********************
They'd been off of Sloane's estate for a good twenty minutes but were still maintaining an awkward silence. Finally Ree couldn't take it any longer. "All right. Let's talk about this," she said abruptly. "This is crazy."
"I know," Jack said after a moment. "I just don't know what to say."
"I understand," Ree said sympathetically. "We couldn't have found a worse time or situation for this if we'd tried. But here we are." She moved away a few steps before continuing. "This whole. attraction. has caught me off guard. I don't do things like this. It's not the sort of thing I take lightly. And I know I can't speak for you, but in some ways - because of the dreams, I guess - I feel like I know you. And I don't think this is something you usually do either."
"You're right," Jack said plainly. "It's not. And I don't know what to do about it any more than you do. I'm not very good at . personal matters. This is certainly not something that I expected."
"But do you regret it?" Ree asked.
Jack hesitated. "No," he said finally. "No. I regret the timing and the situation, but even though I probably should, I don't regret making love to you last night. But I don't know how advisable it would be for us to continue in any sort of a relationship."
Ree nodded. "I understand. There are lots of reasons why any relationship would be problematic." She sighed. "But at the same time, having finally met the man from my dreams - literally - I can't imagine just letting you walk out of my life without at least making an attempt at working things out." She paused, not sure what to say next and not wanting to look at Jack to see his reaction.
He was silent for a long moment. Finally, he turned towards her. "I don't want to let this go either," he said slowly, "but it's been a long time. And I'm not good at this." He let out a long breath. "When I'm with you I feel things - more than I'm comfortable with. I've spent the last twenty years keeping everyone at a distance, but for some reason I can't do that with you. And I'd be lying if I said I was happy about that."
He looked down at the ground then stared off through the trees. "I can't promise you anything. And there's so much I can't - won't - be able to tell you. So much of my life that I could never share with you."
"I know what you are, Jack and I can accept that," Ree said gently. "And I'm not asking for any promises." She walked over to him and reached up to touch the side of his face, "I'd just like to give this - us - a chance."
There was something incredibly compelling about her unquestioning acceptance. Here was someone who knew - who understood - what he was. Someone he didn't have to lie to. Someone who wouldn't ask him to. Jack was so tired of all the lies and deception. They weighed him down until there were times he thought he wouldn't have the strength to be able to get up in the morning and carry them for one more day. For so long Jack had kept himself isolated, first from the sheer agony of having everything he had thought was real ripped out from under him, and later because he could never allow himself to expose someone he might love to the risks inherent in his position. How could he put an unsuspecting person in that kind of danger? And how could he take the chance of them discovering his true self and walking away in disgust?
But Ree knew. Somehow she knew it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
And despite everything, she cared about him.
About him.
Not what he could do for her, not for his skills with intelligence gathering and intimidation, but for him - Jonathan Donahue Bristow. And that, perhaps, was the reason he couldn't just let her go: the reason he was so drawn to her and so unable to keep her at a distance. From the moment he'd met her, seen those damn pictures and the journals, there'd been a connection that went far beyond the physical attraction that still startled him with its intensity.
She cared about him.
And no one had cared about Jack Bristow for a very long time.
He hadn't known how much a man's soul could crave something which seemed so simple. Nor how impossible it would be to walk away from it when it was handed to him.
His hand came up to cover hers. "All right," he said quietly, "I don't think I could let you go if I wanted to."
She smiled up at him.
Their eyes met and held. And then, without conscious thought on either of their parts, they were kissing.
It was gentle and heartbreakingly sweet. Their lips brushed and clung, drawing them further into the kiss. Ree found herself hyper aware of him: the warmth of his body, the gentleness of his hand clenching and unclenching in her hair, the scent of his aftershave, and under that the scent that was wholly Jack - wholly male. She slid her arms under his suit coat and around his back, fitting her body to his, rising up on her toes to better meet his mouth.
His mouth became more demanding, more urgent. She let herself melt into him, gave herself over to feeling and emotion. He backed her up against a tree, holding her there with his body and giving his hands free reign to wander. All she could do was hold on for dear life.
He pulled his mouth away from her and rested his forehead against hers, "Damn it, Ree," he rasped, "whenever I touch you I lose control. I want you again. God, I could take you right here, right now."
"Then take me. Right here and right now," she said, surprising even herself. "Why not? There's no one to see, no surveillance."
"It's broad daylight."
"You think I want you any less because I can see you?" Just the thought of being able to see all of him was making her heart pound. "Come on, Jack, don't you want to see me?" She slipped out of his grasp and pulled her shirt over her head. It got caught on her earrings so she removed those, too and set them on the ground. She turned slightly away to unzip her jeans and pulled them down, tossing them to lie with her shirt.
Clad only in her underwear, she returned to a stunned Jack standing by the tree. She moved against him, letting him feel every inch of her, and began to loosen his tie. She used the ends of it to pull his mouth down until it almost touched hers, "I can feel how much you want me, Jack," she murmured. "All you have to do is reach out and take what you want."
He shrugged off his suit coat and let her unbutton his shirt. Her cool hands stroked and caressed his skin as they released each button and he had to call on all of his powers of control to keep from pulling her to the ground and taking her without an ounce of finesse. It had been a long time since anyone had wanted to play these sorts of games with him, longer still since he'd allowed himself to let someone play them.
When her mouth began to follow the path of her hands he groaned and put his hands behind him, holding onto the tree to keep from grabbing her and directing her hands and mouth where he wanted them. She left his shirt open but on him and moved to the zipper of his pants. When her hands reached in to touch him he nearly lost it and when she slipped his pants and underwear off his hips and knelt to take him in her mouth he did lose it.
They were on the ground and he was inside her. It was hard and fast and the most incredible sex he'd ever had. He rolled off her, gasping for breath, and pulled her with him, unwilling to let her go for even a second. "God, Ree." He moved so he could look into her eyes, "Are you okay? I didn't mean to -"
She put a finger against his lips to quiet him. "I like to know I can make you lose control." She replaced her finger with her lips. "Do it again," she whispered.
********************
They'd been off of Sloane's estate for a good twenty minutes but were still maintaining an awkward silence. Finally Ree couldn't take it any longer. "All right. Let's talk about this," she said abruptly. "This is crazy."
"I know," Jack said after a moment. "I just don't know what to say."
"I understand," Ree said sympathetically. "We couldn't have found a worse time or situation for this if we'd tried. But here we are." She moved away a few steps before continuing. "This whole. attraction. has caught me off guard. I don't do things like this. It's not the sort of thing I take lightly. And I know I can't speak for you, but in some ways - because of the dreams, I guess - I feel like I know you. And I don't think this is something you usually do either."
"You're right," Jack said plainly. "It's not. And I don't know what to do about it any more than you do. I'm not very good at . personal matters. This is certainly not something that I expected."
"But do you regret it?" Ree asked.
Jack hesitated. "No," he said finally. "No. I regret the timing and the situation, but even though I probably should, I don't regret making love to you last night. But I don't know how advisable it would be for us to continue in any sort of a relationship."
Ree nodded. "I understand. There are lots of reasons why any relationship would be problematic." She sighed. "But at the same time, having finally met the man from my dreams - literally - I can't imagine just letting you walk out of my life without at least making an attempt at working things out." She paused, not sure what to say next and not wanting to look at Jack to see his reaction.
He was silent for a long moment. Finally, he turned towards her. "I don't want to let this go either," he said slowly, "but it's been a long time. And I'm not good at this." He let out a long breath. "When I'm with you I feel things - more than I'm comfortable with. I've spent the last twenty years keeping everyone at a distance, but for some reason I can't do that with you. And I'd be lying if I said I was happy about that."
He looked down at the ground then stared off through the trees. "I can't promise you anything. And there's so much I can't - won't - be able to tell you. So much of my life that I could never share with you."
"I know what you are, Jack and I can accept that," Ree said gently. "And I'm not asking for any promises." She walked over to him and reached up to touch the side of his face, "I'd just like to give this - us - a chance."
There was something incredibly compelling about her unquestioning acceptance. Here was someone who knew - who understood - what he was. Someone he didn't have to lie to. Someone who wouldn't ask him to. Jack was so tired of all the lies and deception. They weighed him down until there were times he thought he wouldn't have the strength to be able to get up in the morning and carry them for one more day. For so long Jack had kept himself isolated, first from the sheer agony of having everything he had thought was real ripped out from under him, and later because he could never allow himself to expose someone he might love to the risks inherent in his position. How could he put an unsuspecting person in that kind of danger? And how could he take the chance of them discovering his true self and walking away in disgust?
But Ree knew. Somehow she knew it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
And despite everything, she cared about him.
About him.
Not what he could do for her, not for his skills with intelligence gathering and intimidation, but for him - Jonathan Donahue Bristow. And that, perhaps, was the reason he couldn't just let her go: the reason he was so drawn to her and so unable to keep her at a distance. From the moment he'd met her, seen those damn pictures and the journals, there'd been a connection that went far beyond the physical attraction that still startled him with its intensity.
She cared about him.
And no one had cared about Jack Bristow for a very long time.
He hadn't known how much a man's soul could crave something which seemed so simple. Nor how impossible it would be to walk away from it when it was handed to him.
His hand came up to cover hers. "All right," he said quietly, "I don't think I could let you go if I wanted to."
She smiled up at him.
Their eyes met and held. And then, without conscious thought on either of their parts, they were kissing.
It was gentle and heartbreakingly sweet. Their lips brushed and clung, drawing them further into the kiss. Ree found herself hyper aware of him: the warmth of his body, the gentleness of his hand clenching and unclenching in her hair, the scent of his aftershave, and under that the scent that was wholly Jack - wholly male. She slid her arms under his suit coat and around his back, fitting her body to his, rising up on her toes to better meet his mouth.
His mouth became more demanding, more urgent. She let herself melt into him, gave herself over to feeling and emotion. He backed her up against a tree, holding her there with his body and giving his hands free reign to wander. All she could do was hold on for dear life.
He pulled his mouth away from her and rested his forehead against hers, "Damn it, Ree," he rasped, "whenever I touch you I lose control. I want you again. God, I could take you right here, right now."
"Then take me. Right here and right now," she said, surprising even herself. "Why not? There's no one to see, no surveillance."
"It's broad daylight."
"You think I want you any less because I can see you?" Just the thought of being able to see all of him was making her heart pound. "Come on, Jack, don't you want to see me?" She slipped out of his grasp and pulled her shirt over her head. It got caught on her earrings so she removed those, too and set them on the ground. She turned slightly away to unzip her jeans and pulled them down, tossing them to lie with her shirt.
Clad only in her underwear, she returned to a stunned Jack standing by the tree. She moved against him, letting him feel every inch of her, and began to loosen his tie. She used the ends of it to pull his mouth down until it almost touched hers, "I can feel how much you want me, Jack," she murmured. "All you have to do is reach out and take what you want."
He shrugged off his suit coat and let her unbutton his shirt. Her cool hands stroked and caressed his skin as they released each button and he had to call on all of his powers of control to keep from pulling her to the ground and taking her without an ounce of finesse. It had been a long time since anyone had wanted to play these sorts of games with him, longer still since he'd allowed himself to let someone play them.
When her mouth began to follow the path of her hands he groaned and put his hands behind him, holding onto the tree to keep from grabbing her and directing her hands and mouth where he wanted them. She left his shirt open but on him and moved to the zipper of his pants. When her hands reached in to touch him he nearly lost it and when she slipped his pants and underwear off his hips and knelt to take him in her mouth he did lose it.
They were on the ground and he was inside her. It was hard and fast and the most incredible sex he'd ever had. He rolled off her, gasping for breath, and pulled her with him, unwilling to let her go for even a second. "God, Ree." He moved so he could look into her eyes, "Are you okay? I didn't mean to -"
She put a finger against his lips to quiet him. "I like to know I can make you lose control." She replaced her finger with her lips. "Do it again," she whispered.
********************