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Innocent Angel, Part 3

Jet cut into the thick creamy slice of pie in front of him, except for his eyes, which were on Isabella. He was shocked. The long hair that had been there only the day before now was shoulder length and feathered softly against her shoulders.  The shorter hair only emphasized the bone structure of her face. It made her look a little older. He felt a tap against his shoulder. He turned and looked into the eyes of his father. "Yes?"

"Why have you been staring at Barton's youngest since we got here?" Wufei asked curiously.

Jet shrugged and kept his face impassive. "No real reason."

Wufei arched a brow at his son. "No reason?"

"No. None," Jet replied again, starting to feel a trifle uncomfortable under his father's penetrating look.

"She was always a pretty little girl, adored by all since she was the youngest. She's grown up to be a very beautiful woman like her mother," Wufei commented as he glanced over at Middi, who was talking with Sally.

"She's hardly grown up. She's only seventeen."

Wufei returned his eyes to his son. "So, you still see her as a little girl?"

"Yes, I do. She's still innocent, which in any of our family's, its unheard of," Jet snorted as he looked around him. His eyes fell on an arguing Victoria and Veronica. "Veronica is a perfect example. She's far from innocent."

"Yuy has always had a hard time controlling his youngest. She is as much of a free spirit as onna Maxwell."

"I take it you mean Randy."

"Precisely. Duo couldn't control her although we all said that he should."

"Izzy is none of those things. She's a good girl who needs to be protected."

Wufei shook his head. "Isabella is not that much in need of protection Jet. She may look like she does, but I assure you, she's more then what she seems. Every woman has hidden depths that no mere male mind can comprehend. Trust me, I've tried with your mother," he sighed, looking back over at his wife.

Jet snorted again and glanced over at Isabella for a second time.

Wufei turned his attention back to his son, who was looking over at Isabella once more. "What has you so interested in her in the first place?"

"She asked me to be her dance partner for a contest in Marseilles," Jet replied, turning his eyes back to his father.

"She did, did she? And what did you say?"

"I said I would. After she threw me that smile of hers and gave me those eyes."

Wufei chuckled. "I see you're not immune either. I don't think anyone's immune to that smile of hers. I'm surprised you agreed though. You always avoid dancing whenever possible. Was that the only reason you said yes?"

"There's no other reason. I didn't want to turn her down. And when I really thought about it, she needs someone who won't be distracted by her presence and won't try to hit on her. So, it's probably good that I'll be the one dancing with her since I grew up with her, I know I won't be distracted by her."

"I see," Wufei responded slowly as he eyed his son. He knew that Jet had always been very reserved and very studious. Girls never seemed to interest him like they did Vaughn, who was the same age. He was proud of his son, who had graduated in the top five of his class at Saint Augustines. He was very much like him. And now his interest in Isabella Barton had piqued his.

Jet could still feel his father's eyes on him. It was unnerving. His father always saw too much. He glanced surreptiously back at Isabella. She was laughing at something that Cristal had said, which was causing Miles to flush. Her slender ring less fingers came up and brushed her hair back from her face. He couldn't deny that she was very beautiful; he would have to be blind not to notice. But what bothered him was his attraction to her. He didn't want to be attracted to her and yet he could not stop thinking about the way that she smiled or laughed, or the way her eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled. And her body was nice to look at too, which disturbed him the most because of how old she was. "I think I'm going to take a walk outside," he said as he pushed back his chair.

Wufei grinned slightly as he noticed how his son gave a quick look in the young woman's direction before going through the open doors of the dining room. His brow rose when he noted that Isabella was excusing herself and following him outside. "So I wonder why she asked him?" he mused, but already knowing the answer.

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Isabella followed Jet outside to the terrace. "Come out here for a reason?" she asked as she clasped her hands behind her back.

Jet turned and looked at her, leaning against the railing on the steps. "I needed some air. It does get kind of stuffy in there."

"You haven't said anything about my hair?" she prodded.

"It looks very nice."

"That's all?"

Jet flushed and raked a hand through his hair before letting his eyes come back to her. They traveled over the moonlit waves before meeting hers. "You look pretty," he finally commented.

"You think I'm pretty?" Isabella asked as she walked down the steps, standing on the step above him so she wouldn't be so short next to him.

Another flush came to his cheeks as she looked at him intently. "I…I…yes, I think you're…pretty," he stammered.

A delighted smile crossed her lips. "Thank you." She leaned towards him slightly. "So, when do you want to practice?"

He felt warm under the collar of his shirt, as her face got closer to his. Those entrancing eyes of hers were boring into his. "I don't know."

"I brought it with me. I'm sure we could practice in the ballroom. There will be more then enough room to dance in," she pointed out logically.

"If you want," was his faint response. He could smell the scent of violets wafting off the pale skin of her throat. His nose twitched involuntarily.

"Good," Isabella replied as she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him back into the house towards the massive ballroom. She pushed open the doors and opened the case that housed the stereo system. She slipped the disk from the pocket of her dark rose cardigan and slipped that off to reveal the matching sweater tank underneath. She turned and faced him again. "Are you ready Jet?"

Jet nodded his head absently as he watched her. He felt her soft fingers enclose around his hand again and her other hand come to rest on his shoulder. He moved his feet with hers as the lyrics started to play, counting the beats in his head like she had taught him the other day. His eyes went down to his feet, watching his and hers.

"Very good, you remembered," she beamed as she looked up at him.

He raised his eyes to hers and couldn't help the pleased smile that crossed his face. "I don't usually forget."

Isabella continued to smile back warmly. She liked his smile. It had that heartwarming effect on her. "You have a nice smile," she commented softly as she looked up at him.

Unbidden warmth stole through him at her quietly spoken words. He flushed again, but he didn't take his eyes away from hers. "She's more then just pretty. She's more beautiful then should be allowed. So pure. So incredibly innocent and you're falling for her."

The music seemed to have become silent, but she just couldn't hear it over the pounding rhythm of her heart. She stared back, unflinchingly. Her lips parted. "Kiss me."

His eyes went to the movement of her mouth. Those pink lips looked so incredibly inviting, begging to be kissed. And he wanted nothing more to touch his mouth to hers. There was almost a magnetic atmosphere as he gradually bent his head.

Isabella closed her eyes as she felt his breath against her lips. A flash of heat ran through her.

Jet could feel her breath against his mouth. He was just about to touch her lips to his when the door slammed open and Victoria came in yelling at someone over the phone. He sprang away from Isabella, reality slamming into him. Her eyes were as wide as his when he took a glimpse at her face. "I think I'm going to go back to the dining room," he sputtered as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room as fast as he could. "I need a drink."

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Isabella propped her hands on her hips and stared after him. Her lips were still tingling from the sensation of just having his breath touch them. She went over to the stereo system and switched it off. "Dammit," she muttered as she stamped her foot once on the floor. She looked over her shoulder at Victoria, still yelling at someone over the phone.

"No I don't care, but what do you mean you'll be there for another month! I thought it was going to be only for a week…. I know they need someone up there to do routine checks…well, why in the hell does it have to be you!" Victoria yelled into the phone. She turned and her eyes fell on Isabella, watching her. Her face warmed slightly. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine Chris," she said softly as she listened to his explanation, "just be careful up there. All right, I love you too. Bye," she said quietly as she hung up the phone. "Sorry you had to see that Is."

Isabella waved her hand absently. "No, don't apologize. I know it's hard for you to have him away now."

"That's an understatement," Victoria muttered under her breath. "So, what were Jet and you doing in here?"

"Practicing for the dance contest next month in Marseilles," Isabella replied as she slipped the disk back into the cardigan pocket.

"You actually got him to dance? I'm shocked that he even said yes since he's always avoided it like the plague."

"I was persuasive."

A slight smile quirked Victoria's lips as she eyed the younger girl. "So I can see."

Isabella blushed slightly under her knowing look. "I was honest about it. All I did was ask."

"Is, with the way you look sometimes, I don't think you even had to persuade. Jet is a guy like all the others and I'm sure he's noticed you on more then one occasion. You're hardly a little girl anymore."

Isabella snorted. "I wish. Unfortunately that's all Jet sees me as half the time. As do my brothers. They don't like the way that Jet's been hanging around me."

"They're being brothers," Victoria said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Was Dominic ever like that with you?"

"Overprotective? A little I guess, but he's younger then I am. He's more so of Veronica only because she's younger then him, although it does him little good to be protective of her with the way that she runs around. He can't control her anymore then our dad can," Victoria sighed wryly. "But with you, you're the baby. I can see why they would want to be overprotective of you."

"I wish they wouldn't be! It's so hard to date sometimes and the few guys that I have dated feel so intimidated by my dad that there's not much of a chance that I'll be seeing him again after the first date. It's near impossible when Donavon comes home from school since he gives any guy a look that would make most men turn in the opposite direction and run for their lives," Isabella countered with frustration lacing her tone.

Victoria looked back at the door where Jet disappeared through and then looked back at Isabella. "You like him."

"What?"

"Jet. You have a crush on him don't you?"

A bright pink color suffused the younger girl's cheeks.

Victoria smiled gently. "You don't need to hide it from me. I won't tell anyone."

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. "I do have a crush on him, but it's really hard for me to get him to see that I'm not some innocent little thing. And I'm not having much success."

"Don't worry about it. They all come around Is, they always do in the end. Only after reality and their feelings come and kick them in the ass," Victoria explained, grinning slightly.

Isabella laughed and then her expression sobered again. "I do hope so. It's very hard for me not just to come out and say to him that I like him. I have a feeling that he likes me too, but he keeps it very well hidden."

"Trust me, it'll come out. He won't be able to hide it for long. Not in our families' case," Victoria laughed quietly. "Come on, let's go back to the dining room and see if there's any pie left and if there is, let's grab it before those two gluttons I call brothers in law scarf it down."

A smile lit Isabella's face. "Ok," she said as she followed the older woman from the room. "I just wish she hadn't interrupted. I almost got him to kiss me."

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Jet splashed icy cold water on his face in the butler's pantry sink. "That was close. Too close," he breathed as he tore off a paper towel and wiped his face with it. He turned around, leaning against the sink and stared at the tiled floor. Her lips had been so close that he could almost taste them, feel them. It was a heady thought. "And I wanted to. I wanted to kiss her as much as I've told myself not to think of her in any other way except as a girl I was raised with. But how can I treat her like that when I fantasize about her every time I close my eyes? This is not me at all. I'm shocked I'm even thinking about her in the first place! She's only a kid!" He frowned at his last thought. "Only a kid with the power to make me think otherwise," he mumbled as he crossed his arms in front of him.

A/N: Sorry it took a little long to get out this chapter. I went back to school this week and it's been kind of hectic. I graduate in May so I've been trying to get a head start on all my classes. But here it is and I hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for more! XOXO!!