He answered in one and two-word sentences and did only what he was told to do. Not that Jesse could complain about the male’s stamina. Good night, but the Ravager had helped them complete the exterior of the house and a good bit of the interior as well.
They’d borrowed the clan electricians and plumbers, but all the heavy lifting had been done by Kellen, Jesse, and Logan.
Jesse didn’t know how he felt about Kellen being so familiar with the interior of his new home. If Kellen proved a threat, Prime would have him killed, so Jesse didn’t worry about safety, overmuch. But the house belonged to his pack, and Kellen wasn’t a part of that.
Except at times, he fit in like family. They didn’t need to talk as they worked, with either Logan, Jesse, or Kellen moving lumber and equipment or outfitting pipes at the direction of the experts. Kellen said more with his expressions with words anyway, and Jesse had come to read the familiar distrust and disdain the male had for him. Same as Jesse felt for the berserker.
Yet it wasn’t all dislike. Jesse didn’t know enough about Kellen to gauge how he really felt. He didn’t trust how Kellen looked at Kate and Logan. And he didn’t understand why he sometimes felt so comfortable around a male who just a short time ago had been his enemy.
After dinner that evening with Kate and Logan in their suite, he brought up the topic of Kellen, wondering what the others thought.
“You like him,” he accused Kate, waiting for her denial.
“I do.”
“You—what?” Jesse blinked and turned to Logan. “What the hell are you smiling at?”
“We both like Kellen,” Logan said. “I knew she liked him. I could tell when she sat with him that first day. There’s something about him that feels safe.”
Jesse felt the same and didn’t trust himself for it. “He’s Lawless.”
Kate shook her head. “No, he’s Kellen Savage. Jesse, you know what his life has been like. Hell, when I put my hand over his the other day, I could hear his heart racing. He didn’t do anything to increase the contact, but I sensed his craving for touch.”
Logan nodded. “He needs pack. I’m not sayingourpack,” Logan hurried to add before Jesse could argue. “But he needs healing. He’s hiding a lot of hurt. And he’s too careful. He won’t fully engage when he fights. Even when he brawls with Dante.” One of the few berserkers in the clan. “He holds back. I can tell.”
Jesse could tell too. “I don’t trust him.”
“Because he doesn’t trust us, he won’t let us in.” Kate pulled him in for a kiss he lovingly returned. “It’s not healthy for a Ravager not to fight or have sex. You know that.”
Logan sighed. “Yeah. When you were being so mean to us, I went two months without. About killed me, and I have a lot less aggression to channel. The big guy needs help.”
“So let Kyra, Sal, or Jag’s pack take him in.” Jag and four other males had formed their own pack a few years ago, not waiting on a female. Like a lot of other males, tired of the lack of Ravager women.
“Jag isn’t going to help him,” Kate said, being stubborn, as usual. “Kellen needs a female’s touch.”
Logan sighed. “I hate to agree, but she’s right. He’s softer around Kate. He talked to her. I think he’s got a thing for her.”
Jesse grumbled, “Everyone has a thing for Kate. Now that Diana’s off fixing her messed-up pack, every dick in this clan has turned to Kate to belong.”
“Not just me,” she said to him. “You two have become pretty popular too.”
“But I don’t want anyone but you and Logan.”
Logan raised a brow. “Liar.”
Jesse flushed.
Logan put an arm around Kate’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “We’ve been talking, and we see what you don’t want to.”
“What?” Jesse barked.
Kate shook her head. “So stubborn. You and Kellen spark, Jesse. Did you ever think you might be throwing all those dirty looks and barbs at each other because you have the right chemistry? Even Logan’s seen it.”
“Hell, it’s not my fault the guy walks around with a hard-on but does nothing about it,” Jesse grumbled. Because he’d noticed, but he’d thought that a side effect of Kellen not releasing his energy the right way. Not because he had a specific attraction to Jesse. “Besides, he’s always looking at Logan. Or you. I know you’ve been looking back.” And he should have been bothered about the fact, but he wasn’t.
Normal Ravagers liked to indulge in sex with each other, so long as their pack accepted the shared contact. But since bonding with Kate and Logan, he’d been possessive about his pack. But not when it came to Kellen.
She snorted. “I’m not blind. He’s hot. Of course I like looking at him. I like looking at you and Logan, don’t I?”
