Bad Boy (Invertary 5)

She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when a loud whoop came from the pool. One of the Ball Babes decided she wasn’t getting enough attention and took off her bikini top. She swung it above her head as she jumped up and down in the water, ensuring everybody present got an eyeful of her foam-covered tits—including the kid.

Flynn groaned as the mini-terrorist’s eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped. She pointed at the girl and shouted. “I can see her boobs!”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Abby’s clipped upper-class tones cut through the laughter.

He didn’t need to look at her to know she was oozing disapproval. Where he was concerned, Abby always oozed disapproval. Flynn’s chin dropped to his chest. He could not get a break. He took a deep breath, let out a sigh and turned his head to the ice queen.

And stopped dead.

Flynn’s easy charm faltered and his heart stuttered. The sight was not what he had expected. Abby had transformed. Gone was the calm, controlled demeanour he was used to dealing with. In its place was a wild woman. Her hair was flying, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with fury. The ice queen had melted. Flynn felt his shorts tighten with raw hunger at the sight of her replacement. For the first time in months he got a glimpse of the passionate woman he’d spotted at his uncle’s funeral. He’d known she was in there somewhere. The sight made him want to grab her and hold on tight.

At least it did until he spotted the knife in her hand.

Flynn struggled to his feet, holding his weight on his good leg. He held out his hands in a placating gesture. Behind him the voices were deadly silent.

“Now, Abby, don’t do anything rash.”

Her eyes flashed at him before scanning the scene in front of his motorhome. Picnic tables were covered in empty beer bottles and discarded food. The grass was littered with trash. The giant inflatable pool overflowed with bubbles as three Playboy Bunny wannabes stared wide-eyed at the wild woman. Aye, so it didn’t look good. It wasn’t his fault. He had too much on his mind to keep the place tidy. As for the women...he shook his head. Okay. There was no excuse for them.

The tiny terrorist’s arm shot out. She pointed straight at Flynn. “He said he didn’t want me at his party.”

“Tattletale,” Flynn grumbled at her, and she stuck out her tongue.

With an irate wail, Abby stormed into his RV. There was a loud crash and the music stopped dead. Well hell, that wasn’t good. A moment later she appeared looking even crazier than seconds before.

Her lips thinned, her gaze focused on the pool and she strode purposely towards it. Flynn rushed to get into her path, but tripped over his weak leg. Michael’s hand shot out to grab him before he hit the dirt. The defender thrust Flynn’s walking stick into his hand. Flynn looked at it in disgust before turning his attention back to Abby. He was too late to stop her. He could only watch in shocked awe as she repeatedly stabbed the inflatable pool.

The Babes screamed, high-pitched and girly. The noise made him wince. They scrambled out of the side of the pool furthest away from the mad woman. As the pool deflated and water flooded the field, Abby whirled towards Flynn.

“Now, don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Flynn’s eyes were on the knife.

She let out a seriously scary screech as she caught sight of the topless woman sneaking towards the RV. “You!” She pointed at the half-naked Babe. “Get dressed. Get some self-respect. Stop flashing yourself at mindless men. Do something with your life.”

The Babe gasped before running into the RV. She’d wisely decided to do what the woman with the knife ordered.

Abby spun to him. “You!” She closed her eyes for a second while she worked to control her breathing.

Flynn watched her closely as he willed her success. Control would be good. Really good.

“You,” she said again, “will stop playing loud music.” She took a step towards him. Her whole body vibrated with fury, making him notice the curves under her prim, yet seriously sexy, dress. “You won’t shout in the middle of the night. And neither will your friends. You won’t rev engines. Or scream. Or bang around. You will remember that normal people sleep at night and remain respectfully silent.” She took another step, making Flynn’s eyes drop to her feet. She was wearing drop-dead sexy heels. They were nude coloured, with a peep-toe that flashed her pale pink nails. He shook his head. What the hell? There was a crazy woman with a knife and he was admiring her feet. He needed to cut back on his pain meds.

She pointed at him. With. The. Knife. “You will stop messing the place up. You will stop throwing orgies in plain view of the neighbours. You will be mindful of the child living next door to you.”

Said child gave him a smug smile. He rolled his eyes at her.

Abby stepped closer until he could see the gold flecks in her blazing hazel eyes. “You will stop being an inconsiderate, immature, misogynist moron and grow up. You will do this right now. This minute.” Her eyes narrowed. “And if I hear one more peep out of you, or your friends, you won’t be pleased with my reaction. Do you understand me?”

For the first time since the tackle that’d destroyed his career, Flynn felt his interest in life spark. No. His interest in Abby sparked. A slow smile curved his lips as his hand snapped out to curl around her wrist. She jerked with shock. He held the hand clenching the knife as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“You are seriously sexy when you’re mad.”

Her back went ramrod straight. “This isn’t a game, Mr Boyle. My patience with your childish antics, and inconsiderate behaviour, has reached its limit. I won’t tolerate it anymore.”

“I know.” He squeezed her wrist, making her drop the knife.

He could almost feel his teammates’ shoulders slump with relief. Flynn ignored them as he held Abby’s gaze with his. They stared at each other for a millennium, as Flynn wallowed in the passion and heat glittering in her eyes.

“Mr Boyle...” she started, but he noticed a waver in her voice, born of the awareness sparking between them.