Juliet was all for Brenda’s idea about going along with Jax and Devon on their shark tagging expedition. What better way for Juliet to get some recreational time with Devon?

     "You’re a genius, Brenda!" she said as she got dressed for breakfast.

     "Well it was Vince who gave me the idea about asking in front of your parents. Will Jax really have to say yes?" Brenda asked, finding that vastly amusing.

     Juliet laughed. "Yes he will. It’s a rule my mum and dad have. Oh he’s going to want to kill you!"

     Brenda just smiled.

     Twenty minutes later the girls went down to the dining patio where a most scrumptious breakfast was being set on the table. There was chatter galore in the Jacks mansion now, for everyone was up and about and Amber and Chad were there too, joining them for breakfast.

     Chad’s dark brown eyes were glued to Brenda as she entered the patio area with Juliet. The girl was simply an enchanting, bewitching goddess, he thought. Somehow he just had to make her his.

     Amber was not as pleased to see Brenda as her brother was. In that flirty white summer dress, Brenda looked far too fetching and Amber noticed that all the eyes of all the men seemed to be on her as she took her seat in between Juliet and Justin.

     Jax noticed Chad’s penetrating gaze on Brenda, which irked him in it's intensity, but she, in turn, was paying Chad no attention as she and Juliet giggled amongst themselves as if sharing some hysterical secret. Brenda’s smile made Jax smile.

     "All right now, are we all present and accounted for?" John Jacks asked looking around the table. "Looks like it. All right well then let’s bless the food before we devour it, shall we?"

     He said a prayer of thanks for the meal and then a hearty AMEN which his entire family echoed and then everyone began to dig in as forks clinked against plates and glasses were filled with the various juices on the table.

     Brenda looked at Jax who was watching her as she spoke with Justin and she gave him this look that suddenly put him on guard, Uh oh. She was up to something.

     "Soooo . ." Juliet drawled "what is everybody doing today?" she asked as she placed some fresh strawberries atop her pancakes.

     Brenda laughed and then Juliet did too and no one at the table understood where their mirth was coming from.

     "Well I’ve got to go to the office believe it or not and I’m dragging Jerry with me," John said. "That Hallmark merger is at a tricky stage and I don’t want to take any chances on someone else undermining us."

     "I’ll be trotting across town to see Lilith Taylor," Jane said. "Apparently she wants me to host a party for the reopening of the Orpheum Theater after the renovations are done next week and you know me and parties," she said tossing her hands in the air.

     Jax looked at his sister and then at Brenda trying to figure out what they were up to. Justin, was also trying to figure out what had the girls in such good humor.

     "What about you Justin?" Brenda asked.

     "I have to fly into New York to pick up Halle and then I’ll be working on this infuriating musical of mine," Justin said as took a golden hash brown from the plate his mother passed him.

     "Who’s Halle?" Brenda asked, sipping her orange juice.

     "That’s Justin’s very significant other," Juliet teased.

     "You’ve probably heard of her, Brenda. Halle Mitchell," Justin said.

     "Halle Mitchell? As in the movie actress?" Brenda asked, impressed.

     "One and the same," Jerry said. "Justin turns to mush in her presence. It’ll be very entertaining for you to witness, Brenda."

     "Well I’m not sure I’ll be here to witness it," Brenda said as she and Juliet dissolved into laughter again.

     "What is wrong with the two of you?" Jax demanded.

     "Maybe Vince is spiking the pancakes again," Devon murmured.

     "Oh we're fine. Say, what are you doing today, Jaxxy?" Juliet cooed as Brenda kicked her under the table and they both laughed again.

     "Well God knows I’m not hanging around here to watch the two of you laughing like intoxicated hyenas all day. Devon and I are going out to Jacks Isle. And might I suggest, dear little pest, that you seek immediate medical attention," Jax said with a smile.

     "Jacks Isle?" Brenda said, feigning ignorance. "Where would that be?"

     "Oh it’s in the Caribbean, luv," Jane said. "It’s a gorgeous private island in the midst of the chain of Caribbean islands, right next to Bimini and near St. Bart’s."

     Hazel eyes lit up with delight. "Wow! You guys are going to fly to the Caribbean? That sounds fabulous."

     Jax suddenly got an inkling of what the little Venus was up to. No way was he going to have her tagging along with him and Devon. Pleasant a distraction as she may be, he was not about to have her crashing in on his play time, for the next thing he knew she would be the one he was playing with and that was something he was determined to avoid at all costs. Flirting with her was fun and watching her was a great spectator sport and maneuvering her into getting all flustered and turned on by his attentions was amusing, but he wasn’t going to turn into her hang out buddy now let alone her summer fling. He nudged Devon. "I think we better go."

     They rose just as Brenda said. "Can I go too?"

     Jax looked at her as if he would like to lock her in a closet somewhere for an indeterminate period of time.

     His mother smiled at her son’s exasperated expression and looked down at her food. His grinning father looked at him expectantly as did his brothers. They all knew he could not say no.

     Jax gazed at Juliet but she was laughing into her napkin.

     "You don’t really want to go," he told Brenda. "We’re just going to tag some sharks. It’s boring and . ."

     "Boring? In the Caribbean? I doubt it," Brenda said. "I really would love to go. Can I?" she asked again. "Please?"

     "Ahh . . yeah, of course you can," Jax said, unable to say anything else thanks to the accursed, medieval hospitality rules his parents had implemented years ago.

     "Cool! Should I go change?" Brenda asked, her eyes gazing at him unflinching even though she knew he was annoyed with her.

     "Yes you should," he said. "We’ll have to stay overnight."

     "I’m going with you guys," Juliet piped in and her brother stared at her with an ‘I’ll get you back’ expression.

     Not to be outdone, Amber cleared her throat and said in her southern drawl. "I’d love to go too, Jax. There’s room on the jet for all of us isn’t there?"

     Brenda’s enthusiasm plummeted the minute Amber opened up her big mouth. Oh that woman, that leech! That indestructible cockroach!

     Jax saw the aggravation in Brenda’s eyes and he smiled. "There’s always room for you, Amber," he said and Brenda looked ready to go through the roof.

     "Well then add one more body to the pile will you, old buddy?" Chad requested, his eyes steady on Brenda, who’s eyes in turn were glued to Jax.

     Jax could not believe this. "Fine," he said. Anyone else?"

     His brothers, parents, sister and sister-in-law were attempting to stifle their laughter and his mother was wiping tears from her eyes as soft spasms of laughter kept escaping her.

     "Well, looks like you’ll have a full plane there son," John Jacks said as he let loose his laughter at last.

     "Yes it looks that way," Jax agreed as he gazed at Brenda. "Thank you, Brenda, how will I ever repay you?"

     His moody eyes were quite beautiful and it amazed her that even in such obvious annoyance he should look so magnificent.

     "Oh, think nothing of it," Brenda said with a gratuitous wave of her hand as Juliet convulsed into laughter.

     Oh believe me, I won’t soon forget it. And neither will you," he told her and the look in his eyes, probably meant to be foreboding was incredibly sexy and sent an involuntary, highly pleasurable shiver through her body.

     Jax, Devon and their unexpected four passengers climbed aboard the silver Lear Jet. An excited Brenda had tossed her backpack into the overhead compartment and was about to seat herself into the seat next to Juliet as Chad waited to seat himself next to Brenda, when Jax suddenly took hold of her hand, preventing her from sitting.

     "What do you think you’re doing?" he asked her.

     "Sitting," she responded.

     "Not here, you’re not. Surely you want to sit up front where you’ll be sure not to miss any of the sights," Jax said holding onto her in a manner that told her that she would be going with him to that cockpit one way or another.

     Juliet gave Brenda an "Uh oh" look and then tried to prevent Jax from doing whatever he was up to.

     "Jax, I want Brenda to sit here with me. I can show her all the landmarks," Juliet insisted.

     "I want her up front with me and since this is my plane, guess what? I arrange the seating," Jax said.

     Devon handed Brenda an airplane barf bag. "I think you may be needing this," he said as he and Jax both laughed.

     A ha! So Jax was planning to fly this plane like a maniac in the hopes of scaring her witless and make her regret coming with him, was he? Ha!

     "No thank you," she said bravely handing the bag back to Devon.

     "I would take it if I were you," Jax warned her.

     "I won’t need it," she said looking at him with a defiance that would have looked ridiculous on any other woman, but looked downright alluring on her.

     "Okay Braveheart," Jax said pulling her along with him up to the cockpit while Chad and Amber both looked on with displeasure.

     Jax sat her down in the passenger seat and pulled the seat belt across her, fastening it. He then knelt in front of her, his hands resting on her bare knees and getting her already jumping hormones even more agitated.

     "Is there any next of kin I should notify in case you fall out of the door when I bank right?" he asked her.

     She smirked cutely at him. "You don’t scare me," she insisted, but it wasn’t quite true. He did scare her. The way he made her feel when he touched her. It was downright terrifying because it felt like something she was not in control of, although, despite her bouts of fear, she had to admit that it was all deliciously exciting! The glint of excitement in her hazel eyes caught Jax by surprise as he felt a wave of desire ambush him.

     "Shall I read you the last rites?" he asked in a seductive whisper that had her even more flustered than before. "Or how about a last request? Maybe you’d like to get a pizza, or rob a bank or," he took his hand and brushed it against her face gently, "do something you’ve never done before but really want to?"

     She rolled her eyes and acted annoyed with him to try and cover for her hyper nerves. "Am I supposed to know what you’re referring to?"

     "Yes. Unless you're made of ice," he said as his hand traced down the curve of her neck and he felt her trembling beneath his touch."No ice here.'

     The emotions within Brenda were like a raging river. His touch was like fire and she didn’t know how to handle this power he had over her.

     "She trembles at my touch," he said. "What do we think that means?"

     "It means your ego is enormous," she responded, frustrated by her inability to quell her excitement.

     His hand went to her heart and he felt it beating crazily. "Hmm," he said. "I wonder what that’s all about? Are you excited about something?"

     "No," she lied and even she wanted to laugh at how her voice sounded – totally unconvincing.

     "Oh, I see," he said. "So you’re simply having a heart attack then?

     She laughed again. God he was funny!

     "I think you’re giving me indigestion, actually," she shot back.

     He grinned at her and she just wanted to kiss him like mad.

     "You sound somewhat agitated, Venus," he observed matter of faclty.

     "No that’s the sound of boredom you hear," she said yawning for effect.

     Jax was not fooled by her bravado. He knew he had her flustered and pleasantly confused.

     "The sound of tension, of a sexual nature I would say," he corrected her.

     "Try the sound of anger," she said getting more and more annoyed at how right he was and how like putty she felt around him in such close proximity as this.

     "Well you know what they say. Anger is just misguided passion," he said with a shrug as he winked at her which set her heart to leaping like a gazelle. Damn him. "Of course we can always put that to the test. Would you like to show me how angry you are?" he offered, spreading his arms to the sides as if indicating that his body was hers to do with as she pleased.

     Her hormones were doing crazy disco dances within her. "This isn’t fair," she told him, resisting the urge to touch him.

     "What isn't fair?" he asked, his hands once more resting on her knees and he had to laugh at how she jumped at the renewed contact.

     "Well I’m practically trapped here in this seat being forced to listen to you tell me how irresistible you are. It’s not like I can walk away or anything."

     "Well you’re the one who wanted to come with me in the first place," he reminded her as he leaned back a little. "You knew I wouldn’t be able to say no, didn’t you?"

     She began to whistle and gaze up at the ceiling, but said nothing.

     "Why did you want to come anyway? Are you really that interested in watching me give some bloody shark an electronic monitor?" he asked skeptically.

     "I love sharks," she lied.

     "Well I’m glad to hear that," he said, "because I just might feed you to them." he muttered getting up.

     "Jax!" she yelled. This was just like him to flirt with her like crazy, set her emotions to a frenzy and then turn around in the blink of an eye and act as if none of it ever happened.

     "Then again," he said as he strapped himself into the pilot’s seat and slipped on his sunglasses and then his head set. "I may take pity on the sharks and just take you down to the beach and feed you to me instead."

     His toying with her was driving her batty. Was any of his flirting serious? Was it all just a game? He was so good at this and she was powerless in the face of his playful seductions combined with his aloofness. She had no good come backs, no nothing. She could only sit there shivering with pleasure, her heart racing out of control wondering exactly what he meant by feeding her to himself instead of the sharks...

     "Ahh, this time I really have left the goddess speechless," he said with a cocky raise of his eyebrows as he got up. "With any luck you’ll remain that way until we get to the island."

     He began to receive orders from the control tower as Brenda watched him, still feeling that aura of excitement that always seemed present when she was anywhere near him. He was such an egotistical, manipulating Neanderthal!, she thought as she watched him. He just loved taking her to the edge with his flirtations and his oozing sex appeal and then just leaving her there to fall over like a besotted idiot. She dearly wanted to club him with a two by four. She glanced out the window and then back at him. And then after she clubbed him with that two by four . . . she wanted to marry him, she decided with a devilish, dimpled smile.

     He gazed over at her briefly and saw that her state of flux was subsiding as was indicative her the gorgeous smile she flashed him which hit him like lightning and the brassy kiss she blew at him when he scowled at her for launching that bewitching smile at him.

     "So what are the sleeping arrangements going to be when we get to Jacks Isle?" she asked, knowing it would get a reaction out of him.

     He hid his surprise well, however. "With any luck you’ll be sleeping outside with the Iguanas," he said.

     "You wouldn’t be an Iguana would you?" she responded thoughtfully.

     He couldn't believe she had said that. That was something he might have said to her in full flirt mode, but the fact that she had said it sort of blew his mind in a very cool way. They shared a gaze that was chock full of that good old sexual tension he had spoken of earlier. She laughed at how her come backs were coming back to her now and how suddnely he was the one with nothign to say. It was easier to concentrate when he wasn’t touching her or looking at her with those bedroom eyes or gazing at her lips as if he wanted to devour them or speaking to her in that voice that could charm the wool off a sheep.

     "Have I left you speechless?" she asked giving him an innocent hazel-eyed stare.

     He had to stay away from this one, he decided. But as he gazed at her, he knew that would be easier said that done. How was he going to do this?