Before Jack could fill her in, Kendra hurried back into the room and set her open laptop on the glass table. Pepper wasted no time rushing to the screen, her ponytail falling over her shoulder as she bent over to look at it. Jack saw her back stiffen as she read Adam’s post. When she finished, she straightened up and released a string of curses that made him blanch. Lord, the woman could give a sailor a run for his money in the expletive department.
“What. The. Fuck.” Pepper spun around in anger, her cheeks flushed, green eyes glittering. “How could he put that on the Internet? He’s Facebook friends with everyone we went to college with!”
Kendra’s expression conveyed serious misery. “I know,” she moaned. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”
Pepper looked ready to swear some more, but her phone rang before she could get another word out. She checked the screen, and damn near growled. “Adam again. Probably calling to make sure I know he’s a total fucking asshole—”
Jack snatched the phone from her hand. “I’ve got this,” he said, his lethal tone brooking no argument. He swiped to answer the call, then raised the cell to his ear. “Adam,” he snapped.
There was a beat, followed by a surprised sputter. “Who is this? I’m trying to reach Penny—”
“This is Penny’s boyfriend,” Jack cut in. “The name’s Jack. Jack Hunter. And fun fact—I was an army Ranger. You know what that is, right, Adam?” When the other man didn’t respond, Jack went on, keeping his tone pleasant and cool. Maybe icy cold. “It means I can kick your ass three ways to Sunday. Which is precisely what I’m going to do if you ever spread another goddamn rumor about my girlfriend again. Do you understand me, Adam?”
He got a whole lot of stammering in response. “I’m s-sorry! I—I—I don’t know why—”
“Shut up and listen,” Jack interrupted. “First, you will erase that god-awful post you put up. Second, you’re not allowed to call this number anymore. You’re not allowed to call her, text her, think about her. From this point on, Penny doesn’t exist to you. And if I find out you tried contacting her, I will hunt you down and beat you until every bone in your scrawny body is shattered into dust and you’re nothing but a mass of blood and pain.”
With that, he slammed the end button, then tossed the phone back to Pepper, who stood there staring at him with amusement.
Kendra, on the other hand, looked more stunned than amused. “Wow. Remind me never to piss you off,” she breathed.
Jack shrugged. “It was time someone put that jerk in his place. Let’s hope he got the message.” A sigh slipped out. “I’m not exactly looking forward to another perfume incident. Took weeks for the stench to go away.”
“That might not have been Adam,” Pepper protested, but she didn’t look convinced, and neither was Jack.
A sudden beeping noise went off, and Kendra jerked to attention, glancing at her watch in a near panic. “Damn, that’s my alarm. I gotta run if I want to make it to my game on time.” She flew to Pepper’s side to give her a quick squeeze before rushing to the front door and digging into the chaos of the shoe pile. “You going to be okay?” she asked over her shoulder even as she slipped her feet into a pair of strappy things with big pink bows on the toes. “Because, I could—”
“Go, geek girl. You can’t miss your weekly chance to chase dragons and take over the world,” Pepper said. “I’m fine.”
Kendra’s eyes slipped over Jack, her hesitation clear.
“Get going,” Jack affirmed, though he was glad Pepper had such a caring friend looking out for her. “I’m sticking around.”
But once Kendra was gone, his concerns still had to be answered. He turned to Pepper and searched her face. “Are you okay? Adam posted that shit using your fake name, but it’s still a crappy thing to have show up on the Internet.”
“I’m fine.” She let out a tired breath. “And even if I was online, it’s not like I could deny it.”
Jack blinked. The mental adjustment was too quick to register. “Wait. You mean that actually happened?”
“Well, I don’t know that I’d call myself a ‘sex-addicted whore’, but the gist of what he wrote was the truth.” Her gaze locked with his, almost as if she was daring him to disapprove. “The night I got bruised up and fell down the hill…it happened because Adam walked in on me, Ben, and Dirk—right before the three of us were about to have sex.”
Pepper braced herself, prepared to see the support Jack had shown change instantly to disappointment. It was great he’d been all tied up on her behalf, and hell to the yes regarding Adam getting yelled at. She figured the jerk had probably pissed his pants listening to Jack’s threats—and after the physical pain she’d dealt with, she was vindictive enough to be just fine with that.
Only as wild as Jack liked her in the sack, she had a feeling he still thought of her as a little girl at times. Innocent, at least until he led her willingly into their next sexual escapade.
Well, maybe he didn’t expect virginal white, but he probably never dreamed she had fantasies about experimenting with more than one guy in her bed.
Jack stood dead still in the middle of the living room, his face unreadable as he examined her carefully.