Note: For CC and WannaGetLucky. Gosh, I'm so glad this story is drawing to a close – twenty-five chapters oughta do the trick.

I will only be posting part of this chapter, because it contains adult content. To read the whole thing, please click on the link to my site, in my profile.

Chapter Twenty-Three (NC-17)

"I'm sorry."

Jason nibbled his way along her jaw, pleased when he felt her hands clench the soft cotton of his t-shirt. "You've said that several times now."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond but he was quicker, seizing her lips with his own and taking advantage of her open mouth to slip his tongue in with hers. She let out a low, throaty moan, winding her arms around his neck, as he commenced to plunder her mouth.

He broke for a gasp of air and she quickly utilized the moment. "Yes, but-"

His lips descended on hers again and Jason framed her face with his large hands. It had been so long since he had kissed her, so long since he had been close to her in this way that he didn't think he'd ever get his fill.

"But-"

He silenced her again with his mouth, growling when he felt her tongue slither tentatively into his mouth. She was on her toes in front of him with his large hands now on her tiny waist, anchoring her close to him. Elizabeth's small hands were on his chest, tentatively feeling the muscles of his strong body as they rippled underneath her fingers. Jason was setting her on fire, slowly and steadily, and she rather enjoyed the burning.

Jason felt an abrupt rush of cool air and opened his eyes, looking down at a stunned Elizabeth who had just pulled away. "What?"

Her dark brows furrowed. "I forgot what I wanted to say."

With a slow grin, he wrapped his arms more securely around her and pulled the tiny brunette closer, letting his warm breath hover over her moist and swollen lips. She shivered and drew closer, her small nose bumping into his as he finally slanted his mouth over hers. She tasted just as sweet as he remembered, and this time, she wasn't going anywhere.

He turned her gently until she was against the pool table and let his hands wander down her sides. Her wispy summer dress rasped against her skin, creating a warm, delicious friction that she reveled in as Elizabeth slowly lifted herself onto the edge of the table. Her hands found his face as Jason's settled on her waist and the brunette tugged him closer, nipping his lips and then soothing the sting with the tip of her tongue.

He growled against her mouth, already diving in for more when Elizabeth placed one small hand on his chest, firmly pushing him away a scant distance. The dance back and forth was mildly frustrating and a muscle in Jason's jaw ticked as the petite brunette tried to gain control over her rapid breathing. Dark sapphire eyes, pupils flaring in a direct exhibit of his affect on her, met his intense eyes as Elizabeth nibbled on her plush lower lip.

"I remembered what I wanted to say." Her voice was small and trailed off on a long, heavy sigh as she dropped her head. A short moment passed before she looked up at him again, and Jason's hands curled around the edge of the pool table. "You don't have to make this so easy for me."

He dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck with one strong hand. Elizabeth chewed her lip nervously, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the table next to his hands as she watched him. When Jason finally looked up, she was surprised to see the all too familiar twinkle in his arresting blue eyes. He stood very close to her as it was, and sidled closer as he regarded her.

"Elizabeth…" His warm breath fanned over her moist lips as his own curled into a rare, impish grin. "I wouldn't call anything that's happened between us easy."

She laughed nervously, her breath hitching involuntarily when his warm, tanned hand found her waist. Slowly, she braced her hands on the edge of the pool table and gracefully pulled herself up, allowing her knees to fall apart as Jason's lips claimed hers in a deliberate caress. His mouth lingered on her plump bottom lip, taking it between his before swiping it with the tip of his tongue. The brunette mewed quietly, already fisting her hands in his shirt to draw him closer. Jason stepped leaned closer, between her legs and demonstrated his approval by slipping his tongue into her mouth when she finally wrapped one leg around the back of his thigh, then the other.

Jason's palms lay flat against the edge of the table on the cool, smooth wood as Elizabeth wound her arms around his neck.

"Elizabeth," his voice was rough and gravelly as he spoke her name, "we don't have to do anything tonight."

She stared up at him with bewilderment before grasping his meaning a moment later, and to his surprise, the petite brunette rolled her eyes. "You know what your problem is, Morgan? You always go all noble on me."

He gaped down at the mildly irritated young woman as she pursed her lips and settled back against the pool table. "I came here tonight for a reason, Jason," she told him in a quiet but steady voice as her sapphire eyes bore into his. "I came because-" She stopped abruptly when her hand hit the corner of the framed canvas, and Elizabeth glanced down at her painting. Pausing, she grasped the edge and pulled it toward her, into her lap, before turning it over and looking up at him once more. "I came to give you this, for one thing."

She seemed adamant that he inspect the painting, and though Jason knew it wouldn't do him much good, he tilted his head to the side and tried to make sense of the colors and shapes anyway. It looked a lot like the other two she had made – of the dancers – but he knew it was different somehow, even if he couldn't put his finger on it.

Cerulean orbs flecked with silver met her pure sapphire ones as Jason let his forehead rest tenderly against hers. "Explain it to me."

The corner of her mouth quirked up and Elizabeth licked her lips, trailing her fingertips lightly over the bright colors. "They're dancers," she explained simply, letting her eyes dart up to his and hold his gaze. "I got it right this time." The confused look in his eyes forced her to continue, albeit somewhat sheepishly. "Remember my final project for class? I made two other paintings like this one – dancers. The first one turned out too soft; not at all what I was going for. In the second one, the lines were too hard and the shapes were too definite – it came off as rigid and angry, and I was going for a more impressionistic piece. I couldn't get it in time so I turned in the two paintings as they were."

She bit her lip and let her fingertips graze the airy, amorphous figures of the intertwined couple before daring to look up at him again. "I finished this one today. It took me a long time, but I did it. I finally got it right – the dancers found their rhythm."

Jason looked down into her wide, honest eyes and her meaning dawned on him. His rough hands found the edges of the framed canvas as he hefted it, letting his eyes wander over the soft colors that glowed bright in the dim light of his half-darkened new home. The brunette in front of him was biting her lip, studying him as he studied the painting, and she fidgeted nervously when he set the painting down on the pool table.

Her anxiety was short-lived, however, because Jason's large hands soon framed her face and pulled her toward him for a slow kiss. His mouth moved tenderly over hers, eliciting soft mews from her lips as she tried to get closer. When he pulled away, she was left breathless and starry-eyed.

"Thank you for showing it to me," he got out quietly as her small hands settled on his wide shoulders.

"I had to," she replied simply. "You were the reason I finished it. Jason, I…I came here to give you the painting. It's yours. But I also came here to tell you that…well, everything I just told you, I guess. To apologize for being an idiot." She took a deep breath as Jason nuzzled her cheek and struggled to formulate her next sentence. "And to tell you that you're the one I want." He pulled back a fraction of an inch to look at her, and she stared back honestly. "You're the one I want, Jason Morgan…in every way."

The last part was a whispered confession on her part, and Jason could have sworn he felt his blood rushing straight south as she hesitantly brought her legs closer together around his hips, holding him gently in place. Her small hands moved from his shoulders and framed his face, the soft skin of her palms brushing over the dark golden stubble on his chin and cheeks. Jason leaned into her and brushed his lips against hers until she boldly slipped her tongue out to tease the seam of his lips.

Allowing her in with a quiet groan, Jason moved closer and urged her to wrap her legs around his waist. She was still perched atop the edge of the pool table and he settled his hands on her waist, anchoring her small body against his. He'd be a goddamn liar if he told her he didn't want this; months of being noble – and a monk to boot – had taken their toll and he had a feeling that the only way he'd be able to stop what was undoubtedly going to happen was if Elizabeth told him to.

But the petite brunette in his arms had no intention of doing so. She wound her arms around his neck and slanted her mouth over his for better access. His fingers roamed possessively through her hair and he swallowed her excited mews and let the little minx take from him all that she would.

He was breathing hard when she relinquished his mouth and trailed kisses up the strong line of his jaw to his ear. Her soft lips whispered over the shell of his ear before her tongue danced along there, making him grit his teeth in an attempt to quell a groan.

She pulled his earlobe into her hot mouth and sucked on it, gently at first and then harder, chuckling when he cursed. Her teeth rasped over the soft flesh as she toyed with it, and her slender legs tightened around her waist.

Jason's own hands crept to her backside as she continued her ministrations and he gently lifted her off the soft felt and into his arms. Elizabeth moaned her approval and licked the one spot behind his ear that drove him wild, and Jason gathered her in his arms, holding her pressed close to his chest.

Blindly, he backed away from the pool table as her mouth continued to tease his sensitive flesh. Forcing himself to focus on something other than the delicious haze that enveloped him, Jason carried the petite brunette from the main room toward the staircase. The climb was arduous to say the least, and it was entirely Elizabeth's fault – not that Jason was foolish enough to complain.

He managed to stumble into his bedroom with the brunette beauty still tucked neatly against him and it was only when he stopped that Elizabeth pulled back enough to look around. The moment gave Jason ample time to study her, and he was pleased with what he saw. Her hair was mussed, her lips red and swollen from his kisses and hers, and her dark pupils had flared to eclipse her sapphire orbs.

Gently, he set her down on the hardwood floor of his bedroom and watched as she turned around, looking about the room. The first thing she did was kick off her sandals and abandon them by the door. His large bed stood across from her, bathed in a large square puddle of moonlight from the enormous windows on the other side of the room. A dresser sat nearby with only one of its drawers in place, and the sight made her laugh.

Jason came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, nuzzling the silky skin of her neck. "Don't like my decorating skills?"

She laughed as his lips skimmed a feather light path up to her ear and back down again. "Were you ever planning on finishing that up?"

He pretended to consider the question. "I was going to get around to it…unless something better came up."

As if on cue, she leaned back against him and felt the light pressure of his arousal, the evidence of which sent her into a fit of laughter. Jason's chest rumbled and he buried his nose in her hair. "Usually, I get a better response than that."

That only made the brunette laugh harder as Jason's arms tightened around her waist, and her breath hitched involuntarily, putting an end to her chuckles, when the older man spun her around to face him. His grin was lost against her plush lips as he claimed her mouth, tangling his long fingers in her silky dark hair and suddenly, Elizabeth completely forgot why she had been laughing a brief moment ago.

To read the rest, please click on the link to my site in my profile.