Tempting Nora by A.M. Evanston Page B

the corner of his mouth.
    A groan almost escaped her lips. How had she managed to stay away from him for so long? The man was as sexy and as wild as they came. He was also forbidden. She didn't know why he was forbidden exactly—it wasn't like he had a sign that said 'do not touch' taped to his forehead—but there was something about his demeanor that told her lusting after him was a naughty thing to do. She wasn't a type of person who enjoyed being naughty. Okay, she'd once stolen a raw chicken and stuck it in her foster mom's mailbox. And yeah, she'd snuck into a teacher's classroom on the last day of high school and stapled random papers together. Those things weren't overly naughty, were they? No, she decided. She was a good girl.
    The problem with Gideon was that he made even good girls feel like giving being bad a try.
    As she started to pant, she realized s he had to put some space between her and Gideon. The close proximity was making her go crazy. Well, crazier than normal, anyway.
    "Gideon," she said.
    "Uh-huh?" Gideon placed his hand by the side of her head.
    "What are we doing?" She was eager to escape this position as fast as possible. When the word naughty entered her mind more than once, she knew she was in trouble.
    "That's a good question." Gideon's eyes flickered toward her mouth again.
    When she didn't say anything more, he stepped back. She sighed, though she wasn't one hundred percent sure whether that was due to relief or disappointment. At the moment, she was feeling a bit of both.
    Gideon seized her hand and pulled her to the back of the pickup. He'd laid a red blanket on the bed of the truck and a stereo was on, playing music so soft it was barely audible.
    "Is this all for me?" she asked.
    "No, it's for my cousin, Susan," he said.
    "Hardy har har." She rolled her eyes.
    She may have given a mocking fake laugh, but she was grateful th at Gideon was being sarcastic. After all, the heat that coursed through her was blistering. She needed a distraction from her feelings. If that distraction was sarcasm, then so be it.
    "Do you need help climbing up?" Gideon's eyes flickered toward the bed of the truck.
    Help? Heck no. She was Nora Williams. She could climb with the best of them…Well, okay, maybe not with the best of them, but she could climb.
    She tried to clamber onto the truck bed. A lot of grunting and sweating later, she finally managed to scramble up. It had been a lot harder than she thought. Chuckling in amusement, Gideon climbed up with a lot more grace. As he sat beside her, she found herself watching him yet again.
    His dark hair hung in his face and his caramel eyes glowed despite how dark the night was. She'd never realized it before, but there was something unnatural about Gideon's handsomeness. He looked almost inhuman. Even his faults—his nose was a tad crooked and his adam's apple was a bit too pronounced—only heightened the allure of his impossible good looks. It was near impossible to look at Gideon without feeling an electric current pulsing through her veins.
    Just as she was about to look up at the sky —it would make a great distraction—the other man turned his head and made eye contact with her. She was gone, floating in a sea of decadent caramel. It was his eyes that made him near impossible to resist. They were like the desserts she so loved—they tempted her, telling her to give in. Suddenly, she was so sweaty that her black t-shirt clung to her body. As she chewed her bottom lip, Gideon stroked her cheek. His thumb was warm and large.
    This is wrong , a voice whispered in her head.
    Yet as wrong as it was, she found herself shutting her eyes when the other man leaned closer. When his lips brushed hers, heat the likes of which she'd never felt before rushed through her veins. His mouth was warm and gentle against hers. She realized he was testing the waters, making sure she wasn't going to hit him. For a second her hand twitched as she had the fleeting urge to do so,