The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,12

you here, with the door still locked? I won’t come inside. Not tonight.”

Pepper considered for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay, but…”

She didn’t have a chance to finish, her mind went blank as he pulled her to him and his lips covered hers. It was worse than she’d feared and better than anything she could have imagined! The intense desire that poured over her when his lips brushed against hers, sparked a fire that went from simmering to white hot in a fraction of a second. Her bag hit the floor with a thud that neither of them noticed as her hands moved higher, clutching his shoulders. His mouth devoured hers and she lifted up onto her toes, needing this kiss, needing so much more.

He pressed her against him, so close that she could feel every part of him against the soft curves of her body. She ached to pull his clothes off and explore the expanse of hard chest and shoulders without anything in between her fingers and his skin.

So, when he pulled back, Pepper couldn’t stop the whimper of protest. Licking her lips, she slowly lowered herself back to the floor. “Oh!” was all she could say.

“Unlock the door and go inside, Pepper,” he ordered, his voice rough, almost gravelly.

Pepper stared up at him, at his lips, and wondered if she could kiss him just one more time. Once more wouldn’t be so bad, she thought.

He emitted a sound that was pretty close to a growl. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, Pepper, I’m going to take your keys, unlock this door and drag you off to bed.”

Pepper stared, wondering why that sounded so…wonderful!

“Pepper! Go inside!”

She jerked at the sound of his voice, then spun around, her keys falling to the ground. Bending, she picked them up, painfully aware of his warm body so close to her own. Her fingers were trembling so badly, he reached around to pluck the keys from her hands, unlocking the door for her.

“Thank you,” she whispered when he returned them to her. “I’m not going to turn around. But I don’t want you to think that is rude of me.”

“I understand,” he told her and she felt his hand hover over her back. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, savoring his touch and the heat and that electric zing that she craved more than she wanted her next breath.

“Go inside, Pepper. I can’t touch you again. But promise to have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

Pepper nodded, but at this point, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was agreeing to. Her body was so tight with tension that it was almost painful to step through the door.

“Good night,” she whispered.

“Close the door, Pepper.”

She did, then leaned against it, feeling as if he were still there. Pepper knew the exact moment he walked away. It was as if the atoms in the air slowed down, settling into their regular rhythm. Even her breathing slowed and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the heavy door as her mind replayed that kiss one more time.

Chapter 3

Pepper smoothed her hand down over her stomach, then clenched her hands together in an effort to stop fidgeting. “It’s going to be fine,” she told herself. “I’ll just tell him and he’ll understand. We won’t touch and it will all be okay.”

The abrupt knock on her door startled her. Still, she didn’t move, remaining across the room as she stared at the door as if it might explode. Which wasn’t such an odd reaction, thinking back to the kiss from the previous night. That kiss had…exploded. It had only been Dimitri’s iron control that had kept them from ending up in bed last night.

“Just…answer the door and tell him,” she whispered. And yet, she remained still, not daring to move.

Another, louder knock warned her that either she was too slow to answer the door, or he was impatient. Probably both, she thought as she moved towards the door and, with a tug, opened it.

For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Those atoms immediately began vibrating, pinging against each other. The tension increased, her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him, hyper aware of every pulse of his body.

She inhaled a long, slow breath, fully aware of what this intensity was leading up to. “I have to warn you about something,” she announced, before she could lose her nerve.

Dimitri stepped into her apartment, closing the door behind