Wrong time, wrong place
Part 2

Author's note: Surprise! A second part of this one-shot to give it a better conclusion, I think. Enjoy!

It was barely dawn when the feeling of distress woke Jubal with a pounding in his chest. He untangled himself from Isobel's embrace, careful not to wake her, and got out of bed. He stepped into the shower to clean himself up a bit. The water did nothing to wash away his guilt.

With a huge weight on his heart, he dried off and got dressed, acutely aware he was putting on the same underwear and pants as the day before. He found some headache pills and left them for Isobel on the bedside table, along with a glass of water. He gazed at her, peacefully asleep, for a few moments.

He struggled to keep himself from running away like a coward, to find a way to apologize to her.

He got himself into the kitchen, intending to fix her some breakfast. It took him a while, because he didn't know where Isobel kept her things, but he put the coffee pot on and heated up a pan to make some scrambled eggs. He was still hesitating whether he would just get everything ready and then leave. When he heard the shower running, Jubal almost ran out, but forced himself to continue what he was doing.

It didn't prevent his heart from skipping a beat when a few minutes later he heard her speaking to him from the kitchen door.

"Thanks for the painkillers..." Isobel raised her voice so he could hear over the crackling frying pan, but her tone was somber still.

Jubal squeezed his eyes shut, as if it would do him any good. He turned off the burner, but did not turn around. He was dying to go and hug her, to ask her how she was this morning. If she felt at least a little better, but... He couldn't even bring himself to look at her face.

"I called the hospital," Jubal blurted out, basically running away from the situation. "Everyone is out of danger."

Isobel's relief was so profound, he could hear her sigh. After this, he didn't know what else to say.

"I thought you'd be gone..." muttered Isobel at his silence.

Jubal hung his head, mortified. Why had it always been like this in all his relationships? The wrong time and place. With Sam, with Rina. Now with Isobel... It took him a while to gather the courage to face the situation. "I should have left last night," he finally managed to say. "I should have, before we..."

He could not continue.

There was another long silence because Isobel was having trouble breathing.

It was comforting to know she could count on him to come no matter where or when, but upon waking, Isobel felt ashamed of what happened the night before. Of him seeing her drunk and a mess, of how she let herself carried away by her desires like that... But most of all, of having asked him to stay.

"Before?" she muttered with a stiff throat.

"Yeah. I'm very sorry. I want you to know it's why I stayed."

"What- What do you mean?" Her voice sounded choked.

Jubal expected disgust, contempt, even anger, not this obvious tone of apprehension. He raised his head, his brow furrowed in bewilderment.

He glanced over his shoulder. Isobel was standing in the doorway, wrapped in a silk robe with a print of Japanese cranes, her back against the open door, arms folded close to her body. His breath caught at the beauty she irradiated even though she just woke up.

However, her eyes seemed to Jubal both haunted and confused at the same time. Her gaze avoided him. He went to the living room and picked up his shirt, discarded in a heap on the sofa since the night before. He shook it out once and hurried to put it on, buttoning it all the way up, disgusted with himself at the thought of how invasive Isobel might now find his nakedness. She followed his movements with a wary sidelong glance.

Running his hand over the back of his neck, Jubal struggled to find the words to reply. He still couldn't look her right in the face. He took a breath, opening his hands to the sides.

"The way last night I... took advantage of you, of your vulnerability, was..." his voice, hoarse, clung to his vocal cords to keep from coming out, "...simply despicable. I could understand you not forgiving me. I could understand you even filing a complaint."

Isobel fought her hangover, trying to clear her head. She thought she would rather Jubal left before she woke up, so they could both pretend nothing happened. He stayed, though. It changed everything.

Seeing him there in her kitchen, naked from the waist up, preparing breakfast, surprised her. First, because she'd been sure he would have left by now. And second, because, instead of upsetting her, it made Isobel feel a warm, unexpected joy. Unfortunately, it was shattered by the shock of him regretting it.

With his apology, however, a wave of strange relief washed over her, dissolving the lump in her throat and making her sigh.

She looked at the ground with raised eyebrows. If there was one thing Isobel was sure of, Jubal would never hurt or deliberately take advantage of her.

"Jubal," she shook her head, not addressing him, but as if his name said it all. "You're one of a kind," she murmured. She raised her face, cheeks flushed and a steely gaze. "I was the one who practically assaulted you…"

With a quick blink, Jubal gave a slight nod showing he didn't consider it this way until now. Still, he was not convinced; he made a disgruntled grimace and looked her in the face.

"You didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do, believe me." He turned away again rubbing the back of his head. "This was the problem, I wanted it too badly." He missed the glint of satisfaction in Isobel's eyes. "But I was sober." As sober as I could be while you were kissing me like that, he thought, although didn't say so. He was not seeking to justify himself. He swallowed hard, "You weren't. I should have been able to control myself, dammit."

He couldn't stand being so weak-willed for the same reason again. Can't you keep it in your pants, Valentine?

Isobel didn't like where this was going at all. She wiped her hand across her forehead, frustrated. The hangover wasn't helping. She shook her head and faced him. "So if you, while drunk, sexually assaulted me, I would be responsible?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Jubal exclaimed, scandalized. Isobel raised an eyebrow. He gasped. "It's- it's not the same..."

She suppressed her amused expression and became serious.

"It's true, it's not. If you didn't want to go on, you could have physically stopped me, whereas I couldn't have," she said, and Jubal looked guiltier than ever. Isobel tilted her head to one side for a moment. "Possibly," she added arrogantly, managing to make him smile and slightly dissipating the tension inside him. "Not without using violence, in any case. But it was just a reductio ad absurdum, Jubal. Because you wouldn't do something like this. Besides, the point is we both wanted it... Didn't we?" She uttered the last question point-blank.

Even so, Jubal still looked mortified. "Not- not sure it would have been like this if it weren't for the whiskey..." he muttered.

Oh, thought Isobel in the midst of a revelation, You're sure of yourself, but not of me...

Biting her lips slightly, Isobel pondered it all. How Jubal could be such a good agent, his intellect so sharp with some things and yet so obtuse for those directly concerning him, to the point of not seeing what was right in front of him, was beyond her comprehension. It was something intrinsically and endearingly part of his way of being.

There was nothing Isobel could say to make him see the truth, but maybe there was something she could do.

Exhaling, she made up her mind. She had no more doubts now. Isobel lifted her face and looked directly at him, as she approached decisively. Jubal watched in surprise as she invaded his personal space, until he could even feel the warmth of her body. He stepped back, troubled, but she pursued him.

"Isobel?". Her name sounded a tad shaky.

She raised her chin. "For the record," Isobel whispered against Jubal's lips, "I'm completely sober now."

Despite his racing heart, Jubal didn't claim the kiss she was offering him... He didn't pull back again either, though. His labored breathing spoke for itself.

Her own pulse was wild, but Isobel found she took immense pleasure in being able to put him in this state without even touching him.

"Also, I remind you, last night, I asked you to stay." Isobel decided she no longer regretted doing so.

True, Jubal thought baffled. How could his guilt have made him dismiss what it might imply?

Isobel could not delay it any longer and kissed him sweetly, tenderly. After skipping a heartbeat, Jubal received her in total abandon. It took him a few seconds longer, but then he gently pulled her towards him carefully. Isobel restrained her eagerness and savored him slowly. They lingered, exploring each other's mouth long, slowly, using all the time they didn't take yesterday.

Eventually, Isobel had to stop just due to lack of air, although she pulled away just the slightest bit. Jubal's eyes were openly overwhelmed... and the gleam they held was simply overwhelming.

"Are you feeling better today?" he asked in a quiet, careful voice.

"Much better..." Curiously, Isobel's hangover completely disappeared. Yesterday's traumatic events were still present in her mind, but more diffuse. Thanks to him. She put her hand on Jubal's cheek. "Thank you," she said those words, loaded with meaning.

Then she noticed the bruise on Jubal's cheekbone. She stroked it with a dismayed face. He brushed it off by simply turning his face a little to gently kiss her palm.

"Do you still regret what happened last night?" still breathless from the gesture.

"I don't. But it would hurt if..." Jubal looked into her eyes, as if wanting to drink from them, "...the first time I touched you, you might have been too drunk to really experience it… to fully understand what it meant.

Isobel's heart swelled so much inside her chest, it seemed like there wasn't enough room for it. She didn't understand it last night. But now she did.

Meanwhile Jubal saw her gaze fill with a sparkling mischief mixed with something deeper and ineffable. He cleared his throat, casting his eyes away, feeling terribly exposed. "To remember it, I mean," he corrected himself.

The corners of Isobel's mouth curved upwards. He seemed not to know where to hide. She decided to give him an escape route. "I didn't have so much to drink. Not enough to forget something like that..." she said, giving her voice a definite suggestive tone.

To her surprise and delight, it worked even better than expected. The beginnings of an irresistible smile graced Jubal's lips. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice deep and seductive. "I'd be delighted if you let me refresh your memory…"

Taking a breath, Isobel glanced over Jubal's shoulder at the microwave clock. It was still early, they wouldn't have to leave for 26 Fed for at least a couple of hours.

She looked back up at his face, raising a defiant eyebrow. Without waiting for a spoken answer, Jubal captured her mouth and kissed her, not holding back his ardor at all this time, pulling her tight against him. Isobel responded by wrapping her arms around him and letting herself be carried away.

Running his hands over Isobel's body, at first Jubal focused on learning the shapes of her curves, etching them into his memory so he could recall them when she wore one of her severe suits. All the while, he collected the shudders he managed to elicit from her.

For her part, Isobel slowly unbuttoned his shirt, tightly controlling her impatience, incorporating it as part of her enjoyment. Pulling the garment aside, she sensually caressed his torso, this time not just pursuing her own desires, but completely attentive to the reactions she was getting from Jubal, who sighed through parted lips.

Looking into her face, he undid the ribbon at the sash of her robe. Isobel allowed him to part the silk and this time study her nakedness for as long as he wished. Jubal admired her up and down, setting her flesh ablaze, before reaching out and pulling her against him again. Isobel wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him sensuously.

Jubal's mouth then took ardent possession of Isobel's, between soft grunts, overwhelmed by the sensation her embrace produced in him.

She shrugged off his shirt and deliberately heightened her senses to flood them all with Jubal; with the warmth of his body and the depth of his voice, his scent and his touch. She paused in the kiss to taste the skin of his neck, slowly running her mouth along Jubal's pulse, from the base to just below his ear. Shuddering, he let his hands greedily grasp Isobel's hips, thighs and buttocks.

After nibbling on his ear, and eliciting a delicious growl, Isobel whispered in his ear, "Aren't you going to ask me to take you to my bed?"

Biting his lip, Jubal sought her eyes, lifting one of her legs up to his hip and brushing his thigh against her, drawing a moan from Isobel.

"Only if you want me to..." he replied in a hoarse voice.

He licked his lips feeling as Isobel trembled in his arms. She kissed him again, eager.

"Mmmh... Come with me," she commanded in his mouth, pulling Jubal towards her bedroom.

They lay down, he half on top of her, across the rumpled bed, the silk robe left spread carelessly beneath them. As he kissed her, Jubal reveled in the generous flesh of Isobel's breasts; he slid his fingers over slowly, pinched gently, and was rewarded with the tempting hardness of her nipples. He could not resist, and lowered his head at once, to savor them.

Holding him by the back of the neck, Isobel was having trouble breathing. Jubal was using lips, teeth and tongue. She felt him hard against her thigh, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to this particular circumstance.

She couldn't leave it like this. Isobel slipped her hand between them, anxiously reaching under his belt.

Jubal was focused on the wonderful sensory experience of rolling one of Isobel's nipples inside his mouth with his tongue, when he felt Isobel opening his pants and reaching to touch sensually inside his underwear. Far from distracting him, Jubal let both sensations come together to intensify his pleasure. Even more, without stopping what he was doing, he slid a hand between Isobel's legs. When he found her completely soaked, he began to grunt.

The combination of his fingers and the deep vibration of his throat nearly undid Isobel, who, to Jubal's added delight, couldn't help but cry out his name in a disconsolate moan. Her caresses upon him then became so intense, that Jubal raised his face, eyes half closed, breathing heavily.

Isobel did not intend to rush it, but she wanted him more desperately with each moment.

She muttered a curse as she struggled to remove Jubal's pants and boxers at the same time. Chuckling, he took the hint and quickly shed his clothes.

When he returned to Isobel's arms, she kissed him and welcomed him as if, instead of a few seconds, he had been gone for days. Jubal felt a sudden sharp pang inside his chest. Because this was precisely what he wanted. For Isobel to miss him when he was gone, to always welcome him in this way...

Cradling him between her legs, she was urging him to fuse their bodies. Jubal however, paused, looking into her face, studying her features closely.

The expression on Isobel's flushed face became concerned. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

It took him a few seconds to reply. "I want to take you to dinner," he said panting out of nowhere.

Isobel's puzzled blink was charming. "Now?" she said sarcastically. "It's not even seven o'clock in the morning…"

"No, I mean, to have dinner, like on a date."

"You're asking me out... Right after you've already taken me to bed? Isn't it usually the other way around?"

Not the request made her uncomfortable but, to be honest, discussing it wasn't what Isobel wanted most at the moment. She provoked him by rubbing her center against him, drawing a deep growl from the back of his throat.

Jubal could barely resist it. "If I asked you out on a date, would you accept?" he gasped, holding back as best he could.

Isobel sighed. The prospect of what was happening between them becoming more established was undeniably troubling, but also exciting. Also long wanted, she had to admit.

"What do you think?" she replied, allowing giving herself away by smiling flirty.

She thought she was being rather obvious but Jubal lowered his eyes briefly, unsure. Apparently, no, she wasn't.

Perhaps Jubal sensed her moments of doubt. Stroking the back of his neck, Isobel focused her gaze on his eyes. "I'd love to."

And she tenderly sought his lips. Jubal's heart leapt with joy as he kissed her back.

"But," Isobel murmured, "if you leave me like this now," her mouth and hands becoming demanding and passionate, her voice a fierce whisper, "you won't have enough land to run, Valentine," she threatened.

This made him burn and smile with sudden arrogance.

The way he made himself enter, slow but overwhelmingly intense, left a startled Isobel gasping and shaking.

"Nothing could be further from my intention," Jubal whispered in her ear just before he began to move his hips, striving to please her.

They quit worrying about anything else for the moment, but the union of their bodies.

Now Jubal could confirm Isobel was not a passive lover who let herself be taken. She moved with him, inciting him relentlessly with her hands, her legs and her kisses. Sinking into her required him to put into practice all his experience in order not to lose control. It became a delicious battle neither could lose.

There came a point, however, when Jubal had to take Isobel's hands, lacing his fingers through hers, to hold them above her head, or he couldn't resist her.

The intimate restraint had an effect on her neither of them could have foreseen. Isobel felt her desire sweep over her. She clung to Jubal's hands and arched her body, desperately lifting her hips against his, her need transformed into an irresistible tension. Somewhat surprised, but immensely pleased, Jubal applied himself even more earnestly to giving Isobel what she was asking for, while he relished watching her face transfigure with pure rapture.

By the time he managed to undo her completely in moans beneath his body, Jubal's pleasure was already overwhelming him so much he hardly could hold back much longer, and his ecstasy dragged him unrestrained as well.

They embraced each other breathlessly afterwards. Jubal removed his weight from on top of Isobel, drawing her to him, and was delighted she immediately snuggled warmly against his chest.

"Wow..." Jubal sighed.

"It was..." Isobel trailed off, still trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah..."

The two exchanged soft, languid caresses. She on his torso, and he on her back and hair. Jubal noticed sleep was claiming them both.

"I wish I could stay like this with you for the rest of the day..." he murmured, leaving a kiss on the top of Isobel's head.

"In fact," she replied, slurring her words a bit, "I should give you the day off. You've certainly earned it..."

He knew it was a joke, but Jubal smiled flattered.

"Shouldn't we get going now?" he said, mentally wondering if he would have time to go home and change or if he should resign himself to doing it directly at 26 Fed, with the clothes he had there in his locker.

Isobel did not answer, and Jubal wondered if she fell asleep. Then she looked up.

"No..." she said, looking at him with rapt eyes under her thick eyelashes. She kissed him with a ravishing sweetness. "Let's stay a little longer."

And she rested her head on his chest again.

Heart fluttering, a trembling sigh escaped Jubal's lips. For the first time in a very long time, he felt, right now in Isobel's arms, he was finally in the right place.

~.~.~.~