Bitter Bite (6 page)

Gideon glanced back, then dragged Alaric closer to the brick wall.
His head lolled heavily against Gideon’s bicep, showing the strong lines of his
neck. She stared. She wanted to lick that smooth skin.

“Someone’s coming,” Gideon said tersely, interrupting her reverie.
“Get the door open, Hannah.”

What’s wrong with me?
I’m not usually this distracted.
She nodded and shoved the key into the scratched metal doorknob.
The moment it unlocked, Gideon pushed it open and dragged both her and Alaric
inside. He slammed it shut and locked the deadbolt.

“The other tenants can’t get in if you do that,” Hannah said,
reaching out to unlock it.

Gideon caught her hand and shook his head. “It’s safer this way.”
He hauled Alaric up over his shoulder. “Damn. He’s out cold.”

Stunned by his casual strength, Hannah licked her lips. Her skin
felt itchy. Prickly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so aware of
her body. Was this what arousal felt like? She wasn’t sure she liked being so
out of control of her senses. And when Alaric had been awake, she’d felt him
like a living flame against her mind — hot and confusing. She had to take
several breaths before she could think what to do next. “This way,” she said,
heading for the stairs.

She lived in an old brownstone that had been converted to
apartments sometime in the past fifty years. The old wallpaper was peeling off
in strips under the handrail, and not all of the lights worked, but her
neighbors were friendly. She felt safe here.
Or rather, I
used
to feel
safe here. I have the feeling I’m leading the wolf right into my den.

“Where’s your apartment? Is it on this side of the building?”
Gideon stopped to hitch the other man higher up on his shoulder. His muscles
flexed as he moved.

Hannah tore her gaze away from his
arms. “Sorry, I’m on the third floor.” The stairs were old and creaky. She
started up, hoping Gideon would be able to follow her with Alaric over his
shoulder. It couldn’t be easy to haul a big man like that up three flights. She
ran her hand along the railing, wondering once again why the owner had painted
it pea green.

“I know what floor you’re on,” Gideon said quietly.

She blushed. “Oh.”

“I peeked at the address on your job application at the bar,” he said,
not even winded as they rounded the second floor landing. “I wanted to be sure
you lived in a safe area.”

She huffed. “Two blocks from a gay bar? That’s not safe. That’s
cheap.” She started up the last flight. “My apartment is on the other side of
the building,” she added when she remembered she hadn’t answered his question.

He snorted. “You’re two blocks from where I spend most of my time.
One block from my gym. Three blocks from my apartment. You’re safe here because
you’re close to me.”

Hannah almost tripped on the stairs. “I didn’t know you were
keeping tabs on my whereabouts.” She didn’t know what to think about that.
Is
it creepy, or cool?
she wondered, rubbing her finger along the sharp edge
of her apartment key. The bumps flicked her fingernail and she made herself
stop. Fidgeting never solved anything.

“I worry about you.”

Okay, it’s cool.
Hannah was strangely touched by his care. She reached the third
floor landing and pushed open the heavy door, then held it for him. “Careful,”
she warned as she watched Alaric’s head barely clear the jamb.

“Even if I knocked him into the wall, he wouldn’t break,” Gideon
said dryly, following her down the hall. He stepped lightly along the worn
linoleum. “He’s got a hard skull. And he deserves a few smacks, anyway.”

“He didn’t really do anything to me.” Hannah paused, flicking her
key against her thumbnail again.

“Oh yes, he did,” Gideon said. “Kissing you was wrong.”

But I liked it.
Hannah frowned. “You’re not the
boss of me, Gideon. Maybe I wanted to kiss him.”

Gideon arched an eyebrow at her.

She flushed and walked to her door, not dignifying his look with
an answer.
I liked it, but I wish it had
been Gideon doing the kissing
. Not that she’d admit that aloud. It took her
three tries to get the key to work properly. “Sorry, it’s not fancy.” She
pushed inside and turned on the lamp near the door. The windows at the far end
of the room stretched from the floor to the ceiling and she walked over to pull
the drapes closed against the winking lights of the buildings. She loved her
view of the city. That’s what made her tiny little studio apartment worth it
for her, but she truly didn’t have a lot of space. With two large men in her
place, it felt even smaller than usual.

“Can I set him on your sofa?” Gideon asked.

She hurried over and pushed pillows to one side. “Sure.”

Gideon leaned down and let Alaric slide over his arm. “Whew. He’s
not a lightweight.” He arranged Alaric’s head on the pillows she’d just
plumped. “He looks so innocent when he’s asleep.” He laughed bitterly. “It’s a
pity he’s an asshole.”

“You don’t even really know him.” Hannah had trouble imagining
Gideon being so uncharitable. This was the man who’d patiently helped her write
her term paper? Who’d encouraged his students to join charitable clubs and help
the homeless?

“You haven’t seen what I’ve seen,” Gideon said, rubbing the small
of his back.

I saw plenty when you
kissed him.
Hannah’s gaze wandered from Gideon’s lips to his torso. God, he was gorgeous.
Even grumpy and disheveled, he could turn her bones to liquid. “You didn’t seem
to have trouble carrying him, even up the stairs,” she said quickly, trying to
head off her own thoughts.

Gideon shrugged. “I’m a bouncer at one of the most popular clubs
in the city. It’s in my job description.” He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “And I
work out a lot. Keeps my mind occupied.”

“You work too hard.”

He shrugged again. “If I didn’t, I couldn’t handle the drunks as
easily. And my size intimidates people. It cuts down on the number of fights I
have to break up.”

Hannah made a face, thinking of the boozed up men they both had to
deal with at the bar. Whatever. “Eric and Johnny are going to wonder where we
are.”

“I’ll text them.” Gideon pulled out his cell phone.

She watched him type in a message, mentally sighing. Nothing she
could do about missing work now. Alaric lay slumped and still on her couch as
if someone had sucked out his soul.

“He’s still out cold. What’s wrong with him?” She reached out to
touch his face, then pulled back before her fingertips made contact. What was
she thinking, touching a strange man like that?
But he kissed you,
she thought,
confused. He didn’t feel like a stranger to her. He’d kissed Gideon too. Maybe
he got off on kissing random people. She went
 
over the past half hour in her head.
For a few minutes, I could feel Alaric’s
emotions. He felt aroused. Angry. Not a casual man at all.

“He’s not what you think he is,” Gideon said slowly. “He’s not
safe. Not even close.”

No kidding
. “Yeah. I already figured that one
out on my own.”

Gideon glanced at her and examined her apartment more closely. “We
probably shouldn’t have come here.” He stared at the door next to her bed.
She’d attached an antique wrought-iron hook to the top and hung her fluffy pink
bathrobe from it.

“That’s not an exit. It’s just my bathroom.”

“I figured.” He stood up and paced to her kitchen, opening cupboards
and closing them again, seemingly at random.

“What are you doing?”

Gideon sighed and stopped messing with her cabinets. “He’s not a
man.” He closed the cupboard door and walked back over to the sofa, staring
down at Alaric with an indecipherable expression on his face.

Hannah frowned and took in Alaric’s strong form. His leather
jacket had fallen open, showing a tight sweater clinging to defined muscles.
His jeans hugged his hips and she licked her lips, suddenly remembering what it
had felt like to kiss him. He looked terribly pale, though, and she was
worried.

“He certainly looks like a man to me,” she said, finally tearing
her gaze away. Her attention landed on Gideon. He’d taken off his hoodie. He wore
his usual uniform, a Club Trinity’s security t-shirt. Her eyes trailed down his
muscular arms and she blushed, remembering how all the girls in high school
used to talk about Father Keegan’s physique. Even under the formal clothes he
wore as a teacher, his body had obviously been in shape, though she had to
admit, she hadn’t known he was this ripped during her student days. “You must
lift a lot,” she said, like an idiot.

“Yeah. Like I said before, it keeps my brain occupied.” He looked
like he wanted to smile at her, but couldn’t quite manage it. “It was a hobby,
before. When I was just a teacher, it filled my spare time. Now…” He trailed
off, frowning as he looked back down at Alaric.

“He doesn’t look very good. Maybe we should have taken him to the
hospital,” she said, not sure what to do. “I can get some water. Maybe that
will help.” She turned toward her kitchen, but Gideon grabbed her arm before
she could move.

“Believe me, a hospital won’t help him. Neither will water.”

Her skin tingled where his fingers held her wrist. “What can we
do, then? He looks terrible.”

“He needs blood.” Gideon looked angry, and he dropped her wrist.

Blood?
That was crazy. Hannah shook her head. “I don’t understand.” She remembered
Alaric saying the same thing at the bar, but she’d dismissed it at the time.

Gideon rubbed his face again. “God, I’m so pissed right now.” He
sat down next to Alaric, looking like he wanted to push the other man off the
couch. “First he threatens you and now this.”

He threatened me?
Hannah didn’t believe that. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”

Gideon gave her a look. “Oh? How do you know that?” He stroked a
finger down Alaric’s arm, then he began to wrestle the other man’s jacket off
of him.

Because he didn’t
feel
dangerous
. She remembered the weird connection she’d experienced
before Alaric passed out. “I’m not sure. I just know.”

Gideon snorted.

Hannah looked down, face hot. Alaric’s jacket was bunched up over
his wrists.
Gideon’s right. You can’t
trust your instincts, Hannah. Remember what happened with your parents?
“It
was just a kiss.” She spoke too low for Gideon to hear. She watched him go back
to struggling with Alaric’s clothes. Seeing them like that was weirdly
arousing. Gideon was practically on top of Alaric, now, as he worked the jacket
sleeves down his arms. Once the cloth was free, Gideon tossed the jacket to the
floor.

“I know, because I saw the two of you kissing,” she said louder.
Gideon glanced at her. Embarrassed, Hannah’s gaze drifted down and landed on
his crotch. He was hard. She shifted her weight uncomfortably and nearly winced
when the seam of her jeans chafed at her slightly swollen labia. Why did she
feel like this? Her body wanted sex. Her mind needed to understand what was
happening. “You wouldn’t kiss someone you didn’t trust.”

Gideon’s hazel eyes gleamed in the low light of her apartment. “I
saw him kissing you, too, Hannah.”

She bit her lip.

“Yeah, exactly,” Gideon said, looking at her not at all the way a
former teacher should. “He kissed you, and you didn’t seem to mind. You liked
it.”

She stared at him, face flaming. She remembered him wearing a
cassock as he prayed, during her high school days. He’d always been so proper
and controlled, and now he looked like a guy who’d been through … well,
something bad. She didn’t know what, but he certainly didn’t look like a priest.
He looked good. Really, really good. She swallowed, wondering what was wrong
with her. She had a sick man in her apartment and instead of being helpful, she
was aroused and thinking crazy things about Gideon.

“He kissed
me,
” she whispered, eyes going to Alaric and
then back to Gideon. “I didn’t start it.”

“He knew I wanted to kiss you, Hannah,” he murmured. “He told me
so. He kissed you to torment me.”

Hannah didn’t understand any of this. “But that makes no sense.
You kissed him back. I saw you.”

Gideon laughed shortly. “And you didn’t enjoy watching?” He shook
his head. “I want what I want, Hannah.” His hands went to his thighs, framing
the bulge at his groin.

Hannah licked her lips, feeling as if she was about to jump over
the edge of a cliff. “And what is that? What do you want?”

“Not what. Who,” Gideon said, his voice low. The timbre of it made
her shiver. “I want you both. You and Alaric, God help me.”

Wait. What?
Hannah stared at him.
Is
Gideon
bisexual? How is that possible? No wonder he quit the priesthood.
She
felt fuzzy, distracted by the way his hair slid over his temples. She wanted to
brush it away. She wanted to clench it in her fists and never let go. She
glanced down at Alaric. No change. Guilt shot through her when her eyes strayed
to his strongly muscled arms. What was wrong with her?