Wake Up

Special Note: If you are looking for straight smut scenes think again before reading this story because it is not meant to be random sex scenes in any way. Sex, for the most part, will not occur between the two of them without a plot, or character development. Story includes all the things mentioned and there will definetely be some hot scenes later on, if your into an actual story-- stick around.

Dedication: I dedicate this to all my wonderful readers, you are amazing, and also to my beloved fiance, Mark, for kicking me in the ass when I needed it to start writing and for collaborating with me on various parts of the plot and romantic interaction as well as to the good Lord who gives me strength through all my trials. Without further ado, if you made it this far:

ENJOY!

-Luky

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Chapter One:

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Prelude to Misery

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Ashley Graham had been through a war.

When her feet touched American sand she thought for sure she would melt out into a puddle right onto the beach, like a bubbling mass of chocolate, scorched by the sun. She’d been riding on that bumpy ride all day and was numb from her butt down and she felt oddly disconnected from her body with each wave they jumped. When she heard Leon say that he saw land, she nearly fainted with relief so strong that her vision swayed like the current of the ocean. She hadn’t been so eager to get to a beach in her entire life and she didn’t even care about the fact that she absolutely hated sand.

Her head was buried against his back, making her eyes cast in the shade of her hair and she was eager to look up at their impending freedom but she feared that the unaccustomed sunlight would blind her.

She shifted, trying to relieve the pressure on her bum, and felt her weak grip slip from around Leon's torso. Not wanting to fall of the Jet Ski again, she quickly slid her hands around him again, her fingers sliding over the material and feeling the moisture clinging to his muscles and skin. She shuddered, not from the cold, but from embarrassment and from a shameful pleasure at the thought of how she was touching him. She didn’t get the chance to touch him often and he always seemed a little distant to any affection she might have wanted to give him, despite everything they'd been through together.

‘But that doesn't really matter in the end, anyway.’ she guessed, ‘Since we’re almost home Leon will have completed his mission to rescue me and we’ll be going our separate ways for sure…’ Despite herself, the thought of leaving his side made her utterly fearful. But she was too weak from lack of food and hunger, not to mention dehydration from being on this Jet ski for hours, to really protest any kind of separation if she got the chance.

Having spent an entire week, or more, without a shower had made her very being ache for clean clothing and a warm, sudsy bath. Her once brilliant blond hair was thick with congealed blood and salt water and had dried in huge clumps around her face. What little sweat she could produce in this God awful heat had only increased the disgusting feeling she had all over her body not to mention it made her hair clung to her face despite the high winds created from the jet ski ride. She resisted the urge to let go of him with one hand to wipe the offending clumps away from her scalp but decided that it was better not to fall back into the endlessly sweeping ocean and cause Leon anymore trouble.

Despite the fact that she knew she'd been enough of a pest the whole time they had been together she almost religious congratulated herself on her ability to handle as much of the situation as possible. In her honest defense, she'd endured some of the most horrific things an adult woman could see, let alone someone who had been sheltered from the evils of the world by the wealth and power of her family. Even the things she'd experienced in her past had been nothing like this so despite the fact that she'd been whiny, bitchy and sometimes incredibly stupid, "little" girl-- she think she owed it to herself to be a at least a little proud that she didn't crumble up into a ball in despair or fear.

But in the same breath, had Leon not been the one to come and rescue her-- would the outcome have been different? His warmth and kindness, however off handed it was at some points, were a reassurance and a comfort to her when she was near her breaking point. She'd grown so dependant on him for her safety that she felt almost like a child, fused to his side in terror over everything they experienced.

If it was another man-- someone else who had come to save her, would she be feeling the same way? Would she even have made it out alive without someone of Leon's dedication? There was some kind of fierce determination she sensed in him that was more then just self-preservation or duty, something so much more then goal that was to be accomplished. He seemed to genuinely care about whether or not she was okay and she truly believed any of the boys she'd dated in college would have sooner tuck tailed and run in the opposite direction if faced with something like that.

When they were separated, she could have almost seen the desperation in his eyes, even if it echoed from his voice. Was it because of his mission that he appeared that way? Probably not. Leon was one of the strangest bodyguards she'd had all her life being that he was so young, first off, and that he actually talked to her about a few things when he was trying to calm her down. Not even one of her previous bodyguards allowed themselves to "stoop" to such an unprofessional level, apparently.

As the found herself continuing to think she felt her fingers itched to scratch her face but she knew there had to be the black goopy residue of blood and dirt caked under her once beautifully tailored nails, so she resisted that urge too. Her slender hands were bruised and ached from the effort of holding onto Leon's broad chest and she knew she had broken at least three nails. Thinking about broken nails and whining about it didn't seem like something she should bother Leon with while in Spain and after some careful consideration, she decided it wasn't that important in the end anyway. Not to mention-- she was just grateful-- grateful to be alive.

She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if Leon had met her before she was kidnapped. He was supposed to be her personal bodyguard which carried with the title a degree of professionalattitudes but she couldn't help but wonder about if he’d met her before all this-- when she still smelled of light perfume and clean bath soaps-- her hair neatly brushed and combed to tidy perfection? What would he have thought of her if her nails were freshly painted and well manicured as if she'd just stepped fresh out of a salon?

Would he have looked at her differently then? Would she have even tried to strike up a conversation with the new, nameless and mindless professional bodyguard even if he was incredibly handsome, and young? She'd grown so accustomed to having at least one following her everywhere she went, even before her father had become the president. She'd grown tired of trying to find human traits in the older man and had just settled for ignoring them after all attempts at contact had been made.

Deciding to peak out a little bit, she opened her squinted eyes ever so slightly and let the light wash in, bathing the water in brilliant sparkles as her eyes tried in vain to reconfigure themselves to work properly. She turned her cheek which was resting on Leon’s back to peer over his shoulder at the beach line where a beautiful array of blinking colors splashed on the sand. She felt the intense sunlight make her eyes burn. The time spent in Spain had been mostly dark, and gloomy-- that sun hadn't come out until they'd gotten a good few miles away from the dust from the explosion too-- which hadn't helped.

She felt like weeping and she fought to control the urge. It was bad enough to have her pride wounded as it was, and her body sore at every inch and crying wasn’t going to make her feel better-- it would make her feel worse. And the last thing she needed right now was Leon’s patronizing attitude to make her feel more inadequate when he saw her tears. Even though he had been kind about them through their time in Spain… didn’t mean that she was willing to show him anymore weakness. If anything, she needed to retain as much of her strength as possible if she was going to have to say goodbye.

‘So uh, after you take me back to my place, how about we do some… uh… overtime…?’

She inwardly cringed as the memory resurfaced despite her better attempt to effectively suffocate the it. His scoff seemed to echo in her head and the monotone, sorry seemed so cold and distant to her ears. He didn’t care? She was sure that there must have been something, anything that made him like her-- she was sure of it. The mission couldn't have been the only thing on his mind the whole time they'd been there because of what had happened between them. What about all those times he'd... gotten so close with her...?

‘Mission COMPLETE!’ she had yelled happily, unable to control the surge of emotions that washed over her weary body. He had responded that he still had to get her home, so calmly and it was almost like a smack in the face at the change of his tone of voice. Had to get her home? She was alive and so was he and they’d survived so much together… he’d helped her so much… wasn't he proud of that? Didn't that make them grow closer and closer still having survived something so horrific-- together?

‘Maybe I’m just a whiny kid to him after all…’ she thought morbidly as she remembered the way he froze when she hugged him, after he had removed the parasite from within her. She was so relieved… and she ached for him to wrap his arms around her like he had before… when she had run away from him, unwilling to accept the blood she'd seen smeared from on her hand. She was so terrified, so completely consumed with fear that she'd run away from it all she had felt so stupid but seeing him after escaping all that madness was such a sweet victory that--

A jostle as the Jet Ski hit a surprising wave startled her thoughts and Leon jerked the wheel to maintain control, sending a geyser f water spraying out in the opposite direction. She felt specks of sea foam drizzle onto her skin and felt her fingers slip a little as clung to Leon's sturdy back. She was so eager for the feel of land, so eager for safety at last that she might as well of just jumped off right there and swam for it if she had the strength.

The closer they got the easier it was for her to finally be able to make out some of the faces on the beach. Despite herself she stiffed without realizing it, instantly afraid that she may face danger on those banks. But as the realization dawned on her that she was heading for safety, American soil her haunted eyes shown a glimmer of brightness at the thought that the people on the beach were in fact, normal human beings-- people who weren’t trying to kill her, but who were trying to see what was going on because of curiosity and concern. Not to mention, Leon wasn’t going to let any of them hurt her, duty or not.

She tried to focus on the land and not on Leon as the Jet Ski came to a lurching stop in the water and in an instant he swung one long, well muscled leg over the side, easily jumping off and landing in the crystal blue water with a splash. The idea of getting into the water was a little less then appealing but she had no choice as she lost her balance and began to tip forward into the water with a yelp of surprise.

A strong arm reached out to brace her and she felt relief flow through her entire body at the warm touch, sending thrills of electricity up to her number fingers and toes as she felt his powerful hands steadying her. She looked down at his hand for a moment, and felt a twist in her heart as tears instantly popped into her eyes. She made an effort to avoid his gaze as he tried to help her off the Jet Ski but she instead tried to get off on her own, her legs shaking like a new born calves as she flopped around like a child without floaties in the water.

“Let’s just say she’s a part of me that I can’t let go…”

She bit her lip as the memories threatened to surface again. Never mind her embarrassment, she had been desperately trying to get close to him, yet he had always found some reason to push away… what was so special about the women in the red dress? Who was she? Why was she important to him? She didn’t look like a very nice person, that’s for damn sure. And she had tried to hurt us… why?

That woman had even tried to kill him and he still had feelings for her?

‘Well if that’s what a man thinks is love then I’m glad I have no part of it!’ she thought with indignation, and was suddenly startled by her thoughts. Love? Where had that come up? Who said anything about love? Without realizing it her eyes lifted, tears that she didn’t think she had welling in her brown eyes as they first grazed upon his collar bone-- to his chin-- along his lips... As she caught Leon’s careful gaze with her own she felt her heart flutter like a bird against it's cage, desperate to be free and recognized.

‘Do I…?’ she thought, gazing into his eyes-- his expression was guarded, so unlike the friendly gaze he'd held while in Spain. Pain echoed through her every being and she felt shame wash over her at having stooped to such a level as to offer herself to him and be denied. Her body had yearned for his touch when she was frightened but it was also something else she hadn't wanted to name and despite it all he he would never just hold her close as she wanted him to. She had longed for him to ease away her fears as any other normal man would have felt the urge to do. He always wanted to move, always trying to get out-- always trying to save them and that had obviously turned out to be the best thing for them despite he feelings for him.

It was so obvious that he cared about that other woman by the way he seemed to ignore her advances towards him… but it was hard to accept that a man could put so much devotion into saving someone who he didn’t care even a little bit about. It was hard to imagine that. It hurt to imagine it. And she hated him for saving her only to let her just humiliate herself for him to scoff and laugh at her sad attempts at trying to invite him into her bed. Thinking about the whole thing really pissed her off...

She swatted his hand away weakly and stepped into the water, the waves sweeping at her weak legs as she fought to control her rising hurt and anger. She shivered despite the warmth of the sun and placed her relinquished hand against her chest trying to stop the fierce beating of her heart. Distantly she was aware that she WAS acting like a child at this very moment and that she shouldn't be angry at him because he'd just saved her life! As she peered up at him his eyes had shown nothing. Not even coldness. She hated it, hated him-- she just wanted to get as far away as she could from him!

“I don’t need your help anymore, Leon. I’ll be fine from here on out.” she said steadily despite the trembling she felt from being on the Jet Ski for so long. She was determined not to need him anymore. After all the humbling situations she'd been through she was still unwilling to let him see how wounded she was by his refusal to accept her, even just her body. She wanted so badly to turn into his arms and hug him, that the thought only propelled her faster away.

‘I want you.’ she thought desperately even as she pushed his hand away, ‘Please help me… don’t leave me alone..!’

She turned to try and walk away and found that her legs were like lumbering towers of Jell-O and before she knew it she was again falling, her gaze blurring uncontrollably as a wave of dizziness swarmed her vision. She heard him vaguely say something, and he sounded almost angry-- a bit of his resolve weakening? She didn’t care-- she wanted to get away from him. Get away from the temptation to blubber out all her thoughts and emotions-- her gratitude and so much more!

She felt her world careen as he reached out a gloved hand towards hers, pulling her back in his direction and wrapping one arm around her waist. He pulled her close and she distantly felt the strength of him seeping into her body by the almost... passionate way he gripped her. And for a wonderful, amazing instant she could almost imagine he was her lover, pulling her into an embrace-- gripping her expertly like any man who knew his woman would. Possessive. Protective. She felt the coolness of his skin against her and it caused a shudder to wrack through her body.

Even in the warmth of the mid afternoon the coolness of the water made her feel cold. She was so unberably hot that the cold was almost too cold and it was shocking her body to the touch. She hadn’t realized it but she was swimming in heat and it was almost as if all the horror and the disappointment of the past few weeks had come to surface in her making her sick to her stomach and dizzy. All the exhaustion and stress and her need to feel safe seemed to culminate in her just then and she felt like she was slowly sliding down along Leon's body as she slowly shut down.

Her eyes caught on his face again and despite her need to get away, she vaguely relished in the feel of his rough gloved hand against hers and the feel of him pressing her against him. Oh, how nice it would be to be lovers with a man as wonderful as Leon... but she didn't really just want that and she knew it. She wanted the whole deal but she was too young to know how to take it responsibly and respectfully.

'I'm so...' she thought as her eyes blurred on his face. "I'm so... stupid..." she whispered up at him, feeling alive for just a moment as he shifted his arms around her, holding her closer to his body. Despite how cold he felt she promised herself she wasn't going to forget what it was like to be in his arms-- could never forget-- and she knew she'd remember everything he'd done for despite how they separated.

Tears poured freely from her eyes as her vision darkened, and his face was above her, worry clearly etched in the lines around his face. It was a relief to see that unnatural mask lifted from his features. This was the face she loved-- this was the one that made her heart glow with comfort when she saw it. Those eyes said so many things that neither of them could understand about each other, not yet anyway. Not now.

She felt her lips moving but she found couldn’t hear any sounds other then the rising roar of the waves and she somehow magically felt that she was going to pass out very soon. As tears slid down her sunken cheeks she tried to mumble something to him to try and tell him how she felt. A thank you. A promise to never forget him or what he had done for her. How much she cared for him. So many things she wanted to say.

She felt her head fall backwards, her body arching against his as she felt her entire form weakening and going limp as wave upon wave of heat washed over her body, making her vision swim and blur against the the blue sky and beauty above her. Her hair fell away from her face in clumps, catching in the wind as her vision turned into swirling tones of grey and black. And then--

Nothing.

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We've got such a lovely development and realistic approach to Ashley's personality and character in this chapter. It's obvious she likes him in the story and it also offers a new look on her asking Leon for overtime which will be explained differently in the next chapter as well. This is a VERY realistic interpretation of what would happen between the two characters after they've landed on the beach. Let's just ignore the fact that they'd have to cross the entire pacific to get there. For the purposes of this story and my sanity-- let's just assume that the island was right off the United States coast line and leave it at that. Who knows, it's a fan fiction anyway! Please enjoy the next chapter!

REVIEW!

Edited: 7/3/2008

-Luky