Awaken
by Nicky
Disclaimer: What little I own does not include Days of Our Lives or any of
its characters.
Note: Jack and Jenn are living together for Abbey's sake and they are staying in
the same apartment building as Sami.
Groggily, Jen opened her eyes and haphazardly pushed aside her blankets before
proceeding to pound her buzzing alarm clock into submission. Its high pitched
shriek was as piercing as a fog horn and as grating as fingernails clawing upon
a blackboard, how it wailed. And stubbornly, the stupid contraption refused to
shut-up, even though she had pressed the snooze button repeatedly and shaken it
furiously. Finally, completely awakened by the noise, her shoulders hunched, the
irritation prickling at her insides, Jen gripped the cord and gave it a great
heave, ripping it right out of the wall to the tune of Jack's bellowing.
"Will You Turn That Damn Thing Off?!" His low voice growled from down
the hall.
"It Is Off!" She yelled back ending with a mumbled, "jerk,"
before sighing and plopping back down on the mattress.
Contentedly, she smiled to relish in the quiet, closing her eyes happily,
thinking on the cup of hot coffee and the morning paper that was her next
satisfying destination…that is it would be, right after she snuggled deeper
into her comfortable, soft, warm bed and lethargically gave herself the proper
fifteen minute adjustment period to get use to the idea of being awake. Ah
blessed silence, she mused to herself.
"Oh I don't think so, my sweet songbird of the morning…if I have to be
awake, so do you."
Groaning, Jen spared a quick glance up at Jack who was leaning in the doorway,
his dark hair handsomely messy, his red silk robe hanging open, matching
perfectly with his shorts, and revealing a great expanse of bare skin. Burrowing
under her pillows, she tried not to think about his lovely chest or his taunting
gaze or how much she'd missed him these last few months by dredging up all the
old grudges in her mind. Funny, but instead of cementing her resolve, as such
thoughts usually did, the memories just left her weary. She was beginning to
believe that she was fighting a losing battle-staying angry with Jack, keeping
him out of her heart, was proving to take a whole lot more energy and vigilance
than she could rally.
"Go away Jack. I'm too tired to fight." She grumbled, silently praying
to God that he'd listen for once.
Of course, that was too much to ask since her not so estranged ex, closed the
door (so as not to disturb Abbey from across the hallway), climbed into bed with
her, and plucked her pillows away, gingerly tossing them to the floor before
stretching out along side her, leaning his head on his hand and grinning evilly.
"Well that's too bad, considering that we wouldn't even be having this
discussion, if you would have listened to me in the first place. I told you to
get rid of that infernal machine, but noooo you had to have it your way,
satisfied only when the entire household is disrupted. Every morning Jen…every…
single… morning…that Thing goes off and wakes me up-"
"umm…I hate to be the one to tell you Jack, but that is the purpose of an
alarm clock."
"Not when it's not my alarm clock, and not when I was up till 2 finishing a
story, and not when it's louder than a Sonic Boom waking up the whole building!"
"You're exaggerating. It's off right now; stop being such a drama queen and
go back to sleep."
As Jen flipped her covers over her head dismissively, Jack's scowl deepened, his
jaw popping. How dare she ignore him like that! Who does she think she is anyway?
He thought, struggling to come up with something to say to convey his ire.
"I..I Am Not a Drama Queen! I just happen to like to sleep!" He raged,
the English language failing him yet again as he angrily tore away her blankets
causing Jenn to sit up in a matching fury, the straps to her white slip falling
off her shoulders from the sudden movement.
"Oh get real! So my alarm clock, the alarm clock Gram got me for my
birthday by the way, woke you up and now poor wittle Jackie can't get back to
his beauty rest. Boo hoo! Well news flash, Jack, I'm keeping that alarm clock. I
was going to throw it out and buy a new one, but not anymore. Na-ah…I'm
keeping it and what's more, I think I'll start setting it for 5 so I can watch
the sun rise and if you don't like it, you can just Leave!"
Throughout her tirade, the more upset she managed to become, the calmer Jack
appeared. By the time she was finished, he had his arms crossed, his head cocked,
and his left eyebrow raised. After all, they'd practiced this same dance time
and time again and he knew exactly what would irritate her the most.
"Are you quite done? Are you ready to have a rational conversation yet?"
He asked, the epitome of politeness while Jenn seethed, the blood rushing to her
face, her fists clenched.
She was kneeling inches from him and Jack couldn't help the thrill of pleasure
he got when she moved closer to poke him in the chest, her eyes bright with
barely contained wrath, her gossamer slip clinging to her curves, the material
sheer in the morning light.
"Oh..Don't you dare…don't you even think about handing me that, 'I'm
above your petty emotions routine'. You started this and if you want to finish
it you'll apologize and get the Hell out, while the getting's good."
She should have noticed by the way he held silent, the dangerous cast to his
eyes as he appreciatively swept his gaze down her body, that his mood had
shifted dramatically, that her losing battle was just about to take a
cataclysmic turn, but she was too involved in her own righteousness to catch the
warnings. And so, she was completely caught off guard when he captured her hand
as she pulled it away and brought her flush against him winding his other hand
through her silky tresses, kissing the sensitive spot right under her ear to
murmur an incoherent apology before she could even begin to fathom what he was
about.
She was too shocked to be angry, as he drew her closer still, caressing her with
his knowing touch, eliciting her desire like some phoenix blazingly awakened,
making her breath come in soft shallow gasps as he kissed her neck, the sides of
her jaw, and finally her wanting mouth. All she could think of as his lips met
hers, as his tongue sped the ache deep within her to a pounding, maddening
torrent, was how right it was, how good to back in his arms…the arms of the
man she never stopped loving. And it hurt too, to need him so, to kiss him back,
her body against her will. It hurt and it ached and she couldn't stop. Not now,
not ever. Instinctively, her trembling hands sought him out, tracing well worn
paths down his back remembering how he liked to be touched, feather soft here,
harder there, fingernails up his spine. Soon her efforts were rewarded with his
groans of pleasure. He was practically purring, as his hot mouth became more
demanding against hers, as his caresses became more intimate, more blissfully
satisfying through the thin cloth of her gown. And then he was leaning her back
down on the bed, the smooth silk of his robe a tantalizing contrast to his hard,
warm body as he covered her, never breaking contact, never ceasing his heated
ministrations. She was lost to it, to the taste, the scent of him, the consuming
passion as he worked his way down her quivering body, reaching under her slip
with his wide palms circling her panties while his lips found her breasts full
and tender as she arched into his efforts wanting more, seconds away from
ripping his clothes off when-a soft knock on the door ended it all.
"Mom, Dad, are you OK in there?"
One look at Jack's dazed face, one word uttered in unison, "Abbey",
and an eruption of tossed bedding and clothes straightening and distance getting
was initiated.
"Mom, Dad?" Their daughter called from behind the closed door,
obviously concerned and confused by all the commotion coming from within the
room.
"Just a second, Abbey." Jack called, tossing his robe over Jenn saying,
"Your nightie is see through", as a way of explanation, while she shot
daggers at him with her eyes.
"Don't touch me Jack," she hissed, "I can't believe you, you've
been here less than two weeks and you've already broken rule number two."
Jack couldn't help it, he had to laugh at her audacity. What nerve, citing the
famous 'no touching' rule made when they first agreed to live together for
Abby's sake, she really did live in denial.
"Ah…I think what We just did, broke a whole lot more than rule number 2,
Jenn."
"Well, it's not going to happen again." She spat as she grabbed the
door handle making to storm off when her daughter's voice stopped her dead in
her tracks.
"Umm…Sami Brady's here. She says the fire alarm went off and we all have
to evacuate the building. I told her it was just the stupid clock, but she
wouldn't listen to me and she looks really worried so I think you two should
come out now. Kay?"
THE END