When Lori first started speaking, Jacen didn't even bother opening his eyes to look at her. After her being slightly annoyed with him on a previous encounter when he had been the one starting to talk, it was kind of interesting to see that she was now the one that felt she needed to say something.

Finally though, he had to chuckle a little bit as her fingers began to pinch at his side. "I think that most couples would admit this would have made for a strange day. We can probably skip out on most of those particular items, although the slugging it out in bed part is fun."

The blond's hands were busy as she ran them over Jacen's bare torso discovering the little tickling spots that she had never really paid attention to. When her fingers trailed over the skin just under his lowest ribs, Jacen squirmed slightly even though he tried not to. Then as one finger trailed a lazy pattern across his belly button he gritted his teeth and fought off the urge to suck in his gut in order to escape the wonderful torture.

"You're a baaaad girl." Jacen murmured as he suddenly sprang into action, grabbing Lori's wrists and rolling over so that he was now positioned to the side and slightly above her with both of her hands held up above her head, "So tell me... if this isn't what every day of a real relationship is like, are you a little more interested?

Dipping his head down, Jacen gently nipped at the skin below her ear before moving around to nibble at her throat. "And did you mean it when you said you might be falling in love?" He breathed against her neck before lifting his head up and just staring into her eyes. There was just something so intoxicating about her blue eyes. They were beautiful and as he looked at her Jacen found himself once again amazed by how different the two women that had come into his life were. Kealey was little Miss Innocent that saw the whole world through child's eyes while Lori was the bad girl that had a sensitive side that she always kept hidden but for some reason had decided to expose to Jacen. "Are you ready to keep moving forward or is it time to bail out?"

"Mmmm. Strange day." If she were absolutely honest with herself, she did enjoy the adrenaline pumping action. If she could skip out on the bumps and bruises that typically accompanied those heart pounding exploits, so much the better. Lori ran the lightest touch possible along Jacen's exposed and unprotected belly. If she'd wanted to eviscerate him... it would have been too easy now that she had his trust. Lori flexed her hand, admiring the fact that the feeling was slowly coming back to it. The bones and tendons felt abused, but they were still able to trace Jacen's skin gently.

He admitted she was bad just as he decided to pin her. Her pulse sped up in response to his actions, but she didn't struggle. Not yet. "So tell me... if this isn't what every day of a real relationship is like, are you a little more interested?"[/color]

"But what is it like?" She squeaked and writhed as his nibbles dictated. No, she wasn't struggling, yet.

"And did you mean it when you said you might be falling in love?" He made it nearly impossible to answer that question when he was busy making her writhe, but unfortunately he seemed genuinely interested in an answer and pulled back to lance her with the intensity of his eyes. Lori tucked her chin in, protecting the most sensitive bits of her neck and pulse as a song came to mind in answer to his query. "What is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more." She grinned and gave him big, innocent eyes knowing full well that it wasn't the answer he was looking for, but it was hopefully answer enough.

"Are you ready to keep moving forward or is it time to bail out?"

She groaned and did test the strength of his hands a bit then. No, it wasn't an attempt at escape. She rather liked it there actually. But it was a test. How easily would he let her go? "I think the time to bail out safely has passed. Anything now would start to get on the messy side of things." Very few people had gotten close to Lori and most of them had hurt her and bailed out messily. Of course, those same people were almost all dead...

Jacen could feel Lori testing his grip while trying to distract him with her answers. Well, he wasn't goign to let her slip away that easily. As she tested it again Jacen's grip tightened every so slightly, enough to let her know he was aware of what she was doing but still gentle enough that he wouldn't be hurting her or leaving behind any bruises.

Dipping his head, Jacen ignored the neck and throat that Lori was so carefully protecting and instead place a quick kiss and nibble on the gentle swells that were still unprotected just a little bit lower.

"I'll have to remember this... you seem to handle relationship talk so much better after sex. Maybe it relaxes you."

Lifting his gaze, the man's eyes were slightly mischevous as he looked at her. "Gotta make a note to quit trying to take sex off of the table." Tilting his head to the side slightly, his eyes swept over Lori's face, trying to get some reading on what she was truly thinking.

"And don't think I missed the fact that you didn't answer my question." Jacen said before leaning down to brush a quick kiss across Lori's lips, "I'm just letting you get away with a non-answer for now... or maybe I'm not."

She had been trying to tickle him which meant that it was totally within his rights to do the same. After all, wasn't there an old saying that said all was fair in love and war? Changing his grip to try and hold both of Lori's wrists with just one of his hands, Jacen quickly moved hid now free hand down to begin tickling at the skin that ran along her hipbone and alone the waist bad of her clothing. If he was remembering correctly, that was normally a very ticklish spot.

There was a sort of peace that accompanied being dominated. As soon as she thought it, she knew there was something wrong with her, but it was true. Only here, at the true mercy of someone else, someone she liked, did she really feel safe. There was no way that she could break free of Jacen's grip without hurting herself or him. She felt still. As tranquil as his nibbles allowed. She would not have even minded bruises.

"Did you ever consider that there was more than just sex that lead up to this talk?" Typical of a man to jump to the simplest conclusion. She grinned lacksidasical and content. Could every day end as well as this? If this was what this relationship offered, she would brave the danger for the reward every time.

The look in his eye as he looked up made her squirm and test her bonds again. "Gotta make a note to quit trying to take sex off of the table."
"Looks like you've learned your lesson." She squeaked. "Especially if you want to keep having talks like this, hmm?" The hmm naturally turned the corners of her mouth up in an expression that suggested mutiny wasn't too far off the horizon.

Threats or not, at least she was still getting away with her non-answer and that was good enough for now. It was going to take more time... more questions and more thinking for sure. And besides, if this was his idea of punishment for her being bad, it was only encouraging her to continue this path.

He shifted so that both of her wrists were held in his one. Mistake number one. He attempted to tickle her in a place where she was not ticklish. Mistake number two. Lori wriggled, worming her hands under Jacen's one. She bucked her hip up against his weight and would love to have had the bulk to roll him and pin him. Well, she would love the bulk only in instances like these. She was trying to get free now. It wasn't panic, just a calculated risk. If she could get just one hand free, a counter tickle would do her wonders.

Finally the testing was over and as Jacen made the tactical mistake of trying to get in a tickle on the feisty blond, she sprang into action. Suddenly her hands were squirming in all directions, trying to get his one hand to let up the pressure just enough for one to get free. At the same time she began bucking her hips, momentarily throwing him of balance and forcing him to collapse on his side right next to her body. With the leverage her had previously had suddenly gone, one of Lori's hands suddenly slipped free.

Obviously this called for a counter attack so without the slightest delay Jacen's hand descended past her bucking hips to tickle over the sensitive skin of Lori's inner thigh. Suddenly out of nowhere Jacen found himself chuckling as he continued to playfully wrestle with the blond. He was using enough of his strength to make sure that she didn't think he was just letting her win but if she really wanted to push and try and roll him on he would go along with it. After all, sometimes letting a woman take control was damn sexy.

"Quit squirming naughty girl!" Jacen laughed as he tried to ignore her attacks while launching a ticklish assault of his own, "Otherwise I might have to do worse!" The playfulness of wrestling like this was not something that was lost on him. It was an intimacy that only couples who were really attracted to each other could possibly share. Did thi mean that he and Lori might have a future together? As her attacks suddenly caused a burst of laughter to bubble forth his chest, Jacen laid the question aside. That was something to be dealt with at a different time.

The struggle fast disintegrated into flailing limbs and giggle fits. "Do your worst." She challenged him, still struggling for the edge that would give her the top. What could he possibly deem "worse" than this "punishment"? She'd certainly been through worse, actually worse with other guys. Jacen was different. He restrained himself where it counted and let loose in all the right places. Short of slugging her across the jaw, there was very little he could do to make this not fun, punishment or not.

Unfortunately, the edge of the bed loomed perilously near unbeknownst to either combatant.

Lori had one arm hooked around Jacen's neck in half nelson of sorts. It put their faces mere inches apart, though they weren't about to smooch. While he still had one of her hands firmly pinned, she had wrestled her way to half and half weight. Jacen wasn't on top, but neither was Lori. It was a deciding moment in the match, and Lori was out to win. Winners got to choose the punishments, right?

She grinned, that certain mischief in her eyes as she huffed to catch her breath. She mustered her strength to go for one last push. If she could get the upper hand, she planned to keep it. They would also go tumbling off the edge, but she hadn't thought that far ahead.

The wrestling was going well and Jacen was having the time of his life. After all, what red blooded man wouldn't love the opportunity to be wrestling naked with a hot blond that had said she might be falling for him? The struggle was all at once playful and serious as the two jockeyed for position, trying to take charge. Suddenly Lori through her wait against him once again and as he went along with it he suddenly realized there was no more bed behind him. Just open air that led down to the very hard floor.

Instinctively Jacen wrapped his arm around Lori, holding her as they rolled off the bed and fell to the floor with her on top of him. The short fall combined with her weight on top of him had been enough to very temporarily knock the wind out of him but he found his body still trying to laugh as he continued to try and hold the wiggling blond. Unfortunately not having your breath isn't the best way to fight and in a very short time Jacen found himself lying on the floor with Lori temporarily pinning his arms up above his head. The look of triumph in her eyes was obvious but he wasn't about to begin complaining. After all, with her poised above Jacen it gave him a very nice view that he was not at all ashamed to appreciate. That was the one unfair thing about a man trying to wrestle a woman... he would almost always get distracted by the lady's 'assets'.

"It looks like I'm your prisoner, beautiful. Are your intentions honorable or do you plan on doing things to me that can't be discussed in mixed company?" Jacen asked with a mischievous grin as he fell completely still, waiting for that one perfect moment to surge upward, hopefully catching Lori right back in the trip she had just now escaped. She may have temporarily won the battle but the war was far from over!

She hadn't intended for them to take a tumble, but the fact that he wheezed out a laugh made her decide to take the win rather than fuss. She had his hands up above his head and he was enjoying it far too much. Lori squeezed tightly on his wrists. She didn't have the weight to pin him properly, her hold was an illusion, Jacen's whim. It was all psychological from the moment he had his breath back.

So she had to pull out the big guns.

Lori slid herself slowly backward, skin on skin, and lowered herself until she was leaning along Jacen's chest. A lower center of gravity was harder to uproot and this way, with her assets held against him, he might think twice before fighting for dominance. "Your head okay?" She leveled her eyes above his and judging from the look in his eyes, he was doing just fine.

She smiled, inspecting his face and watching for the fight behind his eyes. Though her hands still gripped his wrists above his head firmly, her look was gentle. The curve of the nose, the swell of his cheek, she did not want to forget the shape of his face. Every follicle of his five o'clock shadow was suddenly quite important. Regretfully she had to break the silence. Her victory was too sweet, somewhat tainted by her distraction but still a win. "I thought you were going to punish me..."

"The head's fine." Jacen replied quietly, his lips still tugging upward into a slight smile, "I don't think anything's broken."

As Lori slid down his body and stretched out upon him, Jacen had to fight off a shiver that threatened to move up and down his back. How in the world had he gotten into this position? Allowing a woman to have control, albeit just psychologically, was not his standard practice. He was a military man used to handling and controling any situation that came his way and yet here he was playing back and forth with him controlling the situation one moment and her controlling it the next.

"How do you know this isn't part of the punishment?" Jacen asked, as his eyes focused on Lori's face for a few moments. The mischevous grin that was evident both on her lips and in her eyes was infectious and the way her face was framed by the blonde hair that fell around it was tantalizing. While on the one hand Lori didn't fall into the supermodel category by any means, right at that moment Jacen couldn't think of any time when he had seen a woman look more beautiful.

After her comment it was sorely tempting to surge upward and seize control of the situation once again but for now Jacen chose to just lay on the floor, competely relaxed as he watched the young woman. When things had started between them last night he never would have predicted they would end up like this, especially when the two of them were just testing the waters to find out what a normal relationship would be like. Was this the answer? Was this the kind of fun and intimate moments they could expect to share if things continued?

"I'm thinking to much." Jacen suddenly realized as a slight shift of Lori's weight on his body immediately snatched his attention back to the situation at hand. Patience had gone on long enough and it was time for an uprising to overthrow the current ruler. Instead of trying to sit up, Jacen used one of his legs to push off of the floor, rolling the two of them over quickly as he snatched one hand free of Lori's grip with a quick but powerful twist and pull. Once again he now crouched above her with his weight resting on the free hand so that he wouldn't be pressing to much on her.

"What kind of punishment do you think you deserve?" He was most deffinately toying with her but who in the world could blame him?

He may have turned the weight distribution, he may have pinned her hands, but oh brother there was no way he was going to separate the legs that had snaked around his torso. She smiled up at him, her lower half not touching the floor in the least. She dangled. Quite koala like.

What punishment did she deserve? "Your middle name." And she was serious. "I always knew I was in too deep if I learned the middle name so come on, fork it over. Break all my rules and leave me without defenses. Oh, or you could tell me about your parents, that's typically horrifying for both parties and you already know about mine." Well, one of hers...

Lori maneuvered herself to press her lower half tighter against Jacen's navel so that she could lock her ankles behind his spine. She wasn't about to give him a full victory. He was going to have to work much harder for that. But she was already giving him footholds into her life... showing him the chinks in that well worn armor.

"Speaking of, I'm gonna be staying at the trailer for a while... just to make sure he's well good and gone." It was practically a come and get me kind of invitation. If she had the capability to consistently carry a cell, would he have earned that number? Lori's outlook was dubious. This situation he'd put her in was quite despicable. And she wasn't thinking physically.

She was offering him the option to give her a true punishment that would break through her defenses? Here Jacen had been teasing this whole time about punishing her and now she was giving him a very real option if he took it.

"Franklin." Jacen said rather bluntly after Lori had stopped talking. His middle name was not something he had shared with any of his friends. In fact most legal documents that he filled out just had 'F.' not the full 'Franklin'. Why was he giving her the information he hadn't given to anyone else? Was he letting her get through his armor as well?

"And I'm afraid there really isn't much to tell as far as parents go." Jacen said with a slight chuckle as he watched and felt Lori maneuvering herself to try and keep a better grip with her legs. With her hands pinned she was effectively helpless but she wasn't going to let him get the spoils of victory without yet one more fight. "I was born and raised in the panhandle of Florida. I was on the school swim team and my parents encourage me in whatever I wanted to do. I joined the army at 18 and during my tour in Iraq they passed away in their sleep."

There was no heart wrenching history to share or stories about how he had been beaten as a child. In fact Jacen couldn't think of a single thing about his child hood that he would want to complain about.

Moving slowly but steadily, Jacen worked his legs around so that they stretched out on either side of Lori's body while her legs were knotted behind his back. Suddenly pulling with his arms, he lifted her up into a sitting position on his lap. Dropping the pretense of ever trying to pin her arms any further he wrapped on arm around her waist while his other hand moved for that ticklish spot in her arm pit.

"When's the house warming party?" He asked with a grin as he watched the blond's beautiful face, "Should I bring gifts?"

What must it be like, she wondered, to have parents you did not wish dead, be dead? Did she owe him a hug or something for his loss? Since it was an actual loss, perhaps she did, though it was rather suspicious to have both die in their sleep so peacefully and conveniently. Lori tucked that information away in a spare crevasse of her mind.

She would certainly be checking on the circumstances of their deaths. To fulfill her curiosity without all the awkward questions. Hmm, perhaps she could become a private eye some day. The thought had never occurred to her before, but with all the snooping she loved so dearly, she should be getting paid for it. Lori filed that thought carefully right next to the first for later digestion, as of now there seemed a spark of rebellion in Jacen's eye.

She yipped when he uprooted her and suddenly her legs being wrapped around him was making for a rather intimate sitting position. Jacen's hand slid perilously close to intruding on tickle-property, but she remained still. A new challenge was taking place it seemed. "I trust you." She went as still as was humanly possible without forfeiting her right to breathe. Her hands slid from their purchase on his back and rested limply on her thighs. She made herself at his mercy this time so that it was solely his choice.

Lori was letting him decide if tickling her was worth a breach of supposed trust. Another test. She had to know his substance. What made him tick and what kinds of patterns of behavior she could rely on later. Knowing how a person worked and thought made Lori more comfortable operating around them, and she had yet to probe the full extent of Jacen's personality.

"No housewarming party planned. Like I want to advertise that I'll be taking up temporary residence in a sardine can. It's exactly the level of class I strive to fail to achieve." She grinned knowing that was a bit confusing. She wasn't going to clarify in the least either. A thought did occur to her though. "Gifts are always accepted, though rarely mandatory. Knickknacks are especially frowned upon."

"I trust you."

The words seemed to hang in the air as Jacen's fingers inched toward their target. The implications of her comment were many and his brain honestly didn't have time to run through all of them, but a few points did pop to the surface. Did she dislike tickling and she was testing him? Was she waiting to see if he would bend to her every whim? Was she finally admitting that he had penetrated her armor fully and she was now putty in his hands?

"Only as long as we're in private or in a fight." Jacen replied with an affectionate but knowing smile as he allowed his hand to drop from its intended destination and instead intertwine with the fingers that were currently laid on Lori's thigh. "We'll see how things go down the road, but thanks."

He couldn't say that he trusted Lori because he didn't completely trust her yet. Sure he enjoyed his time with her and he thought she was an attractive woman that he wanted to get to know better but after finding out so many secrets it was hard to trust her completely.

"And here I thought a nice china vase or something would make the perfect gift." Jacen said with a laugh at Lori's 'knick-knack' comment. In actuality he had no clue what he might get her for a gift but he was sure he could come up with something. Maybe two somethings just for fun. One for its comical effect and one for its serious or intimate effect.

"But I'm honored that you're letting me be one of the few that knows where you're staying." Jacen admitted as he idly ran the hand that was currently positioned behind Lori's back up and down her spine in a gentle massage pattern, "How about if we get more practical. You need any food or drink in the "sardine can" as you so affectionately put it?"

She accepted his hand in hers and leaned forward to lay her head against his shoulder. Now that things were starting to slow down, so was she. The days events seemed like so long ago. Jumping out of a plane was weeks ago, not this morning... surely not this morning. "Maybe..." She conceded the in private or in a fight point. "Though I would not sleep here if I didn't think it was safe... enough." Though, had she actually slept in the same bed? Just slept? Maybe after she'd been to the hospital and out again. That hardly counted. Suddenly the task of going to bed and simply relaxing seemed daunting.

She noticed that he did not reciprocate and that was fine. More than fair actually since she still got her showers and the fun that almost always resulted in more showers. She hadn't been honest with him and didn't have a reason to before... there were no regrets there, but if this was going to be a real relationship she was going to have to give her middle name away some day too.

"It's only temporary. Staying in one place too long is foolish if you live in a web of lies." She appreciated the idle touch. Lori was very much a physical being, every bit of skin contact was a hammer fall forging her like for Jacen into stronger stuff. This probably qualified as cuddling. Ah well. It was nice.

"Last I checked there was olive loaf and mayo in the fridge." She shuddered. Olive loaf. The thought of olive studded bologna made her skin crawl... and she liked olives! "Oh and some chips." She'd been busy buying those when they came to arrest him. Lori yawned against Jacen's chest, her lips catching against his skin. "But I have money, Jacen. I know how to order Chinese." Notice she said nothing of grocery shopping or cooking. It was possible to make mistakes even when making the simplest of meals. It was possible that not even sandwiches made by Lori would be FDA approved.

A quiet, "Mmmmhmmm." was all the response that Lori got to her comment about Jacen's house being safe to sleep in. Apparently she had at least decided that he wasn't out to get her during an unprotected moment, but then that went along her her trust comment from a few moments before. She knew he wasn't out to hurt her but she was still protecting herself at least a little bit.

"Maybe some day you can leave the web of lies behind." Jacen observed quietly before turning his head and placing a kiss on Lori's temple. He could feel the change in atmosphere and he knew the talking wouldn't be lasting much longer. He also knew that he'd be heading off to work which meant that if she wasn't gone before he left, she was most certainly be gone before he got back.

He didn't want to move but at the same time he knew that sleeping on the floor in the position they were currently sitting in would not make for a comfortable nights sleep. "And along with Chinese food you need some staples. Frozen dinners are an excellent item to keep around." Even though the subject had changed, Jacen's tone of voice had not. Instead it maintain a hushed, intimate tone as the two began to relax even more. "Those along with bread, peanut butter, and jelly can get you through anything."

His back was beginning to stiffen slightly from the position he was sitting in along with the slight pressure from Lori's heels but he wasn't going to complain. They had never shared a time this open and intimate before and he was loathe to leave it even when he knew that they really needed to.

"You're beautiful Lori." He suddenly said out of the blue as he decided to take advantage of the magical moment they had found themselves in, "And don't ever think that someone's better than you."