Jack knew that his car was as tuned up as it could possibly get but there were a few things he wanted to tighten up and make sure were in order. Okay, so maybe he just needed to think about things, but he wasn't going to just sit around and not be productive while he thought through his shit. Jesus Christ. Never in a million years would he have guessed that it would end this way; with Brian six feet under while he still jumped around. But fate had a way of giving you the finger, and knock you down in a way you least expect it, didn't it?

Despite ensuring others he was doing alright, even after six months the whole thing still weighed down pretty heavily on him whenever those thoughts crept back into his mind, so the spacious garage that was attached to their new villa seemed like the perfect place to go to distract himself. He was glad that his schedule was mostly empty today, with everyone else doing their own thing because he wasn't in much of a mood for company right now.

Leaning over the engine of his car, a lit cigarette burning between his lips, he was tightening a few screws just enough when he heard someone come into the garage. However, he didn't look up for a few more moments until he heard a greeting.

Lifting his clear blue eyes from the engine, but without turning around, the racer only made a low noise of acknowledgment in the back of his throat before simply going back to work.

He knew he shouldn't be short with his present company, but right now he wasn't in much of a mindset to be all that social. Fuck, on top of everything else, he and sleep weren't even getting along well lately, and it began to show on his tired features.

If there was one place that Piper knew she'd find Jack, it was in the garage. It was were he spent a huge majority of his time and while some girls might feel slighted by the attention he paid his cars, the blond wasn't one of those chicks. In all honesty, she understood why he needed to be out there and did her best to make sure he had the space he needed. The thing was, worry was starting to take hold because he spent more time upright than he did vertical and it was starting to show on his handsome features. Understandable, yes, but still worrying.

Which was exactly what had her grabbing a couple beers out of the fridge and padding out to the garage in search of her lover. Finding him bent over one of his new "toys" the blond paused for a moment to enjoy the view before moving on into his retreat. She knew he knew she was there by the grunt he gave but wasn't surprised that he didn't turn around. He was obviously in one of his moods and that was the whole reason she had come to route him at the pass. Or at least try.

Letting her barefoot feet carry her across the distance, Piper slid up beside him at the car and set a cold beer upon the edge. Still dressed in the bathing suit she'd worn out to the pool with a sarong, the former dancer leaned on the edge and pretended to look down into the engine herself. Letting the moment settle, she didn't speak for a time as she tried to gauge where Jack was at in his head. Finally though, she lifted her own beer bottle and took a drink before breaking the silence. "Missed you this morning.... A girl could get a complex waking up so much alone." she noted softly.

"Missed you this morning.... A girl could get a complex waking up so much alone."

Not looking up right away when Piper eventually broke the silence, Jack finally finished his tweaking and tossed the wrench into the tool box. Outwardly, the racer was still stone-faced even as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, holding it between the second knuckles of his fingers, smoke rising from the cherry in a thin wisp to join the hanging haze while he grabbed the cold beer his girl had brought him and took a long drink from it.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep anymore, so...," he finally answered, his voice low and deep with the slight sandpaper rasp of two packs a day, plus fatigue, as he let it trail off, leaving the rest unspoken.

Putting the beer bottle down, the racer took a last drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out on the nearby workbench and turning to face the blond-haired beauty, wanting to smile but unable to at the moment. He did however drink her slender, barely clad form in slowly... he'd never gotten tired of that - never would. Christ, it was almost obscene how easily she could distract him sometimes. Drove him fucking crazy at the best of times.

Reaching out one hand, Jack hooked a finger into her sarong, pulling her into him until her breasts pressed against his muscular chest, the feel of her lithe form to his eliciting reactions in his body that made him feel far hotter than the racer ever would under the Monaco sun. Looking down on the beautiful blond, he tilted his head lightly to the side, lips parting a bit before a devilish smirk finally picked up the edge of his mouth.

"I would hope it'd take more than that for a girl like you to get a complex though," he said while his touch slowly smoothed a path over her hips and around to her ass, drawing her in that much closer.

"Looks like you're enjoying our new pool okay." His grin turned cocky, any previous thoughts he may have had having been put on the back burner.

For a long moment, Piper wondered if Jack was even going to answer her. He seemed to be so remote at times, she wondered what dark place held him captive. Then again, she suspected she knew and that was exactly what kept driving her to try and bring him back. Brian's death weighed heavily on the young racer and the blond only wished she knew how to ease some of that burden. She was smart enough, however, to realize that it was something Jack was going to have to work through on his own. Her help could only come when he truly was ready and not a moment sooner. Emotions had not logic, after all. They simply where what they were.

That didn't mean she couldn't do her best to distract him, though. That, she could definitely do and do well. Which was exactly why she'd chosen not to dress before heading out for the garage. Hey, a girl had to use what weapons she had to fight off demons that haunted her man, right? Right.

Shifting her weight, the former dancer worried on her bottom lip as she pretended to gaze down into the engine. The clang of a wrench being tossed in the toolbox didn't make her start but the sound of her man's deep rumble made her look up and study him. "Yeah, couldn't sleep anymore, so...," came the drawl even as it was accompanied by a draw off a smoke.

"Yeah... I know." she returned softly, watching as his eyes drifted over her form and hiding a satisfied smirk behind her beer bottle. Objective one achieved. She had his attention even if she didn't see a lightening to his demeanor.

When his hand reached out to latch upon the silk of her sarong, she willingly went into his embrace, lithe form pressing against the harder muscles of his frame. Licking her lips provocatively, Piper let her head tilt to the side even as she chuckled at his next words.


"I would hope it'd take more than that for a girl like you to get a complex though," he said while his touch slowly smoothed a path over her hips and around to her ass, drawing her in that much closer.

"Yes, well... now that we are rich and infamous, I was thinking maybe I should adopted one of those diva attitudes." she teased back, her soft southern accent rolling off rubied lips, a teasing note in every syllable. "Though, to be honest... those chicks seriously irritate me. It looks exhausting.. all that attitude they dish out. I think I much prefer just being me."

Letting her arms steal around his neck then, cold beer bottle still in one hand, the blond grinned. "Hell yeah I love that pool. Still think you should join me in it though... We could give the pool boy a heart attack." she noted, lacing her fingers through the back of his hair and standing on tip toe to nibble at his bottom lip, wanting to see more of that smile she loved so much. "and who wouldn't love their own pool when they can sunbath nude.." she continued, pulling back with a spark of mischief in her azure orbs. "To bad you had to work on your car..."

Her lithe form pressed against his bulkier one, Piper tilted her head some, close enough that Jack could feel her warm, sweet breath on his skin, the way her tongue moved provocatively over her full lips only serving to draw his gaze away from her eyes as she spoke.

"Yes, well... now that we are rich and infamous, I was thinking maybe I should adopt one of those diva attitudes. Though, to be honest... those chicks seriously irritate me. It looks exhausting.. all that attitude they dish out. I think I much prefer just being me."

Of course, she was teasing him as she often did, and an amused smile curled up one corner of his mouth because of it, breaking through the sandy stubble that was lightly dusting his jaws.

"Well... If you did adopt one of those attitudes, I don't think we'd get along anymore. Can't stand stick-up-the-ass bitches like that... Pardon my French...," he replied in the same teasing fashion, even as Piper twined her arms around his neck.

"Hell yeah I love that pool. Still think you should join me in it though... We could give the pool boy a heart attack."

The hand on his neck moved to curl into his hair, her lithe form lifting onto tip-toes to accommodate the difference in height some as her teeth nipped at his lower lip, working to elicit another reaction from him.

"and who wouldn't love their own pool when they can sunbathe nude... Too bad you had to work on your car..."

Again with the teasing. The blond beauty did love driving him up the wall. But while it was working like a fucking charm, it didn't mean he couldn't do the same to her, right?... or even crank it up a notch or two.

The racer made a small 'hmm' noise as if contemplating the blond's words. Truth be told he didn't need to think about it, and he didn't pretend to for long. Hands still latched onto her ass and their bodies close together, Jack pushed himself away from the sleek black car behind him and turned so that she was pressed against it now, his hands still on her hips and his body pressing her to the car's cool bodywork. Smile playing at the edges of his mouth, he leaned his head down near her shoulder, turning so his lips could brush against her ear.

"All work and no play does make Jack a dull boy...," he breathed, his voice low and intentionally smoky.

Not pulling away, his lips now moved lower to kiss a trail down her neck until he got to the sensitive part where it met her shoulder, scraping his teeth gently across it once he got there. Then, with all bad thoughts forgotten for now, the racer's face split into one of his wicked grins, and without much of a warning, his strong hands cupped Piper's ass and he lifted her up, feeling the muscles in his stomach bunch when her legs wrapped around his waist just before he strode purposefully out of the cool of the garage and into the Monaco heat toward the pool.

When Jack wanted something he took it, regardless of the consequences. Sometimes it got him in trouble, though in this particular instance he didn't think she'd mind. They were alike in that way, and in many others. Both were also stubborn as hell but, hey... that didn't matter at the moment.

Reaching the tiled edge of the pool, the racer didn't hesitate to jump into it with Piper still in his hold. The water cooled his rising body temperature only some when they soon broke the surface again, allowing them both to catch their breath. Watching a few droplets trickle down porcelain skin though, the racer dropped his eyes to Piper's lips, let his thumb run softly across them, and he couldn't help a smirk - both wild and wicked - from pulling at the corner of his mouth as he closed the inches between them and slowly claimed her mouth with his, dragging in a ragged breath through his nose at the detonations of sensation that exploded in his body as she met him with a force all her own.

Holy fuck she felt and tasted so good. His senses were filled with the heat of her mouth, and the kiss continued for what could have been twenty years for all he knew... before finally he pulled back just enough.

"Don't think I'll ever get tired of having you wet around me," he grinned.

It wasn't hard to understand why Piper had fallen for the man before her. Even haggard from the stress of life, he was still one of the most beautiful creations god had ever blessed the world with and all he had to do was looking at her to get her motor running. When he touched her? It was safe to say she wanted him like she'd never wanted anything else in her life. Had someone told her she could feel like this a year ago, she'd have laughed herself silly but she'd long ago given up fighting the pull, if she'd ever felt the need to begin with. While she couldn't have named just what it was about him that drove her so crazy, she knew her life was richer for having him in it. Since he'd barreled into her life, it was like she'd been living in color where her life before had been in black and white.

Especially when he grinned at her and cupped her ass, twisting to pin her against the smooth hood of the car. That wicked heat stoked an answering one in her middle even as she returned the look and then moaned as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "All work and no play does make Jack a dull boy...,"

Damn it, the man knew just what buttons to push, she thought to herself just before she found herself lifted and they were moving once more. Gasping softly, the blond locked her legs around his waist even as a laugh escaped her and her arms clutched his neck for security. "What are you doing, O'Conner?" she drawled out, eyes dancing at his actions.

Before she knew it, however, they were outside at the pool and she had a feeling she knew exactly what was coming. Eyes widening, she laughed even as her azure gaze met his darker ones. "You can't be..." she started only to shriek as he took a jump into the cool waters and sent them both to the liquid depths. Having time only to take a deep breath before the water enclosed them, she hung on for dear life until they bobbed to the surface and she could swipe her hair out of her face. When his lips claimed hers in a kiss, she forgot everything she'd been about to say, however, and simply wrapped herself more fully on to his strong frame.

Jesus, she loved this man, she thought absently when they finally came up for air and her eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice speaking once more. "Don't think I'll ever get tired of having you wet around me," Eyes softening at that confession, Piper smiled even as she rocked her body into his and felt the answering reaction of his. "Good. Cause its a permenant state I seem to be in with you as my man..." she teased back before claiming his lips in another kiss that put the Monaco sunshine to shame for heat. Letting her own hands do some exploring of their own, she ran soft palms down the hard muscles of his back before trailing into the back of his jeans. "And you know theres nothing I want a part of me more than you...." she admitted huskily even as she pulled him closer, meaning so much more than just the words she was speaking.

Then, without warning, she disengaged herself from his arms in order to step back and sink below the surface a bit. Eyes dancing with wicked amusement, she tilted her head before arching a brow at him in challenge. Lifting one hand out of the water, she tossed something across the distance before smirking and diving into the crisp water, inviting him to play her game. A game she was sure he wouldn't be able to resist when he realized he held the top to her bathing suit in his hands. Fulling expecting to feel his hands on her ankle, she headed for the shadowed side of the pool before coming up and glancing behind her. Even almost fully clothed, Piper knew it wouldn't take him long to catch her but since she wasn't truly trying to run, she savored the prospect of being caught.

The smallest touch, the most mundane interaction could go completely unnoticed with any other woman, but with Piper, any touch - innocent or not so innocent - may as well be gateway drugs and always left him jonesing for a full fix. A low groan slipped out of him involuntarily at the feel of her hips rocking provocatively against his own, the sensation only adding to the growing sense of arousal that had taken up base camp in his gut. Oh hell, she knew exactly how to play him like a damned fiddle, and he was surer than anything in the world that she could feel every hard inch of how much he wanted her pressed up against her belly through his jeans with the way she'd turned wicked eyes on him.

"Good. Cause its a permanent state I seem to be in with you as my man... And you know theres nothing I want a part of me more than you...."

While the idea of wanting her was a turn on, the idea of her wanting him just as much was so fucking hot it almost hurt even as she crushed herself back against him, her tongue pressing into his mouth while his own fought back playfully.

Spearing his fingers into blond locks, lost in the sensation of Piper's tongue sliding erotically against his own, the racer didn't even notice she was slowly pulling away until she'd disengaged herself and teasingly dipped herself a bit further into the water, her skin flustered from something more than the Monaco heat and her lips swollen from their heated kisses while her eyes invited him to play her game.

Trouble. The beautiful blond never failed to remind him why she'd been given that nickname. Not that he minded the kind of trouble she gave him, but still...

Catching the bikini top she tossed him, a slow smile crept to his face and the racer reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head even as Piper dove into the water. No sooner did she resurface and turn though, or Jack closed in on her, having discarded most of the rest of his clothing along the way as if they were an annoying companion from the day before.

Once he had her cornered, he backed her gently against the edge of the pool, leaving her with no route of escape as he placed his hands on the tiles on either side of her. An explosion over his head couldn't have torn his gaze from the blond beauty now. Her hair, almost gold in the bright Monaco sunlight, hung around her shoulders and softly brushed the swells of her naked breasts that were barely cresting the surface of the crystal waters, her nipples, already hard from arousal, pressing softly into his chest.

Raising a brow, the racer shook his head as if he disapproved of her temporary escape, but the light smirk on his lips was clearly present even as he lowered one hand back into the water to let it slide up her bare stomach so slowly that the muscles there shook and then stopped just below her breasts. Then, leaning in, his mouth easily found the pulse point behind her ear he knew made her wetter than the water in this pool.

"Still feel like running from me, beautiful?" he teased, his words a raspy growl and his voice heavy with his own need. All the while, his experienced hand began retracing routes, hooking her bikini bottom in his fingers on the way down and he pulled until the strings on the sides gave way and he tossed the small garment lightly to the side.


((OOC: I'll leave it up to you at what point you wanna fast forward/fade to black. I'm good with anything, so...))

Caught in her own game, the blond let her tawny lashed dip down and slanted him a sultry look through the thick frames as his body caged hers against the cool cement of the pool. Letting the tip of her tongue trace her lip, she intentionally moved forward, pressing her slender frame against his in challenge as his words rang between them. ""Still feel like running from me, beautiful?"

Oh hell no. Running was the farthest thing from her mind in that moment. Not unless it was straight to the nearest bed but that seemed to far to even contemplate at the moment. Especially when his fingers pulled at the strings to her bottoms and his lips traced a caress against the sensitive skin that begged for his touch. "oh... I assure you... I'm right where I want to be." she managed, voice husky with desire even as she felt the evidence of his own need press against her middle. "I want you, Jack..." she continued, barely a whisper as she wrapped her body around him and gave him what she knew they both needed. The feel of him sliding inside made her head drop back but she never feared going under because she trusted this man to catch her even through the most terbulant storms. Both in passion and in life.

A long while later, when they were both spent and they'd found their way back inside, Piper lifted her face from its spot on his chest to look into his face. For a moment, she was content to study him in the shadows, glad to see a bit of easing in his expression but knowing it would only be a brief thing. After ten months the former dancer knew her lover enough to know that the carefree man he presented to the world hide a man who felt things far deeper than he ever let show. It was one of the things that she so loved about him even as it frustrated her. Wrapping his thoughts up tight in his own head, she suspected it was a trait he'd shared with the older O'Conner sibling and she touched his face gently as she tried to find a way to work through that barrier.

Finally, she decided to do it with a confession she'd been holding on to for awhile now, having not wanted to put more pressure on the man when he was already struggling with things. "I love you, Jack...." she whispered, putting it out bluntly, without making excuses or playing the game that many women liked to play. "I love you and I'm worried about you. I know you don't want to talk about things but your scaring me. I feel like your slipping further away as every day goes by and I don't want to lose you. Unfortunately, I don't know how to help you if you won't talk to me either...."

"I want you, Jack..."

"I'm yours all the way, beautiful...," he murmered, unable to stop himself any longer when he pushed himself inside of her, his hands smoothing down her hips to hold onto her ass. The racer held her up and against him, the crisp water hardly cooling their overheated bodies wherever it touched even as their hips ground into each other, effortlessly finding that perfect, synchronous rhythm of carnal want and need together that would leave them worn out and more than content quite some time later.


Dusky light filled the living room of the villa they'd been calling home for a couple of months now, illuminating Piper's body in a bronze heat while at the same time keeping him partly hidden in the shade. His head resting on one hand, the other was still wrapped comfortably around her hip while she lay on top of him, fingers idly stroking over the smooth skin there. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a while now and a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth when Piper lifted her head from his chest and lightly touched his face, him being too at ease to realize that this was more than just a post orgasmic sign of affection.

"I love you, Jack...."

Her voice was soft, but the power of her words made his heart kick up in his chest. Surprising even himself, the racer lifted his own hand to her face and brushed her cheek softly with his knuckles. Fucking hell, she'd snuck into him like smoke and filled him so absolutely with her that he hadn't even realized he loved her too, until now. She steadied him in ways he didn't question. Before and now, it remained the same. He wanted her, and craved the peace she gave him whenever she was with him. But none of that had a chance to leave his lips when Piper decided she wasn't done dropping a bomb yet.

"I love you and I'm worried about you. I know you don't want to talk about things but your scaring me. I feel like your slipping further away as every day goes by and I don't want to lose you. Unfortunately, I don't know how to help you if you won't talk to me either...."

Conflict that he hadn't let himself think about, crept into his mind even as he lowered his hand. He didn't talk much about what was rattling around in his head. He never had. Christ, he still barely talked about what happened with Brian, the guilt for his death still troubling the younger O'Conner's mind. He knew she knew some of it, as she wasn't blind or an idiot, but he never talked about it if he could help it. Of course, Piper wouldn't be Piper if she didn't throw his head into chaos. He'd think things were going down one road, would be sure of it and then she'd throw in a hair pin turn, spin him around until he had no fucking clue which way he was going. And with the silence hanging heavily between them now that she'd said what was on her mind, he worried that he was suddenly about to snap.

Anger, grief, guilt, gratitude, love, all of it had coursed through him so hard and so fast in the last few seconds alone that his mind suddenly shut down on itself, protecting itself the only way it knew how by locking all of that shit down, the slight flare in his nostrils being the only indication that the beautiful blond was even getting to him on his otherwise shuttered expression.

"Keep telling you, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine... and I'm not going anywhere, okay?" he answered finally, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as if that would help put some truth to a few of his words.

The moment Piper spoke her words, she knew she'd messed up. The stiffening of his body told her he wasn't going to talk to her now any more than he had before. Practically vibrating from the wealth of emotions that he kept inside, the blond mentally braced herself for whatever outlet her lover might take to escape her questions. It had become an all to familiar routine over the last six months. Her pushing and him avoiding, each encounter upping both of their frustrations.

"Keep telling you, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine... and I'm not going anywhere, okay?" he answered finally, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as if that would help put some truth to a few of his words.

And .. yup, she was right. It was going to be the same this time. Not that it really surprised her.

"yeah... Ok." she finally returned, not knowing what else to say.

Blowing out a breath of her own, Piper dropped her head, not wanting him to read her expression. It was what it was and that was that. Like Dom said, she was just going to have to wait it out and hope for the best. If anyone would know, it was Dom right? She just wished it wasn't so easy for Jack to brush her off. It hadn't escaped her notice that he hadn't returned her sentiments and that fact effected her more than she wanted it too.

Deciding she needed a break, Piper pressed a quick kiss to his bare chest before rolling away. Sitting up, she reached for a silk robe that was dumped beside the sofa. Slipping it over her slim frame, she cast her lover a look over her shoulder. "I'm thirsty..." she told him quietly, offering a half smile before shaking out her long hair and padding barefoot towards the kitchen area.

Reaching the big fridge, she opened it but stared into the depths sightlessly for a long moment. A mixture of thoughts crossed her mind but before she could process any of them, her cellphone rang from the counter. Glad for the distraction, she glanced at the number and then frowned as she saw it was the clubs id pop up. A quick glance at the clock told her that business should be well under way and thinking there might be a problem, she answered it. A quick chat later and she was heading for the bedroom, troubles with Jack forgotten for the moment in favor of ones she could actually solve.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped back into the living room to find the tawny haired racer exactly where she'd left him. Fastening the back of her earring, she moved to looked down at him before sighing. "I've got to go to the club. Theres some problem with an order or something... I shouldn't be long.. Do you need anything while I'm out? " she asked, leaning down to give him a quick kiss before pulling back to study his expression.

By the time Piper returned to the living room, Jack had moved to sit on the same sofa she'd left him, sitting hunched over a bit with his elbows resting on his knees, holding a lit blunt pencil-wise in one hand between his index and middle fingers. He was still shirtless, though an old pair of ripped jeans had replaced the ones still left floating in the pool.

"I've got to go to the club. Theres some problem with an order or something... I shouldn't be long.. Do you need anything while I'm out?"

Drawing his tongue over his lower lip lightly, the racer took another drag from the weed, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment and then letting it slowly leave through his nose before exhaling the rest out on a breath, allowing the musty, sweet cloud to drift upwards to the ceiling in shifting shapes.

"Nah, I'm good," he returned finally, voice flat as he tapped the end of the blunt with his thumb to knock some ashes into the ashtray on the coffee table. Eyes moving back onto his woman, he caught sight of Piper's face as she leaned in for a quick kiss and they stared each other down for a hanging second, the beautiful blond with her barely suppressed frustration and the racer with nothing at all... or, at least nothing visible.

His jaws tensed as he waits to hear the front door close, and when the sound finally comes, a look of unbridled anger crept into his previously guarded eyes. The anger inside of him soon found a small outlet when his hand shot out to swipe the glass ashtray off the table, the thing shattering into a million pieces against the nearest wall only moments later. And then there was silence once again, punctuated only by the sound of his blood roaring in his ears, the storm in his mind hardly quenched as the racer scrubbed a hand over his face.

God. Fucking. Dammit.