Chapter 16 –

In five weeks he managed to come up with seven sets of folders for her review. Actually, it would have been four weeks since he had left on business for six days about two weeks prior. Lisa sighed as she glanced at the eighth such set on the end table as she sat up and pushed the covers back. Slipping out of her new bed and into her slippers, she noticed the sun was starting to slip above the horizon as evidenced by the golden glow seeping through her new window. Glimpsing at the damn folders out of the corner of her eye, she made her way into the bathroom to complete her morning routine.

She hated those files and what they represented. She used to like the color red but now it did nothing but remind her of the sick game he'd set up. She was tired of it, hating to see the faces of the strangers his company was intent on killing. She was weary of making these decisions. Most of all, she was just plain tired. Turning on the shower she left it to heat up while she brushed her teeth.

After her shower, she came out of the bathroom fully dressed in a simply button down white top and a long gray colored skirt. Again she looked at the despicable red folders. Making her bed and finishing the glass of water that she'd taken with her last night; she walked over to only item in the room that hadn't been replaced.

The overstuffed sofa chair sat right in front of the window that had once been her greatest hope for escape. Needless to say, the last time Jackson was gone, she didn't make a similar attempt. Sitting down, she picked up the book that she'd left splayed open on the arm of the chair and began reading. She actually read the books he gave her these days, some of which weren't all that bad. They were all non fiction books that covered a wide variety of topics and he would make it a point to occasionally ask her about one such subject or another.

She'd made the mistake of making a random comment, meant to be a snide remark about him posing as a pseudo intellectual who kept a library of books around just to make himself feel smarter than he actually was. It had backfired miserably.

"What book are you reading now?" He'd asked after her little quip with a mild tone of annoyance. Lisa stumbled for a moment, not having expected to elicit much of a reaction from him. He often ignored her comments that were meant to offend him.

"Uh," She looked at the cover, "It's called 'The Clash of Civilizations'."

"Oh, I kept that one? That had to be one of the worst theories on the current geo political climate I've read to date. If the author had ever been to a portion of the countries he wrote about for any amount of time, he never would have drawn the conclusions that he did."

Lisa just narrowed her eyes in frustration at the smug expression that spread across his face. "In fact, look at page 59 and then read 229. You'll see that he's not consistent and doesn't even agree with his own theories. Either that or he simply forgot what bullshit he wrote earlier."

Lisa had refused to look up the pages he referred her to. Not right then at least. Instead she waited until that night when she was alone and sure enough, there was the glaring contradiction he mentioned previously. She really didn't think it was possible she could hate the murdering rapist anymore than she already did but he always managed to find new ways to shock her into intensifying her already present loathing.

Lisa flipped through the photograph section in her new book on Florida's archeology until her hair was dry. Setting the book down, she glanced at the folders resignedly once again on her way to the bathroom in order to put her hair up. She knew Jackson liked it when she wore it down so in order to rebel against him, she never did. After cleaning up the bathroom, she knew she couldn't keep procrastinating so she finally went to the table and just stared at the folders with a furrowed brow. Several times she started to reach for them but froze midway. Or maybe I'm just giving up. Either way, she couldn't stand to look at their contents.

She heard his voice from the other room. "It's ready."

Lisa sighed and reached once again for the folders. If she didn't leave now, Jackson would just come and retrieve her regardless. She picked them up and as she tried to force herself to start flipping through them she ceased the effort. Enough was enough. With heavy steps, a throat that burned with self loathing and suppressed tears that she barely managed to hold back, she tucked the folders under her arm and walked out of her room through the unlocked door.

Jackson didn't look directly at her when she left her room, but smiled to himself when he caught the flash of red she was carrying in his peripheral vision. "So, who's the lucky guy today?" She didn't say a word in response but that wasn't unusual when it came to taunting her on this subject. He dished out the morning's meal as easily as he had the jibe as she made her way over. When he actually looked at her directly, he immediately noticed a difference in her countenance. She looked more upset than usual. He wondered what exactly had brought it on.

"No more." She spat out as she unceremoniously dropped the folders next to his plate of food.

He looked at her curiously. "What exactly does that mean?" He observed her guardedly, narrowing his eyes. "You've decided you prefer movie nights to sleepovers?"

"I'm done looking at this crap." She stated but with less vehemence than her last statement.

"Okay." Jackson covered his disappointment well. He disliked the backward step they'd just taken. He'd have to figure out the reason for the sudden changed of direction. Lately, she didn't cry when he took her. He really thought he was getting her trained to the routine but apparently he'd made a miscalculation somewhere. "Movie night it is."

"No." Her eyes were downcast but solidly fixed on the folders she'd just discarded on the bar.

He laughed humorlessly. "Really? Well that's not the way it works Leese." His tone was mocking, "You see if you don't a decision, I do and my choices are going to almost always result in snuff films created just for you."

"No." She said again. He was about to enlighten her some more on the course she chose but she cut him off, a single tear running down her cheek. She really hated losing the battle by allowing him to see her tears. It made her feel even more pathetic. "Make the decision you know I would have made."

It actually took a second for Jackson to catch up with her line of thought but when he did, the realization was plastered all over his face. Even his posture changed when he had the sudden epiphany.

"Come here." He said his voice full of aggravating mirth once again. Lisa cringed.

"Why?"

"I need to make sure of something because you know what this implies, right?" Even though he couldn't see her hands, he could tell that they'd just rolled up into tight little fists by the way her muscles contracted throughout her upper arms.

"Of course I do." She hissed. "You don't have to test my honesty. I'll do it." Jackson just smiled.

"Oh Lisa, it's not your truthfulness I'm questioning. I believe you mean it. It's the strength of your resolve that I'm worried about. Now come here." Jackson watched as Lisa just seemed to shrink a couple of inches before she let out a half sigh, half moan. She finally made her move to join him on his side of the bar. Once there, Jackson took hold of her wrist and pulled her gently into him. "Look at me." It was another command that took all of her strength to obey. Once her defeated eyes met his smug ones, he issued his worse command yet.

"Kiss me."

Lisa let out a small moan of disgust and looked away from him, unable to hold the gaze. Her eyes didn't stray far though as his other hand pulled her chin back. "I didn't tell you to look away from me Lisa, I told you to kiss me. If you can't do it then we'll just have to continue with the file routine."

Her eyes sparkled with tears and she took another deep breath before giving into his request. With him observing her, she rocked up on her toes and quickly kissed his lips, immediately trying to pull way. He held her near him, ending her retreat.

"It's a start." He said in a heavier voice before he crushed his lips against hers. He spun her around so that her body was now between his and the counter top. He deepened the kiss for a moment but then pulled away to kiss and lightly bite at her neck. She made little sounds of protest but didn't attempt to get away or struggle against him. His hands traveled quickly down her body only to easily hoist her into sitting a position on the bar.

Lisa was crying. He was right. All along, he was right. In the end, he would win and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She was just so tired of trying to fight it and in a perverse way; it felt good to have simply given up. In a manner of speaking, it was a release. "What about breakfast?" She asked, hoping to distract him but finding it difficult to really care at this point.

"Fuck breakfast." He mumbled into her neck, as he ripped off her panties from under her skirt. It was only seconds later that she heard the tell tale sound of a belt buckle being undone. He probed her with fingers for a second before bringing his hand to his mouth and spitting on it.

"You're going to have to start learning how to get yourself wet in situations like this Lisa. Saliva's fine for now but it would be great to know that it was all you." He pushed into her in one solid stroke, covering her mouth with his, using it in a similar manner as below. It was such a frenzied affair on his part that he only removed the clothing that was directly in the way.

After what could only be described by Jackson as the most satisfying sex he'd ever had, he buried his face in her neck and then bit it none too lightly when he came. He just stood here panting while still inside her for several minutes, basking in the afterglow of his success.

She, on the other hand, just sat there and tried not to scream. When he was finally ready to leave her embrace, he reached for a couple of napkins and pressed them to where they were joined as he pulled out. He wanted to minimize the mess as he hadn't exactly chosen the most sanitary place in the world to do this. What could he say; he got a little carried away with the excitement of the moment.

He moved her hand, indicating for her to take over the napkin detail that he'd begun. "Go freshen up while I reheat breakfast."

She sat there for a moment longer after he left her before clumsily sliding off the counter. Then, with the humiliation of the situation pouring off of her in waves, she awkwardly walked back to her bathroom to do as he instructed her and to put on a new pair of underwear.

"Don't shower, you don't need it and besides, who knows what will happen after breakfast. We can't have you taking showers all of the time, now can we?"

AN: I'm going to do something uncharacteristic and give you guys a slight insight into the future of the story. As I'm sure you've noticed, this has been a very one sided fic with Jackson pretty much winning all of the time. Just to alleviate some of your fears, this will not always be the case. While I'm not saying who actually wins in the end, Jackson or Lisa, I am saying that Jackson won't always be on top...wow, that pun really wasn't intended, I swear. Anyway, thanks again to all who read and kudos to everyone who's reviewed. It truly does mean a lot!