Chapter Eleven

Pepper

The living room of my condo envelops me in its cozy warmth. I’m talking to Basil when my phone buzzes and Cody’s name flashes across the front.

I groan and wrinkle my nose. “It’s my brother. I really don’t feel like dealing with him right now.”

“But he’s so cute,” Basil says. “Here, give me the phone. I wanna talk to Mr. Bowlegged Cowboy.”

“No way,” I say, laughing. “Besides, unfortunately, Basil, I know for a fact that he’s straight as an arrow. Straighter.”

“Oh, poo,” Basil simpers, shaking his head. “All the cute ones are.”

I swipe to open the call and hold my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Howdy, sis, I didn’t think yer’d answer. Got somethin’ to ask you.”

“It better not be a favor,” I mutter under my breath. “What is it?”

“Carter – you know, my big fancy business partner – and I are gonna be launchin’ that barbecue sauce we came up with,” Cody drawls. “And it would mean a lot to me if yer were there.”

My heart sinks. I can’t believe Cody actually went through with this terrible, harebrained idea. And now, he wants me to bear witness to his downfall.

“Yer know we ain’t got any other family nearby,” Cody continues. “And I’d really like to see you, sis.”

“I bet,” I say through clenched teeth. “When is it?”

“Tonight. At Steakhouse.”

“Of course, it’s at Steakhouse.” I take a deep breath. “What time?”

“Seven-thirty. I’ll put your name on the VIP list. And don’t worry, Raelynn…you don’t have to eat no meat.”

Looking at Basil, I bite my lip. “Give me a plus one. I’m not coming alone.”

“Ooh, you got yourself a boyfriend?”

Glancing at Basil, I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

“Not exactly. Just a friend. Please, Cody? It’s the only way I’ll feel comfortable showing up.”

“Oh, fine,” Cody says. “It means a lot, Rae. Thank you.”

Against my will, I smile. “You’re welcome.” Surprisingly, I mean every word. Obviously, this train’s already left the station, and all that’s left is to jump on board.

We say our goodbyes, and I hang up, sliding my phone into my pocket.

“What was that about?” Basil asks, raising an eyebrow.

I’ve already told Basil about my brother’s disastrous decision to go into business with Carter Caldwell. When I tell him about the opening, I’m dismayed to see him so excited.

“Oh, this should be fun,” Basil gushes. “I’d love to come with. I’m so glad you fought for me. VIP all the way, girlfriend.”

“I didn’t invite you yet,” I say, stabbing a finger in his direction. “How do you know you’re the date in question?”

“Yeah, but you asked for a super-duper plus one.” Basil flips pretend hair. “Awash in fabulosity. And I have a feeling you didn’t have anyone else in mind.”

“All right,” I say, shaking my head. “But if things get bad, we’re leaving. Immediately. You got it?”

“Aye aye.” He flicks his wrist, giving me his typical rigid salute.

I spend the rest of the day in the kitchen at Sakana, instructing Kristin and the others how to manage the evening’s dinner service while Basil and I attend the launch party. I’m sure the unveiling won’t take long – how long can people possibly stand around eating disgusting barbecue? – but I’m already nervous that some grand mal disaster will color my night off.

“This is good for you,” Basil says as we leave the kitchen. “I haven’t seen you take so much time off since we opened. Cody’s good for you.”

“And it’s going to be so fun too,” I say, sarcasm front and center.

After quickly changing into a pair of black slacks and my favorite teal silk shirt, I feel like I look okay. I don’t want to make too much of an effort – Carter’s cocky enough that I’m sure he’d think it was all for his benefit – but I don’t want to look like a slob, either. Or someone from Kansas.

By the time Basil and I get to Steakhouse, it buzzes with activity. I give our names to a girl at the door who shows us in, then we push through a throng of people to get to the front of the room. Servers pass by with trays of drinks, and I grab two martinis.

Basil reaches for one, but I hold both tightly in my hands.

“No way,” I say, shaking my head. “This is a two-fisted situation if I’ve ever seen one. Get your own.”

Basil rolls his eyes but goes off in search of a bartender. I knock one of the martinis back in one gulp, set the glass down, then start sipping the other. The gin and vermouth start to calm my nerves, but anxiety slithers its way up my spine anyway. What if Cody does something horrible, like call me out in public? What if he slips and says my name? My real name?

The lights dim, and I step back into the crowd as a spotlight shines down on one corner of the restaurant. That’s when I see my brother and Carter – dressed in matching yoked Western shirts and cowboy hats – step into the light and grin. His chiseled face chases the breath from my lungs, and I suck an inhale.

Not tonight, asshole. You will not affect me.

“I want to thank all of you for coming,” Carter says. At the sound of his sexy voice, my heart jerks to the side. Even though I hate him with everything in me, I can’t get over the feelings that course through me whenever he’s in the vicinity. And that deep, warm growl…it’s enough to wet my panties.

Stop it. That’s the last thing you need right now – a crush on your sworn enemy.

The crowd cheers and claps as Carter talks about the barbecue sauce. I tune out his words and focus on the sexy growl of his voice, staring at his perfect lips as they form the words.

Maybe that martini was a bad idea. Maybe I should find Basil and get out of here before Carter or Cody can see me.

Carter finishes his little speech, and the lights snap back on. The servers reappear, this time carrying trays of sample-sized ribs and steak, and everyone eagerly takes a plate or two…except for me.

Just as I’m thinking of how to find Basil and disappear, Carter comes up to me with a smile lining his handsome face.

“I noticed you haven’t tried any,” Carter says, reaching for a plate of rib tips and handing it over.

I shake my head. “No, thanks.” Just the smell alone is enough to turn my stomach. I haven’t eaten meat since I moved out of my parent’s house.

“I think I owe you an apology,” Carter says. He rocks on the balls of his feet, and I realize that he’s nervous.

I raise an eyebrow, not wanting to give this blue-eyed devil an inch. “Oh?”

Carter nods. “Yeah. It was really bad form when I trash talked Sakana. You agreed to host the benefit for my brother, and really, I should have been thanking you instead. It’s just that…that…I’m a meat-eating guy. I don’t know how to be anything else.”

I blink. His words are both sincere and touching.

“Thank you,” I say, softening just a hair.

“Yeah,” Carter says. He sticks out a hand. “Truce?”

I hesitate for a moment before putting my fingers against his, because I already know what’s waiting for me at the end of his tapered fingertips. Lust. A pure and passionate desire that I can’t explain. His hand is large and dry and warm, and touching his skin sends a shiver down my spine as I remember what it felt like to be wrapped in Carter’s arms with my mouth pressed to his.

“Truce,” I whisper, unable to trust myself to say anything more.

“So, what do you think?” Carter asks, gesturing at the room full of people. “It really seems to be a hit.”

I glance around at the huge crowd all munching on their ribs while smiling and laughing. “It does.” Dammit, Pepper, say something nice. You can do it. “It, uh, reminds me of home. The smell, I mean.”

Carter chuckles. “I take it that’s a good thing?”

“Sure,” I lie. “I’m glad it’s doing well. I know my brother was very excited to work with you. I haven’t seen Cody this whipped up over anything since his first rodeo.”

“Yeah, Cody’s a hoot,” Carter says, shaking his head. “I swear, I learn about fifty new expressions every time I talk to him. I was born and raised here, so I’m not up on the latest cowboy slang.”

This time when I laugh, it’s genuine. “Yeah. Cody’s always been like that. Really colorful, you know? Everybody loves him.”

“He’s a breath of fresh air around here, that’s for sure,” Carter replies.

The tension between us grows, crackling along an invisible line that connects us to each other. I can’t tell if Carter’s being so nice because he realized how dickish he acted before, or because he’s still attracted to me…but something inside of me doesn’t want to go off into the crowd and find Basil.

Please ask me to stay.

Another server passes by with a tray full of martinis and Carter plucks two before handing one to me. We clink our glasses together and sip, silently toasting to the success of this new venture.

“This is good,” I say.

Carter nods. “It’s Steakhouse’s signature drink. It’s a regular martini, with a little twist.”

Frowning, I take another sip of my drink, swishing it around in my mouth.

“Get it yet?” Carter raises an eyebrow. Somehow, this makes him look even sexier. “You must have a very sophisticated palate.”

“It’s…rosemary,” I say, swallowing. “That’s really good. It’s subtle, I didn’t notice it before.”

Carter grins, his chest puffing out with pride. If this is his reaction to the slightest compliment from my lips, maybe I need to throw him a bone more often.

“Yeah,” he says. “I like it a lot.”

I lick my lips as we lapse into silence. Carter stares into my eyes, and for a moment, I forget that I’m schmoozing with the asshole who trashed my restaurant. Deep in his soul, he disrespects what I do. He probably disrespects me as a person.

“So…” Carter steps closer. A thrill flutters through my body. “Wanna take a walk? Get some air. It’s so crowded in here, the temperature’s rising.”

You’re not kidding. But it has nothing to do with the crowd.

Maybe it’s the electrical current between us, but I trail along after him like his favorite cut of red meat straight to the slaughter. He takes my hand and squeezes my fingers before leading me out of the room and onto a private balcony. A cool breeze ruffles his hair, and I have to fist my hand to keep from reaching up and pushing it out of those azure eyes.

“I don’t let patrons out here most of the time,” Carter says. “It’s where I come when I need a moment.”

The view steals my breath. The sun dips below the desert hills and the neon of the strip twinkles in the fading daylight.

“It’s beautiful,” is all I can manage to say.

Carter still hasn’t released my hand, and the pad of his thumb rubs the inside of my wrist, sending tingles up my arm. “Yeah. If I’m having a bad day, coming out here always relaxes me.”

I gnaw on my bottom lip, an old habit I wish I could break. All it manages to do is draw his attention. Every single place the man touches me with that wicked gaze, I throb. I ache. “I can’t imagine that you have too many bad days.”

“Clearly, you’ve never met my pastry chef, Claude,” he replies, rolling his eyes. “I swear, that man is more emotional than a room full of thirteen-year-old girls. He could try the patience of Job. But he’s the best. And I like having the best.”

I burst out into a tiny giggle. “Hey, sometimes the temperamental ones are the most talented. I have my own Claude at Sakana. His name is Basil.”

Carter laughs too. It’s a nice, warm sound that fills my ears and makes me feel relaxed.

It hits me that I’m actually having a good time with Carter Caldwell. Go figure.

Our laughter dies down and the moment turns serious. Carter turns to me. His dark blue eyes are even darker in the dim evening light, and my heart skips a beat as he leans in close. Somewhere along the line, he lost his Stetson. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close. Carter’s mouth hovers inches away from mine. He lingers for a moment, and I breathe in, inhaling his wonderful musky cologne. Then he dips lower and captures my lips with his.

The kiss explodes from the depths of my body. From a place I didn’t even know existed before this moment. Before this man. The room twirls around me, decreasing in size with every second. Carter’s tongue slips into my mouth, and I moan against it as he begins to nibble and suck my lower lip. My belly turns into a quivering mass of arousal as I press my body against his. Carter wraps his hands around my waist and gently pushes me against the brick wall, pressing his body against mine as the kiss grows deeper. I can feel his hard cock through the thin material of his pants and grind against him, thinking of how it will feel when he slides inside of me for the first time.

When Carter breaks the kiss, my heart gallops. He brushes hair away from my ear and leans in close.

“Let’s get out of here,” Carter whispers. “There’s something sizzling between us, and I’m going to die if I don’t find out what it is. Besides, your taste has given me an idea. Something I’ve always wanted to try. You’re the woman. This is the time.”

His eyes flash in the darkness, and I don’t even think about his cryptic words or what I’m doing before I throw every ounce of caution I possess into the wind and agree.

Taking my hand, Carter leads me away from the private balcony and down a restricted hallway. The fact that this might be a horrible idea doesn’t even occur to me as I follow close behind, my heels clicking on the tiled floor. We’re silent, and somehow that just makes the moment even more intense as I follow Carter into the street where a fancy town car hugs the curb.

Carter helps me into the backseat. Before the door is even shut behind him, we’re on each other again. The car jolts forward, and I pull Carter on top of me, fumbling with the button of his shirt with clumsy fingers. As Carter shoves a muscular thigh between my legs and grinds against my crotch, I groan into his neck. It feels so good – I know I should stop, I shouldn’t be doing this – but I can’t help it. I want Carter more than I’ve ever wanted anything, and I know I’m not going to be satisfied until he wears my body out with multiple orgasms.

The car slows to a stop and Carter passes a wad of bills to the driver, barely even looking as he covers my face in desperate kisses. He opens the door and scoops me into his arms, carrying me down a dark hallway. After a short elevator ride, Carter reaches into his pocket and fumbles with his keys, jamming them into the lock and pushing the door open. Darkness bathes the inside of his condo, but neither of us bothers with a light switch. Carter pulls me inside, releases me, and slams the door behind us.

“Wine?” he asks, pointing toward the pristine chef’s kitchen.

“I’d love some.” Anything to calm the rapid pounding of my heart.

When he returns, I hiss in an inhale. Along with two wine glasses, he’s holding a kitchen towel.

I take the wine he offers and hold my breath, wondering what’s coming next. What this thing is that he wants to try. With me.

“Turn around, Pepper.”

I only hesitate for a second before I comply. The towel covers my eyes, and I feel Carter securing it with something, I’m not sure what. Now that I’m blinded, my heart seems to take off again, finding another gear in its attempt to escape my chest cavity. All my remaining senses are heightened. The lemony fresh scent of the clean towel assails my nostrils. Every cell in my body fires with sensation.

I barely have time to breathe before his hands go to work, divesting me of every article of clothing. He shimmies my pants down, and they pool at my feet.

“Step out of the pants,” he demands, holding me at my waist. “Now.”

His hands snake around to my breasts, still clad in my lacy bra. Some whisper soft caresses assault my senses. Before I can moan my pleasure, he unclasps my bra to free my straining breasts. The cool air hits them, my nipples pebbling into stiff, aching nubs. Carter walks his hands up my rib cage, flicking his fingertips over my throbbing flesh until I lift my hands in the air. Giving me a little pinch of correction on my ass cheek, he places them at my sides again. I feel like I’m about to jump out of my own skin. I need to be closer. I need to do something other than just stand here, an obedient statue catering to his every whim.

“Are we going to the bedroom?” I ask on a ragged breath.

“No.”

When all I want is to snatch my perception of control back, he’s unwilling to give it. I hear him moving around me, sense his heat as well as the flutters of his shirt falling. With one swipe, my panties are removed. Part of me wants to cover myself, since I know he’s staring. The other part, the blinded part, allows the scenario to unfold naturally. If the intimacy doesn’t intensify, I think I can handle just standing here, letting him look his fill.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

A cold sensation captures my nipple, turning it into a straining nub. Carter circles it again and again. But not with his fingers. No. I can’t figure out what he’s doing, I can only surrender to the sensations it’s causing on my fevered skin.

I turn my head to the side, and he stills long enough to capture my lips in his. I moan into his mouth, and he accepts the sound with his tongue. My hand moves to his forearm, traveling ever downward. As soon as I reach his wrist, he stops me.

“No, Pepper. You’re misbehaving. Do you know what happens to naughty girls who misbehave?”

My heart feels like it’s going to liquify and ooze through my ribs. I can smell his musky cologne, feel his body heat. Of their own accord, my knees give a slight wobble, and he holds tightly to my wrist to stabilize me. My lungs seem devoid of air.

“What?” I manage to whisper.

“This.”

Before I even know what’s happening, he lifts me, cradling me to his muscular body until I’m laid gently down on the carpet beneath where I was just standing. The sensation of weightlessness intoxicates me as much as the scents and sounds that reverberate around my unseeing eyes. He kisses me again, placing my body the way he wants it for whatever wickedness he has planned next.

“Carter…”

As if he understands my unspoken plea, he dips his head to my breast and captures my nipple in his wet mouth. It feels incredible, and I moan again, my legs falling apart. God. I ache. I want him to touch me where I need it most. But he’s teasing me without mercy, his teeth and tongue setting my nipples on fire with need.

The exposed position doesn’t feel naughty. It feels raw and right. Intimate. When I feel his lips move back up to my mouth again, a shudder rips up my spine.

“Time to test your palate, Chef St. Claire,” he says, breaching the seams of my lips with his tongue.

An explosion of fresh strawberry bursts across my tongue. So that’s what he’s been using to torment my body into a quivering mass of submission.

“Strawberry.”

He doesn’t answer, just inches his hands down my rib cage, stopping just above my throbbing pussy. The strawberry’s still in his fingers, I can feel it, cool and moist across my fevered skin.

“I’m impressed,” he says, rubbing the fruit in circular motions right below my navel. After a few tense moments, it’s gone, replaced by his hot mouth, licking all traces of the fruit’s juices off my skin. I never knew a simple berry could be so erotic. So decadent. So bad in the best way.

I move my hands to thread them through his hair, but he stops what he’s doing only long enough to put them above my head. With another little pinch to my flank, he corrects me.

“Don’t move. I’m not going to tell you again.”

Just who does he think he is? I’m Pepper St. Claire. I have three Michelin stars, and he only has two. I’m not going to let him manhandle me.

I’m so going to let him manhandle me.

My legs fall even farther apart. As if he senses my growing need, he places his large hands on either side of my knees and pushes them wide. I’m completely exposed, bare to his gaze. Thank God I still wax despite my vagina’s three-year hiatus. Basil would skin me alive if I didn’t.

He takes my right ankle in his hand, placing a kiss on the tender skin inside my leg. I jerk at the sensation, but he holds me tight and firm, not allowing me to wrench free.

“You’re learning,” he says, licking a light trail from my ankle to the back of my knee, and on to my inner thigh.

I can feel the wetness pooling between my exposed thighs. I ache and throb, craving his touch. Craving a release, I can almost feel before it even arrives. The strawberry’s back, blazing a trail from my inner thigh to the place I want Carter to touch me.

He wouldn’t.

Oh, my fucking God. He would.

Carter slides a finger inside of me, the strawberry rolling around my straining clit. It’s indescribable. I shudder and try to wrest myself away from the riot of new sensations. He stops cold. I moan and grind myself into his hand, but he doesn’t touch me again. With a sigh, I realize I’m not going to get what I want until I give him what he wants.

Nothing less than my complete surrender.

I’ve never done that before. Can I? Something deep inside me comes to life, emerging from a place I didn’t even know existed. It gives me the composure to still my body, so I’m not even moving a solitary muscle.

“Good girl.”

His voice contains so much grit, I’d swear he guzzled his own barbecue sauce on a rack of razors. He moves his hand against my body, and I reach down and press my own hands to his, grinding against his fingers until his thumb finds my clit. As he strokes the sensitive nerves with slow, torturous strokes, I bite my lip and arch my back.

“Oh, God. That’s so good. I’m going to come.”

“You can’t come until I tell you,” he rasps. “You’re going to come on my tongue. Not a moment sooner.”

“I don’t think–”

“You can. Now, I’m going to remove the blindfold because I want you to see me when I suck this strawberry out of your wet pussy.”

In one soft pull, he tugs the blindfold off my face. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, all I can see is Carter, poised between my legs, my aching pussy voracious for anything he’s prepared to give it.

Tossing my head back, I groan. Even if he wants me to see it, I can’t. The sensations are too intense. Too incredible to even articulate. This man’s like nothing I’ve ever even fantasized about in my wildest imagination. The strawberry’s disappeared inside of me. Or is that Carter’s fingers. I don’t even know anymore.

He lowers his head to my pussy and licks my engorged clit with the tip of his tongue. It’s not enough. Not enough pressure. I see stars. Throwing my head back, I also throw caution to the wind.

“Harder.”

I brace myself for the correction, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he finally gives me what I’ve been craving. What I need more than anything in this tortured moment. He sucks my clit into his mouth, and I come in wave upon wave of pleasure until I don’t know where I end, and he begins.

“I’m going to fuck you, Pepper. I feel like my cock’s going to explode.”

“Yes,” I whisper, not able to manage anything more as I gradually float down from the most explosive orgasm of my life.

Once I’m back to earth, I tangle my hands in Carter’s hair, wanting him to hurry. Wanting him closer. Carter gets to his knees and unbuckles his belt, pushing his jeans down his muscular legs. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out his wallet where he takes a foil square between his fingers and rips it open with his teeth. Reaching forward, I tug Carter’s boxers down his thighs until his cock bobs free. He’s huge – just long enough, with perfect girth – and I shiver as I watch him roll the latex down over his straining erection.

Carter grabs me by the hips and pulls me forward over the carpet. It stings my back and thighs but somehow that just adds to the pleasure, and I cry out. Pushing my thighs apart, Carter crawls between my legs and steadies himself with a hand against my hip. He slides deep inside of me, filling me to the hilt, and groans. Arching his back, Carter stays like that for a long second before thrusting in and out, filling me again and again.

Not able to withstand the intense sensations, I close my eyes and moan, writhing and twisting beneath Carter’s muscular body. He dips his head to mine and kisses me, sucking on my tongue and lower lip.

As Carter’s cock penetrates me over and over, I can feel my own pleasure building. I’m already prime for my second, and it hovers, so close. His body rubs against my clit with each thrust, and soon I’m gasping and choking for air, desperate for my orgasm to crash over me like a powerful wave. I tangle my fingers with Carter’s and pull him over my body, wrapping my legs around his waist as he thrusts in even deeper than before.

“You’re so tight, Pepper. You feel incredible.”

Carter groans and buries his face in my neck. When I feel his teeth there, I shiver with pleasure. He arches his back and bucks and gasps and drives into my body. When I feel myself start to come, I scream Carter’s name and press my mouth to his in a frenzy of passion. My own pleasure sets Carter off, and soon he’s shaking, increasing his tempo. I feel his cock pulse inside of me, and the sensation makes me shiver.

For a few seconds, we stay locked together, as close as two people can be. Then, Carter rolls away, pulling me with him. I can hear the thump of his heartbeat. Or is that mine? After a few seconds, our rhythms become one, melded together in an intimate duet. As we snuggle on the plush carpeting of his living room, my eyes flutter closed. Exhaustion overtakes me, and I figure I can just doze for a few minutes.