So what if she was uninvited and stood out like a sore thumb among his friends, at a party thrown by his best friend? It was New Year's Eve…she had as much right as any of them to ring in the new year in fine style at the best party in town! No way was she going to stay home and cry herself to sleep again tonight, drowning in vapid thoughts of the two of them here together, laughing it up, living it up like they hadn't just trashed her whole life. Besides, there was bound to be someone here she could hang all over to show Jason what he was leaving behind. He would lose his shit to see another man touching her, wanting her, worse…
The second the thought rushed to her mind, there he suddenly was, entering the ballroom, all six foot three, fine specimen of him looking twice as ragingly hot as she remembered, dressed up in black tux and a crisp white shirt with the open neck that showed his no-tie preference. He was looking her way! Quickly turning her back before his eyes found her staring, she latched onto the first warm body standing in front of her, grabbing him by the shoulders and landing her lips squarely on his, pressing hard, soon adding the occasional soft moan for effect.
"Jase! It's almost midnight - I was starting to think you really weren't going to come!" There were lots of things new about this Jason, but his hatred for all things social was still very prominent.
He turned to meet Carly's warm smile as she made her way over to give him a hug, just before planting a glass in his hand. "Scotch, neat - top shelf for my best friend, always!"
Smiling softly as he found his eyes darting back to where she was listening intently to something Griffin was saying, Jason absently touched his glass to Carly's. "Cheers!" He took a swig and allowed the smooth malt to glide his throat and wash warmly across his pounding chest plate that had triggered at the first sight of her.
Carly ran her hand appreciatively across one tuxedoed shoulder. "You look so handsome - I wasn't sure you were going to dress up if you came tonight - so glad you did." She waved an arm around the room and beamed, "Do you believe this turnout? Everybody's here - it's even bigger than last year's."
"Just what I need - huge party!" He swallowed another generous mouthful of the warm, brown liquid and this time, his gaze in her direction was not as fleeting. She had him glued.
"Did you see Michael on your way up? He's not here yet either." She knew he'd made the effort for her and she loved him for it. He didn't want to be here, but he came…and she was going to make him happy he did.
Shaking his head, no, Jason's eyes fell on a movement that blocked his view when Elizabeth grabbed hold of some man and began robbing him of breath.
From the minute he'd gotten there, he'd felt her. Before he even saw her, his striking, poised goddess in the black and silver form-fitted gown that hugged every delicious curve and covered everything from the neckline to her arms, to where it sculpted to the floor, he'd known she was there. When he roved the room till he found her talking to Griffin and Lucas near the terrace, he'd been transfixed to the spot, glued to the gazelle line of her neck when she laughed and threw her head back in delight, the tidy ponytail swinging behind the glistening silver clip that held it in place, as she raised a glass to perfect lips, then lowered it and grabbed Lucas' arm to bend towards him in laughter at something funny he'd said. She was radiant! She was beautiful! She was so damn sexy! Next second he found himself fighting hard to leash the spiraling anger, exuding instead a quiet fury that burned from his eyes and the tight pursing of his lips.
"Have you seen Sam, yet?" Carly scanned the crowd, "She was just here with…oh, oh!"
Jason was already gone, the anger charging through him as he stormed across the room feeling the urge to hurt somebody. The son of a bitch had the nerve to be that close to her? Who the hell did he think he was? Within seconds that felt more like hours as he raced to get to her, he was finally at her side, the place he longed to be more than any other…fighting a blinding itch to break the neck of the man that had reached out to touch her so familiarly.
Kissing, kissing…any second now she would feel the poor soul being yanked off her to get pounced at…she would have to intervene quickly to prevent him getting plumed for besmirching her honor…kissing, kissing…okay, he would certainly have made it to her by now - what was taking so long?
Venturing to open her eyes for a quick peek, her heart plummeted to the floor and shattered into pieces all over, when she found he'd not only stormed right past her on the lips of another man, but the anger she'd imaged on his face wasn't about her at all. She was not the woman he was yanking another man off, not the woman he looked like he wanted to murder another man over, not the woman he was completely captivated with…she was the woman left over here kissing…
"Franco?"
Franco Baldwin was in a daze. He'd barely wrangled an invitation to the NYE party to be at in town, by tagging along with his father, who'd managed to score an invitation from his old friend Bobby Spencer, who he was sure had no idea who'd be the plus one. He really hadn't been expecting much from the evening at all, except it was something to get him out of the house and hopefully usher in a better, brighter, less judgmental new year with people learning a bit more tolerance for his existence. Not much at all…until he turned around after swiping a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, to find himself on the receiving end of one very wet, crushing kiss. And it wasn't even midnight yet!
"Elizabeth! I had no idea!"
Wiping the man from her lips with the back of her hand, Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously, distrusting the knowing tone of his voice.
"No idea what?"
"No idea you had the hots for me! All you had to do was ask - of course I'll go out with you."
"What? Franco, please - I have a fiancé - don't get any ideas!" She flashed her engagement ring while brushing the hair back from her face.
Looking over his shoulder before turning back to her and raising the glass to hover near his lips, he asked, "You mean the man getting ready to start world war three over his ex-wife - with the fool who's been drooling after her all night long?" He took a sip, then tilted his glass in her direction, pointing to the puppy dog look she hadn't been able to stop giving the man behind them, "Kinda like that?"
Offended, Elizabeth tore her eyes from the trio near the open terrace, angry at the way he'd just ignored her, ignored the man she plastered herself to just for his benefit, ignored everything around him that didn't have something to do with the tart and the latest man caught in her deadly Venus trap.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Okay." Franco sized her up and he felt sorry for the rejection he could see her feeling, being himself, very familiar with the emotion. "Would you like to dance?" When she looked at him and was about to say no, he glanced at the Morgans again and jerked his head in their direction, "Just because he missed the matinee doesn't mean you can't still air the main show. I'm down if you are."
Elizabeth looked anxiously from the offered hand to Jason, who was still not so much as glancing in her direction, and she decided a tweak to her plan was in order. He hated Franco! Didn't remember everything that happened with him, but seemed to sense it anyway and couldn't stand the sight of the man. Nobody in that room would make him crazier. It was perfect - he would see them together and feel the need to save her. Smiling slyly and resting her hand in the one held out to her, Elizabeth was finally able to calm her racing heart. Before the night was over…hell, before the stroke of midnight, even…she would have her man back! So what if Franco Baldwin had to die to make it happen?
"Sam…you okay?"
Jason addressed her, but faced the fool who was about to get tossed off the balcony on his head. It was the same obnoxious jerk from the other day, standing way too close to her now, after using his finger to brush her chin in a familiar way that repeated itself, even after she'd moved her head from his touch the first time. Jason had wanted to break his arm all the way from across the room. The second Griffin and Lucas had disappeared, the moron had openly hit on her. Again!
"Jason!"
Sam's heart skipped several beats at his sudden appearance. He was gorgeous…filling out the black tux in that Jason way that always made her swoon…showing off broad, masculine, capable shoulders that she remembered to be rigid and toned to the touch, effortlessly reminding her how Jason Morgan had always worn the hell out of a suit!
Jason glared at the man who stood his ground like he was too obtuse to take a hint. "You make a habit of touching women against their will? You know there's a name for that, right?"
Sam knew that low, deadly tone well. He was fuming but keeping a lid on the fury that needed to be squelched quickly.
"Jason, this is…"
"I don't care who he is, Sam. He touched you, you flinched, and he did it again." Eyes narrowing with cold intent, Jason told the man coldly, "Don't do it again!"
Ian's head lifted in defiance, even as his back ran with a cold shiver down the middle. "This is a private conversation and Samantha can speak for herself, from what I've found."
"Ian, can you excuse us, please?"
With a weak, tiny smile, Sam pleaded with her eyes for him to leave. The last thing she wanted was to create an escalated situation at a party in town…her reputation already required a hard hat, and as much as she was in the market for publicity, this wasn't it. Watching the man smile and walk away slowly, eyeing Jason who hadn't shifted the icy gaze from his stare, Sam took a deep breath and faced her son's father.
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
Jason was surprised by her cold tone. She was still barely speaking to him, but he wasn't wrong to intervene with some clown who was drooling and touching her, very obviously against her will!
"That guy was out of line, Sam. Don't tell me you're angry I stepped in?"
"Actually, Jason, it is pretty damn annoying! First of all, I can take care of myself. Handling one drunken, harmless frat boy is something I can do in my sleep - I don't need you to run to my rescue."
The edgy coolness in her voice hurt his heart. Had he left her to fend for herself often? Didn't he used to defend her against shit like this before, or was she just refusing his help now on principle because she was mad?
"I'm not trying to step on your toes, Sam, but when I see the mother of my child being assaulted, you can bet I'm stepping in."
"Assaulted? That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? For your information - I had just warned Ian that if he touched me again without my permission he'd lose the finger, so you see - I didn't need you to rescue me."
Jason was getting irritated himself. Why was she defending the guy it had been more than obvious she didn't want touching her? Was he wrong? She wanted the guy's attention? Was that it…he'd interrupted her date? Chiding himself at the last thought, Jason remembered that he knew her better than that. Even if he couldn't remember the woman he'd married, he remembered the one he'd befriended. Strong willed, independent, blunt, and fierce to behold. Sam Morgan didn't play games.
"I'm sorry, you're right. I'll let you handle it next time." When his sudden change of tone caught her off guard, Jason used the moment to gain an inch. "Truce? Can we step out on the terrace for a few minutes…there's something I need to talk to you about." When she hesitated doubtfully, he added, "Please?"
Glancing up at his soulful, pleading eyes, Sam nodded in agreement and walked in front of him through the door he pushed open, leaving the warm ballroom to step into the cool, calm night. Jason grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter before he joined her, swapping it for the almost empty one she held. His eyes roved her face and figure appreciatively as she took a sip from the fresh glass.
"You look beautiful tonight, by the way. That dress is…"
The tone of his voice sent a heat up the back of Sam's neck when she pictured his seeing her the way his tone implied. They'd never been the couple to make events like this one a must, but on the occasions when they had dressed up and taken on the town together, she'd always felt like the most beautiful woman in the world, from just one look from blue eyes that pooled and drank in every drop of her. She was seeing that same look now.
Moving closer to the railing and downing another sip of bubbly amber, Sam reminded herself to put no stock into what she thought she was seeing. He doesn't remember what you do, Sam. Who you're looking for is not there. When his throat cleared, she realized he'd moved to stand directly behind her, barely a breath away from her ear.
"How's Danny?" He knew how Danny was. He'd spoken to his son before bed to tell him goodnight and how much he loved and missed him. Danny had gotten a kick out of telling him he'd see him next year.
"Danny's fine. He's home with the sitter, who just texted me actually. They've turned in for the night."
"I'm sorry I missed our date on Christmas." When she looked at him for an explanation, Jason smiled. "Danny, I mean. I dropped the ball on Christmas sledding, so I have some making up to do. There's a new batch of snow on the hill behind the cabin - would you mind if I took him there tomorrow? " He moved to the side of her, resting his back to the railing so he could see her beautiful face in full glory.
Something in his eyes made her uneasy. "The cabin? You've been back there?" Why did that fill her with hope?
He wasn't leaving her eyes…beautiful pools of brown that could drown a man and give him life all in the same minute, had him mesmerized.
"That's kind of what I've been meaning to talk to you about. That's where I've been staying."
It had been one long, bleak, cold week where he'd found himself constantly hoping she'd stop by on one of her random visits and find him there…maybe they'd have been able to talk some more and uncover more of his past. But she hadn't ventured near the place - hadn't taken a single one of his calls nor returned a single one of his messages. He'd seen Danny every day as promised, but his son was always with one of the Davis women or his mother whenever his visits were planned. She'd purposely avoided him all week…even a couple random stops at her office had proven futile, as he'd missed her each time.
"You moved out of…?"
She didn't have to finish - he'd started nodding as soon as she started asking. Oddly, the information didn't give Sam the feeling she thought it would have. Did it really matter that he finally got some inkling of how wrong he and the woman had always been together? Did she really care that the house of cards he'd insisted on building around himself was crumbling like the weak, trembling foundation it had been erected on? Not one damn. But she cared that he was undoubtedly in pain - she'd never wanted that for him, ever - but she didn't care where he didn't live anymore.
"So, what now? What do you plan to do?"
"Get my life back." When she had no reaction to that statement he added softly, "I don't know exactly what that's going to look like, but I do know I want to be focal in my son's life…I need him, Sam!"
"I've never prevented you from having that, Jason. It's always been your choice how much or how little you saw Danny. He adores having you back, and I would never try to keep you from him."
"I know. Thank you for that - it means more than you know."
"You don't need to thank me. What you need is a plan of action. You can say you want your life back all day till the cows come home, but you have to actually do something to make it a reality. What are you going to do?"
Jason lowered his eyes to the hand holding the empty glass. "Will you still help? Will you still fill in the blanks?"
Sam looked at the handful of stars trying to break through the cloudy night. "I'll still do what I can - I told you I would. But I think you could also benefit from something a bit more…professional."
"You mean therapy?"
"Don't scoff - you've always mistrusted it but it was because of a few very specific people. Not all of them are like Dr. Thomas."
"Dr. Thomas?"
Sam nodded as she recalled the man who drugged her on the roof of the hospital in his desperate attempt to get away from Jason, after he'd gotten caught trying to use Michael's therapy to his own sick advantage.
"He helped Michael after AJ kidnapped him all those years ago. Later, when he learned that Michael actually saw him kill AJ, he turned what had been progress for Michael, into a circus of using him to point the finger elsewhere. You never trusted him…he was one of your doctors after your first brain injury - the one that left you with permanent memory loss. You'd hated him from then."
"Why did I send Michael to him if I didn't trust him to begin with?"
"Because of me." Shy brown met blazing blue. "Michael needed to talk to someone, to help him through AJ's mind control and the simulation back into his life. Dr. Thomas actually helped him to open up and trust us again…until he needed to save his own ass and tried to use Michael to do it."
He could see how. One look into her brown depths and he knew she could talk him into hell and he'd gladly let her lead him there. But that wasn't Sam Morgan's style. The compassion she felt for people shone true in everything she did and he instinctively knew that if she'd talked him into going that route, it was because she strongly believed in its ability to help his nephew. Must have worked too…he'd seen her with Michael and the man was nothing short of enamored with her. The mutual respect and love was evident to anyone who spared if even a glance.
Not being able to tear his eyes away from the second skin she wore for a dress, or the fresh view of her strikingly beautiful features that were gratefully bared by the ponytail, Jason was giving her much more than a glance.
"Have I told you yet how beautiful you look tonight?"
Heat rushed her cheeks and Sam turned from him again, praying the cool air had masked any trace of color that may have exposed her to him.
"Yes - you have. Thank you…you don't look so bad yourself."
The arriving waiter was a saving grace - swapping empty glasses and quickly disappearing back inside where they could hear the beginning of the countdown to midnight. Both heads turned to see the crowd gathered with all eyes facing the bar, pairs of excited couples anxious to welcome the new year with new gusto and hope.
"Nine, eight, seven…"
Elizabeth went frantic, pulling away from Franco on the dance floor as she looked from one face to the next in desperate search of the one she wanted to her lips on at midnight. When he was nowhere to be found in the room, she flamed that she hadn't seen him reenter from the terrace since he'd disappeared with the woman. What was he doing with her for so long? All that time spent in Franco's arms and he was't even there to see it? Fine - she'd go find him then! She'd just veered in the direction to the terrace when a hard grip sank into the flesh near her elbow.
"Oh, no you don't! You leave them alone!"
Yanking her arm from the vice with a slight wince, she faced the blonde amazon who never minded her own business.
"You can't tell me what to do, Carly. Please move out of my way."
"You're getting nowhere near Jason and Sam - even if I have to throw you out in your tacky, puke-green, streetgirl threads, myself. They're having a good time together and you will not spoil their night!"
"Four, three, two…"
The room erupted into cheers and blasts from noise makers and patrons, and everywhere around her, happy couples pasted themselves to the one they loved and sipped champagne with glowing smiles of promises of a wonderful year ahead. She watched as Carly was swung around to find herself on the lips of her husband…and there she stood…alone…sad…rejected, in the sea of all that happiness and reverie. When had this become her sadness?
With Carly distracted, Elizabeth used the moment to rush to the terrace unimpeded, only to be stopped dead in her tracks when the sight before her sent her stomach into lurching revolting.
He was holding her face so tenderly, like glass, strong lips that used to set her on fire, resting on the corner of the woman who stood there, her hands clasping tightly to the champagne flute, her eyes closed to what Elizabeth knew was the magic of his silky touch. She couldn't breathe, couldn't look away from the electric connection the two struck together…two people seemingly alone in the middle of the sea of celebration, lost in a private one of their very own.
"You shouldn't be doing this to yourself. Come with me, come before they see you."
She felt the touch of someone being kind to her, allowing her feet to move when he prodded her away from the sight she wanted to gorge from her eyes, the sight now stuck in permanence on her psyche, the sight she'd never be able to unsee.
Jason could taste the sweet, sweet essence of her, even as his lips brushed only the outside of her own. Drinking from the trough struck up from the touch to her soft skin, his body blazed from his lips all the way through, and as his hand still cupped her chin, his eyes that stayed open as to not miss a thing about her, studied the closed lids of hers as he heard the breath that shorted on intake. The electric charge shooting through him retraced its path to jump from his fingertips and jolt her delicate chin, and only then did she pop open those beautiful browns to lock with molten blues that were in open, unabashed, naked awe of her.
"So beautiful." The whisper left his lips when the thought formed in his brain, and he needed his lifetime to run a course with the magic of that one electric, shivering, blissful moment, suspended in her personal space. "Happy New Year, Sam!"
