She stepped back, but because his hands were still holding hers, she couldn’t move far enough. How had he captured her fingers, she wondered?
“I need to warn you about something.”
“What’s that?”
He moved closer and she softened, feeling his warmth and the strength of his body.
She shook her head, pulling her hand away and holding it up, trying to stop his forward momentum. “I can’t think when you’re touching me.”
He chuckled softly, then kissed her cheek. “Fine,” and he dropped her hands, stepping back. “What do you need to warn me about?”
Pepper looked up at him, startled by the authority. It was always there, but when he looked at her like this, that authority was more…intense.
Turning away, she started pacing. “Okay, so here’s the thing. I’m the youngest of three daughters. But my sisters…we’re only half sisters,” she amended, then looked up at him, hoping that he understood. “My mother was a good woman, but she kept looking for love in all the wrong men. She was a hair stylist and the men loved coming to her, they loved the way she cut their hair, and also the way she touched them. My mother was really good at flirting.”
“This is not a reflection on you,” he announced, his voice firm, his arms crossed arrogantly over his chest.
Pepper blinked, not sure what he meant by that. “Of course not. Nor is it a reflection on my mother. She was a good person.” She shook her head. “But that’s not the point. We’re not debating my mother’s morality. I need to warn you about…” she stopped and turned away from him, wringing her hands. “Okay, so…here’s the thing. After last night’s kiss, I know that we’re going to end up in bed.” She faced him again, waiting warily, wanting him to acknowledge her point.
The heat in his eyes intensified immediately. “Yes, I agree.”
For some reason, his agreement was both exciting and terrifying.
“Okay, well, then…” she stopped, trying to remember her point. Sex. Sex was…! “Right! Okay!” Pepper knew that she was stammering, but she couldn’t seem to help it. “Okay. Warning. Here it comes!” And still, she hesitated, feeling a bit foolish. “I’ve never done this before. I’ve had sex. That’s not the problem. But before I had sex, I’d warned the man that…well, it didn’t matter because we both used protection. I’d dated both men for a long time and we’d discussed having sex for weeks before we even started to…” she waved her hands awkwardly, “you know.”
“Had sex?’ he prompted, his amusement evident in his eyes.
“No!” She huffed, irritated with herself now. “Before we started doing anything physical. We talked. I was able to warn them about this and get on birth control myself.”
That stopped him and he looked…well slightly less predatory. “Birth control? I will take care of the birth control, Pepper.” That’s when he noticed the blush. “There’s more?”
With a rush of air, she exhaled. “You see, my grandmother got pregnant at eighteen with my mother. Thankfully, my grandfather stuck around.”
His shoulders stiffened and he dropped his arms so that his hands fisted on his lean hips. “As he should. A child is a man’s responsibility to care for and provide for!”
That kernel of happiness expanded in her chest. “Yes, I agree, to a point. I think it is the mother and father’s responsibility. But that’s not the issue.”
“Mothers provide love. Fathers provide everything else.”
Pepper laughed, shocked by his sexism. “Well, just so you know, I’m fully capable of providing for my family. So that’s never going to be an issue!”
Dimitri stepped back, leaning against the table with her words. There was a story there, something she wasn’t telling him. Yet.
Last night, holding her in his arms and kissing her had only confirmed that this was his woman. He’d felt the trembling in her, the need that echoed his own. And last night, he hadn’t been able to get the feel of her out of his head. But nothing had worked. In fact, he’d thought about her all day, wondering what she was doing. It was infuriating, because he’d thought that seeing her, getting to know her would stop this obsession he’d felt for her.
It hadn’t worked. He was still fascinated with her and he had a bad…or good…suspicion that he’d never get over this woman.
“Tell me what’s bothering you, Pepper,” he ordered, seeing her eyes flare with irritation. Which was exactly why he’d said it like that. The fire in her was…powerfully erotic! He loved seeing her like this, bristling with passion. It might be anger right now, but he was positive that he could shift that passion to desire very easily.
She took a deep breath, holding his gaze. “My grandmother got pregnant the first time she had sex. My mother had sex with three men over six years and got pregnant the first time she had sex with each man.” She clasped her hands together in front of her as she continued. “Both of my sisters got pregnant with their current husbands the first time they had sex. Growing up, my sister preached double protection when we have sex because…well, the women in my family have what my sister calls a ‘freakish fertility’ issue. We get pregnant very easily. I know that it sounds strange, but that’s our reality. And I’ve been with two other men in my life, and the sex wasn’t all that great, but before we had sex, I was on the pill and they used condoms. I’m not on birth control now and we both know that it takes about thirty days before birth control is truly effective, so we can’t have sex yet because we don’t have double protection.”
He stared at her for a long moment, processing what she’d just blurted out. “You…are not having sex with another man?”
Pepper huffed, shifting her feet. “Out of everything I just said, that’s what you got from my rambling speech?”
Dimitri laughed, enchanted with her irritation. “No, I also heard that you’re not on birth control, that the women in your family have a very strong tendency to become pregnant, and that your sisters are both married.”
“Freakish fertility, Dimitri,” she emphasized firmly. “We can’t have sex! We just can’t because I’m not on birth control.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he moved closer. Before she could move away, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “Relax, Pepper,” he soothed, kissing her neck and feeling her melt into him. All resistance left her when he touched her neck. He would have to remember that for future use.
“I respect the fact that your family is extremely fertile, but I’ve been protecting women, as well as myself, from unplanned pregnancies for years. And so far, I’ve been very successful.” He looked into her eyes. “Do you honestly believe that we can hold off from consummating this desire between us for another thirty days?”
She sighed, leaning her forehead against his chest in defeat. “No. Probably not.”
He rubbed her back, feeling her shiver. “It will be okay,” he told her, feeling a rush of protectiveness. “I’ll protect you, Pepper.”