It hadn’t worked. He was still fascinated with her and he had a bad…or good…suspicion that he’d never get over this woman.
“Tell me what’s bothering you, Pepper,” he ordered, seeing her eyes flare with irritation. Which was exactly why he’d said it like that. The fire in her was…powerfully erotic! He loved seeing her like this, bristling with passion. It might be anger right now, but he was positive that he could shift that passion to desire very easily.
She took a deep breath, holding his gaze. “My grandmother got pregnant the first time she had sex. My mother had sex with three men over six years and got pregnant the first time she had sex with each man.” She clasped her hands together in front of her as she continued. “Both of my sisters got pregnant with their current husbands the first time they had sex. Growing up, my sister preached double protection when we have sex because…well, the women in my family have what my sister calls a ‘freakish fertility’ issue. We get pregnant very easily. I know that it sounds strange, but that’s our reality. And I’ve been with two other men in my life, and the sex wasn’t all that great, but before we had sex, I was on the pill and they used condoms. I’m not on birth control now and we both know that it takes about thirty days before birth control is truly effective, so we can’t have sex yet because we don’t have double protection.”
He stared at her for a long moment, processing what she’d just blurted out. “You…are not having sex with another man?”
Pepper huffed, shifting her feet. “Out of everything I just said, that’s what you got from my rambling speech?”
Dimitri laughed, enchanted with her irritation. “No, I also heard that you’re not on birth control, that the women in your family have a very strong tendency to become pregnant, and that your sisters are both married.”
“Freakish fertility, Dimitri,” she emphasized firmly. “We can’t have sex! We just can’t because I’m not on birth control.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he moved closer. Before she could move away, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “Relax, Pepper,” he soothed, kissing her neck and feeling her melt into him. All resistance left her when he touched her neck. He would have to remember that for future use.
“I respect the fact that your family is extremely fertile, but I’ve been protecting women, as well as myself, from unplanned pregnancies for years. And so far, I’ve been very successful.” He looked into her eyes. “Do you honestly believe that we can hold off from consummating this desire between us for another thirty days?”
She sighed, leaning her forehead against his chest in defeat. “No. Probably not.”
He rubbed her back, feeling her shiver. “It will be okay,” he told her, feeling a rush of protectiveness. “I’ll protect you, Pepper.”
She laughed, and he felt her arms tighten around his waist. Damn, she was soft and beautiful!
“Right,” Pepper sighed. Something occurred to her and she pulled back slightly, looking up at him. Really looking at him now that she’d finally given him that dire warning. “Wait, why are you still in a suit?” she asked, blinking at his silk tie and white dress shirt before lifting those incredible blue eyes up to meet his astounded gaze.
“I’m taking you out to dinner,” he replied. “What else would I be wearing?”
She laughed and, for some reason, the melodic sound eased the tension that had once again been building between them. The tension didn’t dissipate, but it lightened. At least for a few moments.
“How about a pair of jeans?” she suggested. “A casual sweater?”
He lifted an eyebrow, shaking his head with amused disdain. “I don’t do jeans.”
She laughed again and those blue eyes danced merrily. “Well, then I need to change into something more formal.”
“Don’t change,” he countered, pulling off his jacket and tossing it over a chair. He loosened his tie and tossed that over the jacket, unbuttoning the top two buttons on his dress shirt and folding up his sleeves. “There. I’m casual as well. Let’s go.”
He took her hand and led her out of the apartment, feeling her fingers tighten around his. Why that tightening felt so significant, he wasn’t sure, but it felt damn good!
Chapter 4
Pepper stared out the window of the limousine at the elegant sign over the door of the restaurant. “This…is the kind of thing that you like?” she asked, not particularly impressed.
He stepped out of the limousine and held his hand out to her. “This is a good restaurant. Do you not like seafood?”
She glanced back up at the embellished sign over the door, then at the doorman in the red jacket, gold buttons and black top hat.
“I’m sure it’s a lovely restaurant,” she replied, tugging her white sweater closer around her, trying to hide the cheerful yellow sundress. A half hour ago, she’d pulled on the dress, thinking she looked fresh and pretty. But this restaurant catered to the ultra-rich. People were wearing designer cocktail dresses and Manolo Blahnik shoes. Definitely not in the same league as her refurbished dress, no matter how unique it might appear.
He stepped in front of her, looking into her worried eyes. “Pepper, if you don’t want seafood, I’ll find another place to eat. But if you want seafood,
