Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the reviews. They really mean a lot to me. Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter Two: The Plane

"And that's not gonna happen…is it?" he said, his breathing labored as his clear eyes bore into hers.

"No." She breathed, wanting to cry again but it just seemed like it would take too much energy.

"Good." He said.

And then he was on her. His hand clasped her at the small of her neck as his tongue invaded her mouth. She opened up to him, granting him admittance. He pinned her back against the mirror and worked his way between her legs, his hands tangled in the locks of her hair. He used her hair to jerk her head, not gently, to the side and gain access to the tender flesh of her neck. Lisa's fingers dug into his shoulders as she struggled to pull him closer to her.

"Jackson…" she breathed.

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The rest of Lisa's week went pretty much the same as always, except no calls from corporate to let her know that she needed to hop on a plane and fix something somewhere. Of course, they were giving her 'her much needed time off'.

She stood leaning against the front counter in the lobby of the Lux while Cynthia argued with some drycleaner's place over the phone. In approximately ten hours, she would be on a plane winging her way across the country to go skiing and hobnobbing with politicians from all over the damn place. In fact, at that exact moment, Daniel was at her apartment, considerately packing her bags for her so she could put in the few extra hours of work that she had claimed that she needed. She had pretty much had nothing to do for at least an hour and a half now.

As she stood there, her mind wandered back to the events of that morning and her dream from the previous night. It was the same as all of the others, really, and just like all the others, it had felt unbelievably real. She had woken up, covered in sweat and breathing hard. Daniel had thought that she had had a nightmare, and she hadn't corrected him. Why start an argument?

Why should she think about him so much? He had terrorized her, threatened her father's life, her own life, and nearly followed through with those threats! But it was those few moments in that damned bathroom that haunted her. It was those moments that hadn't let her go one day without thinking that she had seen him somewhere. Those moments wouldn't let her go one night without dreaming about him. Those moments just wouldn't let her go. Period.

Daniel had given her arm a squeeze, as if it were going to chase the big bad nightmares away. Lisa had shrugged him off as delicately as she could and gotten up to head for the bathroom, visions of blue still flashing through her mind. After slipping into a black pinstriped pants suit with a fitted jacket cut perfectly to her small frame, she had left the house, mumbling an adequate goodbye to Daniel as she went.

Now, she shook herself out of her daydreams and turned to Cynthia just as she was hanging up the phone.

"People bother me, Leese." Cynthia said, running the tips of her fingers against her temples.

Lisa smiled.

"What are you still doing here?" Cynthia asked, "Shouldn't you be home packing for your romantic ski getaway?"

"Romantic political ski getaway." Lisa corrected.

"Semantics." Cynthia said with a flutter of her hand as though she could push that part of it away.

"Didn't I tell you?" Lisa said, widening her eyes for effect, "Daniel is at home packing for me."

Cynthia whimpered, "Okay, now I really do hate you."

Lisa laughed as she walked over to the table against the wall which held a steaming coffee pot and poured herself and Cynthia a cup, adding sugar and cream to their particular tastes. She returned to the counter with two cups of coffee and set Cynthia's down in front of her.

"Thanks." Cynthia said as she entered something into the computer, "But, seriously, what are you doing here with me when you should be at home thanking that beautiful man in the naughty way?"

Lisa took a sip of her coffee, more to avoid answering the question than because she wanted some at the moment. How could she explain to Cynthia what she didn't even understand herself? Cynthia was quick to pick up on what she was doing, though. One of the drawbacks of having worked together and being friends for so long.

"Leese, are you okay?" Cynthia asked.

Lisa looked to her with large helpless eyes. Could she confide in her that she felt like she was drowning in a relationship with a man that everyone seemed to love and think was perfect for her in every single way? In that moment, as if beckoned, Daniel came swaggering up to her side with a dimpled grin on his face.

"Hey, beautiful." He said.

Lisa turned to him, her eyes widening in surprise. "Hey! I thought you were packing."

"We're packed!" Daniel said, "And I, knowing what a little workaholic you are, decided that I should come and collect you so that I can make sure you're well rested for the trip tomorrow."

Lisa nodded and looked away from him, her lips drawn into a tight line. Cynthia stared at her with concern etched on her pretty face. "Leese?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Lisa said to Cynthia, "I'm fine." She turned back to Daniel, "Uh, just let me grab my things and, uh, we'll go home."

"Great." He said, his smile never faltering as he never picked up on anything that was going on between the two girls. Lisa disappeared through a door, leaving Cynthia staring after her curiously. When Lisa reemerged, she had her overcoat on her shoulders and a smile on her face.

She touched Cynthia's arm as she walked past her, "I'll see you in a few days."

Cynthia nodded, "Call me." She managed to say so much with just those two words and Lisa felt a little better because of it. Something told her that when she got back from Denver, she would be able to talk to Cynthia about everything that had been bothering her, and she wouldn't judge her for any of it. That was an amazing and liberating feeling.

When they got home, two large suitcases and one small carryon bag sat beside her apartment door. Lisa stifled a sigh and headed straight for the bathroom as Daniel flopped down on the sofa and turned on the television. She turned the shower on and kicked off her shoes and peeled off her suit and climbed into the tub. The water was hot, almost scalding in fact. Lisa relished in the way it beat into her shoulders, massaging the numerous tension knots that had formed; soothing her tight muscles.

Then, she heard the faint knock at the door, which she had locked.

"Hey, sweetheart," Daniel cooed from the other side, "You want some company?"

Lisa leaned her forehead against the bathtub tile and closed her eyes. How to answer him without hurting his feelings? "Not tonight, Danny." She said, "I'm beat."

"You work too hard." Came the reply.

"Maybe."

"You know, once we're married, you won't have to keep working."

"We've talked about this, Danny."

"I know you love your job, honey, but…"

"But nothing. We've already had this conversation." She said, her jaw tightening against her will. It wasn't even that she loved her job. There were some days she didn't like it; some days she even hated it. But, it was hers. It was her source of independence and she didn't want him to take that away from her. And right now, she didn't want to have the same old argument that they had had a million times before. She had had a very long day. Couldn't she simply have one moment of peace? Just one moment to herself, that was all she was asking. Her prayers were answered as she heard Daniel scuttling away from the door, no doubt a dejected look on his face. She didn't mean to be so cruel to him, she really didn't. She leaned her back against the tiled wall and slid down to the bottom of the tub, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her fingers absently touched the scar on her chest, and the image that immediately flashed through her mind was not that of the sweaty, disgusting man with a knife. No. It was of those striking blue eyes. Why wouldn't he leave her thoughts? It had been two years! Why couldn't she just move on? But, it wasn't just that she couldn't get past a traumatic event…no, that would have been much simpler. It was that when she thought of him, it was more like she was thinking of an old lover. Those few minutes in that damned bathroom had been more intimate than anything that she could remember in her life. She pushed those thoughts away and climbed to her feet to finish up with her shower.

She went straight from the bathroom to the bed, curled up on her 'side' of it and slipped the light switch. Soon enough, she was asleep. She didn't even notice it when Daniel crawled into bed beside her.

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Hands. Lips. Tongues. Teeth. Blue eyes. Bruises. Flashes of skin. The sweet smell of subtle aftershave. Murmured words.

"Wake up, baby."

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Lisa woke up to Daniel shaking her gently by the shoulder. "C'mon, baby, wake up." He said, "We gotta go."

Lisa looked up at him and gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She sat up and rubbed both hands over her face, trying to wipe away the lingering images of her lustful dream before kicking the covers off of her legs and getting out of bed. She washed her face, then put on some light makeup before slipping into a black knee length skirt and light blue sweater. She stepped into her most comfortable heels and went to the kitchen where Daniel had a mug of hot coffee ready and waiting for her. She took the cup from his hand and smiled at him. A genuine smile. One that reached her eyes.

"Thank you." She said.

He kissed her temple as he walked by her. "I'm gonna put the bags in the car. You finish your coffee, then we'll go. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." She said offering him her face. He smiled and kissed her lips before making for the door. She watched him carry her luggage through the door from her spot at the counter and remembered why it was that she had gone out with him more than once. He really was a sweet man. She was just being silly and letting the little things get to her that really shouldn't. She was living in the past thinking about someone that would never exist, and more than likely never had. Well, she wasn't going to do it anymore. She decided right then and there that she was going to return to her Grandmother's motto while she was still young enough for it to make a difference. She was going to stop living in her head and start looking forward. Even if it killed her.

Okay. Bad choice of words.

Even if it annoyed her!

Much better.

She downed the rest of her coffee and headed out the door. She met Daniel at the elevator and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely on the mouth. "Thanks for the trip." She said.

Daniel grinned at her. "No problem."

Around an hour later, they were standing in the check-in line at the airport, waiting for their turn. Lisa rested her head on Daniel's shoulder and whined. She hated waiting at the airport. Point of fact, she hated airports in general. Chalk it up to a bad experience and leave it at that.

They had been met at the airport by Daniel's personal security. As a multimillionaire with political aspirations, he felt it necessary to surround himself with a gaggle of secret service wannabe types, the leader of which was a very tall (Lisa was willing to bet that he cleared seven feet easy) blond haired steroid freak named Jake. He was ex military and looked like a boxer who had had his nose broken a few too many times. He was backed up by two lackeys who called themselves, no joke, Butch and Blade. It was hilarious to hear Daniel address them. It sounded more like he was talking to a set of Doberman pinchers as opposed to two actual human beings. They would be flying discreetly in the coach section. Yeah, because in their bad black suits, shades, and earpieces, who would ever notice them?

Someone bumped into Lisa from behind and she turned around at the sudden contact. Her breath caught in her lungs. Blue eyes. Cocky smirk.

"Jackson." Lisa breathed.

"Excuse me?" the young man said and Daniel turned around.

Lisa blinked and reassessed the man who stood behind her in line. His eyes weren't blue. They were brown. He stared at her now, confusion evident on his young handsome face. "Um, my name's not Jackson, ma'am. Sorry."

"Sorry, I, uh, I thought you were someone else." Lisa said and turned away, closing her eyes and mentally chiding herself for being so stupid.

Daniel nodded to the man behind him and turned to face Lisa. "Who's Jackson?" He asked.

Lisa looked up at him and hesitated a beat too long. "Just an old friend that I haven't seen in a very long time." She answered, praying that he would accept the answer and not pick up on her discomfort. Daniel nodded in response and Lisa let out a shallow breath that she had been holding. An old friend. That was an interesting perspective of what Jackson Rippner had been to her. Way to look forward, Leese, she told herself, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. She didn't say another word until they were on the plane. As Daniel guided her to their first class seats, she found herself looking back into the coach section. She blinked her thoughts away and took her seat, smiling up at her fiancé. Looking forward. Definitely what she was doing from now on. Daniel got settled in his seat and Lisa grabbed his arm with a big, bright smile on her face. "Let's get some champagne!" she said.

Daniel chuckled, "Anything you want, sweetheart."

Lisa nodded. When in doubt, have a drink!

Halfway through the flight, the movie King Kong, and a hell of a lot of champagne later, Lisa had to use the bathroom. She laughingly left Daniel's side, who was laughing as well, and stumbled for the plane lavatory. She shut the door and dropped onto the closed toilet, still giggling. She couldn't seem to stop her laughter. Then, she looked up at the mirror and her laughter faded away. She rose unsteadily to her feet and looked into the reflective piece of glass in front of her.

"And that's not gonna happen…is it?"

"No." She said aloud, and she was once again in that tiny bathroom with his hand on her face, tears quickly building up in her eyes.

"Good. Because I'm gonna tell you the phones are working again. Are you sure we've got a deal this time? Huh?"

"Yes." She said, but there was so much more that she wanted to say to him. She wanted to scream and shout at him. She wanted to pound her fists against his chest and ask him why he had to invade her every thought. She wanted to know why he wasn't there so she could really get some answers from him. Why had he come into her world and then just…vanished?

"Peachy."

She watched him in her mind as he stood and straightened his clothing. She remembered the exact movements he had made; she had watched the scene so many times before. It was embedded in her memory.

"Well, thanks for the quickie."

Lisa opened the bathroom door expectantly and froze where she stood. He wasn't there. She wiped the single tear from her cheek and headed back to her seat, not even realizing that she hadn't even used the bathroom. Daniel looked up, still chuckling from their earlier laugh session when he looked up at her and saw her solemn looking face.

"Hey," he said, his laughter dying, "are you okay?"

Lisa immediately plastered on the smile that used to be reserved for guests like the Hugh Heffner wannabe and said, "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

The smile tightened. "Very." She said, struggling very hard to keep her voice level. She sat back down and looked at him, still smiling. A little voice in the back of her mind mentioned how she had to look sideways and not forward to look at him, and another voice told it to shut the hell up. Lisa ignored them both, telling herself that it wasn't necessarily a good thing to be hearing voices anyway. So, she opted to smile, sideways, at her fiancé and pour herself another glass of champagne.

When they finally landed in Denver, it seemed to take forever for them to get their bags at the baggage claim and Lisa was really starting to feel those three bottles of champagne…or was it four? She couldn't remember. All she knew was that her head was spinning and she really wanted to lie down. Daniel grabbed their bags off the conveyer belt like the good little boyfriend that he was and lugged them out to the car that he had waiting to take them to the hotel. It was a limousine of course, but Lisa didn't even glance at the complimentary bottle of champagne cradled in the ice bucket.

They pulled up in front of the hotel and Lisa inwardly groaned. They would be staying at a Hilton. They got out of the car and a bellhop was immediately at their side to carry in their luggage. Daniel escorted Lisa to the sofa that she plopped down on before going to check them in. She smiled at Daniel's back as he went to the check in counter, Butch, Blade, and Jake trailing after him. Then, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention.

The slender form clad in an expensive looking suit walking with that cocky confident strut. It was him. It had to be him. If only his back wasn't to her and she could tell. She pushed herself up off the couch and started to walk toward him. What was she doing? If that really was him, then she should be running in the other direction, not strolling toward him trying to catch up. But, at that exact moment, a tall thin woman with legs that seemed to go on forever and flawless ebony skin pushed away from the wall and went to his side, his arm going automatically around her waist. Lisa stopped in her tracks. It wasn't him.

"Hey!"

Daniel's voice broke her from her thoughts as he put a hand on her shoulder and kissed her head.

"What are you doing over here?" he asked.

"I just, uh, didn't feel like sitting." She replied, taking one more glance in the man's direction. He and his lady were already gone. She looked back to Daniel and smiled. "We checked in?"

"Yep." Daniel grinned, "And you have three hours to rest before we have to be at dinner."

"We have a dinner tonight? We just got here?"

"Sweetie…"

"Okay, okay." Lisa said, holding up her hand. She didn't want to hear him whining about how it was all for his political career and how the end always justified the means. She didn't think that she could stand it at the moment.

"So," Daniel said, offering her own key to her, "we have access to pretty much everything in the hotel. Only, stay off of the 28th floor."

"Why?" Lisa asked.

"Apparently, they're remodeling or something. I don't know, the girl at the counter just said that it was under some pretty heavy construction and too dangerous for guests."

"Okay." Lisa said, then smiled at him as brightly as she could muster, "Where's the spa?"

Daniel laughed and threw his arm across her shoulders. "There's my girl."

They made their way to the elevators with Daniel's three goons at their heels.

Author's Note: That's it for chapter two. Still slow, I know. Just bear with me a little bit longer… and let me know what you think!