Now, the house looked cold and sterile, but had it looked any different then? She had moved out when she went to London on business, and had moved into her own cottage when she returned. Thankfully, she hadn’t been in the house to welcome her father’s new resident mistress, Katherine Bell. She really didn’t know that much about Katherine, but her father had often mentioned his plans for them all to have dinner together soon.

She suddenly became aware that Jax had come up behind her, and put his arms around her. "Bad memories?"

"You know me too well," she groaned. Then she turned in his embrace to face him. "But the past few weeks have created some entirely new memories that I would much rather remember."

Jax’s face grew attractively flushed. They had been inseparable since their return from Malibu. They spoke on the phone each day and often had dinner together. The time they spent together was enchanted, and the nights were magic.

Brenda could tell that he knew exactly which memories he was remembering, but the sudden entrance of the rest of the Jacks clan prevented him from taking her on a trip down memory lane. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Later!!"

Brenda had received a call from Lady Jane soon after they returned to set up the brainstorming session/dinner for the charity festival. Jerry, Bobbie and Lucas were also invited, and John and Grandma Josie had also made it their business to be included.

Lucas came racing into the den where Brenda and Jax were. "Is Grandpa in here? He promised to take me to the park to play ball with me after supper."

At that point, John, Jane, and Josie all came in the room.

"Is somebody in here in need of a pitching coach?" John rumbled.

Lucas ran for John, who swept him up in the air, tickling him as he went. Josie and Jane sat down at the conference table, as Brenda walked over and Bobbie and Jerry entered the room.

Josie looked over her reading glasses at her son. "Now, John, you watch Lucas, and if he looks pale or woozy, you give him one of those sugar wafers, all right?"

"I know, mother, I know," John said wearily. "And we’ll just be in the park down the block, so we’ll come back right away and check his blood sugar."

Josie crooked her finger at Lucas. He came over to her and she pulled him into a hug and spoke to him confidentially. "Now, Lucas, I need you to do a very important job for me."

"What’s that, Great-Grandma?"

Josie looked askance at John. "Your grandpa needs to be sure to walk every day because he had those troublesome chest pains last year. So I want you to be my spy and give me a full report when you get back. Make sure he doesn’t just sit on the bench and watch all the pretty girls! And I don’t want him driving you to the park on that dang fool golf cart thing he has!"

"OK, great-grandma," Lucas replied, and kissed her on the cheek. He ran to John, grabbed his hand, and they were out the door in a flash, with John chuckling all the way.

"You know," Bobbie said as she sat down at the table, "you all spoil him shamelessly. And I love you for it."

Jerry reached over and hugged Bobbie. He then turned to Josie. "Grandma, I’m surprised you don’t mind Lucas calling you Great Grandma."

Josie looked surprised. "Well, what in the sam hill do you think I would expect him to call me?"

"Well," Jerry hesitated, "I just didn’t know how you would feel – I mean, it kind of … how can I say this diplomatically? It puts you in a category with a lot of … um… senior citizens."

Josie put down her pencil and paper. "Call a spade a spade, Jerry. You mean it makes me sound old, right?" Jerry nodded sheepishly.

She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. "Well, the way I see it, it all depends on the way you interpret it. Now, I’ve always been a GREAT mother. Just look at my wonderful son. So now, I’m just figure that I’m a …"

They all finished it together for her. "…. GREAT-GRANDMOTHER!!!" Josie looked pleased with herself as they all shook their heads at her craftiness.

Brenda sat down at the table with Jax. She truly loved this family, and they way they loved each other. She stole a look at Jax. Now if he could just love her, too.

*~*~*~*

An hour later, Jax and Brenda left the house. The initial plans for the carnival had been made, and Brenda promised Lady Jane that she would set aside some time during the coming week to get together with her again to work on the corporate donors. The fresh night air and the sultry jazz music on the radio lulled Brenda to sleep in the Jag – also the fact that she hadn’t slept much in the past few nights. Thanks to Jax, of course.

When she came to, she noticed that Jax had driven back to the Port Charles Hotel. He scooped her out of the car and was striding through the lobby towards the elevator.

"Jax!" she whispered angrily. "Put me down! I’m awake now and people will think I’m inebriated! I know where I am!"

He chuckled as the elevator doors closed and he pressed a button. "Ahh, my dear, but you don’t know where you’re going!"

She turned to notice that he hadn’t pressed the button for the penthouse, but for the gym facility. "We’re going to work out, at this time of night?"

The elevator doors opened, and he set her down gently. He stretched and bounced on the balls of his feet. "You know, after one of Mum’s delicious meals and a stimulating evening with the old folks," -- big leer here – "the one thing that always gets me going again is a good swim."

He led her through the double doors into the pool area of the gym. It was strangely deserted.

Brenda looked confused. "Jax, a swim does sound nice, but…"

"But, what? I know you can swim. So what’s the problem?"

Brenda brushed up against him and blushed. "Jax, I don’t have a swimsuit with me!"

Jax grinned his adorable dimpled grin that melted her heart. "I repeat, so what’s the problem?" At her consternation, he finally leaned close to her and explained. "There won’t be any other swimmers here with us. I rented out the pool for the entire evening." At Brenda’s surprised look, he continued. "About halfway through Mum’s incredibly boring meeting, I thought of this little private swim with you, and I made some calls. All I could see in my mind’s eye was you, naked in the water, with me."

Brenda shuffled her toe a little, and then gazed up at him shyly. "Well, then, what’s keeping us?" She moved off to the side, and began to take off the simple A-line dress she had worn. Jax was behind her immediately, pushing her hands away from the back zipper.

"Let me," he whispered raggedly. The zipper came down with agonizing slowness, as Jax spread kisses over her back as it was exposed. Brenda began to doubt that she would have the will power to make it as far as the pool. But soon, she stood in his arms, Venus de Milo and Adonis.

"Weren’t we supposed to be swimming?" she asked, and pulled away just long enough to pull out of his embrace and dash for the water. She dove into the deep end, and the water felt marvelous against her bare skin. She heard a loud splash soon after, and when she came to the surface, she looked for him. She swam over to the side of the pool and held on, looking anxiously for him.

Suddenly, she felt hands creeping up her legs, and a blonde head broke the water’s surface right before her. He braced his hands on the side of the pool behind her, and she could feel that he was as aroused as she was.

"I think we’re in dangerous waters here," she said between kisses.

"Don’t worry," he breathed into her lips, "I’m a certified lifeguard."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and putting one arm around her waist, he pushed off from the side and pulled her with him into more shallow waters. When he could stand on the bottom again, he pushed her against the side of the pool. His hands, hidden beneath the surface of the water, were finding all of the places he knew so well would drive her to the brink of ecstasy. The glittering water was reflected in the lights glittering in her eyes. Just as she thought she couldn’t stand any more pleasure, he brought their bodies together in the most intimate of embraces, and she moaned with delight.

Just as he thought they would both go over the edge, she pulled back to gaze deeply into his eyes. "Jax," she murmured against his mouth.

"What, love? Tell me what you want."

She smiled at him. "I want you to take me to your mother’s for dinner every night." He brought her in for another deep kiss, and it muffled their cries as they reached nirvana together.

#####

Much later, they managed to make themselves presentable and went to the penthouse, arms around each other. Brenda had agreed to spend the night there, and Jax unlocked the door of the penthouse after giving her one more deep kiss in the hallway. As they came in and he threw his keys on the desk, he saw a key with a note waiting there.

She came in and closed the door behind them. He turned around to her with the key in his hand. "Got room for this on your keychain?"

She could barely contain herself. "Why?"

He tried to act nonchalant. "Well, sometimes I’m on the phone in business negotiations and I can’t always get to the door to answer it when you come over. So I thought I would have a key made for you."

Brenda thought her heart would burst with joy as she took it from him. She treasured it in her palm for a moment and then put it into her purse. Jax took the purse and placed it on the desk behind them. "Do you know that I can’t get enough of you?" he asked, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her off to the penthouse bedroom to prove just that. Quite thoroughly.

*~*~*~*

Several days later, it was late afternoon and Brenda was stepping out of a long bubble bath getting ready for a dinner date with Jax. She briskly toweled herself dry, applying a liberal dose of the scented dusting powder she knew he liked so much.

She had been just about floating on air ever since the other night when Jax gave her the key to his penthouse. It certainly indicated some kind of serious relationship, and she didn’t think he had done that with any of the other women he had dated. She sighed as she pulled on her lingerie, knowing that he probably was still infatuated with Julia. But although the key didn’t represent the whole cake, it certainly was better than just crumbs.

As she was struggling with her hose, she heard the front doorbell ring. Checking the time, she was surprised to see that Jax was this early. He had called her earlier and said he was tied up in some important business negotiations and might be late, but that he would be there to take her to dinner tonight. As the bell rang again, she pulled on a satin robe and ran down the stairs of the cottage barefoot.

She opened the door breathlessly. "I thought you had some more negotiating to …. Mr. Corinthos!!" She stood open-mouthed in the door, shocked to see him standing on her porch, large bouquet of flowers in hand.

Sonny’s eyes got larger as he took in her partially-clothed state. "Brenda, you really should be more careful before you open the door," he said as he came into the foyer. "Living out here in such a secluded place, all alone, you never know who might come to your door."

{Especially you!} She closed the door, holding her robe tightly shut and following him into her living room.

"This is really quite nice," he said, sitting down on her couch. "Did you decorate it yourself?"

"Mr. Corinthos …" she began.

He stopped her. "Sonny, please. I think after our several dates we can be on a first name basis, don’t you?"

She took a deep breath to keep herself from using the karate move she learned on him. "Sonny, I don’t recall that we had an appointment for this afternoon. Why exactly are you here?"

"I’m a very direct man, Brenda. I usually get what I want. And what I want is to know why you have such a strong aversion to me."

"I never said I did," Brenda replied, sitting down on a chair far from the sofa.

"Oh, I can tell you do. If not during my unfortunate little scene at the Nurses’ Ball, I can see from the way you hold yourself whenever I’m within 10 feet of you."

Brenda sighed. "I don’t really dislike you, Sonny. I just don’t happen to want to go out with you. I’m rather involved with someone at the present …"

"You mean Jasper Jacks," he interrupted her.

"It really doesn’t matter who it is," she said defensively.

"Ah, yes, but your social life does matter to me. It means everything to me," he said gleefully.

The light dawned. "Oh, so you’re aware of my father’s plans for us."

Sonny sat back into the plush couch. "Not only aware, but anxiously looking forward to them. The merger will mean a great deal for my status, and my personal holdings. Power is very important to me, Brenda, and by merging with Barrett Industries, I will have a lot of it."

"I can understand your greed for power, Sonny," Brenda said grudgingly. "Not approve of it, but understand it. But what does that have to do with tying yourself down in a loveless marriage?"

"The marriage portion of the merger is not as abhorrent as you might think, Brenda. A marriage for business purposes can be very fulfilling to both parties. You will acquire more status and money than you’ve ever dreamed of. You’ll be able to throw large parties at the drop of a hat. Be accepted into every social circle with open arms. Be a charming hostess, have a huge house decorated at your every whim, have freedom of movement anywhere in the world.…"

"But what about love, Mr. Corinthos? You haven’t mentioned that word once, and it seems to me to be an integral part of any successful marriage."

"There’s the key – isn’t that rather a contradiction in terms, successful marriage? How many of them do you really know of? A business marriage can flourish without any of the pressures that love puts on it."

"But nobody can live without love!" she protested.

"Ah, Brenda, the romantic soul to the end," he said sarcastically. "I never said that we would be without love in this marriage." She looked at him with contempt. "It just might not be for each other." She again had to keep her mouth from dropping open. "I would never force you to share my bed, Brenda. I won’t be a jealous or demanding husband. If you prefer to find your emotional attachment in other places …"

"You mean, have affairs," she spat venomously.

"Have affairs," he repeated, "as long as you remain discreet, I would have no objection. In fact, I find that I am rather involved with a young woman at the present and probably would want to continue that relationship after our marriage."

Brenda shook her head. She had had Ned do some checking after her father approached her about the marriage, and he told her that Sonny had been seen skulking around town with a certain Lily Rivera. Apparently he didn’t intend to change that.

"So as I said," he continued, "as long as you can be discreet about it, I won’t place any physical demands on you during the marriage. I’ve seen too many marriages based on "love" and the trouble it can cause. You won’t have to worry about facing me across the dinner table every night or holding my hand adoringly each morning at breakfast. I can be totally detached …"

"Detached and cold!" she practically shouted, jumping up from her chair. "Well, I don’t want a detached, cold husband! I want a warm, loving husband …"

"And that’s what you think you’ll get with Jasper Jacks?" Sonny snorted. "I don’t think he’ll exactly fit that description. I’ve had him checked out, you see. Oh, his body is probably warm enough, but he’ll never marry you. Seems that when it comes to the "love" department, he’s got that word reserved for your older sister, Julia."

"This is really none of your business," Brenda hissed, tears springing to her eyes.

"But it is my business, my dear, particularly if it affects our future plans. The man has apparently decided, according to my information, that he’ll never love any other woman, and bounces across the globe from one playmate to another. All you can ever hope to have with him is a torrid affair – which, I have already explained, wouldn’t be a problem as long as you two can manage to keep it from public scrutiny."

Brenda had just about had enough. "Mr. Corinthos, I will never, ever marry you. Now get out!"

He turned and headed for the door. "Never say never, my dear. It’s been a pleasure. Oh, and ….keep the flowers."

He let himself out while Brenda stood in the living room, blood boiling. She took the bouquet and began ripping the blooms off the stems, and then threw the entire mass on the floor, dissolving into a chair in tears.

After a short cry, she realized that she needed to pull herself together since Jax would be arriving shortly. As if by divine intervention, the doorbell rang. Wiping her face and rubbing her eyes, she took a deep breath and answered the door. Jax stood before her, looking back down the gravel road leading up to her cottage.

"Wasn’t that Sonny’s car I saw…" he turned to face Brenda. "Well, I guess I was right, judging from the tear stains." He gently traced the path of a tear down her cheek, and she instinctively leaned her cheek into his palm. Walking into the cottage, he pulled her into his arms. "Want to tell me about it?"

She buried her face in the light blue casual shirt he wore, inhaling that scent of him that she now found so familiar and comforting. "Oh, just the usual."

Jax pulled her back, and taking in her state of undress, he looked deeply into her eyes. "He didn’t do anything, did he? I mean, like the night of the Nurses’ Ball?" His hands on her arms were starting to tremble.

She patted his chest reassuringly. "No, no, nothing like that." He visibly relaxed. She turned and led him into the living room. "He just came by to express his undying non-emotions for me and press the issue of the marriage."

Jax saw the flowers on the floor. "I take it they weren’t your favorite variety?"

Brenda sadly shook her head and took his hand. "Come on upstairs with me and I’ll tell you all about it while I finish getting ready."

He went up to her bedroom with her and she related her conversation with Sonny to him, carefully editing the part about Jax only wanting to have an affair with her. Jax shook his head in disbelief. "What a cold, heartless monster. I’ve done some checking on him myself, you know." Brenda turned slightly as she was styling her hair to listen. "My people have been picking up some disturbing threads that indicate that he might be involved with organized crime."

Brenda was sitting at her dressing table, and almost dropped her makeup brush. "Jax! That can’t be true! If he really is, and Barrett Industries has ties to him after the merger, we could lose everything!"

Jax came over to stand behind her at the dressing table. "I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure." He gently stroked her shoulders through the satin dressing gown. "Come on, you’ve had an upsetting evening. Let me take you to dinner and let’s just forget the whole thing for now."

As she continued her make-up and application of perfume, Jax sat back on the bed. "You know, there’s something intriguing about watching a woman go through the ritual of getting ready to go out."

She smiled coyly at him. "What – to see the before and after?"

"No. It’s kind of like a carefully choreographed dance. The strokes, the moves – the things that a woman does naturally. It’s very interesting to watch the whole process…" he came up behind her now and whispered in her ear, "… and sexy as hell!!"

She smiled at his reflection in the mirror, and rose to get her dress off the closet door. She briefly stopped at her dresser, and took something off of it and tossed it to him. "Think fast!! Something in return!"

Jax caught the object, and opened his palm to look at it. It was a key – obviously to Brenda’s cottage. As she disappeared into the bathroom to dress, he held it in his hand and traced its contours gently. He doubted that Brenda had ever felt enough about any other man to give them a key. It was really like having a piece of Brenda herself. A precious gift.

#####

They had a leisurely dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant, and Jax found Brenda’s favorite jazz music station on the radio as they drove back to her cottage. Brenda had almost dozed off in the car again, when she suddenly sat up straight with a panicked look.

"What’s the matter? I thought you were forgetting that whole conversation with what’s-his-name."

Brenda let out a breath and relaxed against the seat. "No, it’s some other bad news I’m afraid I have."

Jax smiled his adorable crooked smile. "Is this the part where you tell me that you have a husband and three kids back in Ohio?"

Brenda slapped his arm playfully. "No, silly. I’m afraid we’ll have to call off some dates next week. L&B has a tour coming up for the Eddie Maine and the Idle Rich and Lois needs me to come with her to help with the road work. I’m going to have to go to Boston for a few days."

Jax thought for a moment, and then covered Brenda’s hand with his. "You know ….. I’ve never been to Boston."

Brenda’s face broke into a delighted glow. "Mr. Jacks, I just love the way your mind works. Have you ever been to a rock concert?"

To be continued…..