"What am I doing here?" Jax’s eyes crinkled in amusement, but then flashed with a fire that Brenda found unsettling. "How about – trying to decide what to have for lunch?"

"You’ve GOT to be kidding!" Brenda said in a hushed voice.

Jax folded his arms across his chest. "Do I LOOK like I’m kidding?"

Brenda glanced over to where her shorts lay on the sand. {Be firm, Brenda. This guy is all bluster and no action. Just lay down the law and stick to your guns.} She dropped her arms to her sides and then put her hands on her hips. "Well Ace, I just got finished washing up, and rolling around in the sand with you is certainly NOT my idea of lunch." She glared at him, but was a little shaken when she saw he wasn’t budging. "I’m telling you that I want to get dressed -- now!"

Jax just smiled. "So – go ahead."

Brenda became aware that she was dripping on the sand and she was rapidly losing patience. "Look, did I use words that were too complicated for you to understand? I would like some PRIVACY to put my clothes back on! Do you mind?"

To her relief, Jax finally shifted his weight in the sand. "No, Brenda, I don’t mind at all." But then, he went over and sat down on the log she had occupied so many times in the past 24 hours. "Go right ahead. I don’t mind at all." He grinned at her suggestively. "I just thought that since I gave you a view of the entire package, maybe you would at least give me the same privilege!"

"WELL, YOU THOUGHT WRONG!" Brenda almost spat the words at him, and then went over in a huff to pick up her shorts and new shirt she had remodeled. She glanced around and saw some taller grass and banana trees closeby. As she stomped over to them to get dressed, she could hear his laughter.

Once she was behind the grass, she began to put on her underwear again. She peeked once from her hiding place, only to see him still sitting on the log, his fingers laced around his one knee. "You know, Ace, being so contrary is only going to end up hurting you in the long run," she said in a loud voice.

"Excuse me?" Jax said, never looking back in her direction.

Brenda was pulling on her shorts. "I mean that eventually we WILL get back to civilization. I’m sure that the management at J&J Charters will want a complete statement from me on what happened and how I was treated during this unfortunate time." She struggled to get the sheer material of her blouse up her still-damp arm. "If I tell your boss that you were a total chauvinistic creep….well, I can’t promise you that there won’t be repercussions."

She was buttoning her blouse and walking back to the log when suddenly she felt Jax grip her arm like a vise. She caught her breath – first, because she had expected him still to be sitting there, and second, because she was totally unaware of his strength. She looked up into his eyes, and held her breath when she saw the fire there.

"Are you threatening to get me fired, Miss Barrett?" he said in a hushed voice.

She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I don’t believe in threats, Jax. I believe in promises." Her chest was heaving, and before she could draw another breath, Jax grabbed her by both arms. She looked down at his hands and then up into his eyes.

"I manage to land the plane on a piece of rock no bigger than the mall you probably frequent weekly -- I get you off the plane in one piece -- I provide food and water for you – and then just because I made one pass at your precious body, you tell me you’re going to get me fired?" Jax fairly spit the words at her.

"Let go of me!" she said icily in a grim voice.

"With pleasure, Princess!" Jax hissed in return, shoving her just slightly as he released his grip on her arms.

Brenda spun around and stomped off into the grassy area where she had gone to change her clothes. She needed some time and space to be alone before she faced him again. {He’s right, Brenda. He’s probably saved your life a dozen times in the past 24 hours, and now you go acting like some prim old maid because he made a pass at you.} But she wasn’t ready to admit it yet, so she decided to explore the island for a while before she faced him again for lunch and to apologize.

Brenda decided that it was time she saw exactly what kind of place she was going to call home for God knows how long. Jax had told her that he estimated the entire island to be no more than 2 miles square. He also had told her that most of the animal life seemed to be either airborne or of the small lizard variety. He hadn’t seen any poisonous snakes or large, meat-eating animals. So she felt fairly safe in her explorations.

The island was not all sand – she was finding that out the hard way. With no shoes, her feet rapidly became sore from climbing over the rocky terrain. The sandy beach only extended so far, and then a grass/rock combination took over. The vegetation on the interior of the island was quite thick, and Brenda needed to frequently push reeds and tall grass aside to make her way.

Finally, she broke through to the far side of the island and was rewarded with sandy beach and a view of uninterrupted water again. She let out a long sigh. {So, this is it. Rocks, reeds, sand, water – and an opinionated nudist. A HANDSOME opinionated nudist. What a life.}

Brenda sat down on a rock to massage her sore and dusty feet. She grimaced as she recalled that only an hour before, they had been clean when she emerged from her romp in the ocean. But now, they were dusty and had some minor cuts. And it was all Jax’s fault.

As she sat on the rock, she suddenly noticed that she wasn’t squinting so much anymore. {Have I been exploring that long? Surely the sun isn’t going down already – it couldn’t be nighttime this soon.} She looked up at the sky and inhaled sharply when she saw billowing white clouds starting to block out the sun. Rain.

Brenda decided that she had better get back to camp as quickly as possible. She wanted to be inside the shelter before it started to rain. Sonny always teased her about her hatred of getting caught in the rain. Besides, they probably should be collecting the rain for future drinking water. {I wonder if Jax of the Jungle even thought of that, or if he’s too busy still thinking about my bare boobs.}

She stood up, just about ready to make her way back to their camp, when something at the water’s edge caught her eye. She squinted, trying to see it more clearly in the distance, and gave a little cry of happiness when she recognized it. All thoughts of sore feet gone, she ran down to the water’s edge and picked it up, hugging it to her chest like gold.

"YES! You ARE the king of beers!" She did a little happiness dance, holding the long-neck Budweiser bottle up over her head. It was a clear indication of some kind of civilization not that far away. Surely it couldn’t have floated all the way from California to this island. SOMEONE who drank beer had to have been on this island, or very close to it.

Holding the empty brown bottle like it was the Hope diamond, Brenda climbed and skipped her way back to their camp. She couldn’t wait to show it to Jax and give him the good news that maybe they weren’t so far from civilization after all. She was even singing the Budweiser commercial when she broke through the tall grass and banana trees to see him pacing up and down the sand.

When she got closer to him, she shouted, "Jax! Wait till you see what I found!" To her amazement, he took off running when he caught sight of her, coming towards her at a rapid clip. She stopped short and when he came up to her, he grabbed her by both arms and almost shook her.

"Where the bloody hell have you been! Are you a complete idiot?!" he shouted, squeezing her arms so tightly that she was afraid she might develop bruises.

"Jax…what’s the matter? Why are you so upset?" she asked, her spirits sinking at his insulting words.

He let go of her and ran both hands through his hair. "Why am I upset? She’s been gone for over an hour, takes off without so much as a "by your leave," and now she wants to know why I’m upset!"

She was getting angry now. "Well, excuse me….I never knew you were my keeper! How come you can go off exploring the island for hours at a time, and I have to get PERMISSION before I can even take a little walk?!

Jax grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face the ocean. He took one hand off her shoulder and pointed to the sky. "THAT’S why I can go off for hours and you can’t! THAT’S why I need to know where you are at all times! DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCEPT AT ALL WHAT THOSE CLOUDS MEAN?"

Brenda shrugged a little, but the clouds DID look much darker and larger now that she was back at their camp on the beach. "They mean that it’s going to rain?" she said in a small voice.

He let go of her shoulders to come around to face her. "They mean a BLOODY HELL of a lot more than that, Princess! They mean that we’re in for a tropical storm. Do you have ANY idea how strong a tropical storm can be?"

Brenda suddenly felt the shift in the winds and the spray from the waves that were crashing on the sand. This morning, they had only been rolling in gently to tease at the beach. As the enormity of his words sank in, she began to feel very afraid, but she was determined that Jax would never see that.

He had already spun away from her and was trudging back to their camp. "Well, how was I supposed to know that? Do I look like Willard Scott? I saw the clouds…I just didn’t know that….."

Jax turned back to her, interrupting her defense. "That’s EXACTLY my point, Brenda. You AREN’T Willard Scott. You DIDN’T know that they meant that a fierce storm is just hours away. I do. Which is why you need to stay close to me at all times." He came to stand just inches from her and poked his first finger at her shoulder. "While we’re stranded here, Miss Brenda Barrett, I AM your keeper!" He started to stride back to the camp again, turned to her one more time. "Oh, and in the future, can you try not to engage in juvenile temper tantrums and pouting spells? Now, let’s go. We’ve got a lot to do before the storm hits."

"I was NOT pouting!" Brenda returned, following him back to the shelter. The wind was beginning to blow harder now, and she had to keep pushing her hair back out of her face to talk. "I can be just as mature and responsible as you can. If you’ll just show me what needs to be done, I’ll be glad to do as much as I can." She glared at him, and he returned the glare.

"Good! We need to bury as much of our food supply and necessities as we can so that they won’t be blown or washed away. I think there are some deep crevices amongst the roots of those mangroves over there. We can store them there. Now move it!"

They worked quickly, but to Brenda, the hour they spent preparing for the storm passed like 10 minutes. She glanced up at the sky every once in a while, and the gray clouds were now turning an ominous shade of black. As she and Jax were digging in the tree roots, burying their precious stash of food wrapped in remnants of their clothing, he finally looked up at her. "By the way, what were you so bloody happy about when you came back after your…..walk?"

Brenda let out a long sigh. She had completely forgotten about the bottle in the anxiety of trying to survive this newest crisis. "I was on the other side of the island and I found an empty Budweiser bottle." Jax gave her a vacant stare and shrugged his shoulders. "You know – the king of beers? It’s a sign, Jax – a sign that people must have been on this island, or at least on an island nearby. It couldn’t have floated here all the way from Australia or the States."

"Yeah, well right now, we can use it to hopefully catch some of the rain water." He looked around quickly and then back up at the sky, which now had streaks of lightning dancing between the clouds. Brenda shivered at the cool breeze that had begun to blow. "You finish burying this stuff. I’m going to go check one more time on that log I hollowed out to collect rain water. It’s going to get a h*ll of a test run, and I want to make sure it hasn’t already flipped over in this wind."

By the time Jax returned, the rain had already begun to fall in a light mist. Brenda had finished burying all of their supplies, and all that remained visible of their camp was the support beams of their shelter. Just then, a very strong gust of wind knocked Brenda off her feet. She sat down hard in the sand, and tears of fear sprang to her eyes. She felt strong hands grasp hers and Jax pulled her to her feet.

"The wind….it knocked me down," she shouted to him, needing to shout since the wind had really begun to howl.

Jax came close enough to her so that she could hear him above the wind. "I know – let’s get back over to that grove of trees." She nodded, pushing the wet strands of hair back out of her eyes again. He kept hold of her hand and pulled her with him back to where they had buried their supplies.

Jax stopped for a split second, gazing at the trees. Then he pushed Brenda toward the one with the thickest trunk. "Go sit down next to that tree trunk," he yelled, pushing her in that direction. "Put your back to the wind and wrap your arms and legs around it like a lover." His directions made her blush momentarily, but then as the rain began to come down harder, she followed his directions without a question. She went to the tree, sat down, and put her arms and legs around it as he had instructed. Just then, there was a fierce wind gust. She grasped her left wrist with her right hand, but then yelped as she felt her grip start to give way.

Suddenly she felt Jax’s presence at her back. She felt his arms going around her, and when she looked around at him, she was surprised to see that he had taken the scraps of fabric from that morning and tied them into long strips. He was tying one long strip of fabric around her waist, essentially securing her to the tree. "You need to lash to the tree – nobody could manage to hold their grip when those winds start blowing at 75 miles per hour." She nodded, the rain striking her in the face. She was about to ask him if he was going to do the same thing when she was hit in the face with a sheet of cold, driving rain. The drops stung her face like needles, and she turned back to clutch the tree for dear life.

She could feel the driving rain soaking through her clothes, and as the wind howled, she began to shake in earnest. She wasn’t sure if it was from the cold and wet or just fear. But then, she felt Jax again. He was plastered against her back, and when she dared to look around at him, she breathed a sigh of relief. He had crouched down behind her with another long strip of fabric and he was lashing himself to the same tree as she was, spooning her body with his. She felt his strong arms going around her to tie the fabric in a knot on the far side of the tree, and she felt like melting into his large, warm body.

Brenda was going to question her feelings for this stranger, and why being in his arms made her feel so safe, but at that point the strongest winds yet began tearing at them. Jax finished tying the knots just in time. He wrapped his arms around her, reaching around the tree to shield her as much as possible with his body. She felt his chest pressed against her back and as he ducked his head to avoid the rain, she felt his face against hers, his left cheek against her right. She decided that making some smart remark about him being into bondage was not appropriate. She was just thankful for his warm, comforting presence.

What Brenda didn’t realize was that the storm had just begun. The winds howled with a fury that took her breath away. When she tried to lift her head to look around them, she saw the grass bent over in half, and most of the smaller trees were in the same position. She realized that without Jax’s knowledge of the storm’s fury and how to survive it, she would probably have died. He had picked a strong tree, and thankfully it was shielded from the open areas, where small tree limbs and coconuts were being thrown about by the winds. They had become dangerous airborne missiles, and Brenda shivered a little as she realized that if one of them had struck her, it would have killed her.

Jax felt her shiver, and she felt him shift his body so that he covered her more completely. His arms moved ever so slightly, but she felt his hands move to cover hers and give them a reassuring squeeze. He braced his legs on either side of hers and she felt him move them closer to her legs. For a moment, she felt self-conscious at their intimate position. She could feel him cupping her derriere into his lap, but she could also tell that it was totally a survival instinct.

Brenda thought the storm would never end. It seemed like they hugged the tree for hours. She was soaked to the skin with the cold, driving rain. She was not normally claustrophobic, but soon she began to shiver, and it wasn’t from the cold. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. "Jax – I can’t take this much longer!" she shouted, her teeth chattering.

She felt his breath in the short hair near her ear, his lips almost touching her neck when he shouted his reply. "Yes you can, Brenda. It won’t be too much longer." She felt him snuggle even closer to her and it spread a warmth throughout her body. Then she felt him speak in a low tone. "You can do it, love. I’m here. I won’t let you go. Just lean on me."

A sob was wrenched from Brenda’s throat, but not because of the storm. How many times had she longed to hear Sonny say that? How many times as she sat and watched Julia die had she wished he was sitting in the chair next to hers, saying those same words?

She was so absorbed in her memories of Julia’s death that she almost didn’t notice that the winds were dying down. She shifted slightly, and raised her head. The rain wasn’t hitting them like bullets any longer. It was softer – almost like in the bathroom shower. She tried to raise her head, and found that Jax had rested his head on her shoulder. In fact, he had spooned her so completely that his head was almost nodding OVER her shoulder.

"Jax," she said, almost blushing at the realization, "I think the storm’s almost over."

His body tightened around hers. "Don’t move yet, Brenda. We can’t take a chance. We have to make sure it’s not just the eye of the storm passing."

They waited about 10 more minutes, and when Brenda opened her eyes and looked up again, she breathed a sigh of relief. The sky was no longer black, but small strips of blue were becoming visible between the clouds. The wind had died down considerably, and as she was about point that fact out to Jax, she felt him pulling at the fabric that had been their lifeline, connecting them to the tree. When she felt the fabric binding him to the tree give way and he moved away from her, she instantly felt her cold, clammy shirt against her back and a shiver racked her body.

"Brenda," he said gently, "I think it’s over." He went around to the far side of the tree to work loose the knots that had bound her securely, and when she felt them give way, her body almost crumpled into a little heap with relief. But he was instantly at her side again. Jax reached a hand down to her, pulling her to her feet. He held both of her hands in his. "We made it," he smiled.

Brenda nodded. "Thanks to you," she said softly, but when she went to take a step, her legs seemed to be made of spaghetti and she almost fell.

Wordlessly he scooped her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest. "You’re probably weak and your muscles are cramping from holding one position for so long," he said to her. "Let me carry you until you get your bearings again." She nodded, relishing the feel of his strong chest again, and she wound her arms around his neck.

He made his way slowly back to the area where their camp had stood. Brenda raised her head occasionally to look at the island and was amazed at the devastation that the storm had caused. There were broken limbs everywhere and the beach was littered with seaweed that had been blown ashore. But as soon as they got to their camp, she felt Jax’s chest expand and he let out a yelp, still holding her in his arms.

"Hot d*mn! I did it!" He looked skyward. "What do you think of the old boy now, Thomas?" Brenda gazed into his crystal blue eyes in curiosity.

Jax blushed becomingly. "Yeah – he taught me most of what I know about survival skills. He would be so proud of me." He turned slightly to shift Brenda in his arms. "Look – the posts for our shelter are still standing! I built it strong enough to withstand a tropical storm!"

Brenda smiled at his enthusiasm. It was like she could feel his body smiling from head to toe. It was infectious, and she laughed softly. "You did good, Jax." Her expression sobered, and when he looked at her, his did too. "I’m very lucky to have you here with me. You’ve saved my life so many times I’ve lost count." Then she cast her eyes down shyly. "Now as far as being stranded here with me – I’m not so sure that you’re as lucky as I am."

She took a breath to go on detailing her ignorance of survival skills, but to her surprise, Jax shook his head, shifting her in his arms. "No – don’t say that. I’m pretty lucky too. If I had to be stranded with anyone – I’m glad it’s you."

Brenda felt his chest begin to heave as he breathed deeply. He shifted her in his arms again, pulling her closer to him. Brenda was strongly drawn to his maleness, his strength, and his tenderness. But when he had drawn her close enough to kiss her, she pulled away, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Uh….I think I feel better now. I can probably stand on my own." She looked into his eyes that had sparked only moments before with passion. "You can put me down now."

Jax saw the moment pass. {D*mn. I was so close. But she’s melting. I can feel it.} "Right…..put you down. I can." He let her down to her feet, and Brenda slowly withdrew her arms from around his neck. She walked around on the soft, damp sand, enjoying the feel of it squishing between her toes. Then she suddenly realized that the sun that had returned briefly was starting to set and between the loss of light and her still-damp clothes, she shivered.

Jax saw it. "Cold?" She nodded. "Let’s go get some of the supplies we buried. As long as the wood stayed fairly dry, we can start a fire using some of the rum for a starter and that should help you warm up."

Not that much later, they sat in front of a blazing fire. Brenda put her hands out to try to soak in some of the warmth coming from the flames. She was still a little shaken from how close they had come to a kiss, and she wanted to keep the conversation on light, non-controversial subjects. "So – have you been through storms like this before?"

Jax nodded. "Actually, this one wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t what you would call a typhoon. We were pretty lucky. I’ve seen entire villages wiped out by huge surges of waves in storms."

"You love to fly – don’t you?" She realized that she really knew very little about this man to whom she was beginning to feel a dangerous attraction.

Jax smiled crookedly at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "How’d you guess?"

"I can tell by the way you look at the wreckage of the plane," she returned softly. "It’s like it’s your sick child or something. You just get this look on your face like you want to make it better, but you don’t know how."

Jax let out a soft breath and stared down at his hands. "You’re very perceptive." He looked up at her. "I’ve been flying for over 20 years. I lied about my age and joined the Air Force when I was 16."

Brenda’s face went blank. "But that would make you…."

"Yep. A doddering old man of 36. Why….how old did you think I was?"

Brenda shrugged. "It really doesn’t matter. And besides – 36 isn’t old. I’m almost 30 – 29 on my last birthday," she admitted with a pained face. "So….what’s it like flying for J&J Charters?"

Jax looked puzzled. "It’s….fine. Why do you ask?"

Brenda folded her hands around her one knee. "Well then, the pay and benefits must be terrific, because I’ve heard that the owner is a real son of a gun, to put it politely."

Jax was intrigued. "Really? Do you know him?"

"Well, not exactly," Brenda admitted. "But I’ve read a LOT about him in People Magazine and gossip magazines. His name is Jasper something…I’m not sure about the last name. Apparently he’s pretty paranoid about being photographed – I don’t think I’ve ever seen his face anywhere." Jax sighed with relief. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "You know that he married this gorgeous young woman and then dumped her after only two years of marriage, don’t you?" Jax just shrugged again, so Brenda went on. "Apparently they got married because they HAD to, you know," she winked, "and then after the kid was only two years old, he walked out on the wife and took the kid with him!"

Jax winced inwardly at her words. {If you only knew.} But Brenda was so caught up in relating the smarmy gossip, she didn’t notice his reaction. "That was over TEN years ago, and since then, he’s been dating super-models and movie stars all around the world, yet he’s not legally divorced from the wife." Brenda shook her head. "What a jerk."

"You think so, huh?" Jax asked sarcastically, but Brenda still didn’t notice.

"I sure do!" Brenda replied, putting her hands on her hips. She leaned forward again. "And even though he’s some super-hot-shot gazillionaire, he wouldn’t scare me! If he was sitting right here with me, I would TELL him what a self-centered, arrogant asshole I think he is! Right to his face!" She sat back, nodding her head in satisfaction.

"You would, huh?" Jax asked with irritation. Brenda nodded with satisfaction at her own bravado. "Then consider it done, Miss Barrett," he replied acidly. He extended his right hand to her.

"What’s that for?" Brenda asked, her face growing pale.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said gallantly, shaking her suddenly-clammy right hand. "Jasper Jacks – self-centered, arrogant asshole – at your service!"

To be continued….