The man was actually being my eyes, but he was doing it in such a way that I could see. It was as if there were a rock in front of me but instead of just steering me around it, he was telling me its size, color, and shape, making it possible for me to see the thing in my mind’s eye and know what kind of berth I needed to give it.
I didn’t think it possible, but in that moment, I loved Gideon even more.
"Okay, here we go," Gideon said. He removed his hands from mine on the controller and said, "We're in a clearing in the woods. There’s some kind of jewel or something to the right. It’s suspended in the air."
"That's an enchantment jewel. It will give us the ability to withstand any spells the Huntress puts on us." As I spoke, I moved the joystick to the right. Gideon immediately began correcting me. It was weird to try and follow his directions, but after a handful of seconds, I heard the distinct chime that said we'd claimed the jewel.
"Oh, wait, there's something in the trees. It looks like some kind of bird. Shit, it's coming right at us!"
"Does it have red wings or black ones?" I yelled as I began pounding on the buttons that I hoped would give the character his broadsword.
"Black! It's right above us!" Gideon shouted. Before I could react, there was the telltale sound of the character being grabbed and carried off by the Night Falcon.
"Fifteen seconds," I said with a sigh. "I think that's a new record for me."
Gideon's lips skimmed my cheek and then he said, "Don't worry, baby, we’ll get them on the next go." Before I could respond, Gideon was hitting the button to select our next life.
Since it clearly meant so much to Gideon for us to try and play the game together, I went along with him, even though our character was killed off almost instantly yet again, this time by the Ogre of Truth. Despite our continued demise round after round, I found myself getting caught up in explaining the different elements of the game as we came across them. Gideon's descriptions made it easy to know what was on the screen and while we hadn't made much progress when it came to the level itself, every time the telltale sign of our character dying occurred, I found myself eager to hit the button to start a new game. Gideon's enthusiasm grew with every attempt we made at clearing the first level. His excitement fed into mine and by the time he paused the game for a bathroom break, three hours had passed.
I could only sit there in stunned silence, staring toward the television, while Gideon was getting us some drinks. Never in a million years had I believed it would be possible for me to once again enjoy something that had been such an important part of my life for so long.
"You okay?" Gideon asked as he settled in behind me. "Lex?" he said softly when I didn’t respond. He wrapped an arm around my chest. He was clearly worried, so I turned my face so he'd see my expression.
"Thank you, Gideon," I said and then I risked reaching a hand up to search out the back of his neck so I could pull him down for a kiss. I realized it wasn’t really necessary because even before my fingers came into contact with his skin, his mouth was on mine. There was nothing tame or sweet about this particular kiss. It was raw and hungry and desperate.
When Gideon and I came up for air, we were both breathing hard. I could tell that Gideon's mouth was still near mine because I could feel his breath drifting over my lips.
"Do you, um, want to keep playing?” he asked uncertainly.
My stomach was in knots as I shook my head. I'd loved every moment of playing the game with him, but right now, I needed something more.
I needed him.
All of him.
So I slowly shook my head again at the same time that I whispered, "No" and prayed to anyone who would listen that Gideon heard what I wasn't brave enough to say.
Chapter Twenty
Gideon
While I might not have had much experience when it came to dating, reading Lex and knowing what he needed came as naturally to me as breathing. Though it hadn’t always been that way. Over the past several weeks as I’d spent more and more time with him as he’d comforted me while I’d begun the process of finally mourning everything I'd lost, I'd had the opportunity to pick up on the things that Lex did in addition to the things he said.
Getting the video game console had been a huge gamble on my part, but after hearing Lex talk about the role video games had played in his life, I'd wanted to give a little bit of that back to him. I’d wanted him to always know that even if he couldn’t see something, it didn't mean it was lost to him.
I'd enjoyed both playing the game with him and watching him as he'd played it, but now as his mouth moved beneath mine, I had no interest in what was happening on the television screen. All my senses were in tune with Lex.
As I kissed Lex hungrily, his fingers pressed into my thighs. His ass was notched up against my lap so there was no doubt that he had to be feeling the erection that was quickly becoming more and more prominent. Over the past few weeks, my grief had tempered my sex drive, but it was back with a vengeance and I had no interest in thinking about the consequences of what was about to happen between us. All I cared about was that I was finally going to make Lex mine. From the way he was returning my kisses, I knew in my gut that he was ready too.
But despite my body's obvious readiness, my mind still had some catching up to do. I pulled my mouth from Lex's and tried to catch my breath before whispering, "Tell me what to do, Lex."
He seemed to know what I was talking about because he brushed his mouth over mine and then responded with, "Just love me, Gideon."
My heart seized in my chest because I wasn't sure if he was talking about making love to him or actually loving him.
I did love him. I was scared to death of it, though. What I felt for Lex was a thousand times more powerful than what I’d felt for Serena, and while I knew he would never hurt me the way she had, if he didn't feel the same about me, I wasn't sure my heart would recover. So I chose to focus on the making love part because it was all my heart could really handle at the moment.
I kissed Lex again, then climbed to my feet. I reached down and wrapped my fingers around his hand to help him up. As soon as he was standing, I pulled him against me so our bodies were flush and then I was kissing him again. I forced myself to break the kiss before it got too intense and then I led him to my bedroom. He was back in my arms the moment we reached the bed. This time, it was Lex who controlled the kiss and I was just fine with that. His warm hands sought out my lower back.
"Off," he murmured as he gave my shirt a tug. I reached behind me to pull the shirt off. Before it even cleared my shoulders, Lex's mouth was on my chest, specifically my nipple.
The sensation of him running the flat of his tongue over the little bud nearly sent me to my knees.
"Fuck," I ground out as I covered the back of his head with my hand so I could hold him there. But Lex was on a mission of his own and he ignored the pressure I had on his scalp and moved his mouth to my other nipple. His hands were on the move too. I could do nothing but stand there helplessly as I became completely ensnared in his seduction. I'd never felt anything like it. Sex with Serena had been fine, but even the best orgasms I'd had with her couldn't touch what Lex's caresses were making me feel. Not only was I hard as a rock, but I felt like I was going to bust out of my skin.