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“Yeah, I’m gonna need it.”
Jen said goodbye and laid the phone on her bedside table. She stared up at the ceiling, mulling over her options. While the idea of a fling with Zach made her heart race, she didn’t think she could pull it off. Better relegate that idea to the realm of fantasy.
But that didn’t mean she was giving up. She’d find some way to make her father see she was serious about living life on her own terms.
As soon as she figured out exactly what those terms were. She glanced again at the calla lily above her breast. The tattoo was a nice start. But her father was right—it looked out of place with her leotard. And most of the rest of her clothes weren’t cut to show it off to advantage.
Okay, then the next step was obviously a new wardrobe. She had some money saved, and charge cards. Time to buy some of the things she’d admired in stores but hadn’t had the guts to wear before. Now, what should she buy?
She remembered the leather halter Theresa had been wearing. Her new tat would look fantastic with something like that. But she’d left the tattoo shop without getting the card for the store. She smiled. “Guess I’ll have to make another trip to Austin Body Art.” She’d ask Theresa for some clothes-shopping advice. And if Zach happened to be there, maybe she could flirt with him a little. Just to see what happened next….
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ZACH WAS FINISHING AN elaborate design on a customer’s back while another artist, Scott, worked on a college girl, when Jen returned to the shop. The sight of her silhouetted in the sunlight in the doorway set every nerve in Zach’s body on red alert. She was wearing a dancer’s leotard and tights and a short, wraparound skirt that showed off every curve and muscle of her petite body. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“I wanted to see Theresa.” She walked into the shop and looked around, those gray eyes flickering over him.
“She’s not here.” He forced his attention back to his work.
“When will she be back?”
“I don’t know. She went to lunch.”
“I’ll wait.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her walk past. She moved with a dancer’s grace, her back a long, elegant line. He followed her with his eyes, distracted from his work and annoyed that he would let a woman do this to him.
“Maybe I can help you with something.” Scott looked up from the transfer he’d just applied to a coed’s ankle. A young, lanky blonde, Scott fancied himself a lady-killer.
“That’s okay. But thanks.” The smile she gave Scott made Zach tighten his grip on the tattoo machine. He didn’t miss the way Scott looked at her.
“How’s the tat?” Zach asked. If she had a simple question about that, he could get rid of her quickly.
She put a hand to the tattoo. “It’s great. Theresa did a beautiful job.”
“Let me see.” His customer, a beefy kid who played tackle for the University of Texas Longhorns, grinned and motioned her over.
She walked toward them, hips swaying, and leaned over, giving them both a great view of her cleavage. Her breasts weren’t very large, but they were nice and round, with pert nipples that pressed against the thin fabric of the leotard. Zach got hard watching her, while the customer all but drooled. “That looks great,” the kid said, his eyes almost bugging out of his head.
“Hey, watch it!” The guy flinched and shot Zach an angry look.
Scott laughed and Zach glared at him and shut off the machine. “Sorry. Didn’t realize I was bearing down so hard.” It was difficult to concentrate on his work with Jen so near.
She smiled and touched the tribal band etched around the customer’s bicep. “You have some very nice tattoos, yourself.”
When she reached out to touch the guy, it took all of Zach’s self-control not to shove her hand away. As it was, the kid was puffing up like a muscle-bound toad, ogling her as if she was a particularly juicy fly.
“Did Zach do all the work?” Her gaze flickered to him again as she asked the question.
The kid nodded. “Oh, yeah. Zach is the best.”
“Yes, he is the best, isn’t he?” Her smile made him hotter than ever.
“You told me you were the best!” The coed pouted at Scott.
“I do the best butterflies,” Scott said soothingly. “Now lie back and relax.”
Zach started up the machine again and returned to etching the feathers of a highly stylized eagle. Jen leaned over to watch him. “That’s gorgeous.”
The kid grinned. “Really slick, ain’t it? People that know tats know Zach’s work. No one else does anything like this.”
“Zach is definitely a talented artist.”
He tried to ignore the flush of pride that swept over him at her words. What did he care what this ballerina—or whatever kind of dancer she was—thought? “Why do you want to see Theresa?”
She straightened. “I’m hoping she can give me some advice.”
He almost laughed. His sister as Dear Abby? Hardly. “What kind of advice?”
Jen sat in a low-slung leather chair and crossed her long legs, the poor excuse for a skirt sliding up her thighs. The customer leaned forward, his mouth gone slack. Zach squeezed the kid’s shoulder, not too gently. “Sit up straight.”
He forced his own gaze back to his work, determined not to let her get to him. “What kind of advice?” he asked again.
“I’m trying to change my image.”
“I thought the tattoo was supposed to do that.”
“It was a start, but I need to do more.”
“Didn’t shock the old man enough yet, huh?”
She sat up straighter, her cheeks flushed. Bingo. He’d read her right, then. “I’ll admit, I want my father to see me differently. But I’m doing this for me, too. Moving to Chicago is a chance for me to start over, with a new image. Reinvent myself.”
“I thought your old man wasn’t going to let you go to Chicago.”
“He’s still against it, but I’m going to change his mind.”
She sounded so determined. But Zach wouldn’t have bet against Grant Truitt. “Why not just go, and the hell with what daddy says?”
“Yeah, why not do that?” the kid chimed in.
She frowned. “Because he’s promised if I do, he’ll contact some influential friends who owe him favors and they’ll put pressure on the dance company to kick me out.”
“He’d really do that?” the customer asked. But Zach already knew the answer to that question. Grant Truitt did whatever he damn well pleased. Before the “Clean Up Sixth Street” hoopla had died down, he’d been a frequent figure on the local news, pledging to rid Austin of “less desirable” elements. If the mayor hadn’t turned his attention to the more pressing issues of budget shortfalls and his chief aide’s involvement in a minor scandal, Chief Truitt and his minions would probably still be frequent, unwelcome visitors to the neighborhood.
“My father wouldn’t see anything wrong with forcing me to stay in Austin, because he’d see it as ‘protecting’ me,” Jen explained to the kid.
“So what makes you think you can do anything to change his mind?” Zach asked.
She sat back and smoothed her hands along the arms of the chair. She had nice hands, with graceful fingers and neatly trimmed nails painted a shell pink. He wondered what those hands would feel like on him. Would she be tentative? Or more assured?
“I don’t know what I’m going to do just yet, but I’ll think of something. The important thing is that, from now on, I’m going to live my life the way I want to live it, and stop worrying so much about what he or anybody else thinks.”
“Your old man sounds like a real prick.” The kid came out of his lust-crazed stupor long enough to comment.
Zach agreed, but it didn’t seem the thing to tell a woman her father was a prick, even if he was.
“He just…gets ideas in his head and won’t let them go.” She shrugged. “I think he still sees me stuck as a ten-year-old, needing Daddy to look after me. It would be sweet if it weren’t so annoying.”
Zach thought there was nothing sweet about her father, but that was probably a matter of perspective. “I don’t see how you think my sister’s going to help you.”
She smiled again and her eyes met his, the look of determination in them was stunning in its intensity. “She looks like a woman of the world. I figure maybe she can give me some tips.”
Tips about what? he wondered. Then again, maybe he didn’t really want to know what this woman was up to.
3
AT FIRST, THERESA COULDN’T believe what this chick was asking her. “I want you to help me create a new image,” Jen said. “I’m ready for a big change.”
She would have laughed out loud if the blonde hadn’t looked so serious. In fact, ever since Theresa had returned from lunch and Jen had followed her into the back room of the shop, Jen had acted like she was on a mission of life or death. “So why are you asking me for help? You’re the only one who can know what you really want.”
Jen nodded. “That’s true. But I don’t have any idea where to begin. Where to shop. What really goes together and what just looks like I’m trying too hard.”
“And I look like a fashion expert?” Theresa glanced down at her everyday outfit of jeans and leather top. Call it biker chic. “What kind of a look are you going for?”
“Something…a little daring. Sexy.” A sly smile stole over her face. “Maybe even a little dangerous.”
Theresa chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Dangerous? With all that long, blond hair and those cute little pink tights, Jen looked as though she ought to be on the cover of All American Girl or Cheerleaders Monthly. She practically oozed wholesomeness.
Then again, something about her had really gotten to Zach. He’d been pretty shook up while she was here yesterday. Too shook up to do her tat. All he’d said when he’d come into the back room was, “There’s a woman out front who wants this tattoo.” He’d handed her the sketch of the calla lily. “I’ve got her prepped. You just need to finish her up.”
She had looked up from the supply order she’d been unpacking, surprised at the unusual request. Zach always finished the tats he started. “If you’ve got her prepped, why don’t you finish her?”
He’d avoided her eyes. “I just think she’d be, you know, more comfortable with a woman working on her.”
She’d seen through that pretty quickly. What he really meant was that Zach would be more comfortable with Theresa doing this particular tattoo for this particular customer.
Yeah, blondie here had gotten to her brother in a big way. So maybe she did have a hidden sex appeal not obvious to another woman. Who would have thought?
“Why the sudden urge to change your look?”
Jen flushed, which only put more peaches in that peaches-and-cream complexion. Just looking at her made Theresa want to run to the ladies’ room and put on more eyeliner and red lipstick.
“You offered me a card for the woman who sold you that vest you had on yesterday, so I figured you probably know other cool places to shop. As for why now…” She shrugged. “I’ve always admired sexy things. Now that I have a cool tattoo, maybe I can pull off the look.”
“And that’s all there is to it? This has nothing to do with my brother?”
Jen’s blush deepened. “Nothing. What makes you think this has anything to do with Zach?”
“Maybe because the two of you couldn’t keep your eyes off each other when you were in here yesterday.”
Jen looked away. “Yeah, well, I know he’s your brother, so maybe you hadn’t noticed, but he’s really hot.”
“Apparently so, if all the women hanging around here are a clue.”
Jen’s face fell. Really, she was so transparent. “Does he have lots of girlfriends?”
Theresa did laugh then. “Not exactly. Lots of women who’d like to get him in the sack, but, believe it or not, he’s pretty picky.” She couldn’t remember the last time Zach had had what you could call a steady relationship. Not that they stuck their noses in each other’s business, but she had to think the whole “lone wolf” routine got old. Zach was a really nice guy. He deserved a woman who could look past the leather and chains and see that.
But was Little Miss Muffet here that woman? “He had some kind of reaction to you yesterday. He’s never asked me to finish a tat for him before.”
“Really? I mean, not that that means anything. Does it?”
Good question. Could it be that her brother, a Harley-riding, leather-wearing, long-haired dude with a badass attitude, had fallen for this poster child for sweetness and light?
The idea would be ludicrous if it weren’t so intriguing. Maybe what her badass bro really needed in his life was a little more sweetness and light. The trick was to deliver all this wholesome goodness in a package he couldn’t possibly resist.
“What are you willing to do to change your image?” she asked.
“Anything,” Jen said. “Well…within reason.”
“My idea of reason and yours may not be the same.”
Jen smiled, and her eyes lit with unexpected mischief. “That’s exactly why I came to you.” She leaned forward, her tone confidential. “I need a little help bringing out my wilder side. I was hoping you could give me a few pointers.”
Miss White-Bread America had a wild side? This, Theresa had to see. She grabbed up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “All right, you’ve convinced me. I’ll help you get started, but the rest is up to you.”
“It’s a deal. And thank you.”
“Wait and see what happens before you thank me. Are you ready?”
Jen nodded eagerly. “I don’t want to waste any more time.”
“Then come with me.” She headed toward the door.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going shopping. We’re going to discover if there really is a wild woman hiding inside that mild-mannered disguise of yours.”
ZACH WAS TICKED OFF WHEN Theresa left the shop almost as soon as she was back from lunch, dragging Jen with her. “Since when did shopping constitute an emergency?” he asked Scott.
“That’s just chicks for you.” Having sent the coed on her way, he was kicked back in the tattoo chair with a magazine.
This wasn’t just any chick they were talking about. This was his sister, who was referred to in certain circles as the Black Widow because of her take-no-prisoners approach to relationships. How was it that she was suddenly best buddies with a woman who had probably been her high school’s homecoming queen?
Not that he cared who Theresa had as a friend, but the thought of seeing Jen Truitt around here on a regular basis didn’t sit well. Not only did she play hell with his concentration, but wherever she went, her überconservative father couldn’t be far behind.
So, yeah, he’d been annoyed. But now, four hours later, he was inching toward furious. The shop had been busy all afternoon, and after Scott had left for his second job as a bartender, Zach had had to handle the crush by himself, while Theresa and Jen were out doing who knows what.
No way would two men spend four hours—or even four minutes—shopping. Drinking beer, playing pool, watching the game—those were all possibilities. But only a woman would think cruising the mall was fun.
The bell over the door sounded and he looked up, about to tell the newcomer he was closed, but he clamped his mouth shut when he saw Theresa and Jen, their arms laden with boxes and shopping bags. “Wait until you see what we got,” Theresa said, dropping her pile of purchases on the counter in front of him.
That was another thing—why did women always want to show you what they’d bought? As if he was interested in seeing five pairs of shoes and a “darling” skirt.
“I don’t want to see what you bought. Where have you been? The shop has been swamped all afternoon.”
“So if you and Scott couldn’t handle it, you should have told people to come back tomorrow.”
That was Theresa. Her motto was No Apologies. She added Jen’s bags to the pile on the counter. “Ignore my grumpy brother,” she told the blonde. “Or, better yet, you talk to him while I run to the back for a minute.”
When they were alone, Jen said nothing at first, just looked at him with those luminous gray eyes. He glared back at her, but she didn’t even flinch. In fact, she smiled, a look as warm and sweet as hot fudge. Who stood a chance against a smile like that?
“The tat you drew for me is so gorgeous I wanted to get some new clothes to show it off,” she said. She reached into one of the bags on the counter and pulled out a froth of red satin and lace. She held the impossibly tiny top up in front of her. “What do you think?”
He stared at the swath of red draped across her breasts and thought he was in serious danger of melt-down. “Is that supposed to be a top or underwear?”
“It’s a top. But I have underwear, too.” Before he could stop her, she reached into another bag and pulled out a pair of white satin bikinis. Very tiny bikinis with bows at the sides. He had a sudden vision of his hand sliding up her thigh to take these same panties off.
He made a fist. He was going to have to do something about this overactive imagination of his. “What makes you think I’m interested in seeing your underwear?” he growled.
She flushed. “I never said you were.” She peered at him through slightly lowered lashes. “Are you?” Her words were innocent, yet the look in her eyes was anything but. She met his gaze full-on, and let him know she was on to him. The heat that passed between them was enough to scorch paper, and only his own well developed sense of self-preservation kept him from leaning across the counter and crushing her to him.
“What kind of a game are you playing?” he demanded.
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I didn’t even know you yesterday and now you’re showing me your underwear.” He crumpled up the pair of panties, intending to throw them back at her. The silk slid through his fingers, cool and sensuous. It felt like the skin of her breast, where he’d touched her yesterday.
“I just wanted to get your attention,” she said.
“Why?” Why would a woman like her look twice at a man like him? Why wasn’t she chasing after some all-American banker from the right side of town? Someone who fit into her bland, middle-class world better?
She leaned across the counter, toward him, her eyes still locked to his. But now there was a softness in her expression he hadn’t seen before. “Because I like you, Zach. I want to get to know you better.”
He wanted to get to know her better, too. A lot better. But only in a physical sense. He wasn’t about to let this woman mess with his head.
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to play with fire?” he asked.
“They did.” Her voice was soft, seductive. “But then, I’ve decided to stop listening.”
“You’d better listen now.” The words came out as a growl. “Go back and play in your nice, safe neighborhood before you end up in big trouble.”
She gathered up her purchases and smiled at him. “I don’t know, Zach. You might be the one in trouble. When I really want something, I don’t let anything stop me.”
She turned and walked out of the shop, her hips swaying, her laughter drifting after her and settling over his senses like a caress. He clamped his mouth shut to keep from calling after her. Jen Truitt was danger with a capital D. Not because of her dad. Not because she was such a seeming innocent. No, the reason Jen Truitt made his stomach knot and his palms sweat was because whenever those eyes of hers looked at him, he had a feeling she was seeing things he didn’t want people to see—the stuff inside him he kept to himself. If people didn’t know the real you, then they couldn’t hurt you, could they?
But Jen—Jen might be one who could hurt him. Down deep, where it counts.
TELLING THERESA IT WAS payback time, Zach took off work early and headed to his favorite brewpub for dinner. A different kind of hunger nagged at him—one that wouldn’t be satisfied with a burger and brew. The feel of Jen’s silk underwear sliding through his fingers still haunted him, conjuring up erotic images of the two of them naked.
Why her? He liked women who were more unconventional. Women who didn’t care for others’ opinions any more than he did. Women who didn’t demand too much of a man.
But Jen Truitt would demand a lot, he was sure of it. Women like her—upper-crust, pampered, who had had life handed to them on a plate—expected a man to come running whenever they crooked a finger.
He definitely wasn’t that kind of man.
The waitress, Candy, came to take his order. She put one hand on his shoulder and leaned toward him, giving him the full effect of her tight, low-cut T-shirt. “How’s my favorite tattoo artist?” she asked, flashing a hundred-watt smile.
“Better now that you’re here.” He looked her up and down. Candy was more his type. You didn’t have to worry about complications with a woman like her. She took what she wanted and trusted you to do the same, with no keeping score or expecting anything permanent.
“I get off in a couple hours.” She trailed her fingers along the back of his neck. “Want to give me a ride home?”
He tried the idea out in his head. Candy would provide a welcome distraction from his current worries, not to mention relief from the hard-on he’d been walking around with for two days. But the prospect didn’t do anything for him. “Thanks, sugar, but I think I’ll have to pass.” He handed her the menu. “Just bring me a guacamole burger and fries.”
She straightened, disappointment clear on her face. “You want a beer with that?”
“Just a Coke. I’ll probably help Theresa close up tonight.” Not that one beer would affect him much, but the last thing you needed when faced with an intricate tat was any kind of buzz.
One burger and half a dozen suggestive hints from Candy later, he left a fat tip and walked back out to his bike. Maybe he’d take a ride around the lake to clear his head before he went back to the shop. It would serve Theresa right to have to handle things by herself a while longer. But as he was reaching for his helmet, a voice behind him said, “Jacobs, I want to talk to you.”
His already bad mood got darker when he turned and saw Police Chief Grant Truitt. A big man with an even bigger opinion of himself, Truitt stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his thick, gray brows drawn together in a scowl.
“If I’d known you were waiting, I’d have ordered dessert,” Zach said.
Truitt moved to stand beside him. “Have you been drinking?”
“No.” He managed to sound unconcerned, though inside he seethed. He shoved the helmet onto his head.
Truitt’s scowl deepened. “Care to take a Breathalyzer test?”
“Why waste the taxpayers’ money? Ask my waitress if you don’t believe me.” He swung his leg over the bike and settled onto the seat.
“You can’t leave when I’m talking to you,” Truitt barked.
“Watch me.” He turned the key, and the Harley’s engine roared to life.
Truitt stepped off the curb, directly in front of the bike. Zach wouldn’t be able to move without running him down. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Zach shouted.
Truitt shook his head. “Shut off the bike!”
Zach switched off the engine. “What’s your problem, Truitt?”
“I came here to talk to you about Jennifer.”
He’d known as much, but even so, the sound of her name made his stomach tighten. “What about her?”
“Stay away from her.”
Gladly, he thought, but he wouldn’t ever give Truitt the satisfaction of thinking he agreed with him. “I think it’s up to her to decide whether or not she wants me to stay away.”
“You listen here!” Truitt grabbed him by the arm.
Choking on rage, Zach tried to jerk away, but Truitt held him tight. How long would they throw him in jail for if he struck an officer? he wondered. And what would they do to him while he was there? Oh, but it was so tempting.
Zach’s gaze burned into the older man’s gray eyes. Eyes the same shade as Jen’s, but harder, colder. “I think you’re out of line, Chief.”
Truitt released him and took a step back, as if he, too, was struggling to control his emotions. “I’m not here as an officer of the law. I’m here as Jennifer’s father. Jennifer is a good girl. She’s smart and talented. You don’t have anything to offer her.”