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Chapter 2

From Sonny's office Jason went right to Elizabeth's studio. Before he made any plans he needed to find out if she was at all interested in going away with him. Forced vacation was one thing. Forced vacation without his girlfriend by his side was another matter altogether.

He took the steps two at a time up to the third floor. This neighborhood was the last place he wanted her, but this had been his girl's place since moving out of her grandmother's house. Since he didn't make it a practice to tell Elizabeth what to do, Jason had simply secured her studio as best he could. The large black steel door would make sure she stayed safe, the guard sitting in the car downstairs would as well.

Using his key Jason opened the door, and stepped inside. Elizabeth was standing at an easel, painting. She was bopping her head and singing. His girl was talented with a paintbrush, she also had a pretty good voice, but she rarely sang if anyone else was around. It took her months to be comfortable singing if he was around.

Before he could announce his presence his eyes latched onto her bottom. She was wearing his favorite pair of jeans. They were soft and faded, and the way they cupped her butt made him hot. It also made him want to walk over and cop a feel. So instead of letting her know he was here, Jason just leaned against the door and watched her shake her very fine ass.

Elizabeth was feeling inspired to paint this morning so she had gotten out her watercolors and set up her easel. Just lately she had been all about pencils. It wasn't unusual for her muse to want to put down the brush in favor of something else. Last spring she had spent a few months learning to use pottery clay. The lessons had been fun, and she found that she had skill with that medium. It wasn't her first love, but it was something she would do again. She had even sold her pieces, and that was always a good thing.

Today however was all about the brush. She had put her ear buds in, loaded up her palette and let loose on the canvas. At the moment she was singing along to Macy Grey, picking up her brush she added a bit of green to the abstract image before looking it over. Satisfied she smiled and declared it finished.

The song changed to something with a faster beat, and Elizabeth just let the music move through her. There was no better feeling than finishing a piece of art. Well that wasn't quite true. She felt really good when she was in Jason's arms. Lord that man's biceps were pretty amazing, and he always knew how tight to hold her. Add in some kissing and that was the best feeling in the world. She was grooving to the song when she turned and screamed in fright.

Jason pushed off the door. "I'm sorry." He said as he walked over and held her close. His girl didn't like to be snuck up on, so he did his best not to do it. He tended to move quietly, so he tried to always announce his presence. It was just that her swaying hips had left him totally mesmerized.

"You scared me." Elizabeth said stating the obvious as she burrowed into his warmth, and waited for her racing heart to calm down.

"I was so busy watching you dance that I didn't speak up." Jason said rubbing his hand up and down her back. It could take her a bit to shake off a fright. At least she hadn't hit him. Johnny had startled her a few months back and ended up sporting a black eye when she reflectively defended herself. The good thing was that they knew the self-defense lessons worked.

"I wasn't expecting you." Elizabeth said trying to level out her breathing. She wasn't easily spooked these days, but men sneaking up on her was a trigger. She should have realized it was Jason, because no one was getting through the door and he was the only other person with a key.

"I wasn't expecting to be here." Jason said still holding her close. Her trembling was slowing. He knew from experience that she would spend the rest of the day shaking this feeling off, but hopefully she wouldn't have any nightmares. "I had a meeting with Sonny."

"Are you going out of town?" Elizabeth wanted to know, that was usually the only reason he told her about meetings. He hadn't gone on a business trip since they made their relationship official. He had worked a lot of hours, but she understood his job wasn't nine to five.

"Yes, but not on business. Well I would like to go out of town." Jason said backtracking a bit. "I have to take some vacation time."

"Have to?" She asked looking up at him.

"I have almost a year of vacation time saved up, and Bernie said I should take half of it before the end of this year." Jason explained. Elizabeth wasn't shaking any longer so he took them over to the couch. He sat down and she curled up next to him.

"Six months off. Wow, and you plan on traveling for some of that?" She would miss him while he was gone, but she was guessing he would call often.

"I would like to use those months off to take you away." Jason cleared up.

"Me?" Elizabeth hadn't expected that.

"You, things have been all kinds of crazy the last few months. I haven't spent nearly enough time with you or given you the attention you deserve." Jason started telling her what was on his mind. "I want to correct that."

"I don't need trips Jason." Elizabeth never wanted him to feel like he had to constantly do things to impress her. She was happiest when they spent time together. "We can hang out here."

"No we can't." Jason told her. "If I'm here something with crop up, and I won't get time with you. I know you don't need me to spend money on you. I want to show you some of my favorite places, and I want to take you to some of the places you've always wanted to see. You have a list right?"

"I have a mental list." Elizabeth admitted. "I've talked about some of those places with you. Your collection of travel guides inspired me to dream." She said laughing. He had a couple hundred of them, it was kind of a running gag with his friends. They tried to find him guides he didn't have for his birthday and Christmas. Elizabeth loved curling up on his couch at the penthouse and losing herself in one of them.

"I thought we'd start with Italy. Naples to be precise." Jason told her what he planned. "I know that of all the places in the world you want to go to Italy the most. I've heard you talk of Naples several times so it seems like a great place to begin our adventure. I'd like you to make a new list, of everywhere in the world you want to see. Then rank them in order of importance."

Elizabeth just sat there looking at him before finding her voice. "Are you really offering me a trip around the world? The two of us traveling together for the next six months." Stuff like this just didn't happen.

"I am." Jason said smiling wide. "I am sitting here offering you an all-expense paid trip to anywhere on the planet." He made a point to include that he was paying. He didn't want her worrying about how much this would cost. "If you want to go. I told Sonny the vacation was off if you didn't want to go away." He just waited for her to speak. "So, will you let me show you the places you've dreamed of?"

"I'm at a loss for words." Elizabeth said starting to laugh. "I don't think that's ever happened before."

"You don't need many words. In fact you only need one. Yes." He said urging her to accept his offer. Now that they were talking about it he was excited to go.

"When would we leave?" Elizabeth asked getting excited too.

"As soon as we are ready. You need to get shots, and I'll get you a passport. I need to work out some things with the guys." Jason wanted to make sure things were secure during his absence, because for the first time since working for Sonny he didn't plan on answering his phone much. "I figure it won't take more than two weeks to set everything up."

"Are we taking guards?" Elizabeth wanted to know. That didn't affect her answer, she was just getting all the information she could.

"No, but I will be traveling with my gun." Jason wanted her aware of that. "Your safety is always a priority."

Elizabeth nodded almost giddy at the prospect of six months alone with Jason. She wasn't worried that they would get on each other's nerves, in fact she was looking forward to not having to share him. Thinking of them being alone had her mind going in another direction. The sleeping arrangements. She and Jason hadn't slept together yet, they hadn't done anything past making out. They were both adults, and she didn't see the point of separate rooms. They had been officially dating for three months, despite the fact that they spent most of that time apart, and honestly she wanted to experience what it was like to make love with him.

"What?" Jason could practically hear her thinking.

"Will we be sharing a room?" She asked a bit shyly. She wasn't a virgin, and neither was he. It had been a while since she was with someone but she had liked sex and he liked it too. But that first time together was still something to be a bit nervous about. Learning what you partner liked and didn't like. She trusted him, and knew she would be safe and well-cared for in his bed. Still the thought of sleeping with him made the butterflies in her stomach take flight. She hadn't ever felt about a man the way she felt about Jason. She loved him, and that would make a physical relationship even more meaningful.

"I'd like to." Jason wasn't going to lie. Elizabeth had been the reason for a lot of sleepless nights. Just knowing he was going to be seeing her had him getting hard. He wanted to make love with her. It would be amazing for their first time together to be in Italy. "If you aren't comfortable with that then I can get us suites with two bedrooms."

"I'd like to share a room with you too. So we should get blood work done before we go." Elizabeth wanted to be adult about this.

"We should." Jason nodded. He would pack condoms and give her the option of deciding if they used them or not. If she wanted to, then he would let her decide when they could stop. "I'll call my doctor today and make an appointment."

"I don't need many shots." Elizabeth explained. "I have to get a lot of the required shots for international travel to volunteer at the summer camp." It was a good thing this trip was coming up now, in a few weeks she would have signed up to be a counselor.

"Okay, take a deep breath. I need to talk to you about something." Jason said starting to grin. "I'm going to give you a credit card." She opened her mouth to speak and he kissed her. "International travel can be expensive." He started when lifting his mouth. "Especially the preparations. Luggage is really expensive, and I know you don't have any."

"I was going to ask Em to borrow hers." Elizabeth admitted.

"That won't work. She is going away this summer." Jason told Elizabeth. Emily was spending at least a few weeks with Cody and his family in Napa where the guard was from. Cody's sister was getting married, so they were attending the wedding, and he wanted to show Em the area. "You will need your own luggage, I'm hoping this won't be the only trip we take. Sonny mentioned me taking at least a week a month off next year, to burn through some of the rest of my stored up vacation days. I like the thought of that. I also want you to get whatever clothing you need." Most of Elizabeth's clothes were jeans and t-shirts, things she could get messy in. While he loved that, he wanted her to have nice things for the trip. "I'm sure Em will be happy to shop with you."

"Yeah, your sister isn't going to turn down shopping." Elizabeth decided not to argue. Jason wasn't trying to buy her love, or change her. He wanted this to be the type of trip they would tell their grandchildren about. "Okay."

"Thank you." Jason knew that couldn't have been easy for Elizabeth. "It will be here tomorrow." He already had it waiting in the penthouse.

"If Em isn't available, I'll call Diane." Elizabeth said thinking out loud. "I might call Diane anyway. She has really good taste." Elizabeth didn't want to look like Jason's poor relation.

"Sounds good. So Naples first, or do you want to start somewhere else in Italy?" He wanted to know.

"Where would you start?" Elizabeth asked since he had been to the country before.

"The Amalfi Coast." Jason loved it there. The water relaxed him. "No matter what I would like to see that before we leave Italy."

"Let me look that up." Elizabeth didn't know anything about that area. "You have a travel guide on it. I'll read up about the area and decide between that and Naples."

"Fair enough, whichever one you don't pick we'll go to when we are done with the winner." Jason told her. Either way they would have a good time. "Let's go for a bike ride, and then back to my place to pick up the book. Will you have dinner with me tonight?" He never assumed she was free.

"I'll even cook." Elizabeth offered.

"We'll cook together." Jason countered walking over to her closet to grab her leather jacket. "Come on."

With a smile Elizabeth joined him. She was going to travel with her guy, how awesome was that?!

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