Chapter Nineteen

*Unfinished Business*

She tasted sweet as honey. His tongue raked across hers, drawing her into his mouth.

Hunger rippled through Jason as a moan passed from Keesha's lips and slipped inside him. His hand at her waist moved lower and curved against her backside. His arousal throbbed within the confines of his jeans. She moved against him. Her thigh stroked the bulging ache.

Instinctively, he knew it would be like this between them. Robin kept him away from her for a reason. She must have known, too.

Keesha's hand slipped under his t-shirt. Her palms skimmed his back. Her fingers dug into his rigid flesh. She was becoming a wildcat and they hadn't moved beyond kissing! She'd become an inferno when he moved inside her. Jason couldn't wait to experience it.

He lifted her from the floor. Her legs closed around his waist. With their lips still clung together in an explosive kiss, Jason headed toward the massive, king size bed. Unceremoniously, he dropped her onto the bed and crawled on top of her. He found their bodies a perfect fit. Now, for another taste of her lips…

He buried his face against her throat. His teeth nibbled. His tongue licked. His mouth suckled. A hand went to her breast. Ripe and full, it filled his hand. Caressing and squeezing, he felt her tremble beneath him. His thumb grazed the hardened peak. Maybe he'd get a taste of that instead.

"Jason—"

"This should have happened a long time ago." His fingers swiftly unbuttoned her blouse and slipped inside. He traced the outline of her bra before pushing the lacy material aside. His mouth took possession of her.

"No!" Her fingers grabbed his hair and pulled.

His tongue licked the underside of her breast. He turned a deaf ear to her protest.

She pulled his hair. Much harder this time. A knee drove into his midsection. The next instant, she rolled off the bed and was righting her clothing.

Holding his stomach, he stumbled after her. "Keesha." His hand closed over her shoulder.

She flinched. "Don't touch me!"

"That wasn't rape! You want me. Don't deny it."

She whirled around faster than he could draw breath. Her palm cracked against the side of his face with blinding speed and painful accuracy. Unshed tears watered her eyes. "I told you no. No means stop!"

"I know what it means," he said through gritted teeth. "You didn't mean it."

"Who are you to tell me what I don't mean?" She drew in ragged breaths. "You don't know me! You don't know anything!"

"I know you want me. I know you responded to my kiss. And I know that you're afraid to admit it."

"No," she said, brown eyes flashing.

"Yes."

Her mouth opened to say more words of denial. More lies. A ringing telephone interrupted them. She strode across the room and snatched her purse from the floor. After digging inside it, she pulled out her cell phone.

"Ward here," she said, somewhat breathlessly. A beat passed and she added, "No, I'm fine. Where are you?"

Jason listened to her half of the conversation, but it was her body language that spoke the loudest to him. She was ashamed of what happened or almost happened. The sound of her lover's voice reminded her that she came close to betraying him. Jason didn't give a damn how Stefan Cassadine would feel to know that Keesha was with him. That she allowed him—Jason—to hold her and kiss her and arouse her. The only thing that concerned him was that he and Keesha still had unfinished business between them.

***

"Did you like the flowers?"

Dara's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected to hear Mac on the other end. Her secretary told her that a prospective client was calling. Her assistant had no way of knowing that Mac wanted more than Dara's legal advice. He wanted her body and soul and seemed to believe that both were available to him with the payment of endless bouquets of flowers.

He was wrong.

"I've stopped accepting them. Call General Hospital. I've had all subsequent deliveries routed there."

His warm chuckle sent shivers up her spine. Dara concentrated hard on the photo of Zarek to ignore the sensation.

"One of the many things I like about you," Mac commented, "is your sense of altruism. I'm sure the patients are enjoying the flowers. It's so like you to be thoughtful."

"Mac, is there a point to this conversation?" Dara glanced at the stack of paperwork on her desk. She had contracts to review and case files to pilfer through. She didn't have time for telephonic flirtation. No matter how flattering it was. "I have a mountain of work, and I don't have time for this."

"Timing is always everything, isn't it?" Mac asked, his voice quiet and thoughtful. "I wasted time trying to resurrect a marriage that was beyond repair when I should have been with you, exploring what we both know was there."

Dara rubbed her temple. Her head was beginning to throb. "Was is the important word here. What could have happened between us is in the past. I'm married and I won't—"

"Meet me at the Outback."

She gasped in shock. He didn't give up. Nor did he listen. "Mac, no."

"Please, Dara. Before you go home this evening, meet me at the restaurant."

"If I agree to do this, you have to make me a promise."

His smile came through in his voice. "I'll do anything you ask."

"The flowers and the telephone calls will stop," she told him, refusing to respond to the sexy huskiness of his voice.

"Agreed," he said. "See you at six."

Dara hung up the phone. His eagerness caused a small amount of alarm, but she pushed it aside. She was being paranoid. They were meeting at the Outback! Nothing but a talk between friends could happen at a public restaurant.

***

"Dammit, make me active!" Jerry furiously pounded Frisco's desk to emphasize his point. He shouldn't have to ask, Jerry reasoned. He was owed this. The sacrifices he'd made. The life he gave up to be WSB's worst nightmare for the bureau's enemies. The least they could do was give him what he asked, when he asked!

"You're making demands that I don't have the authority to okay."

Jerry muttered a string of expletives. "That's bullshit and you know it, Jones! You're so far up the Director's ass that you—"

"Don't let assumptions cloud your common sense," Frisco said. Only the appearance of a vein at the center of his forehead conveyed his emotional state. He was getting pissed. "I do my job. What I have could have been yours if you didn't let your ego get in the way. I'm not the reason you were made inactive. You did that all on your own."

"A few words from you in the Director's ear didn't help."

Frisco gave him a tight smile. "Reports of my backstabbing you have been greatly exaggerated."

Jerry fixed his former partner with a hard stare. They had been close. Almost like brothers. Until a woman came between them. Wasn't it always the same ole story? Jerry shook his head, dismissing the memories from returning. He didn't want to think about the past. His only concern was the present situation. Jax's abduction. He wanted his baby brother back and he promised his parents he'd make it happen.

"I won't beg," Jerry said after a lengthy silence.

"I'm not asking you to." Frisco rose from behind his desk. He went to the large window that looked down onto the training floor. He stood there and watched the activity down below. Without turning around he said, "If it was any other case, I could help you, but you're too close to this one."

"I can't stay in the background!" Jerry said, moving to join Frisco at the window. "He's my brother!"

"Exactly," Frisco said. "He's family. The Director could be persuaded to let you back in, but not for this case." Frisco slowly dragged his gaze from the young agent who was carefully practicing Tai Chi.

The young woman from before. Agent Jensen…Steve's kid. She'd grown up to be quite a looker. Jerry understood why Frisco had a hard time turning his eyes away, but even so that had nothing to do with his kid brother. "We're wasting time!"

"You want me to make the call?" Frisco asked. "Coming back would mean doing so under her terms. The Director isn't a forgiving woman. She'd want payback for what happened."

"You have an alternative?" Jerry realized that Frisco was beating around the bush for a reason. Pulling it out him was like pulling teeth. It was one of the things Jerry had always hated about Frisco.

"You take over the Underground."

Jerry frowned. "That's your baby. You'd give it to me?"

"There's a catch," Frisco said.

"I knew there would be." Jerry drew in a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to bring Jax back alive."

"Don't you want to know what the catch is?"

Jerry shook his head. "No. I want to know where my brother is. The rest can wait."

***

Jax pulled Sabrina up through the trap door. Droplets of sweat blurred his vision. He blinked the salty water from his eyes and helped his fellow captive to her feet. After kicking the trap door closed, he moved from behind her and surveyed the room. It looked ancient. They appeared to be in a dungeon of some sort, but a nice dungeon. Not the ones for imprisonment. Perhaps for safety instead.

"I don't believe it," Sabrina said, walking around the space. Small fluorescent light bulbs were evenly spaced along the highest points of the wall. The light cast shadows along the walls, revealing cobwebs and dirt. She didn't seem to mind and plopped down on top a dusty chaise lounge. "Furniture. Dusty and old, but it's better than hard, cold ground."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable," Jax warned. "This could be part of a trap."

She moved slowly to her feet. "This entire thing is a trap, but it's better than we were before." She dusted off her backside and then her hands.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something strange about their surroundings. Something bizarre hovered in the air, and he didn't like it.

Sabrina moved towards him. "The furniture looks familiar," she said as she reached him. "I don't know why."

Jax nodded. He had the same impression.

"I'm getting another feeling, too," she said, "like someone is watching us."

"I feel it, too." He looked down at her. "We didn't just find this room. It was a part of our captor's plan."

"I guess the bastard's game is just beginning."