Heat Wave Box Set: Volumes I-III Page 7

  There I sat in my extremely naughty nightie, with a noisy fan and Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, wondering when and if things would turn around for me. As relieved as I was to be free of Chase, loneliness had crept into my life along with the relief. Of course, loneliness was far more palatable than life with my ex-boyfriend, but, for now, my social life had sunk into a hole. Most of my friends had deserted me once Chase was in the picture. Their almost immediate dislike of him and his distaste for hanging out with them had left me somewhat friendless. Served me right for not listening to their early warnings. But I’d learned too late, and now, I’d lost them.

  The only treat that went well with a noisy fan and a baby doll nightgown was a popsicle. I took the three steps to the freezer and pulled out a cherry flavored one. I unwrapped it and returned to my bed. Elizabeth Bennett was just about to be smote by Mr. Darcy on the dance floor when a loud knock rattled my door. I startled and dropped my red popsicle on the bed.

  The knock sounded ferocious and unfriendly. I pulled my sheet around my shoulders, as if a cotton sheet could provide protection. At least it made me feel less naked. There was no sound, and I was just about to brush it off as a kid joking around but then a fist pounded the door again. It was a thin door, and the person knocking had a big fist.

  My heart pounded. It was close to midnight, and I couldn’t imagine that the apartment manager would come smacking my door at such a late hour. A peephole would have been nice, but I had no way of knowing who it was. Then a yell let me know.

  “Dammit, Pepper, let me in.” My heart pounded against my ribs. I’d purposely moved across town to make sure I never ran into him. He hadn’t tried to contact me or talk to me since the break up, and I’d been relieved. I jumped out of bed and glanced around for my phone.

  “Come on, baby,” he said in a much calmer tone, but it was that controlled, smooth tone I hated the most. It was always just the cap on an explosion brewing beneath. “I need to talk to you. I miss you. I know you’re in there, Pepper. Let me in.”

  I stood frozen in the center of my tiny apartment, terrified that he’d somehow manage to break the door down. Silence followed, but I hadn’t heard his footsteps retreat. My pulse pounded in my ears, and I felt sick to my stomach.

  He pounded again, and I was sure the hinges looked looser than they had a few seconds earlier. Then I heard another deep voice in the hallway. I finally pried my feet from the spot they’d been glued to. I crept to the door and listened out.

  “Hey, look, dude, it’s late. You need to go home. She’s obviously not opening up for you.” It was Breaker’s deep, confident voice.

  “Look, asshole, this is none of your business. Just go back to your apartment.”

  There was a pause. “I’ll go back just as soon as I see you walk out that exit door.”

  “What? Are you fucking her?” Chase sneered. I could hear the slur in his words. He was drunk.

  “I can stand here all damn night, or I can just take a shortcut and break your fucking face right now.” Even as he spoke the threat, Breaker’s tone was calm.

  Chase was big, but he was also a damn coward. I pressed my ear to the door. Footsteps retreated and the exit door slammed shut. As my heart rate returned to normal, my body suddenly started shaking. I hadn’t realized how scared I was until I’d finally relaxed some.

  “Hey, Pepper,” Breaker’s voice was quiet as he spoke through the door. “He’s gone. Are you all right?”

  My throat tightened and tears pooled in my eyes as I hugged my arms around myself to stop the trembling. “Yes.” The word was barely audible, but somehow, he managed to hear it.

  “All right. I’ll go back to my apartment.” The hall creaked beneath his feet. I yanked open my door and he spun around as I fell into his arms, crying and shaking.

  He took me into his apartment and closed the door. His big arms wrapped around me, and I allowed myself a few moments of sobbing in an embrace that seemed incredibly safe and comforting. Then I sucked in a breath, swallowed back the dryness in my throat and lifted my face from his bare chest.

  “Thank you.” It was all I could utter at the moment. Some of the trembling subsided.

  “That guy seems like a total asshole. Anyone who would treat you badly has to be a complete fool.” He peered down at me and dragged his thumb across my cheek to wipe away a tear. “You’re shaking.” He folded me in his arms again and rubbed my back with his large hand. The few moments of terror had made me completely forget that I was dressed in a sheer nightgown that barely covered the matching panties.

  He seemed to sense my sudden shyness. “Just a minute.” He walked over to one of his not yet unpacked boxes and fished around in it. He pulled out a blanket. Some of the usual cockiness had been replaced by genuine concern, and his expression made my throat thicken again. With great care, he pulled the blanket around my shoulders. “Sit on the couch and I’ll get you a glass of wine. It’ll calm those frayed nerves.” His shorts were slung low on his hips, and his tattooed back looked even broader in the context of the apartment. The internet was ripe with scandalous stories, family disappointment and even some problems with the law, but the man pouring me a glass of wine in the kitchen was the first person to show me true compassion in a long time. He’d been a complete flirt all day, living up to some of the reputation I’d read about, but at this moment, he was anything but a rogue.

  He brought me the wine and I sipped it. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m being overdramatic. We haven’t talked in months. He just startled me, is all. Thank you again.” My frazzled nerves were smoothing. I took another sip of wine. “Can I borrow the blanket to return to my apartment? I hadn’t meant to run out in my skimpy nightie.”

  “Of course. I’ll walk you back to your place. My offer to sleep on my couch still stands if you’re worried he’ll come back.”

  “No, I’m fine. I’m really sorry about all—”

  He reached under the blanket, and his grip was calloused and warm and solid as he took hold of my hand. “Stop apologizing. I was glad to help. Figure it might score me a few points with you.” He winked. “You’ve got this tough shell around you, and I aim to crack it.”

  “Why would you want to bother?”

  “Because I like you, Pepper. You are funny and adorable and far more real than most girls.” His words made the whole rotten evening melt away. And, I realized, after standing in his arms in my sheer as silk lingerie, that I would have given anything to have his arms wrapped around me again. But then I reminded myself that a guy like Breaker Harrington was the last thing I needed.

  Chapter 5

  It had been several days since Chase had shown up at my apartment door. He hadn’t texted or tried to contact me since so I brushed it off as a night of too much drinking on his part. The heat had brought plenty of people into the coolness of the bookstore, but most were just there to avoid the sweltering temperatures outside rather than to actually buy books. Still, the busy shop made my work day glide by. I’d finished my shift and headed home for a dull and lonely dinner of cereal. The heat inside the apartment made the prospect of heating food unpleasant.

  I reached my floor. As usual, music and voices rumbled from Breaker’s apartment. He was very popular, not shocking considering that he was from one of the richest families in the country. But I had to admit, he never acted like a billion dollar trust fund baby.

  With my work and his extremely busy social life, I hadn’t talked to him since he came to my rescue. It was something that had given me permanent respect for him. He hadn’t needed to get involved or put himself in harm’s way to come to my aid. He’d only just met me, but he hadn’t hesitated that night, and it made me instantly fond of him. The fact that he was gorgeous and had a great personality didn’t hurt either.

  The reprieve from the heat wave had never come, or at least it hadn’t come to my lit
tle sardine can apartment. It was as if the faded yellow walls had absorbed all of the heat from the last four days, and they were radiating that warmth back out into the room.

  I sliced a banana into my cereal to add a little pizzazz. Voices echoed in the hallway and then a door shut. Only music vibrated through the walls now.

  I was fishing around for the last bite of banana, the highlight of my meal, when someone knocked. I startled, still uneasy about Chase’s visit.

  “Hey, Pepper, it’s me, Breaker.”

  I got up and opened the door. “Come on in. Would you like some cereal? I’ve got banana.”

  “Banana? Shit, I’d have to be nuts to turn that down.”

  He hopped up on one of the two wobbly stools I had at my kitchen counter. I prepared him a fancy bowl of cereal and banana while he watched. For no real reason, except that his gaze was on me, I felt my face warm. He was exceptionally handsome but had an easy going confidence about him that made him very real.

  “Are you impressed by my culinary talents?” I asked.

  “I am. They seem to be just one step above mine. My talents are all in this one finger.” He lifted his index finger. “This is the one I use to dial restaurant delivery.”

  I laughed and lowered the bowl in front of him. Then I hoisted myself up onto the stool next to him.

  “Sorry, my place is a little warmer than yours.”

  “That’s all right. Better company over on this side of the wall. I love my friends, but sometimes, I can’t seem to get rid of them.”

  “You are definitely a popular guy.” I smiled as he took a bite of cereal. “Well, did I deliver?”

  “The banana, corn flake combination is exquisite,” he said. “Couldn’t have made it better myself.” He looked over at me, and for a brief second I held my breath and wondered what it would be like to be kissed by him. It had to be an extraordinary kiss. There was just no way it could disappoint coming from a man like him. “So, no more unwanted midnight visits?”

  This time my face warmed from shame, and not from the way he looked at me. He sensed my uneasiness with the topic.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “No, that’s all right. I just want to kick myself for ever getting involved with him. Chase is one of those giant regrets that I’m never going to outlive, even if I reach a hundred.”

  He nodded and stirred around his cereal. “Have a few of those myself. But sometimes I think those regrets are all part of building character.”

  “A playboy who reflects and philosophizes.” I regretted calling him the name the second I saw the little line on the side of his mouth smooth away. “Now it’s my turn to apologize.”

  He shook his head and the line reappeared. “I’m no saint. Just don’t base your entire opinion of me on what the internet says.”

  “Fair enough. Wish I hadn’t looked you up in the first place. It’s hard to match the man sitting next to me with any of those stories.”

  He finished another bite of cereal. “No, unfortunately, most are true. But I’ve grown up some.” A serious expression returned. “During my teens and early twenties, it seemed my dad and me were always at war. He, of course, had big expectations for me, and I, of course, disappointed him at every turn. We talk now but it’s still strained, and we have different priorities. I decided to head out on my own, earn a living and break ties with the family wealth for awhile. I’ve been working construction. We’re between jobs right now, but I start back Monday.” He lifted his hand and stared at the calluses. “I like working with my hands.”

  “I thought your hands were a little rough for a guy who just sits around and entertains friends all day.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced over at me with a slightly wicked glint in his eyes. “You noticed the way my hands feel, huh? That’s good to hear because the few times I’ve touched you, I haven’t been able to get the feel of your silky skin out of my mind.” The conversation had taken an interesting, and not undesirable, turn.

  But I was never good at allowing myself a compliment. “And you’ve said that same line to how many girls?”

  “None. Scout’s honor.” He held up two fingers.

  “I think that’s a peace sign, and I’ve heard you talk about your legacy in the scouts. With your friend, on the phone.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, that was Keller, the guy with the sex toy company. He loved your slogan for the handcuffs, by the way. He’s going to use it. I told him if it works well then he owes you some money. He’s got a big house up in the hills. I’m housesitting for him this weekend, so I won’t be around.”

  The thought of him not being around this weekend was disappointing. It would surely be much quieter with him not home, but I preferred the noise and knowing he was right next door.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “Finally some peace and quiet.”

  I smiled but then looked at him. “Actually, no. I was thinking it was going to be an extra lonely weekend.”

  “I just had a great idea. Are you working this weekend?”

  “Not until Sunday afternoon. Why?”

  “Come housesit with me. The house is awesome. It has a great view and one of those infinity pools and—”

  “Thanks,” I said, quickly.

  “Wait, Pepper, hear me out. It would be a nice, free vacation.” He glanced around my pathetic, hot apartment. “And I think you could use it.”

  I raised a brow at him. “I don’t think I’d fit in with all your friends.”

  “No, you wouldn’t, which is why I’m inviting only you. I need a vacation too. From them. It’ll just be you and me.”

  My eyes widened at that statement, but he spoke up before I could comment.

  “Look. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m completely intrigued with the idea of you and me. But, you have my word that I won’t make a move unless you say, ‘Breaker, make a move.’ Exact wording is negotiable. Feel free to mix it up some.” He punctuated his invitation with that award winning smile.

  “I don’t know, Breaker.”

  “You just came out of a shitty relationship. I get it. But what could the harm be in a little ‘no strings attached’ fun? His house is awesome . . . and air-conditioned. Tell you what— if you hate it, I’ll drive you right back here to your pull-out sofa and cereal bowl.”

  I sighed. “Well, when you put it that way— I guess I could give it a go.”

  “Great. We’ll leave tomorrow evening. What time do you get off work?”

  “I’ll be home around five.”

  He put his bowl in the sink. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned back to me before opening the door. “I think, despite that slight look of trepidation on your face right now, that you’re going to have a good time.” With that, he walked out.

  Chapter 6

  I’d talked myself out of and back into the weekend with Breaker four times before finally telling myself that I deserved a little vacation. Despite his notorious reputation, Breaker had proven himself to be a gentleman. The night he’d scared Chase away from my door, I’d crumpled into his arms in a vulnerable and nearly naked state, but he didn’t take advantage of the situation. The opposite, in fact.

  I tossed my bathing suit, some shorts and t-shirts and one sundress into my duffle bag. He knocked as I zipped it shut. He smiled down at the small duffle in my hand. I’d pushed my hair up into a ponytail, but not wanting to look too casual, I’d brushed on some mascara.

  “I’m not really the high maintenance type.” I looked down at my shorts and sandals. “As you can see.”

  “I know. It’s one of the things I love about you. And with that face and body, you don’t need a lot. You’d turn my head if you were wearing a potato sack and floppy felt hat.”

  I bit my lip to stop the grin
and the blush.

  “And, see, that reaction is another reason you have me spinning. Other girls eat up compliments, get pissed in fact if they aren’t showered with them, but you turn away from them as if they make you uncomfortable.”

  “They do. But part of it is out of self-preservation. Words like that coming from a guy like you might make my head float off from my body, and I’d like to keep all of me together.”

  He took hold of the bag, and as he did, his fingers brushed mine. Heat trailed up my arm. He stopped and gazed up at me, his face just a few inches from mine. “I’m not setting out to hurt you, Pepper. Just promise me you’ll relax and have a good time this weekend.”

  I lifted my fingers in a peace sign. “Scout’s honor.”

  He was still close enough that I could smell the faint scent of his soap. “Fucking adorable.” He motioned me out the door. “Let’s go, hot and spicy.”

  Chapter 7

  Breaker’s rather beat up looking truck stood in stark contrast to the shiny facade of his friend’s house. The house was built off the edge of a lush green hillside, overlooking the city below. The entire front of the house was massive, floor to ceiling windows. It was a modern, industrial style house that looked as if some famous architect had designed it as a showpiece for a portfolio.

  We climbed out of the truck, and Breaker grabbed the bags. The passenger door squeaked as I shut it. “Somehow, I expected you to drive something fancier.”

  “I had to give up the keys to the Ferrari when I decided to try it on my own.”

  I laughed but then realized he wasn’t joking. “Shit, a Ferrari? I applaud your resolve. It had to be hard to hand over those keys.”

  “Did love that car. Great for picking up girls.”