He was a fool. And a shit. And all kinds of bastard. Because no matter how much he tried, the only thing filling his head were images of Pepper standing naked in front of him. And not thoughts of her dyed black hair—dye covering the gorgeous color he remembered far too vividly considering she was supposed to have never been on his radar. Not thoughts of the injuries she had—although he’d love to punch the crap out of both the guys who’d been around when she got hurt. Little shits for not taking care of her better.
But even as he tried to muster up brotherly indignation, he found his hand wrapped around his cock, his body refusing to see Pepper as anything less than the sexy-as-fuck woman that she was. He gave in to temptation, soaping his body and his hands, leaning toward the showerhead and letting the sharp spikes of cooling spray stab him like punishment for what he was about to do.
Because he was totally going to do it—stroke off to images of her.
To the thought of slipping his hand higher, off her stomach where earlier his thumb had barely brushed the underside of her breasts. All the way up until he’d filled his palms with the heavy weight of those perfect tits. Her nipples would rub his palms, the tiny tips like spears into his flesh.
Or maybe he’d slip his hand downward, over the—for fuck’s sake, she had a heart on her mound—and to where her pussy was waiting for him to touch her. He’d taste her, pushing her against the wall and swinging her leg over his shoulder so he could dive in and feast until she couldn’t stand.
Jack tightened his grip, picturing Pepper giving him sass. Tossing her head as she leaned over the back of the couch, the edge of the towel riding up and exposing her ass. Her attitude drove him crazy, but it also drove him crazy.
He pumped his fist around his shaft, circling the head on each upstroke, smart enough to know he’d never be able to slow down. No taking time to savor or draw out the fantasy. His balls tightened, and as he thrust his hips forward, driving his cock deep into his dream woman, he came, seed hotter than the shower water exploding out to coat his fingers as he pumped another half-dozen strokes.
The door creaked open and Pepper stormed in. The real one, not the one he’d just fucked in his head.
“You got an extra toothbrush in here?”
“Pepper!” He jerked his back toward her, presenting his ass to the glass shower wall. He was still gasping for air after his brains had leaked out when he came, but he was coherent enough to know he didn’t want her spotting him with his dick in his fist.
“Oops, forgot. So used to the dorm set-up. I’ll wait until you’re done.”
She was out again, the door closing with a definite click, but Jack kept cursing. Pepper, himself, the entire fucking universe.
The water had grown icy cold, but the urge remained to start all over. Or better yet, start all over, and this time, not make it a fantasy. He’d actually take her and turn her world upside down.
What the hell was he going to do?
Jack cut off the water and shoved aside the shower curtain, staring into the barely fogged-up mirror. Accusation stared back that he couldn’t turn away from. He had no right to be fantasizing about the woman, or at least not until he’d dealt with a shit-ton of other issues first.
Now if his body would just get the message to wait, things would be fine.
Parker
Something was up.
Parker eyed his best friend with suspicion. For the past week he could have sworn that Jack had something on his mind. They’d been through a lot over the years, and the currently distracted man wasn’t himself.
Of course, Parker wasn’t the most alert these days, either—he’d admit it. Moving in with the love of his life had given him a new perspective, and having Lynn around 24/7 was distracting in all the best ways.
Still, he needed to stay alert and keep the business end of things rolling. Which meant now, with both his partners in the room, he was looking at a long list of assignments and wondering how on earth they were going to get through them on time.
And that was without Jack being a distracted fool.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” he asked again.
Jack snapped to attention, guiltily turning away from where he’d been shredding the edge of a brochure. His lips twisted into a smile, but a far more fake one than the joker usually wore. “Of course. Everything’s fine.”
“Because if you need some time off, you’ve got it coming. You and Dean both.” Even though he had no idea how they’d finish all the work without everyone on board.
“Time off? What’s that?” Dean quipped, tipping his chair back and rocking on two legs. “All we do around here is work, work, work.”
“Ha,” Jack retorted. “You seem to have skipped the parts of your agenda where you fuck around with half the population of San Francisco.”
“Half plus a little,” Dean said with a smile. “Female population outnumbers the male by one percent.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you’re one to talk—at least I’m not fucking around with a client.”
For a second Parker thought Dean had been talking to him—after all, he had hooked up with Lynn after her slimy ex had tried to hire DreamMakers for her—but then he realized Dean’s gray eyes were directed at Jack.