Beautiful Night {Jason} {RF}

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie sighed as she sat at the edge of the lake, her head tilted up to look at the stars. The moon was nearly full, looming overhead and calling out to her wolf. The night was chilly, nearly cold, but Jason's body heat was keeping her warm enough so long as she kept her light jacket on. She sighed, content. The date she had just had with Jason had been wonderful. A nice dinner, and a long walk out to the lake. She'd never felt quite like this before, never quite so happy with a man. She closed her eyes for a moment, just absorbing the feeling. Her wolf was content as well, for what seemed like the first time since her uncle had taken off with her old pack.

Connie turned her head to regard Jason. He was so handsome, and so kind. She could understand how people could be afraid of him. He was very tall, and well built. She had to suppress a smile at that thought. She reached out, and caressed his cheek gently.

"Thank you for taking me out tonight." She smiled at him, just happy to be sitting there next to him. It was the first night they'd really been able to just sit down alone and talk since she'd come back to Orion. "I don't think I've had this much fun in years." She laughed a little, and looked back up at the moon, letting it's light soothe her wolf who was yearning to hunt.

[Deleted]

As far as Jason was concerned, this night was a long time coming. To be honest, Connie had caught his attention even before the pack split. When she had left with Greg, part of J had obviously understood but another part of him had been heartbroken. It was just with so much to worry about after the split, he had been able to suppress his feelings to focus on other things. It was only when Connie found her way back to the pack...and back to his life...that he now had to worry about his emotions. He had thought he would have been angry. He thought he would have felt betrayed but the moment he laid eyes on her again, all he wanted was to take her back and never let her leave again.

Thank god that she had started to show the same feelings for him. He had insisted on taking things slow, though. She had to adjust to so much already that he didn't want to overwhelm her and put too much on her plate. The more time that passed, though, the more they seemed to get closer and the more his resistance was wavering. A couple of days ago, his resistance had left completely and he finally had found the courage to ask her out. And she said yes!!

So here they both sat, by the lake under a full moon after a nice meal and good conversation. Jason reached out reflectively to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Her hand came to rest against his cheek, bringing a smile to his lips and he only smiled when she thanked him. It was the least he could do after wanting to get the ball rolling on their relationship for so long. And then she said she was having as much fun as he was. "I don't think I have either." And he bent his head to kiss the top of her hair. A content smile lingered on his face.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie smiled when Jason kissed the top of her head. She had never felt like this before. All these emotions swirled inside her until she was giddy and nearly dizzy. Her smile grew as she thought back to the first kiss they had shared. The night had started off so bad, her going to the pack house because of a nightmare. But when Jason had come out of his room and had just held her while she told him about what happened between her and Greg... Connie had realized something that night. Trying to convince herself that she wasn't attracted to Jason wasn't going to work after that, and, honestly, she didn't want it to.

She tilted her head, and brushed a kiss across his lips. She smiled at him as she pulled back enough to really see his face. The faint moonlight cast shadows over his face, but she could make out his own smile.

"You know, if you hadn't asked me out when you did I think I would have broken down and just asked you." She grinned at him, amused at herself. She'd been debating on asking him for awhile, so was surprised when had beat her to it. Surprised, but so happy at the same time. She had said yes, and smiled at him, and when she had gotten home she had damn near squealed like a school girl. She'd felt foolish, but at the same time, she was so giddy she didn't care. She'd spent what seemed like hours trying to find an outfit to wear before she decided she was being an idiot for sure.

So instead of planning one, she'd found a nice full-length skirt to wear, and a nice top to go with it. The skirt was a little thinner than she might have liked, sitting there on the edge of the lake, but she was comfortable sitting next to Jason.

"I nearly asked you anyway, but you beat me to it." She laughed a little. "Good timing."

[Deleted]

Her admission made him laugh. "Really?" He was genuinely surprised. Connie, in certain ways, could be quite shy and reluctant. He really couldn't imagine her doing something so bold. Honestly, Jason was really old fashioned anyway. Back in his day, a woman would never ask a man out like that. Times had certainly changed now but there were certain things that were ingrained in J, that he felt still should be conducted a certain way. Dating was one of them. He had very definite ideas about how men should treat woman. He was far from sexist but he still thought it was a man's job to hold doors, pull out chairs, pay for dinner. He saw it as his place to ask her out and not the other way around. He would have felt bad if she had asked him out first. He would have felt like he shouldn't have put her in that position. Thank goodness things had worked out the way it did.

"I had been wanting to ask you out since the moment you came back to us." He could admit that now. At the time, he had been forced to act as an alpha first, as much as it had killed him, as much as he had wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her and beg her to never leave again. He had to squish all that down and do his job. Now, he finally had the chance to let his guard down and show his true feelings.

Connie lightly brushed a kiss across his lips and he returned it with a smile of contentment. He had waited for this far too long.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie had to smile when he laughed. "You sound surprised!" She accused playfully, poking his ribs. "Didn't think I had it in me?" She smiled playfully up at him, amused now. Honestly, she hadn't thought she had it in her. It had surprised her how much she had wanted to ask.

Her eyes softened when at his next words, and she leaned into him, sighing. "I've never felt like this before. I honestly had no idea what I was feeling until that night when I had the nightmare." She lifted her head back up to look at him, and could feel her cheeks heating with a blush. She was glad it was dark out. "I'd been wondering before, if what I felt for you wasn't just some alpha power you had or something." She paused, then laughed. "That sounds silly, doesn't it?"

She shook her head at herself. "I think I was scared at first, honestly. I've never really dated before." She smiled at him. "I'm glad I waited though. This feels... Right. Like nothing else ever has."

Man, she was full of surprises tonight. She hadn't even planned on saying that, but she wondered idly if her wolf was pushing her to say some of it, giving her that boldness she needed to say it. Her wolf seemed so content when she was around Jason. Why was that? Maybe she would ask him... Later though. Right now she thought she had dropped enough on him without adding more onto it.

[Deleted]

He chuckled again, poking her back. "Oh, I know you had it in you. I was just worried you would beat me to it. See, I was raised to think that men should make the first move." And he shrugged at his own statement. "Its old fashioned but its really deeply ingrained." And Jason really was glad, actually. As far as he was concerned, men now-a-days could take a lesson in that.

Connie leaned into him and he held her closer and tighter, sighing in contentment. "I never thought I would feel this way again." He sounded a bit wistful. "But I've felt this way about you since before the split." He felt ok about sharing that now that things have changed. Her next statement, though, made him chuckle again. "I don't think I have that kind of power....and if I do...well, thank god it worked on you!" He laughed. "It would have been kind of awkward if my super power had worked on Cayden or Nora even." He was only teasing though and gave his own statement a mock gasp of shock. "What would the neighbors think? And he laughed some more.

Jason waved off her admission about not really dating before. "Please, the last time I dated was...ah....a long time ago." He really had no idea exactly when but it had been decades. But he nodded at her words. "This definitely feels very right." And it had since he met her really.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie couldn't help the squeak of protest she made when he poked her. It wasn't common knowledge that she was ticklish, but Jason seemed to have a knack for sneaking inside her defenses to tickle her when she wasn't paying attention. It was amusing, though, so she didn't get mad about it. She laughed, and smiled at him. "My old fashioned wolf." She smiled and moved to sit next to him, brushing her cheek against his shoulder. "I think I like it better like this anyway. I don't like making the first move, but I would have made an exception for you."

Connie was surprised, and touched, when he told her that he'd felt like this about her since the split. She looked up at him, not trying to hide her surprise. "You should have said something," She said softly. Things might have gone differently if he had. She hadn't wanted to leave Orion, but part of her felt like she had to for her Uncle's sake.

Connie laughed at the thought of his 'alpha power' working on Cayden. "That's a scary thought." She grinned up at him, banishing the image that came to mind. It was just too weird. And a little creepy...

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder again. She felt so bad for Jason, and wondered if the last time he had dated was with his wife. "I'm glad you feel like that," She said softly. She smiled again, but didn't look back at him, content to just lean against his side. "Even my wolf feels happy when you're around."

[Deleted]

Connie moved a little closer, making Jason's smile grow. "Yup, definitely old fashioned." He couldn't deny it and he knew it but it sounded like she liked that about him and that was comforting. "I like it better this way, too. I would have felt like an idiot if you had to say something first." He chuckled a bit, reaching to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

When she told him that he should have said something sooner, J turned and looked at her for a moment with a light smile. "I think that might have only made things harder for you. I didn't want you to feel torn." He knew that she didn't want to leave, that it was the pull of blood family that made her go. "Things worked out perfectly, just as they did. If you hadn't gone and followed...him...then you might have never seen his true colors. I'm glad you know him for what he is now. If you didn't follow him, I believe it would have haunted you. I don't want that for you." She would feel guilty for not choosing her family over the pack, if he knew her at all. Living with that,especially for as long as a wolf's life is...Jason couldn't bare the idea of her doing that.

"Definitely a scary thought." And he was chuckling again with a bit of a dramatic shiver thrown in. That thought was creepy for him too. He leaned his cheek to rest on the top of her head when she leaned against him, content. "Well, then if your wolf agrees then it must be right."