Brielle felt oddly comfortable in Jack's arms, as he carried her easily through the porch. His house was a magnificent mansion, complete with a large surrounding garden and the most brilliant decor within.

"Brielle?" said Jack when they were finally inside. He still hadn't put her down. "I don't have any female staff. I'm afraid there's no one to assist you."

"Oh that's all right." said Brielle with a genuine smile.

He carried her to the floor above and from the many doors in the corridor chose to open the one to the prettiest room Brielle had seen. A lush carpet adorned the wooden floors and the red velvet curtains hung from the tall windows. The queen-sized bed was covered in what Brielle suspected was supple silk. Several small vases full of fake flowers adorned the side tables and an intricately designed crystal wind chime heralded them as they entered.

"Is this room okay? Some people think its too old fashioned." commented Jack as he opened the door to the connected bathroom.

"Jack, this room is beautiful. It has so many details, someone must have spent a lot of time deciding them." said Brielle as she noticed an antique lamp shade. Funnily, stick figures had been drawn on it, as though a child had been there before.

"Thank you. I made the mistake of showing my mother's room to Naomi and Claire. They both preferred my modern apartment in the city."

"Your mother?" repeated Brielle as he set her down on her feet inside the bathroom.

"Yes." said Jack his eyes warm and bright. But only for a nanosecond.

"Get in the bathtub." said Jack. "The water should be warm. I'll get you some spare clothes."

"Thank you." said Brielle gratefully, as she closed the door behind Jack.

"Tell me in detail what happened tonight." came Jack's husky voice from outside the bathroom as Brielle sunk into the hot water.

"From in here?" she asked surprised.

"Yes. Keep talking to me. That way I'll know you're awake." said Jack taking out his cell phone. He glanced at his watch and grimaced. It was already 3 a.m.

"Okay." came Brielle's sweet voice. "How should I start? Well, you know tonight was supposed to be special, you heard Amanda, right? Zachary and I went to have dinner at this expensive restaurant but for some reason they hadn't kept a table for us. He got really mad and started a ruckus. It was pretty weird since Zachary said he'd booked the table a month ago."

"That's the time we first met." said Jack as he wiped his face. "Obviously my uncle and cousin have been thinking this through."

Jack paused for a moment to call his butler on the bedside phone and left a quick message requesting a meal.

"The reason your booking was cancelled was because Zachary made a mistake. He lost a lot of money last night gambling, and as a result had none left to pay for the dinner. I'm guessing he planned the fiasco at the lobby." he explained to Brielle.

"Makes sense. I had to pay for the taxi ride back to his place." agreed Brielle as she scrubbed away at her skin. It felt therapeutic to have the warm water ease her aching joints. "Then he took me to his house. We, um, started undressing, and making out when I noticed a camera overhead."

"A camera?" exclaimed Jack angrily. "The bastard was making a tape."

"He became a different kind of person when I asked him to stop. He was aggressive and mean, but I kicked him between the legs and ran for it. Unfortunately I left behind my clothes and purse."

Jack clenched his fists. How could anyone even dream of harming someone as kind and harmless as Brielle? It took him a few seconds to understand why.

"Then?" he asked bracing himself to hear her sufferings. It hurt him physically to listen to the things she had gone through.

"I kept running. These heels were a terrible support. I made a bad decision and hid in a dark alleyway. He caught up with me, but I slipped away through the manhole, you know the sewer crate. It was really dark and suffocating, but I made it out. A man thought I was a hooker, but then you found me, so everything is okay now." she said pleasantly.

Jack couldn't help himself as he pushed open her bathroom door. Brielle looked up in surprise, immediately blushing and gathering the bubbles of soap closer to her body as she shrunk deeper into the water.

He cupped her face and captured her lips with his own. This time his tongue took advantage of her surprised gasp and entered her mouth. His hand tangled in her hair as he kissed her passionately. Her mouth welcomed him as she responded to his ministrations readily.

"Brielle," he said hoarsely when they broke away for air. "Do you have any idea just how incredible you are? You are so brave. Few people can go through hell and back and still manage to smile so soon."

"But why are you kissing me?" she asked. Brielle knew it was an unfair question because she was animatedly kissing him back. He had never forced her to do anything. Her body had acted of its own accord.

He spoke gruffly, his dark eyes looking amused. "Is it a problem if I kiss you?"

"Uh, yes." she said firmly. "I only kiss people I'm in a relationship with."

"You are in a relationship with me." said Jack standing up. "And you've been in that bath for too long. Hurry up or you'll fall sick. Here's a change of clothes."

He hung a pair of pajamas and a t-shirt on the rack and exited the bathroom leaving Brielle stuck between figuring out what he meant, arguing in her head that he couldn't always have his own way and wanting to kiss him again.

Just then there was a gentle knock on the mahogany door. Jack opened the door with his cell phone balanced between his ears and shoulders.

"Thank you Arthur." he said as a young man handed him a tray. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you at this hour."

"That is all right Sir." said the lad of about eighteen. "Dad's not well, so I came to deliver this---"

"What happened?" asked Jack in concern.

"He has a slight fever."

"Hmm." said Jack deep in thought. "Take care of your father. Stay home tomorrow. That girl is leading you astray."

"Sir," the boy said blushing. "I love her. She said she'll leave me if I don't go tomorrow."

"So be it. She obviously doesn't care about you if she wants you to choose. Put family first." said Jack as the boy nodded and raced to his room downstairs.

Jack sighed. Young love was always problematic. He was distracted as someone finally picked up the phone, and a familiar voice filled his ears.

"Hello?" said a sleepy male voice on the phone.

"Get up." ordered Jack. "This is important. I need you to track a video for me and erase it completely."

"Honey, I know we had a great time but its three a.m. Call me in another five hours." said the tired voice as he attempted to disconnect the call. Big mistake.

"This is Jack." was all he had to say. "Dixon."

"Why didn't you say so." said a chirpier voice. The man was obviously alert now. "Anything for you old buddy."

"I need you to find and destroy a video." repeated Jack. He hated saying the same thing again and again. But for Brielle he was willing to do anything.

"Sure. But, tell me now, since when have you been into making sex tapes?" asked the voice curiously. Jack could picture the infuriating smirk on his face.

"I haven't. It's for an acquaintance." said Jack non-chalantly. Pleasantries could wait.

"Okie dokie. Whatever you say." said the man. Sometimes he acted so childish Zachary wondered if he in fact was still a boy. "Approximate details?"

"Zachary Jones and his father Percival Jones. Tape of woman in black lingerie." said Jack as he shhut the door and placed a tray of food on the bed.

"California?"

"Maybe."

"Give me a couple of hours." Jack was the only client he never talked money with.

"Thanks."

The man on the other line smiled smugly. Jack had never thanked him in all of their years of association. Something was obviously special about this "woman". After all, childhood friends always knew one another inside out even if it had been a decade since they last met.