He couldn't breathe.

Fire was all around him,searing his skin,his lungs. He turned his head,and reached out for Americus, needing to be a comfort for the dying woman,not thinking about his own life as it slipped away.

But when he turned his head,when she looked,her eyes were filled with pain. She reached out to him,her mouth moving, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. He tried to move his hand,but couldn't. He was paralyzed, and watched as Americus eyes glazed over as the fire consumed her body.

Jovon awoke with a cry,his whole body trembling. Gasping for breath, he threw the covers back,went to the double French doors leading to the balcony, and jerked the door open. Cold breeze slapped his face. Jovon took in deep,greedy gulps to fill his empty lungs,as the chilled air slowly sipped into his skin,grounding him to earth and reality as his he could breathe properly without choking.

Unable to go back to sleep, Jovon slipped into his running gear,and took off into the still slumbering city. For the past four days, he hadn't been able to catch a wink of sleep,because the Nightmares were becoming more frequent than before. His appointment with Dr. Vandekmp was still a week away, meaning he was stuck on his own for the time being. Work hadn't helped to erase the aftermath of the Nightmares but running did.

It always did.

And so he ran.

Jovon accelerated into a fast slope,soon leaving the house behind and dropping into the wooden trail specifically designed for quick access to the marsh and lake beyond.

A nature centre was nearby, a popular tourist attraction. Jovon increased his speed, needing to shed the vulnerability, the sense of loss, the failure, and guilt, all wrapping around him and making his muscles tight with tension.

As he moved,the rhythm of his muscles, the even breathing, the wide-open spaces helped some. He ran through the marsh,swiftly making his way along a gravel trail partly covered by wooden walkways. As he trotted over a curved wooden bridge,ducks paddled within the large shimmering pond to his left and a bittern, thinking it was spotted,stood with it's bill pointed upward,blending into the cattails and reeds. A white crane perched on the bank of the small pool,its long legs hidden in the bracken,called out to its mate swimming among the lilies.

Marsh gave way to lake front. The sand beneath his feet shifted each time his sneakers hit for his stride forward. It felt too much like his life. He heard a rumble in the distance,and looked up at the sky. It was darkening, storm coming in fast from the lake. He cursed under his breath,knowing he should turn back, but decided to go just a bit further. Without warning, lightning flashed,making his heart jump. Thunder boomed,and it went through flesh and bone like the hard rhythm of a bass drum.

Jovon could smell the ozone in the air,and the faint scent of burning. He stopped abruptly, his blood rushing.

"We should head back." A voice yelled over the crash of thunder,and the jagged blase of light.

Jovon nodded,the burning air setting off uncontrollable panic inside him. He turned around and ran back the way he'd come,his strides longer,his breathing laboured. Just when he hit the beginning of the trail back to his house, the sky opened up,and a deluge poured down on him. Jovon took cover beneath a stand of trees,the downpour minimized by thick leaves branching out above them.

"I didn't peg you as the running type."

He was startled. He didn't realize that he was not alone,since he was too lost in his own world. He turned his head to see Annie,soaked to the bone like him, peering at him intently as if trying to discover what was wrong with him.

"What are you doing out in the Rain?" His tone was harsher than he intended. To his surprise she didn't flinch like she did on that first day in his place,instead she grinned like a loony.

"The same thing you were doing." Her grin broadened. "Why? Did you miss me?"

Jovon's retort was lost in the sound of thunder crashing with a great booming explosion. The sounds jolted his insides,made him recoil in panic. In a move that surprised the both of them, Annie leaned towards him,her arms going around his body, in attempt to shield him from the rain and thunder.

As his stomach tumbled over and over in quick sessions,everything seemed to slow down,even the rain. Annie turned her head,and their eyes met,fused like overheated wire. Before his brain to process what he was doing, Jovon lowered his head,until his mouth was just a whisper away from her lips. Just when she closed her eyes and leaned forward, a bolt of lightning flashed,sizzling the air. Jovon jerked away,putting a great desk of distance between them.

"We'd better find safer cover."

Annie nodded,her eyes darting everywhere, except meeting his gaze.

With a cry at the cold water hitting her skin,Annie followed Jovon from their makeshift shelter. She slipped a bit,but Jovon turned in time and caught her. They hit the threshold of his house without slowing down,and ducked inside,the air-conditioning instantly frigid on his skin.

"The rain doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon." Annie commented as they stepped into the foyer.

"You need to get out of those wet things,and into a hot shower." He ignored her comment. "Is there anyone waiting for you at home?"

"No."

"Good. Then you can stay here until it stops raining entirely. There's a phone in your room, if you need to call anyone. There are robes in the closet. They're some T-shirts too,so you could change into something more comfortable and dry."

They reached the second floor landing. She glanced at him,making him wonder about what she was thinking.

"Thanks. You're going was beyond what's expected."

He combed his fingers through his wet hair. "It's stupid running out alone when it's still dark outside."

"You should take your own advice then."

"I'm a man,I can defend myself."

And you're a woman,who's too weak to.

He didn't have to say it out loud for her to know what he was implying. Annie narrowed her eyes at him. "You chauvinistic patro-"

Jovon cut her off with a shake of his head. "Third door on your right. T-shirts are in the closet. "

He turned and hurried in the opposite direction,ducking into the door at the far end of the hall,before he could do something stupid like kissing her.

~    **       ~

Annie hadn't planned on ending up in his home. In fact, she didn't plan on seeing him until Saturday evening. But fate had a funny way of altering decisions and well made plans.

Ever since the night she arrived at Lea's house, Annie developed a routine of going for a jog in the morning after e-mailing Cassie and Lea. Even Brown eyes shared enthusiasm for her morning jogs,since he followed her,but with his leash intact. But this morning, she was restless and couldn't sleep,so she decided to go for a run,even though it was an hour earlier than when she went for her jog.

Brown eyes was still sleeping, after she finished dressing,so Annie didn't bother waking him up. The sky was still a bit dark when she stepped out of the house,locked it, and began to jog down the street with nowhere in mind. She was few blocks away from her house when she saw him.

Jovon ran past her as if the devil was hot on his trail. He didn't even notice her as he went,which quipped her curiosity. So,Annie followed him,maintaining some distance between them. It wasn't until he paused by the lake did she realise that there was something off about him. The way he jerked at the sound of thunder and recoiled at the lightning attributed to that fact. It was under the shelters of the tree she discovered that he was showing his vulnerable side. Annie's heart squeezed so she did the only think she could think of,she hugged him. And they almost kissed. Almost.

As Annie stepped out of the shower, she licked her lips,and reaches off a towel. Jovon might not invite a lot of lady friends to his place,but he kept the guest room well stocked. In addition to the new toothbrush and toothpaste she'd found earlier,there was also shampoo,conditioner,body wash and an assortment of moisturizers.

After slathering on a yummy coconut-scented lotion, she have her hair a halfhearted blow-dry,slipped into the white fluffy robe she found in the closet,and headed out into the vast expense of Jovon's house to the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty,as well as the family room. She heard a faint noise,like someone typing on a keyboard, and headed in that direction. She located Jovon in a panel-lined study that looked like a set out of master piece theatre. He was dressed in sweats, a T-shirt,and hadn't shaved still.

Little tingles broke out all through her body. She felt a distinct flicker of heat and several unwelcome physical responses.

"Good morning." He greeted as she walked into the room. "Are you cold?"

"Nope. I'm warm." She sighed. "But now I'm starving."

"Me too."

He stood up and walked around the desk. "Since the rain doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon,and you can't go home yet. Why don't I whip up something to eat?"

She nodded. Even though what she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and kiss him senseless. Obviously, she was still suffering the ill effects of the kiss they never shared.

"We could watch a movie too." Annie suggested. "You can pick."

Jovon grinned. Actually grinned. At her! Annie bit the inside of her cheek to shook herself out of the trance that smile put her in.

"What are the odds we'll agree on any movie?" He asked.

"There has to be at least one. Something funny."

"But smart,not silly."

"We would see."

>>>>>>>>>>>

"I never thought I'd eat all that," Annie admitted three hours later as she stretched out on Jovon's sectional sofa in his media room. "But I'm still hungry."

Jovon sat slumped down with his stocking feet propped up on the suede covered ottoman in front of the sofa.

The fabric on the furniture and the carpeting were the only soft thing about this high-tech space. There was a screen that looked as if it belonged in a movie theatre,enough speakers to levitate a house, players and recorders,and a collection of movies that made her mouth water. It was man toy heaven.

"Chips,salad, fried chicken,macaroni and cheese, breaded fried okra and corn bread weren't enough for you?" He asked as he glanced at her.

Annie grinned. "Apparently not. I'm kind of in the mood for dessert."

He stood and stretched. As he raised his arms above his head,the hem of his T-shirt crept above the waistband of his jeans,exposing a tan of skin and his belly button. It shouldn't have been the least bit erotic. They'd fought, argued and even ran in from the rain all soaked to the bone together. Yet as she watched him, she felt more than a little bit of wanting deep inside.

"You ate a bunch too," She said as he led the way out of the media room and toward the staircase. "More than me."

"Feeling defensive about your very unladylike appetite?"

"Not. I was hungry."

"Yeah. But I won't tell anyone."

Annie elbowed him in the side. "It's not like I ate with my hands or anything." Then she caught on what she just did. Her jaw dropped open in horror. "I'm sorry. I got to caught up in the moment."

"You know what I meant." Again,he ignored her words.

At the bottom of the stairs,she forgot where the kitchen was and sent right. He went left and they slammed into each other.

"Sorry," She said as she took a step back.

He grabbed her upper arms and held her steady. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a lousy sense of direction."

His eyes stared into hers. She suddenly felt both vulnerable and incredibly alive. She wanted him to move those hands,to touch her everywhere. Even as her brain screamed out that this was dangerous, she found herself taking a step closer. She saw the exact moment he felt it,too. There was a sharpening of his features,a subtle tension in his body. Hunger darkened his eyes.

He dropped his hands and stepped back. "Dessert," he said. "We were going to get you some dessert."

"Right. Anything but ice cream. I had enough of that with Cassie,especially when she was pregnant with Shane."

He glanced at her. "Is she your sister?"

"In a way,yes. But,she's Kaden's wife. And Kaden happens to be my brother."

He led the way to the kitchen. So neither of them was willing to act on the attraction. Smart, she thought, even as she wrestled with disappointment. Stel,there were complications. He had a past that seemed to haunt him,and it did not look like he wanted a long lasting relationship.

So she ignored the way he moved as he opened the freezer and pulled out an assortment of goodies. There were individual slices of cakes, a pie that only needed to be defrosted, then heated,and brownies. In the pantry they found boxes of cookies and some chocolate chips.

"Wow. Your cook really stocked the whole place up."

"Kass loves to spoil me." He shrugged. "What will it be?"

"Brownies. I'll be putting frosting on mine. I noticed cans in the pantry."

"Because there's not enough sugar in a regular brownie?"

"Exactly."

"Women," he muttered as he pulled the tray of Brownies out of the freezer.  "We're going to have to Microwave these to defrost them."

"I am surrounded by people who knows what to do in a kitchen, so I'm an expert when it comes to this sort of thing."

She reached for the brownies the same time she did. His hand hit the tray off the countertop,when he jerked back from the skin contact, knocking off the plastic-wrapped tray in the process. They both bent over at the same time and bumped heads. Annie slipped and landes on her butt.

"We're a hazard together." She laughed. "A complete disaster. And I thought getting caught up in a storm was the worst of it,but I was wrong."

He laughed,the around music to her ears, then he sank down next to her on the floor. "You're not like other women."

"I could work on a charming Spanish accent... Wait, I think European is better. Or maybe I could work on both?"

He narrowed his gaze. "Oh really?"

"Oui,señor."

He reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears,as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I never thought I would get caught up in a storm would end up with us here,but it was fun. You don't need to rush home yet. You could stay."

She knew how he meant the invitation. She could stay in the guest room. It was a polite and well meaning invitation.

"A sleep over where we get to braid each others hair?" She teased.

She looked at him,expecting to see an answering smile, instead she found,heat,desire,and a need that made her weak. Then he blinked and it was gone.

Her insides clenched, and her throat went dry. "Jovon?"

"I'm trying to be smart here,Annie. I can come up with a hundred reasons why this isn't a good idea."

She pressed her lips together. "A hundred? Wow. I can only come up with about six."

"I might have been exaggerating." He stood and held out his hand. "Come on, we'll defrost brownies and loose ourselves in sugar."

"Sounds good."

She put her fingers against his palm and allowed him to pull her to her feet. When she was standing,she found they were really close together. She would have stepped back,but he didn't let go of her.

Annie let herself get lost in the fire in his eyes. It warmed and enticed her,and she swayed toward him.

"Damnit." He muttered.

Then he reached for her.