Wrong (Breaking the Rules) (6 page)

When we got upstairs, I was surprised that it was empty. I expected Olive to be there. Jordan made himself at home on the sofa while I poured us some more wine. Once I made it back to the living room, he’d already pulled my laptop out of my bag and was powering it on.

“Here, have some wine. Make yourself comfortable,” I teased, smirking at him.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he agreed as he put his feet on the coffee table.

I sat down next to him on the sofa so I could better see what he was pulling up on the computer. Once the laptop loaded, I took him to the files that would show him what was part of the sponsorship package he would be privy to. We actually got through everything pretty quickly.

“Here, I want to show you something,” he pointed to the screen.

I scooted in a little closer to see what it was he wanted to show me. He pulled up his Facebook account and located his pictures. The pictures of him and his brother were pretty funny. They were best friends—I could see it in their smiles. He came across another picture of a guy who looked familiar.

“Hey, wait. Go back! I think I know him,” I exclaimed, but he quickly scrolled several pictures past and landed on one of his dad. They looked strikingly similar. His dad had hair the same color as his but it was streaked with grey. He was very handsome and fit for someone old enough to be Jordan’s father.

“He was a nice-looking man,” I told him, smiling.

“Yeah, he was a big hit with the ladies,” he groaned, rolling his eyes, and continued flipping through photos.

I thought I saw another picture of that familiar guy, but he scrolled too fast past it. There was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that said he was hiding something.

“You smell good,” he stated, turning to look at me.

I almost spit out my wine and could feel my cheeks turning red. The way he was watching me made my body ache for something.

For what? Jordan?

His hand came up to my cheek and he gently rubbed it with his thumb. I was frozen, snared in his gaze. He dropped his stare to my lips and then back up to my eyes. A silent question. I nodded almost imperceptibly.

He used his hand to guide me closer to him. My lips parted and my eyes fluttered closed. At first, the touch on my lips was soft, but then he pressed me to him. His tongue darted out and explored my own. His teeth pulled my bottom lip between them and nibbled. I moaned into his mouth. He groaned and stroked his hand down along my neck.

This was completely out of character for me. I hadn’t kissed a guy since that horrific afternoon in high school. At least this kiss was enjoyable. Jordan was safe and protective. I could feel it.

His hand stayed securely on my neck, to which I was thankful. There was no way I was ready to proceed past what we were doing in that moment. His tongue danced with mine some more, and I sighed happily into his mouth.

When I heard the jingle of keys at the front door, I bolted away from him and off of the couch. I tried not to look guilty as Andi analyzed the situation when she walked in with Jackson and Olive.

“Hey, guys. Uh, Jordan, er, Mr. Compton and I are going over the sponsorship for the museum.”

Jackson the Jackass laughed at us. When I stole a glance at Jordan, he was looking at me with a cocked eyebrow, which made me blush. Everyone was laughing at me, even innocent Olive.
Bastards.

“Ugh. We were just working! You people suck.” I threw Jordan a look that meant ‘especially you, wiseass.’

“Our mother is having dinner at her house Saturday, Pepper. Would you care to join us? I’d ask Olive too but she has a modeling job,” Jackson spoke, clearly attempting to help his brother. When I stole another look at Jordan, he just winked at me.
How can he sit there so calmly?
We had just been sucking face and he was acting all smug about it.

“I’m busy,” I stated automatically.

“Liar!” Olive and Andi yelled, giggling.
Are they drunk?

Everyone laughed when I glared at the girls for busting me out.

“Fine, but I’ll find my own ride there and I’m not going as your date, Jordan.” I shot him an evil look, but he ignored it.

“Come here. I want to show you something.”

Figuring he wanted to show me more pictures, I sat down beside him and couldn’t ignore the heat that poured between us as our knees touched. When he pointed to a picture on the screen, I leaned in to get a better look. It looked like a picture of… Agh!

He slung his big arm around me, pulling me to him, and planted an obnoxious, wet kiss on my cheek. I shrieked and tried to escape his grasp. His roar of laughter was infectious, and I tried to fight it but lost. Jackson reached over and snatched the laptop away before it became a casualty of our roughhousing.

When Jordan’s tongue slipped into my ear, I cursed at him. “You motherfucker! Get your tongue out of my ear! Asshole!”

He laughed, removing his tongue. His breath in my now wet ear sent a chill down my body that I knew he’d felt. Everyone was laughing, including Jordan. All but me. I was a little turned on, but they didn’t need to know that. That ache I’d felt earlier resurfaced.

“I’d love to show you more of what that tongue can do,” he whispered into my ear.
Oh. My. God.

After he released me, I punched him in the gut, rendering a howl of pain from his part. It was that or let him show me more of what that tongue could do right here in front of everyone. Everyone else roared with laughter.
Glad we could provide the entertainment tonight.
The three of them finally went off to their separate rooms, leaving me and Jordan alone again on the couch.

Things got serious again when he looked at me. That annoying ache pulsed through my lower abdomen. He did something to my body just by looking at me. It was starting to get on my nerves.

“I’ve had a really nice time tonight, Pepper.” He smiled, and I glanced at those lips. Bad idea. I wanted to kiss them again.

Reading my mind, he used both of his hands, threaded gently in my hair to draw me close to him. This time our kiss was more fervent. Where the first one had been more of an exploration, this one was full of desire. His hands moved to my hips and dragged me onto his lap. My legs moved on their own accord to straddle him. He groaned, and I could feel him harden underneath me. The ache in my pelvic region screamed for a release.

His large hands gripped my ass and pressed me harder onto him. Jordan was hot, funny, and intelligent.
Can the scared little girl inside of me brave the possibility of something with him?
He sucked on my lip again and I moaned. When he did that, I nearly lost control.

He flipped me so that I was underneath him on the couch. Our hot kisses continued. His hardness pressed into me through our clothes. When his hand slipped under my shirt, I froze.

A tear slipped down my face and I suddenly felt nauseated. I clamped my eyes shut, not wanting to see Cole’s face above me. Cole’s cologne choked me and I gagged…

“Pepper, shit! Snap out of it!” Jordan barked, peering down at me, his face full of concern. His thumb wiped the tear from my cheek. “Are you going to tell me what just happened?” he asked, sitting up so he could look at me.

I remained frozen on the couch, horrified at the memories that still hung in the air. When I shivered, he took my hands and sat me up as well. Drawing me close beside him, he hugged me. I could smell his delicious scent of soap and Jordan. No disgusting cologne here. I curled up in our silent embrace thinking about the safety I felt with Jordan. Sleep finally stole me away from him.

Last night had been going great until Pepper had gone borderline catatonic on me. That woman was such a mystery to me. One minute, she was smarting off to me, as if she were the queen of the world and everyone else were just her minions. Then, she would surprise me and could be tender, even sweet, like when we talked about my dad. It was evident that the real Pepper was hiding behind the protective Pepper. As crazy as it was, I really liked them both.

When we kissed, I’d gotten to see the hot, sexual side of her. That side was my favorite thus far. Her body had melted to mine, and I couldn’t wait to claim it. It was like she craved my touch. I sure as hell couldn’t get enough of hers. But when I laid her down on the couch, things had gotten weird. The moment I’d put my hand in her shirt to touch her breast, she’d rolled her eyes back and turned into a ragdoll.

It had completely freaked me out. When she started gagging, I’d feared that she had been having a seizure. The tear that had escaped her eye had given me a brief glimpse into the woman that’d been protected by the icy, tough exterior. And fuck if I didn’t want to protect her too. She’d not wanted to talk about whatever it was that had upset her, but I would get to the bottom of it. I needed to find out who hurt her.

The phone ringing pulled me from my thoughts of Pepper. “Jordan speaking.”

“Jordan, it’s Joel. Lou Jennings doesn’t like your offer. He said you were lowballing him and it was insulting. He wants us to meet with him and his lawyer in person. I know his lawyer and he’s a hardass. They won’t leave until they get what they want. Just make the deal, Jordan.”

My blood started to boil. I absolutely hated this fucker, Lou. How could my dad have even considered doing business with such a scumbag? Most people would have just handed over the money that was requested so that it would all go away, but I wasn’t most people. I was a stubborn ass.

“Fine. We’ll meet, but I’m not giving in to his full request. We’ve worked too hard to keep Dad’s company running for some asshole to come in and wipe us out of all our capital. Set up the meeting. I’ll meet with him and his lawyer.”

After Joel hung up, I stormed around my office. Dad had really screwed us all over when he took the chickenshit way out. Clearly, between Nadia and these shady business deals, he had been in way over his head.
Thanks a lot, Dad.

Later in the afternoon, I got a pleasant interruption.

“Jordan, hi,” Pepper greeted, walking into my office. I grinned at her as she closed the door behind her. She looked especially pretty today but I couldn’t figure out why.

“You look nice today, Pepper.” She blushed but waved me away as she set some papers on my desk.

“Well, Stan wasn’t happy about last night. He decided to take it out on me this morning by nitpicking everything I did. I just need you to sign a couple of these forms.”

I scribbled my name on all of them and stood. She looked at me like she was warring between kissing me and running away. Before she could choose the latter, I strode over to her and cupped her chin in my hand. Lifting her face to mine, I bent over and softly kissed her perfect lips.

Like always, she melted in my arms, which gave me the confidence to continue. Our kisses became more frantic and hurried. Her small hands slid into my suit jacket and rubbed over my shirt. All I could think about was how I wanted her touching my bare skin.

I broke the kiss and moved my lips down to her neck. When I sucked gently on it, she moaned and her nails dug into my back. Groaning at how turned on she was, I continued kissing and sucking her neck, looking for the places that drove her the wildest. Once I found a spot near her ear that made her pant like a dog and mewl like a kitten, I paid special attention to it.