Dean nodded slowly. “If I do this…you’d be calling the shots. From start to finish. I don’t do anything unless you tell me to.”
He nodded back. “Anything she wants, we give her. That’s the only rule.” When his friend suddenly looked stricken, Jack blinked in confusion. “What?”
“What if she wants you and me to…you know. Kiss or something.”
Laughter bubbled in his throat. “Five minutes ago you were saying how you’re dying to fuck me, and now you’re shitting your pants at the thought of kissing me?”
“Dying? Uh-uh. Way to rewrite history, bro. Obviously you’re vocalizing your own deep-seated desire for my fine ass.” Dean primly picked up his knife and fork, then offered a magnanimous smile. “Fine. I’ll kiss you if she asks.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “That’s a very generous offer. You’re such a prince.”
With that, the mood shifted from dead serious to lighthearted, and the two men dug into their food again. Once Dean had swallowed his last morsel of steak and polished off his beer, he glanced across the booth and said, “You’re paying for dinner, right?”
A snicker flew out of Jack’s mouth. “Cheap bastard.”
“Hey, it’s the chivalrous thing to do. You’re the one who asked me out on this date—”
Their waitress chose that moment to check on them. Her smile faltered for a beat, then widened as she swept her gaze from one man to the other. “Are you gentlemen doing okay? Can I get you anything else?”
“We’re great.” Dean flashed a broad grin. “Can you bring us the dessert menu? My date’s treating tonight, so I want to order the most expensive chocolate concoction you’ve got.”
Her lips quivered with barely restrained laughter. “Right away, sir.”
After she was gone, Jack scowled at his friend. “You’re a jerk for toying with that poor woman.”
“Toying with her? No way. I just made her night.” Dean’s expression turned smug. “Every woman on the planet fantasizes about two hot studs doing the nasty. Trust me, she’ll make herself come a dozen times tonight and go to bed with a smile on her face.”
Dean was probably right, but Jack wasn’t too interested in putting a smile on their waitress’s face. He was more concerned with putting one on Pepper’s.
Yep, Pepper was the only woman who mattered, and by the time Jack was through, he’d make every single one of her fantasies come true.
Chapter Twelve
The steering wheel under her hands responded like a dream as Pepper took the final corner, following Jack’s directions into the hotel entrance way. “Damn, that was an awesome ride.”
“Except for the bit when you decided to drag race on the 101, you did good,” Jack teased.
“Drag race? Au contraire, I never even broke a hundred.” Pepper slowed to take the turn, easing the Aston Martin down the narrow ramp into the underground parking area. “Thanks for letting me drive her.”
“No problem.”
She drove into an empty stall, put the vehicle in park and pulled out the keys. She dropped them into Jack’s waiting hand, meeting his dark gaze with as much seriousness as her giddy happiness could allow. “Don’t try to bullshit me. I know this car is your baby, and I don’t expect to get to touch her again for a good long time.”
His grin was slightly sheepish. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“Oh, I get it. Totally. I’m not letting you borrow my camera on a regular basis either. I mean, some things are sacred.” She remembered to push back the seat so that he wouldn’t be folded in two the next time he crawled behind the wheel, then accepted his hand as he magically appeared beside her door to help her out of the car. “I take it we’ve got some things to check for DreamMakers? The big gala in a couple of weeks?”
She didn’t mention the evil Charlene’s name, but somehow the woman still hovered in the back of Pepper’s mind. The meetings between the two of them continued to be wrought with cordial antagonism. Pepper felt she was currently winning, though, because every time Charlene said something derogatory, Pepper would think back to the last time Jack had rocked her world, and her satisfied smirk would instantly silence the catty interplay.
Jack seemed distracted as he opened the trunk and pulled out a gym bag. “We made the bookings for the out-of-town guests, but I wanted to make sure the rooms they gave us are up to standard. I hope you don’t mind.”
“The night is young. We’ve got tons of time after we’re done here. I thought we could try that new club on 9th and Howard.”
He laced his fingers through hers, pulling her toward the elevator. “You feel like dancing tonight, do you?”