"Yes – you know," Jax replied with suave aplomb, "that meal that comes sometime after lunch and before………." He rubbed his thumb sensually over her lower lip. "………bed."

Brenda was sure her heart skipped a beat. {He’s not talking about GOING to bed with you. He’s WAY out of your league, and all that’s between you is a strictly business relationship.} She tried to control her raging hormones and took a step back from him, putting a safe distance between them. "And just what makes you so sure that I haven’t already eaten dinner?"

"You didn’t." Just as Jax took a breath to reply, Robin stepped into that "safe" space, handing Brenda a clipboard with a smug smile. "And I think dinner would be an *excellent* idea."

Brenda shot her a "thanks-a-LOT" grimace. "Well, I *don’t* – and have you forgotten?" she added, tipping her head condescendingly towards Jax. "You *already* fed me once today. In your cabin? That sandwich and orange juice?"

His mouth lifted in a deliciously wicked smile. "I DO remember, but that was almost……." Jax lifted his right arm to consult his watch. "……7 hours ago. And I don’t know about you, Miss Barrett," he continued, leaning towards her with a wink that guaranteed him a spot in the Seduction Hall of Fame, "but I find that all this fresh ocean air makes me HUNGRY more OFTEN!"

Brenda’s gaze alternated between Robin (disgusted annoyance at her matchmaking interference) and Jax (more annoyance – but this time, at his macho perseverance). "Well, that may be true for you, Mr. Jacks, but we don’t all have your…….APPETITE!" she shot back, her smile clearly telegraphing the notion that two could play at his game of double entendres. She glanced down at her pale pink cotton tee-shirt and worn blue jeans and then placed her palm against her forehead, closing her eyes and sighing exhaustedly. "You know, the truth is that I’m not exactly *dressed* for dinner at the captain’s table." She opened her eyes and propped her hand on her hip, still holding the clipboard and shifting her weight to one side. "And I’ve got a million things to do, helping the crew tear down this set. We’ve got to be ready to go early tomorrow morning to get things set up on Barbados……."

"*I* can help with a lot of that tear down stuff, boss," Robin interrupted softly, a twinkle in her eye. "Lest you forget, I HAVE done this before……."

"I know, I know," Brenda grimaced and hugged the clipboard to her chest. She smiled wistfully at Jax. "It’s partly "me", too. I just……..well, I get myself so keyed up at a shoot that the *last* thing I feel like doing is getting all gussied up and eating a big steak with all the carbohydrate trimmings."

"Point taken." Jax nodded thoughtfully. "Although I DO feel it’s my duty to point out that I didn’t arrive on the set in this tuxedo, you know," he added, tapping his forefinger gently on Brenda’s nose. He chewed on his lower lip for a moment and then smiled triumphantly. "I’ve got an idea. Let me just get out of this monkey suit and make some calls." He held up a finger in a gesture for her to "wait." "Give me five minutes before you make up your mind to turn me down."

Brenda hesitated but then nodded. "OK – five minutes." As Jax’s smile grew in relief and he turned to go towards the dressing room, she called after him, "But I’m not making any promises!"

As Jax sprinted towards the small cabin where he had changed earlier, Brenda turned back towards her crew. They were scurrying around the deck like a controlled swarm of bees – intent on getting everything put back in place and all the camera equipment stowed away long before the next day’s early call. Of course, she realized with a slight smile, they were *also* anxious to get things wrapped up so that they could begin their *own* celebration of a successful shoot, preferably in the lounge on the Lido Deck.

When a petite brunette form caught her eye, Brenda strolled casually over to where Robin was barking orders at a group of burly technicians. "Sooooooo………" She stopped behind her friend, wrapping her arms around the clipboard and tipping her head to the side. "What’s going on?"

"Ummmm…….what does it LOOK like’s going on, Bren?" Robin countered with a smile. "I’m just making sure that this stuff gets sorted so we have what we need when we’re on location on the island tomorrow." She abruptly spun around and gestured broadly towards one of the cameramen. "Hey, Grobl!!! Get the tape of tonight’s shoot out of video cam as soon as you can! I want to transmit some of it back home to Big Mama tonight!"

"I’m sure Lucy will be *thrilled* to hear that you call her Big Mama," Brenda chuckled. Then her expression sobered. "But that’s not what I mean, and you know it, Robin." When Robin turned back with a "huh?" look on her face, Brenda gave her a pointed stare. "Why are you pushing me into having dinner with Jax?"

"It’s just *dinner*, for cryin’ out loud, Brenda!" Robin exclaimed. She swiped the clipboard from her friend’s hands, shaking her head. "It won’t *kill* you to put some decent food into your stomach twice in one day, you know!"

"Thank you, Dr. Kildare," Brenda shot back. She narrowed one eye at Robin. "But why do I get the feeling that you’re encouraging me to do a lot more than just break bread with our newest model?"

Robin paused, clipboard perched on her hip, and sighed. "Are you going to force me to use the "w" word, Bren?" She frowned briefly when soft curses drifted on tropical breezes towards their ears, but then relaxed when a group of men succeeded in lowering a light bar to the deck without mishap. "Look, you’ve been knocking yourself out working for Lucy these past few months, and so many projects before that that I lost count!" When Brenda’s shoulders slumped a little, Robin moved closer to place a gentle hand on her arm. "That old expression about "all work and no play" *does* occasionally mean something, Brenda." She smiled softly. "And with all these warm, humid nights and the sensual tropical atmosphere to inspire you, maybe a little "fling" is just what the doctor ordered!"

Brenda nodded slowly but then arched an eyebrow at Robin. "Hey – are you OK?"

"Me? Sure!!" Robin’s laugh sounded just faintly false. "Well, as OK as I can be while playing den mother to a bunch of guys who still get a kick out of short-sheeting each others’ beds!"

When she suddenly turned to stride towards a group of techs who were packing up electrical equipment, Brenda followed behind her. "Are you *sure* you didn’t have a fight with Jason or something?"

"No – Jason’s fine!" Robin insisted. She checked something off on the clipboard and then strolled towards the open deck area, Brenda still in tow. "I just talked to him on the phone before the shoot." A ragged sigh escaped her lips. "If he can’t get away to meet us on Barbados, he’s going to make arrangements to spend at least a week with me when we get back to Miami." She smiled brightly. "Maybe then we can finally get some of the wedding plans hammered out."

"So *that’s* what’s got you in such a funk tonight? Wedding plans?"

Robin grimaced and lowered the clipboard to her side. "You know me too well, missy," she scolded, bumping her hip against Brenda’s affectionately. "Right after I got off the phone with Jason, I got a call from my dad……"

"Uh-oh……." Brenda’s eyes widened sympathetically. "I take it he wasn’t too pleased that you didn’t give him too much advance notice about this assignment?"

"Not too pleased is putting it mildly," Robin laughed. She shook her head as the two women made their way towards the row of cabins where Jax was changing his clothes. "Dad’s just been more protective than usual lately, if that’s possible!" She set the clipboard down on a wrought iron table and folded her arms across her chest. "Something happened – like maybe somebody looked at him cross-eyed – and now he’s worried that I might be in some kind of danger."

"Danger?" Brenda breathed the word softly. "What if he’s right, Robin?" She frowned and looked down towards the deck. "I mean, do you remember that one guy we saw on the deck the other day? When we were watching Jax in the swimming pool?"

"What guy?"

"Darn………." Brenda shook her hands at her sides in nervous frustration. "Now I can’t remember that much about him, but he just sort of gave me the creeps……."

"It was probably dad’s chief of security, Luke Spencer." Robin waved at a noisy group of technicians as they departed for the lounge, waving and laughing. "He’s pretty scary."

"Who’s pretty scary?"

The sound of Jax’s husky baritone voice behind them made both women startle slightly. "Wow!" Brenda laughed loudly to hide her surprise. "That was quick!"

"I’ll refrain from any chauvinistic comment," he drawled smoothly. "Since I don’t want to put a damper on any future plans for the evening."

Jax had changed out of his tuxedo into a pair of worn jeans and a polo shirt in record time, even for a SEAL. Now that the lighting equipment had been packed up, being alone on a shadowy deck late in the evening made Brenda a ripe target for any hit man. And the truth was that, despite his "mission," he was anxious to spend time alone with Brenda Barrett. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman. If the United States Navy saw fit to assign him as her bodyguard 24/7, who was he to argue?

"Well, I’ll just leave you two to your plans. I should probably make sure that our guys aren’t swinging from the chandeliers in the lounge yet." Robin announced brightly, heading in the direction the crew had taken earlier. She held up a hand when Brenda opened her mouth to speak. "And I’ll make sure that they don’t have any more than two rounds before I start force-feeding them black coffee!"

As Robin faded into the shadows and Brenda suddenly found herself alone with Jax, an unusual wave of timidity swept over her. "You know," she finally said as he took her arm, "I can’t promise you that I’ll be very good company tonight. It’s been a busy day for me."

They walked in silence for a few moments before Jax’s low chuckle rumbled through the still night air. "Not being in control bothers the living h*ll out of you, doesn’t it, Brenda?" When she gasped a denial, his smile only grew. "Not knowing where we’re going, or what kind of dinner I have planned for us……."

She finally relented and relaxed against him a little with a grimace. "OK – you’ve got me. I admit it. I *am* a little bit of a control freak."

"Well, you won’t have very much longer to wonder, because we’re almost there." Jax pulled her into a hallway that led to the multi-level main lobby of the cruise ship. "In fact, our destination is on this very deck."

"This deck?" He felt more of the tension leave her body. "Well, that’s a relief," she sighed, shaking her head. "I thought you were going to use one of those tired old pickup lines and try to take me back to your cabin for a "private dinner.""

"Well then obviously you don’t know me very well yet," Jax countered with a smile. He held out a hand courteously to indicate which hallway they should follow next. "Because I’m *far* too classy to ever use a "tired old pickup line" on a lady!" They shared a laugh and walked silently again until he murmured gently, "Is there somebody back home that would be righteously indignant if I DID try to use a pickup line on you?"

"No ………" Jax’s heart unexpectedly fluttered until Brenda finally sighed her reply. "There’s nobody." She smiled ruefully. "I’ve been so busy with projects for Baldwin Coe lately that I barely have time for myself, much less a significant other……"

"Just what I thought." Jax smiled wisely and nodded. "Which is why this will be the *perfect* place for us to have dinner!"

Brenda’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she read the words on the door he pointed to on their right. "The Sapphire Princess Arcade?" She laughed in disbelief. "We’re having dinner with a bunch of pinball addict teeny-boppers?"

"Ahhhhh, never make fun of the sophisticated art of pinball, Miss Barrett," Jax announced, wagging a finger at her with mock seriousness. "And as for us being bothered by other aficionados of the great sport of electronic gamesmanship, well………" He flashed a smile that sent her stomach plummeting to somewhere near her knees. "…….I managed to talk the captain into letting us have the place to ourselves for tonight."

Actually, it was Jerry who did the persuading. Jax was becoming more than a little comfortable in this millionaire playboy cover that Sean had concocted. He had called his brother from the cabin while changing clothes, and after the older Jacks tactfully explained the facts of life to the captain of the Sapphire Princess (including less-than-subtle hints at the extent of Sean’s temper when crossed), the arcade was emptied of other patrons in record time.

"Sooooo, Miss Barrett……" Jax closed the door behind them and led Brenda to an array of games along one side of the room. "Which one will you choose? Barbie, or Ken?"

She covered her lips with her fingertips to stifle the laugh of genuine delight at the sight of the nearest game. Two small boats – one piloted by a Barbie doll, one by Ken – were competing towards a finish line at the far end of the console. As Brenda took a seat at the controls, she gripped the handle of a water cannon. When she pressed the red button on the grip, a stream of water shot out, propelling Barbie’s boat towards the finish line.

"You should know that us girls stick together, Mr. Jacks!" she replied with a coquettish smile. Jax took his place next to her and in the wink of an eye, both were firing rapid bursts of water at their respective boats. Barbie took an immediate lead; Ken’s craft teetered precariously as Jax nearly flooded it with "fuel" in his eagerness to win; Barbie’s chances dimmed as Brenda laughed so hard she forgot to press her button for a few precious moments. But ultimately, Barbie skimmed across the finish line first, setting off a series of flashing red and yellow lights that inspired Brenda to jump up and dance for joy.

For the next thirty minutes, they matched skills in various arcade games. Peals of laughter filled the empty arcade when Jax roundly thwonked more alligator heads with a large rubber mallet than Brenda. She giggled unabashedly when he sent a miniature bowling ball careening across several lanes in his enthusiastic attempt to hit the center elevated ring to score the most points. They both settled down to serious competition when it came to pinball, shouting encouragement to the tiny silver ball that bounced from one rubber bumper to another, setting off even more rounds of flashing neon lights. A shy smile light up Brenda’s face when Jax presented her with a large white stuffed teddy bear, her prize for being the ultimate victor.

"This is so…….AMAZING!" she cried, spinning around in dizzy circles while clutching the bear to her chest. "I want to do them all again! Can we, Jax?" His heart caught at her innocent joy in such mundane pleasures. "Can we, PLEASE??!!"

"Soon." He held up a finger when her smile turned into a disheartened frown. "If you’ll recall, Miss Barrett, I *did* invite you to share dinner with me this evening." He glanced down at his wristwatch. "And if the staff in on schedule……." A knock sounded at the door to the Arcade, prompting Jax to smile. "That should be it!!!"

Brenda followed him as he went towards the door. "I know I put up a fight about coming along tonight, Jax, and I *admit* that I’m having a wonderful time…….." She finally caught him by the arm when his hand reached out towards the door’s latch-style handle. "…….but I was *really* serious when I said that I don’t feel like eating a big meal after a photo shoot!"

"And I was *really* listening, Brenda!" he replied, his eyes crinkling with knowing glee. He pulled on the latch and swung the door open to reveal a large dinner cart covered by a glistening white linen tablecloth. "Well……." Jax scowled theatrically at the steward standing behind the cart. "It’s about *time* you got here!"

"So *sorry* I was late, sir," Jerry growled, shooting Jax a dirty look when Brenda turned her back momentarily. He eased the cart over the raised threshold to the arcade. "But we had a little trouble running down a few of those items you wanted on your menu for this evening."

"Now you’re *really* going to make me feel bad, Jax……." Brenda was wracked with guilt as she followed the Jacks brothers back into the arcade. Jerry rolled the cart towards an open spot near the pinball machines. "Here you caused a lot of trouble for these poor people, ordering special things for our dinner, and I probably won’t even have the appetite to eat half of them……."

"Oh, the staff doesn’t mind turning handstands for Mr. Jacks, ma’am," Jerry replied quickly. He whisked some non-existent lint off the tablecloth and then turned to her with a broad smile. "We enjoy having him on board with us – almost as much as we enjoy having his charming, handsome, GENEROUS older brother sail with us!"

"An older brother?" Curiosity was evident on Brenda’s face. "You never told me you had an older brother, Jax," she crooned, walking around to stand next to him. She linked an arm through his and bumped up against his hip playfully. "If he’s as good-looking as you are, we just may have to sign him up as one of our models, too!"

"Oh, I’m *sure* he’d enjoy working with you, love," Jax drawled, glaring at Jerry when Brenda was distracted by the array of covered silver dishes on the table. "He’d probably be *fabulous* for some of those men’s underwear ads!" When a sudden coughing fit made Jerry double over, Jax waved a hand at him. "Thank you, steward – you should probably go get yourself a drink of water or something!"

Jerry sent his younger brother one more disgruntled sneer before he quickly exited the arcade. "Madam," Jax announced elegantly, bowing slightly at the waist in Brenda’s direction, "may I present our first course – roast tenderloin ala Oscar Mayer!"

Her laughter floated through the empty arcade like iridescent bubbles. Displayed on a doily-covered silver plate were at least six hot dogs, complete with buns. Jax quickly removed the lids of the side dishes to reveal an assortment of relishes, mustard, and onions. A large chafing dish at the rear of the table held potato chips – just freshly made, he informed her. The crowning touch was a large container beneath the cart, which, when unveiled, contained a half dozen paper cones of frothy pink cotton candy.

"This is……..you are just…….." Brenda shook her head and he thought he saw the glint of tears in her eyes. "……..amazing," she finally breathed, meeting his gaze as he held a hot dog to her lips so she could taste it. She leaned towards him and took the first bite, closing her eyes and savoring it with as much gusto as she would the finest filet mignon.

"Mmmmmmm……….." She took the hot dog from him, reaching eagerly to spoon on some relish and mustard. "Do you know how *long* it’s been since I’ve had one of these?"

"Probably as long as it’s been since you’ve had any real fun," he replied, taking a generous bite of his own hot dog. He chewed, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then winked at her while sizing up his next bite. "Looks like I came along just in time."

She swallowed hard, half-grinning. "And that would be because……"

"I am an *expert* at having fun, Miss Barrett," Jax replied, neatly swiping a trace of mustard off the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Looks like there’ll be more than the obvious benefits of having me as the body double for your model."

"Oh, and I suppose that’s because *you’re* going to show me what I’ve been missing, burying myself in my work all these months? That after spending time with you, everything else will just *pale* in comparison?" she asked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically. "Sounds like Robin’s been complaining to you about me being a workaholic."

"No need for that." Jax popped the balance of the hot dog into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "I happened to come across a magazine with the results of some of your latest projects." He smiled and offered her some potato chips. "You *definitely* inherited your mother’s talent."

Brenda froze, the smile disappearing from her face. "How do you know about my mother?"

"She was mentioned in the article, I think," Jax lied smoothly. "She’s a photographer too, isn’t she?"

"Was." She paused, then idly played with the potato chip in her hand, a somber look on her face. "She was killed in an accident while on a photo shoot when I was younger." After another awkward pause, Brenda brushed the salt off her hands from the potato chips and sighed loudly. "You know, as much fun as those games were, it’s probably a bad idea to play any more tonight." She glanced down at her watch. "It’s late, and we have an early call tomorrow morning on Barbados."

{She still hasn’t come to terms with her mother’s death. Interesting. Is that what makes her push herself so hard to work?} Although he wasn’t about to push her into some deep, soul-searching discussion of her grief, Jax had to admit he was thoroughly enjoying his time with Brenda. Plus he wasn’t quite ready yet to send her back to her cabin yet, where he couldn’t keep tabs on her as easily.

"But we can’t leave!" His face suddenly brightened. "We haven’t had dessert yet!" he crowed, picking up two large cones of cotton candy and holding them aloft.

She hesitated for a minute and then took one cone from him with a smile. "But that’s the beauty of cotton candy, Mr. Jacks – it’s eminently portable!" Brenda ambled away from him towards the door of the arcade. "I can take this back with me to my cabin!"

His lips twisted in frustration but then he smiled and picked up her teddy bear. "Why don’t we compromise?" He tossed the stuffed animal up in the air and caught it again with one hand, holding it out to her. "We can enjoy our cotton candy while Snowball and I walk you back to your cabin."

Her eyes narrowed and Brenda’s expression softened, in spite of herself. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse the two of you?" She took the bear from him and nestled it in the crook of her right arm as he followed her out of the arcade and onto the deck of the cruise ship.

They walked back towards the cabin Brenda shared with Robin in companionable silence, enjoying the cool breeze and vast array of stars that lit their way. As they emerged from the elevator onto the Riviera Deck, Jax casually rested his hand at the small of her back. "Soooo……what kind of shots are you planning for tomorrow on Barbados?" He tried to conceal the fact that he was mentally taking stock of the narrow passageway, sizing it up for any possible threats to her safety. "Pictures of us with the cruise ship as background?"

"Absolutely not! That’s the whole reason we’re stopping on Barbados!" Brenda bubbled, swallowing the small tuft of cotton candy she had just popped into her mouth. "We want to get some exotic location stuff, far away from the ship………" She stared dreamily off into space while Jax’s stomach sank. "You know, lots of gorgeous tropical flowers, palm trees, beautiful exotic birds………"

"And you think you’ll be able to find such a photographic chunk of paradise on this short of notice?" He held onto a faint glimmer of hope.

"No problem!" Brenda danced happily a few feet ahead of Jax, holding her cotton candy in one hand and Snowball the bear in the other. "Robin’s uncle has a huge estate somewhere on the far side of the island, so she’s familiar with all the best spots for us to set up. She was down here a couple of weeks ago scouting possible locations, and she tells me she’s got some *real* beauties!"

A string of unrepeatable obscenities danced through Jax’s brain. Protecting Brenda on board the ship was difficult enough, although having her borderline-Neanderthal crew hovering nearby most of the time made it a little easier. But taking the "show on the road," so to speak, multiplied the difficulty level exponentially. Being out in the middle of nowhere – especially a nowhere that had large trees and dense foliage to provide attackers with natural cover – spelled disaster. He’d definitely need Jerry to provide backup.

"Hmmmmm……..sounds great," he finally managed to mutter, hoping he looked convincing in his enthusiasm. Just as Jax was about to ask for more details about the shoot – how many of her crew would be going along, any possible clues as to the *exact* locations so Jerry could scout them in advance – Brenda stopped in front of a doorway and turned back to him with a shy smile.

"Well, this is my stop," she said, her eyelids fluttering with uncharacteristic bashfulness. "I…….well, I really DID enjoy the arcade games……and dinner…….and……well………everything……."

"Good." As she settled with her back against the door to the cabin, Jax propped his left hand on the doorjamb above her shoulder. "But I think you have a little cotton candy on your face……..right there…….." He pointed to a spot at the corner of her lips but when she raised a hand to touch it, he caught her wrist gently. "Let me help you out with that……"

She felt the pointed tip of his tongue first, laving the spot where the stick confection clung. Her eyes had drifted shut as he leaned into her, anticipating the promise of a kiss – a kiss she had been secretly fantasizing about ever since he had looked so delicious during the photo shoot earlier that evening. His lips brushed ever so gently over hers – she couldn’t help but notice how soft they were. She was surprisingly disappointed when he pulled away, but then all conscious thought fled when he thoroughly reclaimed her mouth, leaving no doubt as to his intentions.

Brenda sighed softly and took in the taste of him – cotton-candy-sweet and powerful and masculine. Even though his lips were soft, they were hot and demanding. His tongue explored the crevices of her mouth and teased at her own, sliding in when she opened to him, caught on a crest of desire. Jax’s kiss shook her, leaving her breathless. She’d never felt this kind of response to a man before – this electric charge that rushed from her brain to her toes, leaving a yearning heat in its wake.

When he finally broke the kiss, he cupped her face in his hands, brushing her lips once more before staring deeply into her eyes. "I suppose it would be presumptuous of me to ask to come in?"

"I……..uh………" Brenda’s brain finally sent the message to her lips to move in coherent patterns again. "Robin’s probably in there……." With her back pressed against the door to the cabin, she shifted her weight, almost losing her balance as the door clicked open.

Even with only an infinitesimal crack in the door, Jax could see there were no lights on inside the cabin. Instincts honed by years of SEAL training kicked in. He immediately pulled Brenda away from the door, reversing their positions.

"JAX! What are you do……."

He held a finger to her lips, silencing her question. He turned back towards the slightly opened door and pushed it open just another fraction of an inch. When a faint shadow of movement in the opening caught his eye, he whirled and pushed Brenda against the wall of the passageway, covering her mouth with his hand to stifle her scream of surprise.

"Now listen to me very carefully," Jax whispered, his eyes constantly shifting back towards the cabin. "Someone’s inside your cabin, and I’m going to go in there and find out who it is. But I want you to stay out here in the hallway, no matter WHAT happens – do you hear me?" She inhaled to object but when he tightened his grip over her mouth, she nodded blankly, her eyes wide with surprise and fright.

He held one hand out towards her, entreating her to do as he asked as he let go of his grip on her and moved towards the door again. Taking a deep breath, he silently counted to three, then gave the door a firm kick with his right foot, lunging into the darkness. Meanwhile, Brenda clutched Snowball tightly to her chest. She was torn between the urge to flee for help and the temptation to rush in after Jax and whomp the intruder soundly over the head with her stuffed prize.

The sound of a muffled feminine scream from inside the cabin finally goaded Brenda into action. She launched herself around the corner and into the cabin, reaching for the light switch. The light that flooded the room revealed Jax in a clench on the floor with a blonde woman in a cruise line uniform.

He finally jerked the woman to a standing position, pulling her back against his chest with his arm wrapped firmly around her waist. "Who the bloody h*ll are you?" he growled, drawing a frightened yelp from her when he tightened his grasp.

"ARE YOU NUTS???!!!" The blonde struggled in vain to get free. "I’m the night shift housekeeper!!" She exhaled loudly and stopped fighting him, trying to get Jax to listen to her explanation. "I just came in to deliver fresh towels and turn down the beds!!"

Jax paused for a few moments, the sight of her uniform finally sinking in. When he saw her cleaning cart parked in the corner of Brenda and Robin’s cabin, he abruptly released the blonde. "Isn’t it a little odd to be turning down beds in the dark?" he asked, his chest heaving as he struggled to slow his breathing.

"I *wasn’t* working in the dark!" she retorted. She ran her fingers through her tousled blonde curls before propping her hands on her hips angrily. "I was finished in the room and as I was about to leave, I thought I heard something outside the door……..like you two were sayin’ goodnight or somethin’," she explained, nodding towards Brenda. A blush flushed the maid’s cheeks. "I didn’t want to interrupt nothin’ private, so I turned off the lights and figured I’d wait to leave until you two were…….finished."

"And scare the wits out of Miss Barrett when she came into the room? And found you, waiting for her in the dark?" Jax crossed his arms, dubious fury still evident on his face. "You’ll have to excuse me……..Kathy……" he said, peering at the nametag on the maid’s uniform, "but your story sounds pretty fishy to me!"

"Look…….who do you think I am??!!" Kathy asked incredulously. "Some kinda pervert who gets their kicks outta goin’ through other people’s undies while they’re not around?" She shook her head, snorted disgustedly, and then went over to her cleaning cart, pushing it towards the door. "If you don’t believe me, just call housekeeping and ask them. They’ll tell you that I’m the real deal." She gave Jax one last dirty look before exiting the room through the open door. "Geez……..why didn’t I be a CPA, like my ma wanted?"

Jax was so busy staring at the exiting maid that he didn’t notice Brenda’s amazed look until nearly forty-five seconds passed. "What?"

She walked towards him slowly, Snowball dangling loosely at her side. "You wanna tell me what the H*LL that was all about?"

{Uh-oh.} He straightened his shoulders and wiped his suddenly-sweaty palms on the sides of his jeans. "What WHAT was all about?"

"Don’t play stupid with me, Jax." It was Brenda’s turn to fold her arms across her chest as she looked him up and down cautiously. "In the space of thirty seconds out there, you changed from Jasper Jacks, King of Fun, to G.I. Joe, master of kungfu!" She turned to look over her shoulder at the open door to her cabin and then back at him. "Why did you give that housekeeper such a hard time?"

"Like I said before, I think she was full of bull," he replied, hoping he hid his nervousness. There would be h*ll to pay if his cover was blown this early in the game. "And I guess maybe I *did* over-react a little out in the corridor……"

"A LITTLE?" Her eyebrows drew together in suspicion and she came closer to him. "You nearly scared the liver out of me, the way you threw me against the wall out there……"

"Sorry about that……." He laughed and gave her a smile calculated to make her forget about the events of the previous fifteen minutes. He hoped. "Mum always did say eating too much sweet stuff makes me hyperactive."

"Hey……." Both heads turned when Robin knocked on the open door and entered the room warily. "What’s going on in here? Some kind of problem?"

"No – no problem at all!" Jax replied cheerily. He thanked Heaven for the distraction that would allow him to make his getaway and evade further questioning. "Brenda tells me that we have an early call tomorrow morning, so I was just getting ready to leave……"

Confused skepticism was still evident on Brenda’s face. "Did everything go OK between you two?" Robin asked, looking from one to the other.

"Fine. It was…….fine." Brenda’s eyes flared as she snapped out of it. "More than fine." She finally smiled at Jax as though the past ten minutes hadn’t happened. "I had a really good time tonight."

"I did, too." He hesitated, then leaned past Robin to give Brenda a quick but tender kiss on the cheek. "I’ll see you tomorrow morning."

Both women watched in silence as he quickly exited the cabin. "That’s………all?" Robin asked, closing the door behind him. "After the way he was looking at you all evening, you have dinner with him and all you get is a kiss on the CHEEK?"

"Ohhh, I got a lot more than that, Robin," Brenda drawled, still eyeing the closed door. She walked to it, suddenly realized that she still held Snowball, and then turned back to Robin, hugging the bear to her chest. "I have a feeling that spending time with Mr. Jasper Jacks is NEVER going to be boring!"

*~*~*~*~*

"Here they are, sir….." The flushed man burst into the cabin and rushed over to a table, handing a dark-haired man what appeared to be a brick wrapped in brown paper. "Andreas just finished proofing them downstairs."

"Very good…….very good……." The dark-haired man slowly unwrapped the package and then nodded, closely inspecting the tightly-packed stack of paper. He ran his finger along the edges, fanning the sheets for his perusal. "And it has taken Andreas all this time? Just to produce this much finished product?"

The man shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "We are only *beginning* production, Mr. Cassadine," he explained, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "And as you can see from the quality of the finished goods, his time is *well* spent."

"Hmmmmmm……….you have a point." Stavros nodded again, then grimaced as he slid one of the ten dollar bills from the stack. "I will never understand why Americans insist on putting pictures of their dead presidents on their money." He shook his head, clucking his tongue. "Such UGLY men……..such a waste of good ink…….."

"So you wish Andreas to continue production?" the man asked, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Absolutely!" Stavros put the bills down to lift a delicately-cut crystal glass in salute. He smiled wickedly at the man, then took a sip of the amber liquid inside and sighed in satisfaction. "We have a BIG day ahead of us tomorrow on Barbados."

To be continued……….