Clean, refreshed and decidedly sober, Pacey was sitting in the study two hours later, the lights off. He sat in his father's plush chair, the back turned away from the desk and facing the windows. The storm raged ceaselessly against the windows, the crash of the thunder shaking the pane and periodic flashes of light illuminatiing the room. There was something seductive about a raging storm. The pure unleashed fury of mother nature.

For many, a storm caused aggitation, making people restless and uneasy. It was the opposite for Pacey, he felt soothed by a storm. The roar of wind and rain--nature's never ending war--that battle only pushed aside by the sun's rays to pick up again another cold and lonely night. He was a physical version of his own inescapable psyche.

More times than he cared to remember, he'd found himself confused, lonely, and angry. The frustration bred fury at his own self-pity until he pushed away the inner demons. He found comfort in a good storm, he always had.

It had been a long time since he had seen a good storm, California didn't have much in the way to offer of-- He froze, now that sound wasn't caused by the storm, it sounded like a footstep. Holding himself perfectly still, his ears perked at the sound of the door quietly being forced open.

It clicked closed behind Joey, he knew it was her, he'd always been attuned to her presense in a room. Pleased that the chair hid him completely from view, he waited patiently for her purpose to be revealed. Maybe she was looking for him?

He shook his head imperceptiably at the thought. No, Joey Potter wasn't known to go looking for trouble. Then what was she doing sneaking into his father's study? He listened to her shuffle across the room, he could imagine her hand stuck out in front of her as she felt for a lamp.

"Ow!" He bit his lip to keep from chuckling as he heard her shin made contact with the gaudy coffee table.

She finally found the lamp switch, he debated over whether he should scare the s/hit out of her, or wait a few minutes to see what she was up to. He opted for the latter, finding he could watch her clearly in the reflection of the window.

She gazed around the room, her hands resting on her hips, where would John or Mary Witter hide something they didn't want found? Well, the desk seemed too obvious a place for her to start her search. She turned instead to the bookcase the stretched across one complete wall. Starting at the top left shelf, she pulled out the first book, flipping through it hoping she'd find a loose sheaf of paper.

Silently, Pacey watched her make her way along the first shelf, his curiosity, amoung other things, piqued. He was completely mystified over her actions. What could she possibly be looking for in his father's study?

His curiosity faltered however when she bent over to look through the items on the bottom shelf. She was still positivly beautiful. That kind of beautiful that didn't fade. Or maybe it did, and he just didn't see it. A flash of lighting temporarily blinded him, and when his vision returned, she'd turned again, the faint light from outside cast shadows over the curves of her body, causing his fingers to itch at the memory of those soft contours.

By the time his patience had worn thin, she'd moved onto the second shelf. She'd just chosen the heaviest of Sheriff Witter's law books when she heard a faint creak over by the window. Turning her head, toward the sound, she screamed when she saw Pacey sitting in the chair.

"Boo?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Pacey!" She put a hand to her heart. "What are you doing in here!?"

"Am I mistaken, or isn't this my house?" He rose and walked around the desk, his steps perfectly measured, "I should be asking you that question."

"I...was just..." She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder towards the book case.

"You were just..." He took a preditory step closer to her as a bolt of lighting flashed behind him.

"The storm!" She thanked whatever deity had sent the lightening, "It was keeping me awake, so I thought I'd come down here and grab a book to read."

"Really?" He took the book from her, "Massechusettes Juvenile Law? Pretty heavy reading, Potter."

"Yes, well," She took it from him, "It'll put me to sleep then."

He took the book from her and tossed it flippantly over his shoulder as he advanced on her. "Something tells me sleep isn't what's on your mind."

She took a step back, recognizing that look in his eyes, and hated the stir she felt in the pit of her stomach. How was it possible that after ten years he was still able to get to her with a mere look. "I-I really should be getting back upstairs."

"Suddenly feeling tired?" He reached out a hand to touch her arm.

That damn innocent caress. He knew perfectly well what that did to her defenses. She backed away again. "Yes."

"Funny," He advanced again, "You seemed perfectly awake while you were searching."

"I-I wasn't."

"You weren't?" He brushed his thumb along her cheek bone, pleased to see a warm flush color her cheeks.

"No."

"You still do that thing with your lip when you're turned on, you know."

The change of subject caught her off guard and she released her lip from between her teeth. "I do not."

"Yes," his voice was low and husky, a sensual caress all on it's own, "you do."

"No, I don't," she protested weakly, shaking her head, the look of desire in his eyes was magnetic.

"My bedroom was just down the hall, you know." His voice sent delicious shivers up her spine. "But I dont mind improvising since you went out of your way to find me here." His words were like a physical caress and Joey's gaze fell to his lips as he spoke, "The couch is incrediably hard, but so is the desk and the floor and..."

"Shut up," Joey said shakily. How on earth was she going to get out of this? Did she even want to?

"You'd rather I put my mouth to better use?" He teased seductivly.

"Yes," she breathed. "No! Wait, no. I should really be getting back upstairs. I-I must have been sleepwalking or something, I don't know how I got down here."

"Sure, ya don't." He didn't back away in the least.

"You lied to me, you weren't drunk." She attempted to change the subject for the sake of her sanity.

"I was well on my way. And if you'll recall, I didn't claim to be." He brushed his hand up along her arm slowly, "Why? Would that have made it easier to steal from me?"

"Steal!?" Joey looked appalled. "I wasn't going to steal anything!"

"What would you call it? Borrowing?"

"If I had known you were going to be like this, I would have come here before you arrived!" She folded her arms over her chest, but he was so close that it forced contact with his chest. His very hard, well-toned chest. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"So you did come here with the intention of taking something."

Too late she realized her mistake. "No...I-I just meant that I would have tried to get stranded before you were..." She trailed off, her arguement too weak for her to bother continueing.

"Whatever it is, you certainly want it bad. Almost as much as I want you."

Her brown eyes shot away from his face, "Would you quit saying that."

"Why?"

"Cause you don't mean it." She frowned petulantly.

"I wonder why I said it then?"

She shot a glare at him. "You probably think you're teaching me a lesson or something."

He shrugged a shoulder, an charming smile on his face, "Maybe that's one reason."

"And you're perverted sense of humor is the other reason."

"You're stretching, Jo." His eyes took on that predatory glint again, as though he were imagining her stretched out beneath him.

Which, of course, he was.

"Stop that."

"Tell me why you're here."

"My car died." She insisted, but the lie sounded false even to her ears. But she couldn't tell him the truth, it wasn't her secret to tell.

"Hmm, maybe you'd like to explain that to the police?"

"Police?" She paled slightly.

"You wouldn't want all of Capeside to know you'd spent the night here, now would you? All alone. With me. Especially when you leave in the morning and you never see me again."

"You're leaving?" She flinched when she heard the dissapointment in her voice.

"Soon as I find what I came here for." He replied his voice cool and remote again, all hint at anything sexual completely gone.

"And that would be...?"

"None of your business."

"You're still as stubborn as the last day I saw you."

"You're still as beautiful."

She frowned, "I wish you'd stop that."

"Stop mentioning I plan to seduce you or stop doing it?"

She flushed at the very thought, "You do it because you know it bothers me."

"At least I know it bothers you," he smirked, "I know you Potter, you're already warming to the idea, aren't you? The idea of my lips on yours again, my hands caressing the warm globes of your breasts, parting your thighs..."

"Stop!"

He smiled in triumph. "I think we should make a deal."

"Huh?" The abrupt change of subject confused her.

"I'll let you take whatever you want with you under two conditions."

"I'm listening..." her breathing was less steady than she'd hoped.

"First, I get to see whatever you take with you."

"No way."

"You really think I'd let you waltz out of here without knowing what you're taking with you?"

He had a point, that sounded incrediably unrealistic. "It's not my secret."

"Than who's dirty work are you doing?"

"Do you swear not to tell anyone?"

"I may be a bastard, but I'm not intrested in blackmailing a woman into my bed."

As if he'd need to. "That's not what I meant." She busied herself looking through the books again so she wouldn't have to face him, "It's for my mother...sort of."

"Jo, your mom's dead." His voice was softer now, compassionate, reminding her of all the history she shared with this man.

"I know. It's just...Bessie told me the other day that your mom or dad, one of the two, had blackmailed Mom with some papers. She didn't seem to think it mattered anymore, since they're all gone now. But...it matters to me."

"What kind of papers?"

"I don't really know. Just something they could use to blackmail Mom with. Maybe my dad too."

"What would my parents possibly want from yours? You guys never had any money."

"Yeah, I know." Joey shrugged, "Maybe she was forced to keep a secret for them?"

"I have no idea."

"Doesn't matter, you only have to let me keep the papers when I find them."

"Depends what kind they are, you can't just walk out of here with the deed to the place." He folded his arms, causing the muscles to ripple under his shirt. "Not really a good example since I'm trying to decide whether or not to remove the things from the house before I burn it to the ground."

She looked up at him in shock, he sounded like he meant it. "You really hated it here, didn't you?"

He shrugged, "Capeside had it's moments." The sultry look he gave her made it clear exactly what moments he was refering to. "Aren't you curious what my other condition is?"

He took slow calculated steps closer to her, "It's more of a warning really," he smiled like the cat who'd caught the canary. "Don't mistake my honesty for anything more than the truth. It's more fun when you're on you're guard."

"What on earth are you talking about?" She freared she already had a good idea.

"I'm taking about seduction." It had been years since he'd had to seduce a woman, he was looking forward to the challenge. Hell, he was looking forward to her being the challenge. "And I mean so much more than seduction, I mean sex. Hot, messy, mindblowing, scream-out-loud sex." His skimmed the curve of her jaw with his fingertip. "I hope it takes you days to find your papers, Josephine."

"You're actually serious about seducing me." She took a step back, straight into the bookcase. He must have been with hundreds of other women in the past ten years. Beautiful actresses and models who simply threw themselves at him...and he wanted her?

"Yes, should we take a bet on whether or not I succeed?"

"I-" his fingers had begun to drift again, from her cheek, along the column of her neck to the corner of her shirt collar. His other hand found the curve of her waist, and simply stayed there. The heat of his hand seeping through her shirt, holding her possessivly as if to say she was his. She always had been.

The heat emenating from him enveloped her, and when his lean body finally came in contact with hers, her heart pounded his name. She looked into those smoldering eyes and read the intention in them clearly, "This is probably a-a bad idea."

"For you, probably." A finger trailed along the curve of her breast, ever-so-lightly to tease and tantilize. "I plan to thoroughly enjoy it."

"You don't even know me," her protest was weak. "Not anymore."

"Two people don't need to know each other to enjoy sex." His husky voice, so familiar and yet so foreign, aroused her all on it's own.

"But--"

"But nothing." He brushed her hair behind her shoulder, the teasing brush against her neck raised goose bumps. "I'm going to kiss you know." His warm breath cascaded across her lips and she wondered how he'd gotten so close all of a sudden.

"No!" Her hands rose to his chest to push him away, but feeling the hard heat of muscle under her palms she forgot.

"Oh, yes." The words were a faint whisper as his lips decended upon hers.

She kept her eyes open, trying to ward off the overwhelming rush of emotion as everything they had together ten years ago came flooding back. The raw lust crept through her body as he moved his lips over hers, starting at the very tips of her toes and rising up through her legs and arms all the way to the ends of her fingers. Before she knew it her eyes and fallen shut, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck, and parted his lips so she could re-explore the contours of his mouth.

He slid a hand up her shirt, not far...just enough so that it she could feel the naked heat against her skin. The simple touch was more compelling than even his tongue in her mouth....though that was very nice too.

She let out a breathy moan of dissapointment as his lips left hers and he nuzzled her neck, his lips just barely brushing the skin. The torture was exquisite, and he knew just what he was doing, because suddenly his mouth was warm and hot on the hollow crook of her shoulder. A rush of liquid heat dampened the apex of her thighs as her knees went weak.

Her long eye-lashes fluttered open with difficulty, and she used gentle pressure to push him away. For the first time since she'd seen him again, all his masks were gone, revealing the honest confusion, and desire, in his eyes.

"Thank you," she said shakily.

He took a step back. "You do know there's a lot more to it than that, right? Feel free to express your graitude in the morning."

She forced a weak smile. "I'll be gone by morning." No matter how much she enjoyed--relished--his touch, she couldn't play sexual games. Not with Pacey.

She started walking to the door, and he still looked more puzzled than dangerous. "I found a room with a lock on the door. I'll see you in the morning."

"Joey." She turned back to him, her eyes wide, she'd almost gotten away. "I kissed you because I want you. It's that simple."

"I know," the corner of her mouth turned up. He somehow must have known that she needed to hear that he still wanted her. Even ten years later. "That's what made it so special." With that, she closed the door behind her and fled up the stairs.