Chapter 38

Jon blew out a breath, gathered his strength, withdrew from her body, rolled over onto his back.....and promptly fell asleep.

Brianna lay with her eyes closed, straining to catch her breath.....and process what had just happened. When her scattered wits settled back into place and enough oxygen returned to her brain for it to function properly again......she wished it hadn't. What the hell have I done? What kind of person am I? Easing quietly from the bed, careful not to wake Jon, she gathered her clothes and slipped into her own room, closing the door behind her.

In the shower, beneath the hot, pelting stream, she let her mind replay everything that happened from the time Jon started talking about his feelings of guilt. Tears joined the water splashing her face as the shame of what she'd done nearly buckled her knees. Oh, she could blame it on the alcohol, the length of time since she'd been with a man, the emotions filling the room, Dorothea's 'suggestion', even pure lust, but the cold hard truth was she'd slept with a married man - something she'd sworn never to do. 

She'd never felt such self-disgust in her entire life. And the worst part was.....she'd enjoyed it far too much. She'd gotten more pleasure from an hour with Jon than she had all the times with Alex combined! But he's married!!! It didn't matter that his wife had given her blessing, it was still wrong.

Brianna shook herself. She couldn't undo what was done. All she could do was make sure it never happened again. And she was sure that when Jon sobered up he would agree. With new resolve, she quickly washed, dried herself off and climbed into bed. 

Now all she had to figure out was how to face him in the morning.

Surprisingly, despite her emotional turmoil, Brianna slept soundly, waking only when the phone rang with her wake up call. Groaning, she dragged herself out of bed and prepared for the day. It was an interview day, not a show day, so she pulled a suit out of her bag. Ready, she stood in front of the connecting door for a long time, trying to gather enough courage to knock. They needed to talk about what happened and how it could never happen again.....didn't they?

Maybe, but it doesn't have to be right now. Chickening out, she decided being with other people the next time she saw him might be best. The other could wait until they'd both had time to put the events of the previous evening in perspective and the feelings weren't so.....fresh.

Turning, she escaped to the interview room. She was checking that everything the guys needed was ready and available when they joined her.

"Hey Beautiful. How did your night go? Any problems?" David greeted her.

Brianna choked until she realized her was referring to Jon's mood upon hearing that Dorothea needed to be put on oxygen. "No, no problems."

"Do you know if he managed to get any sleep?"

"Slept like the dead." Jon answered, entering the room. His eyes locked with Brianna's. "I was worn out."

Brianna flushed and turned back to the refreshment table. "Coffee, Boss?"

"Please."

The pause before his answer was long enough to alert David to the undercurrents in the room. He frowned.

As she handed him the mug their fingers touched. Where before there had been a spark, now there was fire. Her body reacted to that brief touch as if he stroked her. She shivered and quickly stepped back.

Jon noticed her reaction, but didn’t comment. He was too busy trying to repress his own reaction. When he'd awakened and remembered what had happened with his assistant he wasn't sure how he felt. Guilt, a little shame, yes - he didn't want to cause Dorothea more pain - but strangely, no regret. They shouldn't have done it, and it certainly couldn't happen again, but he didn't regret it. It felt much too good, too....right.....to regret it. He didn't know why, whether it was the alcohol, his emotional breakdown, the amount of time they'd spent together, Dorothea's crazy 'suggestion', or just built up lust and good chemistry, but having sex - he wouldn't lie and call it making love - with Brianna had been incredibly.....satisfying. And when she came close, his cock twitched and stirred, letting him know it wanted some more.

He gave a mental shrug. He wasn't going to waste time and energy trying to figure it out. He just had to make sure it didn't happen again. And by the speed Brianna moved away from him, he figured she realized it too. Good! That's a conversation I really didn't want to have.

David noticed her reaction too, but didn't know what it meant......but he was determined to find out. There was enough pain on the horizon with Dorothea's illness without something happening between these two to add to it. Plus, he was bored and watching them gave him something to do.

When Brianna finally sat down to monitor the interviews, she was fortunately  - or unfortunately depending on your perspective - directly in Jon's line of sight. Every time she shifted position, especially when she uncrossed and crossed her legs, he would stumble over his answers or lose his train of thought completely.

"Mind somewhere else today bro?" Richie asked in between interviews. "Or just more bored than usual?"

"Having problems focusing today." Jon shrugged. "I guess I still need more sleep."

"Or maybe more time in the gym to sweat off some....frustration." David smirked. He caught Brianna's gaze and winked. "How about you Beautiful? You having concentration problems today?" He'd noticed her staring at Jon, a glazed look in her eyes.

Brianna stared at him, wondering what he knew. "Nope. I'm a little tired, but otherwise I'm fine." She avoided looking at Jon by pure dint of will.

As soon as she was no longer needed, she escaped to her room, then out to explore Glasgow a little.

Jon escaped to the gym.

That night, they both stayed on their own sides of the connecting door.....and tried to sleep.

The next day, Brianna was checking the contents of Jon's dressing room when he walked in and stopped short. It was the first time they'd been alone since their night of shared passion.

Their eyes locked for a long moment, then they both turned away - Jon to rifle through his wardrobe trying to decide what he wanted to wear, and Brianna to check his supplies once more.

When she bent over to check the tub filled with ice, water and wine under his table, Jon groaned. His hands flexed, remembering what that firm round ass felt like without cloth in the way. His cock stood up, remembering a lot more. Damn! He turned away and yanked out a shirt.

Watching out of the corner of her eyes, Brianna couldn't help but notice his reaction - both his temper and his body - and smirk. Aside from anything else, it was a huge boost to her ego that she could affect him like that. But when he stripped off his shirt to change into his stage clothes, the tables were turned and she was the one groaning. The broad expanse of fur covered muscle had her fingers tingling and her temperature rising. In self defence, she headed for the door. "I'll get your ginseng."

Jon grinned. Ha! Two can play the teasing game sweetheart! As the door closed behind her, his smile faded, a wave of guilt washing over him. What are you doing, idiot? I don't care what Dorothea says, you can't go there.....again!

Brianna sat in the control room, staring at a bottle of wine, unable to decide if it would help or make things worse.

"Want me to open that for you?" Paul offered.

"Is it that obvious?" She grimaced.

He squeezed her shoulder. "Alcoholic fortification is a dietary requirement for anyone working in this organization for any length of time - especially for someone working in close proximity to Jon most of the time." Walking over to his desk area, he lifted his glass and toasted her. "Cheers."

Brianna laughed ruefully.

"Hey Beautiful?" David stuck his head in the door. "Boo Boo's bellowing for his ginseng."

Brianna glanced at her watch and jumped up. Pausing in the doorway, she glanced back at Paul.

He grinned and pulled the bottle of wine and a corkscrew towards him. "I'm on it."

At the break before the encore, Jon ran down the stairs from the stage, peeled off his sweat soaked shirt and tossed it at Brianna as usual. The two glasses of wine she'd had during the show slowed her reflexes and it hit her in the face. The scent of sweat mixed with his cologne had her senses spinning and she was slow to remove the cloth. She grimaced, snatched the shirt off her face and stalked off towards the dressing rooms. This has got to stop! 

Richie watched her go. "What's the matter with Brianna?"

David hesitated, but decided to keep his suspicions - and Dorothea's plan - to himself for awhile longer. He shrugged. "Maybe spending all this time with Boo Boo is finally getting to her and she's gone in search of wine."

"Hmmm....maybe we should help her with her search." He was still miffed about being left out of the party in Japan and was hoping to see her in action.

Tico frowned in concern as he also watched her hasty retreat. "Whatever it is we need to keep an eye on her."