Chapter 13

How dare you say that my behaviour is unacceptable
So condescending unnecessarily critical
I have the tendency of getting very physical
So watch your step cause if I do you'll need a miracle

Harder to breathe – Maroon 5

It was turning out to be a longer day than Anna had expected. Not only had she been packing all day but she was still nowhere near done, and she blamed that on the tape dispenser she'd just launched across the apartment. Brushing her hair out of her face in frustration she let out a small growl and stood up from the floor as she surveyed the room, not really believing in the couple short months she'd been here in New York that she'd accumulated so much

In the last week she'd both found an apartment and managed to get the keys. Tomorrow was her moving day, well if she ever got finished tonight that was. Luckily for her Danny had agreed to come over once his shift had finished and help, but Anna wanted most of it out the way before he did as she hadn't seen him properly in the last week and didn't want a night wasted just packing.

There was a knock on the door, scooping up the tape dispenser Anna looked at the clock. Danny wasn't due yet, so she knew she wasn't expecting anyone. Dodging the few boxes she had packed Anna moved to the door, and opened it.

There leaning against the door frame was Jason, a back pack on his shoulder, and a huge grin on his face, "Afternoon beautiful, you fancy some company?" he asked.

Anna rolled her eyes good naturedly at what he called her and was about to decline his invitation when she remembered the tonne of stuff still unpacked behind her. "Actually I could use some help packing, if you don't mind that is?"

Jason's face darkened for a second before he nodded, "I forgot you were moving." He sighed, his eyes lingering on her for longer than was comfortable, with a nod he brushed past her and walked into the apartment, "Sure I'll help."

Anna frowned as she past her, and almost balked at the scent of whiskey, "Have you been drinking?" she asked, slowly closing the door. Jason dropped his backpack on the couch and nodded, as he turned to her, his hands resting on his hips,

"Not much, just a few rounds with the boys after practice." He told her, Anna nodded and headed over to the living area where most of the mess was. Unbeknownst to her Jason's eyes followed her as she moved, roaming down her body.

Anna was clad in a pair of yoga pants and a simple mint green cami but to Jason she'd never looked better. His tongue ran over his bottom lip as he shifted his body already reacting, when he watched her bend over to retrieve a box from the floor, "So where's that boyfriend of yours?" he asked.

Anna looked up as she dropped the empty box onto the coffee table, "He is working late tonight, I was hoping to get this all done before he comes over tonight." She answered a smile on her face as she began wrapping up a photo frame in some newspaper.

Jason's eyes darkened slightly at the thought of Danny coming over. "So he didn't even bother taking the day off to help you?" he asked, as he taped up one of the many boxes she'd left unopened. Anna shrugged slightly, not really catching his tone or the look on his face,

"He wanted to but there's no point, he's helping me to move in tomorrow." She sighed, counting down the minutes till Danny came over, and she made a quick mental note to txt him and remind him it was his turn to bring dinner.

"How nice of him." Jason sighed, rolling his head back over his shoulders; his eyes fixating themselves on Anna again as the bottom of her vest top moved up to reveal the soft skin there. His hands itched to touch her, to mark her, make her his and as he moved forward Anna turned to him and smiled,

"You want a drink? Tea, maybe coffee?"

"Anything stronger?" Jason asked smiling as Anna shook her head and laughed,

"No sorry and I think maybe you've had enough for one night." She chuckled, backing up to the kitchen, brushing her hair away from her face, "So what you having?" she asked,

"Coffee," Jason answered his voice a lot more husky as watched her disappear. Looking around the room he took a breath, and pressed his right fist into the palm of his hand, cracking his knuckles one by one. This was his last chance, to make his move, to let her know he was a hell of a better choice for her than that poor excuse for a boy-friend she had now.

As he moved around the room, his eyes landed on an open box full of what he could clearly see were lingerie. Moving forward quickly he let his hands reach in and grab at the flimsy material, holding it tightly between his fingers. Jason pressed the material to his face, inhaling deeply as he felt himself harden.

Looking back to the kitchen he shoved the panties he held into his jeans pocket and moved towards the other room. As he paused in the doorway he stared at Anna who continued working on the coffee, oblivious to his presence. "Gonna miss you when you go." He muttered, moving further into the kitchen.

From her position at the counter, Anna jumped her hand pressing against her chest as she turned to face him. Letting out a small chuckle she shook her head, "Thanks for that." She gasped, taking another breath she finally looked at Jason properly and frowned slightly, his eyes were dark and his whole body seemed tense.

Jason was less than a metre in front of her, and not for the first time being in his presence Anna was feeling uncomfortable. "I'll miss you too Jason, you're a good friend," she told him, looking towards the fridge she made to move and gasped when she found herself pinned against the counter.

"Do you mean that?" Jason asked huskily, his hands either side of her against the counter, his face pressed into her hair as he spoke. Anna swallowed, and her eyes widened in horror as he pressed the lower part of himself against her. Anna fought down the wave of nausea that washed over her,

"Jason please move." She said calmly, her hands pushing against his chest. Jason didn't move though, which wasn't a surprise considering his size,

"I've wanted to do this for so long, I know you have to. I know you want me Anna so don't fight against it okay. You've been flirting with me since the first night we met, you want this. I know you do so just give into it" He whispered.

Anna opened her mouth to argue, and to order him to move but before any words came out of her mouth Jason pressed his lips over hers in a harsh almost brutal kiss. Anna cringed back, her hands pressing hard against his chest, doing her best to move him yet Jason's hands gripped her waist as he rubbed himself against her. Closing her eyes Anna prayed this was not happening.

Using all her strength she pushed against Jason's chest and brought her knee up. "Jason stop..." she exclaimed when he stumbled back, apparently him being drunk helped matters.

"Anna why you fighting this...?" he asked breathlessly as he moved towards her again. Anna though was quicker and grabbed her purse, the purse in which her gun lay. Holding it up she moved away from the counter,

"Don't! Jason just please leave or so help I will not hesitate to shoot you!" she shouted, thankful her hands weren't shaking. Jason had the nerve to look hurt for a moment before he let out a long sigh and left the kitchen. Anna lowered her gun and followed him, standing in the kitchen doorway as she watched him pick up his back pack and head towards the front door.

"You shouldn't fight it you know. You'll be back, you'll realise I'm the best choice for you soon enough; I'll wait as long as it takes. I'm always going to be there for you Anna. We're meant to be" He told her, smiling softly as he shut the door behind him.

Not missing a beat Anna hurried forward and locked the door, stepping back away from it once it was done. With a hand over her mouth she lay down her gun on the table and sat down, forcing herself to take a deep, calming breath.

Jason wouldn't have hurt her, Anna was somewhat sure of that, but she was still shook up. Letting her head fall into her hands she closed her eyes, suddenly not feeling so comfortable about being on her own. Reaching out for her phone she dialled in a number and held the phone to her ear,

"Hello."

"Hi Grace, it's Anna, look I'm sorry to bother you but is there any chance you can come over?" she asked, hating the fact her voice shook, and Grace obviously picked up on it,

"Yeah of course I can is everything okay?"

"Not really, I think I'm just blowing it out of proportion but you know Jason?"

"The creepy neighbour yeah I remember him." Despite feeling shook up Anna laughed lightly. Grace had nicknamed Jason the creepy neighbour after meeting him once.

Grace had come over to Anna's to take her out for a few drinks and took an almost instant dislike to Jason, Anna herself hadn't understood the woman's reasoning, but as it turned out she seemed to be a better judge of character than Anna,

"He came over, he erm tried to force himself onto me." Anna said in a rush, closing her eyes when she heard Grace inhale sharply, then the rustling of material,

"I'll be over in 10, keep the door locked." Grace told her before they hung up. Taking a breath Anna dropped her phone onto the coffee table and looked towards the door, wondering if she should tell Danny, he wasn't exactly in control of his emotions and she feared what he would do if he knew.

Some hours later, Jason opened his apartment door, a beer in his hand and smirked at the man in front of him, "Let me guess she sent you over to smack my wrist."

On the other side of the door Danny stood tensely, his face hard as he struggled not to lash out at the man who'd practically forced himself on Anna. "Actually she didn't want me coming over. I'm here to warn you to stay the hell away from her, if I see you within a mile of her ever again then you'll have bigger things than a night in a cell to worry about. Understand?"

Jason chuckled, and wiped a hand over his mouth, "She invited me in, she wanted that kiss, she's been begging for it for weeks. So I'm sorry I'm not making any promises, she will be mine you know, and it won't be long till I have her between the sheets screaming out my name..."

Danny's fist cut Jason off, hitting him squarely in the nose. A sickening crunch echoed in the apartment and down the hallway as Jason stumbled back his hands covering his nose as he looked at Danny in shock. "Like I said stay the hell away from her..." he warned, before turning away and heading back to Anna's apartment.

Jason watched the other man go, hatred in his eyes. Jason wasn't one to be pushed around, not by anyone, and when he wanted something or someone, he always got them. One way or another Anna would be his, of that much he was sur

Meanwhile Anna paced the length of her apartment, her body was tense and her jaw set. It'd been 15 minutes since Danny had arrived; he'd sent Grace home after finding out about Jason and marched over there. Anna had made him promise to remain level headed but if there was one thing she'd instantly figured out about Danny it was that he was anything but level headed. She'd tried to explain that she was moving tomorrow so there was no need for Danny to confront him, but again Danny thought there was every need.

So after all but ordering her to stay in the apartment, he'd walked out, shutting the door behind him as he went to see Jason. Running a hand through her hair she let out a breath, her eyes fixated on the front door willing Danny to just come back.

As if he heard her, the front door opened and Danny walked in. Anna smiled but upon seeing his hand she frowned and shook her head. Danny shut the door with a wince, "Think he got the message."

"What your fist in his face?" she asked tersely shaking her head, "Danny you promised! You do realise he can report you!" she exclaimed, marching into the kitchen for her first aid kit. "See now this is exactly why I asked Grace not to tell you!"

"What reasons that? The fact you knew I'd go to confront the guy who tried to force himself on you? Are you seriously going to get all worked up with me over that?" Danny asked disbelievingly as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Yes because once again you're way of solving everything is with your fists! I'd handled it Danny he'd left, I'd called Grace there was no need for you to go over there babe, what if he reports you?" she asked as she shoved him down into the chair. Danny scowled up at the red head in front of him and winced as she began cleaning his knuckles.

"Trust me he's not saying anything and besides he took a swing at me when I warned him to stay away from you, this..." he held up his hand, "This was me defending myself. I hit him once, and left." He lied, not feeling bad for it. Jason had provoked him and yeah, maybe he should have controlled himself but Danny wasn't going to apologize, that son of a bitch deserved more than what Danny had given him.

Anna sighed and shook her head, in a way she was grateful he'd felt the need to defend her but in another she was upset he couldn't just leave it. Sitting down on the chair in front of him, she tended to his hand, not looking directly at him. After another round of silence she closed the first aid box, pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles and stood up to wash her hands, "Look I have a lot to finish tonight maybe you should just go home." She said, ignoring the pang in her chest,

"I'm not leaving, I said I was going to help and I am. Plus I leave you to do all this packing alone and there's no way you're moving into that apartment tomorrow." Danny chuckled, his tone making Anna smile softly,

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She joked looking at him as she dried off her hands. Danny shrugged as he stood, removing his jacket, the tension between them was gone which she appreciated.

"Well there's also a selfish reason I'm helping out." He sighed, coming to a stop in front of her. Anna smiled, her eyes drifting closed as he pressed his lips against hers, and his fingers gripped her hips and skimmed the bare skin peaking out between her pants and cami.

Anna gasped when Danny pulled away abruptly and gripped her hand, "Yeah come on packing can wait." He said, not allowing her a chance to answer as he threw Anna over his left shoulder and headed out the kitchen. Anna laughed, as they headed through the apartment, to the bedroom where Danny was determined to show her to just who she belonged.

Okay dokey guys here is Chapter 13, now just letting ya's know this is not the last we've seen of Jason. I can promise you that, guys like him just don't go away by themselves.

Ditto – As you can see Danny did step in and warned off Jason. Whether his warning did enough to scare the man off though is another matter. So have no fear, he'll definitely be back. Thanks for the review hun, great to hear what you're thinking of it so far.

Sch – I figure Don's always come across as protective of Danny, as much as he likes Anna, Don wanted to know she was serious about his friend. Don and Anna get on better than I expected he's taken on sort of a big brother roll in my mind, he's forever teasing her. Grace was always going to be in the story, she's the ultimate girl for Don I think As for Jason, your right there is no good going to be coming from him, guys a complete slime ball, only time will tell if Danny's warning worked.

Sam – I happen to completely adore Flack as well so your not alone there, lol. We will be seeing more of him from now on, Don was always supposed to have a good role in this story, so read on and thanks for the review hun they always mean a lot knowing what you think.

Kayla – Thanks for the review hun! You along with everyone else has picked up on what a bad guy Jason is, stick with it he'll be back at some point.