Lena, Anja and Vanessa had promised to look after Mick, Brett and Cass. The way back to the hotel was short but the fresh air helped with the dizziness and the quiet was a relief for his ears.

At the hotel, Froggy and Mera told them good night and went to their rooms.

It was a very warm night and Jason stood in his pyjama shorts and white shirt on the balcony while waiting for Neri to finish her shower. Sidney was loud and bright even at this hour. Cars drove by and the street was crowded with laughing and chatting people. Living under the sea, far away from any pulsating city made him realise how much of an alien he had become himself. They would need their friends more than ever to get in touch with the actual human world.

The scent of soap and chlorinated water told him of Neri's approaching and he turned around. She must have bought the silk white two-piece-negligee today for he had never seen it before. The low-cut top with thin straps and the close-cut shorts made him blush. Neri smiled unsurely.

"Lena bought it for me," she told him and tugged at the hem of the top. "It feels nice."

Jason conquered the distance between them and put his hands on her hips. "It does," he agreed and cleared his throat.

He couldn't tell which made him more nervous: the lack of fabric, or the remaining emphasising her curves. Lena was a vixen, that was for sure. The generous cleavage made it difficult to keep him from staring.

"She was pretty," Neri interrupted his thoughts.

"Who?"

"The girl at the bar."

"Yeah?" Jason shrugged. "I didn't pay her much attention. I just waited for the water and to get back to you." He wrapped his arm around her neck, pulled her as close as possible and captured her mouth with his to end the conversation for good.

For a second she stiffened, obviously aware of his intention and not willing to drop the topic so easily. But he opened her lips, owned them by softly tugging at her upper lip while wrapping his other arm also around her. He could tell she melted into his kiss. Her arms were now tightly entangled around him and she nestled against him. He breathed in her scent and left another sweet pick on her lips before finally breaking the kiss. But he didn't let go, just deepened the embrace und buried his face in her hair. His fingertips played with her hair and stroked her neck.

He couldn't imagine any place or any other person to be more comfortable with although his promise to talk about Sex uncomfortably lingered in a corner of his mind. He had never thought of himself as uptight but suddenly everyone else – even his younger brother who had Sex before him – seemed so much more relaxed around intimacy-related issues. Why was it so damn hard? Why did he have to make it so complicated while being with the most uncomplicated woman on Earth? After all, the issue was to let her in rather than getting physical right away.

His heart was beating rapidly and his mouth got dry while he tried to get his thoughts in some sort of order. "It's so difficult for me to talk about it, especially with you, Neri," he murmured close to her ear.

"Why?" she wanted to know while stroking over his back.

"Because I feel embarrassed and insecure," he confessed and retreated a few inches to look at her. She watched him in expectation. "Usually, I'm the one to be in charge of everything. I'm the one to be responsible for everything because I know what to do and how to do it," he explained. "But with this, I'm totally lost and I don't know what to expect and I'm afraid of embarrassing myself and to disappoint you."

Neri gave him an affectionate smile. "You sound like making plan for a mission," she said chuckling and covered his right cheek with her hand. "You can't make plan for us to … be together."

"I know. And that's frightening." He nestled against her hand and she stroked over his face and hair.

"You're not alone in charge. I am too," she said firmly. "We both decide."

"You're right," he responded, "we both decide. And all this time, I was so busy with myself that I never actually asked you what it is that you want," he realised. He stroked her arms and with his hands on her waist, he pulled her closer again. "Do you want us to be intimate?"

Neri nodded. "Yes, I want to be close to you," she said, her hands on his chest and fingertips slightly tugging at the seamline of his shirt. Her tone and her touch left his skin comfortably tingling. "But even more I want you to talk to me. The same like now. And that you are happy. I want you to want me too."

"I do," Jason replied with a sigh and rested his forehead against hers. "But I want to get to know you step by step." Neri frowned with a questioning look and he continued, his cheeks flushed. "You know, physically," he murmured. "About your body. What you like, where you like to be touched and how."

His face was burning hot now and took a deep breath before locking eyes with her again. Neri smiled – grinned at him and she bit her lip trying to hide her amusement but the shaking of her shoulders gave away how much she wanted to break into laughter.

Jason knew she would never make fun of him so he just smiled back. "What's so funny?"

"I know you for many years," she smirked, "but I never know you're shy."

Jason's face fell at her realisation. "I never thought I'd be," he admitted relieved.

Not uptight. Just shy. He could live with that.

"Maybe you're just shy with me," Neri thought out loud.

"Probably," he agreed and nodded. "So … it couldn't hurt if you were a little … more in charge than me."

Neri straightened up with an odd expression and for a second he wished he could take it back. Her smile was the closest to devilish as possible for Neri's standards and her eyes were dark.

"I'm in charge?" she repeated.

"No, I said …," he tried but she silenced him with a kiss.

"Too late," she stated smirking between kisses. "I'm in charge and you can not fight me because I'm stronger than you."

Jason kissed back and grinned. "Well, then it's a good thing I trust you."

The flicker in her playful expression was one of the good ones as it got mixed up with affection. He could see how much this little statement meant to her.

The following kiss could be referred to by several attributes but shy was definitely not one of them. Their breath mingled as their open mouths met. Neri tugged as his upper lip, her hands in his hair and at his neck but soon working their way down to his chest and then to his back, tightly cling on him as she broke the kiss just to deepen it even further. Jason followed her every movement, responded immediately when he felt her tongue slipping into his mouth. The touch of their tongues was eager and demanding.

Jason just loved how she tasted. The sentiment of the soft, warm flesh made him feel alive. He drowned in the feeling of her body and the warm touch of their lips. Her hands travelled under his shirt and stroked the skin on his back. Usually, at this point, he would have started thinking about retreating. But now, as he had decided to let her take the lead it just felt like everything was in place. He enjoyed her fingertips grazing his skin and as they went to his belly, he broke the kiss and lifted his arms for her to pull the shirt over his head.

He had been topless in front of her before but never in this context. He breathed away the hint of vulnerability as Neri traced the lines of his chest and abs with a fascinated expression. When their gaze met again, her eyes were still dark with desire but also wide in curiosity.

Jason nodded encouraging and closed his eyes while she was continuing her exploration. Her fingertips stroked over his nipple and his breath got caught in his throat. Her hand froze and then he felt another touch on his other nipple. His whole body seemed to jump awake and prickling with electricity. His skin was suddenly twice as sensitive. He had been aroused but now he was rock hard and every time she grazed one of his nipples again, another jolt was sent down to his member.

He opened his eyes and captured her hands with his. Their eyes met and her smirk told him she knew exactly what her touch had done to him. She also knew this was as far as it would get this night. Relieved, that she didn't seem to mind to end this making-out session at this point, he bent down to kiss her and pulled her into an embrace. She went with his change of pace, for this time, the kiss was of the sweeter kind. His lips grazed hers almost lazily, caressed and stroked them, left only for another soft meeting. He placed another two gentle kisses on her mouth before burying his face in her hair. Neri wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly, her head resting in the hollow between neck and shoulder.

She made a sound, not unlike a purring cat. "Can we sleep like this?" she asked into his chest. "It feels so good and warm."

He kissed her on her hair. "Sure," he murmured.