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Innocent Angel, Part 7

The morning rays crept through the linen drapes of Isabella's room the next morning, flooding it with a soft glow. Her brow twitched and her lips quirked into a slight frown. She groaned softly into her pillow and rolled to her back. Her eyes fluttered open. "Morning already? I was having a pleasant dream," she complained as she turned her head to look towards the light. She sat up, brushing back stray locks of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. Through the sheer material, she caught sight of shadowy movement. Puzzled and curious, she crawled out of bed and padded over to the drapes, pushing them open slightly. A silent gasp escaped her lips when she noticed who the shadow was. "Oh my."

In the space between their rooms, out on the balcony, stood Jet doing the same exercises that caused her to pick him for her dance partner. But this time she looked at him through the eyes of a woman, instead of a talent hunter. He was shirtless and his pale golden skin was exposed to her eyes. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it before, but those times were different. This was now. She hadn't taken notice of the way the muscles of his back and shoulders seemed to move fluidly as he executed each movement. "He looks even better without a shirt on. I could stare at him all day doing this. It's just so…sensual. And it makes me…" "…Makes me want him…"

Her cheeks flushed from her whispered words and her thoughts. The sexual attraction hadn't been as noticeable to her before this moment. It had been there, but she hadn't allowed herself the time to really think about it. A hollow feeling settled in her stomach, making it feel weightless. Her skin itched and her palms felt sweaty as her blue gray eyes traveled over him from the top of his sandy brown hair to his smoothly muscled legs. Her hand came up and rested on the glass as her gaze wandered back up to his back. The play of his muscles in his upper back and shoulders fascinated her, as did the flexing of his muscles in his arms. "Can you imagine what it would feel like to be held by him? Really, really held up against him? To feel his skin against yours?" "I wonder how much it took for him to look like that?"

Her flush grew deeper as did the hollow feeling in her stomach.  "But how does he feel about me? I need to know if he even thinks of me the same way?" She looked down at her own body. She had some cleavage, but not much to speak of. "Carin even has a better set of boobs than I do," she muttered, thinking of her sister. They weren't built all that much different, except Carin tended to have a little more weight in all the right places. "Unlike me." Her eyes went back to Jet. Her mouth went dry again as he stretched his arms over his head. "It's such a pain to want him so bad and have him still attempt to treat you like a little sister that every guy you grew up with, sees you as. I don't know what I could possibly do to make him see anything different, but I don't want to give up on him." With her jaw set she leaned against the wall near the door, letting the linen fall back, continuing her perusal of him through the sheer material. "I would like it very much if he turned around. I want to see if the front view is as good as the back."

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Jet was unaware that he had an audience as he completed the complicated set of exercises he had been taught since childhood by his father. The cool morning air had beckoned him when he opened the sliding door to breathe in the morning air a little after six. He had been at this for more than an hour. The sun was just sitting on the top of the horizon, gleaming over the water. He turned his head and his eyes skittered briefly towards the closed drapes of Isabella's room. "I wonder if she's up yet?" He turned his head away and looked back out at the water. "No, you can't knock on the door to see if she's awake. You already had one shock to your system last night when you saw her in…that." He swallowed hard, thinking of the sexy, yet innocent lace edged tank top and shorts.

Isabella had stiffened when she saw him look back towards her door. She didn't move until she saw him look away once again. Her posture relaxed. Leaning her head back against the wall, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up against her chest. A slight smile touched her lips. "Well, he did look interested last night."

He pushed the thought of her in that outfit away as he closed his eyes again and resumed his stretches, but his concentration was gone. All he could see behind his eyelids was her in that outfit. And his mind continued to wander, especially of how she looked first thing in the morning. "Hair all tousled. Skin all flushed and warm. Those lips parted ever so slightly." A flash of heat raced through him and it brought him out of his preoccupation with Isabella. "You're no better than the Maxwell boys when you think that way," he berated as he opened his eyes again. He turned around and leaned against the railing. He looked back through the open door of his room. The sheets were hopelessly tangled from him tossing and turning all night. A frown crossed his lips at why he had the hardest time sleeping the night before. "Why do women always cause a monopoly on a man's thoughts? It gives them way too much power over us."

She leaned forwards and peered avidly through the small crack in the corner of the drapes. He was facing her and she had the view that she had silently asked for. Her eyes trailed over his chest with intense interest. The pads of her fingers began to tingle with the mere thought of running them over the muscles. He was built much slimmer than her brothers, much more like Vaughn and Damien, who were also of slimmer build. There was smoothness to his muscles. "I wonder what his skin feels like. It looks so…"

Jet raked a hand through his hair. He kept it as short as possible since he worked in a kitchen and was around food constantly. It was the same sandy color of his mother's and just as thick, but it had the silkiness of his father's. He stole another glance at Isabella's room. He wanted to see her. "But you can't," he sighed as he shook his head and let his hand fall to his side, "You can't betray her father's trust. He trusts you not to lay a hand on her. And no matter how much you want to, you can't. She's off limits and always will be." He went back into his room, sliding the door closed behind him.

She sighed as stood up as soon as he left her line of sight. "I suppose I should get ready to meet him for breakfast." She went to her bag and pulled out her lingerie, taking it into the bathroom with her. She stripped, turning on the hot water. She bent her head back, letting it hit her in the face. It was relaxing and rejuvenating. She lathered violet scented gel on a pouf and rubbed it over her skin, knowing that the scent drove Jet crazy. She leaned back against the tile for a moment; just letting the spray hit her. She blushed when she thought of Jet being with her. "Now I'm thinking like Randy. It makes me wonder how my brother stands it."

He could hear the sound of running water in her room. The proximity made the temptation too great. Indecent thoughts raced through his mind as the water ran. "All that soft skin with water running all over it. Makes me want to know if she uses violet scented bath gel and if she sprays that perfume of hers all over her body."

Isabella climbed out of her shower and wrapped a thick white towel around her. She flipped her head over and twisted another towel around her hair. She wiped her hand over the steam-covered mirror and pulled the towel off her hair. Damp locks fell against her neck and shoulders. The other towel soon followed as she slid on the pale blue satin and lace bra and panties. She picked up her brush and before she touched it to her hair, she paused. "Why not? No one is out there on the beach. No one will see me." She left the bathroom, unlocked the sliding door and stepped outside. The cool air hit her, making the skin of her arms pebble. She shrugged her shoulders and slid the comb through her hair. She smiled, closing her eyes, enjoying the feel of the morning sun on her face.

Jet started when the water stopped. He smacked a hand to his forehead. "What the hell were you thinking? She's this underage…" he trailed off as he heard the sound of her sliding door. Knowing that he shouldn't, he went over to the door and peered out. His mouth went dry as his eyes beheld the sight in front of him. "Damn," he breathed before placing his hand over his chest to make sure that his heart didn't burst through his ribs. "It should be illegal for someone her age to look…like that." His coffee brown eyes trailed down the slender indentation of her spine to the curvature of her hips. His palms began to burn. The satin gleamed dully in the sunlight. "I shouldn't." He turned away, shutting his eyes tightly. He wiped his palms on his jeans before clenching them into tight fists. "I know I should tell her not to be out there like that, but I can't because I would look too much. And because I would want to…Dammit! This is insane! I'm insane!" he growled in frustration as he stalked towards the bedroom door and slammed it behind him on his way down to breakfast.

Unknowing the turmoil she had just caused, Isabella finished brushing her hair in the morning light. She went back into the room, dropping the brush onto the vanity top. A bottle of the violet splash was sprayed all over her skin. She pulled her jeans over her bikini-clad hips and tugged on a dark blue scoop neck tank. She didn't put on any makeup save a dab of lip-gloss on her lips and a dusting of blush on her cheeks before leaving her room. She paused outside of Jet's room. "I wonder if he's already downstairs?" She shrugged her shoulders. "If he isn't, I'll just come back up here and knock." She made her way downstairs to the terrace, where they were serving breakfast. She spotted him near the railing near to the beach. "Good morning," she said as she sat down across from him.

His eyes went to her and he mentally counted to ten before speaking. "Morning, Izzy. Did you sleep well?"

"I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow," she replied cheerily as she perused the menu before telling the waitress her order. She looked back at him. "Did you sleep ok?"

"I slept fine," he answered, moving his eyes away from her. He was silently cursing the fact that she was the one who had the good night's sleep, while all he had done all night was stare at the ceiling and think of her.

"I was having the most pleasant dream too, but you know how you always wake up in the middle of it," she sighed as she took a sip of her orange juice before continuing, "And you never get to finish it?"

Jet didn't reply, but nodded his head absently. He wanted to know and he didn't want to know.

A smile quirked a corner of Isabella's lips when she thought of the dream. "And it was definitely the kind I wanted to find out the rest. And it was really good up to that point." Her eyes went to his face. He looked like he was deep in thought. "Jet?" she prodded as she touched her flip flopped foot to his leg.

He nearly jumped in his chair when he felt her foot brush against his leg. "What?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important. Just stuff."

"It certainly doesn't look like nothing."

"It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it, Izzy."

"Not going to share?"

His eyes went wide as they met hers. The blue gray orbs were gazing at him steadily. "N…n…no…it's just not that important," he stammered. "It is important. I want to know how come you affect me the way you do? How come I can't seem to think straight in your presence? And why I want you so badly? Why I'm so in love with you?" "I was just thinking about tonight, that's all."

She broke out into a dazzling smile. "Is that all? Are you nervous?"

"A little."

"Don't be. I know you'll be wonderful. I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't think you could do this."

Jet was struck by her smile. It made him smile back. "I'm glad you think so."

She laughed a bit, as her breakfast of Belgian waffles was set in front of her. "I have a lot of confidence in you, Jet."

Jet could see the honesty and the adoration in her eyes. "That's why. That's why I'm in love with her. She's so fresh and alive. Something that many girls seem to lack. She hasn't been spoiled by what goes on around her. I know I should tell her, but how? How am I going to tell her? I don't know how."

Isabella could also see the feeling in his eyes. It wasn't often that he let down his guard long enough to see what he felt inside. She glanced away and smiled to herself as she took a bite of her waffle. "Somehow I'm going to get you to admit how you feel about me, Chang Jet. And tonight's the night I'm going to find that out."

A/N: I know it's been awhile since I updated, but school has been crazy and I have just been so darn tired that I can barely stay up to type. But I'm on Spring Break and I will have a lot of time to write and update. So stay tuned for more coming soon! XOXO!!