Naked Sushi by Jina Bacarr

first.”
    She squeezed his balls through his jeans. He gritted his teeth, but he didn’t flinch. Pepper would be a good fit for the FBI if she could just get past her fears. Not let them cripple her mind. He’d seen that happen to his brother. Never felt good about himself, always had to prove something. Tom fell into a rabbit hole and never climbed out.
    He didn’t want to see Pepper take her smart skills down the wrong road and end up lost and abandoned.
    “You succeeded in a man’s world, Jordan,” Steve said, complimenting her. The Princeton grad had overcome a childhood with an alcoholic parent and a house with little to eat but stale cereal.
    She exhaled. “It’s not easy being a female in this business. You have to work ten times harder than the men, and when you do, they call you a troublemaking bitch.” She leaned back against the doorjamb and licked her lips. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Where else would I find myself surrounded by handsome men like you?”
    “So why not add a little sugar to your coffee?” Steve said, sliding his chair across the floor and taking his cup back.
    “I admit Pepper O’Malley fits the profile of a good agent. She’s smart, creative, adventurous. But that’s not everything, Steven. Under pressure, even the best candidate can crack.” Jordan shoved the metal trash can across the floor with the heel of her stiletto. “What makes you think she’s got what it takes?”
    “Pepper is that good, Jordan. Let me prove it to you.”
    “No can do. You compromised yourself by fucking her. You’re off the case.” She leaned over him so he could get an eyeful of her full breasts, her nipples pointing through her tight sweater. Her way of keeping her power secure in her empire. “Agent Barker will take over.”
    He cocked a brow. “I’ve never seen you this jealous before, Jordan.”
    “I’ve never seen you take such an interest in a material witness before.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a show of authority. “The higher-ups are on my ass to wrap up this case before someone blows the whistle and the media get wind of it. I’ve got a team sitting on Briggs day and night. He’s bound to slip up.”
    His cell chimed—a text. His Japanese contact. Briggs wanted to take a meeting. That gave him an idea.
    “What if I promise you I can get a taped confession from Briggs that will stand up in court?” Steve said. “Will you put me back on the case?”
    Jordan smirked. “Does it involve you getting into that girl’s pants?”
    Steve grinned and then stuck his middle finger through the hole of a crispy, glazed, sugary, doughy delight. “Care for another doughnut?”
    * * *
    “You want me to do what? ” I asked, adrenaline racing through me like popcorn popping outta control. I turned down a rainbow-painted path and headed toward Bongo’s Pizza Playland .
    “Wear a wire,” Steve said, not missing a beat. “It’s the only way we can nail Briggs.” He was hot on my tail. I wasn’t a happy camper. I hadn’t heard from him since our Breakfast at Tiffany’s rendezvous, complete with the rescue of the cat, like in the film.
    And now this?
    “You’ve got to be crazy.” I didn’t care how good-looking Special Agent Steve Raines was. I was not going to jeopardize what little future I had left by letting the FBI hot-wire my bod so they could listen to everything I said. What if I said something stupid? Like how I hacked into the company computer?
    Or, worse yet, admitted I’d gone all Bruce Lee and zonked a federal agent? I’d be sent to a planet far, far away faster than you could send R2-D2 to a recycling bin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job interview and I’m late.”
    I rushed through the bright red double doors into the pizza parlor and put on my best cheesy-clown smile. I prayed Steve wouldn’t follow me. Why bother? He knew my routine. He’d had a tail on my ass all week. I wasn’t so dumb that I didn’t notice a guy