Chapter XII ~ Secrets and Confessions

“Court?”  Jason questioned?

“Yeah?”

“We have a slight problem,” he replied wearily. 

“What’s that?” She asked, turning around to meet his gaze.  Her breath backed up in her throat.  Jason stood there, glisteningly wet with a small white towel wrapped around his narrow waist.  Water droplets were caught in the soft hair that travelled down his abdomen and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. 

“We have no clothes.” Jason stated.  Courtney’s head snapped up and their eyes locked. 

“Oh, my God….what are we going to do?”

Courtney stared in horror at Jason. What were they going to do?  She wasn’t a prude. Far from it but she could only handle so much.  She gulped and swallowed convulsively as she averted her eyes from his.

Slowly, she moved her eyes downward past the slightly crooked nose.  Smiling, she remembered a past conversation about the origins of that particular mishap.

“A golf club,” Jason said, looking her directly in the eyes.

“Golf???” Courtney sputtered.  “You expect me to believe that your nose was broken by a golf club?  Jason Morgan, hit man extraordinaire’s nose was broken by a golf club.” Courtney’s eyes gleamed in laughter as the chuckles she was holding back broke forth. 

“Seriously, years ago before I moved away from my hometown, my sister’s boyfriend and I had an altercation that involved golf clubs.  He ended up with a few broken bones and a black eye; I ended up with a broken nose.” Jason shook his head at Courtney who was holding her stomach in laughter.

Jason walked forward until he was eye to eye with her as she laughed in his face.  “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“No,” she giggled helplessly unable to stop the visions that danced in front of her eyes of Jason being hit with a golf club.  “Was there a lot of blood?”

“No, there wasn’t.”  Jason was trying hard to maintain his composure but her infectious giggle was making it hard.  “Listen,” he said, “it’s okay if you don’t believe me but would you please stop laughing?  You’re wounding my ego.”

“Oh, you mean your over-inflated, macho manly ego?” Courtney moved her head back and tilted it upwards to meet his sparkling blue gaze. “No, wait a minute…that’s something else that I was thinking about,” she answered herself cheekily winking at him.

Jason growled and grabbed her hips, pulling her flush against him.  “I’ll show you what’s over-inflated…” His voice trailed off as he dipped his head and slowly parted her lips with his….

“Courtney!”

Courtney was jerked back to reality as her name resounded through her head. 

“Courtney,” Jason said exasperated.  “Where did you float off too and why do you have that sappy grin on your face?” 

“Sorry,” she murmured softly. “I was just remembering…” 

“Remember what?” Jason asked softly.

Courtney shook her head, trying to clear it of the memories that constantly arose.  “It was nothing.  Sorry.”  Courtney ducked her head away from the probing blue of Jason’s eyes and focused her sight on his chest.  Golden brown skin filled her vision as she swept her eyes over highly defined pectorals and flat, brown nipples.  Her breath caught as her gaze alighted on some scars that hadn’t been on his chest the last time she’d had the pleasure of seeing it.  The last few water droplets clung in the soft hair that trailed down his abdomen.  The hard muscles appeared soft in the light from the bathroom but she knew better.  They were highly honed and as hard as rocks but they trembled and clenched in the past when she had played with them; dipping her fingernails and tongue within the grooves.

Swallowing hard, Courtney willed herself not to feel as she clenched her legs tightly together.  Sweeping her eyes further, she became focused on the soft terrycloth towel that wrapped around his narrow hips.  She couldn’t go any further…it was too much.

Courtney forced her gaze back to meet Jason’s.  He smiled teasingly at her.  “Are you finished inspecting me?”

“No, I only got as far as the towel…something there distracted me.  I’ll have to finish it later,” she said with a soft grin.  Why was she flirting with him?  Because, that tiny voice in her head said.  She had never been able to resist bating him, even when they had been embroiled in a fight.  She just hadn’t been able to do it.

“And I’ll let you inspect until your heart is content but right now we need to decide what to do about our clothes.” Jason stated.

“Yes, we do.  Does this hotel provide robes?  We could wear those and see if the concierge would buy some for us that we could wear tomorrow morning.”

“The concierge would do that?” Jason interrupted, stunned.

“Yes, it’s their job. They can arrange almost everything a guest could need.  I can’t wear this dress for much longer and your clothes are piled in a wet clump on the bathroom floor.”  Courtney smiled at her last sentence, some things never change.

“I know I saw robes hanging in the bathroom behind the door.  I’ll go and get them and then make a call down to the concierge.”  Jason smiled in reassurance at Courtney who was standing stock still, the events of the day finally catching up to her.  Her dress sagged off her shoulders, waiting to be taken off and her wet hair had begun to curl as it dried in the warm heat from the hotel room.

“I’ll go grab those robes so that you can get out of that dress and take a hot, relaxing bath.”  Grabbing the towel that had been slipping precariously, Jason turned and walked slowly back towards the bathroom.

Courtney’s breath caught as she stared after him.  Shaking her head, she cleared her mind and looked again.  What was that on his shoulder blade?  It couldn’t be….she hadn’t seen it earlier when he’d went to the shower.  But it was, she was positive…wasn’t she?  Jason Morgan with a tattoo?  The thought was mind-boggling.  He hadn’t had a tattoo when they’d been together before.  Courtney strained her eyes to try and make out the image but it was just a mass of black.  The door to the bathroom closed as Courtney envisioned Jason grabbing the robes.

“Hey, Jase?” Courtney called out.  She had to know.

“Yeah?” Came the muffled voice from behind the door.  The door reopened and Jason appeared in a short white, terrycloth robe.  The robe skimmed to his mid-thighs and left the rest of his legs bare.  A fine dusting of brown hair covered the hard muscles of his heavy thighs and broad calves tapering down to his feet.

“Um,” Courtney gulped.

“Yes?” Jason prodded.

“Jason Morgan, do you have a tattoo?”  She asked.  “I think I saw one when I turned around.”  She smiled impishly at him and watching in rising shock as a blush rose up Jason’s neck.  She’d seen him blush before but only when naughty things were being done to him.  Chuckling, she took his blush as an assent and started to pester him with questions.  “Turn around.  What did you get?  When did you get it?  Did it hurt?” 

“Stop!” Jason held up his hand and cast his eyes downwards.  “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, just let me call the concierge.”  Jason walked over to Courtney and held out the robe that had been clenched in his hands.  “Here, take the robe and go have your bath or shower.  I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready and then we can talk.”

The robe dangled from his fingertip and Courtney reached out to take it.  Electricity crackled in the air as their fingertips touched slightly.  Grasping the robe, Courtney took it firmly in her sweaty palms. Jason turned to go into the sitting room to call the concierge leaving Courtney to wonder after him.  Swiftly, she grabbed the complimentary honeymoon basket from the side table and walked into the bathroom.  Surely, she could find the things she needed to make herself look presentable. 

Jason heard the water of Courtney’s shower turn off as he moved throughout the bedroom.  The concierge was having clothes sent up in the early morning and a bottle of Merlot was sitting on the table breathing.  A wine glass and an ice cold bottle of beer sat beside the bottle.  Courtney had always liked a glass of wine to unwind and relax when she had been stressed out.  He hadn’t forgotten…he remembered everything. And now she wanted to know about his tattoo…what was he going to say?  Unconsciously, he reached up and rubbed the place where his tattoo resided.  How would he explain?

Jason jolted slightly as he heard the door to the bathroom open and close softly.  Turning around, he stared at the angel in front of him.  Devoid of makeup, Courtney’s natural beauty shone through.  The robe that she wore hung just below her the tops of her thighs and was cinched loosely around her waist.

Her blonde hair was wrapped up in a white towel and swept off of her face.  A few curling tendrils escaped the towel wrap and he smiled at how young she appeared.  Walking over to the table, he poured a glass of wine and motioned to the bed. 

“We need to talk, Courtney. Why don’t you relax on the bed?”

Courtney looked at him questioningly but moved silently to the bed.  Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she slid over to the centre and curled her feet under her.  Jason grabbed his beer and walked over to stand beside her.  He held out the glass of wine and Courtney took it.

“You remembered?” she said in disbelief.

“Of course, I remembered.  We lived together for over year…how could I not remember?” He asked.

She shrugged slightly and changed the topic.  “Tell me about your tattoo…SHOW ME IT.”

Jason winced and backed away from the bed slightly. “It’s stupid, Courtney.  You don’t want to hear the story.”

Holding her glass tightly so that she wouldn’t spill it, Courtney rose up on her knees and leaned over the edge of the bed.  She grabbed his arm and pulled him gently towards the bed.  “Sit!  You are going to tell me everything.  There will be no walking away from this conversation.”

Jason sighed heavily and joined Courtney on the bed.  He bowed his head slightly and watched his hands as they played with the long neck of the beer bottle.  The soft hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he felt Courtney shift on the bed so that she was kneeling behind him.  Fingertips brushed the back of his neck and he felt the tugging of the robe as Courtney tried to pull it off his shoulder.  The fabric caught on the broad expanse of the breadth of his shoulders and Courtney grunted in frustration as she pulled harder on the collar of the robe.

Jason chuckled softly and pulled the knot on the robe open.  The robe fell open and black boxers came into view.  “Thanks,” she whispered.  Courtney swallowed and cleared her throat as she pulled the robe off of his shoulders, unveiling the image that was branded onto his smooth skin.

Courtney gasped and her eyes stung with tears as she slowly brought her fingertips up to trace the motorcycle.  Jason clenched his shoulder as he felt her move and trace the letters entwined over the handlebars of the bike - J and C.  Courtney couldn’t believe that he had gotten a tattoo…she was even more astonished about the image he had chosen.

“I understand the motorcycle, Jason.  What do the letters mean? Obviously, the J stands for Jason but what about the C.  I know that you don’t have a middle name.” 

“Courtney.” Jason said.

“What?” She asked him, confused.

Jason twisted his head and met her eyes.  “Courtney.  The letter C stands for Courtney.”

Courtney’s jaw dropped open in surprise and she stared at Jason in shock.  Her knees gave way and she sagged against the firm muscles of his back.

“You can’t be serious,” she said in disbelief. “When did you get this tattoo?  I’ve never seen it before.  It had to have been after we’d broken up.”

“It was and it wasn’t,” Jason said cryptically.  He shifted forward slightly and fluidly shrugged the robe back into place, tying it tightly around his waist and hiding the proof of what she did to him when she was in such close proximity in the process. 

Courtney thought back to the memories she had of their break up but the events that took place during that period was hazy at best.  “Jason, you’d better explain,” she stated calmly, taking a few sips of her wine before leaning over and setting it on the bedside table. 

Jason looked at her in and knew that the time had come to lay all of his cards out on the table.  Tilting up his beer bottle, he drained the last of liquid that remained.  He savoured the yeasty tang of the cold beer and Courtney watched helplessly as the strong column of his throat worked sensuously.  Finishing the last drop, he set the bottle besides her glass and turned around so he could face her.

Unconsciously, he reached for her hands and held them in his.  She knew that she should resist but she felt the urge to touch him while he explained. Jason took a deep breath for fortification and met Courtney’s searching blue gaze.

The time had come.

“Think back,” he said.  “We had never planned to break up for good; it was just a temporary split.  Beck had been finally found out the truth and he’d put the hit out on the organization.”

“I remember,” she murmured.

“We talked at length with the men and with each other about the best course of action.  We could have taken Beck’s operation down in a heartbeat but not without exposing you to Sonny and to the other organizations and there was no way that I was going to allow you to do that,” Jason stated fiercely, his mind replaying the angry conversations that they’d had regarding the predicament.

“But I wanted to be exposed,” Courtney remembered.  “I was tired of hiding.  I wanted everyone to know that we were together and that I actually worked with you and wasn’t some clueless blonde bimbo like everyone assumed.”  Courtney laughed shortly as she remembered the times where the bimbo act had come in handy.  “When Beck found out that we were double-crossing him, we knew that he’d come after us but you didn’t want me to be put in danger with the other families.”

“That’s right,” he said softly as he ran his fingers over her palms.  He smoothed them over worn calluses that provided the information about her previous life. “And you didn’t get hurt…you were safe.  We broke up and you went into hiding…to have no contact with me or anyone from your previous life until after Beck and his organization had been taken care off.”

“And I did exactly what we had planned on.”

“I know you did.  I was the one who broke our agreement.” Jason hoarsely confided.  “I was supposed to contact you after the fall of his empire and I didn’t.”

Tears welled in Courtney’s eyes as she remembered the desolation that she had felt, waiting for him to come back for her.  Waiting and wondering.  Waiting and wondering.

“You never called.  You didn’t come back.”  A lone tear slipped down Courtney’s smooth face, unheeded. 

“I know that I didn’t come back for you.  I couldn’t.  After we left and I took down Beck’s organization, I got hurt.”

“Hurt?”  Courtney asked, fear making her voice catch.

“Yeah,” Jason said sheepishly.  “I was shot in the chest twice and my right leg and left arm were broken in the raid against his organization.”

Courtney’s face lighted with concern as she pulled her right hand out of Jason’s and pushed the lapels of his robe away.  Her fingertips sifted over the scars from the bullets that she had seen earlier.  “These are the scars?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yes.  I got caught at the tail end of the takedown and the man who captured me had some fun torturing me before shooting me and leaving me for dead.” Jason winced at the memories of that time period.

“Who was the man?” Courtney asked fiercely, her training kicking in.  She wanted revenge. 

“He’s dead now,” Jason stated.

“Did you kill him?” Courtney asked, her voice soft as her hand reached back down and grabbed his. 

“No.” Jason looked into Courtney’s eyes deeply.  “I didn’t kill him but he died when I was rescued.”

“Who rescued you?”

“Max.” Jason stated as he watched Courtney smile.  “When you left, he became indispensable to me.  He went in after the raid and I was missing.  I was close to death and Beck was—“

“Beck,” Courtney interrupted.  “It was Beck who tortured you?”

Jason grimaced and mentally kicked himself for his outburst.  He had not wanted Courtney to find that piece of information out.  “Yes, it was Beck.  We thought we’d got him in the initial takedown but he’d arranged it so that it was a setup.  I didn’t know and walked into his trap.”  Jason shook his head as he remembered his stupidity. “When Max rescued me, Beck was just sitting beside me, watching as the life poured out of me like the blood from my wounds.  It was only hours from the time that I had gotten captured but it had seemed like eons.”  Jason’s voice trailed off as the memories and the pain took over.

“What happened next?” Courtney prodded for Jason to continue.

“I was in and out of conscious at this point and I don’t remember it at all.  I just know what Max told me.  Max came up silently and shot Beck from point-blank range.  He died instantly.  Max got me out of there and I was sent to a private hospital in Miami.” 

The tears started to fall more rapidly from Courtney’s eyes and Jason reached up to softly brush them away. “How badly were you hurt?” She asked inanely.

“It was bad.  Both of my lungs were collapsed and I also had several broken ribs.  I was on the ventilator to regulate my breathing until my lungs healed enough so that I could try breathing on my own.  I had to have surgery and have pins put into my arm so that it healed properly.”  Jason raised the sleeve of his left arm and showed Courtney the thin scars that were on his forearms.  Courtney’s fingers reached out and softly caressed the scars leaning down to kiss them softly. 

“To take away the pain,” she said, smiling tremulously up at him.

“Thank you,” he said.  Jason’s eyes began to well up with tears as the moment that he had longed for with all of his heart had finally arrived.

“Sonny came down to visit me and as soon as I was well enough, I was shipped out to the island to finish my final recuperation. I was on that godforsaken island for over six months.” Jason growled furiously, his fingers clenching as he remembered the forced inactivity.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Courtney asked tearfully.  “I would have taken care of you.”

Jason reached out and cupped her chin in his hand.  “I wanted to call you, but I couldn’t. I was incapacitated for the first month and couldn’t talk at all.  Remember, I was the only one who knew where you were and I couldn’t give Max the responsibility of tracking you down.  No one but us knew our system.” He wrested his hands from Courtney’s tight grasp and reached out to pull her closer. 

Courtney smiled and crawled into the space that he made between his legs.  She listened intently to his melodious voice as he continued his story, “I couldn’t ask Sonny to find you. That would have blown all we had planned for out of the water.  So, I prayed that you would wait for me.  When I was well enough to finally track you down, I couldn’t find you.  You had vanished from any known circles.” 

Courtney remembered when she had finally given up all hope that he was coming back for her.  It hadn’t been good.  “I thought that you were gone, that you’d given up.  I had no idea where you were.  I tried to contact people within the organization but no one would give me any answers,” she said softly.  “They all told me that you had died.”

“That was the patented response given to people asking,” Jason said.  “It wasn’t my idea, it was Sonny’s but we had to go along with it.  I had no choice.”

“I know that now but I had no idea back then,” she said.  Jason rested his chin on Courtney’s head and sighed as the weight of two years of secrets was finally lifted from his shoulders.  “You still haven’t answered my original question though, when did you get that tattoo?” 

Jason smiled at her tenacity. “After I moved back to the States and had exhausted all avenues of finding you.  I was in New Orleans—“

“Where we met,” she breathed.

“Yeah, where we met,” he said. “I was walking down a street and saw a tattoo parlour and it hit me.  A tattoo.  It was the perfect way to honour our love and always keep a piece of you and our love with me.  So, I went in and talked to the man and the bike with the letters was what we came up with.  I walked out three hours later with it on my shoulder.”  Jason smiled at the memory.

“Do you regret it?”  She asked.

“No!” He replied fiercely.  “You are the love of my life and even though we weren’t together, that tattoo symbolizes THE best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Courtney smiled through the salty tears that made their way down her cheeks again. “You are the best thing that ever happened in my life too.”

Jason swallowed convulsively.  He didn’t want to ask this question but he had too.  He had to know.  “Why did you marry A.J. then?” Courtney’s head jerked up at the softly spoken words.  

The time had come for her.

Courtney turned in Jason’s embrace and met his eyes with hers.  “After I had given up hope that you were coming back for me, I moved to Port Charles.”

“To rescue your mother, right?”

“No, to be close to you.  I’ve always known that you were from Port Charles, that’s where Sonny runs the business from.  Yes, somehow my mother had gotten herself embroiled in a fiasco there but I was fed up with her by then.  When you showed up in Port Charles again, I was stunned and immediately put my game face on.  There was no way that I was going to jump into your arms and ask you where you had been.  I have too much pride for that,” Courtney said ruefully.

“I know. Now that I know that you are Sonny’s sister, your stubbornness and pride make a lot of sense.”

“So,” she continued. “I kept the pretense up. I had been pretty sure that the organizations were lying to me when they had said you were dead. I knew for a fact when I finally met Sonny and Carly and became a part of their family.  Carly couldn’t stop talking about you but she never mentioned you by name.  The rules of the business were too engrained in her for that but I knew who she was talking about.  Then, I met A.J.” Jason grimaced at the name but Courtney persevered.  “I always knew that you’d eventually return to Port Charles and I wanted to prove to you that I had gotten over you.  Sonny and Carly were against us dating in the first place but he was so sweet and nice.  And I was determined to forget you and make a new life for myself.”

Courtney averted her eyes from Jason for a minute and then forced herself to continue.  “He swept me up in a whirlwind romance…it was nothing compared to what you and I had shared but I kept forcing myself to feel something for him.  I did come to love him in a way but it paled in comparison to what you and I shared.”

“And then you married him,” Jason stated.

“And then I married him.  Turns out of course, that we weren’t truly married but the actions were still there,” Courtney said. “But now, now I’m free again.  Free to begin a new chapter of my life.”

“With me?” Jason asked softly, his heart pounding as he waited for her answer.

Courtney looked deep into Jason’s blue eyes and saw her future flash before her eyes. A white picket fence, four beautiful children…the time had finally come.  “With you,” she confirmed, a huge smile breaking out on her face.

Jason’s heart started to beat again and he pulled her into his arms.  “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he murmured. “I solemnly promise never to hurt you again.  I love you.”

Tears slipped down Courtney’s cheeks and this time they were happy.  “I love you too,” Courtney managed to whisper before Jason’s lips covered hers.  Softly, his tongue swept across the crease between her lips and slightly parted them. Her mouth fell open willingly and his tongue delved in.  His tongue thrust into her mouth and coaxed hers to come out and play.

As Courtney put her tongue in motion, Jason curled his around hers and their kiss grew.  Their tongues took turn reacquainting themselves with the inner workings of a mouth that each of them had carnal knowledge of.  Gasping for air, Jason pulled away from Courtney.  Looking at her, he asked for permission to take this to the next step.

“Do you want this?  Are you ready?” He asked hoarsely.

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for this moment for the past two years.” Courtney stated firmly.

Jason’s lips descended upon hers and they began to kiss in earnest. Jason’s hands came up and slowly untied the knot at her waist of her robe.  The robe fell open and Jason pushed the lapels away uncovering her beautiful flesh. 

Courtney’s breasts rose as she took inhaled and Jason took advantage, leaning down to kiss them.  Softly, he swirled his tongue around her rosy pink nipples.  Sucking gently, he pushed her back until she was lying on the bed and feasted gently.

Courtney struggled beneath him and finally pulled her arms out of the robe.  Arching her hips, she brought them into contact with his hard muscles, coaxing him to lower his weight onto her.  Jason smiled softly against her breasts and continued his slow assault.  Courtney’s hands moved to his waist and fumbled with the knot of his robe. 

She moaned in frustration and arousal as Jason’s mouth took full possession of a pink nipple.  Jason sucked fiercely as Courtney’s fingers finally got the knot free.  Her hands grabbed the shoulders of his robe and pushed them off.  Jason laughed into her breasts as he moved to switch his attention to the other one and shrugged out of the robe.

As he continued to kiss her soft breasts, Courtney arched into him and grabbed his shoulders fiercely.  Jason’s mouth travelled away from her breasts and continued his course down her soft skin.   Courtney’s hands fisted in the short brown strands of his hair as he reached her abdomen, his teeth playing with the soft white lacy band of her panties.

Courtney moaned in frustration.  She wanted him now!  “Jason,” she gasped in pleasure as his fingers began playing with her nipples. “I can’t take much of this anymore…I’ve waited too long.  I need you now!” Courtney grabbed his hair and forced his head up her body.  Jason didn’t resist her pulling but made it hard for her to continue as his tongue trailed up the length of her body to meet her face.

Jason’s lips met Courtney’s and as he brought them into a soft kiss, Courtney took over.  Her teeth and tongue attacking his mouth.  Her hips arched and she shoved her panties down her thighs.  “Help me, Jason. I can’t get them off.”

“Slow down, honey.” Jason said, his hand brushing hers away and slowly pushing her panties down her legs.  As soon as they cleared her feet, Courtney raised her legs and provided the cradle for Jason to lie in. 

“We have to hurry, Jason,” she said.  “I need you NOW!”  Courtney’s nails raked down the expanse of Jason’s broad back.  Finally, her hands slipped under his boxers and pushed them down. Finally.  He was free and she was ready.

Hot.

Aching.

Damp.

Aroused.

Jason kicked out of his boxers and settled himself between his legs.  Slowly, he cupped her face and looked deeply into her eyes. “I love you.” Courtney smiled at his words and arched her hips against his feeling his hard erection probe her warm depths.

Jason knew that he had to be careful.  It had been a long time for him and he didn’t want to blow this moment. Slowly, he manoeuvred the broad head of his erection into place and slowly thrust forward.  In and out.  He slid farther in and she felt her muscles begin to contract and relax around his hardness.

Jason sighed in pleasure as he sank his full length inside her.  He had come home.  His control breaking, Jason began to thrust harder and faster.  They needed each other so much.  As his tempo increased, Courtney rose to the occasion her wet warmth caressing him. 

“I’m almost there,” she murmured.

“I know,” he said.  “I know everything about you.” Jason rose up her body and angled deeper into her so that with every down stroke, he pressed hard against her clitoris, the centre of her pleasure.  Thrusting up against him, she moaned in pleasure as the world exploded around her.  As Courtney exploded, Jason thrust once, twice and then let himself follow her into bliss.

Breathing heavily, Jason lowered himself down beside Courtney and gathered her up in his arms, one being…still connected.

“I love you, Jason.”

“And I love you ….always no matter what.”

Chapter XIII – Normalcy

The first rays of the faint morning sunshine broke over the tops of the buildings and in through the windows of the hotel.  Sunlight streamed through the vertical blinds of the balcony window directly hitting the face of the man who laid asleep in the king size bed.

“Hhmph…” The man groaned softly and flung his left arm up to cover his eyes. Rolling slightly onto his right side, his hand seeked out the warmth that he felt.  He smiled softly, thanking God that he hadn’t been dreaming like so many other nights in his life.  His hand made contact with the soft flesh of a woman as he gently pulled her into his embrace.

“Mmmmm,” the woman murmured and snuggled deeper into the man’s embrace, breathing deeply of the scent that clung to him. Her hand came up and made contact with the hard muscles of chest, covered by his smooth, hot skin.  She smiled devilishly into his side as she heard a deep groan and his breath contracted as her fingers circled his nipple.

“You do know that you’re playing with fire?” Jason muttered as he took his hand away from his eyes to look at the goddess lying in his arms. 

Courtney smiled impishly up at him, her blonde hair hopelessly tangled, as he played with the soft strands of it. “No, the fire is further south, this is just a flame.”  Courtney giggled at the shock on Jason’s face.  “Well, it’s the truth,” she said in defence of her actions.

“Yeah…you would know, I guess.”  Jason laughed and dipped his head, his lips making contact with her forehead. His lips trailed over her face until they met her lips.  They smiled and kissed softly, their tongues searching, saying good morning to each other.

Jason pulled away slightly and looked into the clear blue depth of her eyes. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Courtney replied, her hands running over his back, dipping under the sheet that lay around his waist.  Jason smiled but pulled away from her reluctantly. “Jason.  Where are you going?” Courtney whined softly, her arms reaching for him.  We don’t have any place to be, we can just lounge in bed all day and rest.” Courtney smiled persuasively and pushed the bed sheet down enticingly.

“Rest? Somehow, I don’t think you have resting in mind.” Jason replied with a raised eyebrow as he looked at her.

“You think, you know me so well don’t you?” Courtney smiled and rolled onto her stomach, pulling the sheet up over herself. “Since you don’t want to partake, I guess that I’m going to have to just get a little more sleep.”

Jason got out of the bed, rising to stand beside it.  Naked in all his glory, he reached down and pulled the sheet back.  Courtney shivered as the cold hit her and yelped as Jason’s firm palm landed squarely on her smooth bottom. 

“What was that for, Morgan?” Courtney growled as she turned her head to glare at him. Her breath backed up in her chest and she momentarily lost her composure as she stared at him.

“Cat got your tongue,” he asked cockily, reaching down to pull her off the bed.

Courtney tried to resist and grabbed onto the mattress but he was too strong.  She scrambled to stand beside him and glared as his arms came around her.

“We have things to do today, babe.” Jason said and bent his head to kiss the tip of her nose. 

“How in the world could we have things to do today, Jason?  We haven’t even been here for twenty-four hours,” Courtney asked exasperated.

“I have my ways,” he mysteriously replied and broke out of their embrace, his hand staying on her back. He firmly pushed her towards the bathroom. “Go take a shower.”

“Alone?” Courtney teased as she walked slowly towards the massive bathroom.

“Yes, alone.” Jason grinned as he stared at her firm backside. “If we shared that shower, we’d never get to enjoy what is planned for today.”

The bathroom door closed on Jason’s statement and he stood there until he heard the water turn on. Spinning around he grabbed his forgotten robe that lay crumpled on the floor and hastily pulled it on.  He walked to the phone on the desk and picked it up. Punching a button, he listened to the phone ring.

“Jean?  It’s Mr. Niceass from the bridal suite.  Is everything ready as I requested?”  Jason listened intently to the man’s words on the other end of the line, smiling softly to himself as he jotted some things down on the notepad beside the phone.  “That’s perfect.  Thank you.”  Jason put the phone back in it’s cradle and waited patiently.

Knock, knock

Walking to the door, he peeked through the eyehole in the door.  A bellhop stood their nervously holding some clothes. Jason opened the door and reached for the clothes. 

“Thank you,” he said gruffly, signing the slip of paper that the bellhop carried.  Placing a large tip in the stunned boy’s hand he quietly shut the door in his face and moved back into the suite. He walked over to the bed and separated the clothes out on the bed.  Jeans for both of them, a black t-shirt for him and a red shirt for Courtney was the dress code for the day.  Respective undergarments for both of them and they were ready to roll.

Jason picked up the clothes and walked to the bathroom.  He knocked once and opened the door, steam rushing to greet him as he walked through.  As his eyes adjusted, the shower turned off and a golden arm emerged from behind the glass doors and grabbed a towel from the heated bath bar.  Jason smiled and stared as he watched Courtney emerge.

“Hey,” he said softly, laughing as Courtney jumped.

“Christ, Jason.  One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack.” Courtney glared and turned toward the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

“I come baring gifts,” he replied, holding up the pile of clothes in his hands. 

“You’re a genius, Morgan.” Courtney spun around and grabbed the clothes from Jason’s hands. She dumped them on the bathroom floor and rooted them, finding the ones that were hers.  Jason smiled as he heard her murmuring to herself about colours and fabrics.

“I’m taking my shower now, there’s a basket of necessities on the bathroom counter there.” Jason shrugged out of his robe and walked into the shower, turning the water on full blast.  Courtney smiled and slowly began to get dressed.  Jason hadn’t forgotten a thing since the time they had lived together…he knew her morning bathroom routine down to a science.

She grabbed the bottle of her favourite lotion from the basket and smoothed it over her skin.  As she reached her right hip, her fingers hesitated over the mark there.  She was surprised that he hadn’t seen it yet but maybe he was just too concerned with other things.  Finishing her lotion routine, Courtney slipped on her clothes, and then grabbed the hair brush from the basket.

Deciding to let her hair air-dry, she pulled the brush through the tangled locks until her hair laid like a gleaming halo around her face.  She put the hairbrush down and picked up the mascara wand, only to be halted by the sound of his voice.

“You don’t need makeup. You’re already a beautiful angel.”  Courtney’s eyes met Jason’s in through the mirror as he dried himself off with the towel.

“And that Mr. Morgan is a line…a very bad line at that.”

“Well, I try.” Jason slipped into his clothes, leaving his shirt off as he came to stand beside Courtney at the sink.  Reaching around her, he placed a kiss on her lips and grabbed the shaving kit from the basket. Courtney watched stealthily as Jason began to arrange the pieces of the kit. Shaving cream was squirted into his hands and she watched as he spread the white lather over his stubbled cheeks. 

“Hey!” Courtney exclaimed in shock. She’d been so intent on watching him that she’d missed the devious gleam in his eyes and had ended up with a streak of cream down the right side of her face. “That was uncalled for, Morgan,” she said wiping the cream off with her finger.

“Yeah, I know. But you looked so cute trying to hide that you watching me that I thought I’d provide us with some entertainment.” A grin flashed across his face as he raised the razor and made a clean stroke down his neck leaving a trail of smooth bronzed skin in its wake.

“Entertainment?  You want entertainment?” Quick as a flash, Courtney’s hand made contact with Jason’s chest and smeared the cream across his nipple.

Glancing at down at his chest, Jason smiled ruefully. “I should’ve known that you’d do that. You always] do that.” He shook the razor off and began to make another stroke.

“You’d best be careful there, you wouldn’t want to nick yourself and cause your pretty face to be scarred,” Courtney smiled wickedly as she hung the towels up on the bar and walked backwards out of the room.  “I’m going to order up some breakfast, do you want any?”

“I’m not hungry for food,” Jason mumbled.

“What was that, honey?” Courtney called facetiously having heard him the first time.

“Coffee, black coffee.” Jason called louder as he wiped his face with a towel and put his razor away. He picked up his t-shirt and slipped it on, the smooth fabric clinging to the contours of his muscled chest.  He threw the towel haphazardly over the other towels and shut the lights off, walking out to join Courtney who lounged on the bed with various sections of the newspaper spread around her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m reading, Einstein.  What does it look like I’m doing?” Courtney smiled up at Jason as he groaned and took the hand that she held out to him. He looked down sceptically at the bed and she shoved the papers to the floor and pulled him down. 

“Walked right into that one, didn’t I?” 

“Yes, yes you did.” Courtney grinned and leaned over to kiss him softly. A moan of pleasure arose from his lips as he deepened the kiss, his arm sliding behind her back to bring her closer.  The crinkle of the newspaper joined with the sounds of the their breathing, as their tongues met and they slowly began to explore each other’s mouths.

A faint knocking sound began to intrude into the kiss but Jason ignored it, pushing the kiss further. “Jason!” Courtney tore her mouth away from his and dropped her head onto his chest.  He shook his head as the knocking grew louder.

“Room service!  Room service!” A male voice yelled through the heavy oak doors.  “Did you order room service?”

Jason groaned and wiped the lipstick off his face. “I guess we’d better get that. Hang on a minute,” his voice rose at the end to stall the man at the door. He rose off the bed, kicking the papers and smoothing out his shirt that had been wrinkled by the clutch of Courtney’s fingers. Courtney watched him walk away, towards the door, admiring the strong lines of his back under snug cotton and the fit of his jeans over a firmly muscled butt.

As Jason wheeled the breakfast tray back in, he looked curiously at Courtney. “I think the hotel screwed up our breakfast order. There is a lot of food here.”

“Oh, I ordered breakfast for you too.” Courtney smiled sheepishly.

“I just wanted coffee,” Jason whined, knowing that he’d have to eat breakfast now.

Courtney smiled winningly, “But you have to keep your strength up and I know that you can never turn down a plate of scrambled eggs.”

“Mmmm, scrambled eggs.” Jason smiled and started to arrange the food onto the plates.  He put a splash of cream and sugar into one cup of coffee and carried it over to Courtney.  “Here.” He said passing her the cup.

Courtney accepted the cup of hot liquid and solemnly watched Jason as he went back to get the plates of food. She smiled slightly when the soft fabric of his jeans pulled taut against his muscled buttocks as he bent over to retrieve the breakfast trays from the bottom of the dinner cart. Jason turned around holding the trays to his chest and walked back over to the bed, pulling the cart behind him. He pushed the rest of the newspaper onto the floor and Courtney shifted back onto the bedspread, plumping the pillows up to provide extra support. Jason set the tray over Courtney’s lap and then placed the plate of food on it.  He smiled as she leaned forward, allowing her t-shirt to gap and provide him with a view of her ample bosom. 

“Quit staring,” Courtney said, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs as she took her first bite of the breakfast.

“Sorry,” Jason murmured, a faint rosy tinge creeping up his neck. She’d always had the power to make him blush even in the most innocent of situations.  He shook his head in amazement and laughed silently that Jason Morgan, the enforcer blushed when caught looking at his girlfriend’s chest. 

The mattress depressed slightly as Jason sat down beside Courtney, swinging his feet up and shifting until his back met the pillows.  He shook his head in amazement as Courtney cleaned the last piece of toast off her plate. He started to eat the food on his plate and looked sideways at Courtney wryly.

“You couldn’t have waited for me to eat with you?”

“Nope!” Courtney smiled impishly and her snuck out to steal a piece of bacon from his plate. Courtney’s wrist was grabbed by firm fingers and she dropped the bacon back onto the plate.

“Don’t even think about,” he warned, picking the victimized bacon up and eating it slowly, relishing the pout that appeared on Courtney’s face.  “Sorry, sweetie,” he said, leaning over to kiss her pouty lips. “That. Bacon. Is. Mine.” Each word was punctuated with a quick kiss and Jason pulled back before Courtney could do bodily harm to him.

“Hmmph,” Courtney stated, as she turned away from Jason and leaned off the bed to pick up the scattered pages of the newspaper. The papers crinkled slightly as she smoothed them out and began to read.

“What’cha reading?” Jason asked through his last mouthful of food. He swallowed slowly and shoved the breakfast trays to the floor, the sturdy plates bouncing off the hardwood floors but not breaking.

“The Entertainment section,” replied Courtney.

Jason sighed heavily, “Entertainment? Didn’t I teach you anything when we were together?  Entertainment is for girls…politics.  That’s what you should be reading.”

“Jason, I AM a girl!” Courtney exclaimed, exasperatedly shaking her head.  She’d never understand male chauvinism.

“I know you are, I just meant…” Jason backtracked hastily seeing the error of his ways.

“And since I am a girl, I’m reading the Entertainment section, trying to decide what we should do this afternoon.” Courtney told him, sticking her tongue out at the twinkling blue eyes that looked back at her.

“What are our choices?” Jason asked warily, his eyes darting around the room in panic.

“Let’s see,” Courtney trailed the tip of her finger down the paper, disregarding obvious choices in her head.  “We could see a Broadway Musical,” she announced triumphantly, grinning wickedly when Jason’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“A mus…musical,” Jason sputtered.  “Let’s not…what about a…” Jason scrambled frantically to come up with something to replace Courtney’s choice. “A hockey game!  The…” Jason racked his brain trying to come up with a name of a team… “The Sabres…yeah we could go see the New York Sabres.” Jason smiled winningly as Courtney gasped for laughter.  “What??”

“Jason….you really shouldn’t try to fool me. I grew up watching Mike live gambling on sports and cards.  It’s the BUFFALO Sabres and the New York ISLANDERS or RANGERS.” Courtney giggled at the crestfallen look on Jason’s face.

“If you don’t want to go and see a musical…we could see,” Courtney checked the paper again. “We could go to the Opera.”  Jason gulped, choking over the lump that had miraculously formed in his throat.

“The opera?” Jason asked.

Courtney smiled at Jason, watching the look of sheer horror dawn. “Yes, the opera. We could get all dressed up. Just imagine…” Courtney stared dreamily off into space.  “You in a tuxedo, we could go shopping today for an evening dress for me.  Watching Don Giovanni and enjoying the music that goes along with the story.”

“Um….” Jason tried hard to think of a reason that they couldn’t go to see the opera.  “What about a… a baseball game.  See here!” Jason’s finger stabbed the corner of the paper advertising a baseball game.  “The Boston Red Sox versus the New York Yankees.  We could go eat popcorn, drink some beer and watch America’s past time.” Jason pleaded anxiously.

“I don’t like baseball…why would I want to watch that?” Courtney asked, not afraid to voice her opinions.

“Um…tight uniforms, jock straps and muscles?” Jason said, wincing at the light that lit up Courtney’s eyes.

“Okay…I can handle that.” Courtney said…”But on one condition,”

“What’s that?”

“We can go to Yankee Stadium, watch the ball game…”

“And then?”

“And then we’ll go out to the ballet and a late dinner?” Courtney announced, smiling up at Jason.

“The ballet???]”  Jason groaned and covered his eyes with his palms, dragging them down his face.

“Yeah! Men in tights, women in pink tutus. It’s the fantasy that every macho man indulges in.” Courtney smiled and bounced off the bed, only to be stopped when a bronzed hand grabbed her arm.  With a yank, Jason pulled Courtney back onto the bed. He leaned over her menacingly and looked solemnly at her.

“This macho man doesn’t indulge in those fantasies.”  Jason’s hand trailed down Courtney’s side caressing the smooth skin between her hem of her shirt and the waistband of her pants. His hand slipped up the smooth skin of her back, pressing her up against him as he dipped his head to Courtney’s.

“Oh yeah,” Courtney gasped, her fingers rising to rub against the cotton of his t-shirt. “What…” Jason’s fingers moved around to caress the smooth skin of her stomach, his fingers dipping into her navel. “What…what kind of fantasies do you indulge in?”

“Um…blonde hair…” Jason’s hand crept up her stomach, his fingers touching the scalloped lacy edging of Courtney’s bra. Courtney gasped at the feelings, her muscles involuntarily tightened throughout her body as her nipples beaded, thrusting against the confines of the bra. His marauding fingers slipped around her back again, flicking the closure of the bra open.  The cool air washed against her nipples and Courtney smiled hazily, desire clouding her eyes as Jason’s head moved to her neck, placing small kisses against the soft skin.

“Blonde hair… that’s it?” Courtney asked breathing heavily as her bra was pushed up her chest, confining her arms to her side.  The hot touch of Jason’s fingers on her nipples was more than she could bear and she arched into his touch, her nipples begging for the throbbing ache to be assuaged.

“Um…” Jason grunted as Courtney bucked up against his hips, forcing him to sit back. He watched as Courtney grabbed the hem of her shirt and pull it off, her lacy black bra following. The clothes landed on the floor beside the bed and Courtney grabbed Jason’s shirt, twisting the fabric in her hands. 

“Well??” Courtney asked, her hands pushing his shirt up over his muscled arms, caressing the crisp hair that covered his muscles.  Jason wrestled the fabric from Courtney’s fingers and pulled the shirt the rest of the way off, throwing it to join in with the other clothes.

Courtney’s hands smoothed down his chest and reached the waistband of his pants. She rubbed her fingers against the taut fabric that outlined the bulge lying behind his zipper. “Well, what else do you fantasize about, Mr. Macho Man??” Jason’s hands grasped Courtney’s and pushed them down to her sides as he fell over top of her, his head moving down her chest.

Jason moaned, his mouth trailing down her chest, his tongue laving at the rosy nipples that filled his vision. He took one in his mouth and began to suck gently. “Blue eyes,” he murmured as his mouth moved to give attention to her other waiting breast. “A woman who is as giving and caring as humanly possible.  A woman who moves me to be the best of my ability. A woman like you.”

“Oh, Jason…” Tears smarted Courtney’s eyes as she rested her hands on Jason’s head, her hands gripped the soft strands of his hair.

“What?” He murmured as his hands reached for the waistband of Courtney’s jeans.  He flicked the button open and his hand slipped inside, caressing the lacy panties that covered the moist heat of Courtney’s mound.

“Oh God,” Courtney moaned and moved her hands to Jason’s pants, her fingers fumbling with the heavy belt buckle. Courtney finally got the belt open and left the ends to dangle as she worked the buttons of his jeans open. “Damn 501’s,” she muttered in haste as she ripped open the last button.

Jason chuckled dangerously as Courtney arched her hips to give him better access. His fingers slipped inside the loosened jeans and under her panties shoved both pieces of fabric down her thighs, below her knees, leaving them around her ankles. Courtney raised a leg, hampered by her jeans as she shoved his pants and red silk boxers down to ankles.

Jason raised his head to kiss Courtney, his tongue touching hers in gentle intimacy as Courtney moaned and arched loudly feeling the tip of his erection brush the soft hair the covering her mound. Jason rolled over until he was beside Courtney and they kicked off the rest of the offending garments. Courtney moaned and rolled on top of Jason, her hair rising to fall over Jason’s skin. Jason’s hands reached up and gripped Courtney’s hips, moving them into position.

Slowly, he lowered her, his erection pushing up against the soft folds of her vagina. Courtney sank down, impaling herself onto his shaft. 

“Ride me,” Jason commanded, crunching his abs and sitting up to take her nipple into his mouth. Courtney slowly began to move, her hips rising and falling in time to Jason’s thrusts. Her head fell back in abandonment, her golden hair cascading down to brush the skin of Jason’s legs. Sweat beaded against her forehead and rivulets fell down Jason’s, as his tempo began to increase, taking over.

Courtney rode faster, harder, her hips slamming down to meet Jason’s as his fingers tightened against her hips.  “Jason…I…I” Courtney gasped…

“I know…” he moaned. Jason pulled Courtney up until he was on the brink of withdrawal and pulled her hard back down, thrusting one last time.  Courtney screamed as their climaxes hit them simultaneously.  Jason moaned and Courtney collapsed on top of his hard chest. Time faded and their bodies fused together, melded by the sweat that cooled.

“Umm…” Courtney smiled and rolled off Jason and onto her left side. She looked up at Jason’s satisfied face. “Now, that was better than ballet, opera, musical and baseball combined, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah… much better.  I vote that we do that tonight.” Jason said, grinning tiredly.

“I’m sure we will,” Courtney said cheekily as Jason’s hands caressed her sticky, sweaty skin.  She snuggled down next to him, breathing in the musky scent of his skin. She licked his skin softly, to taste the salt that was purely Jason.  Courtney felt more than heard Jason’s indrawn breath as his fingers stopped above her right hip.  She raised her eyes to look at Jason; he was focused on the area where his fingers lay.

The heart.

“Courtney…” Jason began hesitantly.

“Yes?” She asked warily.

“What is this on your hip?”