Causing Havoc (24 page)

dril s and power saws."' He smiled with the memory. ""Sometimes the tool weighed as much as me.

But I managed."

"It's a wonder you didn't hurt yourself."

' Or someone else." Dean could stil picture his uncle standing over him. supervising, patiently

explaining.

Just. . . being with him.

Which was something his own parents had never done.

""Later he told me that he wanted to keep me busy so I wouldn't dwel on my parents' deaths and my new life. He figured if I worked hard enough during the day, I'd be too exhausted at night to feel sorry

for myself."

Very gently, Eve asked, "Did it work?"

It hadn't, but he didn't want Eve to know that, any more than he'd wanted his uncle to know. "It made me independent. And I liked being around the other men. They were . . . rough."

"With you?"

"No, just in their manners. The only adjectives they knew were curse words. They drank too much in

the evenings. A couple of times a week, they fought with each other." Sometimes Dean missed those

days. ""I learned from them, too."

"What did you learn?"

Where to start? There were things he couldn't tel her, but most of what he'd learned from his uncle's

crew had been harmless. "They showed me how to repair just about everything from watches to car

engines. If it runs, I can probably fix it."

"That'd go a long way in being self-sufficient."

"Yeah." Dean relaxed a little more. "They taught me how to play poker, too, and how to cheat without getting caught." He smiled. "I can pick a lock, start a fire from scratch, cook dinner, and sew a hem."

"I take it none of these men were married?"

Laughing, Dean said, "No sane woman would have had any of them. Not long-term anyway. What

they needed done, they did themselves." There'd been women, but not the marrying kind. Making an

admission, Dean said, "They taught me to be the same."

"You'd be handy to have around then."

Except that he never stayed long. Dean opened one eye to see Eve leaning over him. His heart

thumped a little faster. "Are you inviting me to stick around?"

Her mouth twitching, Eve laid one hand over his bruised ribs and, though she didn't realize it, his

bruised heart.

"Actual y, I was thinking of Cam and al the stuff that needs to be done on the house."

He groaned. Damned frustrating woman.

"Seriously Dean, with you helping her on repairs, and Jacki contributing financial y, she might be

able to keep it."

The sooner he got the issue of the house out of the way, the better Dean would like it. Closing his

eyes again, he shut out the sight of Eve and her blind faith in his charitable goodness.

But his awareness of her remained. Not just the physical awareness, but also the idea of who and

what she believed him to be.

Before he had time to think it over, Dean heard himself say, "I'l get everything in working order."

The words no sooner left his mouth than he wanted to take them back. He started to lower his arms,

intent on sitting up and getting to work. But he'd barely moved when Eve's mouth touched his, urging

his eyes open again.

So close that he could see a few freckles on the bridge of her nose, Eve said, "You are one terrific

man, Dean Conor. Do you know that?"

Infuriated more with himself than with her, Dean moved fast, catching Eve's shoulders and turning to

tuck her under him. He half covered her, pressing her into the thick lawn. "You're delusional, Eve."

"No."

His jaw locked. "You don't know shit about me."

She put her hands at either side of his face and smiled with too much emotion. "You want to know

what I think?"

For some reason, tension pul ed at him. "Probably some idiotic romanticized nonsense." When her

confidence didn't falter, he made a sound of disgust. "Al right, go ahead and tel me."

"I think you're the one who doesn't know shit about you."

Her words sucked the breath right out of him. He opened his mouth to correct her—how, he didn't

know— and a squeal sounded behind him. Rol ing off Eve and onto his feet in one agile move, Dean

faced the intrusion, only to catch sight of Jacki hurrying to him.

"What now?" he muttered. The women of Harmony, Kentucky, were going to be the death of him.

"You got the car!" Grocery bags in both arms. Jacki rushed to him, her long legs eating up the

distance in record time. An ear of corn bounced out of one bag, but Jacki didn't stop to retrieve it.

"It's awesome, Dean. Even better than the photo in the brochure. I love it." Pleasure brought color to her cheeks and added an impish twinkle to her eyes. "I know you're busy now, but you
have
to take me for a ride later."

Dean shook his head in wonder. For God's sake, it wasn't an expensive car. Not even a particularly

sporty car, especial y when compared to what other SBC fighters drove. Gregor had parked his new

Mustang Saleen convertible right behind the Sebring.

But maybe Jacki didn't realize it was Gregor's.

Or... maybe she did.

She stood in front of Dean, al smiles, several silver earrings in her left ear glinting in the sunshine.

She wore her too-blond hair twisted up into some super-funky do, and her light brown eyes looked

huge with al the dramatic makeup.

Like Eve, Jacki had dressed for the warm weather. A crop top left most of her midriff bare. Low-

slung shorts put her tattoo on display. She wore cheap rubber flip-flops on her feet. She looked more

like a teenager than a twenty-one-year-old woman.

Her animated chatter lightened Dean's mood. "I figured you'd be sleeping the day away."

Jacki rol ed her eyes toward the house. "Yeah, I would have, except Goliath showed up bright and

early." Her gaze swung back to Dean, now ful of accusation. "And speaking of Goliath—he said
you
invited him,"

"To help me with the roof."

"That's what he claimed. But c'mon, Dean. Why
him?
"

Fighting a laugh, Dean chucked her under the chin. "Because he's big. It might surprise you what

asphalt shingles weigh. Even the cheapest grades go around two hundred and twenty-five pounds per

hundred square feet." He looked up at the roof. "With two layers of roofing, and the size of this roof, I'd say al the old shingles should weigh in at more than six-thousand pounds. That's over three tons,

hon. And I know you didn't want me laboring on it al on my own."

Jacki skipped her gaze over his chest. "Right, not when you already look annihilated."

"I'm fine."

"Fine, huh?" She rol ed her eyes. "Even tough guys need time to heal, you know."

Did she just scold him? "I wasn't—"

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, okay, so Gregor wil come in handy." She glanced toward the house

again. "I suppose I can tolerate him for awhile."

"Tolerate him. Torment him." Dean caught her chin to bring her face around to him. "Get to know him. You'l have a few days, so make the most of it."

A flash of something, maybe gratitude, shown in her eyes before she ducked her head.

"Speak of the devil," Eve said, and Dean looked up to find Gregor bearing down on them.

Stil shirtless.

Which Jacki made obvious note of right away. She shoved the bags of groceries toward Dean,

squared her shoulders, and met Gregor halfway.

DETERMINED to set Gregor straight, Jacki charged up to him. He was al smiles, as if thril ed to

see her. And his blasted gaze roamed everywhere it shouldn't, lingering on her bel y, studying her

tattoo, sliding along the length of her legs. She felt scorched .. . until he zeroed in on her chest with

extreme absorption.

What a joke. How dumb did he think she was? She barely had enough to see, much less enough to

hold attention. Quickly, Jacki crossed her arms over herself. Gregor opened his mouth, and she said,

"Don't start."

He went blank. With caution, he asked, "Start what?"

"With the 'honey,' 'baby,' 'darlin' talk." His brows bunched together in a "put out by her attitude"

frown, but Jacki wouldn't let him intimidate her. "If you actual y want to get to know me, Gregor, fine."

Relief lifted the scowl. "Now you're talkin'."

"But," Jacki added in a hardened voice, "I wil not be used as a pawn just so you can coerce Dean into fighting you."

The scowl snapped right back into place, more fierce than ever. "Forget your damned brother, wil

ya? He's got nothin' to do with it."

"Oh real y?" Jacki imbued as much sarcasm in those two words as she could.

Slowly, deliberately, Gregor straightened to his ful impressive height of six and a half feet. To make

sure he wouldn't be overheard, he stepped closer, leaving no more than a breath between them. And

good thing, because when Jacki glanced around, she saw that no one was making any bones about

eavesdropping.

Her sister, Eve, and Dean al stood there watching the spectacle they made. That was pretty

distracting.

Until Gregor said, "I want you, you stubborn little twit."

Twit! Jacki dropped her arms to prop her hands on her hips. "Is there any woman you don't want?"

"Yeah." His chest nearly bumped into her chin, he got so close. "Two of 'em are tryin' their best to hear us right now."

Oh. Chagrined, Jacki glanced at Eve, and got a smile. She looked a Cam, and felt her concern.

Knowing they needed to finish this in private, she said to Gregor, "C'mon," and grabbed his thick wrist to drag him to the far side of the pool.

He went wil ingly, almost... anxiously.

Out of hearing range, Jacki stopped to square off with him. "Now, first off I don't like being cal ed a twit."

"Then quit actin' like one."

"I wasn't."

"Bul shit. I want you, and it doesn't have a damn thing to do with Havoc." Arms at his sides, posture chal enging, Gregor said, "If for some asinine reason you doubt me, you should dangle your gaze a

little south, and you'l see that you get me half-hard just by bitchin' at me. Or it might have been

grabbin' my wrist. Or a combination of the two."

Jacki's eyes rounded—and stuck resolutely to his face. In a low whisper, she hissed, "Don't get a

jones now, for God's sake. My sister wil see."

"I can't help it." His voice went al seductive. "You do that to me."

She peeked, and wished she hadn't. After a heartfelt moan. Jacki covered her face. "Okay, so

you're easily excited."

"By
you
." He looked too damn serious. "Hel woman, you don't think every skirt that flits by gets this reaction, do you? If they did. I'd never be able to fight, because the audience always has its fair share

of females beggin for it."

Great. Just the image she wanted. Packs of women fighting for his attention.

"If I got a boner every time I saw a sexy broad, I'd never get a cup to fit—"

"Stop."

"Al right," he soothed, now that he'd gotten her to lose her temper. "But understand this, little girl—"

Her head snapped up at that idiotic bit of sweet talk. "I am not little."

"Yeah, you are." Cupping her face in his hands, Gregor smoothed his thumbs over her cheeks and

waited until she tipped her head way back to meet his gaze.

And damned if she didn't feel downright tiny.

It wasn't an altogether comfortable feeling, yet it sparked a carnal awareness that had her breath

coming faster and deeper.

Voice going gruff, Gregor murmured, "You're smal and fragile and hot. I can't wait to get you naked."

Oh, wow. The man had a way with words that could be very convincing.

"But understand this, darlin'." He spoke over her when she started to protest. "I'm not a liar and I don't take kindly to being cal ed one. You want me to drop the endearments, fine. I'm not makin' any

promises because I am who I am, been that way for too many years to count. But for you, I'l give it a

shot."

He made it sound like any effort on his part should be greatly appreciated. Jacki had no doubt that

few women would ask him to change much. "Gee, thanks."

"But only if you stop accusin' me of things I haven't done. Like usin' you."

"So coming on to me has nothing at al to do with Dean?"

"Not a thing. Trust me, I'l get Havoc on the mat one way or another. He can't hold out forever, and if I have to work my way up through the ranks, breakin' heads left and right, that's what I'l do."

Jacki laughed. "Yeah, I can believe you're capable of that."

"Damn right." He bent to put his forehead to hers. "I'l take a shortcut if I can get it, but not by chasin'

a gal who doesn't do it for me."

"So ... I do it for you?"

His leer made her blush. "If you didn't, why would I be here? There are plenty of other women waitin'

around to try me on for size, even here in backwater Harmony."

Jacki rol ed her eyes—but again, she believed him. She'd seen for herself how the women in the bar

had al ogled him.

"But they didn't grab me the way you did," Gregor continued. "If we didn't have that freakin' audience strainin' their ears to hear, I'd show you just how much you get to me. You see, darlin', I'm

proportionate in size al over, if you get my drift."

She got his drift one-hundred percent. Close as he stood, she couldn't have missed it.

"It tends to make any sexual interest on my part a tad noticeable." Discomfort replaced the leer. "As it is, I think I'm gonna need a dip in your pool to get things under control."

Jacki swal owed back a moan of interest, and said calmly, "I think I can help you with that."

Sexual heat flared in his dark gaze. His voice dropped lower stil to an inflamed growl. "Yeah?"