Burning Desires

The next several days passed very quietly. Sabrina rarely saw Brian
except in passing. He said he was quite busy with some financial
matters right now, so she spent most of the days and evenings by
herself. Then, a week after the dinner party, she had her first call
down at the studio, having received the script in the mail a few days
earlier. She hadn't been surprised at the way the writers had
miraculously rediscovered her character, coming up with a somewhat
plausible excuse for her return to the city of Langley. Her first few
scenes were with her parents and several of the other characters on
the show, which were mostly unknown to her. There seemed to be a tacit
agreement that no one would mention the past. She had lunch with her
parents, or Marie or one of her brothers, each day the first week.
Everything seemed to be going quite smoothly. She had no problem
keeping up with the inevitable last minute, daily changes to the
script. She had always been lucky in that she had a good memory, and
could visualize the written words in her mind.

And to Sabrina's complete surprise, on Friday morning, Brian announced
that he had to go out of town for a couple of days on business. He
left her several numbers he could be reached at if she should need
anything. He was rather preoccupied when he left on Friday, right
after she got home from the studio. But Sabrina didn't know what to
say, so she was silent as he bid her goodbye, giving her a light kiss
on her cheek. She brooded that night in silence, stewing, then
steaming, about just what she wasn't real sure of just yet. Saturday
she puttered around the apartment, and then met her sister for lunch
and some shopping. She was grateful when Libby called to invite her to
the country for Sunday with the children. She spent a hectic day with
them, for the children were completely recovered now.

And Monday morning she was up bright and early for work. Brian still
hadn't gotten back that afternoon, and when she called Miss Randell at
his office, she was particularly uninformative. When Tuesday rolled
around, Sabrina was starting to feel decidedly testy. And
unfortunately, today was her first day of filming with David. Their
first scene was filled with tension and drama, caused both by the
story line and their own emotions. Sabrina had come to the conclusion
that she wanted Brian back, and she wanted him back right now! Of
course they were friends! He had been silly to even suggest she might
forget that fact. She had spent most of her waking moments thinking
about him, and all they had shared so far. And she always came back to
that incredible afternoon more than a week ago. She wanted him. She
wanted to make love to him. She wanted to make love with him. She
wanted to share how he made her feel with him. And she wanted to make
him burn with passion for her. She wanted him to feel what she had
felt that afternoon. She wanted him to feel the way she felt now. She
finally wanted him to feel as miserable without her as she was feeling
without him.

David had spent his own time trying to come up with a plan to make
Sabrina fall in love with him again. He had little doubt that he could
do it. After all, he was perfectly aware of his own good looks. He had
thousands of fan letters each week telling him so. He was everything
she had known since she was a child. He was a part of her family's
world, and he was doing everything he could to encourage each one of
the family to persuade her to stay and rejoin the cast permanently.
All he had to do, he had decided, was to get her alone and remind her
of all they had once shared. He would remind her of the beautiful
parties they had attended, and get her involved with their old circle
of professional friends. He would make her see what she had been
missing the last seven years. He didn't really anticipate any problems
from Richards. He had made it his business to know that the other man
had been out of town for several days. And while Richards might be
attractive to some women, the ones who liked the rough-hewn and
grizzly bear types, he was sure that Sabrina truly did not. She had
been playing a game the night of the dinner party, he was sure of it,
making him think the two of them were having an affair. She'd been
acting so he would think that Richards really did have some say in her
life. And he had decided to push her into doing what he wanted, not
what Richards might want her to do. He had used his influence to get
the script changed at the last minute. It was going to be last scene
today, and since there was little dialogue, he had convinced the
director to use the teleprompter for everyone.

Sabrina came on the set for the last scene of the day, learning as she
stepped to her mark that they had changed the script. But she had
decided to be flexible, and go with the flow. So she followed along
with David, as each read the lines of the teleprompter. It was as she
read the line that announced she going to show everyone just how much
she really had changed when she spotted Brian standing off the set,
behind the camera, so she could easily see his expression. And then
she read her next line- "Angela, I want you cut my hair off short,
right now. This minute to prove to Dane that I'm no longer the little
girl I once was." Stunned silence followed her line, and before she
could move, the Angela character, having known in advance what was
coming and had been assured that it was exactly what she was to do,
lifted the large scissors in her hand and cut off a large hunk of hair
from the back of Sabrina's head, quite close to her scalp. She dropped
this to floor and picked up another handful and sawed through it
before anyone could motivate himself or herself to respond.

Pandemonium reigned as people rushed onto the set, and the director
had to yell 'cut.' Brian was the first to reach Sabrina as she stood
there in stunned silence, her eyes not quite focused on anything. She
could hear people talking around her. She heard "Angela" drop the
scissors to the floor, saying that's what she had been told she was to
do, and she had been told everything was okay, and then she burst into
tears. She heard her father shouting behind her, he wanted to know
what the hell was going on here; none of this had been in his script.
She heard her mother's soft voice calling her name.She heard Anne's
voice saying she deserved it and laughing. But all she saw was Brian's
blue eyes in front of her. As if in slow motion she raised her gloved
hand to her head. Her hair had been cut off completely from behind her
right ear to more than halfway across the back. She almost laughed as
she realized what a ridiculous sight she must look right now. And then
she saw David's glinting eyes over Brian's left shoulder. There was no
mistaking the gleam of triumph that he quickly masked. She was sure in
that instant that he was responsible for this, the last minute
changes, and deluding the poor girl he had fooled into cutting her
hair. She turned to Brian and whispered that he please get her out of
there as quickly as possible.

Sabrina had excused herself without a word of explanation, ignoring
Brian's outstretched hand as they reached his apartment. For a long
time, she just sat on the edge of the bed. Finally, she stood and
walked into the bathroom. Sabrina stood in front of the bathroom
mirror just staring at her reflection. Unfortunately, this bathroom
had been equipped with several mirrors, so she could the see the
damage that had been done to her hair reflected in three different
views. She knew if she weren't so sad right now, she could see the
humor of being able to look at something she really didn't want to see
at all in three different ways. But after stripping to her bikini
panties, she had picked up a scissors she had found in the vanity
drawer. She had been standing there for more than fifteen minutes,
with her hand grasping a small section of hair and the scissors poised
to snip it off. She just couldn't do it. She could rationalize on one
level that it was only hair, and it would always grow back. But she
had loved her hair long. She had loved the feel of it against her
neck, and the way it felt as it brushed against her back when she
didn't have a top on. It had been her last claim to beauty, she had
believed, after the fire. And now it was a hopeless mess.

That's how Brian found her several minutes later, with her eyes
swimming in tears, nearly naked, and the scissors in her hand. He
stopped directly behind her, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Her words
cut him more than he had ever thought possible."You'll have to finish
it for me...I just can't seem to make my hand work."

"Oh, baby, I don't know..." Brian held her eyes through the mirror. He
could see her pain, reflecting back at him, in her beautiful,
tear-filled eyes. He raised his hands to rest on her shoulders, one
naked and one still draped in her silky auburn hair. He had loved her
long hair. He had dreamed of it. When he made love to her in his
dreams, he would pull it slowly forward, winding around her stiff pink
nipples. Or he could see her above him, her hair draping them both in
luxurious auburn silk. When that scissors had sliced through that
first hank of hair that afternoon, he had felt his heart stop. And
then he had seen the look on her face and known that she had not
agreed to the cutting of her hair. But now, at the tortured look in
her eyes, he didn't know what to do.

"I can't go to a salon with it looking like this. At least if it's all
one length, it won't be quite so horrible looking. Please, Brian, I
just can't seem to..." Sabrina spoke slowly, pleading with him,
through the mirror.

Finally, after what was really only a few seconds, he took a deep
breath, and then slipped the scissors from her tensed hand. She slowly
lowered her arm to her side, watching his hand intently. Then she
dropped her other arm. He softly picked up a small section of hair
from her left shoulder, just behind her ear. He paused as he raised
the scissors, so she spoke again.

"It should be just as short as the other side so it will match, sort
of..." She shrugged her eyes still focused on his hands. The scissors
sliced through the first section of hair, cutting it quite short,
right at the bottom of her ear. He held the section in his hand for a
moment, and then he met her gaze in the mirror. "Just put it in the
waste basket. I'll have no use for it."

He was sure he could a loud thud as the hair landed in the basket. He
picked up the next section, slightly thicker this time, so it wouldn't
take so painfully long. The scissors seemed to saw through this
section, and he dropped it into the wastebasket also. Three more
sections he cut, making the hair as even as he could with what hat
already been cut. He set the scissors down on the vanity top, and then
looked up into her eyes reflected in the mirror. He slowly took in the
raggedy edges of her hair. It wasn't very even, but he knew he
couldn't cut anymore off. He raised his hands to her shoulders,
avoiding touching her hair.

"Come with me, honey. I'm going to have you soak in my hot tub to
relax." He ran the hot water, and then encouraged her to settle into
the tub, so that she was submerged in the bubbling water from her
shoulders down. "Close your eyes and I'll be right back." She wasn't
aware of how long he was gone, but she heard him after awhile opening
a bottle and pouring a liquid into the tub water. "It's a special
aromatherapy to help you relax. I got it from one of your friends out
in California, the one with crazy little store that has a little bit
of anything strange in it." Then he held out a short glass, half-full
of amber liquid. "No arguments just drink it." And to his surprise,
she did, nearly in two swallows. He should have warned her to go more
slowly, it would probably be a lot more potent since she wasn't used
to alcohol. He had changed into a polo shirt and jeans on his way from
the wet bar, and lowered himself to sit on the broad rim of the tub.
In silence he watched her. The water had splashed up to wet the ends
of her hair. He thought to himself that he could call a friend of his
who owned a private salon a little later and see if he could come over
to help repair the damage, somewhat. He buried his own anger for now,
knowing he would seek out answers later.

It was at least five minutes later before Sabrina raised languid
eyelids. She was a realist. Life had forced her to become a survivor.
She knew who was truly responsible for this, but there would be no way
to prove it. And she had never been a believer in revenge. She
believed in the old saying that said to first dig two graves before
seeking revenge. And she had no desire for anyone else to be hurt
along the way. So, as she looked up at Brian, she felt her mind was
clear for the first time, in a really long time. She could see the
concern in his face, which slowly turned to puzzlement as she
continued to stare up at him. And then, she made up her mind. Nothing
had really changed that truly mattered. She wanted Brian to make love
to her now. Either in the tub or on his king size bed. Her waiting
period was over. She would no longer mourn the past that the fire had
taken from her seven years ago. She wanted the future. And Brian
Richards had been in her life to the point that she wanted him to stay
in her life. She wanted him, period.

Ever so slowly she rose up in the water, until she was sitting
straight up. She saw Brian's eyes lower to her breasts, where the
water bubbled about her pink nipples. As he gazed at her, she felt her
nipples begin to tighten and pucker. She saw his pupils dilate, then
his eyes narrowed as he observed this also. She was almost completely
sure he wanted her. She was willing to risk his rejection in that
second, and raised her arms towards him. Her action lifted her breasts
fully out of the water. Her voice was barely a husky whisper as she
spoke to him. "I want you to make love me."

Her confidence slipped a notch as he shook his head back and forth for
a few seconds, before he actually could speak past the lump in his
throat. "Sabrina, I think you've had too much to drink and…"

She placed her fingers over his mouth to stop his words. "You're
wrong. I know what I'm doing, Brian. And I know what I want you to do.
Will you please make love to me, now, tonight?" She raised herself to
kneel in the frothy water in front of him. With more confidence than
she truly felt, she lifted his left hand in hers and placed it over
her right breast. At his touch, she inhaled deeply, allowing her
breast to completely fill his eager palm. Her nipple responded to his
first, tentative squeeze by puckering up even tighter. He lowered his
gaze to his own hand, enjoying the sight of his darker skin over her
milky white, blue-veined flesh. He felt the tight, pebble-hard nipple
as he squeezed more tightly this time. Her breast seemed to plump
visibly for him as he began to rhythmically squeeze and massage her.
His own arousal was unbearably tight within his own jeans. He started
to take her left breast, when her own hands pulled at his shirt. He
yanked the shirt over his head, casting it off to the far reaches of
the bathroom. Impatiently, he returned to her breasts, massaging, then
bestowing plumping little squeezes to the sensitive, full globes. He
lowered his head to give her mouth a hot kiss, and then jerked back
when he felt Sabrina's tentative fingers fumbling with the zipper on
his jeans. In record time, he was naked and beside her in the churning
water. She pressed herself close to him, and that was the end of his
patience. He moved back to rest against the tub's edge, pulling
Sabrina atop his lap. He arranged her legs to rest aside his thighs.
He knew he was precariously close to the edge of his control, and
reached his hand down.

As Sabrina felt his fingers probe down her soft belly, over her smooth
mound, and then straight to the heart of her desire, she arched her
back, crying out his name. Within seconds he was inside her, probing,
then with a firm push he was through her barrier. He paused to meet
her nearly closed eyes. He had suspected she was a virgin. At the
slight smile that was curving his lips, he lost track of coherent
thought and began thrusting towards his own satisfaction. He felt
Sabrina's sweet, womanly flesh tightening about himself just seconds
before his own climax. He muffled her hoarse cries beneath his own
mouth.

Sabrina had no idea how long she rested her head in the crook of
Brian's neck. She became aware of his breathing slowing down a few
seconds after hers. She took shallow breaths deliberately to give her
brain a few moments to catch up with her body. Her brain was slowly
beginning to function again. She knew deep inside she had no regrets.
Making love with Brian had been fantastic, wonderful, exquisitely
tender, passionate beyond her wildest dreams, and the writer in her
had run out of adjectives! She finally took a deep breath, shifting
her body slightly. She could feel Brian's manhood was still within her
body, and the sensation was so incredibly sensual that she could not
stop the soft moan that escaped from her parted lips. She felt him
lift his hands to cradle her head, then raising it so he could see her
face. He looked the same, yet totally new and different to her in that
split second. He held her gaze for a long moment, and then he lowered
his mouth to hers. He kissed her gently, lightly several times, before
easing her lips apart for a deeper exploration of her mouth. It took
her less than three seconds to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling
him as close her as she possibly could.

A few seconds, or a minute later they broke apart, both dragging in
deep breaths of air. Sabrina shifted herself on his lap and felt him
hardening within her. Her startled yellow-green eyes flew to meet his.
She recognized the laughter within those blue eyes of his. Neither
said a word as they both felt the sensations of their simultaneous
arousal begin again.

Sabrina finally spoke after several long seconds when her body moved
on him of its own volition. "I didn't think it was possible..."

Brian chuckled softly as his body did its own responding to hers. "I'm
a little amazed myself, honey."

"Oh, you mean this doesn't happen for you every time?" And then she
blushed brightly.

"I think I have my work cut out for me in expanding your education."
Brian said softly. He laughed at the blush that crept up her neck to
stain her cheeks. "And you also seem to be a little confused about
something else." This time he deliberately moved, flexing his hips
once, then twice. He decided then, and there, that he loved the dreamy
expression that clouded her eyes. "It's been awhile since I have been
with anyone else. I am not promiscuous, and I have always been very
careful." They both looked into the others eyes at the exact same
second. Their bodies were rapidly hurtling towards another climax. And
they both realized that for the second time they were making love
without any form of protection.

Sabrina awoke with a start, rolling over to see her alarm clock. She
frowned, rubbing her eyes when the clock wasn't where it was supposed
to be. Then she flopped back down on the bed, turning her head to the
other side. She saw a strange, larger clock that had red numbers, not
the blue ones she was used to. She shifted her legs, slowly becoming
aware that the sheets she was laying on were not cotton, but a smooth,
cool satin. Reluctantly her brain started to function as she thought
to herself- "You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy." And like a
floodgate opening, it all came back to her. The day's shooting, then
the nightmarish last scene, Brian cutting her hair for her, and
finally the ecstasy she'd felt in his arms. It seemed anticlimactic to
say 'Wow' but that was the only word she could think of at the moment.
Then she heard a noise in the hallway, and sat up as the bedroom door
swung open. She quickly tucked the sheet under her arms as Brian came
through the door wearing a dark blue terry-cloth robe. For a long
moment, he just stared at her in his bed. Then he moved forward to
seat himself on the side of the bed, nearest to her. He watched as she
shifted her legs to sit cross-legged beneath the sheets.