Summary: Another serial killer is running loose; this time it hits closer to home than Aimeé or Logan are comfortable with; will that case be their downfall and will their friends marriages survive their problems as well? *Co-authored by Raine0211*

Chapter 1

He was drunk. His girlfriend of 2 years had just broken up with him. He didn't know what to do and he didn't want to feel anything. So he did what most people do; not expecting it to turn out as it had. It started out innocently enough. He went to a club seeking to drown out his sorrows with loud music and alcohol…until he saw her walk in; with another guy! He felt his blood begin to boil and began to drink even more. Fighting to ignore them but unable to as he watched her lithe curvaceous body grinding against the other man and felt his temper flare. His eyes narrowed coldly and he made a promise to himself that the man would pay. That SHE would pay for doing this to him. He watched her all night until the man she was with excused himself to buy their drinks. He took his chance and quickly walked over to her. She was standing by the door already so he placed his hand over her mouth and yanked her outside and into his car where he locked the doors. He drove her kicking and screaming to a small isolated area a few miles away and pulled her from the car. Throwing her down onto the floor he cursed at her and kicked her to the ground.

"Stupid bitch! I'll show you to cheat on me!" he growled and jumped on top of her; yanking off her clothes he proceeded to gag her while he undressed himself and slipped on a condom before raping her; ignoring her screams or slapping her when she fought against him. Pleasure taken he strangled her until her chest stopped moving and her struggling ceased. Taking one last glance at her he ran to his truck; away from the evidence of the scene and what he had just done…

* ** ** *

Kathleen walked into the office later that day with her new designs and handed them off to her assistant to be looked at and handed over to the lady who creates what she designs. Later today she would be having the first rehearsal for the spring fashion show and she was short one male model for an outfit in her line. Shaking her head she leaned back in her chair. She loved her work but it was days like this that she hated. She already woke up feeling miserable because of her thoughts on Brett, Emily and her own love life or rather lack of it, and then she gets news a week prior to the rehearsals that one of her top models was transferring and had to quit and nothing seemed to be going as it should. Her assistant Mary had told her about an interview she had done for her on a "drop dead gorgeous" male as she had put it and had asked him to come by later to meet her and run through the line to see if he would work for her. At first Kathy had been upset but hey; she needed the help and if she liked him it was one less problem for her. After a meeting with her seamstresses and talking about the summer line she had a quick lunch and then went downstairs where her models were beginning to assemble for their rehearsal. She spotted an unfamiliar figure leaning against the wall, conversing with two tall, long-legged models. He was tall and lanky with golden hair that was a bit too long, but it suited him. Even from far away she could tell he was very good-looking...and that he was flirting with the two women before him. Kathleen took a few breaths and then walked over to them;

"I don't pay you girls to stand around and flirt, go get ready" she said in a commanding voice and then turned to look at the young man.

"I suppose you are the model that Mary interviewed?" she asked in a businesslike voice perusing him subtly.

The handsome man, however, was not so subtle. His piercing, stormy grey eyes appraised her openly and he grinned at her.

"Why yes I am. Are you modeling for this shoot, too?" he asked with a raised brow.

He pushed himself off the wall to his full six foot height and he noticed how small this woman was...smaller than normal models, only about 5'3 or 5'4. It was obvious from up close why he kept his hair a bit long. Silky, golden strands tumbled over his over into his eyes and they made him look incredibly sexy.

Kathleen felt her cheeks tint at this gorgeous mans open perusal and shook her head,

"actually I'm the designer of the shoot, I'm Kathleen and you are?" she asked holding out her hand politely.

The model looked impressed, raising both eyebrows as if to say 'how can such a pretty face be doing work instead of modeling'. He took her hand and shook it firmly while giving her a lopsided grin.

"Nice to meet ya, Kathleen, I'm Nicholas." His deep voice was as smooth as honey.

Kathleen kept her face businesslike with only a small smile and hid her surprise at the tiny tingles that went up her arm once he removed his hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well Nicholas" she replied softly.

"I just have a few questions for you and then we'll get started, how long have you been modeling for?"

"Since I was 14," he replied and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

He smiled at her, noticing her response to him. It was one all woman had and he prided himself on it. But, who would have thought such a nice-looking woman could be so business-like? She was a strange one. Different from all the others and it intrigued him.

"And so then you've done runway and everything before right? This isn't new to you?" she asked making sure.

"Nah, I can do it," he said nonchalantly, obviously more interested in her than her questioning.

Kathleen smiled and nodded,

"that's all I needed to know," she said and then called over a young man.

"Aiden I'd like you to show Nicholas here what Ethan would have been modeling please"

Aiden smirked,

"when do I get my kiss Kathy?" he said teasing her; he was always trying to flirt with her and it annoyed her.

"Never Aiden now just do as I say and go" she said in a more commanding and annoyed voice.

Nicholas laughed out loud at the looks on both their faces: Kathleen's of pure annoyance and Aiden's of disappointment.

"You're trying too hard man. You're already in the doghouse," he said, patting Aiden's shoulder and brushing past him to examine the line and the room.

Aiden scowled and then followed Nicholas in to show him what he would be modeling. Kathy called out a few orders and then stood back and turned on the music they would be modeling to; clipboard in hand making changes and notes to herself as she watched the female line.

Nicholas would never admit it out loud, but her line was actually very good: classy and simple and could flatter every body type. He checked himself out in the mirror after make-up and hair finished with him and smiled at what he saw. He knew he was attractive. It was how he made his money after all. Now, to let that designer know; Why he wanted her to fall for him, he wasn't quite sure yet? Maybe because she seemed so unattainable…

Kirsten walked in just as she was giving the signal for the male line.

"Who's the hottie?" she asked Kathleen gesturing towards Nicholas.

Nicholas inspected himself in the mirror a moment longer and then strode towards the stage entrance full of liquid grace. It was obvious he was experienced.

Kathleen smiled at her friend and shook her head, "you're already taken remember, no daydreaming about my models"

Kirsten laughed and playfully shoved her. "So who is he?"

"Name is Nicholas, possible replacement for Ethan"

"Possible!? You got to keep him he is like heartthrob"

Kathleen bit her bottom lip inspecting him and saw his looks, experience and the way the outfit worked perfectly for him; he did make it look good.

"Well I probably will…so far he seems nice…not another Aiden, thank god" she said and both women giggled.

Nicholas walked down the runway as he had for the past eleven years: suavely and with masculine grace. He smiled his heart-breaking smile at some of the female staff as he strutted by them and they giggled and whispered amongst themselves about how well the clothing hung on his well-built frame.

"He is very attractive Kathleen and he knows his stuff apparently" Kirsten said watching him.

Kathleen nodded, "he is both attractive and experienced…definitely an asset considering some of my models" she said watching him on the runway.

Nicholas practically glided off the runway and back into the wings to change. He pulled off the shirt to reveal a well-muscled torso that he obviously took great care off. Grabbing another shirt off the wrack with his name on it, Nicholas shrugged it on and moved before the mirror to button it. A few hair and make-up people added some last minute touches and he went to stand in line once more. Kathleen continued to make notes and changes and Kirsten continued to give advice and try to fully convince Kathy to hire Nicholas permanently.

The second time he went down the runway she sighed and nodded,

"alright, if he's interested in the line and wants to work with me then I'll hire him,"

'I hope I'm not getting into another Aiden' she thought with a sign and returned her attention to the runway.

Nicholas came off the runway and saw that there were no more things for him to model and so he changed his shirt and went to stand by Kathleen, watching the others with a keen eye and saying nothing to her.

"So…what do you think? I'm not going to hire you if you don't like what you're modeling or it doesn't meet your approval." She said turning towards him once the rehearsal ended.

He was surprised by her question but it didn't show. Gesturing towards a rack that he hadn't modeled he said,

"I don't particularly like those because of the color choices but the designs are well done. The rest of your line is surprisingly good," he said honestly and was shocked at himself.

That was the first honest opinion he'd ever given to anyone. "So, sure, I wanna work."

Kirsten smirked behind Kathy and walked away from her friend a moment to let her finish what she was doing.

"Well, those are just one of the color choices available in that design, color isn't a problem I can have it made in a different color for you, but thanks and then if you'll follow me to my office I'll have some papers for you to sign," she told him with a smile of thanks.

"Kirsten keep them here a moment, I'll be right back"

Kirsten nodded and Kathy led Nicholas to her office. Nicholas winked playfully at Kirsten, noticing she was attractive as well.

"We'll be right back," he said with a knowing nod and a slight smirk before taking long strides behind his new employer.

Kirsten shook her head with a laugh and talked with some of the models and other women on Kathy's staff. Nicholas and Kathy came back a moment later and Kathy stood on the stage to make an announcement.

"I've had a few friends who wanted me to design there wedding dresses and after several sketches I've decided to try a wedding line for the first time, we'll try to have it either before or after our summer line…"

a few of the women models talked amongst themselves happily saying how much fun that would be; a few guys grumbled and a few shouted a few suggestive things to the female models. Nicholas stood near the back watching the scene.

'A wedding line, huh? Interesting...the women love those,' he thought with a soft smile.

Kathy laughed at some of the excitement and grew excited herself. She should have Emily and Aimée model in the line since they looked so gorgeous in the wedding dresses she had made for them. After making a few more announcements she announced rehearsal over and then jumped off the stage with a wide grin on her face.

"What are you thinking about that's making you smile so much?" Nicholas asked coming up beside Kathleen after Kirsten was done speaking.

"I should try to get my two friends to model in the wedding line" she said with a tiny laugh of amusement; picturing the argument Aimée would put up.

"Why? Because they're your friends?" Nicholas asked.

In his experience, normal people were not, well, good-looking enough to model and Kathleen's friends were probably the same.

"Well…that and because they're good looking girls"

"who?" Kirsten asked.

"Aimée and Emily" Kathy said with a smile.

Kirsten laughed and nodded her agreement. "Yeah they are"

Nicholas raised his eyebrow. Hot girls were always a good thing. He shrugged.

"Whatever you want to do, you're the boss," he said. "But now I'm gonna jet. I've got plans."

"Yeah I better get home; got to feed Grace and make sure Dan's not getting into any trouble" Kirsten said with a laugh before hugging her friend and leaving.

Kathy laughed and then waved,

"alright see you Friday" she said to Nicholas before she turned and walked back up to her office.

"One down," Nicholas said softly to himself as he walked out to his car.

"Guess I can't ask her out. Oh well." He knew he was shallow, but he'd never really had an incentive to change, so why should he?

Climbing in his car, he hurried home to change for his date and prepared his bedroom because he had a feeling he'd be spending a lot of time in it.

* ** ** *

Aimée woke up and was disappointed to find that Logan was not there. She went downstairs to find something to eat and read his note.

"Oh," she breathed and went about having a cold breakfast.

After last night, something had hit her. She'd never told Logan one very important thing about her...she couldn't have children. He hadn't noticed the small scar on her lower abdomen, or if he had, he'd never commented on it. It hadn't really crossed her mind in all the time they were together because she hadn't ever thought she would marry him and sleep with him. But now...what if he expected children? She swallowed hard in fear. At one point in her life when she was young, she'd wanted kids, but quickly got over that desire as she became engulfed by her job. Her mother had forced her to have a surgery when she was fifteen and surprisingly never told her what it was for. A few years later, when her mother practically cackled when Aimée told her how Adrian almost raped her, Aimée figured it out. She didn't care if her daughter got raped because no one would ever know...ever. She'd had her daughter's tubes tied so that she could toss her daughter from man to man until Aimée's mom found the one she thought was wealthy enough and had enough influence for her tastes and twisted purposes. But now that she and Logan had been together many times without protection...would he wonder why she wasn't pregnant?

"Oh God, what have I done?" she whispered and for the first time since Logan had proposed, felt terrible.

She loved him so much that she couldn't even bear thinking about his rejection when he found out. She'd also been pushing him about getting to know his mother as she also tried to work things out with her father. Things were growing complicated...quickly. Almost too quickly for comfort,

"Please forgive me, Logan," she whispered, burying her face in her hands.

Logan came in just then and saw her sitting at the table and heard her whispered words. He glanced at her skeptically and wondered what was going on.

"Forgive you for what?"

Aimée jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice.

"Oh, you scared me," she said and quickly wiped a treacherous tear off her cheek, rising to greet him.

Logan raised an eyebrow quizzically and wrapped an arm around her waist leading her over to the couch.

"Care to explain to me what's going on?" he asked not bothering to beat around the bush.

Aimée's emerald cat eyes widened in fear and she looked down at her lap. Wringing her hands, she took a deep breath and said;

"I never told you something about me because I never really even thought to tell you because it wasn't important-" she paused and looked up at him "- until now."

Logan's heart clenched with worry and he fought it off so as not to jump to any conclusions until he heard what she had to say, "About what?"

She found that she couldn't say it directly.

"Have you ever noticed the scar I have on my stomach?" she said, lifting her shirt and pointing to the faded scar on her lower abdomen.

Logan nodded, "I have…what about it?"

he had noticed every freckle, scar or bruise on her. Her breath was tremulous and she lowered her shirt.

"I had a surgery when I was 15. My mother made me have it...so that she could use me...sell me off to men like Adrian," she said softly and shuddered at the memory of the blond man who'd made her life hell.

Logan raised an eyebrow in question not quite following and then it hit him.

"So basically you're saying you can't have children?" he asked and he kept his relief hidden.

He was relieved that his earlier problem could possibly be solved but he wondered how she felt about it and was angry at her mother; angry at the circumstances of why she couldn't. Aimée nodded and couldn't look at him.

"I was so angry at first because I wanted a family and she went and had my tubes tied without my knowledge about what was going on. But then I started to work and soon became consumed by it. Having a child would be nice but...I don't know," she looked at him.

"Since I haven't been able to, the desire faded into the background and now I find I'd rather just...be with you and do what I love." She bit her lip.

He hadn't seemed like a real family man, but one never knew. She knew it was unusual for a woman, but she was content playing with Daniel's children, or becoming an aunt to others. It probably would been different if circumstances had been different. She probably would have wanted a family but now... now all she wanted was her husband. He was her family along with her father.

"Well to be honest I am…relieved in a way. I am horrified and angry as to the why you can't. But at the same time I could never picture myself as a father and I'm not a kid person. I think they're cute but I was worried that you would want one and I would have to refuse you. I love you and I love my job and I could never picture giving up either."

He shook his head angrily thinking of how…indifferent or uncaring he sounded. Aimée cupped his face in her hands and smiled, studying his facial expression.

"And I wouldn't want you to. And baby," she said, kissing him softly. "Don't worry about coming off cold, mon Coeur. It's how I feel too sometimes. But, we're just not those types of people. I don't think it makes us bad people or any less caring or emotional."

She crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Besides, now we don't have to worry about me getting pregnant," she said with a coy smile.

Logan smirked,

"you read my mind" he teased before kissing her deeply, in his relief.

"Mmm," she moaned softly into his mouth and pressed herself closer to him.

"That's my job," she breathed when she pulled away for a moment before bringing her lips to his for another heated kiss.

She, too, was relieved. It could have been a huge problem, but it was not and that filled her with joy.

"Well may I tell you, you do it wonderfully" he teased, before crushing her lips under his once more.

"Why thank you Mr. Hunter," Aimée whispered into his ear before pushing him back on the sofa and trailing kisses down his neck and pulling away with a suggestive wink.

Logan moaned in the back of his throat and shook his head,

"you are cruel" he said before suddenly wrapping his arm around her waist and flipping her over so that he now hovered over her.

"Do we need to go back upstairs?" he teased before dipping his head and nipping at the tender skin behind her ear before trailing kisses down her throat and across her collarbone.

Aimée gasped at his teasing touch and arched towards him, allowing her hands to run under his shirt and caress the soft skin on his back.

"Non," she whispered as he kissed the spot he knew was sensitive.

She brought her hands down his back and pulled off his shirt.

"I like the sofa." She said softly with a teasing smile.

Logan chuckled,

"I'm sure you do" he said before rising and carrying her in his arms upstairs to their room to finish what they started.

Before they could get any father however the phone rang. Logan cursed and rolled over her so he could reach the phone.

"Hello?"

"Logan? We just got a call in from a private land owner just outside of town…young woman raped and murdered. We want you on it"

"shit" Logan muttered and glanced over at Aimée with an apologetic look.

"We'll be over in a minute" he said and then hung up.

Aimée sighed and fought to cool her racing pulse.

"What are we checking out?" she asked breathily, handing him his shirt and pulling down hers that he'd already pulled halfway off.

She climbed out of the bed and began to put on her shoes. They were both disappointed, but they knew they had time together later. Right now...work was calling.

Logan ran a comb through his hair and sighed,

"Young woman was raped and murdered just outside of town on a private land owners lot" he said giving her the run down of what he'd just been told.

Aimée stiffened and the mood completely dissipated. She intensely despised the perpetrators of these cases. It hit too close to home. She cursed in French and grabbed her purse with her brows furrowed in anger.

'A rapist intrudes on a moment with my husband? A RAPIST? I'm going to kill him,' she thought furiously.

Women were not things to be used. They should feel how she feels when she's with Logan. Logan wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips to the curve of her neck.

"We'll finish this later until then let's get to work and don't worry. I'll be right there with you. You can stay home if you want? If you're uncomfortable?" he offered.

He always had a calming effect on her and she craned her head to look up at him with fire in her eyes.

"I'm going," she said intensely. "I HATE rapists."

She despised all other forms of sickos, but rapists hit too close to home. "He's going down."

Logan smiled down at her and kissed her tenderly a moment before pulling away,

"that's my girl, let's go get the son of a B****" he said and led her out to the car.

They drove in silence out to the crime scene and rape was obvious; cause of death wasn't so obvious. Aimée was sick to her stomach as she saw the helpless woman so obviously violated. What had she done to deserve this? Her jaw clenched and she forced herself to examine the woman. Whoever had done it found much pleasure in his 'delicate ministrations' and Aimée literally growled studying the body. Leaving the body in the woods was not the smartest thing to do and that suggested an impromptu killing which was both made it easier and harder to figure out the culprit; Easy, because most of the time, impromptu killing wasn't done by professionals, Hard, because they leave no patterns to follow up on.

"Bâstard," she hissed, rising from her crouched position and turning to interrogate police officers on the scene.

Logan watched Aimée out of the corner of his eye and sighed imagining what must be running through her mind before he returned to taking pictures, searching for trace evidence, interviewing officers and the land owner and then running a rape test although he knew what the answer would be.

"All the damn stories are the same," Aimée spat coming up to Logan and glaring at the officers who shrugged apologetically back at her.

"The only one I didn't get to speak to was the landowner."

Logan nodded only kept his eyes focused on the scene and what he was doing;

"Not much with him; came out on his horse for his morning ride, saw the body raced home and called us…other than that he never saw or heard anything"

Aimée nodded with annoyance.

"I figured," she said sullenly.

"Well, are you ready to take the body down and go file the initial reports?"

Logan nodded and had the body loaded into the body bag and then the truck that would take her down to the coroner's office along with the rape kit Logan had just run.

"Alright, now to our favorite part; the paperwork for the early report" He said sarcastically.

Aimée finally laughed a bit at his joke and shook her head with a weary smile.

"Let's just get it done and over with," she said, taking his hand.

These cases were always hard on her, even before her latest escapade with Adrian, but she always did better work because they made her more determined.

Logan was always extremely determined; nothing made him more or less determined. He had a born sense of adventure and determination; both reasons why he was the Best C.S.I in the country. Taking her hand he led her to the car to begin the preliminary paperwork.

* ** ** *

Nicholas swept the woman up into his arms and kissed her passionately. He could feel her melt against him as her arms tangled into his hair. He knew her name was Jenna but couldn't' quite recall her last name. Silently shrugging, he pulled her into his bedroom, kicking the door shut with his foot. They'd just had a pleasant dinner and she'd agreed to come back to his place, as he knew she would. Female models were very predictable. His hands began to trail beneath her clothing and he felt her quiver. This astoundingly powerful reaction made his blood run hot and he pushed her onto the bed where she waited eagerly for him. He gave her what she wanted and more. No woman could ever say he lacked in skill in the bed department. They both quickly fell asleep, exhausted. A few hours later he woke up and then woke her.

"Jenna, sexy, you have to leave. My agent is coming in the morning," he lied.

She nodded understandingly, knowing how picky they could be.

"Okay," she said and kissed him before rising to dress.

She was gone ten minutes later leaving a satisfied Nicholas in her wake. He sighed contentedly as he heard the front door shut. Women had never been a problem for him. Now, as he lay languidly in bed, another woman's image popped in his mind: Kathleen, his new boss. She was different, he could tell. He'd never met an independent woman who was beautiful and the combination threw him off tremendously. She was intriguing and he was a little annoyed at the fact that she'd taken a permanent place in his mind as he continued to puzzle over her combination of looks and a brain.

'What do I care? Women are only good for a lay,' he thought angrily before the memory of the incredibly voluptuous creature he just bedded popped into his mind.

Nodding, he let his eyelids flutter shut.

"She's no different," he whispered although he had the nagging feeling she was.

"Whatever, Nicholas,"

A moment later he fell asleep.

* ** ** *

Emily turned onto her side on her towel and looked over at Brett; lying with his eyes closed; enjoying the sun on the Bahamas and its islands. Emily sighed contentedly and followed suit.

'it is gorgeous out here' she thought glancing around and then shut her eyes; enjoying the heat from the sun's rays along with the cooling beach air so that the island wasn't to hot and had a very warm and perfect temperature.

She listened to the sound of the waves and the chirping of the seagulls and just lay back idly; enjoying the time with Brett and the time away from work. Brett lay quietly, enjoying the fact that he knew Emily would be beside him when he opened his eyes and that she was his wife. He opened his eyes just to take advantage of that knowledge and he smiled at the sight. She was a naturally beautiful woman, but to him, she was perfect. She was attractive, intelligent, sweet, honest and most of all...she loved him back. Emily felt a shadow fall over her as Brett sat up to study her.

"You're in my sun" she said opening her eyes with a teasing glint dancing in them.

"I'm so sorry," he said with a puppy face. "Let me make it up to you."

He leaned closer to her and kissed her softly.

"Better?" he whispered as he moved out of her sun and moved to press his side against hers, taking her hand.

Emily closed her eyes again and smiled; cuddling closer against him and sighing pleasurably,

"Much" she said as a gentle smile tilted her lips upward.

He slid his hand over her bare, tanned stomach and nuzzled her neck before placing another gentle kiss on her lips. Releasing her hand, he stuck both behind his head to enjoy the sun.

"Hey, you two want to play some volleyball?" A young man asked approaching Brett and Emily.

Opening an eye, Brett studied the fairly good-looking young man and smiled.

"Sure," he said.

"How 'bout you Em?" He asked her sitting up and turning to face her.

The man finally had a good look at the brunette woman and he was very impressed with what he saw. Brett missed the blatant admiration of the newcomer as he was waiting for Emily's answer. The man quickly hid his attraction as she was with another man. Friend or more than a friend, men were always protective.

Emily smiled,

"well I'm not very good…but sure I'll play" she said and rose to her feet; tossing Brett's shirt on over her Bikini and then following the men over to the volleyball court.

Brett was a bit relieved when she put on his shirt because the male attention she attracted made him extremely jealous. The other man, the one who'd invited them however, was sorely disappointed.

"Okay guys, we found enough players," the young man called, glancing back at Emily and Brett.

"You guys are on my team and we're against them." He waved at two guys and two girls on the other side of the net.

There was another rather scrawny guy on their side of the net who waved shyly and actually blushed when Emily looked at him.

"You let me know when you get tired, ok?" Brett asked, feeling protective of his almost-lost love, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Emily nodded;

"I will" she said and then took a few steps away.

The man who'd invited them to play walked over to her and told her where to stand and then briefly explained the rules to her before they began the game. Brett watched him carefully but didn't let himself react. He knew he was too possessive and jealous...but it was so hard to control; Especially with Emily. One, he loved her. Two, he almost lost her. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the game.

"Hey, my name is Jon and you serve...?" Jon said with a pause, waiting for Brett to supply his name.

"Brett and sure thing," he said, catching the ball easily.

He'd always been very athletic and it showed in his mannerisms and in his toned body that got more than its fair shares of stares although he ignored them all. He jumped and served the ball over hand towards the opposite corner where a girl in a black bikini scrambled after it and barely hit the ball. The guy beside her saved it and served it towards Emily.

Emily drew in a breath and moved towards the ball but didn't hit it with enough power to go over the net she blushed and laughed, "Sorry"

Jon chuckled,

"No problem" he said and moved to stand behind her taking her hands in his own; showing her how to hit the ball and how to hold her hands so she wouldn't hurt herself and could get power into it.

Brett had chased after the ball immediately after she hit it and caught it just before it hit the net. He turned to find Jon with his arms around Emily and Brett almost found himself seeing red. His jaw clenched and he nearly dropped the ball as his hands fisted.

"I think someone's jealous," a feminine voice whispered and Brett turned to find the girl in the black bikini grinning at him flirtatiously and teasingly.

Brett immediately hid his reaction.

"She's my wife. I should be," he said coolly and handed her the ball as it was their turn to serve.

"Oh," the girl said in surprise and shrugged as if to say 'oh well' and trotted off.

Taking long strides towards Emily and Jon, Brett asked, "You okay, pretty lady?"

He tried to make his voice casual, but Emily knew him well enough to detect his jealousy. Emily smiled at him and pulled her hands from Jon's.

"He was just trying to show me how to hit the ball…I told you I'm not very good at this" she said walking over to him and touching his hand reassuringly.

Brett smiled back at her and leaned down.

"I can teach you," he whispered into her ear and wrapped his arms around her in a similar way than Jon had except more intimately.

He pulled her against his toned chest and kissed her cheek; Jon gaped at them. When he'd approached them, they hadn't seemed together and that was half his reason for asking. Sure they needed two players, but the attractive woman was a huge bonus. Emily smiled and relaxed against him allowing him to move her and show her what she needed to do. She smiled up at him and then kissed the corner of his lips before moving away as the game began again. Jon finally saw the similarly made gold wedding bands that adorned their left hands and the connection and affection that existed between them.

'The good ones are always taken,' he thought with a sigh and turned to refocus on the game.

The girl in the black bikini served the ball high and Brett moved in front of Emily to spike the ball over the net. One guy on the other team knew how to play well and for a few moments it was only between Brett and him before Brett hit it towards the other girl on the other team and she hit it towards Emily. Emily took a deep breath and moved towards it; holding her hands as Brett and Jon had showed her and hit the ball over the net. Emily smiled happily at her 'beginners luck' happy that she had actually hit the ball over. The ball sailed over the net and the girl in the black bikini missed it and it landed in the sand. Brett smiled with pride and ran over to hug her, spinning her around.

"That's my girl," he said and kissed her smartly before placing her gently back on the sand.

Emily giggled,

"Beginners luck" she said not caring what people thought of how pathetic they may look over scoring a point.

Jon smiled softly at them. They were rather ridiculous and it was obvious they were newlyweds. He figured they needed the closeness so he didn't tease them about it. The two other women cooed over their affection and the guys rolled their eyes. Brett studied Emily's face and noticed how tired she looked. His brows furrowed.

"You want to stop now?" he asked, letting his hand slip down her neck to feel her pulse which was racing and her skin was damp with sweat.

"Maybe go for a swim and cool you down?"

Emily smiled up at him and his concern for her,

"if I am tired it's not from volleyball, I think I was up too late last night" she said whispering it so that only he could hear.

Brett's eyes widened and he felt his pulse quicken.

"Emily," he teasingly scolded and swept her up in his arms. "We're going for a swim. Thanks for letting us play guys."

Jon waved and called with a laugh, "No problem."

They could all guess what Emily said by Brett's reaction to her. Brett walked Emily down towards the water.

"I definitely need to cool down now you bad girl," he said softly as he eased them both into the cool salt water.

Emily laughed at him,

"Awww, I'm sorry baby" she said with a fake pout that was ruined by her giggle.

Brett just dropped her in the water and then fished her up, pulling the wet strands of hair away from her face.

"I think that was adequate punishment," he joked and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Emily gasped wide-eyed at him and shook her head,

"You are cruel!" she exclaimed with a pout.

"You gonna punish me?" he asked before lowering his mouth to hers, unable to resist her long enough to hear her answer.

Emily leaned into him and raked her fingers down his chest; losing herself in his kiss. Brett gasped at her reaction which never ceased to surprise him. His hands traveled from her wet hair, down her back, over her backside and up her sides. When he realized his mouth was moving over the pulsing jugular of her slender throat, he pulled away reluctantly.

"Damn the fact, we're in public," he whispered, breathing heavily as his hands continued to wander.

Emily was breathing heavily and nodded before grinning mischievously,

"Bet I can beat you back to the hotel" she teased him before taking off in a run, stopping only long enough to pick up her towel and then continued running back towards their room.

Brett gaped after her before running after her. Jon laughed as he passed and Brett grabbed his things without even stopping. Halfway there he caught her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the room where they thoroughly finished what they'd started. Afterwards they showered together and then cuddled on the sofa, recovering from their long day in the sun and…Other activities.

"I love you, Em," Brett whispered as he tightened his arm around her.

Emily smiled and rested her head in his lap;

"I love you more" she replied with a tired smile and a yawn.

"Guess I wore you out," he teased, stifling a yawn of his own before lying back on the sofa and pulling her on top of him so she could use his chest as a pillow.

Emily giggled, "it's been a long day not…just you"

"You're trying to deflate my ego aren't you?" he asked with drooping eyes.

Emily shook her head,

"Well…just a little, maybe then I won't have to worry about other women" she teased him although she knew he wasn't like that and she didn't really have to worry.

"Ya, about them attacking me," he laughed, knowing that she was just playing.

He bent to kiss her slightly open mouth and pulled away, laying back against a pillow and tightening his arms around her.

"Night," he barely managed to say before he drifted off to sleep.

Emily smiled at him

"Night Brett," she whispered before she too fell asleep.

* ** ** *