Warning: Rated PG – for (what some might consider) strong language.

Brenda slapped his arrogant face with her hand, leaving angry red fingerprints on his left cheek. He looked at her for a moment, and then caught her right wrist in his left.

"Hellcat," he said to her in a deadly tone, "you just made a BIG mistake. Don’t you EVER slap me again."

She didn’t back down. "Oh, is that supposed to scare me, pig?" He had pulled her body to his and had her right wrist imprisoned in his left hand between them. She stared into his eyes, but this time, hers were shooting fireworks. "And what are you going to do to me if I do? Hit me? Lock me in the closet? Rough me up?" His eyes blazed hotter with each taunt she threw at him. "Huh?" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "What are you gonna do to me that you haven’t already done? Kill me?" She smiled at him maliciously. "Well, go ahead, because you’re probably gonna do that anyway. Might as well get it over with."

She was breathing hard with anger by the time she finished her tirade. She still was staring him down, but then she saw his eyes blaze with a different kind of fire, and it began to truly shake her. He gripped her wrist even harder, and he took his right hand and slid it under her hair to hold her head prisoner while he lowered his face to hers.

"No, hellcat. Nothing that unpleasant. I want you to understand this, and understand it well." The grip on her neck was tight, but she felt his fingers began to slowly massage her there, and to her disgust, she felt her body traitorously begin to respond. "Don’t you ever slap me again, because if you do, I’m going to take it as a message." He brought his lips down to the point where they nearly touched hers. She tried to turn her face, but his hand on her neck held her immobile.

"I’m going to think it means that you want me to make love to you." She opened her mouth to argue, but he gripped her neck so that she shut her mouth again and had to just listen. "That’s right, love. I’ll get your message, loud and clear. You want me to kiss you until you think you’re drowning in a sea of pleasure. You want me to touch you, until you feel incomplete without me. You want me to set off fireworks inside of you that take your breath away."

Brenda was breathing hard, and what was troubling her most wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid Jax would actually force her to do anything. She was upset with herself because she realized that he had been right in the first place – she HAD responded to his kiss, and had been kissing him back. The kiss had been like none she had ever felt before, not even with Sonny. The suggestive tone of Jax’s voice and nature of his words made her tremble in places that only Sonny had touched before.

Jax could see that Brenda was deep in thought about something, so he relaxed his grip on her neck a little. Her eyes suddenly flashed back to the present, and he realized that he had her attention again. "Do we understand each other now?"

Brenda nodded slightly, and he released his hold on her. "Good." He stretched a little, and then walked over to the easy chair and grabbed the remote to channel surf. Brenda’s hands were still shaking, but she sat down on the couch and tried to compose herself.

There was little said at the dinner table that night. Brenda had quietly re-heated some pasta while Jax watched her thoughtfully. He hated bullying her. Why couldn’t she just behave herself for a few days until things quieted down again and he could leave?

After they ate, Brenda cleaned up the dishes. Her nerves were about at the breaking point. Only she wasn’t worried about being hurt by the dangerous intruder that had turned her life upside-down in such a short time. She was worried because she actually found herself comparing him to Sonny. And she was still reeling from the realization that she had come close to succumbing to his potent kiss. She knew she had to end this situation, not because she thought he was going to hurt her, but because she felt uncomfortable with the feelings that she was having.

After she had finished the dishes, they were both suddenly startled by a loud knocking at the front door. Brenda looked at Jax with wide eyes, and he immediately grabbed her into his left arm and his right went to her shoulder, near enough to cover her mouth if need be.

The knocking came again, and then a loud voice. "Sheriff’s officers. Open up please."

Jax whispered in Brenda’s ear. "Open up for them and tell them everything’s fine. I’ll be close enough to hear and make you regret it if you try any funny business."

Brenda nodded slowly, and then they went to the front door. She unlocked the dead bolt, but only opened the door a crack. "Can I help you, officer?"

A man in a sheriff uniform took off his hat and tipped it to her. "Evenin’ ma’am. Have you seen any sign of this man around here?" He held up a picture, and Brenda tried to look surprised when Jax’s smiling face was on it.

She kept a straight face. "No, I don’t recall seeing him anywhere around here, officer. I DID see it on TV, though." She batted her eyes at him. "Weren’t you on TV, too?" Then she heard a faint hiss come from the corner near the door frame. Jax was looking daggers at her, and she realized that he saw through her plan to flatter the officer into coming back to check on her again.

"No, ma’am," he answered politely. "I don’t do anything high profile like that. The wife doesn’t like me getting into anything too dangerous. That’s why they put me on this detail. I’m FAR from the area they’re really concentrating on."

Brenda’s heart sank. Despite her intentions of having Jax found and captured by this deputy, he had just inadvertently given Jax a new lease on life. Her plan had backfired miserably, and Jax saw her face drop.

"Well, your wife is a lucky woman," Brenda sighed. "It’s been quiet around here. Why don’t you go home to her." She closed the door and threw the dead bolt. Jax stayed back in the corner until they heard the deputy’s car leave the driveway and the engine faded into the sounds of the falling dusk.

"Happy now? You found out where they are, and you didn’t even have to take a chance of getting caught."

Jax came forward to take her chin between his fingers. "I know what you were trying to do. Don’t try to seduce the next law officer that comes here to check if you’re OK." He bounced on the balls of his feet. "Now, I think I’m ready to shave and shower. Shall we?" He extended his hand toward the stairs and Brenda preceded him up towards her bedroom and bathroom.

They got to the bedroom and Jax caught his reflection in Brenda’s dresser mirror. He ran his hand through his hair and pulled at the collar of his shirt. "D*mn, I look bloody awful. I don’t think I’ll ever wear this shirt again if I ever get out of this. I don’t suppose you’ve got any extra things around here that I could borrow?"

He meant it as a joke, contrasting his large size to her petite one, but a new plan began to take shape in Brenda’s mind. She went to the bed and sat down coyly, folding her hands in her lap. "Well…actually I think I have some of Sonny’s things in my closet. He stays over sometimes, so he keeps a few extra shirts here. They might be too small, but you’re welcome to take a look…" She indicated the walk-in closet with her hand and held her breath.

Jax was totally unsuspecting and so intent on finding clean clothes that he never even stopped to think she might be hatching another scheme. He looked a little pleased that they were getting along so well now. "Thanks, don’t mind if I do," he said with a smile, and as Brenda tried not to hyper-ventilate in anticipation, he walked into the closet. She rose silently from the bed. "Where are they?" Jax’s voice came from the closet. "I don’t see anything but your stuff."

Brenda was coming closer and closer to the door. "Oh, they’re way in the back. Past the garment bags…" She had her hand on the door now, and just as he turned in frustration, she slammed it home. She felt the door bulge with his weight as he realized her game, but she turned the lock before he could open it against her.

"BRENDA! OPEN THIS DOOR!!" Jax’s screams made her ear drums dance. "Open this door right now or I’ll break it down!"

"Sorry, pig. It’s been real," she said to the rattling door, and took off running for the stairs and freedom.

Jax heard her and pounded on the door even harder. "BRENDA!! YOU’RE GONNA REGRET THIS!!" He only got silence for an answer. Cursing loudly, he looked around for something to bash the door with. Finally, he gave up and put his shoulder against it. Leaning back for momentum, he gave it all he had, and the door gave way, the lock broken and the door tilting sideways on its hinges. His momentum carried him into the empty room, and he had to get his bearings before he could take off for the stairs.

Brenda, meanwhile, was at the front door when she heard the crash. She knew her minutes were numbered, and her shaking hands fumbled with the dead bolt. She finally got it open, only to hear Jax shouting her name from the top of the stairs. She pulled the door open and burst through the screen door. She took off running, hoping that she could make it to the stable and Star before he caught her. She could never outrun him, but maybe on Star she could have a chance of getting away from him.

"BRENDA!!" Jax got to the bottom of the stairs and saw the open front door. "D*mnit, hellcat!!" he sighed, and crashed out through the screen door. He saw her sprinting for the stable, and took off after her.

She reached the doors to the stable and pulled open the latch. She heard the slam of the screen door to the cottage and knew every second counted. Just as she got to the gate to Star’s stall, she heard Jax come to the door of the stable, blocking it with his body. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?" he panted.

She turned to him with tears in her eyes. "Get away from me! Don’t come near me!"

He walked into the stable slowly, and his cocky confidence infuriated her. "Or what, hellcat? There’s no closet out here to lock me in. Just what do you think you’re going to do?"

He stood about 10 feet from her. She was close to sobbing now. "I had to try! Don’t you understand? Why can’t you just leave me alone?" She watched him approach her, and shifted her weight from side to side, trying to think if there was a way she could get past him and out the door. There was another door at the rear of the stable, but she knew he would catch up to her before she ever reached it.

His voice was dead calm now. "Come on, hellcat. Let’s go back to the house."

"NNNNOOOOO!" she screamed, and tried to dart around his left side. He shifted his weight and reached out his left arm, but she was hurtling toward the door with all her might and she pushed past his arm for a second. He realized that he might lose her just as she exhilarated in the thought she might actually make it out of the stable. He grabbed for the fabric of her shorts with his outstretched hand.

"Gotcha!!!" She felt his grip like a grappling hook, and suddenly she was pulled back from her desperate flight. She began to flail her arms and legs. If he was going to take her down, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. She began screaming at the top of her lungs, and crying for sheer frustration.

Jax pulled her to him, trying to avoid flying fists and feet. He grabbed for her with his right hand to give him a better hold, but she was wiggling like a fish out of water. Finally, he spun her around, and ducking her arms, bent down at the waist to put his right shoulder to her waist and pick her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU PIG!!!" Brenda cried, angry as much about her failure to escape as she was at the indignity of the position he had put her in. She beat on his back with her fists and kicked her feet. "Put me down right now!!!"

"D*mnit, will you stop wiggling!! You’re going to land us both on the floor!!" Jax said, as he almost fell over with her shifting weight. Finally, in desperation, he held her waist with his right hand and took his free left hand and brought it over to swat her wiggling derriere. "Stop it!"

She almost brought her upper body up even with his shoulder at the new affront. "Ouch! You hit me!!" The tears began to flow in earnest. He felt her body finally began to relax, and he began to make his way to the door of the stable. Sticking his head out slowly, checking for any possible passersby, he found the coast clear and began walking briskly back to the house. By then, she had collapsed over his shoulder, but he could still feel her sobbing. {Well, Jasper, you’re just making new strides every day, here. Let’s see what you get a gold star for today. You’re roughing up women now. My, what a thing to make your mother proud. Just think how Lady Jane’s face would look when she heard that one.}

Once inside the front door, he turned and closed it and threw the dead bolt. He stopped for a moment, and she was strangely silent. It rattled him that he was becoming so accustomed to her chattering. She was still crying quietly. He turned out the lights in the living room, and then headed up the stairs, still carrying her over his shoulder.

He reached her bedroom, and went to her bed. He stopped, and then heaved her off his shoulder onto the bed. But she was ready. She had been trying to think of what he might do when they got inside, and she was not about to become his dessert tonight. As soon as she hit the mattress, she rolled off and stood across the bed from him, breathing hard.

Instead of being angry, though, she was surprised to see that he looked tired and disgusted. "Awww, hellcat, we’re not gonna do that again, are we?" he asked with a big sigh. "Because you know I’ll catch you every time." He put his hands on his hips, and as he looked at her, his hair fell down onto his forehead.

She had her hands out to the sides in a defensive posture, but his almost defeated attitude took some of the wind out of her sails. "Why did you bring me up here?" she asked suspiciously. "What are you going to do now?"

He walked slowly towards the end of the bed, and she backed up a little to be out of his reach. "I thought I might do what I planned to do before your little plan was put into motion -–take a shower and shave." He looked with disgust at the broken closet door. "Although I guess I won’t be able to use that as a temporary holding area for you anymore." He put his hands on his hips again, and shifted to put most of his weight on one leg. "Why did you do that, Brenda? Now you’ve only made things more difficult."

She bit her lip, and then suddenly her eyes went wide. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I’m not sure." The answer came quickly. "I have to think about this one." He gestured toward the bathroom and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Why don’t you go ahead and take your shower and I’ll figure something out while you’re in there."

She was tired, and sore, and she had had enough of his orders to last a lifetime. "I’m not going to take a shower."

He looked confused. "Well, wash up or whatever, then."

She sat down on the bed and folded her arms. "Nope. Not gonna do it."

He came around the bed to stand directly in front of her. "Look, hellcat, I’m tired of chasing you. Stop acting like a three-year-old and take the d*mn shower."

Her lower lip began to stick out and she looked up at him with fire in her eyes. "I’m NOT going to take a shower. I don’t care if I’m covered in mud from my head to my toes, I’m not going to wash JUST BECAUSE YOU TELL ME TO!!!"

He almost smiled. The fire was back. {God, the woman is a royal pain. How does Corinthos ever put up with her? Obviously she has other compensating features….} Just as his mind was about to go to dangerous territory, he remembered the problem at hand. He leaned down to her level and placed a closed fist on either side of her hips, causing her to glance down at them. She was trapped by his strong arms on either side of her, and she could see every green fleck in his blue eyes. "I’ll say this one more time, Brenda. Either you go in there and get washed, or I’LL WASH YOU MYSELF!!" As her eyes widened and he thought he was drowning in rich brown velvet, he pulled back a little. "Do I make myself clear?"

She sat up very straight and looked him in the eye. Then she glanced down at her hands, and picked one up to look at the nails. "Well, maybe I could work on my hands a little. Obviously doing all those dishes is ruining my manicure and drying out my skin." He backed off a little more and she stood as regally as a queen. She walked to the bathroom and turned when she stood in the doorway. "I’m going to take a shower, now." She went in, but then stuck her head through and added, "But only because I THINK I NEED ONE!" With that, she slammed the door, and didn’t hear his roar of laughter.

She ended up taking a hot shower and washing her hair. In fact, she took quite a while in the bathroom, secretly hoping that she would use all the hot water and he would have none when it was his turn. When she thought she had delayed as long as possible, she finally opened the door to find him sitting on the bed. He was swinging something in his hand that looked like an old amulet she had bought at a garage sale. It was a funky piece of clunky old jewelry that she bought on a whim, thinking it might be useful in a photo shoot someday. "Done?" he asked with a smile.

"Umm-hmmm," she answered in a small voice. She hadn’t really thought before about the possibilities of what he might do with her while he showered and shaved, and now suddenly she wished with all her being that she hadn’t locked him in the closet. He rose and walked over to where she was standing in the door of the bathroom. He held up the amulet in front of her eyes. She tried to be as cocky as he was. "So, what are you gonna do, hypnotize me now?"

He chuckled. "I don’t think anybody could ever bend you to their will, Brenda, no matter what they tried to do to your psyche." He swung the amulet around once, and then, keeping her eyes locked with his, he slid the pendant off the chain and tossed it back on the bed. All he held in his hands now was the rather thick gold chain. Her eyes widened in fear as she imagined it wrapped around her neck, and he suddenly realized what she was imagining. To her surprise, his face drained of color, and he reached out to hold her elbows.

"Look, Brenda, we’ve been forced together by circumstances for God knows what reason, but don’t you know me well enough by now to know that I would never intentionally hurt you?" His voice had become soft, and his eyes were enchanting her. "That’s not me, and I would think you would know that by now." He took her gently by the elbows and pushed her back into the bathroom with him. She was holding her breath the whole time, not because she was afraid he would really strangle her, but because she wasn’t exactly sure what he was planning.

Once they were both in the bathroom, he closed the door behind them. Still holding her gaze captive, he reached behind him and turned the antique key to lock the door. He then took the key and held it up before her eyes like a trophy, and then slid it onto the chain. He closed the clasp of the chain, and then put it over his head so that the key nestled into his shirt. She watched it drop there, and then brought her eyes back up to his.

"You’re locking me in here WITH you?" she gasped. "While you take a shower?"

He pushed past her to the sink. "Yep. That was the only solution I could think of for now. Maybe by tomorrow my brain will be refreshed and I’ll be more creative." He looked at himself in the mirror and began unbuttoning his shirt, looking back at her to smile. "But I always shave before I shower. What does Scummy do?"

Brenda scowled, and walked past him to lower the lid on the toilet and sit down on it like a queen. "I don’t know. I never kept track." She sat with her arms folded, staring the opposite way from him. Suddenly her voice rang out in anger. "But HE forgets to put the seat down, too!! MEN!!!"

Jax chuckled, and it was the last sound Brenda heard from him. She continued to fume and stare away from Jax. She heard the water run and the shave cream spritz out of the container. She even thought she heard him humming at one point. Finally, she relaxed a little, and dared a peek at him.

He was concentrating completely on shaving, and apparently didn’t notice her looking. He was naked to the waist, and his bare chest was far broader and more developed than she ever imagined in her wildest dreams. He had pecs like a magazine model – in fact, he looked better than some of the male models Lucy came up with. He had lathered his face and was slowly shaving, and the thick cords in his arm muscles stood out in the effort. She deduced that he must have spent a lot of time lifting weights to have such a well-developed upper body. It was covered by a fine mat of golden blonde hair, and it trailed down past his ribs to his well-defined waist. Just as her glance was about to go dangerously lower, she heard his low rumble of laughter. "Like what you see?"

She huffed and re-crossed her arms. "No." She turned her head the other way again. "I wasn’t checking you out, if that’s what you think."

"Umm-hmmm," was his infuriating reply.

"I was just noticing…" she struggled for an excuse and stared back at his chest, "…your scars." Now that she had come up with the idea, she did begin to notice several fading places on his chest that gave evidence of him being wounded. "You’ve been wounded a lot, haven’t you?" she asked, her voice suddenly taking on a softness and concern that amazed him.

He kept shaving, his gaze never straying from the mirror. "Occupational hazard when you work for the WSB," was his curt reply. He glanced down at her. "That wouldn’t be sympathy I hear in your voice, would it hellcat?"

She didn’t answer him, but just kept staring at the healed wounds. "You said yesterday that you were being framed for murdering your partner."

"That’s right. I never would have shot Tom. We were working on the investigation together. We were almost like brothers." His voice started to break.

"But they said there’s a police witness," she argued softly.

His voice was cold. "Sometimes witnesses see what they’re told to see." He finally looked down at her. "Or paid to see."

"What happened? How did your partner die?" Brenda asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Jax suddenly exploded and slammed the razor down on the sink. "He was shot in the head! Six rounds, all into the brain. Have you ever seen someone who’s been shot in the head?" Her face turned white, and he put both hands on the sink and took a very deep breath. When he looked at her again, she could see that his eyes were very bloodshot and his muscles all seemed to be turning to liquid. "Look, Brenda, I’m sorry I scared you like that. It’s just I’m really tired and this whole thing is still a jumble in my mind." He turned back to the mirror and began shaving again. "All I know is that somebody knocked me out, and when I came to, my gun had been emptied into Kavanaugh’s brains and the gun was in my hand." He looked at her as he wiped his face with a towel. "Not a very convincing alibi, is it?" She shook her head, and he squatted down so that his eyes were level with hers. "But I didn’t shoot him, Brenda. I swear to God that I didn’t shoot him. I need you to believe that."

She nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure why, but she did.

He rose to his feet. "Now, I think I’ll feel a lot better once I take that shower." She inhaled quickly as he turned and she heard him unzip his jeans. He looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled at her wickedly. "You can look, love, but don’t touch!"

She looked the other way again, and let out her breath when she heard the water running. {Why couldn’t I just settle for a shower curtain, like normal people? No, I had to have something special. I had to have a frosted glass shower door. Sonny didn’t like a curtain because he said it drips on the floor, and I let him bully me into it.} She listened to the shower for a while, and the sounds of him washing. She almost heard him humming. {If he starts singing, I swear I’ll break down the bathroom door myself to get out of here.} She stared at her hands, her toenails, picked imaginary lint off of her shorts – anything to prevent her from looking at the shower.

But finally, she just couldn’t resist. She glanced quickly at the shower, and saw just the shadow of his body. He appeared to be very occupied with cleaning himself, so she dared to continue to look. {Thank goodness I didn’t decide on the clear glass!} But as she bit her lower lip and stared at the shower, she began to regret that it was frosted after all.

He was magnificent, even from the shadowy figure she could see through the glass. Obviously the WSB required its agents to stay in shape, because there didn’t appear to be an ounce of fat on the man. His broad shoulders tapered to a trim waistline, and as he leaned down to soap his legs, she caught her breath at the muscles that stood out in his legs. Her mouth became dry and she was mesmerized by the sight of him. He was like those sculptures of the Greek gods she saw in the museum, muscular and fit and totally gorgeous. Suddenly, though, she gasped as she thought she saw him stop his shower and look back at her. She quickly turned her head back to face the wall, and fervently prayed that the frosted glass worked as well in reverse.

She heard the water shut off, and then the shower door slide back. She heard the towel snap and then heard the slap of his wet foot against the bathroom floor. She still faced the wall, and realized that she was breathing hard and was becoming extremely warm. She tried to attribute it to the amount of steam in the room.

"Do you suppose you’ll be done anytime soon?" she tried to say sarcastically. "It’s like a sauna in here and I’m about to pass out from the heat!"

She heard him chuckle a little, and she finally turned around to find him with a towel wrapped around his waist. Beads of moisture stood on his chest, and his hair was plastered against his forehead. The key to the bathroom door lay flat on his chest in a nest of blonde hair, giving her all kinds of thoughts she characterized as disgusting. He smiled an arrogant smile. She huffed again, and then faced the wall, crossing her arms, but not before she wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand.

He dressed quickly and to her relief, unlocked the bathroom door. She practically flew past him and darted to the bed. After kicking off her shoes, she quickly got into bed and pulled the sheet up to her chin. She felt him sit on the bed a few minutes later, and then lay down beside her. She reached up to turn out the light, but his hand on her arm stopped her. "Did you forget our lifeline, Brenda?" He reached out and buckled his belt through her belt loop again. After giving him a disgusted look, she turned out the bed lamp. They lay there for a while, and both of their bodies finally relaxed and gave in to the day’s exhaustion. She almost jumped when she heard his voice.

"I’m really sorry about turning your life upside down like this, Brenda. When I saw your cottage, I swear all I wanted was some food. I never dreamed it would come to this." There was silence for a moment. "I promise I’ll be out of here as soon as I can and you’re perfectly safe until then."

She lay there and thought for a moment in the darkness. "I don’t know why, but I believe that you wouldn’t hurt me," she said softly. Then he heard her low chuckle. "And I guess it’s not too bad. I was afraid that all Australians sing "Waltzing Matilda" at the top of their lungs when they take a shower."

She heard him laugh, and it made her smile. Then she heard his voice in the dark. "Good night, Brenda."

Her reply was so soft he barely heard it. "Good night……..Jax."

To be continued….