Love is a Battlefield

by Vivian Arend

  Kendra heaved out a sigh. “I’ll be right back. Just grabbing my laptop.”

  After Pepper’s friend dashed off, Pepper fixed Jack with a suspicious glare. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Your friend Adam is causing trouble again,” he admitted. “He wrote something about you on the Internet.”

  Alarm skittered across her face. “What? What did he write?”

  Before Jack could fill her in, Kendra hurried back into the room and set her open laptop on the glass table. Pepper wasted no time rushing to the screen, her ponytail falling over her shoulder as she bent over to look at it. Jack saw her back stiffen as she read Adam’s post. When she finished, she straightened up and released a string of curses that made him blanch. Lord, the woman could give a sailor a run for his money in the expletive department.

  “What. The. Fuck.” Pepper spun around in anger, her cheeks flushed, green eyes glittering. “How could he put that on the Internet? He’s Facebook friends with everyone we went to college with!”

  Kendra’s expression conveyed serious misery. “I know,” she moaned. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”

  Pepper looked ready to swear some more, but her phone rang before she could get another word out. She checked the screen, and damn near growled. “Adam again. Probably calling to make sure I know he’s a total fucking asshole—”

  Jack snatched the phone from her hand. “I’ve got this,” he said, his lethal tone brooking no argument. He swiped to answer the call, then raised the cell to his ear. “Adam,” he snapped.

  There was a beat, followed by a surprised sputter. “Who is this? I’m trying to reach Penny—”

  “This is Penny’s boyfriend,” Jack cut in. “The name’s Jack. Jack Hunter. And fun fact—I was an army Ranger. You know what that is, right, Adam?” When the other man didn’t respond, Jack went on, keeping his tone pleasant and cool. Maybe icy cold. “It means I can kick your ass three ways to Sunday. Which is precisely what I’m going to do if you ever spread another goddamn rumor about my girlfriend again. Do you understand me, Adam?”

  He got a whole lot of stammering in response. “I’m s-sorry! I—I—I don’t know why—”

  “Shut up and listen,” Jack interrupted. “First, you will erase that god-awful post you put up. Second, you’re not allowed to call this number anymore. You’re not allowed to call her, text her, think about her. From this point on, Penny doesn’t exist to you. And if I find out you tried contacting her, I will hunt you down and beat you until every bone in your scrawny body is shattered into dust and you’re nothing but a mass of blood and pain.”

  With that, he slammed the end button, then tossed the phone back to Pepper, who stood there staring at him with amusement.

  Kendra, on the other hand, looked more stunned than amused. “Wow. Remind me never to piss you off,” she breathed.

  Jack shrugged. “It was time someone put that jerk in his place. Let’s hope he got the message.” A sigh slipped out. “I’m not exactly looking forward to another perfume incident. Took weeks for the stench to go away.”

  “That might not have been Adam,” Pepper protested, but she didn’t look convinced, and neither was Jack.

  A sudden beeping noise went off, and Kendra jerked to attention, glancing at her watch in a near panic. “Damn, that’s my alarm. I gotta run if I want to make it to my game on time.” She flew to Pepper’s side to give her a quick squeeze before rushing to the front door and digging into the chaos of the shoe pile. “You going to be okay?” she asked over her shoulder even as she slipped her feet into a pair of strappy things with big pink bows on the toes. “Because, I could—”

  “Go, geek girl. You can’t miss your weekly chance to chase dragons and take over the world,” Pepper said. “I’m fine.”

  Kendra’s eyes slipped over Jack, her hesitation clear.

  “Get going,” Jack affirmed, though he was glad Pepper had such a caring friend looking out for her. “I’m sticking around.”

  But once Kendra was gone, his concerns still had to be answered. He turned to Pepper and searched her face. “Are you okay? Adam posted that shit using your fake name, but it’s still a crappy thing to have show up on the Internet.”

  “I’m fine.” She let out a tired breath. “And even if I was online, it’s not like I could deny it.”

  Jack blinked. The mental adjustment was too quick to register. “Wait. You mean that actually happened?”

  “Well, I don’t know that I’d call myself a ‘sex-addicted whore’, but the gist of what he wrote was the truth.” Her gaze locked with his, almost as if she was daring him to disapprove. “The night I got bruised up and fell down the hill…it happened because Adam walked in on me, Ben, and Dirk—right before the three of us were about to have sex.”

  Pepper braced herself, prepared to see the support Jack had shown change instantly to disappointment. It was great he’d been all tied up on her behalf, and hell to the yes regarding Adam getting yelled at. She figured the jerk had probably pissed his pants listening to Jack’s threats—and after the physical pain she’d dealt with, she was vindictive enough to be just fine with that.

  Only as wild as Jack liked her in the sack, she had a feeling he still thought of her as a little girl at times. Innocent, at least until he led her willingly into their next sexual escapade.

  Well, maybe he didn’t expect virginal white, but he probably never dreamed she had fantasies about experimenting with more than one guy in her bed.

  Jack stood dead still in the middle of the living room, his face unreadable as he examined her carefully.

  She waited for the hammer to fall.

  Something went dark in his eyes, but it didn’t look as if he was about to toss her aside. “Pepper.”

  “Jack?”

  He closed the distance between them. Staring down at her intently. “I thought you fell down a hill.”

  “I did,” she insisted, “right after Adam was a jackass and stormed in and demanded they get their grubby paws off me.”

  Even thinking back made her cheeks heat up. She’d worked for simply ages to convince the guys she really was interested in trying out the two-at-once thing. Thus her distracted march in the dark when Adam screwed things up so royally.

  “Done a lot of threesomes, have you?” Jack asked. Every word carefully enunciated, his body utterly still as if he were waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on his prey.

  It wasn’t judgment in his tone, for which Pepper was very grateful, but there was something there that made her tread warily. She curled her arms around his waist so she could rest her forehead against his chest, speaking her confession toward the floor.

  “I never have, but the idea intrigued me. And I thought I’d worked out all the angles. Made sure it was safe, even while I had a little fun. But I guess I wasn’t as good a judge of character as I thought. And it was such a disaster that I want to forget the entire thing. Some fantasies aren’t meant to be experienced, I guess.”

  Jack’s fingers were buried in her hair as his thumb stroked back and forth in a caress that seemed to envelop her entire body. “Sounds as if this Adam is a complete jackass. That type is sometimes hard to spot.”

  She nodded, suddenly aware she was sweaty and stinky and still wearing her running gear. Everything about the last fifteen minutes felt unclean. Everything, that was, except Jack and how he’d treated her. She lifted her gaze to meet his, smoothing a hand along his strong, chiseled jaw, the short bristles of his five o’clock shadow scratching the palm of her hand. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”

  “Nothing to be mad about.”

  He stood at attention, though, every muscle braced as if ready for an attacker to strike at any moment. Pepper was okay with the bit of awkwardness. She got it—he’d had a shock. Hopefully he’d get over it quickly, but there wasn’t much she could do at this point except wait and see.

  She lifted up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his neck. “I need a shower.”r />
  An unexpected hum of approval rumbled under her lips. “I’m good with soap, if you need a hand,” Jack offered.

  He didn’t wait for an answer, simply lifted her into the air as if she weighed nothing. He carried her to the teeny bathroom off her bedroom, then proceeded to show her exactly how good he was with soap and bubbles.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh my God, he didn’t.”

  Pepper whirled away from Suz, snatching up the fluffy robe she’d momentarily discarded to rinse off after their time in the sauna. “Hey, no touching the tushie.”

  The other woman simply snickered, slipping her own robe around her ample figure and knotting the belt at the front. “I doubt that’s what you said to Jack yesterday. Not if that bite mark on your ass means anything.”

  “Someone bit Pepper on the butt?” Lynn asked. “Well, not someone. It’s pretty obvious we know whose teeth have been where.”

  Borderline giggling ensued as Pepper drew herself up as regally as possible and ignored the raunchy comments that continued to fly as the four of them made their way back into the private spa room Suz had arranged.

  It had been an incredible night. Especially on the heels of what could have been a complete disaster. Pepper had gone online and poked again at the Facebook page, pleased to discover the damning comments about her were gone. Still, it was the Internet. Somewhere out there she expected a screenshot or two were still floating around, but at least Jack was right about one thing. The people who mattered didn’t give a damn.

  Three of whom she’d just spent the past hour and a half with, getting massaged and mud-bathed and reveling in all kinds of decadence. Kendra and Pepper had been equally hesitant when they’d heard what was planned for the night, but Lynn and Suz had been so insistent and sincere about wanting to treat them it was impossible to not let the older women pick up the charges for the extravagant evening of luxury.

  Pepper crawled into the cushiony easy chair and willingly obeyed the spa woman’s command to stick her feet into the bucket of warm, sudsy water. She glanced in the massive mirror across from her, pleased beyond measure to finally see her natural hair color again. One of the women at the spa had magically stripped all the black dye away, leaving Pepper’s hair unbelievably soft and sparkling with highlights. It had been a long time since she’d last let the red show, but after a couple very subtle comments from Jack, she’d realized it was time.

  Enough hiding. Penny was retiring for good. Pepper was back.

  Three minutes later, all of the spa workers abandoned the room, leaving the four of them to soak their feet.

  A vibrating motion clicked on automatically underfoot, sending water swirling around Pepper’s toes. “I can’t decide if I like how this feels or if it’s freaking me out.”

  Lynn had leaned back in her chair, eyes closed. “I can take or leave a manicure, but a pedicure is sheer heaven. Worth every penny, and every second, even if I have to push myself through the ticklish moments.”

  “Yes, because it’s such a sacrifice to have people fawning over your feet,” Suz teased. “Although I thought you’d be used to it by now, what with how much time Parker spends down there, kneeling between your legs.”

  No denial from Lynn. Just a mischievous smile.

  Pepper snickered. “I don’t need more details. I refuse to picture my brother as anything other than a royal pain in the butt.”

  “You don’t want the conversation to go there, either.” Suz laughed at her own joke. “You are just setting me up with one straight line after another. We should organize a comedy routine and take this show on the road.”

  “You should all take pity on the poor woman in the room who’s not getting any action,” Kendra offered. “And I’m not related to anyone, so I’m not going to get squicked out thinking about anybody doing the nasty.”

  “She’s right,” Lynn agreed. “It’s got to be Kendra’s turn for Prince Charming to come sweep her off her feet. Suz, you’ve got a billion brothers running around. Lay one on her for a while. Just to take the edge off.”

  Pepper stared in shock. “Who are you, and what have you done with my sweet nearly sister-in-law to be? That was a filthy comment.”

  “You said you didn’t want to know, but I’ve got a damn good teacher.” Lynn opened her eyes just so she could give Pepper a wink. “And remember, looks can be deceiving.”

  “Innocent-looking packages sometimes hold the biggest secrets? I can believe that,” Suz said. She lifted one foot out of the soaker tub and examined it for a moment before replacing it in the hot water. “All I know for sure is that I will not be acting as matchmaker for any of my brothers. If she’d like an introduction, Kendra will just have to go get herself arrested.”

  “Because that’s the best way to meet a new man?” Lynn demanded. “Get arrested?”

  “Hey, it got Pepper hooked up with Jack, in a roundabout way,” Suz insisted. She held up fingers one after the other. “The way I see it, she got the parking ticket, icky kisses from icky dude, followed by Jack to the rescue.”

  “That’s not how it worked.” Lynn reached down, slipping her fingers into the water so she could flick droplets at her best friend. “Try this instead: Jack has the hots for her forever, Pepper shows up, and voilà, fate has its way.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in fate.”

  “Old dog, new trick.”

  “Woof,” Pepper offered, and the room broke out in laughter again.

  There was a momentary lull in conversation, the noises of the water basins underfoot the loudest thing in the room. Pepper sighed contentedly.

  “He really is a pretty awesome guy, but a lot more alpha-dude than I thought you’d ever go for,” Kendra offered, her expression still slightly confused. “I didn’t expect Jack to be the type to have zero issues regarding you and the threesome.”

  A choking sound broke out from Pepper’s left. She turned to see Suz tapping her chest and working on breathing properly. Lynn was staring as well, her amazing blue eyes filled with… Pepper wasn’t sure if it was shock or horror.

  “You okay?” she asked as Suz calmed herself.

  “Honey, you have no idea.” The blonde twirled toward her best friend and stuck out her hand. “I win. You owe me.”

  Lynn raised her middle finger.

  “Did you two make a bet about me and my sex life?” Pepper demanded, more amused than pissed off.

  Suz raised one delicately arched brow. “I make bets about everything, but this one I’m very happy to win. I told Lynn you were my kind of girl. Feet solidly on the ground but arms wide open to experience life to the fullest. Yada, yada, yada.”

  “I didn’t actually have a threesome,” Pepper confessed.

  “But you wanted to.” Suz snapped up a finger and stuck it in her face. “You wanted to, right?”

  “Hey, now you’re leading the witness,” Lynn protested.

  Pepper laughed. “You two are crazy. Yes, I wanted to try a threesome, but things went to hell, and it never happened, and that’s fine. I am very happy with Jack. The man is talented enough in bed there could be two guys in there for all I know.”

  Suz clicked her tongue as her head moved from side to side. “I’m glad you’re happy, and I know Jack’s probably got all the moves and then some, but there is nothing like two guys taking care of business for you at the same time.”

  There was a flush on Lynn’s cheeks that hadn’t been there before. Pepper resisted asking why it was there, partly because if she found out Lynn had a threesome before Parker she’d wonder if he knew, and if she found out it was with Parker and someone else—

  Nopeity, nope, nope. Awkward. Gross.

  “Gee, look at the time,” Kendra tossed out. “And how’s the weather been lately?”

  The women laughed as the spa workers returned to the room to continue with the next step of the pedicure. Conversation turned to more mundane things than sex.

  She glanced over to discover Kendra staring off in
to space with a pensive expression.

  Pepper wasn’t a matchmaker either, but she really hoped her friend would find someone who would rock her world. Lynn was obviously head over heels in love with Parker, and Suz more than content with her hummingbird ways.

  Maybe there was something to the old adage of wanting everyone to be settled happily in their nests. Pepper was having such a good time with Jack she wanted that same thing for her friend.

  She reached over and caught Kendra’s fingers in hers, giving them a momentary squeeze. Her friend blinked for a second before smiling back.

  It was good to have a community of women around her that Pepper could lean on and trust. She never wanted to be without that ever again.

  Jack thanked the waitress as she placed a delicious-looking steak dinner in front of him, then unrolled the napkin containing his silverware. He picked up his knife and fork, about to cut into the juicy T-bone when he noticed his friend’s bewildered eyes from the other side of the booth.

  “What’s the matter?” Jack arched a brow at Dean. “Steak’s not big enough for you?”

  “I need to ask you something.” Dean awkwardly rested both elbows on the tabletop and leaned forward. He lowered his voice to a barely audible pitch as he said, “Is this a date?”

  Jack wrinkled his brow. “Um. What?”

  “Look around us, man.” Dean swept a hand over their surroundings, gesturing to the expensive meals, the red linen tablecloth, the dim glow of the ornate light fixture above them. His gaze ended its tour on the single white candle at the edge of the booth before shifting back to Jack in dismay. “I think this might be a date, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I mean, I’m not averse to the idea—if I was gay, I’d absolutely sleep with you. I’d even pick you over Parker, if someone held a gun to my head. But this is…weird.”

  Jack gaped at his friend. “What the hell are you babbling about? We’re not on a date, Colter.”

  A groove appeared in Dean’s forehead. “Then why did you want to meet here? This restaurant is way fancier than the usual wings-and-burgers joints we go to. There’s a frickin’ candle on the table, Jack.”