Kenzie stepped inside the bar and looked around. Lacy had said they'd be here when she'd called looking for Lee, and, yep, there they were, Lee's bald head visible at the back of the room, his back to Kenzie as he sat at a round table with a number of other men. With a grin, Kenzie started towards the table, weaving thru the other patrons, ignoring the appreciative looks and whistles that followed her. Halfway there, the man sitting across from Lee, a blond giant with a scarred right cheek, looked up from his beer and met her eyes. Kenzie physically jolted at their blue intensity. A long dormant part of her sat up suddenly inside, blinking in the light. A voice deep down inside of her cried 'Mine'. Kenzie wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, but she imagined this is what it felt like. Her subconscious had looked into his and realized it was viewing it's other half, her soul mate. She'd never had such a visceral reaction to a man before. With a confidence she didn't feel, she raised her finger up to her lips, asking the blond Apollo for silence. Without acknowledging he'd even seen her, he lowered his eyes again.

Kenzie stepped up behind Lee, her presence not yet noticed, and rubbed the top of his head.

"Hey, Big Baldy!" She cried delightedly.

Lee's head snapped to the right, his instincts screaming to fight back even as his head told him there's only one person in the world who called him that. Seeing it was indeed who he hoped it was, Lee leapt to his feet.

"Kenzie! Ya little brat! How ya been?" Lee grabbed Kenzie into a bear hug and spun her in a circle.

The other men at the table traded quizzical glances and raised eyebrows, 'Big Baldy?'

Lee turned to the table; his arm slung around Kenzie's shoulders and grinned.

"Guys, this is my baby sister, Kenzie!" Beginning at his right and continuing counter-clockwise, Lee introduced the table.

"Kenzie, this is Barney Ross, Toll Road, Gunner Jensen, Hale Caesar, Yin Yang and Tool."

Nods and smiles exchanged, Barney leapt to his feet, "Here, Kenzie, take my chair", he said, offering her his seat and turning around to grab another. The guys shuffled sideways to fit the new space.

"So, you're Christmas's baby sister? How'd you get so lucky?" Caesar teased, making Kenzie laugh and Lee glower good-naturedly.

"What's Kenzie short for?" Toll asked shyly.

"My full name is Mackenzie Aurora-Marie Christmas. It's a mouthful, so I go by Kenzie." Kenzie grinned.

"Our parents got into the brandy before opening the baby name book." Lee grinned.

"Fuck off, doofus." Kenzie laughed.

"So what do you do for a living, there, sweetheart?" Tool asked, pouring on the charm.

"I work out of the Remington Gallery in New York, I appraise; buy and sell artwork; mostly paintings."

"I didn't know you'd be in the city tonight, kid." Lee interrupted.

"I didn't know myself until a few hours ago, had to stop at the Martin Lawrence before I head out tomorrow."

"Where you heading out to?" Toll asked.

"I'm flying out to Stockholm in the morning; there are some paintings there that my boss is interested in at the Wetterling Gallery."

Gunner perked up at the mention of his home country. He'd been trying to avoid looking at Kenzie so far. When his eyes had first locked with hers as she'd approached the table, he'd been physically jolted by her. A savage little man down inside of him had growled 'Mine,' and started scratching the floor of his cave with a sharpened stick, growling, 'mine, mine, mine,' over and over again. Gunner wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, but this sure the fuck felt like it. His subconscious had looked into her and realized it was viewing it's other half, his soul mate. Gunner had never had this visceral a reaction to a woman before and was finding it difficult to stop himself from leaping across the table at her. He thanked the shadows he sat in that hid the enormous erection he'd instantly, almost painfully gotten when their eyes had met.

It was taking all of Kenzie's concentration to avoid staring openly at the blond giant Lee had introduced as Gunner, she busied herself answering the questions the men threw at her, trying not to meet those shards of blue ice again; surely the next time she would falter, give away that her heart literally stopped when she looked at him. Thankfully, Kenzie saw, he didn't seem overly eager to meet her gaze again either.

The waitress appeared, "what can I get you, Hun? Are these boys playing nice with you?"

"They are, " Kenzie grinned," I'll just have a beer, what they're drinking. In fact, bring a round on me."

The boys cheered and raised their bottles at this, and Gunner snuck a fleeting look at the woman who'd managed to completely ensnare his heart within five minutes of meeting him; regardless of having not said a word directly to him yet, and immediately wished he hadn't. Kenzie was laughing at something Tool had said, her head thrown back, her delicate throat exposed, her mane of chocolate brown hair hanging softly down her back. She'd shown up in a cream coloured, ruched dress short enough to expose close to a full 12 inches of toned thigh, with sky high silver stilettos and a cropped leather motorcycle jacket with plenty of shiny zippers. Her huge, dark coffee-coloured eyes were positively sparkling with good humour, framed by impossibly long lashes, and upturned slightly at the corners, cat-like. Her heart-shaped face was a flawless peaches and cream. He'd seen on her approach to the table that she had a banging body, perfect for strutting down the catwalk at a Victoria's Secret fashion show, or on her knees in a string bikini on a sandy beach, posing for the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Gunner's jeans tightened as his cock strained further. Okay, he thought, gotta get rid of that; okay...Barney in a bikini, good, good, alright, Toll and Caesar spooning, better, okay, Tool playing helicopter, there, its gone, thank Christ. His gaze travelled upwards to Kenzie again, just as she lowered her head and smiled at him, full-on. Shit, there it is again, I'm fuckin' stiff as a rail spike.

Kenzie, having forgotten her earlier disquiet at meeting Gunner's eyes as she'd laughed at Tool looked directly at Gunner, a giggle still on her lips, causing her to smile widely at him and immediately regretted it. He was watching her, his gaze heated and his tongue just visible between his teeth, touching his sinfully full bottom lip. Holy shit, Kenzie thought, her heart skittering. Quickly, she looked away before she made a further fool of herself and threw herself into his lap, crushing her lips to his and sucking on that tongue.

"So, it looks like you got the looks in the family," Barney teased Kenzie, grinning.

"Ha ha, " Lee growled.

"So where does one go to school to become an art appraiser, buyer and seller?" Tool asked, clearly enjoying himself.

"I, uh, went to Yale, art history major." Kenzie replied, blushing.

"Full scholarship," Lee added proudly.

"The brains, too." Barney added, earning howls of appreciation from the guys and a snarl from Christmas.

The evening continued, the boys all teasing and joking with Kenzie, with the exception of Gunner, who was concentrating on simply surviving with his diginity intact.

"So, what's the most expensive painting you've ever sold?" Caesar asked.

"Most expensive? Um, well, last July I sold a Kandinsky for 21." Kenzie replied, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"Thousand?" Yang asked, confused.

"No, million." Kenzie clarified, her cheeks coloring further, only increasing Gunner's craving to cup her face with his palms and stroke her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Holy shit!" Toll exclaimed.

"21 million!" Caesar echoed.

"That doesn't happen very often," Kenzie added quickly. "My job isn't that glamorous."

"Sounds pretty good to me, flying off to Sweden, living in New York, selling 21 million dollar paintings..." Caesar grinned.

"It has its moments...hard to just slow down and relax though. You guys must know what that's like." Kenzie replied.

The guy's laughter faltered, they made it a point to keep what they did for a living concealed from close family.

Kenzie held up her hands placating, "I don't know the ins and outs, but I'm aware of Lee's skill set and can fill in the blanks with the rest of you. No disrespect."

The faltered laughter resumed as Barney reached over and gently touched his knuckles to Kenzie's cheek in a playful punch. Gunner ached to touch that same face.

"Definitely got the brains in the family." Barney laughed.

A few minutes later, confident he had his anatomy under control, Gunner stood and strode to the men's room.

Seeing her beer was empty, and the waitress busy at the bar, Kenzie got up and walked over, not noticing the admiring glances the Expendables favoured her backside with.

"Hey, are we running a tab over here?" Kenzie asked.

"Yeah, it's up to $325." The waitress answered.

Kenzie reached into her clutch, "here's $400, that should cover them for the rest of the night, please bring us another round, and here's for you, thank you." Kenzie passed an addition Benjamin to the surprised waitress, who smiled widely and promised she'd be over with their drinks immediately. Kenzie turned back and began walking back to the table, just as Gunner emerged from the men's room. Their paths converged midway to the table.

"Hey, you." Gunner grinned, surprising himself.

"Hey, back." Kenzie replied, her pulse racing. What the hell, she thought to herself. "Listen, I don't ever do this, but I'm staying at the Regency, in the Presidential Suite; tonight, if you want to stop by..."

Gunner's heart sang, "I should be able to come by," he grinned widely.

Stumbling slightly, colour flaring in her cheeks, Kenzie turned away from Gunner and returned to the table, Gunner following behind, trying not to smile too widely.

After finishing the latest round, Caesar yawned and stretched, "I should be getting home to the kids." Standing up, he offered his hand to Kenzie and grinned, "It was great meeting you."

"You too," Kenzie smiled back.

"Yeah, I should go too," Toll stood up.

"Me too," Yang agreed.

"Hard to handle your liquor when you're a midget," Gunner teased.

"Shut up, Gunner." Yang spat, then grinned. "Good night, Kenzie."

"Good night, Yang. Good night, Toll, it was great meeting you both." Kenzie replied.

Soon, only Lee, Tool, Barney, Kenzie and Gunner were left. Tool was in earnest conversation with a heavily tattooed man regarding lining up some more ink work. Lee's cell phone rang and he, with a deep breath, put it to his ear.

"Lace-" Obviously cut off, he stood and moved a few feet away.

Kenzie glanced shyly at Gunner, and was pleased to see he was watching her again with hungry eyes. Barney, noticing the heat between his blond sniper and Christmas's sister, grinned and leaned back in his chair. Lee turned back to them.

"Hey, I gotta go, that was Lacy; she's having trouble with the baby."

"I'm leaving too, I'll walk you out." Kenzie stood, smiling down at Barney. "It was nice to finally meet you, Barney, you stay safe; keep the boys safe."

"I will," Barney stood, opening his arms wide and enfolding Kenzie in his embrace.

"Are you leaving on a job soon?" Kenzie asked, glancing between the three men.

"Yeah, day after tomorrow; shouldn't be gone more than 10 - 12 days, max 2 weeks." Barney answered, and noticing Kenzie's concerned look, added, "Don't worry, this one's a cakewalk."

As they passed the bar, Kenzie met the eye of the waitress and nodded her thanks, receiving a wide smile in return. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Lee grabbed Kenzie in a huge bear hug.

"Sorry, Squeak; I was going to give you a ride, but I gotta run."

"That's alright, I'll call a cab."

"No, don't waste your money...Gunner, can you take Kenzie back to her hotel?"

"Uh, yeah...sure." Gunner replied lazily, expertly concealing his elation.

"Awesome, thanks. Take care of her." Lee grinned. "Call me when you're back in town, you've gotta come by and meet the baby."

"Yeah, definitely, say hey to Lace." Kenzie replied, blowing Lee a kiss as he pulled away on his crotch rocket.

"Look us up when you're around again, here, take Tool's card; stop by, someone's always around." Barney held out a business card to Kenzie, and moved towards his chopper. "You two play nice." Barney winked, firing up his bike and driving off.

"My bike's over here." Gunner motioned, walking towards it. Kenzie followed.

Swinging his leg over, Gunner handed Kenzie a helmet.

Tucking her clutch against her side, Kenzie zipped her jacket up and slipped the helmet on, snapping the clasp closed under her chin.

Gunner pulled the chopper upright off its kickstand, started it and glanced back at Kenzie. Kenzie delicately swung her leg over and tentatively gripped Gunner's waist.

"Ready?" Gunner asked.

"Yea-AHHH" Gunner twisted the throttle sharply, causing the bike to leap forwards and Kenzie to shriek, grabbing tightly onto Gunner's midsection.

"You did that on purpose!" Kenzie cried, thumping Gunner on the side.

Gunner rumbled laughter that Kenzie felt more than heard.

"Big monkey." Kenzie groused, causing more rumbling.

"So, the Regency, huh?" Gunner asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you know where it is?" Kenzie asked, unable to stop herself from tightening her arms around Gunner's waist and resting her cheek against his back. She didn't miss his sharp intake of breath, but she did miss his soft moan.

"I've been there a time or two..." Gunner grinned, eyeing Kenzie playfully over his shoulder.

"Watch the road!" Kenzie scolded. Meeting Gunner's icy gaze, she grinned up at him, briefly catching the tip of her tongue between her teeth.

A flash of heat shot through Gunner and he quickly turned back, not wanting to run them off the road and ruin the evening before it really got interesting.

Ten minutes later, Gunner idled to a stop at the Regency's main doors and cut the engine.

Resting her hands on Gunner's shoulders, Kenzie dismounted and stepping onto the sidewalk.

"Do you still want to come up?" She asked tentatively.

"Hell yes," Gunner breathed, "just let me park the bike."

"Okay, I'll meet you up there, you want anything to drink?"

"Yeah, what we had back at the bar." Gunner replied.

"Alright, see you soon." With one last smile over her shoulder, Kenzie sauntered through the doors.

"Jesus Christ." Gunner breathed, his jeans straining again.

Kenzie was just getting off the phone with Room Service when Gunner knocked on the door.

With a nervous smile, Kenzie pulled the door open and looked up into Gunner's eyes. The heat and desire she saw in them took her breath away. Not trusting herself to speak, she stepped aside.

Gunner entered the room, ducking his head unconsciously through the threshold.

Sensing Kenzie's nervousness and desperate to put her at ease, he strode to the window.

"Nice view here."

"Yeah," Kenzie replied, moving to stand beside him, grateful for the distraction, her nervousness fading.

A knock at the door, "room service."

"Coming!" Kenzie called, motioning Gunner to sit on the couch opposite the windows.

Kenzie returned with the beer and sat close to Gunner. Handing him a bottle, she tucked her feet underneath her and removed her motorcycle jacket, slinging it over the arm behind her. She turned back to Gunner, admiring the way he dominated the couch, his legs spread in that basely masculine way.

Gunner's breath caught in his throat as Kenzie removed her jacket, the skin she exposed looking unbelievably soft. Gunner's hand tightened on the beer bottle, taking all of his considerable will power to not sweep Kenzie up in his lap and take her right there.

Unable to hold back any longer, Gunner set the beer down on the table in front of them, and gently rested his hand on Kenzie's knee, his touch asking if she wanted to go farther. If she said no, he would remain a gentleman and leave, but it would take hours of cold showers to cool him back down.

In response, Kenzie scooted closer, leaving her beer beside his; and touched Gunner's thigh, just above his knee.

Gunner lowered his head to gaze at her; reached out, gently cupped her cheek with his hand, his thumb gently skimmed over Kenzie's bottom lip, his eyes closing briefly at the blissful contact. Slowly, their lips met and it was electric.

With a moan, Kenzie reached up, curling her fingers at the back of Gunner's head and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Gunner responded instantly and before he'd even realized he'd done it, he had Kenzie pinned against the nearest wall.

Crushing their lips together, both making desperate sounds of need, their arms snaking around each other; Gunner slid his hands up Kenzie's bare thighs. Reaching up under her dress, he hooked her panties with two fingers and shimmied them down; Kenzie kicked them off. Gunner slid his hands to the back of Kenzie's thighs, squeezed her ass for a moment, and then lifted her legs up, wrapping them around his waist. He pressed himself against her, relishing the gasp as Kenzie felt just how large and ready he was for her.

Gunner pinned Kenzie's wrists above her head with one hand and fumbled at his belt and zipper. Moaning, Kenzie nipped his bottom lip, sending a bolt of heat through Gunner. Groaning, he wriggled his hips free of his jeans and pressed himself back against Kenzie, then, with a sharp intake of breath, filled her with one slow thrust. Groaning with the ecstasy of finally being inside her, Gunner began to move, pulling almost completely out before slamming back in again. His free hand cupped Kenzie's cheek as they crushed their lips together with bruising force, kissing desperately, tongues sliding against each others, the distance between them still too great.

Kenzie nipped at his lower lip again and Gunner lost whatever control he'd had. Releasing Kenzie's wrists, he grabbed her hips and began thrusting powerfully, Kenzie's ass slapping against the wall. Never before had he been so desperate to make love to someone, and never before had his body responded so readily.

"You want this?" He breathed, their foreheads touching.

"Yes," Kenzie moaned.

"You want me to fuck you?" Gunner groaned.

"Yes, Gunner, yes, fuck me hard," Kenzie moaned against his lips. Gunner groaned in response, gripping Kenzie's hips tightly and redoubling his efforts; panting, gritting his teeth to hold off just a bit longer and prolong the ecstasy. Kenzie moaned suddenly, going rigid and crying out, her head thrown back.

Kenzie spasming around him was too much and, shuddering, Gunner came hard, thrusting violently, groaning Kenzie's name into her hair. Breathing raggedly, Gunner lowered his head to the crook of her neck. Breathless, relishing the quiver of his loins as Gunner's orgasm faded, Kenzie turned her head, cupping Gunner's cheek and kissed him breathlessly.

"Wow." She whispered.

"Mmmm," Gunner managed. Burying his head in her hair again, he withdrew himself and immediately wanted to take her again. Slowly, Gunner lowered Kenzie's feet to the floor, his seed trickling down her inner thighs.

Her gaze dark and devilish, Kenzie turned, giving Gunner her back, and, holding his hand, looking at him over her shoulder, led him to the bedroom.