Connected

Author's Note: I know that I need to get back to work on Ever On, but this was just too tempting a one shot to not write it. Ever On will see its update soon enough, not to worry. You can thank Newborn Heart and Honeyphan (from YouTube) for inspiring this one. In the meantime, enjoy

He was emotionally raw. Natalie has just ripped him open, removed his heart, and stomped all over it. He had nothing and no one to hold onto except the slim hope of seeing Liam again someday and the beautiful woman that he wanted to protect and ensure the happiness of that sat looking at him with caring and sympathy in her sad brown eyes.

"More than anything, I want you to be happy." John told her, meaning every word.

"So do I." Sam replied.

As her words sank into his brain, John gasped. Realization hit him hard. He was free, as was she. This connection that had them bound to each other roared to life in an instant. There was no longer a reason to hold back. There was no longer a reason to fight against the pull they felt for each other.

Quickly, before either one of them had time to think, John put his glass of whiskey down on the coffee table and rose to his knees in front of Sam. She was now caught between his body and the coffee table. She cut off a gasp at his aggressive move, but didn't shrink back from him.

Realizing he had startled her, John took a different tack. He put his forehead to hers and waited. When she moved towards him slightly, he moved just enough to nuzzle her nose with his. These light and sensual touches meant so much to him when he was with Sam. The subtle building of the fire of desire in both of them was so tempting and seductive.

John pulled back a little to look in Sam's eyes. He needed to know she was with him in what he was feeling. Searching her eyes for a moment, John found his answer. Sam's heart and soul were in there in her eyes, laid bare for him to see. They moved together until their lips were pressed together in a sweet, long kiss. His hands cupped her face as her hands rested against his chest. After a moment, he deepened the kiss and she followed him.

He took his hands off her briefly to shed his jacket, then took her fully in his arms and deepened their kiss more. After a moment, he pulled back, breaking the kiss. Holding her face in his hands, he looked in her eyes again to make sure she was still feeling as much as he was. Relieved to find she was, he slowly pulled her pull-over from her shoulder. Wanting her to know how much he needed her and how vulnerable he was, John kissed her shoulder then nuzzled it. He rested his head against her shoulder for a moment before pulling back from her to meet her eyes again.

The strength of his feelings was overwhelming. John had fought against his attraction to Sam for so long, because of her marriage and his relationship with Natalie. Let loose now, those feelings mentally brought him to his knees. He needed Sam in his life, in his arms, and now that he could do so without obstacles, in his bed. He was afraid the intensity of what he felt would scare Sam, but he saw the same raw need and desire in her eyes just before he moved forward to capture her lips in another heated kiss.

Breaking that kiss a few moments later, John trailed his lips along her jaw line to her ear. Whispering to her how much he wanted and needed her, John nibbled lightly on Sam's ear. He nearly cried out in agony when she put a hand to his chest and gently pushed him back from her.

"Wait. Wait."

"Okay. What's wrong?" John asked her, trying to be patient when he felt anything but.

"This. If we don't stop now, we're not going to be able to." Sam told him.

"Okay. And that's a problem?" John asked her.

"Yeah. Yeah." Sam got out unsteadily.

"Because of?" John asked.

"Just because." Sam told him as she pulled her pull-over back on and got up to move away from him.

"I just ended my marriage yesterday. You recently found out your relationship is over. We're hurt and we're angry…" Sam began to explain.

"And these are the wrong reasons to turn to each other." John finished the thought for Sam, hating to admit she was right. Sam meant far more to him than just a quick roll in the hay to ease his anger and pain over Natalie's rejection. He wanted to have a future with this woman if he could manage it.

Sam turned back to him as he approached her.

"I feel like if this is where we're headed, if this is the connection between us, it will keep for now." Sam told him, even as she fought to keep some distance between herself and John.

Reaching out to brush the side of her face with a hand, John told her what he could honestly say he felt at the moment.

"The last thing I want to do is complicate your life, Sam, or cause you any more pain than you've already been through." He looked into her eyes to make sure she understood that he was more concerned for her than himself.

Looking up at him, Sam was unable to resist the urge to lean forward and kiss him again. Just before their lips touched, there was a loud and aggressive knock on the door. Closing her eyes in frustration, Sam turned towards the door, while John grimaced at the irony of the world conspiring to keep them from each other's arms yet again.

Or perhaps they had been saved by the proverbial bell, he thought later as he walked out the door of the lake house. He comforted himself with the thought that when the time was right, Sam would be his. After all, he was already hers, body and soul.