The Gideon Affair by Suzanne Halliday Read Free Book Online Page B

Something wasn’t quite right. That sixth sense he’d developed in the war—the one that got him ramped up to alert status in a nanosecond—was broadcasting on high.
    “Your box office numbers are quite impressive …”
    He wanted to laugh in this little prick’s face when the guy paused for effect. What a fucking joke. He did realize that he was interviewing an actor, right?
    Putz.
    “… but e-qually as impressive …”
    Had that fucker just tried to imitate Snape when he said that? Nobody pronounced equally quite the way Alan Rickman did.
    “… are the numbers your sex tape has generated. Best I can figure, that particular starring role of yours has been a cash bonanza for Fierce Videos.”
    Oh, for fuck’s sake. No way was this going anywhere good.
    “Care to comment on that?”
    Care to comment . Jesus. What an unbelievable dick.
    Two things flashed simultaneously in Edward’s mind. First … why the hell wasn’t Paige here? She’d have this nutsack on his knees in ten seconds. And second was the idea of answering the question by shoving his dick down the guy’s throat.
    Helluva comment that’d be.
    Instead, years of iron-willed self-control kept him motionless in his seat. No way was he giving this turd anything useable.
    Without missing a beat, Edward’s eyes bored into the interviewer. For a couple of seconds, the idiot actually tried to stare him down.
    Good luck with that.
    Didn’t take long for the smarmy shit to lower his eyes and clear his throat.
    Uh-huh. Spineless pussy.
    An incredibly long, tense silence followed. Edward never moved a muscle nor did he look away from the guy’s face.
    Dave, for his part, caved in immediately, after which he put off a classic conquered vibe.
    This guy was a lowercase s.
    More regret that Paige wasn’t around followed the caustic observation. She would have gotten the reference and laughed like hell. It was something that had become a regular joke because she insisted they had a twisted D/s relationship where each of them played both parts. Only in a business sense.
    He believed the point she was trying to make involved the term switches, but it wasn’t like he knew what the fuck any of that was about. If he hadn’t previously portrayed a character dabbling in the kink lifestyle, chances were he wouldn’t have much of a working knowledge of that whole scene.
    Eventually, the camera guy coughed and the moment passed as Dave realized Edward, or rather Gideon, was deliberately giving him nothing. That didn’t mean, however, that this guy was finished. No way.
    Picking up as if none of that had just happened, Dave gathered his wagons in a circle and went in for the money shot.
    “Earlier, Ms. Jones let, uh … slip …”
    Okay. Mentioning Joann’s name almost got a reaction. If she was stirring the pot, he was going to make her very, very sorry for messing with him.
    “… that she knows a bit more about your video romp than anyone suspected.”
    Ice water fed into his veins. He hated gossip. All the flame throwing, insult hurling, body shaming, and holier-than-thou judgment that the Internet fueled was anathema to a guy like him. He pretty much figured that if ya had time for shit like that, it spoke of an empty life. A life driven more by what others might or might not do as opposed to one’s own behavior.
    In a voice meant to sound menacing, he bit out, “Is there a question in that Dave or are you just spitballing for a reaction shot?”
    The interviewer smirked.
    Here it comes , he thought and waited for whatever grenade this asshole thought he had.
    Quickly holding up a picture taken a couple of nights earlier of he and his co-star out on a very public dinner, Dave started laying down what the guy apparently imagined was a kill shot.
    “You’ve been seen around town with your leading lady.”
    No use in denying it. They were actors, for Christ’s sake, and the occasional paparazzi dash into a see-and-be-seen restaurant was part of the