Replay by Tyra

Jax waited for the last of Brenda's guffaws to subside. She was still lying on the grass, a quivering mass. His mind was frothed with plans on how to pay Jerry back for this indignity! He was used to Jerry's constant practical jokes, but Thomas had always been so forthright, so honest. And to think Julia was part of this scheme! That was the most astounding part of all. He would have bet his fortune that those three would never agree on anything. Three more different people couldn't exist on the face of the Earth. The idea of them conspiring against him would be almost amusing, if he wasn't left standing here looking like something off a can of Macadamia nuts!

Jax looked down at his lack of dress, well skirt actually. It was bad enough that Jerry had put him in a sarong, but did it have to be covered with big gold tropical flowers! He felt like one of those Tonga dancers he had seen performing at the King Kamehameha Festival in Hawaii last summer.

Brenda was in complete hysterics at seeing Jax dressed like that. She had never so totally lost control of her faculties before. Even though she had been 99.9% sure it was Jax before she removed the mask, she wasn't prepared for this emotion to overcome her to the point of helplessness. She was positive that Jax would be livid with her, when she finally regained control of herself. He actually was quite sexy looking with the bared tanned chest and the powerful muscular arms. As she was lying on the grass she even noticed how muscular his calves were. She never got to view them in his power suits or casual Dockers. And when his calves had been exposed to her in the past, that wasn't the part of his body she paid the most attention to.

When she had finally composed herself, she sat on the fallen tree where Jax had seated himself while waiting for her laughter to abate. "Jax, I am SO sorry. I don't know what came over me back there. I guess it was a combination of fear, and nervousness, and the fact that you look so .. .. .. so .. .. .. ridiculous!" She begins to snicker again, but she reined it back in quickly.

"I'm glad I can be such an amusement to you. It seems fitting that I'm dressed as a fool before you, since I was such a fool when I left that note by your bedside last March." He sees the flash of hurt that darkens her eyes as the memories of her birthday return to her mind. "Please let me apologize for what happened then. I've just found out what really happened. I was a jealous, stupid, dolt. I have no explanation as to why I reacted that way. Maybe that's why Jerry flung me out of the plane dressed like this."

Brenda shook her head in response, "I doubt that Jax. I don't think Jerry really likes me very much. He tolerates me because of Julia. He wouldn't have done this to you, because of me." She has to stifle a slight giggle again, "No this looks like he's paying you back for some atrocity against him. And from the looks of your outfit, I bet it has something to do with his libido. Why else would he dress you up to look like a waiter at the Polynesian Cultural Center."

Jax begins to see the humor of his situation and begins to laugh at himself, which brings forth uncontrollable giggles from Brenda again. Brenda's mind was racing! She was stuck in the midst of a horrible laughing fit again, but she was cognizant of the fact that he was scantily dressed. As she watched him laugh, her eyes wandered down the wonderful expanse of rippling abdominal muscles. She was getting warm from more than the sun and laughter. She forced her eyes to move elsewhere to get her mind off things they had no place being, considering that she and Jax had not seen one another for months.

Jax felt Brenda's eyes practically caress him as they scanned down his chest, lingering near his stomach before finally venturing off to the horizon. He must not look totally ridiculous to solicit such heated looks from her. His plans for Jerry had reduced from murder, to torture. Perhaps he would truss him up with wet leather cord and watch it tighten in the hot burning sun. Of course knowing Jerry, he would most likely find that arousing.

Maybe this was the best thing for the both of them. To end things more amicably, to build a friendship. What had happened between them had made it impossible to be much more, but they had been such good friends. It would be wonderful to get back the friend he had lost these past months. He missed that more than the feel of her skin against his, the taste of her lips, the scents that reminded him of her alone, the feel of her silky hair as it brushed across his chest, the feel of her hands as they fondled his -- -- -- He jerked back in shock as his daydream was interrupted by Brenda's hands on his chest!

"Jax! You're bleeding! You must have cut yourself when you landed. Julia dumped a crate of stuff at the edge of the forest. I bet she's was in on this stupid plan. She probably took the last ferry back to town and we're stuck here for the night. When we came over, I noticed crocodiles in the river we crossed, so there's no way back without a boat. Let me see if there's any first aid stuff in the crate. I'll be right back."

Jax released a tremulous breath as she departed. His mind had gone off on its own accord into the most fantastic sensuous memories of their all too short time together. He cursed his own stupidity for ruining the life they would have had. He had been minutes away from asking her to be his wife that morning, and he had let a few words from a dream affect his future, their destiny. His eyes closed as the images of their times together continued to fill his mind.

"Jax?" He looked up to see worry furrowing Brenda's brow. "You had this funny look on your face, like something was causing you pain. Is your chest wound that bad? I thought it was just a scratch, but maybe it's a gash. Sit down and let me look at it more closely." Jax straddled the tree as she sat across from him. She leaned in closer and poked around the perimeter of the small gash. Her hands were cool, or was it that his body was enflamed? "It's not too deep, let me wash it out with some water and dab a little antiseptic on it." Jax had to bite his lip to prevent a soft moan from escaping past his lips. Her hands felt like heaven on his skin. It had nothing to do with her, she was just ministering to his wound. It was all his reaction to her proximity, her scent, her feel, her.. .. .. .. He winced as the cotton swab filled his wound with alcohol. "Sorry Jax" Brenda murmured as she began to blow on the wound to dry the surface of his skin before applying the Band-Aid.

Jax jerked backwards away from her lips, "Brenda! What do you think you're doing!"

Brenda laughed at Jax's ridiculous question. "First Aid of course. What's wrong with you Jax? I'm trying to dry your wound, so the bandage will stick. Will you stop squirming around. Don't be such a baby, I'll be done in just a moment." She applied the bandage on his chest letting her hands linger a little longer than they needed to as she circled the edges of the Band-Aid making sure it was securely attached. His chest felt like she remembered, strong, hard, smooth, beautiful .. .. .. .. She had to clear her throat before she spoke as she slapped a palm on his chest as she stood. "There you go, all done. Can you help me carry the crate over here? We should see what Julia and Jerry saw fit to strand us here with. I think it's pretty obvious that we're here through the evening don't you?"

Jax took a moment to compose himself before he followed Brenda into the woods. He again cursed Jerry for putting him into this short entirely too revealing skirt!

A few minutes later they sat in the middle of the ruins with their provisions surrounding them. Jerry had packed Jax a tent, waterproof matches, a radio, a knife, a pan, his shaving kit, and thankfully a change of clothes. Julia had packed water, blankets, the first aid kit, a lantern, trail mix, chips and wine. Jax and Brenda looked at the spread before them and began to laugh. I guess the grand planners didn't think they would need to eat. Water, snacks and wine to last till morning. Brenda looked away, not knowing what to say. It was so awkward and uncomfortable to be thrown together like this. Julia must have just gone along with this scheme. Only a man could come up with this kind of plan. Being stranded in the wilderness wasn't any woman's idea of romance.

Jax was the first to break their silence. "Brenda, it's pretty obvious that they expect us to talk out this situation between us. We don't have anything else to do, so why don't we talk about it?"

Brenda returned her gaze to Jax and he immediately saw all the hurt she must have felt that day, reflected back to him from her eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at that moment she let him see what his actions had done to her. And in that moment of discovery, he couldn't have hated himself more if he tried.

Brenda blinked back her tears as she tried to stop Jax from probing further into her feelings. "Jax, let's not do this. I know why you did, what you did. Isn't that enough? Why do we have to open up these wounds again?" Her head was bent looking at her hands that had twisted into a knot. She unclasped her hands to push her hair away from her face as she looked up at Jax, sighing, "I don't want to think about that day anymore Jax. Can't we just move ahead and not look back? We can still be friends, can't we?"

Those words pierced through to his heart. The pain in that simple sentence had cut deep. He smiled sadly, "Friends? I thought we were more than that Brenda. What we had was rare and real, and you know we were much more than friends." He placed his hand under her chin forcing her to look at him.

Brenda's eyes glistened with her unshed tears as she responded, "Yes, we were Jax, I loved you with all my heart. I still love you, but doesn't change things between us. You didn't have enough faith in me, enough trust in us, to even ask me about my dream. You assumed I had betrayed you and you struck out at me in the cruelest way possible. You made me doubt myself Jax. For awhile, I doubted who I was, how people perceived me, my value in this world. You just left.. .. .. and was there all alone with nothing but .. .. .. that necklace .. .. .."

She angrily brushed back the tears that had begun to fall. "I told myself I wouldn't do this if we ever had a chance to talk. I hate it when I do this, it's so stupid, so silly. It happened so long ago, why can't I forget the hurt, the pain of waking that morning so happy, so free. It was my birthday Jax! And I woke up with a smile on my face knowing I would be spending the day with you. Finally I was going to have the birthday of my dreams! A romantic dinner, in a romantic city, with the most romantic man I have ever known. After all the horrid birthdays I endured as a child, I was finally going to have a spectacular day! It wasn't going to be a day I dreaded anymore. My day was finally going to be celebrated, not ignored, with nothing but some obscenely expensive meaningless gift. I remember it as if it were yesterday Jax. I got out of bed and headed to the shower thinking you would be back soon, you had just left for an early run. Then I saw the roses crushed on the floor, and the coffee abandoned on the bed tray. I felt sick even as I approached the tray and then I found it. Your parting gift to me and that.. .. .. that note.. .. ..

Jax pulled her towards him as she began to sob. He ran his hands up and down her back trying to comfort her. "Brenda I know nothing I say can ever make right, what I did to you that day. I don't even know if I can explain to myself what possessed me to do that. All I can say is, at the moment that I heard you talking in your sleep, I was at my most vulnerable. I was about to .. .. .. well, it doesn't really matter now. Just that what I heard threw me, and after what happened with Miranda, I guess I struck back without thinking who I was with. If I had just taken a minute to think about it, I would have known that you wouldn't have used me to make someone else jealous. It's just that when you said Sonny, I saw red. Brenda, he nearly killed me, he crippled me! And the thought of you and him together, sent me over the edge,. I'm not making excuses, just explaining what I did. I'm so sorry. Please stop crying Brenda, I can't bear to see you cry." Jax wiped away his own tears that began to well in his eyes.

Still sniffling Brenda pushed away from Jax, her hands resting on his chest. She reached up with a hand to brush away his remaining tears. She smiled sadly at him, "Don't you see that if it was right for us to be together, it wouldn't be this hard. Someone up there has to be trying to tell us something. This whole relationship has been riddled with one disaster after another. About the only thing that hasn't inflicted themselves upon us has been locusts."

"Brenda!"

Brenda laughs as she stands to distance herself from his sensual pull. She looks down at him looking all rumpled, sad, adorable, "Love can't be this hard to find and keep. You know, I must have told you at least a hundred times that I loved you, and you never once said it back to me. Not even a 'me too', or 'ditto' But I thought to myself, that's OK because I can see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch, see it in how he treats me! I know he loves me, he just can't say it out loud. But I was wrong, because if you had really loved me, you couldn't ever have thought the things you did of me. Even for a second. You should have know it in here." She leans down and places a palm over his rapidly beating heart. "That I would never have done that to you. I love you Jax, but I need someone who loves me too, unconditionally. Through good times AND bad."

Jax takes both of Brenda's hands and pulls her down into his lap. She settled in and wrapped her arms around his neck as he implored. "You saw it my eyes and in my deeds because it was there all along. I fought it as hard as I could and I thought .. .. .. .. that if I didn't say it, it wouldn't be true. But I love you Brenda, and I think I have from the moment I saw you, or rather didn't see you." He laughs as he brushes a finger down her perfect little nose, "I was blind at the time if you remember. But the point is, I knew even then, that there was something special between us. No one has ever touched me the way you do Brenda. When I'm not with you I feel incomplete, lacking, desolate. I haven't had one good nights sleep since I left. I wake up reaching for that empty space in my bed, that was made for you and only you. And it didn't help much that your face followed me everywhere I went. You were inescapable. The 'Look of Deception, she'll never forget you'. Everywhere I turned, your face, your eyes, your hair, my island! And you were holding that necklace. I felt that was my heart there, lying loosely in your hands all open and empty .. .. .. All these feelings inside me must count for something. You said you still love me Brenda and I'll admit it now loud enough for the world to hear, that I love you too, ditto! Why can't we try again? I can get it right this time. I'm diligent, hard working, unrelenting in achieving my goals. Some would consider me a catch. You don't even have to catch me Brenda, I'll just place myself gently into your hands. All you have to do is close your fingers around me, keeping me near you forever."

Brenda hands ran aimlessly thought Jax's wavy thick blonde locks as she was drawn into the depths of his incredible blue-green eyes. She thought that if there was a jewel on earth that came close to matching that shade, it would easily outdistance the diamond in popularity and value. His eyes were so expressive, his speech so sweet and appealing that she wanted to fling herself back into the fire willingly. She closed her eyes to remove the visual temptation to give in.

"Jax, sometimes love's just not enough. You really hurt me, and I don't want to ever feel like that again. You think you love me now, but what happens the next time you think I've done something wrong to you. Will you talk to me? Or would you run? Leaving nothing behind but another crushing blow to my heart. I can't take that again. But I don't want to lose you. I think in some ways that's what I've missed the most this year. Someone to share my victories and defeats with. That's why it was so awful Jax. You left me and I needed to talk to my best friend about it, but I couldn't .. .. .. because .. .. .. you're my best friend Jax."

Jax kisses her gently on her forehead as he again hugs her tightly to him. What she had told him had broken his heart, but he had to honor her wishes. At least she still wanted to keep friendly ties between them. If she wouldn't accept his love, he would take what she had to offer. Her hand that was caressing his chest was making it difficult to honor her request to be just friends. He placed his hand over hers to stop its caressing motion. "Brenda, please stop that. I'm going to have a rough time honoring your request if you continue to touch me like this."

Brenda pulled her hands back as she realized what she had unconsciously done. "I'm sorry Jax. I guess we both have to adjust to this new relationship. So do you agree with me? Friends?"

He rested his forehead on hers as he answered, "Friends! But for the record, I don't agree with you. I'm going to show you that I'm deserving of your love again. I'm going to wine you and dine you, place the world at your feet if you'll let me. And I'll make you love me Brenda, because we are meant to be, I feel it deep down inside. You have it all wrong you know. Love should be this hard, a struggle, otherwise you don't appreciate it when you finally have it in your hands." He grinned broadly down at her as she recoiled from his statements, "You'll see. Friends for now, but you are going to love me so much that you won't be able to resist me. I've made my fortune by being able to analyze the competition, find the weak points and exploiting them. And I want you more than I've ever wanted any company I've ever acquired. So are you up for the challenge, my friend? Can you withstand my moves on accomplishing this hostile takeover?"

She was mesmerized by his charm. She saw before her the man who had toppled major corporations. The glint in his eye at the challenge at hand was awe inspiring. If it was possible to love him more, she did. But she still wasn't willing to go back to what they had. Something had definitely been missing, and she didn't see how his threats and promises had changed anything. She shook herself mentally before retorting. "Do what you will Jax. Spend your whole fortune on me if you want, but I won't change my mind. Now let's get organized before it gets dark. You pitch the tent, get a fire going and change out of that outfit and I'll go hunt for food."

Jax smiled at Brenda going into action mode to change the subject. "You are going to hunt for food?"

She tossed some trail mix as him as she giggled, "Don't be a sexist Jax. Don't you remember that you taught me how to spear fish when we were on Kronos. Just give me the knife so I can whittle a spear. I bet that I can bring dinner back before you get our campsite up!"

"And what do I get if I win? As winner, I would want you in my arms when we sleep tonight."

"Jaxxxx! What you win is, not having to gut the fish. I'll actually do the gross tasks myself if I lose. And if you lose I think I want you to perform one of those Hawaiian hula dances tonight, wearing that outfit."

Jax blushed at her request. "Now who's being sexist!" He watched her shapely form departing as she laughed at his embarrassment. His pulse quicken as she took the skirt of her sundress and pulled it up between her legs and tied it around her waist to keep it from getting wet in the lake. He couldn't take his eyes from her as he saw her rustic side. She was doing a good job at making a spear, he could envision her doing well in the outback back in his native home of Australia. As she leaned over, concentrating on her task, he had a tempting view down the heart shaped neckline of her dress. Jax had to mentally check himself again as his mind wandered to fond memories of the scents and tastes he had enjoyed beyond the boundaries of that neckline. He immediately reached for the tent. If he didn't start on his part soon, he had a feeling that he would be tonight's after dinner entertainment.

-- -- -- -- -- --

Jax pounded the last stake in of their tent. He took a peek to see how Brenda was doing at catching dinner and accidentally hit his thumb with his last blow. He managed to stop from shouting out, which would have attracted Brenda's attention. He didn't need her to start laughing at him again. He watched her as he sucked his thumb to relieve the pain. Brenda stood so still in the shallow water of the lake, just as he had taught her. She was concentrating so hard she didn't notice that she had an enraptured audience. She suddenly stabbed down into the water and pulled up a wiggling fish. Brenda squealed in excitement at catching her pray and in that moment of lost concentration, she lost her balance and sat down in the cold lake water. Jax was grateful that his thumb in his mouth to prevent an explosion of laughter from erupting from his mouth. He quickly ducked into the newly pitched tent to finally change out of his tropical outfit. He changed quickly into the tan Dockers and a blue chambray shirt that Jerry had been decent enough to pack. Jax then quickly exited the tent in search of firewood. Brenda had already caught one fish, one more and he would be back in that ridiculous outfit after dinner!

Brenda struggled to stand up as the skirt of her Sundress was drenched with freezing cold water. She tossed the first fish to the shore and trudged back out to catch another before Jax got their fire going. She smiled as the picture of Jax doing the hula entered her mind. She knew he would be fabulous at it, since she knew first hand how fantastic his hip action could be! She glanced back towards the edge of the forest and saw Jax collecting wood and twigs to start the fire. He looked so handsome in that blue shirt, she knew that his eyes would be even more sexy when she joined him around the campfire.

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Brenda sighed with the disappointment of how close they had come to really sharing something special. She wished she could have his outlook on what they could be, but she was afraid to put her heart on the line again. Jax had hurt her more than daddy ever had, because she had let him see inside, to her very soul. Something she was wise enough to never let daddy see. He would have belittled her passions, her goals, her dreams. That's why it was so difficult to trust Jax again. She had let him into that tiny corner of herself that she had never shared with anyone, and yet it hadn't been enough to give him faith and trust in her feelings for him. She turned away from Jax's animal magnetism and went back to the task at hand. She needed one more fish to win that bet.

Jax cleared a circle of all the leaves and brush so he could build a safe circle of flame that wouldn't spread to the trees at the edge of the clearing. He looked out on the lake and saw that Brenda soaking wet was still diligently at work trying to catch the second fish. As the sun began to set, Brenda's form was plainly evident through the now transparent wet skirt.

Jax concentrated on building a pyramid of wood and kindling to get their fire going. He was down on all fours gently blowing on the beginnings of a flame. Smoke gently wafted up in the air as the slightly damp wood struggled to catch fire.

Brenda looked back at the campfire as she smelled the traces of smoke floating out to her. If she didn't catch the second fish first, it looked like she would be gutting the fish for tonight's dinner. She hoped that Jax could explain how it was done, because she never had to do such a disgusting task before. Seeing him on his hands and knees blowing into the fire brought warming thoughts to her mind as she momentarily forgot all thoughts about spearing a fish.

Jax looked up as if he felt her eyes on him. Their eyes locked across the distance that separated them and the air suddenly got thin and hard to breathe. They both forgot about their tasks at hand as they were lost in thoughts of what could have been, should have been, might never be .. .. ..

The unattended fire suddenly burst into flame as the smoldering twigs finally caught the logs on fire. Jax fell back as the heat and light caught him by surprise. Brenda regained her focus and stabbed down as something that was nibbling on her foot, she had caught the second fish. As she approached Jax with her catch she was beaming with pride.

"So is it a tie Jax?"

He shook his head at her, "I don't think so! This fire was roaring before you made your second catch! So I win, just as I will win our other challenge!"

Brenda sat down laughing, "All right Jax, you win. Can you explain to me how to gut these fish. I've never had to do this before."

Jax chuckled as he watched her pick one up between her finger and thumb, grimacing at the thought of gutting them for dinner. "That's not my prize, that's what you wanted. I'm still going to hold you to my wager. I want you in my arms tonight. I'll prepare the fish for dinner." Seeing her look of apprehension he holds up his hand to stop her frantic retort. "Don't worry Brenda, I'll be nothing but a boy scout tonight. I've never been one to force my attentions on anyone, particular someone I care about as much as I do you. But it's going to get cold tonight and we're going to need more than these blankets to keep warm. I'll be a perfect gentleman. But the question is, will you be able to withstand your own desires. I'll only be a gentleman for as long as you want me to be."

Brenda handed the fish to Jax gratefully. "That won't be a challenge Jax, since I haven't had a need to be on any birth control regime lately, the thought of unwanted pregnancy is enough to prevent the temptation for me. I won't be seeking anything out from you tonight but mutual body warmth."

Jax's eyes brighten with her admission of not being with anyone since they had parted; and the thought of how delightful it will be to have children with her. He hadn't really thought that far into the future but now that it was there, he couldn't believe how the possibility of children excited him. He grinned broadly at her as he cleared his throat and reached into his breast pocket and extracted two 'Gold Circle Coins'.

"Looks like Jerry made sure to pack all the bare essentials that a man would need when abandoned in the woods with a helpless, delectable, bewitching, maiden!"

Brenda stood up trying to ignore the leap that her heart performed when Jax had displayed Jerry's thoughtfulness, to her. The was the last thing she needed to have on her mind, if they were to make it through the evening together. Changing the subject she looks down at an almost smug looking Jax. "It's just as well that you won the bet, because I'm going to need to change into your sarong. I'll catch my death if I stay in this outfit after the sun sets. She grabs the floral cloth and ducked into the tent listening to Jax's taunting chuckles as she zips the tent shut.

She sat down under the cover of darkness and felt her body flame with heat. How was she going to make it through this night. She wanted him so much, but wanting and having were two different things. Yes he wanted her, but was it merely physical? She didn't want him if she couldn't have him all. She deserved that and she couldn't settle for less. Her father had loved her less than she deserved, and she had accepted the crumbs that he infrequently threw her way. But she was a different person now, and crumbs would never be enough for her again. She crossed her legs in yoga fashion and slowed her breathing to calm herself. She prayed that she would have the strength to overcome her desires tonight. She wasn't going down the same path, that had crushed her the first time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jax leaned back against the fallen tree totally satisfied with his meal. He couldn't remember enjoying a meal more. Was it because he was a starving man? Or was it that his hunger for Brenda was finally being satiated after a nine month drought. Nine months! That would have been the time it took to make a baby! I child that he could call their own. A symbol of their commitment to one another, someone to shower their combined love upon. Ever since Brenda had said the word. "Pregnancy', he couldn't get the thoughts out of his mind. He was astounded that the thought didn't send him running for the hills. Instead he had been filled with this warm glow of peace and contentment. The problem was that he had no hopes of ever bringing those fantasies to fruition, if he couldn't convince her to give him another chance. Tonight had been a good start. For lack of entertainment except for the radio provided, they had spent the evening sharing stories of their time apart. They had settled into a companionable silence a few minutes ago as they finished their meal.

Jax noticed Brenda shiver as the night air began to cool perceptibly around them. He grabbed another log to stoke the fire before adding to the top the burning pile. He then pulled Brenda towards him, placing her between his legs, her back resting against his chest as he covered her chilled arms with his warm embrace.

She leaned back to look at him whispering, "Jax. I can't.. .. .. I wish I could but I just can't .. .. .."

He rocked her gently in his arms, his warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered, "Shhhh.. .. .. I know sweetie, and I can respect that, just let me hold you in my arms tonight. That's all I want. One good nights sleep. I need to feel you in my arms, your body fit right next to mine, as our hearts settle into a common rhythm and we surrender to the comfort of slumber in the arms of the person who makes us whole. I know it's a lot to ask of you. Just give me tonight, that's all I ask." He pulled his head back, resting his chin atop her head as he waited for her response.

She whispered so faintly, he barely heard, "Yes Jax, I'm so tired. I feel like I haven't slept through the night in such a long time. Let's go to bed."

Jax closed his eyes and made a silent prayer of thanks to the Gods for this small pleasure they had afforded him, before he rose pulling Brenda with him. They entered their tent silently, each struggling with their own silent demons. He settled Brenda under the blanket first before joining her. As he moved about to find the most comfortable position on the hard ground, he felt Brenda back up into his chest. He felt her sigh as he settled himself against her back, fitting his body around hers. She reached back and taking his right arm and pulling it forward till it wrapped about her and he pulled her more tightly against him. Rather than being aroused he was bewildered to discover that his body awashed in a sense of peace, comfort, a sense of being home.

Brenda felt the warmth of Jax's breath gently caress her shoulder. She sighed and snuggled more closely towards him. She was amazed that instead of feeling aroused, she was simply at peace, a pleasant warmth surrounded her as she felt a sense of being home. Her mind was floating off to the clouds as exhaustion finally won the battle and she floated off to slumber.

Jax knew the moment she fell asleep, he was familiar with the feel of her body as it relaxed against his in exhausted sleep. It was the most indescribably feeling. A feeling that he missed more than he could ever describe. He nestled his head against her neck as visions of their many adventures together in and out of bed floated pleasurably through his mind. Listening to her gentle breaths in and out was music to his ears as he too surrendered to the wondrous peace of falling asleep with her in his arms. As even the wildlife slipped quietly into the slumber, the silence of the clearing was interrupting by nothing but the chirping of crickets and the soft tones of the radio they had inadvertently left on by the fire.. .. .. .

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Jax awoke from the most blissful sleep he had experienced in months. He opened his eyes to discover that Brenda had turned sometime during the evening and was now lying atop him, her face lying in the center of his chest. She looked so peaceful, he didn't want to wake her and have the most beautiful evening spent in nine months come to an end.

Brenda stretched and smiled in her sleep. She was so warm and comfortable, the steady beat of a heart was music to her ears. Her lashes slowly fluttered awake and she realized that she was lying with her head in the middle of Jax's chest. She reached with her hand to gently feel the ridges along his stomach that laid there before her. His stomach tensed and her hand froze in embarrassment as she realized that Jax was not asleep! She took at peek up towards his face and saw him eyeing her in amusement. She made motions to rise off his chest, but he pulled her back down to her resting place with one arm. "You don't have to move, I'm not going anywhere. Make yourself at home, stay awhile."

His whispered request was so tempting. As she again rose, resting an arm on his chest as she propped herself up towards his face. She smiled sleepily, "Good Morning." She kissed him platonically on the cheek before she sat up to stretch more fully.

Jax sat up forestalling her attempts to stand. "Don't I get to return the gesture?" He pulled her towards him and kissed her chastely on the lips.

Brenda's mistake was in looking directly into his eyes. They were filled with mischief, and warmth, and sexiness. He had bedroom eyes! She could feel herself being pulled towards him as the heat and desire was becoming unbearable. She knew this had been a mistake. How could she ever think they could spend the night together without things escalating to this point. She wanted him so badly, every muscle in her body ached with need. Acting against her will, her hands touched his chest and slowly worked their way up towards his neck, feeling every unbelievable inch of responsive flesh along the way. His eyes looked questionably down at hers as she gently pulled his face downward. She nibbled on his neck before finally placing her lips on his, her mouth opening in a blatant invitation to join her into oblivion. Jax pulled away briefly to gaze down at her with the silent question; if she was sure? Seeing the answer he wanted, he deepened the kiss, hearing her gentle moans as he laid down on top of her. He was reaching for the breast pocket of his discarded shirt to prepare himself for their inevitable journey to paradise when .. .. ..

"There you two are! Sorry about Tom and I being late!"

Jax and Brenda jerked up at the sound of the zippered tent being opened! As looked up in shock, they simultaneous shouted,

"LUCY!?!?!?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~