This is my J&C adaptation of Susan Sizemore’s novel, "His Last Best Hope"

Jax lay in the king-size bed on his side, silently watching Chloe sleep. Old habits were hard to break; he had awakened shortly after 7AM, refreshed and renewed after a fairly restful night with Chloe in his bed, in his arms. He intended to get up and go for a quick jog, using exercise as a cover for getting the "lay of the land" around their cottage. But as soon as he had stirred in the bed, Chloe had rolled over and thrown an arm across his waist, effectively trapping him in the bed. He didn’t dare take the chance of waking her while sneaking out – he still wasn’t 100% sure that the cottage wasn’t bugged, and in a state between sleep and wakefulness, Chloe might say something that would get them both killed.

When a fly landed briefly on Chloe’s face, causing her to grimace and bat it away with the back of her hand, Jax chuckled to himself. {I wonder what the all-powerful Senor Cassidine would do if I complained that a fly bothered my woman? Does he control the insects in his precious La Estrella’s air space, too?} When Chloe shifted and then nuzzled her head more securely on Jax’s shoulder, he couldn’t resist the temptation.

Red horizon at day’s end

One tentative finger reached out to take a strand of her blond hair. It curled around Jax’s hand, almost as though caressing it with a will of its own. He rubbed it gently between his thumb and first finger and couldn’t help but think that this must be what heaven felt like. Jax settled deeper into his side of the bed, closed his eyes, and with the hair still wound around his hand, he let his imagination take flight.

You in my arms, breathless and sure

He could see himself dancing with Chloe – not a torrid samba like the night before in the restaurant, but something slow and traditional – a good "make out" song, as Jerry would say. Suddenly, Jax realized it – he was seeing himself with Chloe at Jerry’s wedding reception! It was all so perfect……….He was wearing his dress white uniform – {Mum would like that.} Jerry and his new bride, Bobbie, looked so happy. They were dancing, too – at least until John Jacks would cut in, insisting on a dance with his "new daughter."

It was a beautiful spring day, so naturally Bobbie had decided to have the ceremony and small reception outside in her garden. The smell of roses was thick in the air, accentuated by the low hum of voices and the bubbling of a champagne fountain off to the side of the small dance floor. But there could have been liquid gold flowing in that fountain and Jax wouldn’t have cared. He couldn’t take his eyes off the enchanting woman in his arms.

Chloe was wearing some kind of classically simple "little black dress." Jax frowned, his eyes still shut, drifting between sleep and wakefulness. It wasn’t black – it was a very dark purple. Something rich and royal that brought out the golden flecks in her eyes. Sleeveless and short – short enough to tempt him with a flash of shapely thigh every time Chloe lifted her arms. Her head was resting against his shoulder as they danced, the rich smell of honeysuckle in her shampoo making him more drunk than any refreshments at the reception.

White lace curtain opened wide

He could hear the laughter now as Jerry slipped the blue lace garter down Bobbie’s leg. High-pitched giggles took over as young girls crowded onto the dance floor and Bobbie stood off to the side, her bouquet poised above her head. He was teasing Chloe to go take her place with the other "single maidens" and try her luck – half-heartedly hoping that she would catch the d*mn ceremonial centerpiece so he could justify dragging her to a justice of the peace before she changed her mind. Bobbie turned her back to the crowd; Chloe winked suggestively at Jax and then joined the group of prospective brides; someone counted to three and Bobbie heaved the flowers over her shoulder; they floated higher, and higher, and then started drifting downwards towards…….

"JAX!!"

Chloe’s urgent whisper registered in his mind at the same moment as the knocking at the door of their suite. She was wide-awake, clutching the sheet to her breasts even though she was wearing a far-from-revealing t-shirt. The way she gripped his arm inspired far more protectiveness than Jax was accustomed to feeling. He put his finger to his lips to silence her and then patted her arm for reassurance. "I don’t think they would knock before coming in to kill us," he whispered to her, still not sure if the suite was bugged. She grabbed for his arm once more when he swung his legs out of the bed, but Jax shook his head firmly. He rose and padded towards the door wearing only the dark blue satin boxer shorts he had worn to sleep in.

He listened for a few moments but then swung the door open. "Buenas dias, senor Pantera!" a short man in a white coat chortled, pushing a large cart laden with numerous silver chafing dishes past a now-smiling Jax. Chloe relaxed when she realized that Stefan had probably sent breakfast.

She slid down further in the bed, pulling the sheet high enough so that the delivery man couldn’t see if she was clothed or not. {Better give him the idea that *something* went on -- even if it didn’t.} While the man in the white coat positioned the table in the middle of the room, Chloe caught sight of Jax reaching for a fluffy white terrycloth robe that had been "thoughtfully" provided by resort management for its guests. She almost frowned visibly when he donned the robe – and then was promptly embarrassed at what a wanton, sensual woman three days with this pirate/spy had turned her into.

Jax reacted immediately when the man started to set up their feast. "No, no, senor!" he commanded briskly. When the white-coated man blanched, apparently fearing that he had angered one of the resort’s Very Important Guests, Jax gave him a reassuring smile. "It’s such a beautiful morning – such a shame to waste it!" He gestured towards the patio. "Can you set it up out there, por favor?"

"Si ……… si, senor! No problema!" Chloe started to say something to Jax but he motioned to her to wait until the hotel employee was gone. After only a few minutes, delicious aromas wafted through the open doors into the bedroom. The white-coated man grinned profusely when Jax pressed a large tip into his hand, and then he disappeared out the door, leaving El Pantera and his woman alone again.

"Wapa?" Jax rose one eyebrow suggestively as he extended a hand to Chloe. "Join me?"

"Is that an invitation or a command, Pantera?" she purred in reply, placing her hand in Jax’s. Chloe realized that Jax wanted to keep his cover intact, and yet get out of the cottage so that they could talk without fear of Stefan eavesdropping on them. She caught her breath when Jax suddenly pulled her against his broad chest, his robe falling open, stared deeply into her eyes, and then swept her up into his arms. Her arms automatically looped around his neck as he carried her out onto the patio.

When he deposited her in a large rattan chair, Chloe finally broke the visual link that had formed between them. Jax pulled the matching rattan chair from the opposite side of the table so that he could sit at her side. He took his seat, but not before lifting the covers off several large dishes of fresh fruit and delectable pastries.

Chloe sighed loudly as she lifted a gooey pineapple cheese confection from the tray to stare at it adoringly. "I’ve decided that this little adventure of ours will either kill me or add at least 15 pounds to my hips!"

Jax grabbed for her hand with a naughty smile and took a bite out of the delicacy. "Then I suppose that we’ll just have to think of creative ways to work off some of those calories, won’t we, succulentita?"

Chloe’s eyes widened. "We’re not……" She stared over her shoulder in a panic back towards their bedroom. "I mean, he can’t…….there’s not……" She leaned towards Jax and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Stefan can’t hear us out here, can he? I mean, isn’t that why you wanted to have breakfast out here instead of inside? So he couldn’t hear…….."

Jax chuckled and dabbed some icing from his lips with a napkin. "Shhhh….." He patted Chloe’s hand, pushing it towards her mouth so that she could take a bite of the pastry. "We’re safe. And yes, you’re right…….that’s why I wanted to have the breakfast served out here." She exhaled loudly in relief and Jax caught her hand to draw her attention. "But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still make an observation about what a desirable woman you are, Chloe."

When she looked up at Jax, the fire in his eyes momentarily took Chloe’s breath away. "Me? Desirable?" she squeaked. She swallowed hard and hastily took a gulp of juice, blushing a shade comparable to the brilliant magenta hibiscus blooms that framed the patio. "Ohhhh……" Shaking her head, her fingers trembled slightly as she traced the patterns of icing on the pastry. "You’d be surprised at the number of people who would disagree with you on that one……."

Jax frowned and then sat back in his chair. "Was HE one of those people?"

"He who?" Chloe tried for nonchalance as she sipped daintily at a cup of strong black coffee that accompanied the breakfast.

Jax folded his hands in his lap. "The man who hurt you." He nodded towards her left hand. "Whose ring you WORE, as you so fervently pointed out to me back at Leanita’s."

Chloe’s lips thinned in determination. "Then you should also remember that I told you it was a long story."

Jax straightened and helped himself to a slice of cantaloupe. "I don’t seem to have any other pressing engagements this morning." He smiled and bit off a small section of the juicy melon before offering the rest to Chloe.

She snatched it from him. "And I *also* told you it was none of your business!"

Jax leaned forward until his lips were only inches from Chloe’s. "Until we get off this d*mn island, you ARE my business, Chloe Morgan!"

Her eyes flared briefly. "What about your big *spy* business, El Jax-who-won’t-tell-me-his-real-name Pantera? Don’t you have to take care of that?"

Jax grimaced and sighed, backing away from her a little. "I did – until Stefan Cassidine decided that I needed some rest and relaxation." He squinted out at the ocean crashing on the white sand beach. "Although the way that water looks this morning, I can’t exactly bad-mouth the man, if you know what I mean……"

"Really?" Chloe seized the opportunity to change the subject to anything other than her failed love affair with Ned. She sat up straight and folded her hands coyly beneath her chin. "So ……. I seem to recall you challenging me last night at dinner……." She glanced towards the water. "Something about a race?"

Jax mirrored her pose, folding his arms on the table in challenge. "Welllllll, it’s not quite dawn, but……….name your terms, Miss Morgan," he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Chloe tilted her head to the side to study her fingernails but then returned his smile. "Give me fifteen minutes!" She jumped up from the table and dashed back towards the bedroom, pausing at the doors to look back at him. "Last one in the water buys dinner once we leave the island!"

She gave a little squeal of happiness and turned to sprint to the bathroom, never seeing Jax’s long look of admiration at her fleeing backside. He rose from his chair and walked slowly back towards the doors. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he could hear Chloe happily humming off key. {Maybe Stefan Cassidine isn’t such a bad guy after all. Maybe, if I play my cards right, we’ll never leave the island and I’ll never have to collect on that bet.}

########

"I GIVE UP!!! I GIVE UP!!!" Chloe’s screams were punctuated with high-pitched peels of laughter. She rolled to her knees and curled her body into a tight ball as Jax relentlessly pursued her down the gleaming beach. Ignoring her pleas of surrender, he dropped in the white sand next to her and used both hands to tickle her around her waistline.

"Say you surrender now, Madam, or I shall be forced to make you walk the plank!" Jax growled. He waggled one eyebrow maliciously, imitating a melodrama villain. As Chloe collapsed on her back, half-laughing, half-crying, he seized the opportunity to capture both of her wrists and pin them above her head on the sand. "Ahhhhh……every pirate’s dream!" He stared into her eyes and she saw that suddenly, the teasing had been replaced by raw desire. "A tropical paradise with a beautiful woman at his mercy……"

She had donned the bikini Jax picked out for her the day before at the resort boutique. The string panties were solid black, but the halter-bra top was an explosion of vivid floral color. Chloe’s breasts came dangerously close to spilling out of it in her reclining position. The matching sheer voile cover-up had fallen open during the tickle confrontation, and as Jax stared at her hungrily, Chloe became aware of his broad chest glistening with perspiration in the tropical sun. He lowered himself towards her silently, brushing his muscled torso against the aching peaks of her breasts until they stood out against the thin fabric of the swimsuit like hard pebbles.

Jax’s breathing became ragged. The feel of her twin points of desire against his chest almost made him lose control right there on the beach. He was so distracted by his passion that just as he was closing the distance to her lips, Chloe rolled out from beneath him, her quick movement catching him off-guard. "Why do you keep saying things like that?" she asked, her voice catching somewhere in her chest as she struggled back to her feet. She nervously smoothed her hair back off her face and turned away from him towards the ocean.

"Like what? That you’re beautiful?" Jax’s voice flowed like warm honey over her sun-kissed skin. He came up behind her and traced each side of her neck to her shoulder with one gentle finger. "Because you ARE beautiful, Chloe." Spooning her from behind, he lowered his face to whisper in her ear. "Did *he* make you think you weren’t? The man you won’t talk about?"" The way her entire body tensed gave Jax the answer to his question.

A shiver ran through Chloe’s body but then suddenly she pulled away from Jax. "Let’s go for that swim now!" She edged nearer to the water, the challenge sparkling in her eyes. "Are you ready to race?"

"Are you ready to lose?" Jax was off and running towards the waves so quickly that he never heard Chloe’s disgruntled squeal. She tossed her cover-up negligently back towards the beach and dove in without another thought about it in order to minimize Jax’s lead. They churned through the waves, both intent on reaching a small orange floating platform about 100 feet from shore. Jax was surprised at what a strong swimmer Chloe was – the woman never ceased to amaze him. How many more delightful facets of her could he discover if they only had more time together?

I long for your lips to kiss my lips

They pulled themselves up onto the small buoy simultaneously, both breathing hard from their exertions. Jax was the first to be able to speak. "Tie………it’s a tie………"

Chloe dragged her aching body onto the platform and pushed the damp hair back out of her eyes with a nod. "Agreed….." she panted, bracing herself with one hand flat on the float. "Double or nothing on the re-match……"

Jax nodded his agreement, gulped more air, and turned his body so that he could lie next to Chloe on the bright orange buoy. The only sounds around them were the splashing of the water against the sides of the platform and the occasional cry of a seagull. After a few more minutes, Chloe jumped slightly when he traced one damp finger down the side of her arm. "That sunscreen Stefan had in the room isn’t worth a d*mn." She let out a long breath and turned to look at the skin in question as Jax shook his head. "You’re turning red already, and we haven’t been out here long at all."

She laughed nervously and tried to put some space between them on the small rectangular landing. "I’ll be fine – really." Chloe brushed nonchalantly at the arm. "The tropical sun and I just don’t get along. It looks a lot worse than it really is." She arched her back and settled onto her elbows, head tipped up towards the sun. "Don’t worry about me, OK?"

Jax put a finger to her face to turn it towards him. "But I *do* worry about you, Chloe……." His finger slowly moved downwards towards her chin and then up the other side of her jaw. "I care about you."

She took a shaky breath and then pushed his hand away. "Don’t."

Jax caught her hand and pulled her into a sitting position opposite him on the float. "Why not, Chloe? Did *he* make you think……."

"D*MNIT, Jax, can’t you just let it go??!!" Chloe’s angry shout echoed across the water and her eyes widened. "Oh, my God………oh, I’m soooo sorry…….." Tears sprang to her eyes. "You don’t think Stefan heard me say your name, do you?"

Jax shook his head and cupped the side of her face tenderly. "No, Chloe…….we’re much too far from shore for that……" Then he winked at her. "Unless he’s got the seagulls as paid informants, that is!"

She laughed and stared down at the platform, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Then Chloe stared back up at Jax. "I suppose that you’re not going to let go of this until I tell you about *him*, are you?"

He shrugged his shoulders triumphantly. "No time like the present." He folded his legs and wrapped his arms around them Indian-style. "I’m all ears."

Chloe took a deep breath. "I guess I should have seen it coming." She stared off into the distance at the beach. A small group of sunbathers had claimed a portion of it for a volleyball court and were beginning a noisy match. "He was tall, dark, and handsome – everything a girl could want in a man, right?"

"I know a few who might give you an argument on that "dark" part," Jax quipped. "Some women I know tell me they happen to prefer blondes." A wry smile flashed across Chloe’s face. Jax’s voice dropped and sobered. "Was he your first?"

"First, best and only, I thought……." She sighed and stared down at the float as tears choked her momentarily. "We were perfect together……the cool, quiet debutante and the young lion fated for greatness at the helm of his family’s corporation. The prince and princess of Port Charles society……"

"Port Charles?"

Chloe nodded. "New York. It’s upstate." Jax motioned for her to go on. "His family thought I would make him the perfect CEO wife, we seemed to have so much in common, we were happy together…….." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lower lip at the pain.

"Until he dumped you?" Jax muttered a rather strong expletive and pushed the hair back off Chloe’s forehead tenderly. "So not only was he cruel, he was terminally stupid..……"

"Oh, no, he didn’t dump me!" Chloe laughed sarcastically. "Quite the opposite!" She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as Jax had done earlier. "I was the one who broke off the engagement, not Ned!"

Jax dipped his head to peer into her distant eyes. "And that would have been because……."

"He said I wasn’t *exciting* enough for him……..not nearly as fiery and fascinating as his girlfriend, Alexis."

Jax frowned. "But he still wanted to marry you?"

Chloe grinned acidly. "Ever hear of having your cake and eating it too – so to speak?" Jax’s loud profanity echoed across the water and she nodded in agreement. "That could very well be, although I never got the chance to meet his mother." She sighed. "Anyway, Ned just couldn’t seem to understand why I didn’t like the idea of him keeping Alexis as his mistress after we were married. He mentioned something about it being typically narrow-minded and tedious of me when I blew up and gave his ring back to him when he suggested a threesome……."

"So he made you feel like *you* were responsible for his affair and the ultimate break-up……." Jax shifted closer to Chloe and started to rub his hand reassuringly up and down her leg. "Let me guess…….and you went on the cruise with your aunt and uncle to recuperate from your broken heart."

Chloe sniffled and smiled sheepishly at Jax. "Are you sure you’re just a spy and not a mind reader?"

Jax shrugged again. "Doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that someone who’s got sensitive skin doesn’t normally go on a tropical cruise just for the h*ll of it."

She smiled wryly. "So, Uncle Herbert and Aunt Gertrude took me on the cruise to cheer me up, and all it did was cost them their lives."

They sat silent for a few minutes as gentle waves rocked the float when a pair of small sailboats passed to their west. Jax finally scooped some water out of the ocean and drizzled it over Chloe’s skin with a sigh. "You and I are more alike than I realized."

"You?" Chloe laughed as her eyes widened. "And ME?" She pointed to herself incredulously.

"Yep." Jax nodded. He wet his hand again to splash the water on his forehead and down his face. "We both seem to lack the ability to know when to say NO." Chloe frowned. Jax motioned for her to turn around. He cupped both hands, filled them, and dumped the contents over her back. "For example, you should have told this Ned guy that he was full of bull when he said you were the cause of his infidelity. To just put your foot down and say NO! It’s not ME!!"

Chloe arched her back when the cool liquid hit her sizzling skin. She settled onto her stomach on the float, her weight propped on her elbows. "And what about you?" She gave him a naughty grin. "Don’t tell me the great *El Pantera* couldn’t say NO to somebody!" She paused, and then put her hand to her mouth in mock horror. "Oh…..my gosh……..you’re not about to reveal something personal about yourself to me, are you?"

Jax grimaced as he flopped down next to her on his stomach. "Very funny." Chloe stretched out, her elbows bent, resting on her ear on her folded hands as Jax stared downwards. "I…….uh………I never should have told my commander that I would see this Cassidine case through to the end."

A sudden awkwardness chilled Chloe, even in the broiling mid-day sun. "You…….you don’t have to tell me this……if it’s against the rules or something."

Jax grinned sarcastically. "It’ll be OK. I’ll just have to kill you afterwards." Then his smile faded. "My partner and I started working on this case almost two years ago."

"Partner? You have a partner?"

"Had." Chloe’s mouth formed a small "o". "His name was Frisco." Jax shrugged. "Short for something, but d*mn if I know what." He sighed. "We had been working together on one of the remote islands near here for about three months, establishing a cover as small-time smugglers. We thought we could set up a cover and then when Cassidine heard about us, he’d ask for a meeting. But in the meantime, Frisco met a woman. She was blonde, petite…….a real knock-out." Jax’s one eye twitched slightly. "He fell for her hook, line, and sinker."

"And she was some kind of double agent?"

"No." Jax levered himself up to rest on one elbow as he lazily played with strands of Chloe’s wet hair. "She turned out to be an innocent victim caught in the crossfire from all this mess. Frisco got a little too comfortable with her and let some things slip that he shouldn’t." His lips thinned. "Faison’s men used her to get the information they needed on Frisco and then killed them both."

"Faison?" Chloe pushed up off the float to bring herself eye-level with Jax. "That miserable excuse for a human being killed your partner, too?"

"There’s no concrete proof yet, but I’d bet my life on it."

Chloe stroked the side of Jax’s face gently with her hand. "God, Jax…….how can you stand to be in the same room with the man? After he did that to your partner?"

He took a shaky breath. "All part of being a good operative, love." Jax’s eyes turned a steely shade of gray despite the blue of the water around them. "I just keep remembering that when I send this whole Cassidine empire tumbling down, I’ll take Faison with it." Chloe was surprised when he broke into a smile. "And besides – I can’t afford to make any stupid mistakes. I’ve got a wedding to go to in a few months."

"A wedding?" Chloe fought stirrings of panic. She dropped her hand and tried to put some distance between them on the raft. "I’m sorry…….I never knew……"

Jax caught her by the wrist and pulled himself closer to her again. "It’s my *brother’s* wedding, Chloe. He’s marrying some divorced woman with a kid who runs a bed and breakfast in North Carolina." He grinned sheepishly. "In a moment of weakness, I agreed to be the best man or some bloody awful thing."

"Sooooo……..you have a brother?" Chloe smiled coyly as Jax pushed her shoulders downwards towards the raft. "Is he older or younger?"

She caught her breath when Jax suddenly swept her under him. "Enough talk. I don’t want to talk about me anymore." When he leaned down and licked the excess moisture in the valley between her breasts, Chloe involuntarily arched upwards to grant him better access. "In fact, I don’t want to talk AT ALL!"

A low groan of pleasure came from the back of Chloe’s throat when Jax’s lips seized hers. Her hands danced over the hard, rippling muscles in his back as she opened her mouth willingly to his searching tongue. As his sweet invasion of her mouth swirled her towards ecstasy, Jax shifted his weight to free his right hand. He continued his erotic assault on her lips while pushing Chloe’s swimsuit top aside to bare her flushed, creamy breasts to his gaze. He trailed his lips downward, tracing every contour of her breast until Chloe thought she would scream aloud. Jax murmured endearments to her in Spanish as he explored her left breast thoroughly, and when he took the swollen, sensitized center into his mouth to suckle, Chloe grabbed for the short damp curls at the nape of his neck and held on for dear life.

Being close to you is almost heaven

When Jax finally ceased his attentions to Chloe’s breasts, they were both breathing as hard as they were when they first arrived at the float. "I need to be inside you, Chloe," he growled, threading his hands up into her hair. "I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself."

Chloe pulled him down to plunder his lips with her own, shocking the h*ll out of the normally in-control Lieutenant Jasper Jacks. She broke the kiss, but not before nipping at his lips playfully. "I want you too, Jax! God help me, but I do!"

Keeping her in his arms, Jax rolled towards the side of the float. He slid back into the water, never breaking his embrace. Chloe’s legs automatically wrapped around his waist as he trod water and gave her a lazy smile. "Soooo……Pantera’s woman has turned into quite a little wildcat, hasn’t she?"

Chloe hitched herself higher in Jax’s arms so that she could capture his ear in her teeth. "Are you complaining, wapo?" she purred, undulating her desperate, heated center against the rigid proof of his desire for her. When she felt it throb and grow against her body, primitive pride in her femininity surged through Chloe.

"Me? Complaining?" Jax pushed away from the float, twisting his body so that he could draw Chloe along in a modified backstroke. "Only that we’re so far from a bed, amada."

They made their way back to shore slowly, nearly driving each other mad with kisses. They explored each other’s bodies with caresses hidden from view beneath the waves. When they emerged from the water, Jax swung Chloe into his arms and carried her up onto the beach. He paused momentarily to place another hard, blistering kiss on her lips before staring into her eyes. "I can’t make you any promises, Chloe. You should know that," he whispered, his eyes hinting at melancholy.

"I don’t want any promises." Chloe pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat. "I just want you, Jax. Only you."

He took a shaky breath. "It’s………it’s Jasper. My first name is Jasper," he whispered. "I owe you that"

Chloe placed her finger against his lips to silence him. "You don’t owe me anything, Pantera," she replied huskily. "I owe you ……. for giving me my life back."

She buried her head against his chest to hear the pounding of his heart as Jax carried Chloe back towards their cottage. He used a short-cut through a garden, stealing kisses and caresses along the way. When he broke out of the underbrush on the path that led to their front door, he never noticed the jeep parked nearby. Jax shifted Chloe’s weight, juggling her in his arms as he tried to kick down the door that stood between them and their true paradise.

"Senor Pantera!" Jax froze in place at the sound of Senor Ramon’s voice. "I’ve been looking for you!"

Jax turned to find Stefan’s man smiling broadly at them. "My woman and I have been down at the beach this morning, Senor Ramon." He arched one eyebrow autocratically. "You led us to believe that we were free to take advantage of the resort’s amenities. Was that not correct?"

"Si, es verdad, Pantera!" Ramon’s rattled expression pleased Jax. "It is just that……."

"Excellente!" Jax cut him off with an authoritarian tone. "Then have a magnum of your best champagne and a tray of strawberries sent to our cottage, por favor." He grinned lustily at Chloe. "My woman and I worked up quite an ……. appetite……this morning!"

Ramon cleared his throat. "I’m……..uh………I’m afraid there won’t be time for champagne or strawberries right now, Pantera. Senor Cassidine wishes to see you at the big house."

"But we……."

"NOW, Senor Pantera." Chloe’s blood ran cold when a threatening tone crept into the previously mousy little manager’s voice. She visibly cringed when Ramon stepped to the side and extended his hand towards the jeep with a lethal smile. "Por favor?"

To be continued………

Music credits: "Barefoot Ballet," by Christian Taylor and Debi Cochran, from the Kurth and Taylor CD, "Freedom."

"Halfway to Paradise," by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, recorded by Tony Orlando (1961) and Bobby Vinton (1968)