"No, I was *actually* trying to make sure that *you* didn’t get yourself killed!" she returned. Jax placed a finger against her lips, and she continued in a lower voice. "It was taking such a long time that I was afraid you might have been captured. What if they were torturing you or something?"

Jax finally let Brenda up off the ground where he had been holding her. They both crouched behind the rocks and as Brenda cautiously peeked up, she could see a large group of men sitting around a fire. "Are they Rashid’s men?"

Jax shook his head. "No – I don’t think so." Brenda glanced up at him and saw his eyes trained on the group for any movements in their direction. "For one thing, they don’t have the fashion coordination that the Royal Guard does. And they’re speaking a dialect of Drakarian that the natives speak back in the foothills. Most likely they’re just your normal, garden-variety bandits."

Brenda shuddered a little. "They still could have been hurting you." Jax’s gaze shifted towards her momentarily and she shrugged. "I was worried, OK?"

Jax pulled her by the arm and they made their way back to the horses in silence. As he finally helped her mount again, he patted her on the knee. "I appreciate your concern, duchess, but they really couldn’t have inflicted any torture on me that would have broken me." Brenda raised her eyebrows in disbelief as Jax swung up onto his horse. He grinned as he grabbed the reins and clucked at his horse. "After all – the worst torture I’ve ever endured is listening to you yammer, and since you were out here and nowhere near the bandits’ camp….."

Brenda’s eyes got as large as saucers and she stifled a shriek as Jax gave her a teasing wink. He pulled the reins of her horse behind him and they took to the trail again. They rode in relative silence as they skirted the camp of the bandits and went further into the forest.

They rode for another hour before Jax put his right hand in the air and Brenda reined in her horse. "What is it? More bandits?"

Jax shook his head a quick "no" and then tipped it in the direction of a thick group of trees off to the right. Brenda nodded and followed him silently. They rode for a few minutes, and then Jax stopped his horse and jumped down.

"Why are we stopping?" Jax put his hands up to grasp Brenda’s waist and lift her down from the horse. He put his finger to his lips and then took her hand, leading her to a large bunch of rocks. When they got there, Jax pulled her down beside him and then pointed over the rocks.

Brenda rose with him. "A village!" As they looked down from their vantage point, Brenda could see about a dozen huts and even some children playing in the distance. Smoke came from chimneys in some of the huts. "Do you think they’re loyal to Rashid?"

"I’m not sure, but I stopped here on my way in and they were hospitable." Jax smiled wryly. "Let’s hope they haven’t installed a satellite dish in the meantime and picked up Rashid’s APB on us."

Jax rose to his feet and Brenda did likewise, but to her surprise, he pulled her back into the forest. "You’re not going with me. Someone might recognize you."

"But…..I can’t…..You’d leave me here? By myself?" Brenda’s voice trembled a little.

Jax put his hands on Brenda’s shoulders. "I’m not leaving you forever, duchess. I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour. You’ll be fine."

Jax went back to his horse as Brenda shoved the dirt around with her toe. "Yeah – fine. As long as no bandits or wild animals come along and try to get friendly."

Jax’s voice right behind her made her jump. "That’s why I’m leaving this with you." When Brenda turned around to face him, she almost screamed.

Jax was holding his large, WSB-issue weapon right in front of her face. He was gripping the end of the handle loosely so it swung back and forth in front of her eyes. "Get that thing *away* from me!"

Jax sighed. "We’re not going to go down *that* road again, are we, Brenda?" She had frequently complained about the small arsenal he used to keep in a locked room in his Malibu beach house when they were together. "You really should know how to use one of these, you know…..for your own protection."

Brenda grimaced. "I know…..but does it have to be such a ….*big* one?"

Jax grinned lewdly. "You never complained about *big* before, duchess!" She put her balled fists on her hips and he stopped laughing. "This isn’t a cannon, Brenda. Besides, I’m afraid I left my girly snub-nose ’38 with the mother-of-pearl handle back in California, so it’ll have to do."

Brenda rose reluctantly to her feet to stand parallel to Jax. She reached out her right hand slowly as he placed the weapon in her grip. "Now, I’ve taken the safety off. Do you remember that time I showed you a little bit about how to shoot?" Brenda nodded, but she still frowned at the weapon. "Now, remember – just gently squeeze the trigger, and try not to close your eyes until you hear the bang."

Jax left Brenda standing there, holding the handgun gingerly by the handle. The barrel of the gun pointed down at her toes and it swung a little back and forth in her loose grip. He took something out of his saddlebag and then stopped next to her before he left. "Now don’t worry – I shouldn’t be gone that long and I really don’t think there are any bandits around here."

Jax watched her staring intently at the weapon and finally took her chin in his fingers to focus her attention on him. "Remember – if any animal – human or otherwise – comes near you, aim for his tender parts and shoot him." Brenda nodded quickly and Jax started to leave. He had gone about ten feet away from her when he spun back and smiled. "Oh, and Brenda?"

She looked up at him, still wearing a face that looked like she had just smelled rotten eggs. "What?"

"Make sure not to look down the barrel to check if there are bullets inside – take my word for it, there are!" Jax laughed heartily and then disappeared from her sight into a thicket of trees.

Brenda still wrinkled her nose in disdain as she stared at the pistol. She sat down on a rock, her legs spread wide apart, and held it loosely by the handle, pointed down at the ground, between her legs. At first, every time a bird flew or a twig snapped, she tensed and lifted the weapon, holding it with two shaking hands. But then, she realized that it was just one of Mother Nature’s finest, and she returned to her waiting position.

{Well, just look at you now…..Brenda Barrett, fiancée to Crown Prince Rashid of Drakar, sitting on a tree stump, smelling like yesterday’s fish dinner, hoping that you won’t have to kill anyone in the next 45 minutes.} She sighed loudly. {How did quite little me ever get to this point in life? I was never the wild child or the rebel. Not until…….} Brenda exhaled and closed her eyes. {Not until I met Jax.}

^*^*^*^

The only thing Harlan Barrett enjoyed more than a two hour board meeting was a dull and boring cocktail party for business associates. Brenda’s presence at all of the parties was demanded by her father. After all, not only was it a chance for Harlan to do some networking with other executives, but it gave those same other executives a chance to trot out their sons and proteges as possible marriage candidates for the eminently eligible Ms. Barrett.

The night of that particular party, Brenda’ feet were aching by the time the ice cubes in her first drink had melted. Although she had loved the dress she was wearing when she saw it in the window of the boutique, she never realized that it would cause every man in the room to drool over her all night long – both the single ones *and* the married ones alike. It was a black, strapless short sheath of crushed moire. It draped across her hips like a second skin and ended somewhere about 2 inches above her knee. Her excellent posture was shown off to perfection, but just to keep the dress from being scandalous, Brenda wore a black tulle wrap that fastened to the top of the bodice of the dress. The black tulle was brightened by starbursts of silver sequin studs. Altogether, it gave the illusion that her neck and head rose from a black and silver cloud that floated around her bodice.

As she saw Harlan approaching her with yet another potential suitor, Brenda made a decision to escape. Thankfully, her mother called to Harlan before he reached the spot where Brenda was standing, giving her the opportunity to slip out the terrace door onto the balcony that ran around the lower floor of the house. She inhaled the brisk night air that was perfumed with the scent of Harlan’s expensive flower gardens.

Brenda realized that it was only a matter of time before Harlan discovered her on the balcony and her eyes narrowed when a plan occurred to her. She slipped off her black satin high-heels and tiptoed past the sets of glass doors that led to the room where the reception was being held and rounded the corner of the house. After picking her way delicately in the dark about halfway to the next corner, she found another set of glass doors. {PLEASE – Please don’t let Raul have locked the doors to the den.} There was a dim light coming from inside, and Brenda did a little dance of happiness when the latch clicked and the door opened.

Trying as hard as she could not to make any noise, Brenda eased the door open, slipped inside, and then closed it again behind her. She was still holding her shoes in one hand when she turned around, closed her eyes in blissful relief, leaned against the door, and sighed aloud. When she opened her eyes, though, she caught her breath at the sight of a shadowy figure near the bookcase.

Jax had been to so many obligatory cocktail parties in his young life that he found it shocking this one could do something none of the others had -- bore him nearly to tears. Often, as an operative for the WSB, he had to attend social functions to make contacts or pass along information to other agents. Usually some attractive woman caught his eye, and before the end of the evening, he would manage to seduce her. Of course, the fact that he was an operative only added to his appeal. Between his good looks and the fact that he did something slightly mysterious for a living, he never lacked for female companionship.

Just when Jax decided that he should have insisted that he had a dreaded jungle fever and couldn’t accompany his father that night, he saw her. She looked like some kind of vision in a black dress that hugged her hips and concealed her bosom behind some kind of frothy, shimmering haze. John Jacks told his suddenly inquisitive son that the older man with her was her father, Harlan Barrett. As Jax watched, a younger man who stood talking to her said something that caused her to throw her head back and laugh prettily.

{She didn’t really think that was funny. That was a mercy laugh.} As Jax keenly eyed his competition, his thoughts strayed to how he would explore the side of her neck with his lips, and then.....

John Jacks tapped him on the shoulder to introduce another business associate, and after Jax mumbled the expected social amenities, he turned back to find Ms. Barrett and was disappointed. She had disappeared.

{Probably just as well, old man. That one made you feel things you never thought you would.} Jax shook his head in disbelief as he wandered out of the party and down a quiet hallway. He had heard all the old cliches -- It hits you like a ton of bricks; You’ll know what love is when you fall yourself; It turns you into a bumbling idiot. Jax had always ridiculed people who believed in love at first sight.

But this Barrett woman -- she was a different story. Jax found an impressive set of double-doors and when they weren’t locked, he went inside to find some peace and quiet and work through his confusion. In the silent den, he found the mini-bar and poured himself a stiff Scotch to help him think.

{She’s just another woman, Jax! Forget about her.} Jax wandered over to the bookshelf and began scanning the titles as he nursed his drink. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face again. When he heard the noise at the patio doors, he thought for a moment he was hallucinating when she appeared.

"Ummmm....excuse me, but if you’re looking for the party, you’ve got the wrong room." Brenda really wasn’t afraid of an intruder. Harlan Barrett employed the most expensive security firm in the city and all of his guests were usually screened at the gate before they were allowed entrance onto the grounds. The figure didn’t move, but just leaned one shoulder lazily against the bookcase.

"I said -- that party’s *that* way," Brenda said more firmly, moving towards the figure as she clutched her shoe in her hand behind her. The high stiletto heels would make excellent weapons. She finally let out the breath she was holding when the figure moved into the light.

"I’m not looking for the party." He was tall, blonde, and undeniably the most handsome man Brenda had ever seen. His blue eyes mesmerized Brenda, causing her to flash back to stories of a cobra and how it hypnotized its victim just prior to killing it. He wore a white dinner jacket with the traditional black tuxedo trousers, complete with satin stripe down the side. But he had unbuttoned the jacket and was holding a glass of amber liquid in his hand as he continued to approach her.

"You’re not?" Brenda tried to lift her chin in a defiant lilt.

Her mystery man stopped briefly at the desk to set down his drink and then kept walking towards her, smiling. If she thought he was handsome before, the sight of him smiling made Brenda completely forget every other man she had ever seen in her life. "No, I’m not. In fact," he drawled as he stopped right in front of her, "I was watching you from across the room -- earlier." He tipped his head in the direction of the party. "I have a feeling that we’re both looking for the same thing.

{So far, so good, Jax! You haven’t tripped over your own feet yet!} Jax felt like a zombie. {You’re an international agent, Jax! You’re suave -- you’re mysterious -- you’re.....} Jax inhaled to say something witty and charming, and suddenly his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. {....you’re.......you’re bloody Austin Powers, that’s what you are!}

Brenda gave herself a mental shake as she felt her pulse accelerate. She had never met a man before who was this blatantly sensual. How could simple words cause her mind to drift to thoughts of what it would feel like to have his body push hers into the depths of a soft feather bed? Before she could think of a flip retort, he lifted his right hand, his fingers brushing the tulle of her dress deliberately. "Do you mind?"

"Mind? What?" {Come on now, Brenda! Surely you can think of more than one word at a time to say!}

"If I......" He paused as his fingers traced the edge of her tulle stole before they went to his formal bow tie. ".....make myself more comfortable." He undid the knot in his bow tie, letting the two ends dangle in a rakish contrast to the white of his shirt. Jax gave Brenda a blatantly sexual smile as his long, strong fingers went to the collar of his shirt and slowly unfastened the first two buttons.

Brenda swallowed hard and tried not to let it show. "Not at all." {This one is WAY out of your league, Brenda. Get out before you’re in too deep -- like a minor league 3rd stringer playing in the All Star Game.} She pushed past him and went over to the mini-bar. Brenda dropped her shoes on the floor next to the bar as she shakily grabbed a tall glass and began dropping ice cubes into it.

{This is good.....this is good.....she looks rattled. You’ve still got the touch, Jax.} He grabbed his Scotch, took a quick sip, and then followed her. {Yeah, baby!}

"So how does he manage to do it?" Brenda jumped a little when the stranger’s voice sounded right behind her. She had been so intent on fixing herself a drink that she hadn’t noticed that he had followed her. {The man moves like a cat!}

She desperately tried to control her trembling hand as she reached for a large crystal decanter. "Do what?"

Jax reached out to hold her glass steady as the ice cubes rattled with her nervousness. "Give a party that’s so incredibly boring that it drives two perfectly sane people to drink?"

"Oh, but this isn’t alcohol," Brenda laughed, her voice sounding like a cannon shot in the quiet of the room. "It’s just plain old water in a fancy container."

The stranger took Brenda’s glass from her hand and held it up to the dim light. "Now, Miss Barrett, haven’t you ever heard the old saying?" He put it down, his eyes locking with hers as his fingers came back up to lightly trace a line from her elbow, up her arm, across her bare shoulder, and come to rest in the hollow of her throat. "The one about not judging a book by its cover?"

"I...." Brenda’s voice squeaked as she tried to say something, but the man just put his finger to her lips to silence her.

"Like, for example," Jax continued, his accented voice weaving a sensual spell around her as he moved his fingers down to her collarbone again. "....some people would think, from the way you dress and carry yourself, that you’re a very self-assured, satisfied, independent woman."

Brenda’s eyes widened slightly. "But......." she added for him, with a slight twinge of sarcasm at his supposed all-knowing attitude.

"But....." Jax smiled at her again as his fingers began to dip lower into the tulle shawl, tracing the swell of her breasts and even slipping boldly but briefly inside the top of her dress. ".....they would have no idea that you’ve never met the man who could truly make you happy....in every way imaginable."

Brenda tried to keep her breathing even as the fingers dared to move lower inside her dress. "And I suppose *you* know who that man might be?"

Jax’s eyes twinkled and he smiled again at her as he leaned forward to brush his lips up the side of her neck towards her ear. "I do."

Brenda reached behind her to grab the bar, preventing her weak knees from allowing her to crumble to the floor. "And his name would be?"

His fingers left her breasts to capture her chin. As he gently rubbed his thumb back and forth there, he leaned forward to whisper, "Jax," right before he captured her lips in a kiss.

Jax’s fingers exerted just the right amount of pressure on her chin to encourage Brenda to open her mouth to his searching tongue. She found herself sliding her hands inside his dinner jacket and around his back as he pulled her to him, deepening the kiss. Just as the nearness of his body allowed her to feel the extent of his arousal, the doors to the den opened.

"I’m sure I left it in here, John," Harlan said as he reached for the lights and flipped the switch. Luckily, it gave Jax and Brenda just enough time to spring apart and recuperate from their embrace. "Well, Brenda, I didn’t realize that you had come in here."

A tall, gray-haired, distinguished-looking man behind him smiled. "And *I* had no idea that your Brenda already *knew* my Jax."

Brenda was moving in the directions of her cast-off shoes when she turned to Jax with a stunned look. "You’re....." She pointed to John and then back to the blonde stranger.

He walked over to where she stood and expertly retrieved her shoes from the floor before she could put them on again. "Jasper Jacks, at your service, madam." He knelt down on one knee and held her shoe there, imitating Cinderella’s Prince as he waited to try on the glass slipper.

^*^*^*^

{I should have run from the room screaming there and then. I should have *known* that he wasn’t going to be *my* Prince Charming.} But then, she heard a rustling in the bushes and she tried bravely to lift the pistol as she grimaced at the thought of defending herself. There was a distinctive whistle and then Jax’s voice. "Brenda! It’s me! Don’t shoot!"

Brenda was so happy to see Jax returning that she dropped the pistol into the dirt and ran to meet him as he emerged from the trees. He almost wasn’t prepared for her body, hurtling at him. "Hey – are you OK? Did something happen?" he asked as she practically tackled him to the ground.

"No! I’m fine!" She wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him fiercely around the neck. "I’m just glad you’re back, that’s all," she whispered near his ear.

"Well, right now you’re choking me, so could you let me go?" Brenda sheepishly loosened her hold on his neck and slid back down his body. "Where’s the pistol?"

"Back there." Brenda pointed over her shoulder at the stump where she had been sitting awaiting his return. Jax shook his head and walked over to it, dusting it off as he picked it up. "Remember to put the safety back on," Brenda called. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen to her if Jax were somehow wounded or captured.

As Jax sat down on the stump to re-secure the weapon, Brenda finally noticed the package he had been carrying. "What’s that?"

Jax glanced up at her, some of his blonde hair falling onto his forehead in the process. "Something I brought back from the village for you." He picked up the small bundle and tossed it to her as she squealed with delight.

"A present! I always did *love* presents!" Brenda sat down on a rock and began pulling at the string that tied the brown paper around the parcel. She was so eager to see what was inside that she didn’t notice Jax stop his movements to enjoy her sheer delight with the surprise. She carefully wound the string into a small ball and stuck it in her pocket, and then peeled the brown paper back slowly.

"Jax?" Her nose wrinkled and her fingers froze. "Is there something…..dead….in here?" She leaned forward, sniffed delicately, and then sat up straight. "It stinks."

"Don’t be such a wimp, Brenda." He nodded towards the package as he continued to clean his pistol. "Just open it."

She continued to take off the wrapping but then her face brightened. She pulled out a pale mauve full-length gown and shawl. "Jax – this is just like some of the women at Rashid’s palace used to wear."

"Ahhhhh…..camouflage, right?" Jax just shrugged but Brenda nodded her head wisely. "I guess you can take the guy out of the WSB, but you can’t ever take the WSB out of the guy, huh?"

Jax looked uncomfortable. "Keep going."

Brenda bit her lower lip, but then continued to unwrap the rest of the package. "Jax – it still….uh…..smells……" She had gotten to the bottom and was holding a white glob the size of a cantaloupe.

"It’s cheese, Brenda," Jax answered, rising from the stump and walking over to where she sat. "Freshly made by one of the women in the village."

She sniffed at it delicately again. "Made from what?"

"Milk, I guess." Jax put his hands to his hips. "Look, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it. It sure beats the bloody h*ll out of stale beef jerky."

Brenda jerked it away from him as he reached for it. "No – I’ll keep it." She eyed it cautiously and then broke a piece off the end, closing her eyes and placing it in her mouth quickly. She kept her eyes closed as she chewed and then swallowed, but then opened her eyes and lifted her eyebrows. "It’s not bad!"

Jax crouched down before her with a smile, pulling his Swiss Army knife from his back pocket. He sliced off a chunk for himself and popped it in his mouth. "Not bad at all," he agreed, reaching for more.

Brenda had already broken off another piece when she looked up at Jax. "You never told me what it was made from."

He rose and gave her a naughty smile. "You’re better off not knowing." Brenda grimaced and shuddered a little, but when Jax finally tried to take it away from her, she held it to her chest protectively. "I’m not going to throw it away, Brenda. I’m just going to pack it up so we can have more of it later."

She gave it to him reluctantly and then rose to go to her own horse. "I take it we’re hitting the road again?"

"If we want to make it to the next stopping point before dark." Jax glanced up at the skies. "I don’t think we’ll get wet again tonight, but I still would rather we spent the night in this ravine that’s not far from here. Offers more natural protection."

Brenda had already begun to mount her horse and when she looked back, Jax was swinging into the saddle of his own horse. He clucked at it gently and the horse began to move back towards the main trail again, with Brenda’s horse close behind.

They continued to ride without much conversation for about an hour when Brenda broke the silence. "Jax – I think something’s wrong with my horse."

Jax turned in his saddle and looked over his shoulder at her. "Why? What’s the matter?"

"He’s favoring his front left foot." Brenda leaned forward to stroke the horse’s mane gently. "Maybe he hurt himself or something."

Jax reined in his horse and jumped down, wrapping the reins around a tree limb. He came back to Brenda’s horse and put his hands up, assisting her down. When he lifted the horse’s front foot, Jax swore softly. "What’s the matter with him?" Brenda came closer and reached out to pet the horse, trying to console him.

"He’s picked up a rock in his shoe, I think," Jax muttered. He glanced up at Brenda. "Can you just stand by him and try to soothe him a little while I poke around a little?"

Brenda found herself the reluctant nursemaid to the horse while Jax probed his tender foot. Finally, Jax managed to locate the offending pebble and got it out. As Jax straightened up again, wiping his hands on his thighs, he looked around. "I think there’s a stream over there beyond the bushes. I might as well take the horses down there now and get them some water. Don’t go anywhere – I’ll just be a few minutes."

Brenda nodded and put her hands in her pockets, but as soon as Jax disappeared into the brush, she began to roam around the clearing restlessly. She glanced back to where Jax had gone, and then moved into some bushes that were close enough to the clearing that he would see her when he returned. She smiled, in spite of herself, when she saw a small family of field mice running under one of the bushes. Somehow, the mice were less threatening when they were babies and were on their way to their own bed – nowhere near hers.

When she turned to go back to where Jax had left her, she noticed some purple berries growing on one of the bushes. She leaned down to smell them, and was amazed when they smelled just like the blueberries she used to enjoy from Michigan every summer. Brenda put her hand tentatively out to pick the berries. {Maybe you shouldn’t. You should ask Jax first.}

But then, Brenda’s pride sparked inside her. {You’re a grown woman. You’ve survived without Jax before. You’ve got enough common sense to be able to tell if they’re something bad for you.} She closed her hand around a bunch of the purple berries and they easily slid from the bush. She rolled some between her fingers. {They’re not smooshy.} She crushed one in the palm of her hand and sniffed it. {They don’t have green goo inside, and they don’t smell bad at all.} She tentatively put her tongue to one of them, darting it out to touch one of the berries and the crushed goo on her hand and then pulling it back into her mouth. {Not bad! Not bad at all!}

Brenda squinted her eyes at them once more, and then shrugged her shoulders. She popped a few of them into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. {These are good! I’m not that much of a spoiled city girl after all!} Pulling more bunches of the berries from the bushes, she began to pile some in her up-turned shirt hem, eating more as she did.

When Jax came back to the clearing, his heart nearly stopped when he didn’t see Brenda. He cursed softly. He didn’t dare calling out her name, just in case some there were soldiers or bandits nearby. He was about to pull his hair out when she suddenly came sauntering through the bushes to his left.

"Jax! Look what I found! Something to go with....." Brenda stopped short when she saw the pale color of Jax’s face. "What?"

"Brenda," Jax said slowly, "*please* tell me that you didn’t eat many of those."

Brenda looked at the berries in her hand and then back up at Jax’s panic-stricken face. "Oh, my God!" she cried, dropping the rest of the berries. "Are they poison? Am I going to die?"

Jax shook his head and took her trembling body into his arms. "No, you won’t die -- but by this time tomorrow, dying will look like a walk in the park!"

To be continued.....