"Have I interrupted something?" Ariel asked, her eyes going back and forth between Trey and Brenda with snide innuendo.

"A conversation," Trey replied, "of which you were not a part."

Ariel just smiled at Trey's dismissal. He'd treated her as an afterthought ever since she had known him as a child. She'd harbored a crush on him back then, but for him she had barely even existed and her crush had faded fast, her attentions going back to the one who had always had them - Jax.

"You look wonderful, Trey. Still jet-setting, I see," she said, observing his attractive tan. For someone who lived in England, Trey had a fabulous sun-kissed complexion, which evidenced his many trips to tropical locales.

"You look pretty good for someone who's been tossed over, yourself," he said. "Bouncing right back into the dating pool, are you?"

Brenda had to bite her lip not to laugh out loud at the smooth way Jax's cousin was deliberately baiting Ariel, whom he obviously had no love for.

"I was not tossed over!" Ariel hissed, a crimson flush rising to her cheeks. "The decision of Jax and I to end our romantic relationship was mutual."

Trey laughed. "Mutual, meaning Jax told you he was in love with someone else, probably finally told you he was never in love with you, and then gave you the opportunity to save face by telling people that the ending of your engagement was mutual. I know my cousin, Ariel. So you can stop with the rehearsed BS."

Ariel's blue eyes flashed with hostility and embarrassment. "You know, Trey Connor Fielding, instead of being rude to me, you should be very concerned about Jax. You should be wondering what this little trollop did to him to force him into marrying her in such haste. I would bet you my inheritance she is pregnant," Ariel said, shifting her hostile gaze over to Brenda. "The oldest, crudest, most pathetic trick in the book, used by many a young and desperate tramp."

"I am not pregnant," Brenda said coolly. "And if you insult me one more time, I'm going to throw you out of my house, Ariel."

Ariel snorted at Brenda's threat. "Oh, you wouldn't dare. And Jax would never let you."

"Jax would never let who do what?" Jax asked, as he entered the kitchen, flashlight in hand and gazed at the trio.

Ariel clammed up right away, as Brenda gazed at her with a slight smile on her face. Trey, however, was only too happy to let Jax know what was going on.

"It seems that your ex-fiancée is under the impression that she has license to insult your wife in her own home," Trey said.

Jax's blonde brows slid into a frown. "What?" he said, looking at Brenda and then at Ariel. Then before anyone could say anything, Jax continued. "I have told you, Ariel, what I would do if you were to insult Brenda."

Ariel gazed down at the floor, feeling the fool.

"Was it something like evicting her from the premises?" Trey asked.

"It was exactly that," Jax said quietly.

"My apologies Brenda," Ariel murmured, feeling sick at the humiliation of having to apologize to Brenda, in front of Jax, and with Trey there, no less.

"Is that apology for calling her a trollop? Or is it for the young tramp comment?" Trey asked casually.

Ariel wanted to murder him, and from the look in Jax's eyes, he wanted to murder her.

"Did you say those things to my wife?" Jax demanded.

Ariel said nothing.

"She did," Brenda said. "And I told her if she insulted me one more time, I was going to throw her out. But she seemed to think you wouldn't allow me to do that."

"Not only would I allow Brenda to throw you out, I would assist her. Do you understand? Ariel, if we ever have to have this conversation again it will be the end of anything that remains of our friendship," Jax said quietly to her. "Permanently."

"Jax, you don't understand! I was just minding my own business when I found her and Trey in here, looking very cozy for two people who just met, in my opinion, and I . . ." The words died on Ariel's lips as she saw the look Jax gave her. The look that told her she had just blown her last opportunity.

"You're really not needed in here," he said, although he may as well have just said 'get out' because his tone of voice let it be known that was what he wanted. She was grateful for the very dim lighting, which she hoped was hiding her fury and humiliation as she stalked out of the kitchen, furious at the insurmountable obstacle which was Brenda Barrett-Jacks.

"You're making a mistake, staying friends with her," Trey commented to Jax when Ariel was gone.

"I know," Jax agreed. "It's not going to work." Then he turned to Brenda. "Honey, I apologize for anything you had to put up with from her."

Brenda smiled up at him to reassure him. "It's okay, Jax, I can handle her," she said snapping her fingers. "I don't want you to worry about it," she said, hugging him. Then she glanced briefly over at Trey, giving him a little warning look. "I don't want you to worry about anything," she said to Jax, her fingers lightly stroking his hair.

"The only thing I'm worried about right now is my little tiger and my best friend. Can you go check on Xander for me? I have to try to find Scott because I think he may be stuck in the elevator," Jax said, slowly pulling away from her.

"I'll go check it out for you, Jax, " Trey offered, putting his finger to his lips in a gesture for Brenda to remain silent, which intensified her scowling at him.

"Thanks, Trey. Here," Jax said, turning around and handing him the flashlight. Trey, in turn, handed Jax the candle he'd been holding.

Brenda watched as Trey left the kitchen, and she and Jax were left in there in virtual darkness with the one candle as their illumination. "As you get to know my family better, you're going to notice that Trey and I have this kind of mind-meld thing between us," Jax said, wrapping a strand of her soft hair around his finger. "He always knows what I'm thinking before I even say it. Like just now. He knew I wanted to be alone with you."

Brenda nodded. "So then he knows you pretty well, huh?" she said quietly.

"Extremely well," Jax confirmed.

"Do you know him that well, too?" she asked.

Jax nodded without hesitation. "Yes."

No, honey, you don't, Brenda thought sadly.

"We don't . . . uhh . . .always really know people -- even people we adore -- umm..." She stammered, not knowing how to phrase this.

"We know the people who truly matter to us, I think," Jax said. "I know my family -- everyone you've met here tonight. Trey is kind of a special case because we're just so alike. I swear sometimes, it's like we just have the same mind. It's like you could put us in separate rooms and give us each the same scenario, and we'd respond to them in the exact same way without ever even talking to each other about it," Jax said with a grin.

Brenda bit her lip and tried not to shout out 'No you don't!'

"And I know you," he said, his hand stroking her cheek. "And you know me."

Brenda nodded. "Yeah, I know you, Agent Adonis. I know that you want to kiss me right now," she said with a smile.

The last thing she saw before Jax put out the candle was his disarming smile and the frolicsome desire in his eyes. She laughed as the kitchen was now in complete darkness, and she felt him sliding his arms around her. Wordlessly, he pulled her to him, lifting her to her tiptoes as their lips connected in a slow, burning passion. His kiss made her forget about everything -- Trey/Bastian; Jax's love for Trey/Bastian; her dilemma about what, if anything, to tell Jax; the annoying Ariel . . . All of these thoughts and troubles fled her mind, as pleasure began to flood her body and love spilled over in her heart. The kiss intensified and deepened as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her body sliding further up his as her feet were swept from the floor completely, his powerful arms pinning her deliciously close to him.

The room spun pleasantly as Brenda felt her heart racing against his, his racing against hers, desire ricocheting throughout them both. She was in an intense pleasure daze when he slowly drew his burning lips from hers.

"Jax," she said softly, not wanting to stop.

"I don't even have to see you to know that you're breathless right now," he said, his voice very close to her ear.

"Well, so are you," she laughed, hearing him breathing as rapidly as she was.

"Yes," he said, and she felt his lips burning sweet fire along her throat. "you do take my breath away." And then he was kissing her lips again -- hot, burning kisses that were making her melt inside.

When he drew those luscious lips of his away from her mouth again, she wanted to scream. "Nooo," she protested softly, pulling his face back to her and igniting another arousing series of deep, passion-filled kisses.

Jax was amazed at his need for her, his desire for her. It was so bloody fathomless -- no ending in sight. He would not have been as surprised by his feeling had Brenda been some elusive woman he could never have. But she was his now. His forever, and he still desired her as if she were an elusive dream he had been chasing down his entire life.

His lips left hers again, and this time she laughed and leaned her forehead onto his chest, as he slid her slowly back down so that her feet were back on the floor.

"Jax, are you trying to make me crazy?"

"No," he responded with a smile, brushing his lips tantalizingly against hers. "I'm only trying to save my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, or whoever may walk in on us, the shock of seeing me taking my wife on the kitchen table," he murmured, kissing her ear.

"You think we'd actually have made it to the table?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Jax laughed. "The kitchen floor then."

Brenda laughed, too, and then turned her face sideways, so that her cheek rested against his chest. "I just don't want to move from this spot," she said, her hands sliding down his arms and sliding into his hands.

Jax found it impossible to stop kissing her. "I will make it up to you later," he promised, his lips brushing back and forth against hers. "Soon actually," he amended, as he felt his own desire for her sending the blood in his veins jettisoning throughout his body as if it were lit by rocket fuel.

"Do you think the power is going to come back on soon?" she asked him.

"Even if it does," Jax said, "the weather outside is pretty bad. I think we're going to have to be Hotel Jacks tonight," he said, trailing sweet, little kisses across her forehead.

Brenda groaned a little bit. "You mean Ariel has to spend the night in our house?"

"We can put her in the jungle with Xander if you want," Jax offered.

"I would never do that to Xander," Brenda responded, and she heard Jax laugh as he hugged her close to him.

"I love you, Brenda Jacks," Jax said lighting the candle again. "Ready to play innkeeper with me?"

"Yeah, let's do it," Brenda said as their fingers automatically entwined, and they exited the kitchen together to book their 'guests' in their 'rooms' for the evening.

Scott wondered why it felt as if he was born to kiss the lips of the auburn-haired, angelic-looking, little thief, who was responding to his every kiss with such ... enthusiasm. He wondered if she felt it, too. That weird connection that was inexplicable and probably just a figment of his imagination anyway. This was crazy. Here he was, kissing her as if it were his last day on earth, and ignoring the fact that she was who she was -- the partner of Bastian Reese.

Scott made himself raise his lips from hers. He gazed down at her closed eyes and watched as they opened up, and he was caught up in the allure of the deep, emerald jewels gazing back at him. She looked . . . really happy -- sort of fantasy-happy, like it would go away as soon as she realized who she was and who he was and what a hell of a situation they were in.

"You have the most perfect lips in the world," she told him.

Scott shook his head, but she saw him smile. "How old are you?" he asked her, his hands absently running down the length of her rich, auburn curls.

"Twenty," she said. "Too young for you?" she asked, her eyes gazing longingly at his mouth and making all sorts of fireworks go off inside of him against his will.

"No. Your age isn't the problem," he said, thinking of how much he thought about her in between their spontaneous encounters. "Your profession is."

Jenna reluctantly eased herself off of him and into a sitting position next to him, her hand resting casually on his knee. "Yeah, well your profession is problematic for me, too, you know."

"Why do you do this?" Scott asked her. "Steal for a living?"

"We only steal from the rich," Jenna insisted.

"Jenna, please spare me the Robin Hood comparisons," Scott requested. "They don't hold water in this case. Your partner is not stealing to benefit anyone or anything but his own bank account. Which must be huge…" he added, gazing at her to see if she would confirm or deny that -- give him any information.

Jenna didn't say a word.

"Why do you protect him?" Scott asked her softly. "What is he to you?"

What is he to you, Jenna thought, the vision of Scott and Bastian laughing and joking together at the dinner table still fresh in her mind.

"He's my partner," she responded. "You would protect your partner -- Jax -- wouldn't you?"

Scott gave up trying to figure out how Jenna had known first his name and now Jax's name as well.

"My partner is not on the most wanted list," Scott pointed out. Then he turned so that he was facing her, and he cupped her face in his hands. "Jenna, let me help you. Give him up, and you can be free of all this… this life… hiding out... all of it."

She gave Scott a long glance. "And what do I get in return? Are you going to sweep me off my feet and give me some mythical happily-ever-after?"

"Is that what you want?"

She knew he wasn't serious, although the idealistic part of her wished so much that he were. She wrapped her arms around her knees. "Has it ever occurred to you that I might like this life, Scott?"

"Yes," he said. "I thought maybe you like the glamour of it, the thrill of being right-hand girl to a genius criminal mind, the challenge or the high of breaking into impenetrable places and never getting caught. But I thought there might be something that you want even more than that life," he said, gazing into her eyes.

Him, he means him, she thought, her heart racing.

"Maybe I could have both," she said, her big, green eyes putting him under a spell.

But not quite enough of a spell. "No, you can't have both," he said quietly.

She sighed and rested her chin on her knees. "I can't do what you want me to do to Bastian, Scott. I won't do that to him."

Scott closed his eyes in defeat. He was going to lose her to this life, to this damned partner of hers, who had this hold on her. . .

"So you're going to wait for him to do it to you first?" Scott asked.

"He wouldn't betray me," Jenna said.

"You're wrong," Scott said. "You think you know him, right? You think you can trust him, but he is obviously all about himself. You are expendable to him."

"You think you know him," Jenna said. "But you don't."

"Well, why don't you introduce me?" Scott said.

"Very funny, Scott. I told you I am not going to turn him in or set him up. I'm not."

They both heard the sound of a male voice calling to Scott.

"Hey, Wilkie? Are you in there?"

Jenna's eyes widened -- it was Bastian! He was going to find her here!

"Trey?" Scott asked.

"Mmm Hmm. Are you stuck in there, G-man?" Trey teased.

"Yeah, what happened?" Scott asked, his eyes telling Jenna not to utter a sound.

"The power lines went down outside," Trey explained. "I can get you out. I'll be right down." Trey had lots of experience escaping places like elevators and sealed rooms.

"You know what, I can get out myself, actually," Scott said, having plenty of experience himself in escaping all kinds of places. "Just toss me down a flashlight, will you?" he said, making sure the flashlight he already had was turned off and hidden.

"All right. Be right back," Trey said.

Trey? Who was Trey? Jenna wondered. That was Bastian's voice; she was positive of that.

"Who was that?" Jenna asked.

Scott shook his head, gesturing for her not to say anything, as he listened out to make sure Trey had gone far enough away not to hear them.

"Who was that?" she repeated.

"That was Jax's cousin," Scott said. "And he could come back with Jax, for all I know, and I have no way of explaining you. I really need to talk to Jax first before I say anything about your being here."

Jenna looked at him, stunned. Jax's cousin? Her Bastian was the blonde FBI agent's cousin?! Her mind was boggled. Then she focused on the rest of what Scott had said, and she stood up quickly, her self-preservation instincts kicking in. "What do you mean, 'say anything about my being here'? You're going to turn me in?" she asked incredulously, her vibrant green eyes piercing his heart with the look of betrayal he saw in there. "I thought... I thought…"

"You thought what?" he asked her. "Seriously, what, Jenna? You thought that I would just let my crazy attraction to you rule me? I can't do that. I won't do that."

Her eyes narrowed angrily, but he could tell she was more upset and hurt than anything else. "Well, I won't let my crazy attraction for you rule me either!" she said, and quick as a flash, she grabbed her flashlight from him, and before he even understand her intentions, she knocked him on the back of the head with it, knocking him out.

The second she did it, she was full of regret. She knelt next to his knocked-out body and kissed the area where she'd hit him. "I'm sorry," she said. "Please forgive me. Everything is just so confusing. Bastian is Trey, and Trey is Bastian -- and I trust Bastian, but I don't think I can trust this Trey person, can I? And I want to trust you, most of all – but I can't even do that now, because you'll probably take his side once you find out that my Bastian and your Trey are one-in-the-same. If you need to lock someone up for our crimes, it won't be him, will it? It'll be me. Stupid me, who's so crazy about you - why does it have to be you?” She sighed, stroking his dark hair and admiring the attractive length of the dark lashes of his closed eyes. "You're going to wake up and hate me now, aren't you? Yes, of course, you will. Because that is the story of my life. No happy endings allowed," she murmured wistfully, kissing his face, then his lips. She checked her watch, and then extricated herself from the elevator.

She shimmied up the elevator cables and reached the opening of the first story. She was pulling herself up onto the landing, when she felt a strong hand grasp hers. She gasped and looked up into deep, sultry, gray eyes that she knew so well. He yanked her up onto solid ground, his hands imprisoning her, his eyes blazing with incredulity and fury.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here?!" he demanded. And then he heard the unnatural silence below. "What did you do to him, Jenna, so help me . . ."

"For god’s sake, what kind of person do you think I am? I only knocked him out so I could get away!" she retorted, breathing hard from her rapid climb up the cable. "And now I know why you care so much about him, Bastian, or should I call you Trey? That's your name, isn't it?! And that FBI agent down there is your friend, isn't he?! And his partner is your cousin! Your COUSIN!"

Trey was surprised that she knew all of this. Had Scott told her that?

"Keep your voice down. You swear to me he's okay? You swear?" Trey said, his eyes serious as a heart attack, as he took her flashlight from her and shut it off.

"Of course, I swear. He is fine!" she insisted. "I would never hurt him!"

Trey gazed at her thoughtfully. "Yes… you wouldn’t hurt him, would you? Because you’re halfway in love with him, aren’t you? Damn it," he murmured and looked as if he suddenly had a monstrous migraine.

Jenna could only nod as she sensed his fury at her for being here, and yet there was something very protective about his behavior towards her – as usual. It was the one thing that made her trust him so implicitly most of the time. He gazed at her closely and could instantly tell that she had been the recipient of passionate kisses. From Scott, obviously. Damn, he thought. Everything was going to hell all at once.

"Bastian, you owe me an explanation."

"My name is Trey."

"Fine! You still owe me an explanation! I want to know . . ."

"Do not say another word," he ordered, trying to keep a handle on his anger at her. He owed her an explanation? Wasn't she supposed to be in Monte Carlo?! And then he was yanking her down the hallway and up the dark, spiral staircase. She heard the sounds of merry voices downstairs and saw the flickering of candlelight. But it was all a blur as Bastian -- Trey -- was dragging her very quickly towards a room at the end of the long, dark hallway of the second story. He opened a door and pushed her into the bedroom. "Stay here. I mean it, Jenna -- do not move!" he said, turning to leave.

"What if someone comes in here?!" she demanded.

"Hide under the bed," he said sarcastically. Then he tilted her chin up so that her eyes met his. "Don't go anywhere. Just don't," he said. And then he handed her back her flashlight and left, shutting the door behind him.

Trey quickly made his way back down to the stuck elevator and lowered himself down on top of it and then inside of it through the open top.

Trey knelt down and checked Scott's pulse and saw that Jenna had told the truth, and he was not really hurt, only knocked out. And he was coming to, so she mustn't have hit him all that hard.

"Scott," he said, patting Scott's face. "Scott, get up."

Scott rose slowly, rubbing his head and furious that he had allowed that little green-eyed crook to once again make a fool out of him. Well, she had used up all of her chances. She had better pray that she wouldn't run into him again.

"You okay?" Trey asked. "What happened to you?"

Scott thought about that for a moment. "Someone was here," he said, deciding that his days of protecting the angelic-looking jewel pilferer were through.

"Who?" Trey asked.

"Bastian Reese's partner," he said, getting up. "She was here, Trey. She could still be somewhere in the house. And he could be here, too, for all we know. Where's Jax?"

"He's with Brenda. The ice storm outside is really hellacious, so we're all going to have to bunk here overnight. They're getting everyone settled in rooms."

Scott could not help but think about the little, escaped, green-eyed thief, who might be out in that hellacious weather all alone. Good, he thought. She deserved to freeze to death. But all he could think about was finding her and making sure she was okay. He couldn't help it. She felt like … his. Like she belonged to him. Damn, damn, damn.

Scott rubbed his aching head. "Let's get out of here," he said to Trey. "How'd you get down in here anyway?"

Trey just smiled at him. "Hey, you and Jax are not the only ones who know how to leap tall buildings in a single bound you know," he said.

"You didn't see a girl -- very pretty, with green eyes and hair like yours, when you came to the elevator the second time?" Scott asked, as he easily hoisted himself up through the open elevator roof hatch, effortlessly flipping himself on top of the unit and grabbing for the cables.

Trey just shook his head, not verbalizing the lie, as he followed Scott out of the stuck elevator.

The twelve bedrooms at Ravenswood were all occupied on this stormy, Christmas night. A full house at Hotel Jacks.

As Brenda walked along the hall towards the bathroom, she saw Trey emerge from the corner, quiet and stealthily as a cat. And he held the little jungle cat, Xander, in his arms. Even in the dimly lit hallway, Brenda noticed how Trey’s gray eyes sparkled much the same way Jax's blue eyes sparkled and glittered like gemstones.

"Don't say anything to Jax, Brenda," Trey said.

Brenda heard his words, but was distracted by watching how happy Xander appeared to be, playing with Trey. Just like the whole Jacks family, Xander was head over heels for the duplicitous cousin, Trey, too.

Et tu, Xander? Brenda thought. Then she gazed at Jax's cousin with a warning in her brown eyes. "If I want to tell Jax, I will," she informed him.

"Well, don't tell him now," Trey said. "He's going on a dangerous assignment four days from now, and you can't do anything that will break his focus in any way," Trey said seriously.

Brenda felt aggravated. It was so obvious how much Trey cared about Jax, and yet she couldn't reconcile that obvious love and protectiveness with the lies and deception.

"Things are not always as they seem, you know," he mentioned to her. "You of all people should know that. You thought Jax loved someone else when it was you he was in love with all along."

She rolled her eyes. "In this case, things are exactly as they seem, Trey! You are Bastian Reese," she whispered, still stunned that Jax’s cousin was the man they were all looking for.

"You won’t tell him, right?" he said. "At least not until his mission command is completed?"

Without answering Trey, Brenda walked away from him and went back towards her bedroom. But Trey had seen that look in her eyes. He knew she would not do anything to put Jax in harm's way, even if it meant keeping her secret until Jax's mission was over. He was pleased that Jax came first with her.

"Just like he does with me. Just like my whole family does with me," he murmured to Xander, stroking the tiger’s soft fur as he went towards the bedroom he was staying in, which he had his partner stowed away in. He owed her explanations, sure. But she owed him some, too. And he intended to get his first. He would just put Xander down for the night first and then tackle the unexpected appearance of Jenna.

Scott stood by the window in his room, still fully dressed, gazing out at the chilling ice storm going on outside. Where was she? He couldn't stand to think of her out in this. She would never make it anywhere in this weather. "Jenna, come back to me," he murmured, tapping his fingers against the frosted windowpane. "Come back to me."

Brenda emerged from the shower and walked into her candlelit bedroom, only to be immediately scooped up by Jax, who plied her with glorious, wild kisses as he carried her over to the bed. He placed her in the center of it, and then the song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," accompanied Jax's strip tease, as he shed his clothes in front of his laughing, very appreciative bride. He started with his shirt, flashing marvelous abs at her, before just taking the shirt off completely. Then he took off his pants, as Brenda stood up on the bed and whistled and clapped. When he took off his midnight blue boxers, Brenda whooped an appreciative, "Yesssss!" and tossed off her blue satin nightie and then jumped off of the bed into his arms. "Take me, Adonis," she said, tossing her head back and laughing, the long, dark curls spilling back in a gorgeous wave.

Jax laughed and pressed his lips to her warm throat. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I will," he said as they tumbled onto the bed, bodies wrapped up in a hot embrace, mouths locked together in a sizzling, unstoppable kiss.

"My family loves you," he said, his lips mapping their way with languid pleasure along the soft curves of her body.

"They like me," Brenda corrected, her hands sliding into his hair as she reacted to the awesome sensation of him tracing his tongue in an erotic zigzag pattern down her stomach.

"They will love you," he said. "Because you're a part of them." His lips kissed their way up her stomach, over her breasts, where they deliberately lingered, making her gasp and move with pleasure beneath him, and then he was kissing her shoulders and her neck, dropping delicious, little kisses all along her face in a circle. "But you'll never be a part of them the way you are a part of me," he said, his eyes like swirling sapphires of a most brilliant blue, gazing down into hers.

Brenda reached up and took his face in her hands, slowly bringing his lips down to hers. A fraction of a second before they kissed, she arched her body against his and smiled as he nearly crossed his eyes as pleasure shuddered through him. Then their lips were connected and it was a miracle that the sheets did not light on fire from the sensual, scorching passion they were expending together. His tongue slowly explored her mouth, doing things to her that had her alternately moaning and gasping softly, and constantly clutching fistfuls of his blonde hair, as she tried to hold onto the thin thread of control she had. He, of course, was trying to make her let it go.

His hands stroked and caressed the softness of her body; his tongue slowly traced her lips. He kissed her chin, nuzzled her neck, kissed the hollow of her throat, found her breasts again, and kissed them with the erotic expertise of one who knew all the most sensual secrets of lovemaking. His masterful foreplay had his wife a frenzied woman beneath him, raking her nails down his back and feeling the blood rushing wildly inside of her.

"Jax . . . " she murmured repeatedly in soft, breathless, little whispers.

His name on her lips was like the sweetest aphrodisiac in existence. It was also his breaking point, as his own control vanished, and they had a passionate, explosive consummation of the body and the soul. Brenda closed her eyes and held onto him, her breathing frantic, her moans swallowed up by Jax's amazing kisses. Bright rainbow colors exploded beneath her closed lids, liquid fire rushed through her body, an orchestra played the theme from Star Wars in her head, as her husband guided her through a universe of passion, a galaxy of ecstasy, and into a meteor shower of rapture.

It was breathless perfection. When the flames had at last begun to cool down, Brenda lay across Jax's body, the sheets wrapped around them. Her head rested on his chest, relaxing to the peacefulness of the aftermath of their lovemaking. She found it amazing that such an explosion of feelings and passions could then end with such perfect tranquillity like this -- how euphoric, hot, wildness could then lead to this quiet, warm calm.

Jax's hand was stroking the back of her hair, as they stayed in that sweet tranquil moment, hearing nothing but the wind and hail outside and their own soft breathing.

"Do you believe in wishes?" Jax asked her, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," she said. Then she turned her head so that her chin was propped up on her hands on his chest, and she was looking at him. "I mean I believe in making them, but I'm not sure they come true all the time."

"They do come true. I have you," Jax said.

Brenda smiled at him. "Yeah, but you never wished for me. We just sort of … happened," she said.

"No, you’re wrong. I did wish for you," he contended. "And you wished for me, didn't you?"

Brenda thought about that. Yes, she had wished for him to be hers. She had longed for it, she had ached for it, she had indeed wished for it. "Yeah, I did," she said with an amazed little smile. "I did wish for you, Jax."

"And you got me," he pointed out. "So I'm thinking our wishing track record is pretty good."

She laughed. "Mmm hmmm. Why are you bringing this up now? Do you want to wish for something else now?" she asked, kissing his chest.

His fingers slid into her hair, massaging her scalp. "I already have," he whispered, an enigmatic smile dancing across his lips.

Her eyes lit up with mischief. "Oh, yeah? So tell me!"

Jax just smiled at her and shook his head. "If the wish comes true, then I'll tell you," he said.

Brenda gazed at him for a long moment and felt her heart constrict with love.

"Jax, this thing you have to do in Texas . . .is it really dangerous?" she asked.

"Everything I get assigned to has the potential of danger, sweetheart. That is the nature of what I specialize in. I don't want you to worry about me, okay? I'm very good at what I do, Brenda. I will always come back to you."

She just nodded and then wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her head against his neck and trying not to think of what life would be like if one day he didn't come back from one of his assignments. Jax felt her heartbeat accelerate, and he knew it was anxiety and not passionate stirrings that were the cause of it.

"We've never really talked about this," Jax said slowly. "Does it bother you -- what I do for a living? Now that we're married?"

"No," Brenda said. "I admire what you do, Jax. And I'm never going to be like Ariel -- always hounding you about where you're going and how long you'll be away. I just want you to be safe."

"Well, let me ask you something: did you feel safe when I was assigned to protect you?"

Brenda nodded. "Yes."

"Why?" Jax asked her. "You didn't even know me."

"No, but I could tell that you were a professional and took your job seriously. I knew your background -- all the training you had, how equipped you were to handle anything at all. I knew you would never let anything happen to me . . ."

"Or to me," he assured her. "And thank you for making my point," he added with a grin, as he kissed the top of her hair.

Brenda smiled and relaxed, the anxiety leaving her. "Thank you for getting me to make your point," she said. Then her thoughts drifted back to her other problem -- Trey Fielding, a.k.a. Bastian Reese, who could not possibly have been around for fifteen years. She wanted to talk to him. She had not even begun to finish saying all she had to say to him, and she had to do as Father O'Malley had suggested and give Trey his chance to explain himself before she did anything. But how could she get a chance to speak with him privately with the whole family there?

"Jax?"

"Hmm?" Jax murmured, feeling pleasantly sleepy and yet also pleasantly aroused as Brenda shifted on top of him.

"How long do you think the bad weather will keep our guests here?"

"I think they'll be able to leave tomorrow or the next day," he said. "It's supposed to clear up by later on. Depending on how fast the roads are de-iced, they could be gone mid-day tomorrow."

Brenda drummed her fingers against his chest thoughtfully. Tomorrow? That was too soon. Trey would probably try to sneak away even earlier than that, if he could. She had to think of a way to keep him here longer. He was going to answer all of her questions, damn it.

"I just had an idea," Brenda said. "What if your cousin Trey stays here when you and Scott have to be away in Texas?" Brenda suggested. "I mean, you did tell me he was a bodyguard for Princess Diana, right? So obviously he's skilled in protecting people."

"Danny Simmons from the B-Team is going to stay here," Jax said. "I'd prefer an A-team member, but they'll all be with me. Simmons should be okay, though. He knows that if anything were to happen to you on his watch, I would kill him."

"Well, I'm sure he'd be fine, "Brenda said diplomatically, "but the thing is, he's not family. Trey is. Wouldn't you feel better having a family member -- who also happens to have the training to protect me -- here with me, instead of this Agent Simmons, who you don't exactly seem to have a rock-solid sense of confidence in? Plus I don't know this Agent Simmons. I'd feel better if it were someone I knew, Jax."

Jax thought about that. He agreed with her. "I think your idea is inspired, angel, but Trey always has to jet off some place or another. I don't think he could afford to stay here until I get back."

"But you'll only be gone one day," Brenda reminded him.

"If everything goes as planned -- yes, one day. But I'm not leaving until the 29th, so it would make no sense for Trey to go back to England and then come back here in four days. So he'd have to stay here for the rest of this week."

"I'm sure he would do that for you, Jax," Brenda said.

Jax knew that if the positions were switched, he would do it for Trey in a heartbeat, so, yes, Brenda was probably right. Trey would do this for him.

"I'll ask him in the morning," Jax promised her.

"Okay," Brenda said, kissing his cheek and snuggling against him in preparation for sleep.

Trey would probably figure out that it was her idea, she realized, and he would figure out that she was trying to trap him here so that she could get the truth out of him. He would try to get out of staying, but Jax would get him to agree to do it. Brenda had no doubt about that.

"I love you so much," she whispered to her sleeping husband, who looked far, far too damned attractive, even in slumber. "I won't ever do anything that would hurt you. I'll handle this in the best way I know how, Jax. I promise."

Jenna could not get over the fact that Bastian -- no, Trey, his name was Trey -- was the cousin of the very FBI Special Forces agent who was after them. It was insane! This entire thing was insane. She was falling in love with an FBI agent, her partner was related to an FBI agent. Why, they might as well just give themselves up! This was ridiculous!

She paced the dark room and waited impatiently for Bastian -- Trey – to come back. She heard the sound of the door opening and crouched down behind the side of the bed, in case it was not him.

It wasn't. It was a woman. Jenna could see her silhouette faintly.

"Trey," the woman called out. Her voice sounded annoyed, and she was standing there with her hands on her hips. "Trey, where the hell are you?" Ariel demanded. "You think that was funny, what you did to me in the kitchen? You got Jax so mad at me, and now you'd better smooth it over! I will not have him hating me, do you hear me? Where are you?!" she whispered in annoyance.

The woman's whispering shriek was aggravating, to say the least. And to Jenna's annoyance the woman proceeded to sit down on the bed. Apparently she intended to wait for Trey, so that she could yell her head off at him for whatever wrong she believed he had done to her, concerning Trey's cousin, Jax.

Jenna slid under the bed and out of the open door, wondering where she could hide until that woman was gone from Trey's room. Where was Trey anyway?!

Trey was in the jungle room, where he had been for several minutes longer than he had intended, playing with Xander and wondering where in the house Jax would hide that Swiss Bank account number -- if it was even on the premises at all. He had to get that damned thing back or everything -- all of this -- would have ended up being for nothing. Trey, dismissed those troubling thoughts for now, as he had to go talk to Jenna and find out what the hell she was doing here, how she had known to find him here, and how much, if anything, she had told Scott. Things could simply not unravel now. Not now when he was closer than he had ever been before to the ultimate goal.

Trey left the jungle, shutting the double doors, and shone his flashlight down the hallway, where his disbelieving eyes saw Jenna feeling her way long the hallway walls. What the hell was she doing?! Had he not specifically told her to stay put? Jesus, the girl was going to make him go insane! He could not call out to her and risk anyone else coming out of their rooms at the sound of his voice. He quickly began to make his way down the hall after her and muttered an explicit oath, as he saw her slip inside of a room that she apparently thought was empty.

None of the rooms were empty tonight.

And Jenna found that out as soon as she stepped foot inside and saw the dark-haired male standing by the window, one hand tapping the glass, the other hand swinging a lighted flashlight back and forth absently. He turned around when he heard the sound of the open door, and he stared at her. Some emotion briefly leapt into his eyes. Surprise? Indifference? Mockery? Disgust? Hate? She couldn't tell. For a deluded moment she actually believed she saw relief in his eyes, and maybe even a tiny glimmer of happiness at seeing her. Just foolish, wishful thinking, she knew. She looked at him, unable to look away, thinking that of all the rooms in this blasted mansion that she could have walked into, fate would just have to make it be his.

She didn't know what to say as Scott just stared at her, not saying a word. She knew he was furious with her. Probably despised her. For some reason that prospect made her so heartsick that she actually felt her lip trembling as if she wanted to cry. Oh, this was ridiculous! This entire day was ridiculous! No man had ever reduced her to this!

"Close the door," she heard him say quietly.

No, run out the door -- that’s what she should do. He hated her now. He would turn her in now. She would be a fool to do anything he said. A complete fool!

But she shut the door; standing there, feeling more vulnerable and nervous than she ever had in her life. Why was she here? Why hadn’t she run? Oh, I’m a fool; I’m a fool! I’m the fool of the world! she lamented to herself as her eyes locked with his, and she had no idea what would happen next.