death. He didn t know
what to do with a child, so he gave me to his parents to raise. I saw
him every few weeks, but I honestly don t think he could stand the
sight of me. I think I have the look of my mother. He turned toward
her. The candlelight flickered on his face, casting his eyes in shadow.
 Your father named you, then?
 No. My grandmother did. She thought Indians were heathens.
She wanted to name me something biblical in hopes that a godly
name would fight the Indian devils out of me.
Katherine could not respond. She did not know how. Instead, she
started wrapping the scraps of cloth around his arm.
 Gideon, he continued,  was the name of a tribal leader in Israel
before the people united. During those times, the Israelites enemies
constantly attacked them, so God would appoint someone to lead the
tribe against their attackers. Gideon was one of them.
 I see.
 It didn t help with the devils, though, he said sardonically.
Katherine finished tying the last strip around his arm and
straightened.  What do you mean?
 I ve still got devils in me, Kat. The heated look in his eyes
returned. Suddenly, she felt as if she was being stalked by a giant
wolf. She backed away from him as he unfolded his body to his full
height. Katherine tilted her head back to meet his eyes.
 Devils? She walked backward until the wall stopped her.
 Oh, yes. Plenty of them. He stalked her until he hovered a
breath away from her.
 You re acting oddly.
 Am I? I wonder why that is. His lips closed in on hers.
74 Christine Michaels
 I ve heard men seek a woman s company after facing death, she
blurted.  I think the fight downstairs counts, don t you? Gideon
straightened and pulled away from her, smiling.  Where& where are
you going?
* * * *
Gideon walked over to the door and locked it, then turned around
and pinned her gaze with his.
 Well, I m not just any man, sugar. He walked over to the bed
and stood in front of it.
Katherine swallowed hard and took a deep breath, but her eyes
never wavered from his.  You re not?
 No. He undid the top snap of his pants.  I m not. He looked at
her from head to toe, from her wild hair to her dainty ankles that
peaked out from the space between her boots and the torn hem of her
dress.
Fucking Christ, she s beautiful.
 Kat? he said, his voice low and soft.
 Hmm? Her big, chocolate eyes flicked from his waistband back
to his face.
 Unbutton your dress. He saw her lips purse and heard her
release a sharp breath from her nose.
 No. She crossed her arms over her full chest.  I won t.
 Kat, unbutton your dress. He did his best not to snap out the
order. Jesus, if he took her shirt off himself, he would rip it, then she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]