Chapter 24
Aaron
The game was legendary. Jonah did his thing out there on the mound, dominating the game and securing a massive shut-out victory for his new home crowd. By the time we all gathered down in the restricted private players' parking lot after the game, the collective high of the group was unshakeable.
"Man, we’re heading downtown to lock down a table for drinks," Cal said, throwing an arm around Nia. "Y'all coming?"
Before I could even think about my handbook, Pepper stepped up right beside me.
Her shoulder brushed mine, sending a subtle, electric charge through my arm.
She looked up at me through her silk-pressed red hair and then turned to the group.
"Actually, you guys go ahead. I have something special I need to show Aaron, and I need him to drive me because I rode with Stormy. "
A collective, knowing silence descended over our friends. They all had a highly amused, heavy smirk on their faces.
"Y'all have fun," Cal laughed, dapping me up one last time as the crew piled into their cars.
I just shook my head, attempting to look completely professional, though my heart was hammering violently against my ribs.
Any chance to be completely alone with her was a victory, and the heavy, seductive tension that had been building since our phone call last night was suddenly pulsing in the tight space between us.
Once we were inside the my truck, pulling out into the humid Houston night, Pepper didn't tell me exactly where we were going. She just leaned back against the leather seat, a soft, devious smile on her lips as she navigated me through a series of quiet, industrial backstreets.
"So... I wanted to wait to show you these," she murmured, her voice a low, raspy purr over the low hum of the engine. "But I checked on them this morning before the game, and I couldn't help myself."
We finally pulled up to a small, private brick building tucked away in an artistic pocket of the city.
There was no corporate signage outside, no flashing lights—completely anonymous.
As I unlocked the passenger door for her, she explained that she had bought this building the second she secured her very first big international fashion gig.
Whenever she came home to Texas, this hidden studio was her ultimate sanctuary, her private getaway from the chaotic luxury lifestyle of Tokyo.
The interior was a gorgeous, cavernous open loft, smelling faintly of roasted coffee, rich wood, and raw chemical emulsion.
But she didn't stop in the main living space.
She took my hand, her fingers instantly locking into mine, and led me toward a heavy insulated door at the very back of the structure.
She turned the handle, pulling me inside her private developing darkroom.
The space was bathed in a thick, ambient ruby-red safety light, the air humid and warm, filled with the nostalgic scent of chemical baths and drying paper.
I stood entirely in awe. Hanging from rows of stainless-steel wire lines across the ceiling were dozens of developed photographic prints.
It was a flawless visual gallery. She had the professional Jolt Noir test shots we’d taken on Monday, capturing the crisp, raw movement of the fabrics, but there was also an array of stunningly personal, candid street photography she had taken around Houston—older couples sharing a laugh on a bench, the sharp angles of the city skyline catching the light.
"You are absolutely amazing, you know that?" I breathed, my deep voice thick with an intense admiration as I stared at the raw depth of her talent.
Pepper stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the dark floorboards until her chest was nearly touching mine. "I'm glad you think so," she whispered.
She reached up, her dainty fingers sliding a large, freshly dried print off the line, and turned it toward me.
My breath completely caught in my throat.
It was the candid picture she’d stolen of me at Bayou Park.
I was shirtless, drenched in sweat, my back half-turned as the morning sun hit the chiseled contours of my spine and abs, the teal Jolt shorts hugging my thighs.
Under the red glow of the darkroom, the image looked incredibly raw, powerful, and deeply sensual.
"This one... this one is strictly for my own personal album," Pepper murmured, her hazel eyes darkening as she traced the edge of the paper.
She looked up at me, her voice dropping into a breathless, intoxicating register.
"I look at it very often, Aaron. To be completely honest, I almost couldn't contain myself that day on the trail. "
I took one massive step forward, my towering frame completely trapping her against the edge of the developing counter. The rules, the handbook, and the corporate deadlines vanished into absolute nothingness.
"Can you contain yourself right now?" I asked, my voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly growl.
"Barely," she whispered back.
I didn't let her say another word. I cupped her face firmly in both of my large hands and brought my mouth down, capturing her lips in a deep, ravenous, and fiercely passionate breakthrough kiss.
Our tongues met hungrily, swirling together in a heavy, rhythmic dance that had been building inside us for weeks.
A soft, breathless moan escaped the very back of her throat as I shifted my grip, my fingers sliding down to the smooth skin of her neck, tracing her jawline as I rained feverish, burning kisses down her cheek and straight into the crook of her neck.
The heat in the darkroom was suffocating.
In one swift, effortless motion, I hooked my hands under her thighs and lifted her completely off her feet.
Pepper let out a small gasp of delight, her legs instantly wrapping securely around my waist as she anchored herself to my torso, her fingers furiously tearing at the hem of my shirt.
I carried her across the narrow space, my strides heavy, and laid her down slowly onto the plush leather couch at the back of the darkroom, my massive body instantly settling atop hers, pinning her into the cushions.
We didn't break the kiss for a single second.
Our mouths moved together with a desperate, thirsty intensity.
Her hands slid beneath my white tee, her palms hot against my bare back, before she pulled the fabric completely over my head and tossed it into the dark.
I raised myself up slightly, looking down at her flushed, radiant face under the ruby light.
My fingers caught the edge of her cropped Apollos jersey, sliding it effortlessly over her head to expose the smooth, caramel skin of her chest. I leaned back down, my mouth tracing a path of burning kisses along her collarbones before burying my face between her exposed breasts, making her arch into my touch with a soft cry.
Before I went any further, the gentleman in me forced a moment of restraint. I stopped, propping myself up on my elbows, my dark eyes boring into hers. "Pepper... are you sure about this?"
All she did was smile—a heavy, seductive, and completely unbothered smile that told me everything I needed to know. She reached up, hooking her fingers behind my neck, and dragged me back down into a thirsty, breathless kiss that completely erased any lingering hesitation.
I reached down, my hands catching the waistband of her short-shorts, and slowly, deliberately slid them down the length of her thick, smooth legs. Left standing in nothing but a tiny lace string thong, her figure under the red light was absolute, unfiltered perfection.
As if I couldn't take the distance for a single second longer, the absolute primal need to taste her took over entirely.
I pushed her panties gently to the side, my large hands gripping the soft skin of her inner thighs to part her legs.
I leaned down, burying my face between her thighs, and began to lap every single drop of her sweet, warm juices with a slow, agonizingly deep rhythm.
Pepper’s hands instantly flew to the back of my head, her fingers tangling fiercely in my hair as she let out a loud, ragged moan that echoed off the darkroom walls.
Her legs began to tremble violently against my shoulders, her hips bucking uncoordinatedly against my mouth as the intense, electric friction took over.
Within minutes, she completely came undone, her body shuddering through a powerful, breathless climax that left her gasping for air.
When I slowly looked back up, trailing my lips up her stomach, her hazel eyes were half-closed, wearing the most sleepy, beautifully satisfied expression I had ever seen.
"Switch," she whispered breathlessly, her voice a raspy purr.
Before I could even process the word, her competitive, dominant spark flared to life.
With a sudden burst of movement, she flipped our bodies, sliding effortlessly onto my chest until she was sitting fully on top of me.
She leaned down, her red curls framing her face like an aura, and pressed her mouth fiercely against mine, letting me taste her own sweet juices right on my tongue.
Suddenly, she broke the kiss, a devious smirk playing on her lips. She walked over through the humid, dark room, grabbed her professional camera from the counter, and climbed right back on top of my lap, striding my waist.
I lay there shirtless against the leather, looking up at her with a highly amused, skeptical eyebrow raised. "Pose," she commanded, lifting the heavy viewfinder to her eye.
"Pose?" I chuckled softly.
Click.
The mechanical shutter cut through the quiet air. "Oh, so now I'm your muse, Ms. Swanson?"
"You've been my muse, Fields," she murmured, a wicked glint in her eyes.
Click.
She set the heavy camera down on the adjoining table with one hand, leaning her torso back down until her bare breasts were pressed flush against my chest. We began to kiss hungrily again, the heat between us reaching a absolute boiling point.
I gently wrapped my fingers around her waist, lifting her hips, and flipped her back over onto the cushions, sliding down to my feet.
I stood at the edge of the couch, my breathing deep and ragged. I unbuttoned my jeans and pushed them down, completely displaying a rather large, heavy erection that was standing at rigid attention in the ruby light.
Pepper’s eyes went wide, a sharp, collective gasp escaping her throat at the sight of me.
Before the panic could set in, I knelt over her, my large hands gently pinning her wrists above her head.
I guided myself to her opening, and with one slow, deliberate push, I slid completely inside of her.
Her walls wrapped so incredibly, tightly around my manhood that a rush of pure dizziness hit my brain, making me feel completely lightheaded.
Pepper let out a high, long moan of pure delight, her head throwing back against the pillow as her hips automatically adjusted to my entry.
We made sweet, incredibly sexy, hot, and deeply passionate love in that darkroom for hours.
Every movement was slow, deliberate, and entirely synchronized—a beautiful professional and personal harmony that felt ten times deeper than anything we had executed on set.
The humid air was filled with the rhythmic sound of our skin colliding, our heavy, breathless groans, and the sweet, addictive taste of each other.
I drove deep into her, taking my time to savor every single solitary inch of her softness, while her legs locked tightly around my lower back, pulling me closer until there was absolutely no space left between us.
We burned through the night under that single ruby safety light, completely breaking every single rule in my handbook, and cementing a bond that neither of us would ever be able to outrun.