Of Dreams and Miracles
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Prologue.

Part Thirty-Two: Temptation

Even though she had told her father that she was going to bed, once she was in her own room, she decided against it.

So, instead, she walked down the hall and knocked on the door of the room that Jack and Rizzo were sharing.

She found it nice that all of the boys on the team knew about their relationship now, because it meant that they didn't have to sneak around quite as much. They still had to keep it from her father, but he was pretty distracted these last few days and he spent a lot of time alone, so it wasn't that hard.

Of course, some of the guys on the team were still a little awkward around them, unsure what to think about the news, but most of them seemed to have accepted it.

After a moment, the door opened to reveal Jack dressed only in a pair of jeans. His wet hair told her that he had just gotten out of the shower.

"Wow." Elizabeth complimented with a grin, as she stepped into the room. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Silently, she admired her boyfriend and wondered how she had gotten so lucky. Of course, there was more than the physical and she appreciated all of Jack's great qualities, but it certainly didn't hurt that he was very easy on the eyes.

"No." He assured her, closing the door behind her. "Rizzo's playing poker with some of the other guys, so I'm here all by myself."

She nodded and just stared at him, still unable to tear her eyes off of him. It wasn't that she had never seen him half-dressed before, but every time she did, it affected her all over again as if it was the first time.

"Like what you see?" Jack asked after a moment, flashing her a cocky grin when he noticed her fascination.

Elizabeth blushed and tore her eyes away. "Yeah, I do." She told him with a flirtatious grin. "Got a problem with that?"

"Can't say I do." Jack replied as he took her in his arms. "After all, I like what I see too."

He leaned down and kissed her and she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss grew deeper, until they were completely lost in it.

Jack manoeuvred across the room, until they reached one of the two beds and then he pushed her back so that the two of them fell onto it, never breaking the kiss. Elizabeth was too caught up to really notice.

Jack's hands travelled down her body and then up under her t-shirt. He broke the kiss long enough to push the shirt up and off, leaving her clad only in a white lace bra. Elizabeth made no protest, eagerly recapturing his lips.

One of her hands was running through his hair, while was running over his bare back. Jack's hands traced over her bare stomach and inched up towards her lacy bra.

He pulled his lips away from hers and began trailing kisses down her neck and bare shoulders, as he reached one of his hands behind her back towards the clasp of her bar.

"O.C, are you decent?" Came the call from the other side of the door, breaking the spell.

Elizabeth and Jack pulled apart in a hurry and Elizabeth grabbed her t-shirt and quickly put it on.

"Yeah, Rizzo, come on in." Jack called as soon as she had her shirt back on.

Rizzo entered and took in the picture: the two of them laying on the bed, both of them flushed and dishevelled, and Jack with no shirt. It was obvious that he knew exactly what he had interrupted.

"Hey, Liz." He said, raising an eyebrow. "Am I interrupting?"

Elizabeth shook her head and got off the bed.

"No." She said, even though she knew he wouldn't believe her. "Besides, I should be getting back. We don't want my dad to realize that I'm not in my room."

"Do you have to go?" Jack asked with a slight whine.

"Yeah, it's probably best if I do." She told him with a smile.

He sighed and then nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Elizabeth leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Goodnight."

"Night Princess." Jack replied, his eyes following her as she turned and walked to the door.

"Night Rizzo."

"Night." He said with a small smile.

Elizabeth turned back and shot Jack one last glance and then left the room.

Once she was back in her room, she sat on the bed and put her head in her hands. If Rizzo hadn't come back when he had... It wasn't the first time she and Jack had gotten a little carried away, but it was the first time she hadn't had a stopping point set out firmly in her head before it even started.

Of course, this was the first time they'd been alone together since the rest of the team had found out about their relationship. The risk of someone who wasn't supposed to know catching them had always been a firm barrier before. This time that risk was much smaller. Maybe that was why this time she hadn't want to stop.

Elizabeth bit her lip. She wasn't a virgin, but she still thought that sex was a very big deal. She thought that you should only make love to someone when you were in love with them and when you were in a serious relationship with someone you had a deep emotional connection with.

Sex wasn't casual, at least not to her, and she couldn't imagine sleeping with someone that she couldn't see herself marrying. Maybe not right at that moment, but someday in the future.

The only person she'd ever been intimate with was Robbie and she had been very much in love with and had been able to imagine spending her entire life with him.

Obviously, things hadn't worked out, but Elizabeth didn't regret sleeping with him. Their relationship had been very special, even if it hadn't ended well, and she was glad that he had been the first.

Though, the fact that they had been lovers had made her feel awkward around him after it was over, especially whenever she saw him with another girl. It made it harder for her to go back to thinking of him as just a friend. And that experience made her even more cautious the second time around.

Elizabeth knew that she was in love with Jack, but being in love didn't mean that she was ready to take that next step. Until tonight, she had never given a thought to whether she could spend the rest of her life.

She closed her eyes, deep in thought. Falling in love with Jack had caught her off guard. It wasn't the same as it had been with Robbie, none of it was the same.

Falling in love with Robbie had been as natural as breathing. First they had become friends and then in time it grew into more and it just fit. With Jack, she hadn't seen it coming. It wasn't the same comfortable, warm connection she had shared with Robbie. It was a hot, fiery attraction that was quickly melting into something else.

Elizabeth didn't feel as connected to him as she had with Robbie, like he knew her soul and her mind, but Jack made her burn in a way Robbie never had.

She knew that tonight she had wanted to make love with him, she had wanted to be with Jack O'Callahan in every way possible. But could she imagine spending the rest of her life with him?

She honestly didn't know. It was something she had to figure out and if tonight was any indication, she had to figure it out soon...
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