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Chapter 37

The next morning Jason woke up alone. On Elizabeth's pillow was a note telling him that she was going for a morning walk on the beach. With a half-smile, and his eyes closed, he leaned back against the pillow. Last night after returning to the house they had enjoyed some time in the hot tub, and then later in bed. It had been a very late night, and early morning, of them loving one another. Hopefully they would repeat it again this evening.

Opening his stunning blue eyes he looked around the room. The curtains were open and the morning light infused the room. Just being here made him feel closer to his friends, but at the same time it made him more aware of the distance between them. He missed them, but already the pain was lessening. He knew Elizabeth was worried about the emotional toll this trip might take, honestly it wasn't as bad as she thought.

It sounded cold, but he was on his way to fully accepting that Sonny, Carly, and Michael wouldn't ever be a part of his life again. Jason could handle that. He could handle losing anyone but his girl. If she was gone he might very well lose his mind. That was enough to get him moving. He wanted to see her, and see what shorts she was wearing he thought with a grin that was just a bit wicked.

Elizabeth waved to Chris, he had accompanied her on her beach stroll, and wiping her feet stepped back into the house. Since it was just her for the moment she took a tour of the downstairs rooms. Jason had been right, this place was huge. They could have all their friends over and not have to worry about being cramped. Down the hall from the great room she found a perfect area to turn into a studio, the light was fantastic and the room airy. Another space would be perfect for Jason's office, she deliberately picked a different room than the one that had been Sonny's office. That space would make a great room for a pool table. She would have to see if Jason already had one at his former residence.

Stepping back into the main hall she was struck with a vision. Small children running down the hall playing with one another. A little girl and a little boy both with their father's brilliant blue eyes. She would love to have that vision come true. On the heels of that she was struck with the shivers, like she had been doused with cold water. Or as her maternal grandmother, who died when she was ten, would say like someone had walked over her grave. A superstitious person would say that she wasn't going to get that family she wanted with Jason.

"Elizabeth?" Jason said coming down the hall. He had called her name twice already. She was standing in the middle of the corridor with an odd look on her face. Coming closer her eyes latched onto his and he thought he saw fear for a brief moment.

"Jason." Elizabeth felt relief move through her, which made no sense. She was perfectly safe.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elizabeth said shaking off her mood. "I was just looking around."

Jason looked closely at her, and her eyes were clear. He let it go, knowing she would talk to him if she felt like it. "What do you think?"

She headed to the kitchen with him following. "It's lovely. While I may not agree with Carly's decorating choices, how she laid the house out is great. Every room gets a lot of light which warms them." Looking over she saw the same coffee system they had back home. "My brain is already teeming with design ideas."

"Don't tell them to me. I want to come back down when it's done and see the house." Jason wasn't much for surprises, but ones from his girl he liked.

"Okay. Chris said you are doing a walk through at the casino tomorrow, so I'll try to go see the decorator then. Nothing will be done until after we leave." Elizabeth explained as she brewed the coffee. She didn't want a crew underfoot this week. She wanted to paint as well as replace the furniture, and in a place this size it would take a while.

"You saw Chris this morning?" Jason said sitting on a barstool. Today she was in another pair of denim shorts and a yellow and white top with multiple thin straps. On her feet were dark blue sandals. His girl was short without her heels he thought grinning. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and he could see flower earrings in her ear. The same ones she wore most days.

"I called down to the guesthouse." Yesterday Jason had shown her how to work the intercom that connected all the homes. "I figured you wouldn't want me walking alone. He was the only one up."

Jason nodded. Chris was most likely the only one ready to go out, all the guards were probably up. Jason was an early riser and they would be on his schedule. "Thank you."

She knew he would feel better if she had a guard when he wasn't around, even on the beach. While it was private, ships could still come close. The odds of her being snatched while here were almost non- existent, but she wasn't going to go against the security procedures that were in place. "Who is my primary guard since Renaldo is back home?" Elizabeth pushed a coffee mug across the island's marble top. The kitchen she would leave the same. It was clear that Sonny decorated this room. It was tasteful and functional.

"There isn't one assigned guard." Jason explained. "As long as someone from the Port Charles crew is with you its fine." The guys were really here for her. He didn't want guards she wasn't already comfortable with following her around.

Elizabeth picked up a peach and rinsed it off. Taking a bite she gave a happy moan. Peaches were her absolute favorite fruit, but they were only in season for a short period of time. This peach was really soft and juicy and she had to grab a paper towel to keep from getting messy.

Jason paused in the act of bringing his mug to his mouth. His eyes locked on the sight of his girl eating her breakfast. That moan was sexy, and when her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips he barely managed to stifle a groan. "Good?" He croaked out.

"Mmm-hmm." Elizabeth said taking another bite. "Is this local fruit?"

"Yeah." Jason said watching as she licked her hand where the juice was running down.

Elizabeth hadn't missed the reaction her eating the fruit was having on her boyfriend. The man just made her feel all kinds of beautiful and sexy. She licked her lips again, and Jason swallowed hard. Finished she cleaned up and debated having another peach. She decided against it, her boyfriend might not survive it. "So what are we doing today?"

'Each other'. Was the retort that came to mind, Jason wanted to leap over the counter and have her where she stood. But he really should show her some of the island. Yesterday they hadn't seen much, because she wanted to explore the grounds. Jason enjoyed it too because it had been a while since he walked the trails on the property. "We can go into town, or take the boat out."

"I would love to take the boat out." Elizabeth loved being on the water. Jason had shown her the large cabin cruiser yesterday and told her that he could indeed drive it. "Can I drive it?"

"Once we are out in the open water I don't see why not. You can bring a swimsuit if you like." Jason said putting his mug in the sink. "We have to take guards." If she already knew how to handle the vessel they could go out alone, but since she couldn't he wanted someone else with them. If something happened to him he didn't want her stranded.

"Okay. Should I pack a lunch?" Elizabeth didn't know how long they would be out.

"No." Jason shook his head. "We will dock on another island for lunch." He explained. Island hopping was pretty normal out here. "So let me know when you start getting hungry." He would need time to call the local marina and arrange a temporary dock slip.

"I'll pack snacks." Elizabeth said to be on the safe side. "There's a coffeemaker on board?" She wanted to know.

"There is." Jason confirmed. "So pack some beans. Let me call the guys, while you get ready."

"Okay." Elizabeth gave him a quick kiss before heading upstairs to put on her suit, and pack a tote.

"You can get changed if you want." Jason said as they hit cruising speed. He knew she had packed a swimsuit and he wanted to see it.

"I'm not going to go into the water, but I'd like to get a little sun." Elizabeth told him. They were standing on the bridge. She wasn't a strong enough swimmer to feel comfortable this far out. Closer to the shore would be fine.

"That's for the best. I wouldn't recommend swimming this far out. There are sharks in the water." Jason told her.

"Do they come inland?" Elizabeth said rethinking splashing in the water by the house.

"No. The buoys we passed on the way out emit a high pitched signal that repels them. The casino and resort on the other side of island use the same set up. There hasn't been a shark attack here in ten years." He told her.

"Good to know." Elizabeth said heading down below. The interior of the cruiser was spacious and very luxurious. She had been expecting something cramped. There were two large bedrooms, two small bathrooms, and a main room that sported a galley kitchen. On her way to the master suite Liz waved to a couple of the guys who were hanging out.

It didn't take her long to change and she waved again on her way back up.

Jason turned his head and smiled as Elizabeth came back up. She was in a one piece suit, which didn't surprise him. She had taken off her sunny top, but put her shorts back on, another move that didn't surprise him. With the guys on board she wouldn't want to parade around in a bikini. They should take a late night swim at the house, and hopefully she'd show more skin. "That's pretty."

"Thanks." Elizabeth blushed a bit. The halter style polka dot dark blue swimsuit was fairly modest. It did leave her entire back bare. "Can you put some sunscreen on my back please?"

"Sure thing." Jason set the autopilot before taking the spray can. He liberally covered her thinking it was a good thing she didn't have traditional lotion. He wasn't sure he could stop at just touching her back. Already he was half hard. He just shook his head laughing at himself, he was so easy where she was concerned. "We should have gotten you a hat."

"I want to get a little color on my face too, so I wouldn't wear it today. Maybe I'll pick one up tomorrow while I'm out." Elizabeth told him. She wouldn't fully tan, but go from a little color right to burnt her skin was that pale. So too much sun would be bad. "I'm going to stretch out on one of the loungers."

"Have fun." Jason would be able to enjoy the view from his station. "Sal?"

"Yeah?" The guard asked coming to the upper deck.

"Would you mind driving?" Jason asked. Why should he just watch his girl when he could join her instead?

"Sure thing boss." Sal said grinning. It was good to see Jason having some fun. "I called over to Bruno's and made lunch reservations. He said whenever we arrived would be fine."

"Thanks." Jason said grabbing the sunblock. Bruno's was a really laid back bar and grill on a neighboring island. Jason liked to go there when he came down, it was someplace Sonny never went so it wouldn't have any memories attached to it. "If you guys get hungry before we do, Elizabeth put snacks in the cabinet. Including brownies." She had made a batch before they left. Jason had needed to check the weather, do a walk through on the ship, and log their course with the island marina.

"Do I have to tell the rest of the crew?" Sal wanted to know. It would be no hardship to eat the brownies by himself.

"If you don't want to get shot in your sleep yeah." Jason said laughing as he headed out. "Hey." He grinned at his girl. She had taken her shorts off and her long legs were sexy.

"Hi, I was hoping you would come join me." Elizabeth said smiling as Jason took off his shirt, leaving him in dark blue board shorts. His naturally tan complexion would get a bit darker from sitting out.

"It was lonely on the bridge." He said applying the sunblock before handing it to her so she could cover his back. Unlike him, she sprayed the protection in her hand and smoothed it over his firm skin. "I should have thought of that." He said laughing.

"Any excuse to touch you should not be missed." Elizabeth said kissing behind his ear. "All done."

Jason pulled a lounger close to hers before sitting down and stretching out. "I needed this." He admitted. He needed this time to not have to worry. "Thank you for coming with me." Because he needed her too. She could have stayed home to finish setting up the art center, although most of the work was done. He would have cancelled the trip, but she had put his needs first. Something she never hesitated to do. He had been stunned when she quit her job because he would worry about her at the hospital. The way she loved him left him humbled.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be." Elizabeth said smiling at him. She didn't mean the island, she meant by his side. Something he would instinctively understand. They settled in to enjoy the early afternoon sun, feeling content.

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