Lynn hung up and set the cell phone on the counter, while Parker’s suspicious gaze bore a hole into her face.
“Why’d you stop talking the second I walked in?” he said warily. “You keeping secrets from me, sweetheart?”
“Nope.” She looped her arms around his neck, then leaned up to brush a kiss over his lips. “We’re having lasagna and grilled chicken for dinner. And a salad. Are you cool with that?”
She should’ve known better than to think her big, stubborn man would drop the subject. “What were you and Suz talking about?”
Lynn stifled a sigh. “I’m not telling you.”
Chiseled features hardened to stone. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not something you want to hear.”
His expression became downright petulant. “But I’m the boyfriend. You just said so. That’s one of the perks a man has when he’s in a relationship—he gets to hear all the latest gossip and not be judged for wanting to hear it.”
Resting her palms on the center of his broad chest, Lynn arched a brow. “Fine. We were talking about Jack and Pepper and all the wild, kinky sex they’ve been—”
“Stop!” Parker shouted, his hands shooting up to cover his ears. “Don’t you say another fucking word, Lynn.”
Laughter tickled her throat, then spilled over when she glimpsed the sheer misery on his face. Although Parker seemed to be handling Jack and Pepper’s budding relationship fairly well, and with surprising maturity, Lynn knew he still wasn’t entirely comfortable that his best friend was dating his little sister.
“See, I was trying to spare you!” she protested between giggles. “I told you it wasn’t something you wanted to know.”
His arms slid down and crossed over his chest, a dark look clouding his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, my sister is a virgin. And that’s all I’m ever gonna say on the subject.”
Swallowing a laugh, she gave him another kiss. “I’m glad you didn’t say ‘she wears a chastity belt’, because from what I hear, I think Jack could open any lock, in the dark, while handcuffed—”
“Lynn!” Two seconds later her wrists were behind her back, Parker’s fingers carefully but firmly trapping her in position. Her breasts were pressed to his rock-hard torso, and the rough contact sucked a little noise of pleasure from her lips.
His eyes flashed with heat. Suddenly all teasing and gossip and dinner plans were forgotten as her eager boyfriend dragged her to their living room and made her glad all over again that she was his.
Chapter Ten
Jack showed up at Pepper’s apartment earlier than planned. They’d arranged to go out for a late dinner so he could do some recon on the girlfriend of a new client beforehand, but it hadn’t taken long to gather all the info he needed for DreamMakers to organize the perfect date. Some women were that easy to figure out, broadcasting their personalities like neon lights.
Other women—one Pepper Wilson, for example—were chock full of surprises. In the past three weeks, he’d discovered sides to Pepper he’d never expected. Like her penchant for kinky, kinky sex—which he didn’t mind one damn bit. Or her surprising amount of bubbly energy first thing in the morning—which he did mind, because he preferred to stay curled up in bed for as long as humanly possible. Plus there was her total obsession with trying new scented soaps and creams, which meant with how up close and personal they were getting, half the time he smelled like he’d been present when a bomb went off in a flower shop.
Of course, the one thing that didn’t surprise him was her argumentative nature. It was exasperating and infuriating and goddamn sexy. He found himself looking forward to doing verbal combat with her, especially since their bickering always resulted in explosive sex that blew his mind.
The raunchy memories brought a grin to his lips as he rapped his knuckles on Pepper’s door. He’d texted her to let her know he was heading over early. He hadn’t heard back, but since Pepper was notoriously terrible at responding to texts, he’d come anyway, knowing she wouldn’t care about the change of plans.
When the door swung open, he realized why she hadn’t responded.
“Jack,” Kendra greeted him in surprise. “Hey. Are you here to see Pepper? Because she’s not back yet.”
He couldn’t mask his disappointment. “Oh. Where’d she go?”
“Out for a run.” Kendra opened the door wider. “Come wait inside. She shouldn’t be too much longer.”
He followed the petite blonde into the apartment, smiling at the overflowing shoe rack braced against the wall in the front hall. A multitude of footwear was crammed into the small space, and when Kendra followed his gaze, she let out a laugh.
“Pepper and I have way too many shoes,” she said, sighing. “The closet is jam-packed with them, too. I think we need a better system.”
“Maybe I can build you guys something,” he offered. “Some built-in shelves for the closet or something.”