"CHLOE!!!" Jax finally shouted her name to get her to stop talking. He grasped her shoulders firmly with his hands and stared into her eyes. "Calm down!"

She narrowed one eye but her heaving shoulders betrayed her. "I AM calm." {Of COURSE I’m calm. The thought of being alone with you again tonight…..spending another night in your arms in this hot, steamy, tropical atmosphere…..it doesn’t bother me at all. Nope. Not at all. Why, I can even see myself sending Ned a postcard so he won’t worry…..

{Dearest Ned, Just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know why I didn’t get back from my cruise as expected. I met the sexiest, most charming pirate when he hijacked our boat, so I’ve decided to spend a little more time with him. That will also give me a chance to get to know my new friends at the whorehouse better. I’m sorry I don’t have time to write more, but the pirate – who told me he was a gunrunner but now turns out to be some kind of spy – needs me to sharpen his knife and clean his gun before he goes off to meet his fellow cut-throats at the black market today. I’m sure none of this can compare to the adventures that the "fascinating Alexis" and you are having, so I won’t keep you.}

"CHLOE!!" Jax’s voice brought her out of her daydreams. He pointed at her feet. "You’re leaving a puddle."

"Oh…..OH!!!!" Chloe jumped back when she saw the growing lake beneath her. She waved her hands in the air, sending a fine mist all over the foyer. "I’m so sorry….."

Jax glanced down at his watch, grimaced, and then pointed off towards the back of the rectory. "Look – why don’t you go see if you can find some dry clothes to put on in Tomas’s things?"

"In Toma……" She gasped aloud. "Jax! I can’t do that!!! I mean, Tomas……well, he’s…..he’s a priest!!!"

Jax nodded grimly. "A very tall, thin priest who isn’t anywhere around and wouldn’t want you to catch pneumonia." He took her shoulders and turned her around, pushing her in the direction Carlotta had gone. "Now go back there to Tomas’s bedroom and get out of those wet things."

She looked back over her shoulder, failing to mask the emotions that flitted across her face. Part fear of him leaving her, part embarrassment at her supposed inadequacy (a legacy of her time with Ned), part unrequited passion, part curiosity. "What are *you* going to do?"

As the question hung in the air, Carlotta re-appeared from the back of the rectory. Jax saw her and raised an eyebrow, placing his hands on his hips. "Donde esta Hernando?"

"Nando esta esperando en el mercado, Pantera," she replied. She looked down her nose with disdain at Chloe, who was still shivering and dripping on the floor of the foyer.

"Bueno. Yo voy alli." Jax glanced in Chloe’s direction and another conversation in rapid Spanish ensued. The housekeeper seemed to bristle at first but then nodded in acquiescence. As Jax turned and headed towards the front door of the rectory again, Chloe put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Where are you going?"

As Jax turned back to her, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to her breasts. The nipples had beaded into sharp little points from the effects of her wet, cold blouse. He struggled mightily to keep from staring at them, wondering how they would feel and taste. "I have to go back out again and meet Hernando – my first mate from the Isabella. He’s waiting for me in the marketplace."

"Go…..back out?" Chloe pulled out of his loose embrace and pointed towards the door. "Into that storm? Are you CRAZY??"

Jax clucked at her in a soothing tone and grabbed her arms again. "I can’t get any wetter than I already am, and besides – I think the storm may be letting up a little." They both looked up at the ceiling of the rectory simultaneously and there were a few moments of silence. "See? No thunder or lightning, and the rain isn’t pounding quite as hard as before on the roof." He laughed a little and gestured down at his clothes. "Besides – I don’t think I could get much wetter than I already am." His mouth then set in a grim line. "And I need to make contact with Hernando to see if he’s heard anything from Cassidine – if the appointment is still on."

A face-to-face meeting with Stefan Cassidine was what had kept Jax going through this miserable undercover mission in the past few weeks. He kept telling himself that the end of the road was finally within sight. All these months masquerading as the infamous privateer, El Pantera, could finally come to fruition if he could spend an hour alone with his elusive boss. Jax was sure he could trap Cassidine into inadvertently revealing the source of the leak in Naval Intelligence in less than sixty minutes. Although El Pantera had been dealing with and working for Cassidine for months, Jax had never met the man in person. Then, when Faison attempted the double-cross, Jax was frustrated. When the beautiful complication that stood before him had been thrown into the mix, El Pantera had nearly lost his legendary icy composure. It was VITAL that the appointment was still on. Without it, Jax knew he might not be able to make his brother’s wedding. And he had promised Jerry he would be there to give the bride away and then act as best man.

"But….." The sound of Chloe’s voice brought Jax back to the present. "But you’ll be back soon…..right?"

Jax gave her a half-smile and squeezed her shoulders for reassurance. "I’m just going over to the marketplace. You go with Carlotta – she’ll help you find something dry to put on." Chloe nodded and Jax went towards the door, turning at the last minute to look back at her. "And why don’t you see if there’s anything edible in the kitchen – we really didn’t stay long enough to have breakfast at Leanita’s." He tapped his fingers to his forehead in salute to her. "I’ll be back before you miss me."

Jax stepped out into the blast furnace that Montserrat had become in the aftermath of the storm. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it with a sigh. {You’ve got to keep focused, Jax. With any luck, by this time tomorrow, you’ll have the information you need and you can be back on your way to the United States. You can forget that El Pantera ever existed.} He gritted his teeth in determination but then felt a sharp twinge and his hand went to his face where Chloe had slapped him earlier. {But can you forget *her*? D*mn……just when the last thing you need on your hands is a beautiful, spirited woman…….}

Even though the storm had passed and the sun was trying to break through the thick bank of clouds, the streets of Montserrat were still mostly deserted. It didn’t take Jax long to sprint over to the marketplace. He spotted Hernando loitering aimlessly next to a large display of fresh fruit. El Pantera kept to the shadows as he worked his way towards his first mate, staying in the shadows as much as possible.

He came up behind Hernando without making a sound. "Did the Isabella weather the storm?"

Hernando startled to hear his boss’s voice but hid it immediately. "Si, Pantera." He glanced around to make sure nobody was within earshot. "We managed to get the shipment in storage before it hit."

Jax picked up a banana and peeled it lazily. "And Cassidine? Any word from him?"

Hernando took the half of the banana that Jax offered him, turning to lean against the fruit cart so that he could keep an eye on the marketplace. "Si. One of his men came by just before the storm." Nando glanced around suspiciously and edged closer to Jax. "Faison’s been to his estate already."

"And lived to tell about it?" Jax arched one eyebrow. "What kind of fairytale did he concoct to explain our delay?"

"According to Cassidine’s man, Faison blew into that resort of his claiming that his ship was caught in some ferocious tropical storm." He shrugged his shoulders. "He said that nearly everything on board went down to the bottom of the sea."

Jax shook his head in disgust. "So Faison spends his time preying on innocent victims like Chloe’s family and then thinks he can steal merchandise from MY ship to cover his laziness?" He whistled softly. "And Cassidine bought his story?"

Hernando straightened up a little at the sight of two men in the plaza. "It doesn’t really matter. Faison’s cargo was chump change compared to what you were carrying. Cassidine must have a buyer with deep pockets." He stared into Jax’s eyes. "He wants to meet with you in person this time, Pantera."

{YES!!!!} Jax controlled his excitement and wore an air of cool detachment. "When?"

"As soon as you can make it out to that private hideaway of his." Hernando’s gaze shifted back to the two men in the plaza who seemed to be suspiciously quiet. "I don’t like it."

"What? Those two?" Jax nodded towards the men.

"No. This little tea party at Cassidine’s estate." Hernando took an orange from the fruit cart and whipped out a wicked-looking knife to peel it, more for effect than to satisfy his hunger. "You might be walking into a trap, Pantera." He made sure that the sun glinted off the blade of the knife, flashing directly in the two men’s eyes.

"Cassidine won’t double cross me." Of the many doubts and concerns whirling through his mind, that wasn’t one of them. Stefan Cassidine was known in criminal circles of the Caribbean to be many things, but a Judas wasn’t one of them. With the white linen suits he was fond of wearing and the lush tropical nature of his vacation retreat, Cassidine was more often referred to as a Ricardo Montalban wannabe – a refugee from "Fantasy Island" without the annoying dwarf companion. He was a middleman – normally setting up lucrative deals for illegal drugs or weapons between vendors and buyers who didn’t wish to reveal their identities. Jax’s cover as El Pantera had established him as a reputable vendor. Cassidine had used him many times in the past for various buyers, but Jax was only really interested in *one* of his customers. The buyer who was working both sides of the fence, securing an arsenal for a Middle Eastern despot while using information from Naval Intelligence. El Pantera had provided the goods for this particular buyer, the deal brokered by Cassidine, twice before. But this time, since it was a particularly large shipment, Jax was hoping that by meeting Cassidine in person, he could find out the identity of the buyer and stop the mole from doing any further damage to American security.

As the two mysterious men in the plaza moved on towards a distant alleyway, Hernando relaxed. Jax gripped his shoulder warmly. "I appreciate your concern, amigo, but I would rather have you back at the Isabella guarding the goods."

Hernando’s eyes flared briefly. "You think Faison would dare come back and try to take the stuff? Right under Cassidine’s nose?"

Jax shrugged his shoulders. "The harbor is a free zone. It would be his word against ours, and Cassidine’s known *him* longer."

Hernando grimaced reluctantly. "Si, Pantera. I will do as you ask." He looked around suspiciously and then leaned close to Jax. "Just don’t let the woman cloud your thinking – use your brain, not your cojones, si?"

Jax’s laughter erupted across the quiet marketplace. "When did you ever know a woman who could distract El Pantera from his job, eh?" He clapped Hernando on the back. "Now get back to the docks and tell the men that as soon as the goods are transferred, there’ll be a celebration at Leanita’s. Three nights – food, drink….." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "……EVERYTHING on me."

Hernando chuckled lewdly. "Bueno." He grasped Jax’s hand and gripped it fiercely in farewell. "Vaya con Dios."

Jax watched as Hernando disappeared again into the maze of alleys that surrounded the marketplace. "To get through the next few days alive……" He sighed and glanced heavenward. "……I’ll need all the help I can get."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Despite Jax’s reassurances, Chloe still felt awkward searching through the drawers of the heavy mahogany dresser in Padre Tomas’s room. It was sparsely furnished – just a bed, a dresser, a chest of drawers, and a crucifix on the wall. Her surprise was genuine when she found expensive silk boxer shorts in the dresser. It multiplied when she opened the small closet and found linen trousers and Italian-tailored silk shirts.

When another shudder ran through her body, Chloe stopped admiring the Padre’s wardrobe. She could feel the heat from the returning tropical sun and went back to the dresser. On finding a serviceable tank-style undershirt, she peeled off the ripped t-shirt she had been wearing since Jax had dragged her ashore. She yanked it over her head, pulling it into place since the cotton stuck to her still-damp skin. The U-neck came down farther than she would have liked, but Chloe just gritted her teeth and tried to pull it up so that not as much of the swell of her breasts showed.

Running her hands quickly through the selection of silk boxers, Chloe grabbed a solid navy pair and shut the drawer. She briefly considered keeping her panties on, but they were just as soaked as her shorts. Closing her eyes and grimacing, she shucked off both panties and shorts and pulled the slinky boxers up to her waist firmly. Despite Jax’s statement that Tomas was thin, they immediately threatened to fall back down to her knees. A few more minutes of searching rewarded Chloe with a safety pin and she secured the boxers with a smile.

After leaving her soggy canvas shoes and the rest of her wet clothing draped over Tomas’s bathtub, Chloe went in search of the kitchen. She padded silently through the rectory, expecting to run into either Jax or Carlotta any minute. But she finally found the bright, airy room that was already becoming like a sauna after the morning’s storm.

Chloe chewed on her lower lip and sank into a kitchen chair. {You’re NUTS, Chloe – just like Jax said!! Yesterday you would have given your *soul* to have time alone like this! You ran away from the man first chance you got! But now – now, you MISS him, you idiot!!} She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs and arms in thought. {Of course, that was before you found out that he’s some kind of spy. He’s not REALLY a bad guy. He wouldn’t hurt you. Not THAT way……} Chloe closed her eyes and her mind reeled with the memories of lying next to Jax in the bed just hours earlier. {You’ve got to get away from him, Chloe. He’s WAY out of your league. You’re not his kind of woman, and you’d just end up falling for him. And if you started to care for him, he’d just end up like everyone else you ever loved…..}

Her eyes shot open and Chloe jumped when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. "Interesting wardrobe selections……" Jax chuckled in a low, seductive voice.

"Jax!" She tried to get up from the chair but his hand held her there. "I didn’t hear you……when did you……."

"Just a few minutes ago…." From Jax’s vantage point in a standing position, he had an unobstructed view down the gaping neckline of the Chloe’s undershirt. The sight of her perfectly formed, alabaster breasts slammed into Jax’s libido like a velvet fist. His hand slowly strayed from her shoulder to tangle in the riot of blonde curls at her shoulder and he laughed again softly.

"What?" Chloe’s hand immediately went to her hair on the other side of her head and she grimaced in realization. "Oh – my hair." She pulled her fingers through it, trying to comb out the tangles. "It must be a mess. It always gets frizzy after it’s wet." Her laugh was hollow as Jax’s hand at the nape of her neck and the way he was looking at her made her insides feel squishy. "I must look like I stuck my finger in an electric socket….."

"Not at all." Jax’s voice was husky. His fingers moved to massage the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder, his thumb hooking under the strap of the undershirt. "More like you just got out of my bed……." Chloe’s eyes shot up to lock with Jax’s gaze. "……like we just spent the morning making love……….."

The steamy atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly had nothing to do with meteorological conditions. {You CAN’T let him do this!! You’ll only get hurt, and it will end up getting HIM hurt!!} Chloe seized the moment when Jax’s touch lightened to jump up out of the chair. "Yeah, well you can be thankful that we just didn’t….." As she paced nervously to the other side of the kitchen, she missed Jax’s frown of curiosity at the way she put herself down sexually. "Soooo……did you make your meeting? In the marketplace?"

"Yep." Jax nodded and started to unbutton his shirt. "Everything’s on track for ….."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" Chloe’s shocked question made Jax look up at her and freeze. "I mean, why are you…..um……..taking off your clothes……"

He smiled at her and when a lock of his hair fell across his forehead, Chloe felt like Roman candles just went off inside her. "I’m still wet, Chloe…." His stomach growled loudly. "And hungry," he added, glancing around the kitchen. "Did you find us anything to eat?"

"I……." Chloe’s eyes were round like saucers as she continued to stare at Jax’s fingers, which rested at top fastener on his jeans. "I just got down here myself so I didn’t have much of a chance to check.." She rushed over towards the refrigerator but stopped in her tracks at the sound of Jax’s voice.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." When she looked back at him, he was leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed lazily across his bare chest. His damp shirt now hung on a kitchen chair, but she noted that he still wore his shoulder holster. "The power’s been off here for a few days now," Jax continued, nodding towards the refrigerator. "I suspect that anything you might find in there would have a healthy crop of mold growing already."

"Yuck." Chloe grimaced towards the silent refrigerator and then looked up at the cabinets. "Wonder what he’s got in here?" She turned around and started to open them but then stopped and looked over her shoulder at Jax. "You sure the good father won’t mind us raiding his supplies?"

Jax straightened and walked over to where Chloe was. "Tomas may be a priest, but he’s also a practical man," he said dryly as he grabbed a can on the top shelf that Chloe kept missing. "He knows that you can’t save someone’s soul if their body is dying of hunger. AND, he’s learned that in order to survive on this island and get the help he needs for his parishioners, he sometimes has to close his eyes to Stefan Cassidine’s other business interests." Chloe nodded thoughtfully. "So….." Jax held up the can and a box he had retrieved from another shelf. "Tuna, crackers….." He tipped his head towards the table. "You grab some of that fresh fruit and let’s take it all outside."

"Outside?" Chloe slammed shut a drawer she had opened and held up a can opener triumphantly. "When I just got dry?"

Jax laughed softly. "The sun’s out now, Chloe, and I’M still soaked to the bone." He gestured towards the ceiling. "Without electricity, there’s no ceiling fans and this kitchen will turn into a sauna. At least we can catch a breeze out in the garden."

Chloe nodded her understanding and the two made their way into a bower behind the rectory. Tall palm trees were surrounded by thick green bushes and flowering plants in brilliant shades of magenta and gold. After Jax had opened the can of tuna and set it between them on a small stone bench, he offered her some crackers. "So……" Chloe took a small sip of some previously un-opened bottled water they had found behind the door. "Isn’t Jax kind of an odd name?" His hands froze and he blanched slightly. "I mean, you said that’s your real name, right?"

Finally he gave her a curt nod. "It’s my nickname. Not my real first name."

"So what IS your real first name, lieutenant?"

Jax never looked up at her. He stared instead at the orange he was peeling. "Can’t tell you."

Chloe accepted a slice of orange. "Can’t, or won’t?"

"A little of both, actually." He got up from the bench and went to the bush where he had draped his shirt to dry, shaking it briskly to get the moisture out.

"So I guess you can’t – or won’t – tell me what your mission with this Cassidine person involves either, huh?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions, Miss Morgan?" Jax spun back to face her, his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed.

"I just……I *need* to know, lieutenant!!" As she spat the last word and gazed down at her slice of orange, hot tears sprang to Chloe’s eyes again. "Because if your mission doesn’t involve arresting that Faison guy, then it should."

Jax walked back to the bench and crouched down next to Chloe. "Obsessing about getting your revenge on Faison won’t get you anything but killed, Chloe."

"He needs to be punished, Jax," she growled through clenched teeth. "He murdered the only people I had left in this world." She took a shaky breath. "Now, according to what you told me before, you’ve got the power to do that kind of thing. But if you won’t help me, I’ll just find somebody else who will."

"Like who?" Jax laughed sarcastically.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders and lifted her chin with stubborn pride. "I don’t know – maybe I’ll tell that Cassidine person what Faison did, and *he’ll* help me. After all, Faison works for him."

"Exactly!" Jax hooted. "And who do you think Cassidine will believe about what happened on board the Morgana? That is, if Faison doesn’t kill you before you ever GET to Cassidine!"

"I thought……" Chloe bit her lower lip. "I thought YOU would be there to protect me," she whispered softly. The remnants of her tears glistened on her eyelashes in the hot midday sun.

{Bloody h*ll, Jax! This is the LAST thing you need right now! Having to play nursemaid to an obsessed female when an entire mission is coming together! This will NEVER work.} Jax abruptly huffed aloud and got up from the bench. He rubbed his hands against his now-dry jeans and then propped them on his hips. "Go put your clothes back on. We’re leaving."

"Leaving?" Chloe pushed the rest of the crackers back in the box before rising from the bench. "Where are we going?"

"I’M going to that meeting with Cassidine I told you about." He ruffled his hair with his hand. "I’m taking YOU to a shelter for storm victims I saw when I went to the marketplace. It’s just down the street from here."

"A shelter?"

"Yeah. You’ll be safe there." Jax’s voice cracked with emotion even though he tried to keep it level. "As soon as they restore power, they’ll get the telephones working again and you can call someone in the States to come get you. Or I’ll leave a message for Tomas to make sure you get back home….."

He never heard her walk over to him until she lay her hand on his arm. "Jax, I thought I was going with you. I thought….."

"Well, you thought wrong, Chloe!" When Jax saw the hurt look in her eyes, his breath seemed to explode from his lungs. "I…..I just can’t the chance!" He gripped her arms tightly. "I’m so close to wrapping up this mission, and I just can’t risk having you with me and accidentally going off half-cocked to Cassidine about your dead relatives….."

{He’s afraid you’ll screw things up for him, Chloe. He thinks you’ll be a failure. Just like Ned thought you were too dull for him. Boring, mousy little Chloe who can barely manage to put one foot in front of the other to get through life…..}

Chloe drew herself up and pulled away from Jax. "I understand. I’ll go put my things back on."

"Chloe……" Jax reached out for her but she was already back inside the rectory when he called her name. He swore under his breath and then hurled the nearly-empty tuna can at the trunk of a nearby tree, splattering the remains of the fish around the garden. While he put his shirt back on and checked his pistol to make sure it was loaded, he kept telling himself that he was doing this for the good of the mission. And for Chloe’s own good. But it still hurt like h*ll.

Twenty minutes later, Jax was leading Chloe through a maze of alleys back towards the marketplace. With the return of the sun, more and more people were appearing in doorways and the streets, taking stock of damage and getting back to their normal routine. Jax tried to keep to back streets and out of the most crowded areas so as not to attract attention.

They were almost at the marketplace when he abruptly yanked on Chloe’s arm and pulled her into a narrow alley between two large buildings. "The shelter’s just beyond that plaza on the left," Jax explained when he saw the question in her eyes. "I probably shouldn’t go any farther ….. in case anyone’s watching for me."

"Right." Chloe fought back the sob that rose deep in her chest. {What’s WRONG with you, Chloe?? You’re FINALLY going to be rid of him! You’ll be SAFE!!} She hiccuped silently when she inhaled. "I…..I should be able to make it from here alone."

"Right." Jax echoed her sentiment but his eyes locked with hers. There were so many things he wanted to say. So many things he would never know -- like how the tender flesh behind her knee tasted, or how her eyes looked when she reached her peak. He had to kiss her just one more time. To have one more taste of her before he lost her forever. Her name came out on a choked whisper as he lowered his lips to hers. "Chloe……"

Chloe met him more than halfway. Her feelings were whirling around in her brain more fiercely than the storm she had just survived that morning. She kissed Jax with abandon she never knew she had, stroking his lips with her tongue even before he had a chance to do the same. If their kisses before had been blistering, this one ranked right up there in the "nuclear meltdown" category.

She threaded her fingers up through Jax’s damp hair as he pressed her back against the side of the building. The pressure of his body against hers combined with the intensity of the kiss drew a moan deep from her soul. When Jax slipped his hand inside her shirt to cup her breast, he broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I have to touch you……just once……"

Chloe dragged her hands from around Jax’s neck and slid them up under his shirt. When her fingers found his nipples and circled them gently, she heard a groan rumble in Jax’s chest. She had never felt like this with Ned. The physical part of their relationship had been mutually satisfying, but it had never inspired this kind of hunger in her. This kind of raging need that made her want to wrap her legs around Jax’s waist and let him make love to her right there in the middle of the alley. "Jax," she whispered, "I need you."

Jax moved his hand down to the hem of her shorts and slid one finger under it. When he moved that finger back and forth beneath the elastic edge of her panties, Chloe whimpered softly. "Do you like it when I touch you there?"

He kept tempting her with his finger, moving it a little further towards her center but then retreating to the hem of her panties, until she felt like screaming from the pleasure. But when Jax felt her soft, delicate hands at the waistband of his own jeans, something inside of him set off warning bells. His eyes flew open just as she started to un-do the buttons. "Chloe," he panted, gripping her wrists to stop her movement. "We can’t……"

Chloe’s breathing was as ragged as his when she looked up into his eyes. "Jax? Don’t you want……."

He let go of her hands to cup her face tenderly. "Yes, I want……God, how I want! But not here……not like this, in the middle of some filthy alley….." He looked around him and her breathing started to slow, keeping pace with his. "You deserve better than this, Chloe….."

Jax swore at himself when he saw the hurt and confusion in Chloe’s eyes. She pulled back silently and was re-arranging her shirt when there was a loud noise at the end of the alley. Jax spun around and pushed her behind him in a protective stance, but it was too late to avoid the trap.

Half a dozen men stood at the entrance to the alleyway. When he turned around, Jax was confronted with another half dozen at the other end. "Stay behind me," he murmured softly to Chloe. "And don’t say a word."

Chloe shrank behind Jax, truly afraid for the first time since hearing her aunt and uncle murdered on the Morgana. She heard some rustling noises, and then her blood froze as a voice rang out from the end of the alley.

"Pantera!! I’ve been looking for you….."

She felt Jax’s body stiffen – like a snake, coiling to strike. "Corinthos! I heard you were out of town."

"I came back, just for you, Pantera," Sonny crooned. "Just to watch you die."

To be continued…….