Having Her: Lies We Tell, Book 2 (4 page)

“Unless you’re offering yourself of course…”

Vin cursed, passing the T-shirt over his forehead again before throwing it over one shoulder.

He didn’t want to be thinking of her like that.

She thought she projected this tough image, but he knew she wasn’t as tough as she seemed. He’d sensed the vulnerability beneath. He didn’t know what she was protecting herself from, but he knew it was there nonetheless. A warning enough for him to keep away from her because smart aleck, snarky, vulnerable women weren’t anyone he’d touch with a barge-pole. Oh no. He liked his women strong and able to take care of themselves. Mainly so he didn’t have to.

“Yeah there is.” Hunter folded his arms. “You’ve been in a shitty mood for the past couple of days. What’s up? Don’t like Ellie going?”

Well, no, of course he didn’t like Ellie going. His sister would be leaving for Tokyo to take up a new job in a month and while a part of him didn’t like she was going away, another felt relieved. For the first time in years she’d actually be where Lillian couldn’t reach her.

“I can handle Ellie going.”

“So what is it?” Hunter frowned. Then, as if he’d read Vin’s mind, “Lillian?”

Vin was tempted to say yes, it was Lillian. Because most of the time that’s what it was. The whole of his early life had been formed around his mother’s schizophrenia and the departure of the prick who’d called himself his father. And whenever there was a problem, it was usually due to Lillian having another episode. And Vin having to take care of it.

But today Lillian was having another stint in hospital and Vin was relatively free from the constant worry that always dogged him when his mother was living in the community again.

“No, not Lillian.” Vin had never thought of his mother as Mum. Or even Mother. Because she’d never been a mother to him. She’d only ever and always been Lillian. “It’s nothing. Work.” He didn’t want to get into a discussion with Hunter about Kara, not when he was having difficulty with it himself.

But his friend’s dark eyes missed nothing. “A woman?”

Vin gave him a narrow stare. “Don’t you have something better to do? I’m still chasing a couple of council consents, for example.”

“So yeah, it’s a woman.”

“Oh for Christ’s sake.” Vin turned and went over to where a water bottle had been balanced on a sawhorse. He picked it up, suddenly desperately thirsty, taking a long drink.

“Hey, I don’t give a shit what your problem is,” Hunter said levelly. “But sort it out, okay? The attitude isn’t helping maintain a good on-site atmosphere.”

“Since when have you been interested in a good on-site atmosphere?”

Hunter let out a breath. “Since you did that site management course last year and wouldn’t shut up about it.”

Shit. He had no comeback to that since his friend was right. On both counts. Yeah, he was being a prick and yeah, it didn’t make for a good working environment. He liked to feel he was in control and on the ball most of the time and hated when he wasn’t.

Maybe that was the source of his foul mood. The fact that Kara Sinclair had made him feel a little less in control than he normally was.

At that moment a silence fell on the site. An unnatural one.

Vin knew what it meant. Wolf-whistling wasn’t done these days, but when a hot woman walked by, all the guys fell silent watching her.

He turned and sure enough, a woman was making her way down the front path toward the building site.

Jesus Christ. It was Kara.

Today she wore what looked like a skirt from a school uniform, black plaid that came barely to mid-thigh, along with a tight black button down shirt. Her blue hair was in a high ponytail, a neat plain black Alice band holding it back from her face. Making the ring in her eyebrow and her silver nose-stud more noticeable. But what really made him stare was the fact that she was wearing suspenders and stockings again. Blue suspenders and black fishnets, and lots of golden skin.

He couldn’t seem to stop looking. She looked bloody weird. And also hot. Too fucking hot. The way his body responded to her made his foul mood even fouler.

Striding toward the front of the house and through the gap that was the front doorway, Vin planted himself on the front step, stopping her before she could enter the site proper. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he growled. “This is a hard-hat area.”

Kara rocked back on the heels of her lace up platform boots and folded her arms. Today her eyes were bright blue to match her hair. “Well hello, Vincent.” She gave him a smile. “Nice to see you too.”

Her mouth was wide, generous, glossy with some kind of candy pink lipstick that reminded him of sugar. He shouldn’t be looking at it but somehow he couldn’t help himself. “What do you want?” he demanded, unaccountably annoyed.

Kara lifted her chin. “I was after you actually. Your receptionist told me where to find you. But since you seem to be in as shitty a mood as you were a couple of nights ago, I think I’ve changed my mind.”

“Hey, Kara,” Hunter said from behind him. “What’s up?”

“Hi, Hunt. And nothing in particular. I’ve just got to go get a costume for NZ Con and need a guy opinion.”

“A guy opinion?” Vin didn’t really want to know. He didn’t. And yet something made him ask all the same.

“Yeah.” Kara’s smile widened. “I want to get something hot.”

“Something hot?” Again the question came out more as a demand.

Her gaze met his. “What are you? A parrot? Okay, so you know that little mission I’m on? The one we talked about when you picked me up a couple of nights ago? Well, I’m still on it.”

Oh Christ. So she hadn’t listened to a word he’d said, had she?

“What mission?” Hunter asked.

“I’ll handle this, Hunt,” Vin said tightly before Kara could respond.

Behind him, he could almost feel his friend’s surprise. But Vin didn’t turn. Kept his gaze firmly on Kara’s. She was still smiling, looking exceptionally pleased with herself for some reason.

“Be my guest.” Hunter’s voice was mild. “Say hi to Ellie for me, Kar.”

“Will do.” She cocked her head to one side as Hunter’s footstep faded and the sound of a circular saw started up. “You look annoyed, Vincent. Was it something I said?”

His irritation kicked up a notch but he didn’t let it show. He’d be damned if he let her get to him any more than she was already. Leaning one shoulder casually against the doorframe, he folded his arms. “So you’re still looking for a quick fuck, Kara?”

A stain of red tinged her cheekbones but she didn’t look away from him. “Must you be so crude? I prefer the term shag.”

“Fuck. Shag. Same thing, isn’t it?”

“True. So will you come with me then?”

“Why?”

“Like I said, I want a guy opinion. And since you’ve made it clear you’d like to vet my sexual partners, I thought you might want a say in the kind of costume I’m wearing in order to attract said sexual partners. I wouldn’t want to wear anything you might not approve of.”

She was playing with him, no doubt about that. And he didn’t appreciate it. Not one bit. “I don’t give a shit what kind of costume you’re wearing.”

“Really? You don’t? Oh, well then. There’s this one I’m thinking of getting. It’s nothing but a metal bikini. It’s going to be great. I’m sure I can—”

“Metal bikini?” He didn’t like the sound of that. At all.

Kara’s mouth curved in a smile that made something clench tight inside him. “Well, you know, if I want my mission to be successful, I have to look the part.”

“Like a hooker, you mean?”

“Sex worker, please, Vincent.”

“Kara.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“You think I told you all that stuff for fun?”

“The stuff about pre-approving my one-night stands? Oh no, I think you told me all that because you’re a controlling a-hole.”

Vin pushed himself away from doorframe, the lid he normally kept on his anger starting to slip. “I don’t give a shit what you think. I’m just trying to keep you safe. I’ve already got enough to worry about with Ellie, let alone you as well.”

“I didn’t ask for you to worry about me.”

“Too late for that, baby.”

Kara’s mouth went flat with annoyance. “Don’t call me baby, asshole.”

Oh, so finally something had gotten to her. He stared at her. “I’ll call you whatever the hell I please.”

For a second neither of them moved, and he knew the tension between them shouldn’t be there. And that all he had to do was turn away and it would vanish.

But he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do so.

It had been a long time since a woman had got under his skin like Kara bloody Sinclair had, and no matter how any times he told himself it was wrong, he couldn’t deny that he liked it.

Kara felt hot. Extremely hot. And it didn’t have anything whatsoever to do with the sun.

Vin stood on the top step of the of the half-built house and she couldn’t drag her gaze away from him. He wore a pair of denim cut-offs, a tool-belt slung around his lean hips, a hardhat and nothing else. And, God, he was beautiful. His torso was all sharply defined pectorals and abs, tanned and sheened with sweat. Over one brown shoulder was what looked like a T-shirt, and she badly wanted him to put it on because him half-naked was making it difficult to remember just what she was here to do.

You’re wanting to annoy him, remember?

Oh yeah, that was right. And from the expression on his face and the flame that burned in his eyes, it looked like she’d managed to do that, at least a little. Which would have satisfied her if she hadn’t then gone and lost ground by betraying her own annoyance over the baby thing, if she didn’t feel like she was burning up and couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

The costume, idiot.

“Fine,” she finally said in what she hoped was a level voice. “You call me baby, I’ll call you asshole and we’ll be even.” She gripped the strap of her bag. “So are you going to come and approve my metal bikini or not?”

Vin’s gaze didn’t waver. “You don’t want my approval, Kara. You just want to play games with me. And like I told you the other night, I don’t play games.”

Dammit. She didn’t want to lose this one, not after she’d spent all morning tracking him down and planning all the ridiculously porny outfits she was going to try on to really irritate the crap out of him. “You saw
Return of the Jedi
, right?” she said. “You remember Princess Leia at Jabba the Hutt’s castle? Wearing that tiny metal bikini?”

Vin shifted on his feet. “Yeah.”

“That’s what I’ll be wearing.” She put one foot on the front step and looked up at him. “That’s
all
I’ll be wearing.”

He glanced down and she saw him take in the hem-line of her little plaid skirt and how her stance had made it slide back, revealing more of her thigh. His gaze lingered there and she was conscious of a little burst of satisfaction. And excitement.

You like him looking at you.

Maybe she did. Maybe she liked it very much. And maybe she liked taunting him even better.

“So?” he said, the husky edge in his voice pronounced.

“Did I mention the slave collar I’ll be wearing around my neck?” she went on, letting her own voice get a little lower. “With a chain?”

Vin’s gaze flicked up to hers again and Kara felt her breath catch at the look in his eyes. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing, baby girl?” he murmured. “Because I’m not sure that you do.”

Baby girl. Patronizing bastard. And yet her mouth had gone dry, her heartbeat suddenly a hell of a lot faster than it had been before. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just telling you what kind of costume I’ll be wearing.” She licked her lips. Deliberately. Watched his gaze zero in on her mouth. “Or,” she added, “with any luck, the costume I won’t be wearing once I’ve found the lucky guy who can take it off me.”

Vin had gone very still. And for one single moment, Kara felt sure he was going to come down the steps and…and she didn’t know what really, but given the amount of adrenaline currently firing around her body, probably something pretty intense. And very exciting.

But when he moved it was only to pull his T-shirt around the back of his neck, gripping the ends of it in his fists. The hot look in his eyes had faded, the expression on his face becoming detached. Dismissive even.

“If you want me to keep my nose out of your sex life,” he said in a flat tone, “you’d probably better stop giving me updates. Now is there anything else you want? I’ve got a roof to get on by the end of the day.”

Kara had the sudden, strong urge to stick her tongue out at him. Or flip him the bird at the very least.

So much for her grand plan. If he wasn’t going to play ball she could hardly make him. And what did she care anyway? It wasn’t like she
really
wanted him to see her in that costume.

Especially when she didn’t know if she was going to get the costume anyway.

Are you kidding? After that? Of course you’re going to get the bloody costume.

Kara stared at him. At the cold look in his blue eyes. At the implacable set of his impressive jaw.