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She looked at the clock. It was after ten. “Is that where he’s at now?”
“Yeah.”
“And you figure it’s legitimate?”
“Since he just shot a nail through his hand, I’d say so.”
She bolted upright in the bed. “Is he okay?”
Rowdy fell silent.
“Is he?”
“You care about him,” Rowdy accused.
“I barely know him.” Not a lie; but she knew him better than she knew most people.
Because she’d gotten intimate with him. A strange sort of intimacy, but still…
“He got sloppy with the nail gun, but I’m sure it’s not a big deal.”
Only another guy would think that. “Did he go to the hospital?”
“No. A few of the other guys patched him up.”
Her anxiety lifted. It must not have been too awful. “So you’re convinced he’s on the level?”
“Hell, no. You shouldn’t see him again.”
But she would. “Why not?”
“You know why.” Disgust mixed with anger in his tone. “Think about it, Pepper. What does he really want from you?”
Sex. “I don’t know.” And dinner. And…conversation? She shook her head. “Maybe he just wants to know a friendly face here.”
With silky menace, Rowdy asked, “And have you been friendly?”
Oops. Bad wording on her part. “Not exactly.” She propped her back against the headboard. Anxious to get off the topic, she said, “So you only called to caution me?”
“To warn you. You’re playing a dangerous game.”
She didn’t ask her brother if he’d been celibate; she knew the answer already. Double standards always annoyed her. “Duly noted. Now I need to go. I have to see how much damage the storm did to your building.”
“Wait.”
Pepper could almost picture him grinding his teeth, and she smiled. “Yes, Rowdy?”
A beat of silence, and then: “Until I get a chance to do a more thorough check on him, keep him out of your apartment.”
Her lips compressed. Rowdy had gotten awfully good at giving her orders—and expecting them to be obeyed. “Fine.” She wondered if Logan had been sent home from work but didn’t dare ask Rowdy. He was surly enough already. It never paid for her to tweak his temper. “Let me know if you find out anything more.”
“Might take a few days, but I’ll be in touch.”
The connection died, and so did her good mood. She tossed aside the phone and bounded out of bed. She had a lot to get done, so she might as well get to it.
Going to her closet, she chose another drab, ugly outfit and carried it into her small bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she touched her dull hair and even duller complexion.
She hated to face the truth, but Rowdy had a valid point. Though he hadn’t come right out and said it, they both had to wonder what Logan saw in her.
Easy sex? Accomplished.
So now what? More sex? For most of the men she’d known, it was all about the conquest. Once they got what they wanted, they moved on to more challenging territory.
For now, Logan was an enigma.
She’d shower, dress and get through her errands which, despite what Rowdy said, included buying heavier drapes and blackout blinds for her bedroom—just in case. It was bad enough that Logan had seen her treadmill.
She didn’t need him seeing anything else.
Being a woman of her word, she’d insist that dinner be at his place tonight. And after dinner, maybe she’d be able to talk him into round two.
Letting out a long sigh, she cooled the temp on her shower and stepped in.
She knew better than to hope for too much; nothing in her life had really changed. She still lived a lie, and she needed to remain in isolation.
But she couldn’t seem to stop herself from reaching for this one pleasure.
Her very restrictive existence suddenly looked brighter. For the first time in a long time she had reason to anticipate the day.
Given half a chance, she’d thank Logan for that—in the limited ways left to her.
* * *
WITH HIS CELL PHONE on speaker, Logan paced his small living room and stewed. His hand ached, but he deserved it. Luckily, it was his left he’d injured, not his gun hand. He could shoot adequately with his left, but he had improved aim with his right.
Even luckier—depending on your point of view—it wasn’t an uncommon accident to have happen on the job site. While he’d cursed a blue streak, the other workers had laughed at him, proof positive that they’d seen it happen before.
Dash had remembered not to single him out with concern and had, in fact, chewed his ass for being careless, as he would do with any worker.
But now he’d have a few days off work, and that’d fuck with his cover and his control. He needed to stay busy, to keep his thoughts occupied.
What the hell was Pepper Yates hiding under those hand-me-down clothes?
What didn’t she want him to see? To touch?
Men were simple creatures, women not so much. They always wanted physical attention during sex. Hell, they needed it to get off.
Not Pepper.
He could still feel her sliding down his shaft, at first so slowly that she’d made him nuts, then taking him deep. And he could still feel the way her body had tightened around him during her climax.
A climax she’d reached with little help from him.
All while dressed. Without a single seductive stroke of his fingers.
Or his tongue.
He hadn’t seduced her, hadn’t incited her.
He hadn’t done anything except supply a dick and then react to her lead. It burned his ass big-time that he felt used.
It burned him even more that he wanted her to want more.
Reese finally picked up on the fourth ring and said with irritation, “Anything wrong?”
His mood gave Logan pause. “Not really, no.”
Reese cursed. “Then this better be good.”
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Actually, yeah, you are.”
Logan grinned. “New woman?”
“New puppy. It’s destroying my place.”
That was so far from what Logan had expected to hear, it threw him. “You got a dog?”
“It sort of got me. Long story.”
So he’d taken in a stray? Logan grinned. “You’re such a big softie.”
Reese snorted. “You want me to come there and kick your ass? Is that it? You’re all lonely and, instead of admitting it, you’re finding a reason to piss me off so I’ll hunt you up?”
Logan laughed outright.
Reese said, “Dog, no. No! Damn it.” Then with a growl to Logan, “What’s up?”
It took some effort to fight off another laugh, but Logan took pity on Reese and got to the point. “I need you to do some specific searching through our collection of photos.”
“Rowdy?”
“No.” He knew Reese wouldn’t be happy, but what the hell? Logan had his reasons. “Pepper.”
Reese paused. “We don’t have much on her. Some small black-and-whites, that’s all.”
“I know.” And if there was any way Logan could do this himself, he would. The last thing he wanted was another man scrutinizing Pepper’s body. But it’d be too dangerous for him to have the photos around, so he’d have to rely on Reese. “Look at what we have, see if we have any body shots.”
“Body shots?”
Forging on, Logan said, “Try to get a read on her…body.”
“Come again?”
At least now Reese sounded more interested. “She’s hiding something, something physical I mean.”
“And you know this…how?”
No way in hell would he give Reese the nitty-gritty. Pepper Yates was a pawn in the big scheme of things, but for whatever reason, Logan didn’t want to betray her.
So fucking stupid.
“Look to see if there are any shots showing her in a blouse, or hell, even a T-shirt. Anything that’ll show…” The words dropped off. What could he say?
“The size of her rack?” Reese finished for him.
Logan rubbed his face with his uninjured hand. “Yeah. But more than that, too. Body type. Like is she shapely all over, or athletic, or maybe extra slim—”
“Damn it, Logan, what the hell are you doing now?”
“Nothing.” Nothing that he’d share anyway. “I just need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“Because you’re dealing with her boobs?” Reese grunted. “Never mind. Forget I asked. At least I know you haven’t had sex with her, or you’d know the answer to that one yourself.”
No, he wouldn’t. But again, not Reese’s business. “Can you try to find some pics or not?”
“Yeah. Give me till tomorrow morning.”
Logan looked at the bruising on his hand, flexed his fingers and winced. Being done with the topic of Pepper’s body—for now—he asked, “So did you name the dog?”
“Cash.”
“Nice name.”
“It was either that or Debt.” Reese made a sound of frustration. “He’s been expensive. And speaking of that, I need to go. He’s eating one of my shoes.”
Logan heard Reese call out to the dog, then drop the phone, and with a laugh, he ended the call. Next time he and Reese got together, he’d find out more about the animal. But for right now, he had other, more important issues on his mind.
Like how he’d get Pepper Yates naked.
No time like the present to start working on that.
CHAPTER FIVE
WEARING JEANS AND A T-SHIRT, Logan stepped out of the apartment, locked the door, turned—and found Pepper standing there.
By the looks of it, she’d just left her apartment, as well.
