This is my J&C adaptation of Susan Sizemore’s novel, "His Last Best Hope" Muchas gracias to Nish and Lea for their help with Spanish vocabulary!

My munequita, my Spanish Harlem mona lisa

You’re my reason for reason

The step in my groove, now………

And if you say this life ain’t good enough

I would give my world to lift you up

I could change my life to better suit your mood

‘Cause you’re so smooth………

The kiss ended as quickly as it had begun. Jax knew the minute he tasted Chloe’s lips that he was in big trouble. Every ounce of military training in his bones screamed at him to retreat. The instantaneous combustion just from his lips brushing hers lightly made him pull back and stare into her beautiful hazel eyes.

Chloe wasn’t sure what to think. It was a moment she had been expecting ever since he appeared before her on the deck of the Morgana – she had been half-dreading that he would kiss her, and half-wanting it to happen before she died of anticipation. But when Jax’s beautiful aquamarine eyes looked deeply into hers, she felt like the heat had liquefied every bone in her body. Without her even realizing it, her hands slid up his chest and clutched at his shoulders, bunching the fabric of the shirt. Glittering topaz highlights in her eyes answered shimmering blue-green fire in his. His lips closed the centimeters of distance to hers in a fraction of a second, and this time, they clung.

As Jax moved his mouth slowly over Chloe’s, he knew he had never felt anything as soft in his life before. She whimpered softly and pressed her body closer against his, pulling him into an embrace rather than pushing away. Jax’s mind reeled – weren’t female captives supposed to swoon when their captors tried to kiss them? Weren’t they supposed to put up a fight?

When Jax felt Chloe’s softness pressing against parts of him that weren’t soft anymore, he knew he had to end it fast. He felt the irrational need to do so many things – take her somewhere elegant and romance her with flowers and soft lights; apologize for behaving like such a bastard and scaring her; even apologize for brandishing the knife before kissing her like some male chauvinist brute. But he couldn’t. El Pantera wouldn’t, and for his own continued good health – as well as hers – he couldn’t afford to indulge those needs.

Just as Jax had resolved to end the kiss, he felt Chloe’s lips tremble and start to part. That did it. He knew that once she invited him into that warm place in her mouth, he’d want an invitation to other warm, more intimate places. And with dusk rapidly approaching and Faison’s men running loose on the island, this was no time for indecent – but tempting -- proposals.

Jax reluctantly pulled his lips from hers, resting his forehead against Chloe’s. "We have to stop."

Her breathing was as ragged as his. "Yes. Stop. We have to."

Jax swallowed hard, his eyes still downcast and his forehead still brushing against Chloe’s. "I have to be able to concentrate….." He turned slightly towards the entrance to the alley. "….to figure a way out of this mess you’ve gotten us into."

Chloe nodded but then suddenly her entire body stiffened. She yanked away from him and put her hands on her hips angrily. "ME? Mess that *I* got us into?"

"Yes, you!!" Jax mirrored her stance and glanced back over his shoulder. "If you hadn’t run away from me back at Leanita’s, all of this never would have happened!!"

Chloe sputtered for a few seconds. She couldn’t believe the colossal gall this man had! One minute, he was kissing her and making her feel like she would offer to turn herself inside out, right there in the middle of the alley, for him. The next, he was making her so angry she wanted to slap him from here into the next millennium!

"Me?!! If I……" She stammered a few more times, then closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it. "If *I* hadn’t come along at just the right time, that man back there in the square would have put a bullet in the back of your head!!"

Jax came closer to her, his voice low, his eyes blazing with anger. "And if *I* hadn’t come along at just the right time," he hissed, "Pedro and Tito would have been slapping nasties with you, right here in the filth……" He gestured towards the ground and spat near Chloe’s foot for emphasis.

Chloe shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Then we’re even," she retorted in a hushed voice. "I saved your life and you saved mine." She took a shaky breath. "But it’s *still* not my fault because if you hadn’t taken me off the Morgana against my will….."

"Ayudame’ Dios!!!!" Jax swore loudly in Spanish and grabbed Chloe by the hand when she stopped out of sheer shock at his outburst. He pulled her down the alley towards the street again. When they got back to the plaza near Leanita’s, he stopped abruptly. Chloe ran into his back and thought for a minute it was a brick wall, he was so intent on observing their surroundings.

"Where are we going now?" she whispered. Jax held up a hand, signaling that she should be quiet. Chloe waited about fifteen seconds as he scanned the horizon but then leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Are you taking me to your friend’s place now?"

Jax shook his head briskly. "No." He suddenly shifted to pull her against his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. When they came to the plaza, Jax realized that they would never make it to Saint Isabel’s before dark. Their best bet now was to go back to Leanita’s and wait until morning.

The pace he set was slow and languorous as they strolled towards the sound of loud music and raucous laughter. "I can’t take you there anymore tonight. It’s getting too late, and besides -- it’s dangerous to be out after dark in Montserrat."

Chloe tried to ignore the unsettling feelings that having the side of her entire body pressed against Jax’s generated. "I thought you said that I would be safe as long as I stuck close to you. That nobody would dare touch me….."

Jax grinned at her in the waning daylight, his eyes sparkling with devilment, his dimples deep enough to float a small yacht. "Oh, *you’d* be safe, love, but it’s *me* I’m worried about!"

His laugh was buried against her shoulder as they walked slowly back towards Leanita’s. When they rounded a corner and had almost reached the central business district again, Chloe gasped when Jax pulled her into the shadows. Darkness had fallen so quickly that she couldn’t see anything except the gleam of light reflected when he flashed his switchblade. "What……" Chloe gulped when Jax grabbed the hem of her T-shirt in his left hand, the knife in his right. "What are you doing?"

She squealed softly as Jax made a quick horizontal slice about 3 inches from the bottom of her shirt. Her eyes locked with his as he turned the knife and rested it in the center of the gap, right above her belly. "I’m making a few alterations," he snarled, splitting the fabric so that it now hung in two strips at her midriff. Before Chloe could say a word, Jax snapped the knife shut. He grabbed both ends of the fabric and tied them in a tight knot just below Chloe’s breasts.

She could feel his knuckles brush the bottom of her bra-less breasts as he worked. Chloe closed her eyes and tried to keep remembering that it was so dark, Jax probably couldn’t see her nipples blossom at the nearness of his hands. She kept them closed but squealed a little when he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her shorts and tugged them downward so that they rested precariously on her hips. A generous portion of pale tummy flesh was exposed and even in the dim light, Jax felt desire roll through his veins at the sight. The knot in her shirt started to unravel and Jax took the opportunity to slide his open hands possessively up her ribcage.

When he pulled the fabric into a second square knot, Jax gave the ends a deliberate tug, pulling Chloe’s entire body towards him. Her eyes flew open. "Now." His gaze traveled down her form. "Now you look more like one of Leanita’s "putas" than a gringa with an unhealthy case of curiosity." Before Chloe could comment, Jax pulled her with him again out into the street and towards the brothel. He pushed open the swinging doors with one hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around Chloe’s shoulders. The heavy smoke, loud music, and lewd shouts of the patrons all combined to assail her senses. She buried her face in Jax’s chest and heard him chuckle.

"That’s good, Chloe." He bent down towards her and she felt his lips trail through her hair. "We have to pretend that we’re lovers…….just until we can get a room where it’s safe for the night."

{Safe? For who? For me? Spending another night in El Pantera’s arms?} Chloe didn’t argue but her mind whirled with possibilities as Jax slowly worked his way through the crowded tavern towards the bar. He had only known her for less than 24 hours when he kissed her. How long would he wait before he forced her into more intimacies? And after the way she felt when Jax’s soft lips moved over hers, how much of it would be *force*?

Jax kept her safely nestled in the crook of his arm as he barked at the bartender. "Donde esta Leanita?" The male bartender responded in a flurry of Spanish that drew a disgusted snort from Jax. He inclined his head towards a small table in the back of the room. "Pollo con frijoles y arroz para dos," he growled at the man, and then pulled Chloe with him towards the corner in question.

Jax maneuvered her into a rickety wooden chair and then he took the chair with the better vantage point in the corner. His eyes carefully scanned the other patrons in the room and then he leaned forward, grasping her hands. "It looks quiet for now. Just try to act like you’re hot for my body until we get upstairs and we’ll be safe."

"Somehow, I don’t think I’d ever associate the word "quiet" with this place," Chloe murmured. Her eyes were becoming somewhat accustomed to the smoky haze. But the oppressive humidity in the tavern had perspiration rolling down her arms in mere minutes. The wooden table-top was only about 18 inches in diameter at most, and Chloe’s knees kept bumping up against Jax’s underneath the table. He held her hands clasped tightly in his while he continued to watch the comings and goings in the tavern like a hawk. "Are you watching for that man that tried to shoot you before?"

The words were barely out of Chloe’s mouth when Jax pulled her abruptly against him. She gasped as his hand snaked down to grab the tender flesh of her thigh while he nuzzled her neck. Just as she was about to push him away and ask him what the h*ll he was doing, Chloe realized that the bartended had appeared next to their table. Obviously, Jax didn’t want her asking questions while the man was within hearing distance. She remained silent and motionless as the man set something down on the table and then, at a slight nod from Jax, disappeared again.

He let go of her as quickly as he had pulled her into the clinch. Two plates, two bowls of Leanita’s soup, and two glasses of something amber-colored now decorated their table. The spicy aroma from the blackened chicken and red beans drifted up to tease at Chloe’s nose until her stomach growled loudly. Jax grinned and broke off a tender piece of chicken. Chloe reached for it but he deftly batted her hand away, holding it up in front of her mouth. "We’re supposed to be lovers, remember?" Her eyes flared. "Open."

Chloe meekly accepted the food from his fingers. When the spicy sauce started to dribble down her chin, her tongue inadvertently darted out to lick the remnants of it from Jax’s fingers. He felt his hormones react to her innocent move with a vengeance and struggled to keep his own hungers under control. "To answer your earlier question – no. The man that tried to kill me won’t be bothering anyone else in the near future."

Jax broke off another piece of chicken and popped it into his own mouth. "Was it Faison?"

He picked up a spoon and scooped up some of the beans to offer to her. "No. One of his men."

As soon as the spices hit Chloe’s throat, she gagged convulsively and reached for the glass. She drank the contents without a thought as to ingredients or degree of contamination. After swallowing hard and wiping the tears that stung her eyes, Chloe grimaced. "Double d*mn. Jax offered her another piece of chicken, which she plucked out of his hand. "I was hoping you had plugged the bastard right in the cojones."

Jax gulped as he swallowed hard and then grinned lustily. "You ARE a bloodthirsty wench, aren’t you, Miss Morgan?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "He killed my family. He deserves to die."

The smile faded from Jax’s face as two men came into the tavern. He recognized them immediately. The thin, blonde man was Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos’s new second in command in the organization. Jax had never dealt with Jason personally, but word had spread quickly of his quick, emotionless demeanor. The shorter, dark-haired man’s name escaped Jax, but he knew he was some kind of bodyguard/flunky/go-fer. Chloe felt Jax’s body tense and she immediately knew something was wrong. "We have to get out of here – NOW." Jax pulled Chloe closer to him and nestled his head on her shoulder.

He was desperately trying to think of a way out of the tavern when Leanita sashayed down the stairs. She smiled broadly at a table of patrons and stopped briefly to kiss one man hungrily while sneaking a hand down his shirt to caress his chest. When she looked up and across the room, Jax’s glare seared her skin. The madam immediately sauntered nonchalantly towards their table. She gave Jax a feline smile, planting her hands on the table and leaning towards him. Her left shoulder nearly pushed Chloe out of her chair. "Pantera," she purred, displaying her cleavage as she looked into his glittering eyes. "Que quieres?"

Chloe didn’t miss the way Jax’s eyes flared as his gaze caressed the round curves Leanita displayed. "I *want* a room for the night, querida," Jax muttered. When Chloe’s eyes narrowed with jealousy and she opened her mouth to add to his reply, Jax squeezed her hand so tightly she shut it again.

"That can be arranged, mi amor." Leanita rolled her eyes towards the staircase after shooting a triumphant glare towards Chloe. "I will call Azulita – she will be most pleased that you have returned…."

"No……not with Azulita." Jax leaned slightly to the side so that he could keep an eye on Jason and the flunky. He shifted his eyes towards Chloe. "Just for the two of us." He reached into his back pocket and when he looked back at Leanita, he flashed a large-denomination bill. He smiled and pressed it between her breasts, trailing his fingers slowly over their fullness before withdrawing his hand.

"For you…..and her?" Leanita’s eyes widened with contempt.

Jax pulled out more money and deposited it again. This time, when he withdrew his hand, he passed it over the full front of Leanita’s breast, his thumb deliberately stroking the nipple into a sharp pebble beneath her cotton blouse. "For the entire night."

"The ……" Leanita swallowed hard. "The entire night?" Jax rose from his seat and pulled Chloe against him in the shadows. "This is unlike you, Pantera."

Jax’s eyes were on Jason when he spoke again. "Let’s just say I’ll be sure to make it up to you later, wapa." He nodded towards the staircase. "Now go. Get the room ready for us." Leanita started to leave but he grabbed her arm and nodded towards the table. "There’s a bonus in it for you if you can have someone bring the rest of the food up to us later."

"I’ll *count* on that, Pantera," Leanita growled. She reached into a back pocket and pulled out a small key, which she dangled in front of Jax’s chest. "You can have numero ocho at the end of the hall for the night." Jax palmed the key and grinned his thanks as she sighed fiercely. "And it will definitely be *my* pleasure to collect the bonus…..with interest!" She slowly strutted away from Jax and Chloe, her hips swinging broadly as she went back towards the staircase. Just as Chloe inhaled to say something, Jax spun her towards him and pulled her against his chest.

"Now if you want to stay alive long enough to see the sunrise tomorrow, you’ll do exactly as I say, understand?" She nodded briskly. He exhaled in relief. "Good." Jax looked around them and then back into her eyes. "We have to give the impression that we’re lovers on our way upstairs to be a little more…….comfortable." Grabbing her wrists, Jax threw her arms around his neck and lowered his face towards her shoulder. "Hang on."

Chloe barely had time to grab hold when Jax hoisted her up off the ground. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and cupped her derriere with his right hand, squeezing it familiarly. She buried her face against the side of Jax’s neck to hide her blush and had to wrap both legs around him to keep from falling. Murmuring words in Spanish that she didn’t understand, Jax started to move slowly through the crowd towards the staircase.

I’ll tell you one thing

If you would leave it’d be a crying shame

In every breath and every word

I hear your name, calling me out………

Chloe had barely noticed when a lone guitar started playing minutes earlier. But now, with Jax holding her so intimately and the light from the candles that lit the room flickering and reflecting off the golden highlights in his hair, she felt the rhythmic cadence of the music deep in her body. It touched something primitive inside that made her all warmy-barmy and fluid. When a woman with a husky voice started to sing along with the guitar music, couples rose and went towards a small dance floor. Jax took advantage of the crowd and blended in with their movements. Once he jostled another man, who started to swear in guttural Spanish. Chloe tensed, certain that a fight was going to break out. But Jax just moved into another shadowy area approaching the staircase.

She was totally unprepared when she felt Jax’s right hand slip under the hem of her shorts. Chloe shifted in his arms just as Jax momentarily loosened his hold on her to climb the stairs. She started to yelp as she felt herself falling. Jax tightened his grip, but when his fingers accidentally glided beneath the lacey edge of her panties towards her feminine softness, a scream formed in Chloe’s throat. "Ja……."

Jax pushed her back hard against the wall, bringing one knee up to hold her suspended there. His left hand came up to cup her chin, not quite covering her mouth to prevent his name from slipping out. "We’re almost there, love," he whispered in her ear, rubbing his thumb over her lips. He turned her face towards him, so close that his breath ruffled her eyelashes. The thumb slipped between her lips, sliding into her mouth and then out again sensually. "Don’t fight me. Just follow my lead."

When he straightened his knee and then bent it again, her already-tingling feminine core rubbed against him with maddening slowness. Chloe was soon breathing as hard as Jax was. She pursed her lips to suck gently on his thumb. When she heard his swift intake of breath, it somehow pleased her.

And it’s just like the ocean under the moon

That’s the same emotion that I get from you

You got the kind of lovin’, that can be so smooth

And, gimme your heart, make it real

Or just forget about it………

They stared into each other’s eyes for almost a minute, but then suddenly Jax grabbed her tightly around the waist. He swerved to the right, taking the stairs two at a time. Chloe buried her head on his shoulder again and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of Jax’s neck. She could hear his ragged breathing in her ear, and somehow she perversely hoped it was from her lovemaking and not just the strain of carrying her up the stairs.

Jax carried her to the top floor and down a dark hallway. When he came to a door at the end of the hall, he let go of Chloe long enough to put the key in the lock, grasp the doorknob and turn it. Kicking the door open the rest of the way with his foot, he carried her inside. She almost let out a yelp when he dropped her on the bed and went back to shut the door, lock it, and pocket the key again.

When Jax turned back to stare at her, Chloe froze like a deer caught in oncoming headlights. {What do you think you’re doing, Chloe? Trying to seduce the man? You – little brown mouse Chloe Morgan? Since when have you ever been able to seduce ANYTHING of the male gender? It has to be something in this place…….something about the air here that makes you want to get naked and sweaty with a man you barely know……}

Jax only detoured long enough to light some candles in the room, giving it an even more sensual, steamier atmosphere. Chloe watched him silently, half-reclining on the bed. Her arms were outstretched behind her, her hands flat on the bed supporting her weight. She swallowed hard when he turned to her again. She could see his eyes blazing, even in the dim light, and he wasn’t angry with her this time.

"Jax……" His name came out on a strangled whisper. "We……we have to talk about this…….."

His hips swayed slowly from side to side as he started walking towards her. Jax hooked a thumb into the waistband of his jeans, pulling them down ever so slightly. Chloe tried to keep her eyes from going back to the thin line of dark blonde hair that trailed down from his navel……

When Chloe snapped out of her thoughts, Jax was standing in front of her. He slowly crouched to bring his eyes level with hers and ran his palm up her bare thigh. {That must be what they meant when they invented the term, "bedroom eyes."} "What exactly do we need to talk about, Chloe?"

"About……." She took a shaky breath as Jax continued to rub his inverted hand up and down her thigh, his fingers trailing under her leg. "About you and me……about us……."

He took her hand in his and placed a blistering kiss in the palm. Then he pulled back, stared into her open hand, and then looked up into her eyes. "You have a long lifeline, Chloe Morgan. I don’t." He shifted his weight and placed both hands flat on either side of her on the bed, leaning towards her. "For men like me, there is no US. Just here. Just now. Just tonight."

{Geeeeez, Jax! I haven’t heard a man use a line like that since some grade-B Humphrey Bogart movie……."Have sex with me tonight, baby, cause I’m gonna enlist and who knows if I’ll live to see tomorrow….."} As Jax stared into Chloe’s wide, trusting eyes, he called himself every bad name in the book. {You should just tell her the truth, Jax. That you’re an agent for Naval intelligence working undercover to find a two-timing traitor……that you’re only PRETENDING to be a gunrunner. Take the fear out of her eyes. She’s been through enough already. H*ll, maybe she’ll be so relieved that she’ll still let you make love to her anyway…..}

But no matter how much Jax wanted to relieve Chloe’s terror, he knew he couldn’t reveal his true identity. She didn’t "need to know," and he owed it to Frisco to complete the mission that had cost him his life. And wasn’t it ironic – that Jax should find himself in the same situation as Frisco? And wasn’t the fact that Frisco gave in to his feelings and told his woman everything what got him killed in the first place?

Jax was still trying to weigh his options when there was a soft knock at the door. He held up one finger to Chloe in a signal to "wait," and then put it to his lips with a hushing motion. It only took a few seconds for him to cover the distance to the door and when he opened it, Chloe could smell the aroma of the remnants of their meal. Jax muttered some words in Spanish and closed the door quickly. When he turned back to Chloe, he held a tray covered with a linen cloth. "Our dinner," he explained, lifting the tray slightly with a smile.

Chloe tried to slow her breathing down as Jax walked over to a small nightstand and set the tray down. She got up from the bed and ambled over to it. When Jax held up a piece of chicken, she took it from him and slid it between her lips. "Why did you take the chance of having this sent up?"

"Because I’m still hungry." {But mostly for you.} His eyes added the second phrase. He broke off another piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth, looking her up and down. "And besides, you’re too skinny." He ignored her stifled squeal of protest and picked up his glass of warm beer to walk across the room. "You already fainted on me once today." Jax sipped it slowly as he surveyed the darkened street below them through the window. "I don’t want you passing out on me at a …….crucial moment."

Chloe angrily tore off another piece of chicken and continued to eat as there was another knock at the door. When Jax hurried over and opened it, Chloe spied Leanita’s buxom form outside. She spoke to him with a serious face in rapid Spanish. Jax glanced back at Chloe once and then stepped partially out into the hallway to speak privately with the madam.

As Chloe turned back to the tray and food, she sank onto the bed. Jax’s words kept echoing in her brain. {You’re too skinny. That’s what Aunt Gertrude used to say to me. She was so worried about me, especially after the debacle with Ned. If she wanted me to feel better, she wouldn’t have gone n this cruise. She and Uncle Herbert would be back in Port Charles – not dead at the bottom of the Mediterranean……}

When Jax came back into the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click, Chloe never heard him. He saw her sitting on the bed next to the food but her shoulders were hunched over and appeared to be shaking slightly. He walked over to her slowly until he stood directly in front of her. She still didn’t look up at him. "Chloe?"

She still didn’t move, so Jax placed a knuckle under her chin to raise her face. The tears were flowing copiously down her cheeks. "It’s all my fault, you know……."

Jax crouched in front of her as he tried to rub away the tears with his thumb. "What’s your fault, love?"

"Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Herbert……" Chloe’s chin quivered and her voice broke on a sob. "They’re all I had left, and now they’re gone…….and it’s all my fault."

Jax’s face was grim. "You didn’t kill them, Chloe. Faison did."

"They were out on that cruise because of ME, Jax," Chloe sobbed. Her shoulders shook harder and hiccups interrupted her speech. "They never would have gone if they hadn’t been trying to make me feel b…b…..better."

Chloe’s chest heaved with the strength of her anguished cries. Against his better judgment, Jax sat down on the bed next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Chloe, there’s no way you could have known……"

She turned to him and grabbed his forearms for an anchor in her sea of sorrow. "J…..J…..Jax……do you think they’re cold down there? Down at the bottom of the ocean?" Jax tried to quiet her, but Chloe wouldn’t be stopped until she got it all out of her system. "When your men threw them overboard, did they make sure…….I mean, were you positive that they were really d…d…..dead….."

Jax finally forced Chloe’s head to his chest. Her tears soaked through his shirt in minutes as she gave free rein to all the grief she had been suppressing for the past 24 hours. "Shhhh…..that’s it. Let it all out. That’s my girl." He crooned to her like a child as he reclined on the bed and pulled Chloe down with him.

"I didn’t….." When Chloe raised her head to look into Jax’s eyes, he felt her pain down to his gut. "I didn’t get to say goodbye to them……"

Jax rested his head on the bed’s pillow. He pulled Chloe into his tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her like steel bands. "Shhhh……try to forget about it now, love," he murmured, patting her head and forcing it down to rest on his chest. He stroked her hair lovingly until he felt her sobs lessen. "That’s my love. Just try to close your eyes and get some rest." Jax felt her grip his shirt tightly with her left hand as she nestled into the crook of his arm like she had slept there all her life. When he heard her even breathing, he finally let his own body relax until he drifted into a peaceful slumber.

And it’s just like the ocean under the moon

That’s the same emotion that I get from you

You got the kind of lovin’, that can be so smooth

And, gimme your heart, make it real

Or just forget about it………

To be continued………..

Music credit: "Smooth" – music by Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas, lyrics by Rob Thomas, as performed by Santana featuring Rob Thomas on the CD, "Supernatural"