Jones pointed to one of the articles in the main clippings book. "Tell me that's not Bigfoot!"

Almost as a reflex, Stone standing beside him, growled. "That ain't no Bigfoot. Probably some kids playing around. There's no such thing . . . ." And his voice trailed off as he realized where he was.

Jones jumped in, still arguing his point. "Oh please, there's no such thing, says the guy who makes jerky with a chupacabra."

Cassandra was grinning at the familiar banter and Baird cleared her throat and held up her hand. The boys immediately quieted. "Jenkins?"

"Well, both Mr. Jones and Mr. Stone are right . . . ." Both men grinned and then their expressions faded as Jenkins frowned at them. "And they are wrong."

"What does that even mean?" Baird asked.

"Is Bigfoot real?" Cassandra asked eagerly.

"Well, yes, there is a being that could meet the general description of," and Jenkins made air quotes, "'Bigfoot' but I have my doubts about it being the cause of these incidents. The Ts'emekwes . . . ."

Flynn came into the room, carrying an armful of books, "the Ts'emekwes generally keep to themselves. Not even generally, they keep to themselves. They avoid humans as much as possible. And Jenkins is correct that it's not likely this is one of them. 99% of the supposed Bigfoot sightings are exactly what you think hoaxes and bears and the like."

"Let me guess," Jones said. "The 1% that aren't, are in those books?"

Flynn grinned, pointing at him. "You are learning, young Padawan."

Stone took a deep breath, "so basically, we could be dealing with someone using a Bigfoot hoax to cover up criminal use of magic?"

Flynn nodded. "It's more than likely. But there's still a possibility that a rogue Ts'emekwe is causing this, maybe a young one, or a rebellious teenager."

"Well guys," Baird said. "Let's go assess the situation."

The 'assessing the situation' eventually lead to Stone and Cassandra hiking through a forest in British Columbia looking for signs of a Ts'emekwe while the others followed up other leads. They'd been volunteered due to Stone's knowledge of First Nations lore (and his general knowledge of the outdoors) and Cassandra because of the map inside of her head. Normally Stone wouldn't have minded such an assignment. He was outdoors, getting fresh air and he didn't have to deal with Jones. Also normally, he didn't mind Cassandra's company, not in the least. Cassandra was one of his favorite people, after all.

But today he was grumpy. It was likely because they'd been at this for two hours now and there wasn't a single sign of anything close to a Bigfoot. He also really didn't like the looks of those clouds. This is what he kept telling himself anyway, before finding himself staring at Cassandra again. She'd at least dressed somewhat appropriately for a hike in the woods with a pair of over the knee socks and hiking boots. Of course the hiking boots were purple and the socks were gray and sported the face of a bear at the top. She wore a purple plaid shirt with a lace collar and a golden moose pin was on her right shoulder. It was all very cute but what kept drawing his eye were the high waisted navy shorts. Very short shorts. That fit her just right and his eyes kept drifting to her backside with every step.

He had memories of those shorts from the day the spell was broken when they were trapped in Cicely. Memories of his hand grabbed the fabric of her waistband as they ran through the door and her body underneath his when their landing had been bumpier than they anticipated. But it had been a hell of a day and he hadn't really gotten a chance to admire her in them (or at least as far as he could remember, his memories of what had happened in those three weeks were very hazy).

He sighed and dragged his eyes up resolutely. She heard his sigh and turned around, looking at him quizzically.

He covered up the real reason for his sigh. "We ain't findin' nothing."

It was her turn to sigh and scan the trees. "I'm pretty sure we can safely say that a Ts'emekwe is not causing this."

He shrugged. "Like we all figured." He took out his phone and groaned. "Okay, no signal, so we're gonna have to hike back out." He looked up at the sky and looked worried. Cassandra followed his train of thought immediately.

"I don't like the looks of those clouds either."

"What do you reckon our chances are?"

She did some quick figures, Stone standing by just in case, though these days he really didn't worry much about her losing control. He took the opportunity to hydrate.

She frowned. "Not good. We might have better look heading," she pointed to the other fork, "that way. It'll at least take us to the highway so we might have a better chance of getting a signal. We're gonna get wet though, probably. Hour tops."

He handed her the water bottle and shrugged. "Getting a little wet won't kill us." Though at the moment he was really regretting his choice of a white button down. At least he'd worn cargo pants, they'd dry faster than his jeans would.

They were probably still 40 minutes from the highway when it started to rain. At first it was just mist and drizzle, enough to be annoying but not too bad. It was, however, making the already damp trail even more slick. Which became a problem as the rain increased in intensity and Cassandra's already tight fitting shorts became even more tight fitting.

Jacob at that point, had given up any hope of not staring at her rear. Which was a big mistake. The ground had gotten rocky and very slick. Cassandra stumbled in front of him and since he'd not been looking at anything but her ass, his attempt to stop came too late. He slid on the wet trail and collided with her, knocking her hard to the ground.

"I am so sorry, " he gasped as he quickly rolled away from her.

Cassandra nodded but he saw her wince with pain as she attempted to get up.

"Cassie?"

"My ankle, I stepped wrong on a rock before you slipped," she reached over trying to assess but it was difficult in wet socks and shoes.

The rain was coming down harder now and they were both soaked and now a little muddy, though not as bad as he would have thought, his momentum had landed them in grass on the side of the trail instead of in the mud. He knelt by her foot, trying to see what he could feel through her shoe. He didn't want to take it off in the situation, it would make things worse. They tried having Cassandra gingerly put weight on her ankle and she could, though it was painful.

"Probably badly bruised," Stone said softly. "And I still have no signal."

"Not that there's a door anywhere nearby," Cassandra said, chuckling despite the pain as she leaned against him.

"No, but I figured if we could call Baird maybe they could arrange a ride. How far to the highway?"

"Ten minutes," Cassandra said. "I can do this."

"Lean on me if you need to, okay? If it's too much, let me know. Don't be too proud, okay? I'll carry ya if I have to."

Cassandra nodded. Funny how much this hurt when she was used to pain. She'd meant to ask Jacob what was wrong with him today as they made their way as quickly as possible toward the highway. He'd been distracted all afternoon. But as she looked over at him, she found herself not quite being able to remember what she meant to ask him.

That was a first for her, really. But his shirt had gone completely see through saturated as it was with rain. She'd always known he had strong arms, they'd been around her on a few occasions, mostly to keep her from falling. But he rarely wore even short sleeve shirts. And now she had the full effect of how built he actually was as the gray ribbed undershirt he was wearing began to cling to every muscle as it too became soaked. Her mouth went dry and she really hoped he didn't notice she was staring.

Jacob, however, had. That was interesting. He hadn't quite been certain of where he stood with her. She'd seemed very fond of him, but then she did of all of them. She'd responded positively to his attempts at flirting over the past couple of months. And then there had been London when he hadn't been completely sure if he'd asked her out on a date or not. His intent had been a date, but she could have seen it as a friendly drink. They'd never gotten the chance and she'd not brought it back up again. They'd been too busy.

Now here they were and he had proof that she found him attractive. Her eyes were dark, he caught her licking her lips. If he wasn't so damn worried about her, he'd probably have backed her up against a tree about five minutes before.

Five minutes . . . they should be. . . .

"The highway . . . ." Cassandra said and then wobbled.

All thoughts of anything but her well-being fled from his head and he grabbed hold of her. "I told ya to tell me!"

"I'm sorry . . .I got . ..distracted."

"Yeah?" he grinned at her, but then she leaned even more heavily on him and he gave up on flirting. He handed her his phone and then scooped her up. "Signal?"

She squinted at the wet screen. "One bar. I'll try to call Baird."

She did, but the conversation didn't go well. The rain was too loud and the signal too weak and Baird basically heard that they were okay before the line went dead.

"Oh great, Baird's gonna freak out now," Stone said, shifting his hold on Cassandra. Cassandra was trying to get a better signal by holding the phone at an angle. He was starting to worry about it malfunctioning in the rain. Then he saw a sign a little way down the road. "Look, there's a bed and breakfast. We can at least use their phone."

"Oh good," Cassandra slumped a little against him. He imagined she was exhausted. It had been a long day. He was tired himself. She was very light, but he'd already been hiking for three hours and he wasn't quite sure the last time he ate. He assumed she was even worse off.

They'd gotten a little way down the driveway when Jacob could hear tires crunching behind them, he slowed down and moved over. The truck stopped alongside them and a dog's head was suddenly poking out at them.

"Jesus, Mercedes, get back in the back there. My word, what happened to you folks?" An older woman, whose accent sounded much more American Plains to Jacob's ears than Pacific Northwest, gaped across the truck at them.

"We were hiking," Stone's shoulder pointing back to the woods. "The weather turned and we thought we'd best head toward the highway. But my . . ."and Stone wasn't even sure why he went with the lie but he did. "My girlfriend hurt her ankle in a fall. We can't get a call to go through to our friends. Is this your place? Can we use your phone?"

"Yes and yes. Oh, you poor things. Hope in, don't worry about the seats, I got me wet dog in here on the regular."

Thelma, her name was, had grown up in Nebraska but had fallen in love with the area and a man on vacation. Eventually she and her husband had opened up a b&b.

"Tell you folks what," Thelma said as she ushered them in. "I've got one room open. You both look like you could use a shower. How about I just let you use the room for the evening?"

"Well, I mean our friends . . . ." Cassandra said, looking at Jacob.

"They probably wouldn't want to come out in this weather with you all safe and snug here," Thelma pointed out. "It's supposed to rain til morning. I've not got anyone coming in tonight so it's on me, I wouldn't have made anything on it anyway. Let me get you a couple of robes and towels and I'll put your clothes in the washer, huh?"

Cassandra and Jacob exchanged glances and then smiled and thanked Thelma. The woman pointed Jacob toward the phone in the living room and scurried off.

Jacob stole a glance around and then picked up the phone, Cassandra kept watch in case he said anything that would cause other guests or Thelma to ask questions.

The Library seemed to have a way of identifying you no matter what phone you used because Baird recognized him before he'd even gotten a word out.

"Oh thank God. Are you okay?"

"We're soaked to the skin and Cassandra has a hurt ankle," he looked over at Cassandra who was leaning against a wall, too scared to sit on the future in her soaked state. "I mean soaked."

"Where are you?"

"We found a bed and breakfast. Owner offered to put us up for the night. Honestly Baird, not sure how we'd be able to get out if you do send a door."

"Yeah, that's tricky." He could hear her sighing. "Did you find anything?"

"Nope, just like we figured."

"Yeah, well at least that rules it out. Tell you what, why don't you two just spend the night there? Cassandra probably needs rest and I don't want you catching cold. We're actually gonna look for a motel ourselves for the night. Jenkins is crabby, we had to rent a car . . .it's a really long story. At this point, I'll just be glad not to be bunking with Jones."

Stone started laughing. "Okay, looks like we might have won. I'll call ya in the morning and we'll figure out what's going on?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Night Stone."

"Night Baird."

Cassandra looked over at him, "so what's going on?"

"Sounds like they've had a frustrating day too. No real details but they're calling it a night too. Not going back home, so I guess they'll get us in the morning."

"Okay," she lost her balance and he grabbed her just as Thelma came in.

"Is she alright?"

"I hope so," Jacob said. "We weren't as prepared as we should have been. It's been a while since we've eaten. And her ankle hurts."

Thelma shook her head. "Story we hear a lot around here. You folks were lucky. Come on, I'll get you in your room and I'll bring you some sandwiches."

She showed them to a room, unlocking the door and handing Jacob the key. It was a spacious room with a North Woods theme. There was only one bed, but Jacob had said they were a couple. They'd deal with that later. They both really only had eyes for the en-suite and the lovely shower it contained. A stack of towels and two fluffy robes were on the bed. A laundry basket stood just beside the door.

"Just put your wet clothes in there and set it outside. I'll bring you up some sandwiches and some hot tea in a bit. Just press 1 on the phone over there if you need anything in the meantime."

"Thank you so much Thelma," Cassandra said and Jacob echoed his thanks.

She left Jacob and Cassandra to stare at each other awkwardly. Jacob gestured to the bathroom, "go ahead, you can have first crack at the bathroom."

"Okay," but Cassandra stumbled a bit.

"Okay, new plan," Jacob put one of the many towels on the sofa and helped her over, setting another towel and one of the robes next to her. "I'll take a shower and fill up the tub for you. You rest and change out here."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"No problem," he said equally softly, grabbing a robe and towels off the bed and disappearing into the bathroom.

Left alone, Cassandra slowly worked the stupid laces on her boots. Her ankle was swollen and she had a hard time getting them off, it didn't help that her clothes were soaking wet and she was starting to shiver. She'd noticed the heater had been turned up when they entered the room so hopefully she'd be warm soon. Finally she'd removed the boots and peeled off her socks. Her ankle was already sporting a bruise but it seemed to be only that and nothing worse. She was pretty sure she was mostly just dehydrated and hungry.

She ran the towel over her legs and it felt heavenly just to be dry. She could hear the shower running and she tried not to think about the fact that in a little bit both she and Jacob would be in room together naked save for the robes. She knew that she was going to have to remove even her underwear, nothing had escaped the rain.

She'd stood up to finish disrobing, having some difficulty with the weight of the sodden clothes. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and blushed. She was now certain why Jacob had been distracted. Soaking wet, her clothing clung to her much like his did, leaving very little to the imagination. Were those shorts really that tight?

She'd not been completely certain about where she stood with him. They'd certainly had a rocky beginning. But he'd forgiven her months ago, well before Peru. They'd become very close, she was pretty sure that he'd told her things in Oklahoma he'd never shared with anyone before. Then there was the flirting. But she couldn't be certain he meant it, she'd seen him flirt before, with girls in bars, with people they were talking to for missions, with poor Mabel. And then there was London, where she was pretty sure he'd asked her on a date. But it could have been just a friendly drink. They'd never gone so she never was able to find out.

But there was a moment today, his arms around her where he looked like had she not almost fainted he would have kissed her. She certainly wouldn't have minded. My goodness, did water do things to Jacob Stone . . . .

She'd realized she'd been standing there, naked, musing about Jacob when she heard a taping at the door. She hurriedly threw on her robe and hobbled over to the door. Having rested a bit, it didn't hurt as much.

Thelma was stood with a tray. "Hello Cassandra, I've brought you some food."

"Oh thank you, I'm starving," Cassandra laughed. "My um boyfriend's in the shower, but we'll put the clothes out for you soon. I'm so so grateful for this, are you sure we can't pay you?"

Thelma laughed and carried the tray in and set it on the small table. "It's all right darlin'. You two lovebirds were in trouble and I like to pay my karma up in full. There's some Tylenol and an ice bag too for that ankle though you seem to be getting around better on it."

"Yeah, I think it's just bruised. Thank you so much again."

"It's alright, just set the tray out with your clothes when you're done."

After Thelma left, Cassandra dumped her pile of clothes in the basket and sank gratefully onto a chair and started eating, not bothering to wait for Jacob. It was probably better that she kept her mouth busy.

Jacob came out a few minutes later carrying his bundle of clothes.

"Oh good, I'm starving," he said when he saw her eating. Then winced at how awkward that came out. He'd spent a long time in the shower, partly because he was cold and tired and partly to try to keep from thinking about the fact that Cassandra was naked on the other side of the door.

Now here she was, though the robe actually covered more than her clothes had.

"Uh bath tub is fillin' for ya."

She smiled at him, "thank you. Thelma was just here, she said to set the tray out in the hall when we're done. And she's waiting on the clothes."

He nodded and added his to the basket and set it out in the hall.

They both ate in silence for a while, neither knowing what exactly to say. Jacob got up once or twice to check on the bath tub. Finally they were finished and he put the tray outside the door noting that the clothes were gone.

He went into the bathroom and checked on the water again. Satisfied that it was full enough, he turned off the taps.

"Bath's ready," he said appearing back in the room.

"Right, okay then," Cassandra said, getting up and brushing way too close to him to get into the bathroom before shutting the door.

He groaned before settling himself on the sofa, flipping through tv stations. His mind not on what was on the tv but on the curve of her rear in those shorts and the glimpse he just got of her breasts as she brushed past him.

Damnit Stone, get it together.

The bath was heavenly but Cassandra's traitorous mind was thinking about Jacob being in there with her. What was wrong with her today?

Okay, it was obvious that they liked each other. It wasn't a new thing and neither was the attraction. They'd built it up over the months they'd known each other. So now they were here for the night in a hotel room . . . .

What would be the harm in exploring their feelings? It wasn't as if Baird and Flynn didn't have something going on. So it wasn't exactly forbidden in their workplace to have a relationship.

Of course if she was going to do anything tonight, she was going to soak in this tub until nothing ached. And hoped he didn't fall asleep waiting for her.

On the sofa in the other room, Stone was having similar thoughts. He liked Cassandra, more than liked her. Truth was he'd been carefully walking along the edge of falling for her for months, her absence in his life for those three months had made him realize just how much she'd come to mean to him.

Tonight wouldn't be a bad night to explore these feelings. They were all alone. There were no monsters, demons or wizards breathing down their necks. No Jones or Jenkins to pop around the corner at the worst possible time. And certainly, there was no barrier in their workplace, not when Baird and Flynn were probably right now . . . . Yeah, best to not go down that road. Baird was like a sister to him and he didn't want to think about her in that way at all.

Cassandra, however, beautiful, brilliant Cassandra, he could and was thinking of her that way. Provided she hadn't fallen asleep in the tub. She'd been in there a while. He stood up, figuring he'd best knock on the door. It wouldn't be a good idea if she fell asleep in there.

As he approached the bathroom door, he could hear rustling around inside and the sounds of the tub draining. Good, he didn't have to worry about that.

He was still standing near the door when she came out a few moments later.

"Oh, did you need to use it?" Cassandra asked. "I'm sorry, it just felt so nice to soak."

"No, I was getting worried about you. Making sure I didn't have to wake you up."

Cassandra giggled a little nervously. In the tub, it had been so easy to talk herself into putting the moves on him. Now she was feeling awkward and self conscious. "No, I'm wide awake now. You?"

"Same. Um, how's your ankle?" What was wrong with him? He never had trouble speaking to women. But then again, he'd always hid behind his costume before, even to some extent with Mabel. Cassandra, on the other hand, had seen right through him from the moment they met. Even when he was claiming to her face that he couldn't trust her, he was showing her more of the real him than any other woman had ever seen. Tonight he couldn't hide, she deserved the real Jacob Stone. Which was easier said than done.

"It's much better. Just a bruise. I think it hurt worse because of the conditions and all then it actually was. I needed rest and food and I'm all better."

"I'm glad, you were worrying me there for a bit. Cassie . . . I . . .damnit." He fumbled for words, lost in her eyes which were focused on him expectantly.

"Jacob . . ."she huffed a little too. Now she realized his mind was on the same track as hers but they both couldn't quite get the words out. So maybe if she tried . . . .

She stepped forward about the same time he did. She reached out a hand to the collar of his robe as he reached out as well, cupping her cheek.

"Just for the record," he whispered, his breath ghosting over her lips. "You do want me to kiss you?"

"Yes, already," she said with a bit of mock impatience that earned a brief laugh from Jacob before their lips met.

The kisses started off slow and gentle, though inquisitive. It wasn't long before they'd opened up, investigating each other anew. But suddenly passion flared between them and the kisses became more intense as one of Jacob's hands found her hip pulling her flush against him and she sunk both of her hands in his hair. Finally they broke apart gasping for air.

Their foreheads were pressed together and Cassandra keenly felt the loss of his lips despite knowing that maybe they should talk about this. She'd not intended the passion to flare quite that intensely so quickly.

"That kinda got a bit hot, huh?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I've been kinda uh revved up since the rain." She blushed ducking her head at her admission. He chuckled and took her hand, leading her to the sofa.

"Before that for me. Those little shorts of yours . . .wow."

"That shirt of yours went completely see through," Cassandra turned red. "Oh my God, I can't believe we're having this conversation."

"Why? Hey, darlin' . . .we're both healthy, single adults who really like each other. There's nothing wrong with it. I just kinda wish I'd told you how much I like you before."

She grinned at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. But I think you kinda knew."

"We've been dancing around it for months, Jacob. I kinda thought maybe tonight would be a good night to just . . . ."

"Admit it?"

"Yeah. Except I kinda really didn't expect to want to . . . ." She turned even redder and he wasn't sure that was possible.

"Well . . .I mean if you're implying what I think, it's not like I carry condoms with me, sweetheart. And I don't know if . . . ."

"I'm on the pill. Been on it long enough to know it's effective." She couldn't look at him while she said this but he got her drift. "I won't get pregnant. And I don't think either of us has been with anyone in a while."

"It's been a while, yeah. Cassie . . . ."

He saw her sit up straighter next to him as if she'd come to a conclusion. Then suddenly she was straddling his lap.

"Oh God," he whimpered. "Cassandra, this ain't fair."

"Jacob, I want you, I want this. I know you do."

"It's not that I don't. Cassandra, it's just . . . .Okay, before the Library? A beautiful woman sat on my lap and offered herself to me for the night? I'd take it no questions asked. But that ain't who I am any more. And not what I want. I don't want one night with you. I want as many of them as you've got to give me. I want to jump over the edge with you. But you've got to want that too."

"Oh Jacob," she smiled then leaned over and kissed him gently. "There was a time that I did that. Believe it or not. I was reckless because I was dying."

"Cass. . . ."

"But that's not what I'm doing here. I've taken my life back. I make my own choices. My future isn't as long as others are, but we're Librarians, we might get eaten by another tentacle monster. I chose to be with you. I don't want just a night. I want you and me to be . . .well you and me. Us. Together. That's what I'm offering. A relationship, not a night."

His hand reached up to her cheek, brushing her hair back. "You know," he mused. "Most people start with a drink."

She shrugged. "We're not most people."

He nodded. "100 percent sure?"

"100 percent. You? 100 percent sure?"

He searched her eyes for a moment and then nodded again. "100 percent sure. Jumping?"

She beamed at him. "Jumping."

With that, he tugged her head down to kiss her hungrily. They finally had to break for air and when she tilted her head back, he got the hint and attached his mouth to the sensitive skin of her neck. She moaned when he hit a particularly delicious spot and rolled her hips against him. When she did it again, he moaned and stopped, causing her to whimper.

"Please darlin', you're gonna rush things."

She grinned at him wickedly and rolled her hips again. "Cassie, I mean it. Unless you want me to take you right here, right now, cut it out."

Cassandra froze, staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth gaping at him. But though her face was flushed, he could tell the idea both intrigued and turned her on. Cassandra had a naughty side that he was going to be very interested in exploring. But not this night.

She nodded, silently agreeing with his assessment. "I'll stop, but you know maybe some other time?"

His grin was as wicked as hers had been. "Oh, yeah."

He pulled her back in for another passionate kiss. Cassandra's mind had always been busy, even with other lovers part of her mind would be busy analyzing the pattern on the sofa or doing an equation. But right now all she could think about was him. How he smelled beyond the soap from the bathroom, the way he was expressing how much he cared for her on top of his desire, the feel of his lips against hers, the feel of hands roughened by manual labor as they brushed against the bare skin of her shoulder. She could feel him sliding the robe off her shoulders as they continued to kiss and she broke away.

"Cassandra?"

"I'm okay, I was thinking we should move this to the bed?"

He nodded and she slid off his lap, giving him a hand to help him stand up. They held hands as they made the short trip across the room to the bed, which had already been turned down. Stone couldn't help contrast how chaste and innocent this hand holding was after what they'd been doing on the sofa. He looked over at Cassandra and she looked suddenly shy. Despite her admission of having had her share of one night stands, he had a feeling that right now they were both having the same case of nerves.

This meant something. This was not just sex. They weren't going to be looking for their clothes and slipping out before the other person woke.

"Cassie?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, look at me, okay?"

She nodded and he gently put his arms around her. "There is absolutely no point of no return tonight . . .or any night with me, alright? You tell me no and that's it. I'm stopping immediately. If you're not sure now then we stop, okay?"

She smiled at him tenderly, putting her arms around his neck. "I appreciate that. And it's not that, I want this and I want you. But the stopping thing, goes both ways, if you want to stop . . . ."

"No . . .I don't it's just. . . ."

Her eyes met his, understanding across her features. "It's the same for you as it is me, isn't it? This is the first time it ever meant anything."

"Yeah, sex for oil rigger Jake was just a good time. I always wanted more but I used to believe I could never have it. Didn't deserve it."

"Oh Jacob," she shifted in his arms. "I hate that you still feel that way."

"It's gettin' better. I promise. So for you . . . ."

"Lack of a future. I felt defeated and done. The walking dead as it were. But I've realized that life is short for all of us but it doesn't stop people from finding happiness. And I think the Library knew what it was doing when it picked us. I needed you."

She was looking into his eyes and saw the desire come back. Men had looked at her with desire before, but not the way Jacob did, the way he felt about her was always first. And by the way he suddenly smiled, he'd been satisfied with the way she was looking back at him. "I need you," he whispered huskily and she nodded as their lips met.

They kissed hungrily, backing toward the bed and undoing the ties on each other's robes. They broke from the kiss finally and eyes locking, both let the robes fall on the floor. They let each other have a moment of admiration before they were back in each other's arms. Jacob attached his lips to Cassandra's neck as he palmed one of her breasts. She took advantage of her position to kiss his neck and then found an interesting scar on his shoulder. Something about that earned a low moan from him and then suddenly she found herself on her back on the bed.

She giggled as he crawled up her and captured her lips again.

Cassandra had always liked sex well enough. But like on the sofa earlier, she'd marveled at how her mind quieted with Jacob. She was surrounded by him, his scent, the feel of him under her fingers and lips. She'd been eager earlier but now she gloried in them taking time to explore each other. As he explored her with his fingers, lips and tongue she felt worshiped, cherished. And she hoped that as she returned the favor that he felt equally cherished by her. Because she did cherish him and she lacked the words to describe just how much, so she just hoped she could show him.

Cassandra's brain always was doing a million things at once. Jacob had known that since he'd met her. He was okay with that, figured somewhere in her brain she'd be calculating when the rain outside would stop even as they made love. But as far as he could tell that was not what was happening. For the first time since he'd met her, Cassandra was completely focused on one thing. The fact that it was him awed and humbled him. Girls he'd slept with had sometimes made him feel important but nothing like this. That's when he realized that she'd just about ruined him for anyone else, ever.

And as he watched her beautiful face as she tipped over the edge into ecstasy and he joined her a few moments later, he knew that he was absolutely okay with that.

"This was way better than a drink," he said to her when they both had finally caught their breaths and let their heartbeats return to normal.

She laughed, turning her face into his chest to avoid being too loud. When she stopped, she leaned up and whispered, "way better." Then she kissed him.

The End