"Do you remember when you stayed at my studio after you were shot… We played a game with the globe I'd gotten you to give to Michael for Christmas, remember?"
Elizabeth turned slightly in the large chair in Jason's room at Jake's, where the two of them were spooned together, her back pressed tightly against his chest, with his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. She peered up at him, waiting for him to answer.
"I remember… you cheated."
Her jaw dropped slightly but Jason saw laughter in her eyes. "I did not cheat!"
Jason felt the corners of his mouth turn upward in a lazy smile, and he didn't try to hide it. "I asked for a fact about Uzbekistan and you rambled on about rain and umbrellas."
Elizabeth was unable to keep the smile from forming on her face. "That could be a fact," she defended weakly. "You never know…"
One of Jason's eyebrows raised and she rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine. So you know more about exotic places than I do. That's just because I don't spend my free time reading tour books. I'm sorry I can't quote information about the tropical zones of the smallest countries in the world."
Jason laughed, leaning his head back on the soft leather of the chair. He tightened his arms fractionally around Elizabeth. "You don't have to… that's not you."
Smiling, Elizabeth reached up, her hand lightly tracing Jason's jaw. Her eyes followed her hand's movements as she softly spoke. "I has a crush on you…"
Jason raised his eyebrows, but other than that, he didn't say a word.
"I think it started in Jake's. I… I thought I had to be devoted to Lucky forever, even in death. But then we became friends… more than friends. And I kept telling myself that it was just a crush." Her eyes moved over to his mouth, her finger just barely brushing against his bottom lip. "But when Lucky came back, I pushed it out of my head… but it never did go away."
Turning, she shifted so that she faced him, her legs tucked on either side of him. Jason's hands lowered slightly, resting on her hips. "I'm sorry, Jason. I'm sorry I pushed you away so many times… I'm sorry I didn't listen to what I was feeling. I'm sorry-"
Placing a finger on her lips, Jason silenced her. "You don't have to be sorry, Elizabeth. You can't change the past."
Leaning forward, he lightly kissed her chin, keeping close to her as he whispered to her. "You're here right now… that's all that matters."
Lowering her head a fraction of an inch, Elizabeth brushed her lips against his. She felt him shift under her and she leaned closer, letting him pull her flush against him.
Increasing the pressure, Jason ran his tongue across her bottom lip, seeking entrance. He pulled down slightly on her chin with his hand, opening her mouth for him, groaning when he felt her tongue eagerly slip by his own.
Pushing off the chair, he stood, taking Elizabeth with him. Her legs latched at the ankles around his waist as he straightened, blindly moving towards the bed. His knees brushed the edge of the mattress and he pitched forward, the both of them falling onto the bed. Using his hands, he held himself up, keeping from crushing her with his weight.
Finally pulling away from the attack on her mouth, he moved down the column of her neck and Elizabeth gasped for breath, digging her hands into his hair. Her head rolled to the side, her eyes closing as she stopped thinking and just let herself feel.
His mouth latched onto her neck, directly over her pulse point, sucking on the smooth column. Bracing his weight on one arm, he let his other hand roam down her sides, finally resting on her hip.
"Jason…"
The sound of her voice brought his attention to her face and he pulled himself back up, his eyes locked with her. Her hands brushed down his sides and she bit her lip lightly.
"Jason," she whispered, pulling him closer. She spread her legs slightly, letting his body rest between them. "Jason, please…"
She saw his eyes flash a deeper shade of blue for a second before he leaned his head forward, once more capturing her lips. He nibbled on her lower lip, a small smile coming to his face when he felt a tremor go through her.
"God, Elizabeth…" he mumbled, his lips lightly brushing against hers as he spoke.
Reaching up, Elizabeth's hands came to rest on the sides of his face. A scratchy stubble was forming and she rubbed her hands across his cheeks, letting the coarse hairs catch lightly on her fingertips. She kissed him full on the mouth, pulling him as close as she could with her hands. Lazily opening her eyes, she gasped slightly into his mouth when she caught sight of his blue orbs staring intently into her own.
Never breaking their gaze, or their kiss, Jason once more began to explore her body. His hand traced down her shoulder, finally cutting into caress the curve of her breast and for the second time in a matter of a few minutes, Elizabeth gasped. His hands moved lower, rubbing across the flat plane of her stomach as a ringing sound cut through the fog he was in.
Pulling away, both gasped for breath as they tried to focus. Jason's head jerked towards the chair where he'd thrown his jacket. Pushing himself off the bed, he paused for a moment before reaching for the phone, his eyes locking on Elizabeth as she straightened in the bed, running her hands through her disheveled hair.
"Morgan."
Jason's eyes lingered on Elizabeth, watching as she tried to calm her breathing. Her legs curled under herself as she straightened her shirt.
"Now? Can't someone else deal with this? I'm… busy."
Elizabeth's head snapped up and her eyes met Jason's. He held her gaze for a second before turning his attention back to the caller. "Fine… fine… I'll be right there."
Turning his back towards her, Jason put the phone back into his jacket pocket. He could hear Elizabeth move behind him, but he made no move to turn back to her. Taking a deep breath, he forcefully pushed the air out before speaking.
"I have to go to the warehouse…"
Elizabeth paused for a moment. "Business?"
Finally turning towards her, Jason shook his head. "There's a problem with the new coffee shipment and the men need me to go and fix it."
Nodding, Elizabeth stood, wrapping her arms around herself. "You'd better go then."
"I don't want to."
A faint smile came to her face. "But you have to." Looking around, Elizabeth moved towards the window. "Is it ok if I stay here? Wait for you to finish?"
Jason reached for his jacket and slipped it on, the leather creaking. "I don't know how long I'll be."
Catching his eye, Elizabeth held the gaze for a second. "It's my turn to wait."
Moving towards the door, Jason smile. "You won't have to wait long. I'll be back as soon as I can."
The door closed behind him and Elizabeth looked around his room at Jake's and a faint smile came to her face.
"I'll be here."
Slamming the door behind him, Lucky ripped his jacket off, throwing it across the room. Who did Jason think he was, putting Sonny's men on Elizabeth… having them kick him out of Jakes.
He was livid. He leaned against the dresser and his hand brushed against a bottle of perfume.
Elizabeth's perfume.
Clenching the bottle in his fist, Lucky hurled the bottle as far as he could, watching in satisfaction as it slammed against the wall, the glass instantly shattering.
The smell of Elizabeth's perfume overwhelmed him and Lucky sank down against the dresser, all of the fight draining out of him. Crawling on his hands and knees, he moved over to the glass, carefully picking up the large pieces.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, taking in the smell that was all Elizabeth. It had a pineapple tang to it. Opening his eyes, he stared at the bracelet sitting on his nightstand.
"Elizabeth," Lucky whispered brokenly. "I'll help you, Elizabeth. You'll see that you still love me… once I help you."
Pulling himself off the floor, he crawled into the bed. Even the pillows smelled like her. Reaching under the mattress, he pulled out a black book.
The scrapbook she'd made for him.
Opening it, he paused on the first page. It was a picture of the two of them, before the fire. Their heads were pressed together at the temples, large grins brightening their faces.
Leaning back on the bed, Lucky leafed through the book. "I love you Elizabeth… and soon you'll realize that you love me too."
Jeremy unlocked the door to his motel room and walked inside, flipping the light on. He shrugged off his coat, absently tossing it onto the bed. It slid to the floor and Jeremy turned towards it to pick it up again.
A man was sitting on his bed, his hands clasped calmly in his lap and Jeremy jumped. "Jesus, you scared me."
The man raised his eyebrows as he stood. "I told you before to step up the plan for Miss Webber. Why haven't you?"
Jeremy scowled, leaning forward to pick up his jacket. "I told you before that I'd work on it, and I am. Give me some time here… these things take time."
The man narrowed his eyes as he took a step towards the door. "You've made this personal."
Freezing for a fraction of a second, Jeremy covered it up by moving to the closet to hang up his coat. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The man was silent for a moment, watching Jeremy as he walked around the room. "The plans have changed," he said finally. "It's obvious you've failed in your attempts to hurt Miss Webber, and we don't have the time to wait. You'll get one more change to redeem yourself in Mr. Sorel's eyes."
Jeremy flinched slightly, but he held his ground, lifting his chin slightly to the other man. "What do I have to do?"
"Kill her."
"Excuse me?"
The man reached for the doorknob. "Kill Miss Webber."
The door slammed behind him.