The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,21
their lives. Why was it that she’d probably found hers and…and she’d wimped out?
“Pepper!”
The deep voice calling her name was so startling, she nearly fell down the steps. When she spotted Dimitri leaning against a sleek, black sports car, her heart immediately soared with hope!
“Dimitri!” she gasped, stepping forward, but then realized what she was doing, remembered her vow from the previous night, and halted. “What are you doing here?”
He pushed away from the car and moved towards her. He wasn’t wearing a suit. Instead, he wore a pair of dark slacks and an almost-casual shirt. It wasn’t a dress shirt for him, but on another man, it probably constituted something they’d be very proud to wear to an important meeting.
“We’re going to talk,” he told her, wrapping his fingers firmly around her upper arm and leading her towards her building.
“Oh.” Talk? Talking was good, right? “Okay.”
She walked up the narrow stairs of her building to her loft and pulled her keys out. She fumbled a bit, but she eventually got the door open and stepped inside, dumping her bag on her big, wooden kitchen table.
“What happened to my jacket?” he asked.
Pepper spun around, her mouth falling open in horror as she watched him pick up his now rumpled jacket to inspect.
“Oh, umm….”
“It looks like someone…” He stopped and looked at her, his eyes sharpening on her expression.
“I’m sorry!” she blurted, rushing towards him and trying to take the jacket from his hands. “I’ll have it laundered and pressed.” But he lifted it out of her reach.
His voice was deep and husky as he asked, “Did you sleep in my jacket last night, Pepper?”
Pepper bit her lip, not wanting to answer him. That would reveal too much and she didn’t want him to know how desperately sad she’d been last night. It had been about two o’clock in the morning and she still hadn’t fallen asleep. Finally, in desperation, she’d gotten out of bed and slipped her arms into the sleeves of the jacket he’d taken off last night, then curled back into bed with his scent surrounding her. She’d immediately fallen into a deep sleep.
For a long moment, she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. But he knew! Honesty was the only option. “Yes,” she finally admitted.
Pepper had anticipated anger because the expensive jacket really was a rumpled mess. Instead, he tossed the jacket over a chair, and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his hard, muscular chest.
“Pepper!” he groaned, one of his hands diving into her hair.
For a long moment, she allowed herself the luxury of being in his arms, of feeling his strength, and that incredible warmth, breathing in the wonderful, masculine scent of him.
But slowly, because that aching burn was starting to sneak into her body, she pulled away and backed up several steps.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again.”
Dimitri watched her, stifling the urge to pull her back into his arms. She was right, it was better that they talk first, sex afterward.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back,” he admitted honestly. He registered the hurt in her eyes and muttered an expletive in Greek under his breath. Running a hand through his hair, he turned and started pacing. “Pepper, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, looking down and he felt like the sunshine had gone behind a cloud now that he couldn’t see the bright blue of her eyes. “No, you’re right. I appreciate your honesty.” She pressed her lips together and moved around the table. “It might be best if we just…went our separate ways.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not going to happen.”
Was that a light of hope in those incredible eyes now? He hoped so! “I’ll admit, I was angry last night. But that was the anger of a coward, Pepper. I’m not a coward.”
Her lips curled up into a slight smile and the ache in his chest eased. “I’m so happy to see you again. But…”
“But?” he prompted.
“Well, I think we should talk and get to know each other. If we’re going to continue to see each other, then I need to know you. I need to understand you better.”
He didn’t like that idea. Not one little bit! This woman was already under his skin, damn it! He didn’t want to get to know her, to understand what made her tick, what lit up her blue eyes with that intensity and seemingly unending