Chapter Three

Jason Morgan had never been happier in his life to see the looming Boeing Business Jet awaiting his arrival. As the black SUV drew closer to the runway, the stairs descended and two suit-clad figures rushed down them. The runway was lit with signal lights and men swarmed it, preparing for the departure of the private jet.

A few years ago, Sonny had decided to make a change in traveling methods and set out to buy a more spacious aircraft. After dragging Jason around for a month from one manufacturer to another, he had finally brought a Boeing Business Jet. It was over a thousand square feet with more rooms than was really needed. A private pilot and staff were always on stand-by in case the jet was needed.

He had to admit there were perks to having an enormous jet at your disposal. He was able to walk out of one room and into another. Usually, to get away from any of the insane people he was unfortunately associated with and in many cases it was the guards or Brenda.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Jason took in a deep shaky breath and tried to collect his thoughts. On its own accord, his hand absentmindedly stroked the thick chestnut locks that belonged to the sleeping beauty in his lap.

Adam had had the car ready to go when he had reached him at the exit of the park. The guard had jumped into action, opening the door for Jason to enter. He made sure that the enforcer was in the car and situated with Elizabeth before gunning the engine and rushing to the airport. The guard had done a good job and proven himself worthy with his quick reflexes. He had also contacted a backup to clean up the mess at the park and alerted the doctor on the island at the estate to be ready as soon as possible.

Elizabeth's head rested in his lap on a pillow that Adam had supplied him. Her eyes were still closed, her hair sprawled over the white pillow. She barely moved. Her arm was now covered with dried blood. His shirt, soaked with her blood, held up as a makeshift bandage. Her skin was cold under his touch, but her breathing had evened out and her pulse was still strong. The only thing he needed to do now was get her on the plane and remove the bullet in her arm.

The car came to a sharp halt as Adam literally flew out of the car and reached for the handle of the passenger door. He flung it open and moved aside for Jason to exit. Sliding out of the car first, Jason felt none of the harshness of the winds against his bare chest. After scanning the perimeter for a moment, the enforcer reached back inside the car for the brunette. Cradling her tenderly against him, Jason moved quickly and fluidly all the while aware of the injured woman in his arms.

Once inside the private jet, the enforcer paid no attention to those gathered in the lounge area. Placing Elizabeth carefully on a beige leather chaise, he pivoted to observe the group surrounding them. "Emily, do you have the bag of supplies Francis was asked to get?"

"Right here," she replied, raising a black leather bag and already moving towards her best friend.

"Brenda, please go distract the kids. Especially Lil."

The older brunette nodded her head in agreement, the fear in her moist eyes evident.
Max rushed into the lounge at that moment pulling off his tie as he moved. "Everyone is on and we're ready to go. Johnny is in position," he reported. Only the mob boss, enforcer, and the other guard understood his cryptic words.

Turning away from Max, Jason ordered the first person he saw. "Sonny, go get clean towels and some steamed ones as well."

The older man rushed off for the galley of the jet.

The oldest of the three stooges, Francis Corelli, kneeled besides Elizabeth, checking her temperature as Emily removed the equipment from the black leather pouch. "Jason, her temperature just spiked."

Jason's pale blue eyes grew wide with gut-wrenching fear as he moved quickly to Elizabeth's side. Checking her temperature himself, he let out a long string of curses that had not only his little sister blushing, but the Irish guard as well. "Emily, do you think you can help me with this?"

"I'll do my best," the first-year intern muttered, reaching for the blood soaked white shirt that placed pressure on Elizabeth's wound. The moment Emily removed the bandage the blood quickly oozed out, splattering down onto the couch and the rest of Elizabeth's clothes.

Applying pressure on the wound, Emily shouted, "Jason, give her the Valium and give me something to cut off the blood flow to her arm."

Following Emily's orders, Jason maneuvered Elizabeth's mouth open and dropped in a pill that Francis handed him. She was barely awake, but with Francis' help he was able to get her to swallow the water. It took a few minutes for the pill to work, but she was soon out cold.

None of the occupants in the lounge noticed the movement of the jet as it took off for the private island. Within moments it was in the air headed for the Caribbean estate that awaited the arrival of the passengers on board.

Francis moved around Jason and reached for a pillow.

"You should put that under her head," Max suggested to the older bodyguard.

The older man glared at him. "I was about to do that, genius."

"Well, you should move a little faster if you're trying to be helpful."

"Shut your mouth before I use my fist to do it."

"If Elizabeth wasn't hurt you'd have a black eye already," Max retorted.

"Will you two stop your bickering?" Sonny roared, returning with the towels and a bucket of ice.
Ignoring the childish bickering of the two stooges, Jason took Max's discarded tie and tied it right above Elizabeth's wound and within moments the blood in the area stopped flowing. "Okay, I stopped the bleeding. It's a clean-cut wound. The bullet didn't hit her bone. We only have a few minutes to get that bullet out and fast."

Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat from the paleness of her best friend's skin and the amount of blood she had lost, Emily got to work. Rummaging through the pouch, she found a pair of surgical tweezers in their sterile cover. The perk of being associated with the mob was that they had more private medical equipment available than she had ever seen. Ripping it open, Emily passed it to her brother. "I can't…I can't do this. You need to. You have more experience at this stuff then I do," she answered the question in her brother's blue eyes.

Taking the tweezers from his sister, Jason moved around the chaise to the side where Elizabeth's injured arm lay. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked his sister.

"See, when you get offered an all-expense paid vacation on a private island away from the Quartermaines, you don't think twice to accept it," Emily answered offhandedly as she handed a confused Max a bag of fluid antibiotics. In two seconds flat, she had the catheter in and antibiotics running smoothly into her best friend's veins.

Accepting the answer, Jason squatted down, took in a deep breath and took one last look at Elizabeth's colorless face. He prodded the skin around the bullet until he had a clear view of it. Moving more flesh out of the way, Jason used the tweezers to get a secure grip on the bullet and cautiously pulled it. "I got it," he announced as he brought the blood-splattered bullet to the light. It was a silver 9mm-caliber bullet. Most of the guards loaded their guns with magazines of ten rounds of it.

The occupants surrounding the petite patient released a deep sigh of relief.

Tossing the bullet into the towel that Sonny held for him as a pail, Jason harshly pulled the tie lose from around Elizabeth's arm and reached for the wet towels that Emily held out for him. Wiping away as much blood as he could, Jason inspected the wound. It wasn't that bad of a wound now that the bullet had been extracted and cleaned up.

"I'll patch her up," Emily murmured, pushing her brother aside with a tube of ointment already in her hands. His sister worked quickly cleaning the rest of the wound and applying necessary ointment. The future surgeon to be stitched diligently, her hand never wavering. And then proceeded to bandage the wound with the supplies that Francis helpfully handed her. Once she was done, gave everyone the okay to start breathing normally again.

Rising off from the floor, Jason took a seat besides Elizabeth's limp body. Grabbing one of the white hand towels that Sonny had retrieved, Jason placed a few ice cubes onto the cloth and brought the ends together forming a makeshift ice pack. Keeping a good grip on the towel, he slowly brushed it against Elizabeth's warm skin. The normal soft hue of her skin was starting to return. Her lips were now no longer pasty pink, but once again a deep yet soft pink, yet her temperature was still relatively high. He continued his ministrations with the ice pack, moving it down her throat and leisurely to her collarbone, attempting to ignore the expanse of bare skin he encountered in doing so.

A smear of blood tainted her flawless cheek. Gently, Jason wiped it away gazing down at her peaceful expression.

His heart began to beat calmly again.

She was going to make it. The tension in his body began to slowly seep away as the thought swirled in his mind. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't gotten to her in time. His daughter's anguished face flashed before his eyes. Pushing the image away, he concentrated on the slumbering brunette beauty before him. She was beautiful. He'd always known that, but right now, witnessing her skin returning to the pink tinted hue under his touch, took Jason's breath away.

"She'll be just fine," he heard someone murmur to him. Looking up he found himself staring at his pleased sister.

"Thank you for your help."

"It was my pleasure to help out my brother and best friend. You did good Jason," Emily clapped her brother on the back.

"Thanks," he sighed.

"And you did it all while shirtless."

~*~

Soft bubbling laughter floated to his ear as he neared the heavy wooden door.

They had safely made it to the island without any mishaps or arguments among the guards. Elizabeth's temperature had gradually decreased reaching normal body temperature moments before they reached the villa. Dr. Griggs had been waiting at the island for their arrival. She gave Elizabeth a check up and announced that the nanny would be back up and running in a few days.

Shuffling his bare feet on the smooth varnished cherry wood floors, he reached his destination. Shifting the tray that he held in his arms, he turned the doorknob to open the door to the image of his daughter giggling along with a tired, yet glowing nanny.

The door drifted open catching Elizabeth's attention. She couldn't help but blush at the sight of the man standing in the threshold of her room. Her boss stood bare feet in just a pair of simple black silk pajama bottoms with no hint of embarrassment at his state of undress. She had seen him walking around shirtless in the penthouse or the villa when they were on the island more than once, but it never stopped her from blushing at the sight of his tanned skin. The man may act like a block of concrete at times, but his well-defined body would have any woman warming up to him. Tearing her eyes away from his bare upper body, Elizabeth forced herself to listen to the excited four-year old beside her, all the while very aware of the man watching her.

Once they had arrived on the island and the doctor had visited Elizabeth, Emily and Brenda had jumped into action, ordering the guards around. They removed Elizabeth's blood-soaked clothes and replaced them with a satin indigo nightgown including a soft terry cloth robe of the same shade that didn't bother her bandage or the IV drip hanging from a tall lamp. She looked relaxed and comfortable propped up by the mountain of different blue shades of pillows Emily had insisted her friend would need. A soft white knitted blanket covered her body from his view.

"Hi Daddy," his daughter greeted him, tearing his attention away from his nanny.

Placing the tray he carried on a night table, Jason faced his daughter with a frown. "Isn't it a little late for you to be up, young lady?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yes, but I wanted to come see Liz. She got hurt and I wanted to make her feel better."

"Well," he drawled, scooping her off the blue comforters, making her squeal. "I'll make you a deal. You say goodnight to Liz and make your way to bed then maybe we'll all take a trip to the beach tomorrow."

Her soft blue eyes shot wide open in joy. "Really?"

"Really."

She clapped her small hands in delight. Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she began to fuss to be let down. Jason complied with a ticklish kiss.

Cautiously, Lil moved towards her nanny. "Good night Liz," she murmured placing a sweet kiss on her nanny's cheek.

"Good night sweetie," Elizabeth said against the child's soft pale blonde hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Giving the child one last kiss and a one armed hug, the young nanny released her. She waved back at the child as the four year-old skipped out of her room. Silently, Elizabeth brushed away a tear that fell, but not fast enough for Jason's observant eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Surprised, Elizabeth found herself looking into her boss's concerned blue eyes. "I'm fine, Mr. Morgan."

He groaned at the sound of his last name. "Elizabeth," he shook his head. "You've worked for me for over a year now and I have asked more than once for you to call me Jason."

"Sorry," she mumbled, fidgeting with the end of sash of her robe. He was acting different. They barely had conversations let alone be in the same room for more than five minutes.

"Jason."

"Sorry Jason," she amended.

His name rolled of her tongue, making Jason wonder of how it would sound after a breathless kiss. A frown appeared on his face at the thought. Pushing it away, he reached for the tray that sat on her night table. He popped the cover off a bottle and shook out one pill. Placing the pill in the middle of his palm, he reached for the glass of water besides the bottle. Turning back to face Elizabeth, Jason felt his heart skip a beat.

While he had distracted himself with getting the medicine that Francis had brought to him for their patient, Elizabeth had removed herself from under the covers. She now sat at the edge of her bed in just her nightgown and robe. The nightgown barely reached her knee, leaving her long legs uncovered. The robe she wore was transparent enough to reveal the expanse of white creamy skin of her upper body. She rubbed her neck, drawing his eyes to the laced deep V-neck of her gown, cupping her full breasts. She gazed up at him with wide blue eyes that were more distinctive by the shade of her nightgown.

Why was he noticing all of this?

Swallowing harshly, the enforcer kneeled before her. "Open your mouth," he ordered.

"I can do this myself," Elizabeth retorted. He was acting like he cared and that alarmed her.

"I know, but I want to," he replied softly. "Now open your mouth."

She did as she was told this time.

"This is for the pain," he explained dropping a white pill into her mouth. Helping her with the water glass, Jason watched as her face darkened from the pain that pierced through her.

"Did Brenda or Emily change your bandages?"

She shook her head. "I just woke up when Lil came to see me."

"Oh, I'll take a look at it if you want?" he asked, not sure if he was doing the right thing.

She shrugged. "Okay." She struggled with getting her robe off. She froze the moment she felt Jason's warm hands over hers taking off the robe for her.

Gingerly, he moved the robe out of the way and began to remove the bandages ignoring the way her gown clung to every curve of her body. "You…you scared me a little today," he whispered.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm the one that should be for not opening fire in time."

She sighed. "I wasn't paying attention to Lil. I got so wrapped up in the sunset. I was so focused on the colors I would use on my canvas that I didn't even notice that there was someone else with us or that Max had taken Lil to safety."

Jason's hands froze on her wound as he listened to her blame herself.

A tear slipped down her cheek, clinging to her chin for a moment before dropping to her lap. "It could have been Max or…or even Lil." The tears began to fall freely.

"Hey," he murmured, cupping her cheek. "Hey," he repeated, tilting her head so she looked down at him. Tears continued to fall as she gazed down at him with miserable blue eyes. He hated the dimness in her blue eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong. I know you. I know you would have protected Lil in anyway that you could."

"I'd do anything for her."

"I know," he murmured, brushing away her wet tears. "And she'd do the same for you." He watched her skin flush from her tears. She began nibbling her lower lip under his gaze. The muscles in her cheek tensed under his touch. Her lips parted in an audible gasp of surprise when his hand moved down her cheek and grasped the back of her neck. Her chest fell and rose as she took in one labored breathe after another.

Jason wasn't aware of what caused him to move, but one moment he was watching her and the next his lips were on her soft ones. She froze under his touch, but that didn't stop Jason as he brushed her lips over and over again in a sensual rhythm.

Ignoring the things the man's mouth could do was like denying herself air. His hand clenched in her thick locks as his tongue danced a wet trail over her lips. Her mouth opened on its own accord, granting his mischievous tongue entrance, pulling a deep moan from the back of her throat. Her talented digits danced their way over his bare chest to wrap around this neck. She began playing with the short hair at the base of his neck while their tongues began a duel of control. His kisses warmed every part of her body.

The lack of air was the only reason he broke apart from her plump lips to run kisses down the white column of her throat. His hands traveled through her hair down to her hips. His hand tangled in the satin fabric of her gown as he pushed himself up off his heels and lowered her onto her massive bed. He was careful not to place his full weight on her. Her hands fisted in his short blond spikes, pulling his head back to her. Her lips were demanding on his, but he held nothing back as his tongue rubbed against hers taking control.

Jason's work-roughened hands moved to the hem of her nightgown as his mouth moved from her lips to her chin. He nipped at the soft cleft in her chin. A harsh groan escaped his lips at the feel of Elizabeth's nails scrapping his bareback. She kissed the underside of jaw softly as her other hand traveled to his bare chest, moving south towards his apparent arousal. His hand disappeared under the hem of her nightgown. The roughness of his hand contrasted sharply to the smoothness of her creamy thigh.

Tangling their lips together, Jason basked in the moans that he received from the withering woman beneath him. He cupped one of her young, yet firm breasts through her nightgown. He stroked a nipple with his thumb and it hardened instantly. He then slipped his hand between her thighs and parted them to cradle his body. The hand that remained on her thighs only moved higher towards her heat. Nuzzling her elegant neck, Jason forced his hand away from her breast and moved for the thin strap of her gown. He needed to feel her warm soft skin against his fevered skin.

Hooking one long finger under her thin indigo strap, Jason's lips met Elizabeth's plump ones in another tantalizing kiss as he eased the strap off her milky white shoulder. He pulled the strap down, enjoying the feeling of her skin against his hands. The strap was off her shoulder, past her wound when Elizabeth groaned in pain. The groan brought Jason's foggy mind back to reality. He jumped off of her without a second thought.

They both stared at each other with dazed eyes.

Their breathing hard and labored.

Skins flushed.

Lips red and swollen.

Tearing his eyes away from her alluring body, Jason shook his head hard. Running a hand through his tussled hair, Jason's darkened eyes examined Elizabeth's appearance. Her silk nightgown was high on her thighs. The strap of her gown was off her shoulder, leaving the fabric barely clinging to one of her high breasts. Her skin was flushed a deep red and her lips swollen from his kisses. His eyes slowly traveled to Elizabeth's hazy ones.

"I'm sorry, he forced past his lips. "That shouldn't have happened."

With those words he turned and strode out of the room.