“You’re not made to follow orders.”

It had been a long time since anyone had cut to the heart of my act in so few words, but Gideon didn’t know the half of it.

Now that I was free -- as free as I could be in this goddamn industry -- I wasn’t going to take shitty orders, even from my boss.

If only Gideon knew how much I’d shut up and taken. But Hayden and his new beau weren’t problems anymore. Or at least, they wouldn’t be once they heard that I was under Gideon’s wing.

Or under his body.

Imagining the ugly jealousy twisting Hayden’s face drove me to shift my weight onto one hip, mirroring the way Gideon licked his lips. It wasn’t hard to see the pure want that darkened his eyes, and I didn’t have to act out my own arousal for a second.

I stared up into Gideon’s eyes, daring him to tell me I’d been wrong. That photographer had been trying to get me into poses that wouldn’t flatter me. And the moment Clive had put his hands on me roughly, I’d decided to make his job even harder.

“Suppose not,” I answered after a moment.

If the insane chemistry building between us like a crackling fire wasn’t enough, the two of us together would make a lot of people really fucking jealous.

I loved that thought.

My hands rose to my own throat. I popped one shirt button at a time free from its buttonhole, never looking away from Gideon.

“I like that you’re not cowed by anyone.”

What a bizarre turn of phrase, but it made me smile. I had to bite back my amusement, though. I was trying to seduce Gideon, not make him laugh. Instead, I parted my lips, breathing heavier as I finished unbuttoning my shirt.

“Pushed around, I was gonna say, but Clive was pushing you around.”

The thought made my shoulders tense, but I had to push through that. In front of the agent and everyone, it wouldn’t have gone that far. Besides, this was a perfect segue.

“I don’t mind a hot guy pushing me around.” Come on. Fuck me, Gideon. I’m begging for it. “But he’s not my type.”

“What is?”

Although Gideon’s voice was soft, it was unmistakable: he knew what he was up to, and he was playing along.

“I think you have an idea.” I pulled my shirt over my wrists and rose to my feet. We were moving towards each other, the distance vanishing. Our lips met in a hard, hot, first clash of personalities and desires and needs.

I need him.

I ran my hands up under Gideon’s shirt, up to his chest, and rolled my head back slightly when he sucked my lip hard.

My body burned with the coiled-up frustration of that shitty test shoot and being yelled at by that fucking prick of a photographer and everything from the last couple months.

All of it bubbled to the surface now as I pressed my palms hard to Gideon’s body and groaned, breaking our silence.

Deep in Gideon’s throat, I growled. His thigh was suddenly between mine, giving me something to grind against, until our hard cocks were slotted against each other through denim.

And then his hands were at my jeans, pulling them open with a slow, sensual roll of our hips together between each button.

“Mmm.” My nails dug into his back as I clutched him closer, my body already aching for him inside me, hard and fast and now.

I’d made my bed. There was no going back now.