Love is a Battlefield

by Vivian Arend

  A strangled laugh came from Suz’s direction, prompting Pepper to aim her next scowl at Lynn’s curvaceous best friend.

  “I’m sorry,” Suz blurted out, her eyes dancing with humor. “But he’s right. Trust me, I’d know. Everyone in my family is in law enforcement. If you want to date a real cop, I’ll give you my brother Jake’s number. Or my brother Chase. Or my brother Mike. Or my brother—”

  “Sweet Lord, how many brothers do you have?” Kendra exclaimed.

  Suz pouted glumly. “A lot.”

  Pepper, who didn’t seem the slightest bit amused by the conversation, abruptly shot out of her chair, clutching her phone in one hand. “’Scuse me. I’m going to listen to these voice mails.”

  “Aw, hell, I think I offended her,” Suz said, looking genuinely remorseful.

  “Naah,” Jack said lightly. “Pepper’s not easily offended.” He edged away. “But to be safe, I’ll go and apologize on both our behalves.”

  He hurried after Pepper before any of the women could get another word in, catching up to her just as she reached the wooden gazebo on the other side of the spacious backyard.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jackjack. What do you want?”

  He slid his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. “Jeez, you’re so damn snippy today.” A smirk formed on his lips. “Let me guess, it’s because your boy Billy isn’t lighting your fire, huh? His kissing skills are—what did you call them? Decent.”

  Green eyes glared daggers at him. “I knew you were eavesdropping on us. Congratulations. I now have another item to add to my Why Jack is Mega-Annoying list.”

  Then she spun around and climbed the steps into the gazebo, effectively dismissing him.

  Jack followed her right inside.

  “Seriously, would you just go away?” Pepper grumbled. “I want to check my messages.”

  He leaned against one of the wooden posts of the covered structure. “Then check your messages. I’ll wait. I have something I wanted to run by you.”

  Rather than look intrigued, she scowled at him again. “Why don’t you go run something by Kendra instead?”

  His brows instantly furrowed. “Why would I do that?”

  Pepper’s jaw went tight. “We’ve already verified that you were listening to us talk, which means you know she thinks you’re hot, and I saw you checking her out, so…” She shrugged, an action that was incongruous with her impossibly stiff shoulders. “So go make a love connection with her and give me some privacy.”

  Several seconds ticked by as Jack made a startling, wonderful, delightful realization.

  Pepper was jealous.

  Hell yeah. Clearly he wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by her calculated teasing during her stay at his place. Unless he was misinterpreting…but finding out wouldn’t be too difficult.

  He took a step closer, deciding to test the waters. “You know me, Candy Cane, I’m not too interested in love connections. Sex connections, on the other hand…”

  Jack let the comment hang, hiding a smile when he saw the unmistakable gleam of heat in her eyes.

  Oh hell yeah.

  But of course, Pepper remained stubborn to the core. “Then have sex with her,” she said flippantly. “I’m sure she’d enjoy it.”

  “Trust me, she would.” He very deliberately licked his bottom lip, and enjoyed the way her breath hitched. “Man, there are so many ways I could make Kendal—Kendra feel good, you don’t even know.”

  He expected Pepper to respond with a biting remark. Or maybe change the subject altogether.

  What he didn’t expect was the note of challenge in her voice.

  “Yeah? Like what, Jackjack?”

  He erased a few more inches of distance, pausing when they were two feet apart. To anyone at the barbecue who glanced over at them, they looked like two people having a conversation. But Jack knew better. The electric bolts of heat moving back and forth from her body to his could have burned the gazebo to the ground.

  “Hmmm. Not sure where I’d even start.” He slanted his head. “Do you think she’d like it if I went down on her?”

  Pepper’s soft gasp echoed between them. “W-what?”

  He played dumb. “Going down on her…you know…licking her pussy. Eating her out.”

  The flush that bloomed on Pepper’s cheeks was so sexy his cock thickened behind his zipper. Holy fuck. Would her skin blush as deliciously pink when he ran his tongue over every tantalizing inch of it?

  “I know what you meant,” she ground out. “There’s no need to be so crude.”

  “Crude?” A dark laugh escaped. “You think that’s crude? You have no idea what a filthy mouth I have, do you, Pepper? No, of course you wouldn’t.” He met her eyes, trying hard not to laugh again when he saw passion, anger, and jealousy warring in her expression. “What about dirty talk? I’d hate to scare anyone off by coming on too strong.”

  Pepper’s jaw opened and closed, closed and opened. She seemed to be at a loss for words, which was goddamn unheard of.

  “Come on, help a guy out,” Jack said mockingly. “I don’t like going into situations blind. It’s the soldier in me, you know?”

  She finally voiced a reply. “Yes, I think dirty talk is fine.”

  “You sure?”

  Her head jerked in a nod.

  “So there’s no issue when I tell her how sweet her pussy tastes?”

  Another abrupt nod, accompanied by another intake of breath.

  “What about if I say I want to shove my tongue in her cunt and fuck it until she screams?”

  A tortured sound left Pepper’s lips and drove a spike of desire right through his cock. Christ, she looked as if she were in the middle of a very naughty dream. Cheeks flushed, lips parted, her breathing erratic.

  Satisfaction swiftly surged through him. He hadn’t imagined it, then. She was feeling the same lust he was. The same lust he’d denied for years.

  Now that it had been unleashed, he knew there was no going back.

  “Yes, Jack,” she damn near moaned. “She’ll probably love it.”

  “Good.” He licked his lips again. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

  The sudden chime of a phone cut through the haze of sexual excitement suspended in the air. It was his cell, and he only slipped the phone out of his pocket in case it was an SOS about the Petersen job. But the incoming text message hadn’t come from Dean, and when Pepper murmured “Who is it?”, Jack replied without thinking.

  “Just Charlene. She wants—”

  He didn’t get to finish that sentence, because Pepper set free a string of curses that made him gape.

  “You are unbelievable,” she blurted out. “Oh my God, I don’t believe you! You’re standing around talking about all the dirty things you want to do to m—my best friend, but you’re still seeing your bimbo on the side? Do you honestly think that…Kendra…would be cool with you screwing around with another woman at the same time you’re seeing her? Because she won’t. And you’re a total jackass for thinking it’s okay to do that.”

  With that, Pepper squared her shoulders, shot him a death glare, and stalked from the gazebo.

  Goddamn it.

  Jack stared at her retreating back, feeling like breaking his phone into a million pieces. If Pepper had let him finish, she’d know that Charlene had been texting about her parents’ engagement party and nothing more. The woman had easily accepted it when he’d told her they wouldn’t be seeing each other anymore, a fact he could have made clear to Pepper if she hadn’t stormed off as per usual.

  Wonderful. All the groundwork he’d just laid had been crushed into dust.

  Back to fuckin’ square one.

  Dean

  “We have a client in the boardroom in five.” Gillian stood outside Dean’s office, feet braced apart, arms folded over her chest. Despite the professional stance, she somehow still managed to exude a dangerous sexual vibe that turned him on. Her gaze snapped from side to side, taking in everything, including
the pile of crap on his desk—he had no idea what most of it even was anymore.

  Dean liked the woman. Really liked the woman, especially when he’d hit on her before their first assignment together, and instead of caving instantly or giving him the sexual harassment glare, she’d simply informed him he couldn’t handle a woman like her, and proceeded to move her things into the lockers they’d set up for the new recruits in the staff area.

  He hauled himself out of his La-Z-Boy, tossing aside the resort magazine he’d been poking through for ideas. “You’re eager.”

  She shrugged. “I’m on the payroll. I may as well work.”

  “God, don’t let Parker hear you say that. He’s going to expect all of us to follow suit if you set the example.”

  Her lips twitched. “Bullshit, sir. I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, but I’m already aware you work very hard at not working.”

  “Hilarious.” Her smartass comment only made him smile harder. It was nice to have another person around who he didn’t have to walk on eggshells with. He gestured to the shoulder harness peeking from under her jacket. “You want to lose the pistol while we’re in the building? Or at least while we’re grilling clientele? My desk has a lock, and I’ll get you a key.”

  Gillian stiffened. “You don’t think I should be armed while on the job?”

  “Of course not.” Dean made a rude noise. “I’m not talking about cutting off your hands, but there’s a metal detector at the front door, and we screen all clients regarding their firepower—we have a no-Uzis-until-the-third-date rule—so, while you’re in the building, stow them.”

  She paused a beat before nodding and stepping forward into the room. “Yes, sir.”

  “Just Dean is fine,” he reminded her again, looking around for the best spot to offer her. He pulled open the top drawer on the left side of his desk. Fished out the condom packages lying scattered inside and dropped all but two into another drawer. He tucked those into his pocket, glancing back to see she had one brow raised in a perfect Spock imitation.

  If he ever felt guilt, this would be a perfect time. Fortunately, he and guilt weren’t on speaking terms. “And now you know where the emergency stash is kept. Feel free to help yourself.”

  “Thanks.” Gillian moved closer, crowding him until he had to step back or get pushed over. “You might need to get me another drawer, though. Don’t know if this skinny thing will do the job.”

  Dean snorted. She’d kept her gaze leveled squarely at his crotch while she spoke. Yeah, he liked her a lot. Comrade in arms and all that.

  Then she took out her pistols, and he got a hard-on—one that was way bigger than skinny anything.

  The 9 mm in the shoulder harness he’d known about. She unloaded and slipped the cartridge into the top section of his desk, separating the ammo and body. But then she pulled another pistol from a back harness. Then one from her ankle. And when she revealed two switchblades and a final fixed knife in a sheath on her thigh, he fell in love.

  “Sweet Jesus. Are you always this heavily armed?” He admired the arsenal as she expertly disarmed the lot and stored them.

  Her dark eyes twinkled mischievously. “You’ve heard of my former unit, right? When you play with the big boys, you master the big toys.”

  The remark was accompanied with another pithy glance at his crotch, which brought a burst of laughter. “Marry me?” he asked.

  “Sorry, you’re not my type,” Gillian said flippantly.

  “What is your type? Because I need to be out of range the day you two fight.”

  “Still looking for Mr. Right, but I’ll keep you informed.” She tilted her head toward the door. “Shall we?”

  Dean locked the desk and passed her the key, opening the boardroom door a moment later and letting her enter ahead of him. It wasn’t just old-fashioned politeness anymore—he’d found it was always good to mind his manners around women who were deadly with long-range projectile weapons.

  And less than twenty minutes later he knew she was smart as well.

  “You haven’t known your date for long,” she reassured the client sitting across from them who’d made a dismal job of filling out the standard DreamMakers “everything about your partner” information form. “It’s to be expected you don’t know a lot about the girl yet.”

  “But I want to know more about her,” Billy Taylor insisted. “That’s what I thought you helped with.”

  Dean jumped in to back up Gillian. “Maybe instead of hiring us you should simply date her a little longer. You might be able to figure it out on your own.”

  Billy shook his head. “I’d like to fast-track the relationship, and I’m willing to pay. Are you saying you don’t want my money?”

  Frankly, no. Dean wasn’t that desperate, and DreamMakers had grown successful enough working the big gigs that they didn’t need to take on all the nickel-and-dime jobs. Especially the ones that had that sensation of edging into sleazy.

  Before he could find a way to gracefully bow out, Gillian beat him to the punch, holding out the set of papers they’d been going over. “As long as you understand that even with us helping set up the date, there’re no guarantees that this will fast-track anything, you can take these up front. Didi will help you sign them and take your deposit.”

  Billy shot to his feet. “Awesome. That’s what I’m talking about.”

  He all but glared at Dean then hoofed it from the room.

  Dean leaned back his chair and gave Gillian a sharp look. “You didn’t seem too concerned there. Jumping in without my go-ahead.”

  Gillian returned his gaze evenly. “He’s a creep under that glossy surface. Not a dangerous one, but the type who would blame us if things don’t go well. Any woman can see it after a few times, which is probably why he’s not getting anywhere with—” she glanced at the forms, “—Penny. So, we set up the date in a public place to ensure she’s got room to run, and he can’t blame us for either turning down coordination or ruining things.”

  Very smart woman. “You sure you won’t marry me?”

  She flashed a cocky smile. “You couldn’t handle me…Dean.”

  Dean figured she just might be right.

  Chapter Five

  It was Friday night and Jack was at the office. Jeez. He remembered a time when Friday nights meant hitting the bars with Parker, getting loaded, and going home with a hot chick who wouldn’t care if he didn’t remember her name the next morning. Now here he was, finishing paperwork before he went home alone and probably jerked it to thoughts of Pepper.

  Pepper, who’d been giving him the cold shoulder all week long. He’d bumped into her at the DreamMakers office a couple of times when she’d popped in to discuss the project they’d hired her for. The first time, Parker was in the room, so Jack hadn’t been able to talk to her alone. The second time only increased the tension between them, because Charlene had stopped by to go over the details for the digital presentation Pepper was creating which would be simultaneously displayed on multiple screens in the hotel ballroom where the party was being held.

  Pepper had taken one look at the big-breasted redhead and glared at Jack so hard he was surprised her face hadn’t frozen in that murderous mask.

  But enough was enough. He needed to clear the air with her, make sure she knew he hadn’t been dicking her around in the gazebo last weekend. He didn’t want Kendra or Charlene or any other woman—he wanted her. And it was time she knew it.

  Setting aside the questionnaire he’d been reading, Jack grabbed his phone and dialed Pepper’s number. She took so long to answer that he was about to hang up, but then her breathless—and heavily annoyed voice—slid into his ear.

  “What do you want, Jackjack? I’m literally walking out the door.”

  “Hot date?” he couldn’t help but crack.

  “Actually, yes.”

  Just like that, his heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach, joining the knot of jealousy rapidly twisting his insides. “I won’t keep you,
then,” he said coolly.

  “For Pete’s sake, I already picked up the phone. You might as well tell me what you want.”

  Her aggravated tone sparked his own irritation. “Don’t worry about it. It was a work thing. We can deal with it on Monday.”

  “Fine. Great. Later, Jack.”

  She’d hung up on him.

  She’d hung up on him. Because she was on her way out to spend the evening with another man.

  Jack shot off the couch, anger and frustration warring inside him. Screw it. Maybe she had the right idea. Maybe he needed to go out with someone else and forget about this stupid attraction to Pepper. All they ever did was argue, anyway, and he hated arguing. Even if they did wind up in bed, the insufferable woman would probably just yell at him the entire time.

  Setting his jaw, he gathered up the papers strewn all over the couch and marched out of the office toward the file room at the end of the hall. He wasn’t going to spend his night reading about other people’s love lives. Nope, it was time to jump-start his own.

  “You’re still here?”

  He jerked at the sound of Dean’s voice, turning to find his partner coming up behind him. Dean had a frazzled look in his gray eyes, which were focused on the cell phone in his hand.

  “Just taking off now,” Jack answered. “I didn’t realize you were here, too.”

  “Yeah, I was cleaning up the mountain of shit on my desk.” Dean sighed. “Gillian keeps ragging me about how messy I am, and don’t you ever fucking repeat this—but she’s right. My phone got buried under the pile and it took me ten minutes to find it.” A curse slipped out when the phone beeped. “God. I should’ve left it buried. This creep is driving me crazy. You won’t believe the texts he’s been sending.”

  Jack cocked a brow. “You got yourself a stalker, bro? And it’s a he?”

  Dean made a disparaging noise. “It’s a client. One we will never, ever work with again, I might add. He’s turned out to be a slimy, demanding loser who needs to be removed from the dating pool because no woman should ever have to touch him. Check this out—” Dean recited from his phone. “‘This date better get me laid, dude. Tired of yanking it every night.’”