Author's Note –
This is based on ABC's General Hospital's romantic pairing of mob enforcer Jason Morgan and artist Elizabeth Webber.
* * * * *
Jason Morgan had always prided himself on being a strong man.
But not tonight.
Not with her.
Especially when she was pressed against the hard plane of his chest wearing only a thin, skimpy dress as the warm summer night breeze caressed them with its sultry, wispy touch. Elizabeth moaned into his mouth and used her small hands to frame his face and bring him closer still. And as Jason obliged, parting her lips with his tongue and seeking immediate entrance, he was extremely thankful to the fact that relatively few people knew about Vista Point.
He kissed her fully, he kissed her roughly, he kissed her as if he'd never get enough of her. She was warm and sweet, and he found himself wondering if she always tasted like raspberries. He drank her in like a man dying of thirst, drowning himself in her soft scent of vanilla and jasmine. And just when he was ready to pull back and release her from his demanding embrace, she reeled him right back in with a sultry murmur and a feather-light sigh.
Elizabeth pouted when the cool air caressed her flushed skin and bee-stung lips – Jason had pulled away despite her best efforts. But his fingers remained fanned out along her jaw, tentatively stroking the lacy wisps of hair at her temples. Her body was tingling with energy and warmth, every place that he had touched alight with pleasant burning sensations. His forehead was pressed tenderly to hers and when she peeked up hesitantly at him, his eyes were still closed. She watched in wonder as his lips – just as red and ripe as hers – trembled while he breathed deeply and tried to slow his rapid pulse.
With each second that passed, she could feel him detaching mentally. Each passing moment enabled him to put as much distance between them as possible, let him come up with an infinite amount of reasons for why the kiss had been wrong and a mistake. Even more time for him to formulate a way to tell her to keep her distance, and that it would be for the best.
Elizabeth let out a shaky breath. No. She wouldn't let him do that – not again. After all that time of waffling back and forth, one tentative step and one debilitating slip, she wasn't about to let them lose the paramount connection they had just made. He had kissed her. With desire. With longing. With purpose.
It wasn't like when she had kissed him, the first time their lips had ever met. She was hurting and in need of someone to set her emotions and body alike on fire. Jason had been with her and more than willing to play the part. But she knew that night would have been a mistake. If she had slept with him...
She shivered at the thought. And what a thought it was! The vision of his strong hands all over her body, eliciting sensations she had all but forgotten; his mouth following the path of his able fingers, worshipping her body like she imagined few men would be able to; the idea of trailing her own hands over his naked body, the powerful muscles rippling and quivering under her touch. It was enough to make her cream her panties on the spot.
No, she definitely wouldn't let him slip through her fingers tonight. Not after what had just happened between them. Because damn it, she
wanted
the chance to make love to him.
Jason expelled a long breath, and with it came the willpower he needed to pull away completely. His heart clenched in his chest at the way she pouted at him, the way her eyes pleaded with him to move closer, not farther.
But he couldn't do that. He couldn't place her in any more danger. It was a big enough gamble to be with her just now.
His strong hand enclosed around her smaller one, their arms extended to maintain a connection even as he drew further away. She refused to let him go, and when she spoke it was almost more than he could take.
"Jason."
The muscles in his chest trembled. Before him, Elizabeth's lower lip quivered. He tried to loosen his grip on her hand, but she still held firm.
"Jason, please." Tears gathered in her deep sapphire orbs, and Jason's heart nearly broke in two at the pain swimming therein. "Don't leave me – stay, Jason."
"Elizabeth, I can't-"
He saw a new strength seep into her even as he spoke, but he still wasn't prepared when she squeezed his hand and stepped up, closing the distance between them.
"Yes, you can," she insisted. And then she kissed him.
Jason's heart skipped two beats as her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders and pulled him savagely down to accommodate her height. Even as his hands found her waist, the long fingers digging into the fabric and her soft skin underneath, Jason fought to rein his mind and body back in.
"Elizabeth, we can't do this. I can't-"
"Jason." Her voice was soft, drugged with desire, when she pulled back just enough to gaze openly and honestly into his eyes. "You asked me before what I wanted. My answer hasn't changed – I still want
you
."