CHAPTER 43

WHO CAVES FIRST


Dianna was screaming of excitement on the inside, and lazily playing with her hair on the outside. For the first time, Davis' loud voice on the phone was useful for something, other than making everyone on Bravo Team a little deaf. After Will escaped and Davis called her, yelling, Dianna heard a buzzing sound in her ear for the entire day.

At first, after their fight, Dianna thought Jason was 'kind of right' but that he acted like a drama queen, because he does that sometimes, so she thought that her apology during the fight was more than enough, and that he'd suddenly realize how he was unfair and harsh with her, and reach out. When Bravo Team was sent away that week, she thought he was busy and still acting dramatic, but when she saw him at the briefing room before the Venezuelan op, she realized he was extremely hurt and angry at her, and she didn't really know how to act. She wasn't prepared for that. Then she started to think deeply about her actions and finally had to agree with him, that she did something really wrong, but still thought that he overreacted. But after seeing how he tried to apologize to her after rescuing her, and how he was taking care of her, she knew that he deserved more than that.

When Dianna defended Jason at the store, she realized that she felt extremely guilty not just for taking him there, but also for what she had done to him the week before. She unwillingly concluded that he had a reason to be angry at her; she meddled in his things, and it was his choice how to handle his therapist and Natalie, not hers.

Dianna tried to make him as comfortable as possible while he was at her house, but he acted quiet and distant for most of the time, so she was sure he was still angry and disappointed with her, and it made her anxious. The fact that her face was all cut and stitched wasn't helping her self-confidence either, and she wasn't sure if she had the confidence to apologize; after all, she was also a bit too proud to admit her mistakes, sometimes.

But now, thanks to Davis and her clearly audible radio voice, Dianna knew that Jason was at her house only because he wanted to, and not because of guilt or because he didn't have a choice. And he even lied to her to continue at her place, close to her, and that was a very powerful knowledge. Her mind was working fast and was concocting a flawless plan, and the first step was to tease and seduce Jason to his limit.

Dianna knew her face was bruised, but she also knew the power of makeup, and fortunately her body was unharmed, even though her left arm was useless for now. So while Jason checked out her plumbing in the kitchen, she excused herself and went upstairs to go to the bathroom. There, she combed her hair again, thankfully it was clean due to the fact that apparently someone washed it at the plane or at the hospital in VA Beach, she still wasn't sure. She took her concealer and dabbed some where her bruises were purple and reddish, and it looked really natural. She was always amused by the fact that guys really thought that she usually didn't wear any makeup outside of her house. Please. 'No makeup' makeup is a real thing. She never liked to use foundation, except for fancy parties, but she put on a bit of concealer under her eyes everyday, lip balm or lipstick, and some blush; most times mascara and eyeliner too. And she did just that now. Unfortunately, she couldn't cover all of her bruises, because Jason would suspect. But when she was over, she was looking a lot sexier, or at least 'less bad', but still with a natural glow. She threw her head to the front, then back, but not too fast, because she might feel dizzy from the meds. That added volume to her hair. Then she went to her closet to see what outfit she could wear on that beautiful and chilly day that would entice Jason. But just a little, not too much. She still needed to apologize to him before he put his hands on her.

Jason was focused on understanding how the fuck the plumbing of Dianna's house was connected to the dishwasher plumbing. He obviously lied when he said that he could easily install her dishwasher; he barely knew how to fix a leaking shower, as Alana always reminded him. He did that once, out of luck, but it didn't last long either. He knew how to hammer and build things, not to connect pipes and get all wet. But he'd just pretend to know and do something for an hour, then he knew Dianna would tell him to stop doing that, because he would tire himself, then he'd offer to call a plumber to install her dishwasher. And she'd be extremely grateful because he made a phone call.

"Just don't get wet down there" Dianna suddenly and calmly told Jason, and he almost bang his head under the sink. He looked down and up and all he saw were bare thighs and a curvy view of dreams, with cascading hair and a wide affectionate smile.

"Hum. Hi" Jason was almost laying on the floor on his side, and quickly dragged himself out from under the sink to properly see Dianna. She was standing so close to him that he could almost see the color of her panties. Unless she wasn't wearing any.

"Oops, sorry, let me give you space" Dianna apologized and took a step back, while Jason blinked at her. She was wearing a caramel knitted fitted dress that ended in the middle of her thighs, with her tall brown boots, that covered her knees. The dress had a folded collar that was pulled to the side, showing off some of her left shoulder, with the sling that held her left arm crossing over her right covered shoulder. She looked like the epitome of autumn, perfectly matching the sunny, cozy and crispy day outside. Jason thought her hair was looking amazing, kind of messy.

"Did you go outside?" he asked while standing up, because it was windy. Maybe that's how her hair ended up like that. He liked it.

Dianna softly chuckled, and sat on the kitchen stool, facing Jason. "No. But I was thinking about going out for a late lunch. I mean, this morning we had an amazing breakfast at a place you like, so I thought" then she casually crossed her legs, "maybe you know some other places we could have lunch where everyone really likes you and knows you're a great guy". She kissed his ass, and Jason felt her kisses, because he grinned, humbling gesticulating for her to stop.

"Well" he placed on the countertop the useless tool he was holding to pretend he was doing some work under the sink, and put his hands on his hips, "Actually I know a couple of great places where we'd both be very well received. You just tell me what you're in the mood to eat today and I'll take ya", he cockily said, smiling at her.

"I don't know" she looked to the side and slightly flipped her hair with her right hand, and Jason swallowed, "I'm not in the mood for anything specific", she stood up from the stool, discreetly pulling her dress down, and Jason noticed, "I just want something salty, hearty, you know? Just good cozy food on a chilly day" she said, excited about the kind of food that Jason also loves, walking closer to him.

"Yes. The best kind of food. U-hum" he agreed, with a husky voice, looking down at her. "I think I know a great place to have just that".

Dianna opened a wide white smile, and Jason noticed her freckles, and how healthy she looked. He could hardly see the bruises, just her cuts. She was already getting better with the meds.

"I knew you'd know a place" she stated, and Jason nodded, agreeing with her completely. "At what time do you want to go?" she asked.

"Hum, I'll just" he gestured to his t-shirt, which was completely clean, because he didn't do absolutely anything that required any minimum effort, "change and put on my polo shirt real quick, and we can go".

"Oh, you don't need to, you're looking great for lunch" she gestured, and she wasn't lying, but she was glad that Jason felt the need to spruce up.

Jason just kept smiling, not even caring if she was telling the truth or not. He was feeling great. "It'll be just a sec. Be right back, okay?" Jason almost ran upstairs to get his green polo shirt from his bag and change, obviously spraying some deodorant again, and he took his black jacket too. Then he quickly stopped at the bathroom to check his hair and beard, just in case.


"Wait here" Jason told Dianna, after parking his truck in a parking lot near the beach. They weren't so close to the beach that Dianna would get sand on her face, but Jason didn't want to risk it, because it was windier than usual, so he opened the passenger door for her and charmingly protected her face with his jacket until they got inside the restaurant, specialized in seafood and southern cuisine.

"Ok, that was windy" Dianna chuckled, thanking Jason for his jacket, and he gave her a cute smile that melted her right there. Then she noticed the amazing smell coming from the restaurant's kitchen. "Ooh that smells like really good food" she smiled, feeling a lot more hungry than she was before.

"And it is" Jason proudly stated, then he greeted the owner, who now came closer to greet her.

"Hello there, nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Jimmy" the gray haired, tanned man in his mid 50's introduced himself, and he looked very much like a Jimmy, with his heavy southern accent, "And what's your lady's name, Jace?" he asked Jason, surprising Dianna by how casually Jimmy talked to him.

"I'm Dianna" she quickly answered, smiling at Jimmy and glancing at Jason. Jason noticed her look and explained, "Jimmy was a frogman".

"Retired for almost ten years now, with all my limbs and my mind at peace. A miracle" Jimmy laughed, because he really was an exception, unfortunately.

They made their way to a table near a big window, so they could see the sea but without the wind from the outdoor area.

"What are you in the mood to eat?" he asked, opening the menu but knowing by heart everything that was written. He glanced at her and she casually pulled her collar a bit more to the side, and he noticed that she was missing a bra strap. Or she wasn't wearing any. Since it was impossible for her to close a bra alone, it was definitely the latter.

She quickly glanced at the menu, smirking, then she closed it and gazed at Jason. "Everything seems great. I told you, I don't want anything specific today, so I'll let you choose for me, since you know the place. And you already know what I don't like" she casually said.

"Coffee" he said, and she smirked. "And beer" he added, making her smile.

"Observant" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Very" he gave her a crooked smile, and stared back at her.


In fact, Dianna had no idea how observant Jason was. For instance, he knew that when Dianna was focused on her surroundings, or planning something, she entwined her hair between her fingers, or played with her locks. When Jason talked about Natalie in Davis' kitchen, he thought Dianna wasn't listening, because she was casually caressing her braid with her hand while talking to Ray. Then, she admitted later on that she listened to everything that Jason said in the kitchen. He noticed, since then, that she had that habit, and she did that while she planned for an op or an interrogation.

Jason realized a little too late that Davis was talking way too loud on the phone. He saw Dianna playing with her hair only after he ended the call and lied that Davis was groggy. So he stood up to go to the kitchen, because he knew Dianna obviously was extremely focused on that call and probably heard everything. Then she continued doing that for a while, probably scheming something in her mind, and Jason couldn't wait to see what she would come up with.

When Dianna came downstairs looking like a hot toffee candy, kissing his ass all the time, he quickly realized that she was seducing him, and she was doing a great job. But he would let her think she was winning. Because his plan was to charm her to her limit, until she gave up and talked about their relationship. It would be a harmless game, and Jason was loving the fact that he figured out what she planned. And realized that, if she was trying to seduce him, it meant that she wanted to talk about their fight too, and get him back.

So now Jason charmingly nodded to the waiter and ordered different kinds of seafood, in different kinds of dishes, all while charmingly glancing at Dianna. And she, on the other hand, was feeling like it would be really easy to seduce Jason, because she didn't need to force anything. She was ready to climb him.

"How was your week, training the other soldiers?" Dianna asked, glancing at Jason, while eating her spicy and delicious shrimp.

"Boring" he sincerely answered, "and I felt bad that I couldn't see Emma last weekend".

"She felt bad too" Dianna casually mentioned, and Jason frowned his face. Dianna explained, "I saw her when I was coming out of a store, downtown. I think she was there to look for gifts for her friend or something. She was curious about what I did while you guys left for training".

Jason looked at her, suspicious. "She didn't mention that she ran into you".

"Why would she?" Dianna said, and obviously she was right. Emma didn't know they were together. Or kind of.

Jason took a sip of his beer, looking at Dianna and remembering something. "I received an email from HR letting me know that Lindell signed my request last week".

"Request?" Dianna asked, while picking her meat from the plate. Jason ordered a plate of surf and turf too, of course, and he charmingly and attentively pre-cut the meat for her. "Oh" she suddenly understood. "To, hum, cancel your previous form?"

Jason smirked, glancing at Dianna and watching her squirm a little. "U-hum. That one".

Dianna nodded, sipping her soda. Still not able to drink water. "Good. That's good", she said, nodding again and looking away. Both of them were waiting for the other one to say something, but both of them were stubborn in their own way, so the mutual teasing continued.


"And now, would you like to sleep for a while?" Dianna suggested, as soon as they got into the house. She was worried because he obviously didn't sleep much that night.

Jason ignored her question and walked to the big glass door of the living room, that opened to the back patio and lawn area. "Do you have a lawn mower in that shed?" He pointed with his chin, while Dianna walked to him.

"I do" she proudly answered, "the owner keeps one in there available".

Jason was loving Dianna's landlord. "This rent must cost you a fortune".

Dianna smiled. "Not really, compared to other houses nearby. The lady that owns the house just wanted it to be taken care of. She's George's grandma, you know, from Echo Team. She moved out to Florida now that her husband died. George has his own house, and he remembered when I said I was looking for houses to rent near the beach. His grandmother lived with her husband here, for the past twenty years, I think".

He raised an eyebrow, envious of her luck. "Well, don't ever get out of this place, I'll say that to you" he chuckled, and she laughed back.

"Ok, so I'll get changed and then get started real quick, ok" Jason suddenly said, jogging to the stairs.

"Wait, what" Dianna looked at him, but he didn't stop, and she followed "You're not going to mow my lawn, right? I mean, I have a gardener to do that, Jason", she lied.

A couple of minutes later, Jason walked down the stairs in his older jeans and sneakers, shirtless, clumsily trying to put on his t-shirt while talking to Dianna.

"I don't see the point of hiring a gardener to do that, I mean, it's a quick task" and Dianna came close to him, helping him find the correct side of the t-shirt with her right hand. She smirked and stared at him, and he continued, now looking at her, serious, "your lawn's not that big".

"Well" Dianna didn't move an inch while he put on the t-shirt, and she smiled, affectionately, "I really don't want you to tire yourself. You already do so much" she said, casually taking nonexistent dust off of Jason's arm and chest, "and you must be really tired after rescuing me".

Oh, she's good, Jason thought, while he focused on not getting too excited already.

"It was a complicated rescue" he admitted, serious, then he blinked and opened a cute smile, "but I really won't get tired by mowing your grass, Dianna. So just relax on your sofa, ok?"

Dianna resisted the urge of advancing at Jason as soon as he opened that cute smile, especially after she just saw him shirtless. She was missing him on top of her, but at that moment there was nothing that she could do besides take off her boots and socks, sit on her sofa and discreetly watch him mow her lawn.

And he was doing an incredible job, leaving perfect straight lines on the grass. He was very focused and cutely looking down to get the lines straight. When he was more than halfway done, he looked to the side and stopped to talk to the neighbor, and Dianna knew that lady was flirting hard with him. Dianna would gladly go outside to properly introduce Jason, but she didn't want her neighbor to see her bruised face too close, and maybe assume that Jason beat her up, too. But Dianna opened the glass door after Jason was mowing again, minutes later, because her neighbors couldn't see her from the glass door. Jason immediately stopped and turned off the mower when he saw her.

"What are you doing? You can't have grass and dust on your cuts, Dianna" he whispered while walking to her, to check her stitches, which of course were in perfect condition and completely clean.

"I'm just here at the door, Jason" she quickly dismissed his worries, but he carefully picked a small piece of grass from her collarbone and showed her, serious, before dropping it and taking nonexistent grass and dust off of Dianna's chest and stomach. She obediently stood still and stared at him, amused, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Finished?" she smirked, and he couldn't disguise his naughty smile. "Wait", he 'dusted' just once more on her breast, "Yep. All good".

Dianna sighed, while Jason chuckled. "I just came here to see if you wanted a beer or something to drink".

Jason smiled. "I'm good, thanks". Then he pointed with his head to Dianna's neighbor, who was still standing close to the fence, "She's nice. Ms. Lewis".

Dianna smiled. "Of course she is. She loves big young men". Jason loved to hear that someone still considered him 'young', so he opened a wide cocky smile. "Does she, now?"

Dianna chuckled, "Yes, and she is rich, too. Divorced. Any man's dream" she said, and she wasn't lying. Ms. Lewis was in her early 50's, and was beautiful, tanned, blonde and took good care of her body. But always used a lot of makeup and flashy clothes. And she was kinda dumb.

"Not mine" Jason said, seriously staring at Dianna while leaning on the glass door. She knew he'd probably say something like that, but his husky voice made him sound sincere, and irresistible nonetheless. Dianna sighed to focus. She was sighing a lot lately. "I'll wait inside then. Are you sure you don't want a beer?"

Jason was almost inside of the living room, hovering over Dianna. "Not really. Thanks".

And neither of them moved.

"You always do that" Dianna suddenly said.

"Do what" Jason asked, not moving, letting the crisp wind into Dianna's house.

"You did that in Bogota" she answered. Dianna was blurting stuff without thinking, because she was hypnotized by Jason's brown eyes. "When I wanted to talk to Sonny".

He frowned and slightly leaned more inside the living room.

"You occupy space" she explained, and he smirked.

"Does it bother you?" he charmingly asked.

"No" she blinked and licked her lips, feeling very small all of a sudden, even though she wasn't abnormally short. But he was very tall. "Not at all".

"So you noticed me in Bogota, huh?" he leaned his forearm on the glass door, playful.

Dianna kept quiet, looking at his chest and face, and his smile vanished.

"I thought you were ignoring me" he admitted, remembering how she kept acting indifferent with him, even when he was shirtless or right next to her. He was eager to get the attention of that pretty, quirky and intelligent woman, and she barely looked at him. He wasn't used to that.


Dianna's plan was to tease and seduce Jason to his limit, and then when he admitted he couldn't wait to have her, she'd apologize. So he would be more open to accepting her apology. But apparently her plan was back firing, because Jason was seducing her, to her limit. And enough was enough. But still, she couldn't let go of all her pride at once.

"You can kiss me, if you want to" Dianna simply said, not moving an inch.

She barely finished her sentence and Jason answered, "U-hum", with his husky voice, already advancing at Dianna and kissing her, while pulling her closer by the waist and with his hand on her neck. They kissed with passion and a pinch of despair, and soon enough Jason's hand was under Dianna's dress, squeezing her butt. She gasped and wanted to touch Jason but could only move one hand, which she used to caress his stomach and chest under his t-shirt, squeezing it, because she was too eager for him.

And Jason didn't know exactly what to do with his hands, because he was afraid of hurting Dianna, or touching where she was bruised, so he raised his hand up to cup Dianna's breast. He moaned because she really was braless, then he raised his other hand and realized she was also pantyless, and he knew he was about to explode of desire, so he raised Dianna from her butt and desperately carried her until he found her console table nearby. He threw some unimportant papers to the side and sat her there.

"You were naked" he stuttered, opening his belt and jeans and releasing his erection, all without distancing his lips from hers, while Dianna messed his hair with her hand and smiled, between their kisses. He felt her daring smile and gasped. Both of them were afraid that if they stopped kissing, the other one would come to their senses and stop everything.

As soon as Jason lowered his clothes, he thrust hard and deep into Dianna, squeezing her against the wall and pressing her thighs, loudly moaning. They finally stopped kissing, and Dianna cupped Jason's cheek with her right hand, and looked into his eyes while he waited a couple of seconds, and then thrust into her again, hard and deep. They moaned. And again.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you" Dianna heard herself saying between his thrusts, before she could hold her tongue, and Jason stared at her, serious. "I'm sorry that I meddled" she continued, with a shaky voice, and he thrust again, still staring. "I really shouldn't have taken", and again, "the power of decision from you". He thrust deeper but slower now, making both of them moan, and she slightly pulled his hair.

She didn't know what he was thinking, Jason was a very difficult man to read, and she needed him to understand. "What would you have done" he thrust deep and slow, again, "if you were in my place?" She noticed his brown eyes change, from dangerous to warm, and she grazed her thumb on his lips.

Jason blinked, and thrust one more time, slower. "You almost lost your job to beat up Will, Jason", Dianna tenderly said. Jason blinked again, and after a few seconds he slid out of her, bringing her down from the table. Dianna stood still and looked at him, afraid that now she hurt him for good.

Jason calmly hunched down and suddenly raised her, carrying her in the bridal style to the comfortable sofa, laying her back on it. Then he gently took off her sling and her knitted dress, and undressed himself; then he climbed on the sofa on top of her. Dianna was smiling but a bit lost, because he still had a serious face while kissing her neck and breasts, slowly moving his hands all over her body. Then he saw a slight bruise on her stomach and grazed his fingers on her skin, making her shiver.

"We killed them" Jason calmly said, with the same monotone voice he used on ops, then he softly kissed that bruise. He noticed that Dianna was looking at him, affectionately, and he came back to her, softly kissing her left shoulder, then her lips, her forehead and her chin. The rest of her face was all slightly red or purple. He pushed into her again, but this time gently and slowly, while kissing her.

"You are just like that" Jason mumbled on Dianna's ear, and she gasped, not knowing for sure what he meant, but loving the sound of his voice. And for Dianna's luck, he was being very talkative now.

"You felt it at the bar" he said next to her ear, with a shaky voice, not being able to hold his tongue, pushing deep into her, and she moaned loudly, "You felt the same when I touched you, Dianna".

She knew exactly what he was talking about, that first night at The Bulkhead, and she was listening attentively, taking notes to unscramble his thoughts later on. She decided to entice him, because she wanted to find out one or two things.

"I just wanted to take care of you" she said, trying to focus, and he moved faster.

"U-hum. You take care of me" he answered, in a feverish haze.

"I never asked him to tell me anything" she reassured him about Mr. Eller, between moans.

"Yes. You are just like that" he mumbled again, while kissing her, and she gave up understanding what he meant. She couldn't focus anyways.

"You're with me now" he continued blurting his feelings to her face, now looking into her eyes, and she was loving it. He moved even faster and put his body closer to hers, pressing her thigh.

She wrapped her legs around him and held his face with her hand. "You rescued me. I'm safe" she said with a shaky voice.

He gasped as soon as he heard that, and thrust harder.

"Yes. I rescued you" he stated with a dangerous voice, as soon as he felt her walls twitching.

Dianna felt her orgasm hitting her so hard that she lost her breath, and she shut her eyes, but heard, loud and clear, Jason's husky moan when he came right after her. Very loud and very clear.

They tried to calm their hearts and breathe again, and Jason gently kissed Dianna's forehead.

"You okay?" he tenderly asked, touching her left shoulder, and she just nodded. She was doing great.

Jason was surprised when Dianna started to apologize even after he had already caved into her seductive provocations. And even though he had a feeling that she had the best of intentions when she talked to his therapist, at first he hesitated. He was used to his own paranoia by now, increased by his self-loathing, and lately, he had good reasons to be suspicious.

But when she reminded him of all the times that he also meddled in her things, and she was there for him, even risking her own career to save his, he had to take a leap of faith. He really felt, now, that she didn't want to control him. He understood that she wanted to take care of him, like he did with her many times before. She had the right intentions, just acted a little too eager on them. But he'd have patience with her.

Maybe Dianna really was just like that: grateful, supportive, vulnerable and real. Too good to be true. And maybe he truly didn't deserve her, or maybe they were too different, or too similar, and find out they would never work out. But all he knew, now, is that he wanted to enjoy her. Savor her. And take care of her, like he did many times before.

And the best part is that Dianna was a very grateful woman.

.