A/N: Well here we go with the next chapter! Thanks to the people who took the time to review the last chapter, I'm very thankful, although I thought that you'd be glad they finally slept together for real lol. Anyways, thanks to Idan for betaing! She's doing such a great job here!
Again, this chapter has a slight M-rating, so if you don't like that I'm very very sorry.

Now I wish you lots of fun!

(15)

She couldn't believe it had actually happened. Although every memory from last night was as clear as it could be, Teresa still felt like it must have been a dream.

"This was… I've never… I've never had sex like this," Teresa confessed, a lump forming in her throat.

"That's because we didn't have sex, Teresa," Jane answered, pushing himself up so she was looking right into his eyes. "We made love." They made love. Holy crap. Jane had been right, the thing they did together could have never been categorized as simply having sex, because Teresa had been in the business long enough to know what sex was.

This must be it, she thought, this is how it must be if you're in love with someone. Love. Oh God. Was she really in love with Jane? She couldn't really tell, because she had never felt anything close to that before. Of course she loved her brothers, but what she felt was a different kind of love. A fluttering in her stomach every time he looked at her, the increasing of her pulse every time he touched her… and her moans every time he pushed into her.

She was thankful, so thankful she'd been able to experience something like this before she had to go back to Vegas tomorrow. The question was, whether she should tell him how she felt. Did he feel the same for her? Was he in love with her, too? How would he react if she simply blurted it out right now?

Teresa cracked an eye open, to see Jane's clear blue-green eyes staring at her, a soft smile on his lips.

"They can hear you thinking in Timbuktu!" he laughed, before he leaned down to give her a kiss on the mouth. "Good morning, Beautiful."

"Good Morning, Patrick," she whispered back, slinging an arm around his neck to hold him in place. They kissed until they were both out of air.

"Is this a hint that you want hot morning sex? Was I not able to sate you yesterday?" he asked casually, kissing his way up to her earlobe.

"I'm insatiable, Mr. Jane, especially when I'm with a man like you." She pressed her body close to his, feeling his hard-on pressing against her stomach. "Could we… could we agree on calling it "'morning love'"?" Teresa asked, insecure, releasing her hold on him.

"Of course, my love… Let's make morning love." He started sucking her earlobe, gasping, when she took his length into her hand, kneading it carefully. "You don't have to, Teresa…"

She pressed a kiss on his lips and made him roll on his back, his dick still in her hand. "I know I don't have to, but I want to. Now shut up. The only word I want to hear you say is my name, you understand?"

"Yes." Jane held his breath, when she bent down to take him into her hot mouth, caressing him with her wicked little tongue. He would have never believed she could swallow him whole, but that's exactly what she did, without any complication.

"Teresa," he moaned, trying hard to stay still on the bed and not move to meet her halfway every time she swallowed him.

She did her best, before she suddenly pulled off and sat down on his lap. She kissed his throat, his shoulders, his chest, letting her fingernails glide over his body, before she grabbed him again. "This time, I will make you scream," she said, giving him her most wicked smile.

"You little minx, you ooohhhh…" Jane didn't get any further, because just then, Teresa guided him inside her with one swift move. She rolled her hips, before she began to move with a sensuality that made him grit his teeth.

"Move," she commanded him, meeting him in the middle with full force.

"Teresa," he breathed, enjoying the way she was looking down on him. She didn't have to say a word, he could read any emotion from her eyes. This was her thanking him for everything he'd done for her. Hell and he loved it. With her, he felt something again. It was like after a long time, he could finally breathe, finally be himself again.

Jane moaned loudly, when he hit her so deep he felt something resisting. Teresa was definitely enjoying herself too much, he thought. So although he was already close and just wanted to come inside her, he wanted her to know, that she didn't have to be afraid to come with him.

He surprised her,by rolling her to her back. She laughed and pressed her heels into his buttocks to make him move. "You can't let me be in charge for once, can you?" she giggled.

"You were in charge of this long enough, it's time to end it."

Not waiting for an answer, he started pushing into her so hard and fast, they came together the second she yelled his name.

Little drops of sweat were spread over their bodies. For more than two minutes, the heavy breathing and rapid thumping of their hearts was the only thing they could hear or feel.

"I love you, Teresa, damn me, but I do," Jane said, his finger tracing the outer lines of her lips. Her heart clenched painfully, and a lump formed in her throat. He loved her. He really did love her. Why did fate send him to her? Why now when her whole life was a mess?

She had to answer something, now. "Patrick, I…"

"Shhh, it's okay. You don't have to answer right away. I just wanted to let you know. I'll always be here for you, always protect you… and I have a plan."

Bright green eyes were staring at him curiously.: "A plan? There is no plan, Patrick. I'll go back to Vegas tomorrow and you have to promise me to leave the country as soon as possible."

"No, Teresa, I won't promise you, because you're not going back to Vegas. Everything is going to be fine, you just have to trust me. Please, trust me, love."

"What is your plan?" she demanded to know.

"I can't tell you yet, because I have to arrange some things first, but it's a good plan. My plans always work out in the end." Teresa gave him one of her specific looks that made him flash her his famous Patrick Jane smiles.

"Does this mean you won't be with me today?" She tried to hide her sad expression, but she forgot she was an open book to him.

"It's already noon, my dear. I guess we forgot the time in our recent activities." Of course that made her blush. "I have to go and see Mashburn, because of his destroyed car. He got pretty mad, but he's going to be all right. He's got about fifty other sports cars stored somewhere."

"He's not going to sue me?"

"I dare him to do that," Jane said, finally getting up. "Listen, I have to be with him for lunch, and I'm sure you want to call and see Grace for one last time, before you leave tomorrow. So why don't we take a shower before we get ready?"

"I think we both know what that leads to," Teresa smirked before crawling out of the bed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I know that the shower here is big enough for two… Care to join me?" he asked innocently.

"Only if you keep you hands to yourself." Jane gave her an annoyed look, before he picked her up and carried her to the shower in his bathroom.

"I will try."

Of course he didn't try at all. In the end it took them almost 45 minutes,before they emerged from the bathroom, their skin all pruney. While he got dressed, Teresa called Grace to ask her to come over to the hotel and have a drink at the bar. She said, she'd come after dropping Wayne off at the hospital. Her soon-to-be father-in-law Virgil Minelli still wasn't better after his heart attack on Sunday evening.

It made her feel uncomfortable to see the woman who'd been something like a friend to her being all sad, especially because she knew that tomorrow was the meeting where Jane would rip Minelli's company apart.

"What's upsetting you? Is Grace not going to come? You know, I don't want you to leave the hotel after what happened on the road on Tuesday," Jane explained softly after he emerged from his bedroom all dressed up neatly in a grey suit with a light blue shirt. She was still wearing a bathrobe.

"No, I'm fine, it's just… Mr. Minelli's not better yet and Grace is really worried. From what I know, Wayne is not leaving his side at the hospital. Their preparations for the wedding are on ice."

"Well, the company won't be their problem anymore after tomorrow," he suggested.

Teresa gave him a cool look.: "That's the only thing you care about, right?"

"It's all about the business, Teresa. I don't ask you to understand, but that's how life is. They screwed up, and then there are companies like Mashburn's to pick up the pieces."

"So you don't think they deserve another chance?" she asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"It's not in my power to decide this, dear. It's life – they got their chance but screwed up."

"You gave me a chance although you knew I was a hooker." Her voice was accusing and bitter at the same time. Jane looked at her, knowing she was right. He'd given her another chance to come with him, and, after he found out what was really going on, he'd kept her, tried to help her.

"It's different…"

"How is this different, Patrick? Is there no chance to save Minelli's company?"

"They would need a new investor, but the negotiation is tomorrow. It's impossible to find a new investor in such short time and I'm not even talking about the risk of investing yet."

She stepped closer to him, laying a hand on his chest: "You could do it, Patrick… You like to take a risk, don't you? You took a risk with me and now look at the outcome."

He sighed, knowing she was right. "I can't promise you anything, Teresa, I can only try."

"That's all I want you to do. Thank you." She tiptoed to give him a quick kiss, feeling like she had just achieved a major accomplishment. "Don't take too long, I have plans with you for tonight." Teresa winked and seductively rubbed her body against his, which made him swallow hard.

"I'll be back around four if I can manage. Call me if you need anything…"

"I will. Now go, or you'll be late for your lunch meeting with Mashburn. Tell him I'd like to borrow one of his cars again some time soon."

"I don't think he'll go for that option again."

"Whatever," she shrugged, grinning.

Jane left the suite, but not without kissing her breathless first. Damn, this man was a complete tease, but she loved him for it. Humming, Teresa went into her bedroom to pick out some nice clothes for the rest of the day. She still felt like she was swaying on cloud nine, because he told her he loved her.

At the same time she felt scared and also a little bit sorry, because she couldn't say it back. Why couldn't she say it? Was she hoping it wouldn't be "real" if she kept it to herself until she left for Vegas? Once upon a time she'd dreamed of a man like Jane coming to save her from this nightmare of a life she was living. But dreams never came true, not in this world and her life at least.

Teresa stood in front of the mirror, pulling up the zipper of her colorful summer dress. There she was, in a fancy hotel with a fancy suite, wearing fancy clothes after fantastic love making and a handsome guy telling her he loves her. Of course she'd get all of this right before she was supposed to die.

Fate was really weird. Well, at least she got to enjoy the last few days of her life. Meeting Patrick Jane had been the best coincidence in her whole life. He'd changed her and for some reason, she believed, she'd done the same with him.

Carefully, she brushed her hair, her thoughts circulating around everything she had to prepare for tomorrow. She had to call her brothers and send them her money. Oh it would be hard to speak to them for one last time and pretend everything was all right. She had to tell Grace goodbye, which would be very hard, because she had become something close to a friend to her. There was the ride to Vegas she had to get somehow… Maybe she could catch one of the buses going there in the early morning hours. Finally, there was Jane… Telling him goodbye and thanking him for everything he'd done would be the hardest thing to do.

It was time.

She met Grace downstairs in the lobby after getting off the phone with her brother Tommy, who'd been more than excited to pick her up at the airport on Saturday, even though she knew he'd be waiting for her in vain.

Although she'd cried afterwards, she'd done her best to hide her reddish face and puffy eyes, because she didn't want Grace to get suspicious.

They hugged each other, before they settled down in the hotel's restaurant, where a waiter brought them their menus.

"How is Wayne?" Teresa asked, knowing it wasn't the best topic to talk about.

"He's not good. Our wedding preparations are on ice. I really hope Virgil is going to make it, because I couldn't imagine a wedding without him. He's like a father for me, too, you know?"

The brunette nodded knowingly. It must be great to have someone like Virgil and Wayne helping you through everything. She had no one except Jane.

"I don't want to raise your hopes, Grace, but I talked to Patrick and he will try to do his best regarding your company's future. He can't promise anything though."

Grace's eyes lit up, a thankful smile spreading on her face. "Thank you, Teresa. I'm so upset you have to leave tomorrow, I wish you could stay here forever… you've become a really good friend to me. Do you know where you're going yet?"

"Home," Teresa lied, forcing herself to smile.

"Good, I'm glad. You can call me any time, you know? If you need help, or money, or just someone to talk to."

"Thank you, Grace, I really appreciate that."

They had their lunch and a coffee at the bar afterwards. Teresa insisted Grace tell her about the wedding and everything she wanted to do. She wished she could be there and see her friend getting married to the love of her life. Hell she'd always wished to be at a wedding that sounded like it came right out of a fairytale.

"I still haven't found the right dress though. This is the hardest part."

"You'll look great whatever you are wearing, Grace," Teresa smiled. "I always wanted to wear my mother's dress to my wedding, you know."

"Why don't you?" the redhead asked, "I'm sure she'll give it to you."

Teresa wished she would. "I don't have her dress anymore." Because her father had thrown everything out that reminded him of his dead wife. The only thing she had left was her cross.

"I'm sorry," Grace mumbled honestly., "But I'm sure when the time comes, you'll make a beautiful bride."

They talked a little more, both dreading the moment when they had to say goodbye to each other.

"I will miss you, Teresa. A lot." Grace threw her arms around Teresa, holding her close.

"I will miss you, too. Thank you for everything… For being nice to me, for letting me stay at your house… Tell Wayne thank you, too, and greet Mr. Minelli once he wakes up." She couldn't prevent a tear slipping out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh don't make me cry, Teresa! We will see each other again. Don't forget to call me!"

They hugged each other one more time, before Grace had to go. Sighing, Teresa sank back down in her chair, watching the redhead leave the room for good. It was too bad they wouldn't see each other again. Grace was a wonderful woman. She really hoped Jane would be able to save their company. He should be back soon, so she would know in a bit.

For a second, she debated waiting for him in the lobby, but she still had to send the package with the money to her brothers, so she rode up in the elevator to their suite. Perhaps it would be possible to send it via mail;, otherwise she had to find a bank and transfer it to their accounts.

Teresa walked into the suite and left the door open for the two seconds she would be in her bedroom. Once she returned, she realized it had been a fatal mistake.

"Hello, Trixi, it's nice to see you again."

Her eyes widened in shock and the brown package with the money in her hands fell down on the floor. "What… what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to pay you a visit, since you ran off so quickly on Sunday. I was really sad we didn't get the chance to talk. I see you made something of yourself, not the little girl you used to be at our last meeting." Ray Haffner locked the door of the suite behind him and stepped closer.

"Jane is going to be back any minute," Teresa said confidently. She wasn't afraid of him anymore, not like she used to be when he took her for the first time back then.

"Oh I would say that if I were you, my dear. He made quite the doll out of you. Tell me, how much is he paying you for the sex?"

She swallowed and tried to not step back although the man was stepping closer to her. "He doesn't pay me for sex. I'm not his hooker."

"Once a hooker, always a hooker, Trixi. I see now why he desires you, you've always had a loose mouth. I like that. But did you really believe you could escape Red John?"

Haffner was only a few steps away. Teresa picked up the package with the money and walked over to the couch to put some space between them. She needed to think. Haffner was stronger than her, so trying to escape him was impossible. She needed time, time for Jane to come back and help her.

"Why so scared, Trixi? I'm here to tell you it's for the best to go back to Vegas tomorrow. It's just a friendly reminder of everything that could happen otherwise."

"I'm not scared of you!" she shouted, thankful her voice was steady. Too bad Haffner wasn't impressed with her. In five quick steps he was in front of her, hitting her face with his flat hand.

"You should be, you dirty little whore! I'm going to make you beg me to bring you back to Vegas after I'm done with you!"

"No!" Teresa screamed, trying to push him away and escape toward the door, but Haffner was able to get a grip on her wrist and pull her back.

"Shut up bitch or I'm going to break your arm!" He punched her in the face, which made her eyes roll back for a moment. Everything was a blur. She could taste blood in her mouth, her eye felt swollen and a headache was forming at the side of her head.

The man threw her on the couch and pushed her dress up her tights.

"No! Stop it, let me go!" she demanded, trying to get away from him, but a punch in the stomach made her stop. "No," she whispered, tears streaming down her face because of all the pain and shame, "Please no…"

Teresa held her stomach, aware that her panties were just ripped apart. It was her last try to close her legs, but Haffner forced them roughly apart while he opened his pants and pulled his cock out. "I'm going to make you scream, I'm going to break you, you worthless piece of shit, so you wish you'd have never been born!"

She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come, praying he would kill her afterwards. She didn't want Jane to find her like this.

"You son of a bitch!" The noise of broken glass was followed by a moan and all of a sudden, his weight fell off her. It wasn't her that had screamed.

"Teresa! Teresa, please…" This voice… She cracked her good eye open to see the worried face of a blond man looking down on her.

"Jane?" she whispered.

"I'm here now, you are safe. Give me a second and I'm going to call security."

The brunette nodded weakly and closed her eyes again. Pain was shooting through her whole body, while the taste of blood made her feel sick. It took Jane less than 30 seconds to be back beside her. He took her fragile body and carried her into his room, where he laid her down on the bed, just in time for the hotel security and a paramedic with a first aid case to arrive.

"Was she…" the paramedic asked concerned, but Jane shook his head.

"No, I found her in time. Please, Teresa honey, do you think you can sit up?"

Teresa obeyed, although it took her a lot of effort and pain to finally get up in a sitting position. Everything was hurting, her face, her head, her stomach, her wrists…

"I don't want to go to the hospital," she whispered, reaching for Jane's hand. Jane sat down next to her and took it, while the paramedic examined her swollen eye.

"I can't promise you, sweetie. I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"It's not your fault… I left the door open… I…"

"Shhhhht, it was not your fault, Teresa. I should have informed the hotel to not let this man inside. I'm sorry, I'm sorry this happened to you."

She flinched in pain, when the paramedic touched her face. "I'm sorry, Miss. You'll have some pretty bad bruises, but I don't see any internal injuries. I'll leave you some pain medicine for her, Mr. Jane, but should she start to feel sick, you should make her visit a doctor. I'll send someone up with some ice to cool the bruises."

Jane nodded a thank you and waited for the man to leave their room, so they could talk in silence. "Here, drink something," he whispered, reaching for a glass filled with water.

She did as he asked and took two gulps of the cooling liquid, before she leaned back on the bed again. "It hurts."

"I know, honey. I know and I'm so sorry… I should have never let you stay alone in the first place… I thought I'd be back in time, but I still had to talk to Mashburn because of Minelli's company. When I came in and saw him leaning over you on the couch I lost it for a second. I gripped the first thing and smashed it on his head. Five seconds later and…"

"It's okay, Patrick. I'm used to it."

"Don't say that!" he growled angrily. She could feel he had a hard time keeping it together for her. "Don't ever think you deserve something like this."

Teresa leaned the good side of her head against his shoulder, looking for comfort, while she couldn't hold her tears back any longer. "I don't want to go back there tomorrow."

"You won't," he whispered soothing her hair, "I won't let you. You're safe, Teresa. You're safe and calm… I'm here with you. Can you feel me? I won't leave you."

"Stay."

"I will. Don't cry anymore, sweetie. Breathe. In and out… in and out. You're safe, no one can get to you, there is no pain anymore."

"Safe," she whispered so silently he almost hadn't heard it.

"Exactly. Safe… Sleep." He tapped her shoulder and felt her fall against his body. She wouldn't wake up any time soon, which was good. He had some unfinished business to do.

When Teresa woke up, she felt like she'd been hit by a bulldozer. Damn, Haffner had some punch. She was barely able to open her injured eye, because the skin around it felt painfully swollen. Oh she was sure she looked like Quasimodo once she was able to look in the mirror.

The sudden cold feeling of ice on her face made her flinch. "Shhh, it's just me," Jane said calmingly. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired… in pain… do I look very ugly?" Teresa heard him sniff in amusement before she felt a hand cupping her cheek.

"You would never look ugly. This is nothing you have to be ashamed about either, my dear. I'm sure it hurts worse than it looks. Your eye will turn blue though. Well, you can tell your brothers you kicked some guy's ass when he tried to steal your purse."

The mention of her brothers made her sit up. She gasped when she felt the pain from the punch in her stomach, but she felt like she had to be on the same eye level with Jane.

"Thank you for saving me, Patrick."

"I'm always going to save you, Teresa. And I will do everything I can so that you will be safe. That's why you won't be going back to Vegas tomorrow. I got you a ticket to Chicago, and whatever happens you will be on that plane when it takes off." She wanted to protest, but he interrupted her.: "Promise me, Teresa."

"I… I don't know. What's going to happen to you? What if he comes after my family?"

"You're the only good thing that's happened to me in a long time, Teresa. I won't let anybody hurt you, I promise. But this is only going to work if you promise me to take that plane so I don't have to worry about you anymore."

Jane leaned forward to press a soft kiss on her lips. "Promise me."

"I promise." She threw his arms around his neck and held him close, while he did the same, careful not to hurt her.

"What… happened to Haffner?" she asked into his shoulder.

"I took care of him. He's never going to lay a hand on you again." She didn't have to ask what that meant.

"Thank you, Patrick. I… I owe you so much. I can never pay you back."

"No, Teresa. You don't have to pay me back anything. All these years, after my family's death, I've been blind to the important things in life, but you made me a better person. You opened my eyes to the things that really matter. I will never be able to pay you back, my dear. You're the best thing that's happened to me and I want to give you everything, everything you can only dream of."

He felt her chuckle. "Well that sounds a little over the top, don't you think, Romeo?"

Jane pulled back to see her smiling at him. "Maybe a little, but it's the truth. What do you want?"

Teresa shook her head, closing in on him. She pressed soft kisses on his lips, then his cheeks. "I want you," she whispered.

Xxxxx

Their lovemaking was desperate and sweet, like both of them knew it would be their last time before they had to say goodbye in the morning, not knowing if and when they would ever see each other again. He had to be careful not to hurt her stomach area, but somehow they managed.

It was a different kind of lovemaking, even Teresa felt it, so her scream when she came with him was full of unreleased emotion.

They collapsed onto the bed panting, holding each other close like their lives depended on each other. No one needed to say anything, their touches and kisses spoke volumes. Tomorrow they would be thousands of miles apart from each other, and neither of them really wanted the night to end.

Jane felt Teresa falling asleep. She was still exhausted and a little in pain from the punches of that bastard Ray Haffner. That guy got what he deserved.

Jane stayed beside her until four in the morning, then he carefully eased himself out of Teresa's grip. She stirred, but didn't wake up. It was time. He got dressed and picked out of his jacket pocket a white envelope containing the plane ticket and the money they had agreed on at the beginning of their little adventure.

Carefully he laid it down on the bedside table next to her side of the bed, leaning over to press one last kiss on her uninjured cheek. "Good luck, Teresa. I love you."

Jane left the bedroom without looking back, otherwise he would have never gotten up the courage to leave her alone in the suite. Just as he stepped out, he picked up his cell phone to call Cho. "Are you there?"

"I'm waiting outside," the Asian answered. He hung up and smiled. It was time to make sure that Red John would never try to lay a hand on Teresa ever again.

A/N: Well, only 2 chapters to go in this little story :) Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it and weren't scared by Haffner LOL I always wanted him to be RJ, so I thought I could give him a mean role in my fic ;)
If you liked it, I'd love if you could tell me via a review or twitter or something :) Have a nice day :)