Feeding the Fire: A Rosewood Novel

by Andrea Laurence

  Grant sought out the knot of her tank top, loosening it and tugging the shirt over her head. Beneath it was only pale flesh with no bra in sight, making his eyes nearly roll back into his head. His hands quickly covered each bare breast, feeling the hard press of her nipples against his palms.

  He pulled away from her mouth to taste her skin. The tip of his tongue teased at one pink nipple, then the other, before sucking one into his mouth and drawing hard at her breast.

  Pepper cried out, the sound echoing in the tiled kitchen and sending a shiver down his spine. Her hips bucked in response, grinding their sensitive parts together through the thick denim that separated them.

  They needed to get rid of these clothes. He unbuttoned the fly of her shorts and slipped them and her tiny panties down over her hips. Pepper gingerly slipped out one leg, then the other, kicking the clothing out of her way. Grant took the opportunity to reach into his back pocket and slip out his billfold, plucking the condom he kept in there.

  Naked, Pepper straddled him and took the condom from his hand. Her eyes never left his as she undid his jeans and pushed them down and out of her way. At an agonizingly slow pace, she rolled the latex down the thick length of him, drawing a low growl out of Grant’s throat. Before he could catch his breath, Pepper lowered herself onto him.

  He sank into her warm heat, his jaw tight to hold in the sounds he was desperate to make. Pepper felt amazing. He hadn’t imagined it. For a while, he’d started to wonder if time and fantasy had colored his previous encounter with her, but he hadn’t embellished this feeling at all. And when she started moving, he nearly lost it like a seventeen-year-old boy.

  Grant reached out to cradle her breasts in his hands and slow her movement. It helped, but not much. Judging by Pepper’s frantic motion over him and her escalating cries, they were on the same page. After all these months of anticipation, neither one of them seemed to want to draw it out. After all, they were having sex on the kitchen floor. That wasn’t exactly ground zero for a slow, sensual lovemaking session.

  They had time for slow and leisurely later, he reasoned, and closed his eyes. Blocking out everything but how good she felt, how erotic the sound of her cries were, Grant felt himself start to unravel. As Pepper’s pulsating release rocked her and made her shout out his name, her body tightened around him and he was lost.

  He hadn’t been sure he’d ever get back to this moment with Pepper again, but he was certainly glad he had. And hopefully, he’d get back there over and over. They were only two days into their home remodeling project, after all . . .

  Pepper rolled onto her back, the tile cold against her skin. With the chill of the floor came a rush of reality she wasn’t quite ready for. Had she really just had sex with Grant on her kitchen floor?

  Really good sex? Again?

  The first time they’d been together, Pepper had slipped from his bed at sunrise. She had a lot of reasons for leaving early.

  First, she hadn’t wanted to face his smug face. He’d finally achieved the goal she’d told him he’d never reach. She wasn’t in the mood for any “I told you so” gloating.

  Second, she hadn’t wanted anyone to see her leave his place. It was bad enough that Grant knew she had given in. She didn’t want anyone else to know, especially her own family.

  Lastly, she didn’t want Grant to think she was going to get attached. It had been a onetime hookup and nothing more. If rumors were to be believed, he was normally up and out of a woman’s place by sunrise. Since they’d gone to Grant’s loft instead of her house, he couldn’t leave, so she opted to do it instead.

  That was where it should’ve ended. Where it was meant to end, she was certain. And yet here she was. Her body was still aching and pulsating from her release. She was sweaty, her muscles trembling from exhaustion. And this time, she couldn’t leave. Would he be the one to pack up and go? It was kind of hard to make a quick exit when he was supposed to be rolling out another coat of poly on the floors today.

  She was at a loss. She didn’t know what to say to him. She really didn’t even know what to think about what just happened.

  She wasn’t sure if she regretted it or not. She should. There were so many reasons why it was a bad idea, but a part of her didn’t care. The last few days with Grant had been nice. He’d been different. She felt like she was actually getting to know the real Grant. At the same time, she wondered if all the other women thought the same way before they fell for the slippery bachelor.

  Either way, it was best to do some damage control.

  “Well,” she said with a contented sigh, “I’m glad we got that out of our system. Now we can go back to focusing on the house.” Pepper sat up and started pulling on her clothes.

  “Out of our system?” Grant said, his voice rough. “Not even close.” His hand reached out to stroke her bare thigh.

  Pepper had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep from crawling on top of him again. “Yes, well, we do seem to be prone to these sudden moments of weakness. But that doesn’t mean we’re just throwing caution to the wind.”

  “Pepper, what do you—?”

  The chime sounded from the front door, interrupting the question she didn’t want to answer anyway.

  “Crap.” Who the hell was at her house? She never had any visitors and now it seemed like she couldn’t stop her doorbell from ringing. She scrambled to her feet and quickly started tugging her clothing back on.

  “What’s the big deal?” Grant said, lying back with his arms folding behind his head. He was gloriously naked on her kitchen floor like he belonged there. “Just don’t answer. They’ll go away.”

  “I can’t not answer,” Pepper said. “No one ever comes to my house, it has to be important.”

  “Or it could be someone trying to sell a subscription to the Rosewood Times. Or some kids selling candy bars or magazines. Oh, wait. It’s Girl Scout cookie time, isn’t it? Open the door.”

  “I doubt you’re getting any cookies out of this, but either way, get up and get dressed.”

  Reluctantly, Grant sat up and started pulling his clothing on as well. “Fair enough. But don’t think I’m finished with you yet.”

  Pepper tugged on her shorts and gave him a suspicious look. “I think that’s still up for debate.” Pepper pulled her wild hair back into a knot and approached the front door. Looking out the peephole, she found her brother, Logan, standing on her front porch.

  “Crap,” she muttered again, looking over her shoulder at Grant. “Get dressed, it’s my brother,” she hissed. She ran into the dining room and grabbed her paint tray and brush from where they’d fallen on the drop cloth so she would look busy. “One second!” she shouted through the door.

  She finally opened the door, cracking it open just enough for her body to barricade the doorway. “Logan!” she said, trying to gather up some faux enthusiasm. “What are you doing here?”

  Logan furrowed his brow and looked down at her. “Mom mentioned you’d taken off time this week to work, so I thought I might stop by and see if you needed any help.”

  “That’s sweet of you, but I’ve got it under control. You’ve got a law office to run, anyway. Don’t you need to be there if a client comes by?”

  “Client?” he chuckled. “I’ve had two so far. I left a note on the door to call me if someone comes by. It’s just a couple of blocks away. Besides, I haven’t seen your house.” He tried to press his way forward, but Pepper held her ground.

  “There’s a good reason for that, Logan. It’s not ready yet. I don’t want anyone to see it until it’s done. Mama hasn’t even been here.”

  “Someone has to see it if they’re going to help you. Come on, Pepper. We grew up in an old, busted trailer. I guarantee you this house isn’t going to bother me. I want to help.”

  “She has help.”

  Pepper heard Grant’s voice behind her. All she could do was close her eyes and sigh. Apparently she had not expressed to Grant how much her brother disliked his family and how bad it
would be if he found them here together. This wasn’t going to go well.

  “Who was that?” Logan asked with concern lining his eyes.

  “That was . . . Grant.” She spoke his name slowly; her mouth didn’t want to cooperate.

  “Chamberlain?” His brows shot up and his voice raised a few decibels.

  With a groan, Pepper let the door swing open the rest of the way to reveal the smiling Grant standing in the living room.

  “Yep,” she said.

  “How ya doing, Logan?”

  Logan looked Grant up and down. He didn’t acknowledge his question; he just turned to look at Pepper with a disapproving frown. “Why is he here?”

  “I told you,” she said. “He’s helping me.” Logan narrowed his gaze at her. Pepper prayed her kiss-swollen lips and teeth-grazed throat weren’t obvious. Her disheveled appearance could be accounted for by working on the house, but a hickey—that would be all Grant’s doing.

  “Helping you what?” he asked, his face starting to turn an unpleasant, splotchy red. He was seconds from a full-blown meltdown, she could tell.

  “Grant is very handy. He’s helping me do a lot of things.” He’d done an unending list of chores over the last two days, but at the moment, the only things that came to mind involved his tongue.

  “He is, is he?” Logan’s gaze traveled back over her shoulder to where Grant was standing. Grant didn’t say anything that she could hear, but he must’ve done something—grinned wickedly, waggled his eyebrows suggestively, made some crude gesture . . . Whatever it was pushed Logan over the edge. Logan’s mouth dropped open, his blue eyes widening in horror. “Oh my God, Pepper, you’re sleeping with him!”

  “Shhh!” Pepper hissed, shoving Logan out onto the porch and slamming the door shut behind her. “You just hush your mouth and mind your own business.”

  “A Chamberlain, Pepper! Didn’t Mama teach you anything? Didn’t their superior, stuck-up ways turn you off? Or were you blinded by the money?”

  Money? Grant had done nothing but cost her money. “All right, you stop right there, mister!” Pepper said, jabbing her index finger into Logan’s chest. She might not have come to terms with how she felt about sleeping with Grant, but she wasn’t about to let her brother tell her what she could and couldn’t do. She’d have sex all day with Grant if she wanted to, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  “For one thing, who I’m sleeping with is none of your damn business. I am twenty-six years old and I don’t need your permission to do anything. I’ve grown up a lot since you left for law school, and you’d better get used to that. I don’t care who you’re sleeping with and I expect the same courtesy if you’re going to be living in Rosewood again.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Logan. This is the way it is. I’m not going to tolerate any macho bullshit from you. You’re not going to start any fights with Grant or any of the other Chamberlain boys, and there’s not going to be any crap about defending my so-called honor. This isn’t the dark ages. Grant is a guest in my home and you’re going to treat him that way or you’re going to leave. Got it?”

  Logan shuffled his feet on the ground and shrugged. He refused to commit to that. Fine, he could go home if he didn’t like it.

  “And lastly, I’m certainly not going to tolerate you accusing me of sleeping with a Chamberlain for money. I mean, really? Do you think I’m a whore, Logan? Because that’s what you just said.”

  Logan’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d implied in thoughtless anger. “Of course not, Pep. People can get caught up in the Chamberlain mystique, though. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt. He’s just going to—”

  “Use me and break my heart. Yes, I know, Mama has said it a million times. But I’m not giving him my heart, Logan, so there’s not a problem there. He’s helping with my house because I accidently bid on him at the bachelor auction. You were there, you know that. That’s all there is to it. We’re not dating. He’s just spent all morning buffing my floors and no, that’s not a metaphor.”

  “So . . . you’re not sleeping with him?” Logan shook his head dismissively as Pepper arched an eyebrow at him in warning. “Okay, okay, it’s not my business if you’re sleeping with him. I get it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I guess you don’t need my help today, then.”

  She shook her head no. “Maybe in a few weeks when it gets warmer, you can help me with the yard. You were always really good with Mom’s roses and getting things to grow. I don’t have anything, not even a lawnmower, so I’ll need all the assistance I can get.”

  At that, Logan brightened. He smiled and the bravado faded away. “Sure. Just let me know when.” Logan reluctantly stepped back from the door. “I’ll see you later, Pepper.”

  Pepper waved as he disappeared through her yard and down the street. The incident was averted for now, but she knew it wouldn’t last long. If she continued to see Grant, eventually her mother would find out and that would turn into a huge scene she’d rather avoid. But unless she and Grant went their separate ways at the end of this week, it would come to that.

  After all, she was sleeping with a Chamberlain. She had broken the cardinal rule of the Anthony household.

  Pepper could ignore all the problems while she and Grant were working on this house, as if they were in a protective bubble from reality. But she knew it was certain to end badly sooner or later.

  She didn’t need Logan or her mother’s help there.

  Chapter 8

  “Um . . . why is the ladder truck parked outside my house?”

  Grant came out of the bedroom, his face covered in a mask and every inch of him covered in drywall dust. He looked out the window and tugged the mask down to his chin. “They’re here!” he declared. “Great!”

  “Wait, wait,” Pepper said, her eyes growing wide. “Who is here? Why are they here?” She turned back to the window, watching Mack, Kyle, and Paul make their way up the stone path with heavy toolboxes clutched in each hand.

  “They’re here to help,” Grant said.

  “No . . . I can’t have all these people in the house. You’re the only one I’ve let in. Tell them to go home.”

  Grant turned to Pepper and gripped her shoulders in his hands. “The two of us can only do so much, Pepper. If you want to get your four thousand dollars out of this week, you need their help. Mack does electrical work, Kyle has experience with plumbing, and Paul used to work for his father’s drywall business. They’re here to help until they get a call and all they want in exchange is some pizza. I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunity while you can.”

  Pepper’s lower lip trembled as she considered her options. Grant couldn’t understand why she was so hesitant to let people in her house. So it needed work? People couldn’t help her when they were standing on the sidewalk, gazing in her windows.

  “Okay,” she said at last, but she still seemed doubtful. “Who’s watching the fire station?”

  “The paramedics and the dispatcher are still there to take the calls. If something comes up, they’ll radio Mack.”

  She reached for the doorknob and opened the door just as the guys reached the porch. “Morning, boys!” Grant shouted at them in welcome. “Come on in. Thanks for coming.”

  The three men piled into the house, greeting Pepper and taking a look around. “No problem,” Mack said with a warm smile.

  Mack had the radio strapped to his hip, so they’d instantly receive any distress calls, as he’d told her. Weekday mornings tended to be relatively quiet, so Grant was hopeful they could make serious headway before anything came up.

  “Where’s Travis? He was coming off the night shift with Paul, right?” Grant asked. They were a five-man firehouse, with only one of them off at a time. The remaining four alternated nights and days in twelve-hour shifts, with everyone on call in a major fire emergency. The firehouse worked in concert with the EMTs next door to make up the Rosewood Fire and Rescue squad. Th
ere were always two paramedics on duty as well to drive the ambulance.

  “He’s coming,” Kyle said. “He went to his brother’s house to pick up the window and some sheets of drywall.”

  “Window?” Pepper asked, looking confused.

  “Travis’s brother owns a construction company in Trussville. He got us a deal on a new window for the bedroom and enough drywall to redo the other room.”

  Pepper’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Can I . . . I mean . . . I didn’t think I’d have enough money for that.”

  Grant nodded. “You do. Travis’s brother got him the supplies at cost.” Pepper’s money would cover some, and if not all, Grant would cover the rest. With the peeper on the loose, he didn’t like the idea of her having an insecure bedroom window. It didn’t matter to him if it was full price, he’d pay for it himself to keep her safe.

  “So where do we start?” Mack said, looking from him to Pepper for guidance.

  Pepper held out her hand to Grant. He brought them here; he knew best what to have them work on.

  “I’ve got to rip out all the drywall in one of the bedrooms. That’s what I was working on, so if you can help me with that, Paul, that’d be great. Once we get that down, I need you to check the electrical wiring in there, Mack. None of the switches or outlets work. If we need to do anything, I figured doing it when the Sheetrock was down would be easiest.”

  Mack nodded. “I can check the other wiring in the house while you’re working on the drywall. These older houses usually need a good bit of updates.”

  “Sounds good. Pepper, could you show Kyle the problems you’re having with the hot-water heater and the faucet in the bathroom? That should give us all a starting point.”