Chapter Twelve

Carter

My tongue feels like sandpaper as it rasps around in my dry mouth. I’m freezing cold too – where the hell are my blankets?

And why does my bed feel rough and hard? Under normal circumstances, it’s soft and decadent, and…

I’m. On. The. Floor.

Groaning, I open my eyes, memories flooding my brain, threatening to explode into another maelstrom of sensation. Cool air flows over my naked body as I lay in the foyer of my condo, sans one stitch of clothing.

And my frenemy with benefits is right next to me, her elegant fingers tucked underneath her chin. Emotions swirl, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, it was the best sex of my life. On the other, she’s my direct competition for every fucking thing I’ve ever wanted. She’s standing between me and stepping outside of Nixon’s formidable shadow.

Pepper St. Claire.

I mouth her name as I stare at her face, gorgeous in repose. Her mouth is open, and she’s snoring quietly, her dirty-blonde hair falling in alluring tangles over her pale face.

“Pepper,” I say, my voice creaking with my sex hangover and the unforgiving morning light. “Wake up.”

Pepper’s light grey eyes flutter open, and she blinks at me. For a moment, we stare at each other. Then she gasps and sits up, covering her luscious breasts with a pale, freckled arm.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep,” Pepper groans, rubbing the side of her head with one hand. “What time is it?”

Reaching for my pants, I grab my phone from one of the pockets.

“It’s a little after nine,” I say, yawning and rubbing my mouth. “You want breakfast? I don’t normally cook for anyone but myself. Might be fun to whip up some sustenance together. Reveal some trade secrets.”

Pepper shakes her head and grimaces as if cooking with me constitutes the most disgusting thing she’s heard. “I should get going.”

“You don’t have to leave,” I say, stomach swirling. I don’t want her to go. And I can’t explain why. “I can whip up some steak and eggs. Damn, that sounds good, actually.” I reach for my boxers and pull them on over my flaccid cock.

Pepper stares, and her sparkling eyes narrow and dim. “I don’t eat red meat. Did you forget?”

How could I ever forget anything about this feisty woman? She’s an expert at making sure her wants, needs, desires, and opinions are widely known. “Oh, yeah, okay. Well, sorry, I don’t have the ingredients for California Breakfast Rolls lying around at the moment. Or oatmeal.”

Pepper’s grey eyes flash her annoyance, but she doesn’t say anything. She reaches for her clothes and dresses quickly, pulling up her pants and straightening her silk shirt over her naked torso, effectively covering her delectable body from my hungry gaze. As the moment passes, I’m hungry for more than food.

“Last night was great,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “I can’t believe the turnout – that was insane.”

Pepper nods, standing to her full height and stretching like a cat. The position pushes her luscious tits closer toward me. I groan inside. She’s erected a wall between us again when all I want is to bust it down.

“Yeah,” she says. “I’m sure my brother is really pleased.”

“Aw, shit.” I rake a hand through my hair. “I can’t believe it. I totally forgot about Cody.”

Pepper laughs, her green eyes sparkling. I feel like worshipping at her feet. But I don’t. I don’t even touch her when my hands strain to close the gap. It’s the happiest she’s looked since I woke her. It pisses me off that Cody’s the source of her pleasure and not me.

“Yeah,” she says, a guilty smile creeping across her face. “Don’t worry. I totally left my friend there – he’s probably really mad too. Then again, I’m sure he’s happy to have had the chance to flirt with Cody alone.”

The idea of another man flirting with Cody is enough to make me laugh again, and for a moment we chuckle together. Then I climb to my feet and brush my hands off on my pants.

“God, I’m sore,” Pepper says. She lifts her shirt up to the side and glances down at her pink back. “Ugh. You didn’t have to drag me over the carpet like that. This rug burn really stings.”

I know I should apologize, but the image of Pepper’s rug-burned skin is enough to fill my head with memories of last night. My cock twitches in my pants as I think about what it was like to fuck the beautiful woman. I had no idea she’d be such a hot lover. I’ve never had sex that rough before, and judging from Pepper’s expression, I have a feeling it’s mutual.

“Sorry,” I say. “It looks cute, though. I’d be happy to rub some fresh aloe vera on it. I keep a plant in the house for burns. You know what it’s like being a chef. Cuts, burns, they’re part of the hazards of the job.”

She blinks, and for a second, I think she’s going to take me up on my offer and stay the morning accepting my ministrations, which will surely lead to more. I’m disappointed.

“I really should get going,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m going to be late, and I left the restaurant up to some of my newer staff last night. Another hazard of the job.”

I can’t suppress a chuckle. All it takes is one mental image of Claude in charge of a busy dinner service, and I about lose it.

Pepper gives me an odd look. “What?”

“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head.

She narrows her eyes. “What? Are you laughing at me because you want Sakana to fail?”

That sobered me quickly enough. “What? No! Not at all. I was laughing…” I trail off, realizing my original reason sells my talented colleague down the river in a leaky canoe.

Pepper looks angry now. She’s sensitive around me, and I realize it’s going to take a long time and being on my all-time best behavior to get her to trust me. Open mouth; insert foot.

“Tell me,” she says sharply, crossing her arms over her narrow chest. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s not funny, really,” I say, trying to backpedal. “Just that I was going to make a joke about one of your customers getting sick from bad fish.” I wave my finger under my nose. “I mean, have you ever smelled bad fish?” I’m aware that I’m rambling like an idiot but unaware of how to make myself stop.

“That’s not funny at all,” Pepper crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s basically the same as wanting something bad to happen to me.”

“I don’t,” I say, meaning it. While I don’t want her to usurp me, I don’t even come close to wanting her to fail in any way. “Really, Pepper.”

She bites her full lower lip. The air is thick with tension now…and not the good kind of tension, either.

“Look…” I hold up a hand. “I’m sorry, it was a stupid joke. Why not get breakfast with me? We can go out before going to work?”

Pepper sighs but softens and relents. I exhale a huge sigh of relief. I’m going to live to see another day. “Where did you have in mind?”

I wrack my brain. “I don’t know. What about Smoke and Barrel?”

Pepper seems determined to disagree with every single thing I say. “They don’t have any dishes without meat,” she says, negating my selection. “What about Seafood Basket? They do a great crab imperial Eggs Benedict.”

I mime vomiting. “That sounds disgusting. And I’m not going anywhere that won’t give me meat.”

Pepper rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Carter? I don’t know why I thought you were better than that. How can you only eat meat? Don’t you know how bad it is for the environment? Your arteries?”

“Fuck the environment.” I burst out laughing at her dogged determination to reform the unreformable. “Besides, I do enough already. I have energy efficient light bulbs, and I fucking recycle every week.”

Pepper’s jaw drops. “I can’t believe you,” she mutters. “You’re missing the point.”

“No, you’re missing the point,” I shoot back. With four brothers, getting defensive is a habit and a rite of passage. Nothing’s going to stop me now. Apparently, loafers are on the menu for breakfast today. “How can you only eat fish?”

In response, Pepper grabs her purse and pushes past me, carrying her heels in one hand.

“Wait, where are you going?” I ask, throwing my hands up in the air as if I’m innocent when I’m guilty as sin. “What the fuck did I do?”

But I know full well what the fuck I did. Now, I just want to whine about it.

Pepper stares at me for a long moment as I hold my breath. “If you have to ask me that, I don’t know what to tell you,” she spits. She huffs up a storm of rapid inhales, then stomps out of my condo and slams the door behind her.

I roll my eyes. Women. Always gotta ply a man with the dramatics. Can’t even take a joke.