Persuasion Skills Page 6

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” she said before dissolving into giggles.

  Finishing with the fire, he turned and stood over her shaking body, frowning. “Are you going to share the joke?”

  She looked at him and just shook her head before standing. She wrapped her arms around his middle and gave him a quick hug before releasing him and walking to the kitchen.

  “It’s just good to know that even when you go off the deep end, it’s a well-planned jump,” she said as she flipped on the light, opened the fridge, and began rummaging around.

  The sight of her bent over with her ass displayed in perfect offering distracted him momentarily from her words.

  “I already told you I’m being perfectly sane and logical,” he said when she finally straightened with a stack of containers in her arms.

  “Yeah, whatever. You in the mood for some pork chops and veggies?”

  He shook his head. It was obviously going to take more time for her to realize that he wasn’t going through some mental breakdown.

  Her stubbornness only confirmed that his plan really was the best strategy. They’d known each other long enough for him to know that for Pepper, actions always spoke so much louder than words. It was one of the reasons their company had done so well in such a short amount of time. She was a tenacious business-woman who believed in concrete results more than abstract proposals and promises. It would take his best effort to convince her that he planned on keeping her in his life, his bed, and his heart for the rest of their lives.

  He just wished he hadn’t wasted years oblivious that he had the perfect woman. And of course, when he finally managed to pull his head out of his ass, the timing was less than ideal. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation. In all honesty, kidnapping her really was the best option.

  It’ll be a funny story for the grandkids.

  “There should be a cheesecake in the freezer. We can have that for dessert.” He walked to a cabinet and pulled down dishes.

  She tossed him a quick smile. “Perfect.”

  He went about arranging the place settings on the island while she heated the food. Stepping back, he cast the surface a critical eye before turning to rummage around in a drawer and pulling out some thick candles and matches.

  According to his research, candle-lit dinners were supposed to be romantic. He’d never really bothered with them before. All of the women he dated in the past had been casual relationships. They knew he wasn’t interested in anything permanent, so romantic dinners had never really figured into any of their dates.

  He wanted things to be different with Pepper. He wanted her to know that she was different from all the other women he’d been with.

  He did a mental review of the magazine articles and blog posts he’d read regarding the constructing of a perfect table for romance.

  Candles, check.

  Turning to another cabinet, he pulled out a bottle of wine and glasses. Uncorking the bottle, he filled the two glasses and added them to the setting.

  Wine, check.

  “There should also be a few premixed salads in the fridge. Would you mind pulling one out?” he asked her, hoping that his expression was as innocent as he was trying to project.

  She turned from the counter to look at him. Her gaze fell on the table before connecting back to him. He could see a spark of suspicion as he began to back out of the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I just need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

  Her expression relaxed. “Sure, no problem. Ranch or vinaigrette dressing?”

  “Ranch,” he said as he hurried away.

  Reaching the bathroom, he closed the door and grabbed a bottle of cologne. He rarely wore the stuff, but the year before, Pepper had commented on how much she liked that particular scent. Pinecones dipped in vanilla, she had said with a sexy smile. He sprayed a bit of the cologne on his neck and chest.

  Sexy cologne, check.

  He left the room and paused to turn on some music before proceeding to the kitchen. Her back was to him as she finished filling a large bowl with salad.

  The crooning voice of Robin Thicke filled the air as he reached her. Her back stiffened before she whipped around and looked at him.

  Music, check.

  Her eyes narrowed at him, and he just smiled at her in return.

  “Everything looks good. You ready to eat?”

  “Yes. I didn’t realize how long we were out.”

  “Great, I’m starving.” He reached around her and grabbed the salad bowl. “You go ahead and sit down, and I’ll set out all of the food.”

  She tossed him another wary glance before sitting down. He placed all of the food on the island, and before he sat down, made sure to dim the lights.

  All systems go.

  He pulled his chair close to hers and began adding salad to her plate. It still surprised him how doing the simplest of things with Pepper made him feel good. He’d never realized just how impersonal his dating life was until he found himself eager to perform the simplest task for her.

  Looking back over the years, he realized that she had always been the exception. Besides his family members, she was the only other person he ever brought gifts for, or made the effort to spend time with. All of his other friends and acquaintances knew that the only way they’d see him was if they scheduled an appointment through his assistant.

  Regardless of his schedule or stress level, he and Pepper had dinner at least once a week. They celebrated every major personal and professional milestone together. They both had spare clothing at each other’s homes. Hell, he even tracked her menstrual cycle to know when to have his stash of seventy percent dark Belgian chocolate at the ready.

  She had always been different. It had only taken him a decade to realize why.

  He leaned back in his seat and let his gaze roam over her features. He had always considered her beautiful, but now he saw more than just his best friend who happened to be pretty. He saw the woman who had pushed and praised him. The woman who had stood by him yet always called him on his bullshit. The woman whose advice he always sought and whose disappointment could make him weak. He saw his best friend and finally lover. He saw the woman it took him years to fall in love with, and she was fucking beautiful.

  “I know what you’re trying to do, you know. The wine, the music.” She sniffed the air. “The cologne.”

  She was also too damn smart for her own good.

  She picked up her glass of wine and sipped it experimentally, before tossing him a bored look.

  He reached out for her free hand and engulfed it in his own.

  “And what exactly is that?”

  She rolled her eyes at him, her look obviously questioning his intelligence.

  “Your little attempt at seduction. What did you do, buy every Cosmo from the last twenty years?”

  He chuckled at her. She really should know him better.

  “First of all, this is an attempt at romance, not seduction.”

  Her face puckered with a look of confusion.

  “And secondly, I didn’t buy any magazines. I wrote a short algorithm that searched every digital magazine and website with the highest frequency of specific key words.”

  “You Googled.”

  “I didn’t Google anything. I told you I wrote an algorithm—”

  “Uh-huh, right. So you searched for key words regarding the perfect dinner to get in a woman’s panties,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips.

  There was a familiar glint in her eyes that always used to make him cringe, but no more. She was in the mood for an argument, and damn if it wasn’t turning him on. Then again, he was finding lately that everything about her turned him on and probably always had.

  His cock twitched in agreement, and he gave a mental shrug. He probably had made the decision subconsciously to be annoyed all those years to keep himself from flipping her over onto the nearest surface and fucking her
senseless. What a pity, he thought, thinking of all of those awesome missed opportunities. The woman loved a good argument.

  “Romance. Not seduction.”

  “What’s the difference? You’re still hoping for the same end result.”

  “And what exactly do you think that end result is?”

  “To get me into bed.” She shot him a look that just screamed, Duh!

  “Sorry to disappoint you, honey, but that’s not my goal.”

  “Nice try, Romeo. Tell that to someone you didn’t have plastered against a tree for most of the afternoon.”

  She pulled her hand free and glared at him before picking up her fork and starting in on her salad.

  He grinned in the face of her ire. She wanted to pretend that her responses to him were just a reaction to the mood he was trying to set. That was fine. It would take some time before she realized that the heat between them was genuinely mutual and definitely more than just attraction.

  Good thing he had excellent reasoning skills.

  “You have a tiny birthmark on your pussy,” he said, picking up his own fork.

  Her eyes widened in surprise.

  “It’s on your left outer labia.” He speared a plum tomato and brought it to his mouth. He chewed the round fruit slowly, staring into her shocked eyes.

  “Ever since I saw it, ever since I had you wet, and hot, clinging around my dick, all I can think about is stripping you down and sucking that mark into my mouth,” he said, reaching casually for his wine glass.

  Her gaze blazed with heat in response to his words, and he could see her nipples harden through her shirt. His groin more than appreciated the view.

  “I really don’t think that—”

  “Every time I’ve seen or thought of you since that night, all I can think about is how good you felt stretched around my cock and how much more I wanted to do to you,” he said, overriding her response. “If all I wanted to do was seduce you, Pep, I would have fucked you against that tree and not let either of us come up for air until frostbite set in.”

  Her perfect pink tongue snaked out and licked her pouty lips. Did she realize what an invitation that was?

  “If I wanted to seduce you, I’d lift you on this table right now and have you for dinner and finally gorge myself on the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”

  Resisting the urge to pull her into his lap and make good on his words, he held her arrested gaze and continued.

  “Don’t ever doubt that I want you, Pep, but I won’t settle for just a physical relationship with you. If we’re going to make this work, it’s going to be all or nothing.”

  Her lips firmed, and her chin struck out in a mutinous angle.

  “I don’t take directives well, Jaxon. If I want to have anything with you, it will be when I’m good and ready. No amount of candlelight and wine is going to change that, so your Pepe Le Pew impersonation is wasted.” Her voice came out in a sexy rasp.

  He grinned at her telling retort. She had said when she was ready. It was a small victory, but a win, nonetheless.

  “Maybe,” he said, conceding her point. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I want to romance you, that I want you to know how much you deserve to be wined and dined..” He shrugged his shoulders at her.

  “And for your information, I consider myself more of Tramp than a Le Pew.”

  “Didn’t he feed Lady spaghetti?” Her eyes were lit with laughter, and he could see her shoulders relax.

  “Well, I can’t plan everything.”

  Her snicker filled the air.

  “Yeah, right. I take it back. You’re no Pepe. You’ve got Johnny Bravo written all over you.” She grinned at him.

  He tilted his head back in consideration before nodding his agreement. Lifting his arms, he began to flex as if he were lifting weights.

  “You’re right. He was both intelligent and handsome and sex—”

  She tossed a tomato at him before concentrating back on her plate.

  “Don’t push your luck,” she said dryly, her smile softening her words. “What am I going to do with you?”

  He could tell she was genuinely puzzled, and tried to lighten the mood.

  “Well, I have a few suggestions, but since I’m trying to be a gentleman…” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, relieved to hear her answering snort.

  Dinner progressed with little argument after that. Pepper gradually relaxed enough to engage in conversation and didn’t stiffen when he grabbed her hand again. After years of obeying an unspoken hands-off rule, he couldn’t seem to stop reaching out for her. He loved the feel of touching her smooth, chocolate skin.

  After the meal, he was able to coax her back over to the couch. They continued to talk as he pulled her feet to his lap and gave her a foot rub.

  The little sounds she made drove him crazy, and as the night progressed, he felt his self-control slipping. Her occasional nervous glances towards the bed on the other side of the room were the only thing keeping him in check.

  It was obvious that she was unsure of what would happen when they made their way to bed. He had a few thoughts about how to put her at ease and give himself some relief at the same time.

  She stifled a yawn, and he felt a wicked grin stretch across his face.

  “I think it’s time for bed,” he said, shifting her feet from his lap and standing up.

  She looked up at him with wide eyes. “I’m really not that tired.” Her unease was clearly written on her face.

  She was so cute. He leaned down and scooped her up and over his shoulder.

  “What the—”

  Her startled yelp was muffled by his back as he marched over to the bathroom.

  When he reached the room, he shut the door and placed her gently on her feet. She opened her mouth to no doubt blast him with a round of curses when he began unbuttoning his shirt.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she yelled.

  “Getting ready for bed,” he said as he tossed his shirt to the floor. His undershirt quickly followed, before he began unbuckling his pants.

  She averted her gaze and shifted her feet into a wide stance, her hands firmly planted at her hips.

  “That doesn’t explain why we’re in here right now.”

  “I always shower before I go to sleep.”

  He pushed his jeans, boxers, and all to the floor before stepping out of them. Her gaze drifted down his body to focus on his groin. His dick twitched in greeting.

  She flicked her gaze quickly up to his, and he could see the answering heat flare in her eyes. Her throat moved in an obvious gulp, and he had to bite back a groan.

  “Since when did you need an audience to bathe?” Her voice came out low and husky.

  He stepped towards her, and she immediately took a step back. He continued his slow approach, crowding her into the large walk-in shower.

  “Who said anything about an audience?” he asked as he reached to her side and turned on the water, shielding her body with his own.

  Chapter Nine

  Jaxon Grey was either too sexy for his own good, or she had finally purchased a first class ticket to Hussy-Ville.

  Pepper stared at the hard bare chest only a few inches from her face. She was pretty sure that any common sense she had melted to the floor the minute he dropped his pants, but held out hope that she hadn’t lost all brain function completely.

  She bit back a groan when he leaned forward to tug her shirt over her head. Cool air briefly brushed her skin before he reached around her back and unhooked her bra. His thick shaft rubbed against the sensitive skin of her stomach, and she had to brace herself against the wall to keep from wilting against him.

  Think, think, think!

  Somewhere out there was at least one feminist rooting for her, she was sure of it. If only he didn’t feel so good. His cock twitched against her skin, and she couldn’t hold back a whimper.

  “You have the softest skin,” he whispered. He nibbled at her shoulder as his hands worked at free
ing her from her jeans.

  He pushed them to the shower floor and slipped his hands down to squeeze her ass before slipping her thong down her legs.

  Lifting his head, he looked down at her now-naked body. His nostrils flared before he bent down to lift her feet out of her pants and toss the garment out of the shower onto the bathroom floor.

  When he bent down, the water his body had been shielding hit her heated flesh. The warm spray was the wake-up call she needed. Reaching down, she pressed her hands onto his shoulders.

  “You need to stop.”

  His strong hands smoothed up her outer thighs before clutching her hips, pulling them slightly forward. His gaze flicked up and captured hers.

  “Why?”

  His softly-spoken question blew a small breath across her exposed mons. She hissed in a quick breath.

  Breaking contact with his smoldering gaze, she tilted her head back against the marble tile. Stupid feminists. After a few gulps of much needed air, she finally replied.

  “Because, despite the fact that I agreed to stay here with you this week, this doesn’t mean I also agreed to become your personal sex toy.”

  His hands slid around and grabbed the cheeks of her ass. She locked her knees in an effort to keep from arching into his hold.

  His raspy chuckle filled the damp air. “I don’t consider you a sex toy.”

  “Yeah? So what do you call tossing me be about and stripping me naked?” she asked, struggling against the urge to look down.

  She doubted the sight of him kneeling in front of her aching pussy was going to help her on the resistance front.

  The quick flex of his shoulders was the only warning she had before he surged back up to his full height and gathered her close.

  Her breath caught at the full contact of his hot skin against her own.

  “I call it taking a shower with my wife,” he said before lifting her, spinning them both around.

  The spray of the water hit her at full force. She sputtered under the rain of the showerhead and glared up at him.

  “I don’t actually recall agreeing to shower with you.”

  He grinned down at her, his amusement in the situation showing clearly on his face. Arrogant rat.