He sighed, shaking his head, but those hard, uncompromising lips curled up with amusement at her silent reminder for him to mind his manners. “Please, get in the car, Pepper. This isn’t a conversation I want to have on the sidewalk where others might overhear.”
Pepper looked around, noticed other people walking by and looking at them curiously. “Right!” and she ducked into the back seat.
He followed, pulling the door closed. The driver pulled smoothly away from the curb and Pepper idly wondered how the man had found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. This was a big limousine and…well, this was New York City! Open parking spaces just didn’t happen. Ever!
“How did you…?” she started, but when he looked at her, what she’d been about to say died on her lips.
“Not here,” he told her. Thankfully, it was just a short trip to her apartment. He stepped out quickly, extending his hand to help her out.
Pepper hesitated to accept his hand, knowing that she’d once again feel that zing when they touched.
But there was nothing she could do that wouldn’t be construed as rude. Slowly, she touched his palm, and gasped quietly when his hand closed around hers.
With a gentle pressure, he pulled her onto the sidewalk. They stood like that for a long moment, staring into each other’s eyes. “This is dangerous,” she finally whispered.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” he asked, moving closer.
Pepper wanted to deny it, but honesty was too strong in her makeup. “Yes,” she told him. “But it’s dangerous.”
He didn’t laugh. Instead, he took her hand and led her up the stairs of her building. At the door to her apartment, she turned, her keys clutched in her hand. “Please don’t kiss me,” she begged.
“I must,” he replied softly. “But how about if I kiss you here, with the door still locked? I won’t come inside. Not tonight.”
Pepper considered for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay, but…”
She didn’t have a chance to finish, her mind went blank as he pulled her to him and his lips covered hers. It was worse than she’d feared and better than anything she could have imagined! The intense desire that poured over her when his lips brushed against hers, sparked a fire that went from simmering to white hot in a fraction of a second. Her bag hit the floor with a thud that neither of them noticed as her hands moved higher, clutching his shoulders. His mouth devoured hers and she lifted up onto her toes, needing this kiss, needing so much more.
He pressed her against him, so close that she could feel every part of him against the soft curves of her body. She ached to pull his clothes off and explore the expanse of hard chest and shoulders without anything in between her fingers and his skin.
So, when he pulled back, Pepper couldn’t stop the whimper of protest. Licking her lips, she slowly lowered herself back to the floor. “Oh!” was all she could say.
“Unlock the door and go inside, Pepper,” he ordered, his voice rough, almost gravelly.
Pepper stared up at him, at his lips, and wondered if she could kiss him just one more time. Once more wouldn’t be so bad, she thought.
He emitted a sound that was pretty close to a growl. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, Pepper, I’m going to take your keys, unlock this door and drag you off to bed.”
Pepper stared, wondering why that sounded so…wonderful!
“Pepper! Go inside!”
She jerked at the sound of his voice, then spun around, her keys falling to the ground. Bending, she picked them up, painfully aware of his warm body so close to her own. Her fingers were trembling so badly, he reached around to pluck the keys from her hands, unlocking the door for her.
“Thank you,” she whispered when he returned them to her. “I’m not going to turn around. But I don’t want you to think that is rude of me.”
“I understand,” he told her and she felt his hand hover over her back. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, savoring his touch and the heat and that electric zing that she craved more than she wanted her next breath.
“Go inside, Pepper. I can’t touch you again. But promise to have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
Pepper nodded, but at this point, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was agreeing to. Her body was so tight with tension that it was almost painful to step through the door.
“Good night,” she whispered.
“Close the door, Pepper.”
She did, then leaned against it, feeling as if he were still there. Pepper knew the exact moment he walked away. It was as if the atoms in the air slowed down, settling into their regular rhythm. Even her breathing slowed and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the heavy door as her mind replayed that kiss one more time.
Chapter 3
Pepper smoothed her hand down over her stomach, then clenched her hands together in an effort to stop fidgeting. “It’s going to be fine,” she told herself. “I’ll just tell him and he’ll understand. We won’t touch and it will all be okay.”
The abrupt knock on her door startled her. Still, she didn’t move, remaining across the room as she stared at the door as if it might explode. Which wasn’t such an odd reaction, thinking back to the kiss from the previous night. That kiss had…exploded. It had only been Dimitri’s iron control that had kept them from ending up in bed last night.
“Just…answer the door and tell him,” she whispered. And yet, she remained still, not daring to move.
Another, louder knock warned her that either she was too slow to answer the door, or he was impatient. Probably both, she thought as she moved towards the door and, with a tug, opened it.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Those atoms immediately began vibrating, pinging against each other. The tension increased, her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him, hyper aware of every pulse of his body.
She inhaled a long, slow breath, fully aware of what this intensity was leading up to. “I have to warn you about something,” she announced, before she could lose her nerve.
Dimitri stepped into her apartment, closing the door behind him, and leaned back against the heavy wood. “What’s that, little one?”
She laughed, her hand fluttering self-consciously over her stomach. “I’m not little,” she countered self-consciously.
His eyes sharpened, his gaze moving over her figure. She’d chosen a yellow sundress tonight, the straps over her shoulders barely an inch wide and covered with a white cardigan sweater. “Is that what you needed to tell me? The warning?”
Pepper laughed again, self-consciously pulling her hand away from her soft stomach. “No. That’s not it. Not even close.”
“You look beautiful,” he said, as he held her arms out so that he could properly admire her outfit. “You made this, ne?”
His accent thickened and, for some reason, she attributed that to him being here with her.
“Yes. I made this, but that’s…”
He moved closer, towering over her and she felt it. That zing. But it wasn’t just a zing anymore. It was more, something significantly more intense than a mere zing. “I’m going to kiss you, Pepper,” he announced.