For all you fantastically loyal reviewers out there...you are awesome! If you have written a Fanfic before, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven't, well trust me, it is a really great feeling to read reviews! I'm hoping this chapter meets with your approval.

As you left the last chapter, Jack had asked Samantha about her relationship with Martin. He was waiting for her response as we continue now with...

Chapter 10 – The Touch

The hesitation in her response was like a ton of bricks pressing on his chest and he fought the sting building in his eyes, blinking to try and keep them clear.

Finally, she realized her command of the English language would never get her message across. So she stood and released his hand, causing his heart to stampede. But then she moved as close to him as possible, put her hands on his chest, closed her eyes, and touched her lips to his in the most tender moment he had ever felt.

Not knowing what that touch meant, it was his turn to say, "Please, talk to me Sam." She pulled his baseball cap off, ran her fingers through his hair and said, "I want you to take care of me. You are my steady influence. I'm a pretty low maintenance kind of girl and don't need a lot of money. Sometimes family is not all it is cracked up to be. And, when the lights finally came on for me before I left to look for you, I made sure Martin knew he did not have a place in my life much less my heart. I only have room for one man in my heart, and that one man is you Jack. I love you…..I have for years."

By then both of them had misty eyes and grateful smiles. He turned on the railing to bring her close to his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his head in her hair. He was clinging to her as if she were his lifeline to keep him from dropping into oblivion and saying over and over again, "I love you….I love you…..I love you."

She held on to the man that understood her completely as she buried her head in his neck and tried desperately to have not one millimeter of space between them all the while repeating, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry."

After a while of simply holding each other, she pulled back slightly and found her heart fluttering when she looked into his eyes that bore into hers with complete adoration. They simultaneously bent in for a slow and lingering kiss that ended with both of them smiling into each other's lips.

"Hey," he said softly, "thank you for being such a good FBI agent and finding me." She said, "Yeah well, it wasn't easy you know. I'm surprised you stooped to this attempt at going incognito," as she rubbed his bearded cheeks and moustache. "I'll go shave right now," and he stood to move, but she caught his arms and said, "No, I kind of like it. It's soft and tickles a bit when we kiss." After holding each other for a while longer, he took her into the cabin to show her around and they talked about getting some supper, deciding to go into Lindseyton for a date without prying eyes to make them wary.

He went to her car to get her travel bag while she jumped in the shower to freshen up. Walking back into the cabin, he busied himself with cleaning up the kitchen while he listened to her humming in the shower. He was amazed at how he went from being so miserable to so happy in the space of a few hours—all because of one spunky blonde firecracker. He was snapped out of his reverie by her voice calling him to please come kill the spider in the sink. But, the sight of her standing wrapped in a towel fresh out of the shower stirred him immediately and his tongue was suddenly three inches thick and his mouth was powder dry. She giggled at his lust-filled eyes and breezed past him while patting his butt and telling him to get cleaned up because she was starving.

Moaning theatrically and clutching his heart, he smiled seductively as he started taking off his shirt. While he showered, Samantha started to get dressed, looked toward the bathroom and thought about sliding under the covers to wait, but changed her mind. No, she thought; we will have the rest of our lives to make love. But when he walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist and a grin on his face, she thought she probably just made a big mistake.

He quickly dressed again in jeans, boots, and a soft cotton shirt. After a splash of aftershave, he grabbed a jacket and went into the living room to see her in tight jeans, black boots, a tight black turtleneck sweater, red lipstick, and her hair falling loosely over her shoulders. Reminding himself to breathe, he wondered if he would ever get used to her beauty.

They chatted easily and laughed at silly things on the drive into town. Jack parked on the edge of the one-horse town and they strolled hand-in-hand past the little storefronts. He laughed at Samantha wanting to come back the next day to shop for souvenirs.

When the two walked into Lillie's Diner, a slight hush fell on the small crowd as they saw the handsome couple. Lillie walked up with menus and looked at Jack, then Samantha, then back to Jack and smiled warmly as she welcomed them to the diner. She watched him place his hand on the beautiful blonde woman's back to guide her to a booth by the window. Lillie said, "It's good to see you, John. You're looking well today," and winked as she nodded her head toward Samantha. He smiled sheepishly and introduced Samantha to Lillie, referring to Lillie as the best cook in the entire Northeast and referring to Samantha as a truly beautiful person.

After dinner, they strolled down the street to the town square linked arm-in-arm. Lillie had told them the annual Lindseyton Festival was in full bloom. After riding the ferris wheel, he won her a stuffed flamingo by knocking down milk bottles. She hugged it tightly and excitedly jumped up and down like a little girl, proclaiming Jack as her big, strong, handsome hero. He just rolled his eyes and told her to cut it out. As they made their way through the festival, they stopped for a cotton candy. The young vendor smiled at them and, while handing Jack his change, she asked, "So how long have you two been married? It is so good to see couples in love these days, you know, with the world in the mess that it is and all."

Jack froze without an answer, but Samantha spoke up, saying they weren't married……yet, causing him to pick her up and twirl her around, proclaiming loudly, "I love this woman!" With her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms snuggly around her waist, she raised one eyebrow and said, "Then why don't you take me back to the cabin and show me just how much you love me?" The smile on his face stretched ear-to-ear as he assured her it would be his pleasure to do just that for the rest of his life.

After stopping for a bottle of wine at Buddy's Grocery Mart, their drive back to the little cabin was one filled with comfortable silence but with a heavily charged and electric atmosphere. She snuggled under his arm as the night air was getting rather chilly, especially in the Jeep. They lazily wandered up the cabin steps and lingered on the porch just outside the door in a warm hug, whispering sweet little nothings to each other.

Jack went to work building a fire to warm the cabin, laughing at his hands that where trembling just a tad. Meanwhile, Samantha opened the wine and found two juice glasses that would have to do and tried not to let them clink against one another as her hands visibly shook.

TBC