Just so you know….if Jaden/Elaina is referred to as Jaden, then it is from her point of view…from anyone else's, she's Elaina Nichelle. I also wanted to make Nikoli Marchette a more rounded character…so some of his thoughts come across here too. They are simply "man regarding hot woman" thoughts…hehehe

Jaden stepped out of the shower, as confused as ever. Blindly, she pulled on her clothes. She was so lost in thought, it took her a minute she was trying to force her left shoe on her right foot, her pants were not yet on, and that her shirt was on backwards. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly in a sigh, and sat on the bed.

Right then, there was a small knock at the door. "Who is it?" she called.

"Marchette," the man answered. "Are you alright madam? You've been in there an awfully long time. May I come in?"

Jaden was still half dressed, so she called, "wait a moment." She got to her feet, righted her shirt, donned a pair of jeans and pulled her shoes each onto the proper foot. "Alright. You may come in," she told the waiting bodyguard.

When he walked in, he surveyed the room, his eyes slowly coming to rest on his charge. Subtly, he assessed her, and enjoyed what he saw. The low cut, close-fitting jeans she wore showed off sexy curves and a fine ass. The stiletto boots she wore, almost completely hidden under the legs of her jeans, made her legs seem longer and more graceful. Her red tank top hugged her upper body, seeming to strain against her breasts as she breathed, and was cut high enough to show off the lower half of a well-toned set of abs. The shirt accentuated the girl's full cleavage, but the damp chestnut brown curls that fell over her shoulders, twisting and twirling around her throat, hid half the goods. Marchette believed that guarding this girl would not be all that hard, if it meant always being with such a magnificent creature.

He cleared his throat and dropped his eyes, mere seconds after first laying them upon her. "Madam, it is cold outside," he observed, adding, "It's January."

Elaina crossed her arms over her chest, raised an eyebrow and said, "So? Its not like I can feel the cold."

Marchette smiled slightly, but added, "I think it would be wise to wear some sort of jacket, ma'am. If our car is stopped, something may seem amiss if a young woman, such as yourself, is seen in such as state of undress; in the middle of winter."

She considered what he'd said, then nodded, striding towards the wardrobe. He got a pleasant view of her rear as she bent over to retrieve a jacket that had fallen to the floor of the wardrobe. For the briefest instant, he smirked as he imagined gripping that superior ass and grinding into it as she moaned in ecstasy. But as his charge straightened, he was the cold, professional bodyguard again; every thought of her that was improper was banished willfully. She was Elaina Nichelle after all, not some floozy he could idly seduce. There would be time for thoughts of and deeds with women later; now was when he had to focus all his energy on keeping Elaina alive. Not fantasizing about her.

"Is this better?" she asked, turning back to him. She wore a dark brown corduroy tailored jacket, still open, over her revealing shirt. He nodded stiffly and answered the cell phone that was vibrating at his hip.

"Yes?" He paused, listening to the voice on the other end. "Of course…A good idea…. No…No, there should be no problem…It will be less conspicuous with just two…No, we'll meet you there. Its better if we keep them separated, less likely a traitor can track their movements…Are you sure? …... All right. I'll see you at the plane." He hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Nichelle asked as she sat back on her bed.

"Your father is leaving now for a compound near the airstrip. You and I will travel a separate route to a compound just outside the city." He glanced around, "this place is not safe to discuss such things in, so you're going to have to trust me. Alright?"

She stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. "When do we leave?"

Glancing at his watch, Nikoli said, "In about a half-hour. If you want to say goodbye to anyone, you'd better do it quickly."

She shook her head, "there's no one to say goodbyes to. It's not like I developed any sort of relationship with these people. I mean," she shrugged, "up until several hours ago, I was convinced they had all ruined my life." Marchette frowned at the bitterness in her words.

"What about James?" He asked, confused.

She gave him a slight glare, "What about him?" she snapped.

Marchette was a little taken aback, "You don't have a personal relationship with him?" he asked, incredulously.

Elaina made a face, "No. Eww!" She shuddered, "why in god's name would you think that?"

Marchette raised an eyebrow. "He told you about his wife." When the girl shrugged, and made a so what? face. "Look," he continued, "there are very few people who ever knew of Annabelle's existence. There are even fewer still alive." Why am I pressing this point? Why do I care? He asked himself.

Elaina looked stunned. She stood frozen, her lips forming into a surprised "oh." She shook her head. "Why tell me? Its not like I was important."

Marchette shrugged in return, and rolled his eyes, "that's why I was asking you. You did sleep with him though, didn't you?"

The girl's look of confusion turned to one of embarrassed shock. "What? How do you know?" she squeaked.

He roared with laughter. "I could smell him all over you, and you all over him. It was either he recently bit you, or he's slept with you."

Elaina looked at the floor, blushing furiously, unhappily. "So it seems my private life will be lost to a sense of smell," she mused wryly. "Joy!" she added sarcastically.

Over his laughing fit, Marchette shook his head and said, "no madam. Its just I wanted to watch you squirm. Forgive me for my cruelty." He said all this with a hint of amusement lying beneath his words. Elaina rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Marchette instantly became serious. Silently and quickly, he moved to the door, ripped it open and drew a gun. James, who'd been standing on the other side, raised an eyebrow and sarcastically remarked, "hello to you too."

Marchette holstered his weapon, muttering, "Sorry."

James smiled slightly and said quietly, "Hello madam," with a slight nodding-bow. Glancing over at Marchette, he asked, "When are you two leaving?"

Marchette looked made of stone, so Jaden answered in his stead. "Less than an hour."

James nodded, turning back to face Jaden. "Do you think I could talk to you? Alone?" With the last word, he emphasized it by turning to Marchette.

The bodyguard raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Jaden. She nodded. He bowed and slipped from the room, not before saying, "You should be ready to leave in a half hour, madam."

Jaden was still nodding to him as he closed the door behind him. James took Jaden's hands in his, drawing her attention back to him. "Elaina, I am sorry if I ever mistreated you. I only acted the way I did because you represented those who I despised. If we'd met under different circumstances, I'm sure you'd have understood why I was treating you in such a way."

Jaden was just staring at him thoughtfully. Then a small smile crossed her mouth, "Though I greatly disliked you for your kidnapping me and forcing me to join you, you are not so bad now that I know you," she said truthfully. Extracting one of her hands from his, she laid it on his cheek, saying, "I hope I can consider you a friend. Even though you made my life garbage."

James snorted at her last comment, but nodded. "Yes. Friends." Putting his hands on her shoulders, he leaned down so his forehead rested against hers, "When you return to Venisa, please, don't hesitate to find me." He gave her a crooked smile; "you've made my life quite exciting in these past few months. I can't wait to see what trouble you can come up with in the future."

Smiling, Jaden hesitantly wrapped her arms around James. Slowly, she felt his arms snake around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Goodbye Jaden," he whispered, kissing her forehead. Then suddenly, he pulled away and left the room.

Marchette entered through the door James had left open. He sighed, "and there I was hoping to hear something more exciting than that!" Jaden burst out laughing, picturing the serious man with his ear pressed up against a door, straining to hear the action within. After her laughter subsided, Marchette observed, "seeing as you've said your goodbyes, would you like to leave now?"

Jaden nodded, taking one last look around the room as she closed the door for what she felt was the last time.

There will probably not be any Jaden/James things in the future. sorry it took me so long to update, life is jsut nuts. REVIEWS PWEASE!