Author's Notes: It's been a while but I haven't forgotten any of my stories. The next chapter of Trial is already underway and in the next couple weeks it will be on my website High Risk Romance with artwork. Reviews are appreciated and make me write faster.

Chapter 13

Studying her reflection anxiously, Samantha put the finishing touches on her upswept hair. She wanted to look perfect for her evening with Jack and he would arrive to pick her up any moment. Although she loved opera and watched it on television many times, Sam had never seen one in person. Excited as she was about seeing the opera, she was even more excited about seeing Jack. She'd never felt so anxious to see Tom, she realized.

Tom, Samantha thought with a sigh. Her fiancé was everything she should want, he cared about her and wanted to marry her. But since meeting Jackson Steele, Tom seemed very distant. Every moment in Jack's presence she felt almost electric, it was like she was more alive than she'd ever felt before. Tom's kisses were nice but Jack's- Jack's kisses made her feel giddy and made Samantha feel aware for the first time of her sexuality.

Whenever she thought of her wedding night, she felt uneasy about the idea of Tom caressing her intimately. Yet the idea of Jack touching her that way, made her breath quicken and her breasts feel heavy and sensitive. She didn't know much about her own sexuality but Sam knew she wanted Jack and that he wanted her. Unbidden the memory of the sensation of touching him through his pants earlier came to mind and made her blush and her nipples throb.

Pulling her thoughts back to the task at hand, Samantha finished getting ready and waited anxiously for Jack to arrive. Taking a look at herself in the mirror, her eyes wandered to Jack's roses. They looked perfect in the vase he'd given her and the sweet entreaty of his note had made her accept the outrageously priced gift. The gift was much like it's owner, refined and romantic, but sparkling with hidden depths some of which were velvety soft like the roses and others as sharp and dangerous as the thorns that adorned them.

A knock at the door, brought her attention from the roses and Samantha opened it to greet Jack shyly, "Hi."

"Samantha," Jack purred and took her hand in his. After kissing her hand, he brought his other hand from behind his back to offer he a single red rose. "You are beyond beautiful tonight. You're a goddess."

Taking the rose he flourished, Sam turned bright red as she thanked him and commented, "You don't have to bring me roses every day."

Stepping into the room, to place the rose in the vase, she gestured for him to enter. Once she added the blossom to the vase, Jack pulled her against him. Meeting his gaze Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and eagerly met his lips. The kiss was short but intense.

Against her mouth, Jack vowed, "When you're mine, I'll give you roses every day."

Then he moved away and held out his arm to escort her out of the dorm room. As Jack lead Samantha from the room, three thoughts swirled in her head. The first was that she didn't really want to go, staying in Jack's arms was preferable. Secondly, she realized he said when not if. And finally Sam became aware that being in his arms and his decisiveness about them being together was nowhere near as disturbing as it should be.

Neither of them spoke as Jack escorted her to his car and held the door. When Jack got in and started the car, Sam looked at Jack and then looked downwards. She wanted to touch him but felt nervous. Noting Samantha's unease, Jack opened his right arm invitingly and was rewarded with a smile as she slid against him. Driving, Jack considered how to handle the evening. His innocent Samantha liked being near him and he was happy to oblige but the dilemma was how far did he dare to take things?

Jack navigated the streets leaving Quantico behind them and headed to the restaurant he'd selected. When he pulled up in front of the restaurant and opened Samantha's door she seemed surprised when he handed the keys off to a valet. His Samantha might not be used to the finer things in life, but she had natural grace and a keen mind, there was no doubt in Jack's mind that she would fit into his world beautifully.

As the valet parked the car, Samantha whispered, "I've never been to a place with valet parking before. Do I look all right?"

Pausing Jack took her hand and turned it over in his, placing a kiss on the inside of her wrist he assured her, "My Samantha you are perfect. Whether you have on a gown like tonight or one of those dreadful suits female agents wear, you are always a lady of class and beauty."

His compliment made her blush and the sensation of his lips on her pulse did nothing for her peace of mind. From his perfectly fitted tux to the scent of his cologne, everything about Jack whispered sophistication. Despite her fancy new dress, Sam felt woefully awkward and in the back of her mind she fretted. Jack had the suaveness of Cary Grant and she felt a little girl playing dress up. As Jack gave his name to the maitre'd he noticed Samantha's discomfiture and placed his arm gently around her waist.

The table was a large velvet booth which curved around a circular table and Jack moved closer to Samantha than he normally would have and whispered in her ear, "You have nothing to be afraid of my Samantha. The only difference between the people here and the people at the place where we had lunch near Quantico on the day we met, is the people here have more money and the people there have more intelligence."

Relaxing slightly, a new feeling of tension coursed through her as Jack's hand rested momentarily on her thigh. The feeling of his brief touch seemed to snake through her entire body and she wanted- What did she want? Sam wondered. She knew about sex but somehow the clinical diagrams in the book she'd read and the feelings Jack was eliciting were oceans apart. There was Tom and her career to think of, Samantha chided herself. But gazing at Jack over the menu and having his dark eyes meet hers, the world seemed to fall away and he was all that mattered.

A waiter appeared at their table and asked if they would like any wine with dinner. Scarcely acknowledging the man Jack ordered a name she'd only read about in a vintage before either one of them were born. When the man left, Jack gently brought his fingers under her chin and closed the distance between their mouths for a moment. Moments after their kiss ended their waiter reappeared with wine and asked if Jack would like to inspect it, Jack made quick work of sniffing the offered cork and taking a quick sip.

The waiter poured for Sam and then for Jack and inquired, "Should you like to order now or would you and the lady prefer to wait?"

Samantha blinked and realized she'd scarcely looked at the menu, all her attention had been on Jack. He flicked her an inquisitive look and she stammered, "Maybe you could order for both of us."

"Of course," Jack agreed. Handing the waiter the menus, he proceeded to order chicken vol au vent. When the waiter left, he explained, "I thought chicken was a better choice than the lobster because no matter how many lessons I ever had, I still loathe attempting to eat it in public."

"Lessons in eating lobster?" she drawled. If it were any other man she would have assumed the choice had to do with the check but the wine Jack had selected was so expensive she doubted he cared about the cost of the entree.

"Requirement in every finishing school," Jack replied. Then he confided, "After my roommate at my last school had the great seafood debacle and tried to blame me, I've feared crustaceans."

Sam began to giggle at the idea of Jack being intimidated by seafood and laughed, "You're pulling my leg."

"I'm perfectly serious. There we were two hundred of us in one room, a glorified prison for the children of the elite and we were being graded on table manners. As the instructors went up and down the rows of tables, Edwin's speared his lobster tail with a salad fork and it flew off the table and right into the cleavage of the head master's wife," Jack recounted.

"What happened?" Samantha demanded in rapt attention.

"Edwin reaches over to my plate and grabs my lobster tail onto his plate and I got expelled," Jack told her.

Her face went from amusement to displeasure as she repeated, "He got you expelled."

"Well," he hesitated. Giving her a slightly sheepish look, "It may have had something to do with my replacing the caviar with miniature blueberries at the trustees meeting the day before. As I blamed Edwin for the lobster, he revealed about my part in the caviar incident."

"That's a bit better. So what happened afterwards?"

"Edwin's father lost everything on some bad investments and he's the sheriff in a small town in California. Fitting but I suspect it's a bit of a reach for him, he wasn't very bright," Jack informed her. "His last name was Boast but everyone used to deliberately mispronounce it as Post and make jokes about he was as dumb as a post."

"Well getting you into trouble I can't say I feel to sorry for Ed," Sam interjected. "What happened to you?"

"Oh a bit of time at Savannah Medical College and some Psych at Oxford, then the FBI, which it seems to be the best decision I ever made."

"Why is it the best decision you ever made?" she asked. Lately Tom had been disparaging her choice to join the FBI and maybe Jack had insight.

All amusement left Jack's face and his eyes had a fierce intensity as he answered, "Because it lead me to you."

The rawness and depth of his statement shook her to the core and left her breathless. With an uncustomary boldness, she initiated a kiss between them. As their kiss ended, Samantha whispered in a husky voice she barely recognized as her own, "This isn't just a harmless flirtation, is it?"

"No, my Samantha. This is something far more serious."

"What?" she breathed softly.

"Love," Jack replied and drew her tightly against him, nuzzling her gently.

Locked in a tight embrace with their foreheads resting against one another, neither moved or spoke for many minutes...