Bared to you is the first book in the Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day. It chronicles an intensely emotional and highly sexual romance between two incredibly independent and very damaged people who cannot resist their searing attraction to one another. In Manhattan, New York we are introduced to Gideon Cross, the gorgeous, elusive, black-haired, blue-eyed 28-year-old billionaire owner of Cross Industries. He's bold, blunt, savagely beautiful, sexy, and terribly damaged. Eva Tramell is 24 years old and still recovering from an incredibly violent childhood. She's the blonde, grey-eyed, petite, curvy, exquisitely lovely assistant to a junior account manager at an ad agency. Eva recently relocated from San Diego, Ca. to Manhattan with her best friend, a dazzlingly beautiful and self-destructive young man named Cary Taylor. From the moment their eyes collide in the lobby of The Crossfire Building (which he owns) Gideon and Eva experience a fiery sexual attraction.
Inky black hair framed a breathtaking face His bone structure would make a sculptor weep with joy, while a finely etched mouth, a blade of a nose and intensely blue eyes made him savagely gorgeous.
"Are you alright?"
His voice was cultured and smooth, with a rasp that made my stomach flutter. It brought sex to mind. Extraordinary sex. I thought for a momen he might make me orgasm just by talking long enough
Gideon and his staff occupy the top floor of The Crossfire Building and the ad firm where Eva works occupies the twentieth floor. After a couple of run-ins, Gideon boldly and quite crudely propositions Eva. Although she is tempted, because she also feels the electric attraction, her sense of self-respect won't allow her to succumb to such a crass invitation.
"Are you sleeping with anyone?"
The question was asked so casually it took a second to process what he'd said.
I inhaled sharply. "Why is that any business of yours?"
He looked at me and I saw what I'd seen the first time we met--- tremendous power and steely control. Both of which had me taking an involuntary step back.
"Because I want to fuck you Eva. I need to know what's standing in my way, if anything."
The sudden ache between my thighs had me reaching for the wall to maintain my balance. He reached out to steady me, but I held him at bay with an uplifted hand. "Maybe I'm just not interested, Mr. Cross."
A ghost of a smile touched his lips and made him impossibly more handsome. Dear God...
I stepped into the elevator and faced him.
He smiled. "Until next time, Eva."Gideon is not a man to be denied, so he buys a vodka company so he can hire Eva's advertising firm and thus come into contact with Eva. Gideon aggressively pursues Eva and re-issues the invitation – after a near tryst with Eva in his office – less crudely. The invite is tinged with a hint of desperate desire. He wants her – badly. He needs her on a primal level and he will break some of his unbreakable rules to have her. They agree to have a friendly, but no-strings-attached sexual relationship.
"I'd never been so turned on in my life. I was near mindless with the need for an orgasm. If Cary had walked in right then and found me writhing in our living room while Gideon finger-fucked me, I didn't think I'd care.
Gideon was breathing hard, too. His face was flushed with lust. For me. When I'd done nothing more than respond helplessly to him.
His hand at my breast moved to my cheek and brushed over it.
"You're blushing. I've scandalized you."
"Yes."
"It's probably best for me to work off some energy before I get you naked. I'm sure you'd like to be able to walk tomorrow."
"If you crave something, I'll be the one to give it to you. All of your needs, Eva, are mine to fulfill. Whatever it costs me."
After a couple of red-hot trysts, Eva realizes she wants more and Gideon immediately realizes he does, too. Gideon and Eva share some of the hottest sex I've ever read. In one passage Gideon and Eva have sex standing up while his brother is in the room and he doesn't have a clue.
Gideon pushs Eva away emotionally, yet keeps inextricably pulling her to him with their searing sexual attraction. Gideon needs control and so does Eva but when they are together everything is out of control and that terrifies and excites both of them. Gideon wants Eva and everything she has to give yet his ironclad refusal to reveal anything of himself is a serious threat to their tumultuous romance. One night after Eva wakes Gideon from a very disturbing nightmare about his past, Eva asks Gideon to confide in her about his demons and Gideon afraid of something (reliving his torment, or afraid of how Eva will feel about him after he reveals his abuse... the reader isn't quite sure. Gideon's past is left mostly a mystery in this book. Although the reader can pretty much guess who his tormentor was.) lies to Eva and tries to convince her that she's imagining trouble where there is none. She can't take the lies and promptly bolts in the middle of the night wearing nothing more than a flimsy silk robe. After a few days apart Gideon can't stane the separation any longer and goes to find Eva.
"I can't think. I can't work or sleep. My body aches for you. I can make you want me again. Let me try."
"I'll do whatever you want, whatever you need. Anything. Just take me back."I found Gideon's deep need for Eva very powerful. He wants her and he wants her to want him, but he doesn't really want to show her the real him. It's absolutely fascinating. Eva on the other hand is pretty much an open book. She wants to acknowledge her past, confront it, and move on. She's so passionately in love, and by this time practically addicted to Gideon, so permanent separation is not an option.
Gideon and Eva aren't into BDSM, but they have a safe word: 'Crossfire.' They agree that Eva will use that word and Gideon will instantly back off. Eva uses this word twice.
***Minor Spoiler***
Unfortunately the first time the safe word is used it's ignored (the incident is complicated and unsettling and leaves the reader feeling very uncomfortable) with near horrific consequences. The second time Eva uses the safe word, Gideon immediately backs off and gives Eva her space... for a little while.
There was a passage where Eva was seated at a table with Gideon's ex-fiancee Corrine and friend and occasional date Magdalene. The women admitted to each other that they were all desperately in love with Gideon yet all three have only seen one side of his multifaceted persona. And Eva is the only one to get a glimpse of Gideon's demons and Gideon ensures that he doesn't give her another glimpse, at least not in this book. Each woman is only privy to certain parts of him. Gideon, in turn, has complicated feelings for each woman. It's deeply resonating.
Sylvia Day's character development and character analysis are remarkable. Day's talents also extend to the supporting characters in the story: Eva's best friend and roommate Cary, her stepfather Richard (called Stanton), her mother Monica, her boss Mark Garrity, his younger half-brother Christopher Jr, and an assortment of other supporting characters. I felt like we didn't get their life stories – yet, but we got a glimpse of the character or observed the character's interaction with another character and that told a little story in itself. For example, we know very little about Gideon's younger half-brother Christopher Jr. and even less about Gideon's younger half-sister Ireland, but Gideon's very limited interaction with his siblings spoke volumes. Day explores homosexuality and bisexuality and the characters are ethnically diverse (i.e. there is a mixed race character, we discover Mark is gay and we meet his partner, there are African-American characters, etc.) Including these characters and themes made the story more real and infinitely more interesting to me.
This book is an absorbing introduction to Gideon and Eva's world, but I think the continuation of this story will be positively riveting in the second book Reflected in You (formerly titled Deeper in You or Deeper into You). The author changed the title after book venders complained that the title was a little too racy. I think the all the characters' issues will be revealed in Reflected and it'll be a rollercoaster of a ride.
Gideon Cross and Eva Tramell are two forces of nature that come together and create the perfect storm. I can't wait to experience the eye of that storm in the second book Reflected in You which is due out October 2, 2012 in e-book edition and October 23, 2012 in paperback.
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