Any worries I had about Reflected in You, the second book in Sylvia Day's thrilling, exciting, emotionally draining Crossfire Series, being in any way inferior to Bared to You (the first book in the series) were firmly laid to rest. Reflected in You is quite simply spectacular. I could not put this book down and ended up reading it twice in three days. This beautiful, damaged couple experienced some blissful highs and some heartbreaking lows. They take the reader on a exhilarating yet emotionally draining roller coaster. The continuing odyssey of Gideon and Eva got even more erotic, obsessive, raw, and emotional in Reflected in You. The story begins the morning after the last chapter's events in Bared to You. Reflected in You opens with Gideon Cross and Eva Tramell getting ready for work the morning after Eva left Gideon at the charity event. They're happy and playful. It's wonderful because these moments are so rare for them. Over morning coffee, Eva tells Gideon she and her bestie, the beautiful and charming Cary Taylor, need some one-on-one time so she can't accompany Gideon on a business trip to Arizona because they have planned a getaway. After a little resistance Gideon relents and doesn't fight Eva on her decision-- as long as they fly there on his private plane and stay in one of his hotels. Gideon goes on a business trip to Arizona and Eva and Cary go to Vegas. It's surprising –and a little out of character– for Gideon to acquiesce so gracefully, but he manages to compensate for his reluctant concession. As a man is hitting on Eva at Gideon's Vegas Hotel bar when she's getting drinks for her and Cary...
"Excuse me."
We both turned and faced the woman who had interrupted our conversation. She was a compact brunette who was dressed in a dark polo shirt embroidered with both
her name--Sheila-- and Cross Towers and Casino. The earpiece in her ear and the utility belt around her waist gave her away as security.
"Miss Tramell." She greeted me with a nod.
My brows rose. "Yes."
"There's a server who can take your order by your cabana."
"Cool. Thanks. But I don't mind waiting here."
When I didn't move Sheila turned her attention to Daniel.
"If you'll move to the other end of the bar, sir, the bartender will see that your next drinks are on the house."
He gave a cursory nod, then smiled winningly at me. "I'm good here, too, thanks."
"I'm afraid I'll have to insist."
"What?" His smile turned into a scowl. "Why?"
I blinked at Sheila as realization sank in. Gideon had me under watch.
Sheila returned my look. Her face impassive. "I'll escort you back to your cabana, Miss Tramell."
"Sorry, Daniel." I said flushing with embarrassment.
I felt Sheila's gaze on my back as I preceded her to my lounger. Abruptly, I faced her.
"So, is getting hit on the only time you're instructed to step in? Or is there a list of situations?
She hesitated a moment then sighed. "There's a list."I felt Gideon was possessive without being scary. Gideon knows he can't fully control Eva, so he resorts to controlling the people around her. I was actually scared for those that were stupid enough to try to come between Gideon and his Angel. But Eva isn't about to take his crap lying down.
"Hi, angel."
"Hi, ace."
"Is there a particular meaning behind that endearment?"
"Well, you ace everything you do. And it's the nickname of a fictional character I have a crush on. You remind me of him sometimes."
"I'm not sure I like you having a crush on anyone but me, fictional or not."
"You'll get over it."
Shaking his head he started toward me. "Like I'll get over that sumo wrestler you have shadowing me."
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
"Have you any idea how difficult it is to do business with someone when they cannot get within three feet of you."Our Gideon is as possessive (and sexy!) as ever. This is the world of make believe so I was allowed to find Gideon's behavior entertaining and sexy. I enjoyed Eva turning the tables on Gideon without being childish or scared of his reaction; if they don't agree on something, Eva isn't afraid to speak her mind. Love that about her! And the sex was hotter than hot! Their sex was some of the most satisfying sex I've ever experienced... and I wasn't even a participant! They have sex in the shower while Eva's on her period and it's HOT. I don't even like period sex, but –I'll tell you what– I liked that. Gideon's dialogue was panty-wetting.
"You're driving me insane. Do you know what I did when I found out what you'd done. I got hard."
"It turns me on when you challenge me, Eva. It makes me want to fuck you for a very, very long time."
"Feel how tight you are? A hot, tight, plush little heaven for my dick. You are so fucking gorgeous. So sexy."
"I'm going to do whatever the hell I want with melted chocolate and your body because it'll please me and that will please you. I say when. I say how.
Repeat that."I love how Ms. Day crafts Eva and Cary's relationship as well. When Eva texts Cary telling him to block off his weekend for them to hang out alone. Cary texts an excited "Yes", but his insecurities about losing his place in Eva's life are not far from the surface.
"Are you serious about Vegas?" Cary asked without preamble.
"Totally."
There was a pause. "Is this when you tell me you're moving in with your billionaire boyfriend and I've got to go."
"What? No. Are you nuts? " I squeezed my eyes shut understanding how insecure Cary was but we were too far along in out friendship for these kinds of doubts.
"You're stuck with me for life. You know that."
I love how even though Eva is most definitely under Gideon's spell she nurtures all her previous relationships and she doesn't let her love for Gideon consume her. Eva gives us a little insight into Cary's relationship with his own mother. It's sad and the reader begins to understand why the beautiful Mr. Taylor sabotages his own happiness, but you can always count on Cary for a laugh.
They took off like she-bats out of hell."Referring to the women who abandoned Casa Tramell-Taylor in a hurry at the end to Bared To You.
"I'm just not ready for the stress and demands of a complicated relationship right now. I'm working a lot. I'm not stable enough yet to be fucked up in the head."Priceless Cary!
Gideon and Eva recognize they are in dire need of therapy and decide to work on themselves and their relationship. So, they begin seeing Dr. Lyle Petersen. After hearing about their frequent arguments, their very active sex life, and Gideon's night terrors Dr. Petersen suggests that they sleep separately and refrain from any sexual activity.
Dr. Peterson glanced up and offered a kind smile."I'd like to discuss the possibility of abstinence while we–"
"There is no possibility," Gideon interjected. "That's a nonstarter. I suggest we focus on what's not working without eliminating one of the few things that is."
"I'm not sure it is working, Gideon," Dr. Petersen said evenly. "Not the way it should be."
“Doctor.” Gideon set one ankle on the opposite knee and settled back, creating a picture of unyielding decisiveness. "The only way I'm keeping my hands off her is if I'm dead. Find another way to fix us.”There are bumps on the road to emotional health. Gideon, Eva, and a couple of their friends go to a rock concert, but leave it to them to turn a relaxing double date into a knock-down, drag-out brawl. The couples go to a concert featuring a band called the Six-Ninths; a group signed to Vidal Records. The Vidal family company in which Gideon owns controlling interest. The band's handsome and talented lead singer, Brett Kline, is a former flame of Eva's and he makes no secret of his desire to have her back... you can imagine Gideon's reaction when Brett kisses Eva. What's even more shocking is that she doesn't pull away immediately and chaos ensues. Gideon flies into a spine-chilling yet eerily silent rage. I mean, even I was scared sitting in the safety and comfort of my living room! Gideon and Brett proceed to have a brutal fight while several people just... watch: including the rest of Brett's band and Gideon's friend Arnoldo. The band members don't intervene because they know Gideon is their boss and Arnoldo seems to understand Gideon's nature and his possessiveness toward Eva so he simply observes the brawl calmly. Brett gets a few licks in, but Gideon clearly kicks his ass. When Eva screams for Angus or Arnoldo to stop the fight, Angus simply says, "He knows when to stop, Eva," and asks Arnoldo to forcibly place Eva in the limo... and he does! Yeah, everyone's a little crazy in this book!
In Bared I didn't realize that Gideon and Eva are clearly straddling the line between sanity and insanity. In Reflected, Gideon and Eva's demons are on full display. Those demons are ugly yet enthralling, like a car wreck, you can't look away.
"Tell me why..."
"I don't know. " I rested my damp forehead against his, feeling the tears burning behind my eyes. "God. Gideon, I swear I don't know."
"Then shut up and make me come."
If he'd slapped my face, it couldn't have shocked me more. I straightened and leaned away from him. "Fuck you."
"Now you're getting the idea."
"Don't treat me like a whore."
"Eva." His voice was low and raspy, filled with warning, but his eyes were dark and desolate. Filled with pain that matched my own.
"You want to stop, you know what to say."
Crossfire. With one word I could unmistakably, irrefutably put an end to this agony. Just the fact that he brought up my safe word told me he was testing me.
Pushing me. He had an agenda and if I gave up now, I'd never know what it was.The more secretive Gideon gets the more Eva lashes out. About halfway through the book, there's a passage where Eva does something very hurtful to Gideon and she did it for the sole purpose of hurting him.
"Are you hurt anywhere else." I asked, feeling so emotionally raw after the long night we had.
He caught my wrist and pressed it flat over his heart. "Here."
"I'm so sorry. I hurt you last night. On purpose. without even realizing it, because the resentment is eating away at me even while I'm convincing myself that I can live with everything you're not telling me."
The reader thinks he might dump her, but instead Gideon delivers a short monologue that is agonizingly sad. The reader finally understands just how much this magnificent, damaged man loves and needs his broken, beautiful Angel.
Gideon takes Eva away for the weekend and they have the perfect romantic weekend – so the reader just knows the fit is about to hit the shan! When they return home things begin to take an exciting yet heart-wrenching turn when Gideon inexplicably and seemingly cruelly begins pulling away from Eva. Gideon and Eva use sex to fix all of their problems, but their sex life declines dramatically when he begins pulling away from her. It's at this point that the reader really begins to understand that their relationship is about much more than amazing sex. The reader realizes that they really do love each other. They're tearing each other's hearts out yet at the same time they're deeply in love with one another. It's very powerful. Gideon and Eva definitely hold the reader's attention, but the supporting characters were fascinating as well.
We finally get to meet Eva's father, handsome Latino Victor Reyes. When he and Monica Stanton, Eva's mother, come face-to-face after not seeing each other in two decades it's very... interesting. We get a little insight into Gideon's past abuse (although we don't discover the identity of his abuser in this book) and the dumbass adults that didn't protect him. The whole story is not yet revealed, but what we do discover made me want to shower... and scrub my skin raw. It's disgusting and appalling. We discover why Gideon was masturbating so violently the night Eva left him wearing only a flimsy, silk robe in Bared to You.
Dr. Terrence Lucas? There's a special place in hell for people like him. Mrs. Vidal? I'm at a loss for words... well, the words 'pathetic stupid bitch' do come to mind... Christopher Vidal, Jr? There's something seriously wrong with that one. A flimsy excuse is given for his hostility toward his brother. That has to be the tip of the proverbial iceberg because we discover Christopher Jr. did something in his past that could be construed as the actions of a naive, confused, and possibly scared young boy or the actions of a sociopath. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter. Corinne Giroux? She isn't quite as pretty on inside as she is on the outside. We also see Magdalene, Megumi, Ireland, Mark, and several other characters form Bared. I think Christopher Jr. and Dr. Lucas will have significant story arcs in Entwined in You (the last book in the series) because Ms. Day leaves us with more questions than answers regarding these two and their hostility toward the smoldering Mr.Cross.
After Gideon screws Eva and pulls away from her –yet again– Eva (with Cary's help) begins doing some investigating into Gideon's past. She connects some of the dots and discovers the identities of two individuals (and possibly a third) who were aware of Gideon's abuse and she confronts them. I really cheered for our heroine because she didn't cry or walk around like an idiot wondering why they did it. She grew a pair of steel balls and aggressively confronted them! And boy, were there fireworks! Our Eva becomes a hissing, spitting tigress in defense of her man. And it is beautiful!! She goes all over town telling people off and flipping them the bird. When Gideon found out, I thought he might be angry but instead he was in awe of her love and devotion to him. Those three special words which Gideon grudgingly uttered to Eva in Bared are eagerly and sincerely lavished upon her. It brought tears to my eyes.
I can't say too much about the plot without giving too much away.
Gideon has always been a private person, but he inexplicably begins being very secretive and cold toward Eva. He begins methodically separating from Eva almost immediately after their romantic weekend together. A woman who he claimed he couldn't live without. The reader wonders if he's crazy or just a misogynistic sadist punishing her for her hurtful behavior. Initially, I was baffled by Gideon's attitude, but soon the reader begins to read between the lines and knows that there is more going on than meets the eye, but Eva's jealousy, anger, and insecurities blind her to some valuable clues.
There is something seriously disturbing going on with Gideon for the last third of the book. Is he sick? Is he torturing Eva for her hurtful behavior? Is he pushing her away to preserve what little sanity they have left? When we finally find out... it's a DOOZY! I will say this: Gideon is a crafty, diabolical genius! If the reader can't figure out what's going on it is eventually spelled out in no uncertain terms. I, for one, felt an overwhelming sense of bewildered amazement. I literally had heart palpitations! My heart has still not resumed it's regular rhythms. I didn't read this book--- I devoured it. Reflected in You has to be read at least twice because, initially, you're interpretation will be colored by confusion, frustration, and anger. But on the second reading, after everything is revealed, everything Gideon and Eva say and do take on new meaning. They're both experiencing and causing each other so much misery and torment yet it's unavoidable. It makes the soul shiver.
The last two chapters are absolutely riveting and they remind the reader that Gideon Cross is not a man to be trifled with. Eva didn't dub him dark and dangerous for nothing. In Reflected in You, Gideon is like the offspring of Mr. Enigma and Ms. Riddle and, like Eva, you will do anything to solve the mystery. This spellbinding story continues in the last book in the trilogy, Entwined in You, due to be released December 31, 2012 but available for preorder now.
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