by E. L. Todd
She paused before she answered. “No. Does Aaron know?”
“No. We barely know each other, and I didn’t want to lead with that…”
“Yeah, Jax was understanding too. But I really don’t want to tell him because…you know. We aren’t serious, so I don’t see why I have to. If it goes somewhere, I’ll tell him.”
“So then we’re just best friends? That’s the story?”
“Yeah. Cool with me.”
When we walked inside, Pepper spotted Jax right away. He was standing at the bar, looking fit in a gray V-neck and dark jeans. He wore a nice watch, and his short hair was combed back. His eyes were on the TV, so he didn’t notice us right away. “That’s him.”
I’d never met him before, so this was my first time seeing the guy. “Wow. You guys weren’t kidding with the Mr. Gorgeous nickname.”
“I know, right?” She led the way and walked up to her date, showing her rediscovered confidence. “Hey.”
It was nice to see the old Pepper come back to life. For the last few months, her shoulders weren’t straight and she slouched. She didn’t have that sass that made me fall in love with her in the first place. But now all those wonderful qualities were back.
The second Jax turned to her, his eyes lit up with excitement. “Hey, sweetheart. I like that dress.” His arm circled her waist, and he pulled her in for a kiss, a soft embrace that was barely appropriate for a bar full of people.
I thought it would make me uncomfortable to see Pepper kiss another man, but it didn’t bother me at all. It made me happy to see a man appreciate her, blanket her in the affection she deserved.
“Thanks.” She pulled away even though he wanted to keep the kiss going. “Jax, I want you to meet someone very special.” She turned to me and hooked her arm through mine. “This is my best friend, Colton.”
Jax must have already known I was gay because he didn’t seem jealous at our affection. He gave me a handsome smile and extended his hand to me. “It’s a pleasure. Pepper has told me so much about you.”
I shook his hand. “Trust me, she’s told me more about you.” I winked.
He chuckled and dropped his hand. “So, where’s your date for the evening?”
“Not sure yet.” Just when I turned to the door, I saw Aaron walk inside. He was my height, and he wore a blue scarf around his neck. He shed his outerwear and placed it on the coat rack, revealing the chiseled body I’d noticed at the gym for the last few months. “Right there. And…wow.”
Pepper moved back into Jax’s side and ran her hand up his chest. “So, you want to get me a drink?”
“I’ll get you whatever you want, sweetheart,” he said as he looked down at her.
I watched Aaron glance around the bar until he noticed me. Then he gave me a brilliant smile, the kind that reached his eyes. “Hey. That shirt looks great on you.” He reached for my arm and touched my bicep.
My heart rate spiked the second he touched me, that butterfly feeling millions of people described when they found love. The gesture was innocent, but the sensation was so thrilling, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
I was so gay.
“Thanks,” I said. “Can I get you a drink?”
“You can get me a few. I had a crazy day at the salon.” Aaron was a hair stylist at his own shop downtown.
Now that I knew that, I always had an excuse to see him—if my hair grew back quickly enough. “Me too. But let me introduce you to Jax.” I turned back to them at the bar. “Aaron, this is Jax. Jax, this is Aaron.”
Aaron shook his hand. “It’s so nice to meet Pepper’s boyfriend. You know, she’s the one who introduced us. She’s quite the lady.”
Pepper made a slight face at the term boyfriend.
Jax didn’t seem to care. “Yes, she’s a very special woman. I couldn’t agree more.” He squeezed his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “You guys want to get a table? The game is on, so I know Pepper is gonna want to watch.”
“Like I’m the only one,” she teased.
They walked away and picked a booth.
I stood with Aaron at the bar so we could get our drinks.
“Man, Jax is a hot piece of man.” He watched him at the table before he turned back to me. “And Pepper is gorgeous. They’re a perfect couple.”
“Yeah…I think they are.” People used to say the same thing about us, that we were a match made in heaven. Sometimes when I thought about our failed marriage, I felt the regret and pain in my chest. I really had been happy with her. But now things were the way they were supposed to be.
And we still had each other.
10
Pepper
Jax lay beside me in bed, my one-piece lingerie hanging from the corner bedpost. After he yanked it off my body, I kicked it away, and it happened to land there. His tight stomach rose and fell with his even breathing, and his slender happy trail disappeared under the sheets where the rest of his body was hiding. “That was good aim.”
“Thanks. It’s not about how you put the lingerie on, but how you take it off.”
He rested his arm behind his head and turned his head slightly my way. “Well said, sweetheart.”
He called me by that name more frequently, using it several times when we were together. I’d warmed up to the nickname since a man had never called me that before. Colton always called me babe, and I couldn’t picture another man getting away with the endearment. “I need to buy some new lingerie. I’m running out of surprises for you.”
“Ooh…you should borrow my credit card. Max it out.”
I turned toward him and tucked my leg between his. My arm rested in the center of his chest, and my face found a home on his shoulder. “Be careful what you wish for…”
“Trust me, there’s no better way to spend my money.” His large arm circled my waist, his fingers slowly moving against my back. He watched me with his pretty green eyes, a slightly playful look in his gaze.
“What about retirement? Your mortgage?”
He shrugged. “Who needs it? I’ll live with my sister.”
“Talk about payback.”
“She deserves it.” He gripped the back of my knee and hiked it up farther. “Speaking of my sister…she wants to know who my mystery woman is.”
“Couldn’t it be several women?”
“Nope. She figured it out.”
“And how did she do that?” I lifted myself up so I had a better view of his handsome face.
“My friends ratted me out.”
“Betrayal.”
He shrugged. “She has a way of getting information out of people, so I wouldn’t be too hard on them.”
“Imagine if she knew it was me…the lingerie girl.”
“She told me she liked you.”
“Well, yes, as the girl who handled her lingerie party. As the woman dating her brother…I don’t know about that.”
“What’s there not to like?” His hand glided up my leg until it rested on my ass.
“My job. I’m sure she doesn’t want to picture her brother’s girlfriend in lingerie.”
“That’s her problem, not ours. I really think she’d like you.” He gave me an expectant look, like he was hoping I would offer to have dinner with her.
I definitely wasn’t there yet.
He didn’t press it. “I really liked Colton. How long have you two been friends?”
Technically, only about six months. “I’ve known him for almost six years.”
“You two have a connection. I can tell by watching you together.”
Because we shared everything, from our home to our bed. “He’s a good guy.”
“He seems to like Aaron.”
“He’s had a crush on him for a long time. I finally pushed them in the right direction.”
“You’re his coach.”
“And he’s mine.” I rubbed my hand up Jax’s chest, feeling the dissection of muscle between his pecs and stomach. He had a small patch of hair at the top, fl
uff that felt good against my chest when he moved on top of me.
“So, you think he likes me?”
“Yes. Very much.” I knew Colton just wanted me to be happy. Seeing me move on probably gave him a great sense of relief.
“Awesome. I got the approval of the best friend.”
“My other two friends like you too—even though you haven’t met.”
He made a thumbs up. “I’m hitting it out of the park.”
I chuckled. “I guess so.” I leaned over him slightly to check the time on my nightstand. It was half-past eight, and I needed to get to sleep.
Before I had to ask him to leave, he picked up on the gesture. “I should get going…” He barely hid his disappointment as he got out of bed. When he was on his feet, his entire body was visible, from his sculpted torso to his tight ass.
So pretty.
He pulled on his t-shirt then grabbed his boxers. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I scooted out of bed and pulled on my silk robe. I tied it in the front then ran my fingers through my hair.
He pulled on his jeans then faced me, his handsome face full of concentration. He took a moment to think about his words before he finally said them. “Seeing anyone else?”
The question was so unexpected that I couldn’t keep the surprise off my face. I’d barely started to see him. I couldn’t imagine seeing another guy on top of that. “No.”
“Neither am I.”
We weren’t exclusive, so it wouldn’t matter if he were seeing someone else. I might be a little jealous, but not jealous enough to complain.
“Maybe we could keep it that way.”
It seemed like my conversation about keeping our relationship light had fallen on deaf ears. “I told you—”
“You don’t want anything serious. I got it. But I want you to know that I’m not seeing anyone else if you want to…skip the condoms.” He fished into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He set it on the bed then pulled on his shoes. “Just a thought.” He walked into the living room to let himself out.
I eyed the paper but didn’t open it, already guessing what it said.
I followed him into the living room and walked him to the door. “I’ll think about it.”
He turned around to kiss me goodnight before he walked out. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” His hand cupped my cheek, and he kissed me softly on the mouth, his affection deep and throbbing.
Whenever he kissed me like that, I forgot about all my insecurities. I forgot that I was newly divorced and starting over. I just kissed this beautiful man and felt good inside. “Goodnight.”
He opened the door and walked out.
I stayed in the doorway and watched him go, seeing the way his jeans hung low on his hips. He had a perfect butt, the kind I liked to claw when he was on top of me. When he was out of sight, I turned to step back into my apartment.
But then I spotted Finn.
Shirtless and barefoot, he moved down the hall slowly with his arms hanging by his sides. He came from the direction of the trash chute, so he’d probably just made a drop-off before getting ready for bed. He eventually stopped in front of me, his hands resting near his pockets. He had the perfect figure, enormous shoulders, long arms, and manly hands. His tattoos couldn’t disguise the complicated webbing across the surface of his hands. Thick cords were in his neck too because his body was so phenomenally tight.
Just looking at him made me feel out of shape.
Like any other instance when we were in the same space together, it became eerily quiet. Packed with enough tension that could reach every corner of the room, we seemed like two opponents on the battlefield. He had no reason to dislike me, so his heated intensity came from somewhere else.
He was a man of few words, and it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything now.
It was still so hard to believe he was Colton’s brother—they were nothing alike.
When he knew I wasn’t going to speak first, he said something. “Colton had a good time tonight.”
“It seemed like it.” He and Aaron had fallen into quiet conversation, sticking to themselves instead of conversing with Jax and me. There was subtle touching and a few laughs. Colton seemed nervous, but as the night progressed, he loosened up.
“I admire you.” The compliment fell out of the sky without warning. It struck the earth and made me slightly unbalanced. He said it with such sincerity in his blue eyes that there was no mistaking how much he meant it. He rarely spoke, so he made every word count. “Going through all this couldn’t have been easy for you. Most women would have hated Colton for what he did—and no one would have blamed you for it. You’ve got a big heart and a fiery resilience.”
It was a sweet thing to say, and I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I heard it from his lips. “Thanks…”
“Now you’re still friends… That’s even more impressive.”
“Love is love, right? Whether we’re married or just friends, I’m spending the rest of my life with him. I hope I don’t live across the hall from him forever,” I said with a chuckle. “But I hope we’re always this close.”
“You will be.” He slid his hands into his pockets and stepped closer to me, standing in front of my door exactly where Jax had been moments earlier.
I tried to focus my eyes on his face, but my gaze wanted to drift over that inked body, to see the art as well as the muscle. “Do you ever wear a shirt?” I blurted, my mind working quicker than my rational brain.
The corner of his mouth rose, creating a boyish smile. He never grinned the way Jax did, showing all of his teeth in a true smile. He seemed incapable of it. But the partial smiles seemed more endearing. “No. Not really.”
I finally lowered my gaze and stared at his military tags. There were two of them on a single silver chain. His name, ID number, and address were chiseled into the metal. Behind that was the canvas of ink he displayed. Everything seemed to have a military theme, from soldiers in battle to the red cross symbol. His body was a historical record of everything he’d endured. I lifted my gaze back to his. “You never take them off?”
His hand reached up and gripped both tags in his fist. He squeezed it gently, his knuckles stretching with the moment. “Night and day, this chain has hung around my neck for the last ten years. I couldn’t imagine taking it off.” He released the tags and returned his hand to his pocket.
I glanced at the necklace again before I met his gaze. “Your tattoos are beautiful.”
His eyes dilated slightly, like my compliment meant something to him. “You really think so?” Maybe he was challenging me, expecting me to find the depiction of war to be despicable.
Maybe it was an insensitive thing for me to say, but I wouldn’t take it back. “Yes. It’s who you are.” I was in my lilac silk robe, my hair probably messy and my makeup smeared from rolling around with Jax, but I didn’t feel awkward standing in front of him. My arms crossed over my chest, and I was suddenly aware of how naked I was underneath the material. My nipples pressed into the fabric even though I wasn’t cold.
“A lot of people don’t like who I am.”
“Why?” I whispered, finding this man to be utterly fascinating. His withdrawal made me want to pull him closer. His coldness made me want to warm him.
“They think I’m selfish. Think I’m an asshole.”
“You don’t seem like a man who cares what other people think.”
He tilted his head slightly, examining me deeper. “I’m not. But I know they’re right.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“I do,” he whispered. “But when you’ve seen what I’ve seen…it’s just easier to stop caring.”
My eyes softened when I heard his confession. He was a strong man, but he was clearly broken on the inside. He was speaking to me openly, a complete stranger, because whatever weighed on his mind was so heavy. “You were good to Colton when he told you the truth.”
“Because I
’m loyal. But loyalty doesn’t make me a good man.”
“Compassion, love, and friendship do—and you have all of those qualities.”
When he took a deep breath, his shoulders rose slightly as his chest expanded. His eyes narrowed further, his expression darkening to the point where he looked angry, but the rest of his body implied he was touched instead. “Baby, you don’t know me.”
The endearment washed over me, and I didn’t stop it. It felt like the warm water of a bath, so soft and inviting. If any other man spoke to me that way, I would shut it down and walk back into my apartment. But coming from him, a man I hadn’t even known a week, it felt normal. “I know you well enough.”
I went across the hall in the hope I would find dinner.
As if I’d had a sixth sense, Colton pulled the pan of enchiladas out of the oven. “You have the nose of a bloodhound.”
“No. Just a hunch.” I pulled the plates out of the cabinet and set them on the counter with the utensils. I purposely tried not to look for Finn, but it seemed like he wasn’t in the apartment. “Will your brother be joining us?”
“He’s at work. I’ll save him some.”
“Ohh…he started at the hospital today?”
“Yeah.” He served the enchiladas onto the plates, and then we sat at the kitchen table.
“Did he seem nervous about it?”
Colton chuckled in response. “If my brother gets nervous, he doesn’t show it.”
I told Colton everything, but I didn’t mention my conversation with Finn last night. It seemed too intimate to share with someone else. There was an unspoken connection between us, an energy that I couldn’t describe. It was borderline supernatural because it was inexplicable. “I’m sure he had a good day.”
“After taking care of soldiers in the field, working in the ER is probably boring to him.”
“Maybe.” Or maybe it reminded him of his time in the military—and haunted him. “So, anything happen with Aaron last night?”
Colton’s grin was answer enough. “He came over.”
“Ooh…details.”
“We went into my room and fooled around. Then he left this morning.”
