Joey had never had to work so hard in her life to seduce a man. And having to work this hard to seduce Pacey of all people was frustrating beyond belief.

The fact that he was protesting so hard against sleeping together so soon only reinforced to her how much he loved her and how badly he wanted their new relationship to work.

Joey knew the only way she would get him to give in would be to stop him from thinking with his brain and get him thinking with his heart - and other essential body parts. So, she counted to ten and dared him to stop her from kissing him.

During the countdown she kept her eyes glued to Pacey's. She watched as he raged an internal war with himself over whether to "do right" by her or to give himself permission to give in and take the rest as it comes. Joey could sense his resolve weakening more and more with each number she passed. By the time she got to ten, she knew that she'd won.

Hand still on Pacey's heart, Joey touched her lips to his. Initially, Pacey resisted kissing her back, but it didn't take long for Joey to break down his resolve.

The second she felt Pacey give in to his feelings, their kiss became all-consuming. As melted fire coursed through her veins, Joey knew she'd made the right decision in finally choosing to give life with Pacey another chance. The only other time she'd ever felt this alive was when they were together before.

Pacey as a teenager was a considerate lover. He'd made her first time really nice. She felt safe, loved, and protected. Although he had previous experience, they still had to learn how to please each other together. Pacey as a man, however, was different. He led with confidence, having honed his skills during their time apart, and she knew he would know exactly what to do to bring her pleasure tonight.

As Joey's hands worked the buttons of his shirt, Pacey began backing her toward the bedroom, never once breaking their kiss. Once they were inside, he kicked the door shut with his foot. As Joey pushed his shirt from his shoulders, he reached for the tie of her black wrap dress. But, rather than yank it quickly as she wanted him to, he broke the kiss and stepped back slightly. Then, he began slowly pulling the string inch by frustrating inch. When Joey reached for the other tie to hurry him up, he caught her hand with his free one and brought it up to his mouth for a quick kiss. Smiling, he shook his head and teased, "Eh, eh, eh, Josephine. Don't you know that good things come to those who wait?"

Joey growled in response, which caused him to chuckle.

When he had finally untied the string, he gazed at her as the material fell open to hand loosely at her sides. As his eyes traveled down and back up her body, taking in the Victoria's Secret lingerie set she was wearing, Joey shivered with excitement. "Well, well, Miss Potter. What do we have here? If I didn't know any better, I would assume you were planning to get lucky tonight."

Joey reached for her dress and slowly slid it off her shoulders and down her arms until it puddled on the floor. Standing there before him in her bra, panties, and high heels, Joey saw his breath hitch and knew she'd regained control. She wasn't the same Joey Potter as she was in high school. She was a woman with her own experience who knew what she liked and wasn't afraid to take charge to get it. "Well, I was. And I am," she said as she stepped towards him, grabbed the hem of his sleeveless undershirt and tugged up up over his head.

When that was on the floor, Joey went to work on unbuckling his belt. As she pulled it from its loops, she added, "You're so easy, Pace."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am. Especially when it comes to you."

As Joey began sliding his khaki's down his hips, Pacey used one hand to pull her close and kiss her neck as his other hand unhooked her bra using the same trick he'd perfected in high school.

Tilting her head to the side to give him better access as she directed them backwards to the bed, Joey whispered, "Some things never change, do they Pace?"

He paused in his ministrations, and looked up at her with a wicked smile. "Well, if it ain't broke, Potter, don't fix it…"