Tranquilizer

She raised herself, feeling a warm liquid streaming out of her body. Oh no, no, no, she thought. Where was her brain? The condoms. She forgot the condoms. Oh my god, maybe she was pregnant. No, destiny cannot be so harsh. It was only once. Still, once was usually all it took. One didn't get a biology-degree without knowing that.

Gray practically read her thoughts. It was just as he had expected, he thought. She was having regrets. Still, he would not give up so easily.

"This was about the job, wasn't it?" he asked. She stopped her thoughts about Armageddon and turned to look at him. He winked and continued. "You wanted to avenge the fact that I didn't recommend you for the job, isn't that so?" He was right on target, and in her shocked state she could do little more than nod. "Well, I like your kind of revenge. Are you sure you don't want to avenge yourself a bit further? I can pretend to be unwilling, if that helps?" he suggested.

She gaped at him. Typical male, she thought. Always after satisfying his own lust. Damn, she played right into his net this time. But no more. She walked out of the room and got in the shower. The warm water made her skin tingle again, but this time she could control her feelings. Returning to the bedroom wearing a towel draped around her, she located her clothes and ran back into the bathroom. Damn it, Gray thought. She was trying to escape.

"Jaci, come back here! We need to talk!" he shouted after her. After a long wait she was visible in the doorway. "Look, Jaci, I'm sorry about the job," he said quietly. "I promise to recommend you for the next one that comes along. I knew you were the best candidate for the job, but I messed up when making the decision."

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you do it? Didn't I do a proper job because I'm female?" she asked, calmer now. He paused, afraid to make the leap, but realising he could not turn back.

He answered quietly, "I wanted to keep you."

"What?" she asked, not understanding what he meant be such a strange statement?

"I wanted to keep you with me," he said again. "I love you," he said in the same quiet voice. "And I knew you hated me. I wanted you any way I could, and if that way was by forcing you along on expeditions so I could enjoy your company, then so be it," he said in a depressed tone.

"Who told you I hated you?" she wondered, in total shock after his revelations.

"You did," he said. "You told Stan again and again, and he told me I didn't stand a chance when you had made up your mind."

Now the pieces finally were put to place, and she recalled her laughing brothers helping her carry Gray into the cabin. Of course they knew what was going on. And of course they knew he was willing. She also remembered her uninhibited reaction to this man and how good it felt to touch him. It wasn't revenge that made her do those things to him. It might be worth while to investigate these feelings further.

He cringed at the triumphant smile on her face, misreading her thoughts and preparing for the worst after his admissions. He couldn't bear her telling him she didn't want anything more to do with him. He charged the problem straight on.

"You better leave now," he said. "Just call Stan and ask him to come and untie me, will you?" He will probably laugh his head off in the process, he thought mopishly.

"Stan is wrong," Staci said, "and I will prove it to you." She threw off her clothes, before moving towards him and untying the bonds on his hands. "This time it's your turn to be on top," she told him laughingly.