Blake waited for Samantha to take off, then he was practically at her side. She tilted the bike, dropped to one knee then braked, reversed and went in the opposite direction. It took Blake a minute or so to back track and follow her.  She hit the accelerator, raised the bike, so only the back wheel was on the road, she kept it at full throttle, cleared over the bulk rubbish container and scaled over the fence into an alley.  She made a perfect landing, arching her body forward, her knees buckled, as she skillfully maneuvered the bike down a flight of stairs. Bracing her shoulders, she forced the bike through the green hedging into a nearby park.  Thanks heavens for the helmet, her face was protected.   The race track took her to an exit that met an underground walkway.   She exited the empty walkway, hit the accelerator at full speed and three minutes later she was outside her posh Melrose Arch apartment. She was soiled, dusty, itchy and in desperate need of a shower when she got to her apartment. Trent was awaiting them, sitting on her staircase with no sign whatsoever of Blake.

'I'm going to shower. Tomorrow you and I will talk!' she waged her finger at Trent.

'Where's Blake?'

'You were cozy with him the entire night.  How the hell should I know?' she closed her door and headed for the shower.

Some ten minutes later, as she had just come out the shower, she heard Blake's bike pull up outside her garage.   She smiled to herself, bit on her lower lip as she slipped on a sweat suit. It was way past midnight, she should just climbed into bed, but she knew Blake would want to come in. She switched on the percolator and waited for the doorbell to sound. And she did not have long to wait. As she opened the front door, she saw a car enter, Henk Visser was reporting for duty, Trent saluted goodbye. She waived to Trent, greeted Henk, and then her eyes shifted and locked with Blake's.  She stepped aside to allow him entry. He smelt good and looked fresh. But then he hadn't scraped through alleyways, and ridden through creepy, itchy hedges.

'Where on earth did you disappear to?' he asked astonished.

'I rode home,' she responded evasively, and turned her back so he could not see the smirk on her face.

'My evening was quite an eye opener,' he murmured wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

It felt good being in Blake's arms.   What a change from the slime balls she had to put up with constantly day in and day out.

'Samantha, I just don't know how you do all you do,' he whispered hoarsely, his lips caressing at the pulse at her throat.

She leaned against him.   Her head angled to the side, as she purred softly. His hand slipped under her sweat shirt, and cupped over her delectable well rounded breast. He moulded his body to hers. Samantha turned around in his arms, her lips reached up to find his.

Blake pressed against her body, as his lips closed hungrily over hers. A guttural sound escaped him, as she responded. She pulled him closer, as they exchanged a deep enthralling kiss. He drew back gently and gazed into her eyes. Samantha pressed her palms against his chest, and slowly removed his jacket. He lifted his arms as the jacket fell to the floor.   She peeled his T shirt off him next.

Blake groaned with pleasure, as her lips trailed down his chest.   Her teeth bit gently on his nipple. Blake scooped her into his arms, and hurried upstairs to her bedroom.  In a flash he had relieved her of her garments.  Only the silk undies were untouched.  He leaned over her as his mouth caressed over her aroused nipple.   His tongue trailed erotically down to her navel.   She gasped as his lips caused a rippling sensation throughout her body.

Her fingers raked riotously through his hair.   She threw her head back and groaned aloud as his lips pressed soft feathery kisses on her silky undies.  She moaned protestingly as it became moist from his teasing.  She wanted more, so much more. She wanted his lips to press his hot kisses on her naked flesh. She murmured, pleaded.  Her hips begged for the torture to end, and then it did. Ripping the flimsy material covering her womanhood, his lips touched her moistness, gently grazed her soft flesh.  Her fingers pierced into his shoulders.   Finally he succumbed and she felt the sweet bliss of heaven as he buried himself inside her and did not stop the torture, until she exploded and he joined her in a blissful climatic union.

It was some hours later after some playful teasing and caressing and more love making that they fell asleep in each other's arms. Samantha was shocked and dismayed that she'd allowed Blake to spend the night.  What happened to her and Blake keeping a low profile?  Why was she being so reckless? She knew if they continued seeing each other it would be a matter of time before harm came to Blake.  For his own good she needed to end things, but how could she if he stubbornly persisted in ignoring her instructions to stay away? Not that he was solely to blame, last night he got more than sufficient encouragement from her. Dammit.

Samantha slipped out of her bed and went to shower. It was Saturday.   At least she did not need to go to the office this morning, but then she still needed to get rid of Blake. Perhaps she should go and stay at her dad's home. It was vacant and she still had the keys.

But damn it why did Trent bring him to the club? Now he compromised everything. And Blake always acted first, and thought came later with him. He was a successful business man.   She could not understand this irrational side of him.  Or was he more disciplined when it came to business?

She was sitting in her kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee, when she heard Blake.

'Good morning,' he smiled.

She held her breath, then smiled.

Oh he was good looking in the morning without his shirt on, ___ and those bedroom eyes.

'Good morning,' she greeted, dragging her eyes away.

He walked to her, and lifted her to her feet.

'I don't bite you know,' he smiled seductively.

He smelt of soap and his breadth of mint toothpaste.

'I___ I know you don't bite,' she mumbled.

'Then why do you look so nervous Samantha, as if I'm going to harm you,' he kissed her lips softly.

'Blake we have to end this,' she said softly, escaping from his arms.

He lifted her coffee cup and sipped from it.  He wrinkled his nose, for it had no sugar. He helped himself from the percolator, threw four spoons of sugar into it and swallowed half the contents.

'Samantha, you do not fear the people you are after, and neither am I afraid, so why don't we work around this concern you are harbouring?' he stated.

'There is nothing to work around Blake. It has to stop,' she insisted.

What was wrong with her? They had spent a beautiful night together. They had spent practically all night making love, and she could not claim, she had not enjoyed any of it.  Blake placed his coffee mug on the table and walked to where she now stood.

'Samantha,' he called softly when she refused to look at him.

'Samantha,' he called again, forcing her to meet his eyes.

'I love you,' he whispered.

Her eyes widened.   She shook her head.  'No you can't,' she whispered. 'You can't love me! You must not!' She pushed him aside, and ran out the kitchen.

He was instantly behind her, and before she could climb the first stair, he hurled himself at her ankles and brought her down, and rolled with her so he was on his back and she fell onto his chest. He ignored the sharp pain between his shoulders.

'You can't tell me not to love you Samantha. I do love you damn it!  And I can't switch of what I feel for you.'

'I can't be with you Blake.  I can't!  Let go of me!'

But he was stubborn, and held her pinned in his arms. He rolled again, so she was under him, and brought his lips over hers. His kisses were like a magnet forcing her lips apart. She tried to resist him. She tried to keep her lips pursed, but his feather light kisses, and his sensual tongue was like water dissolving sugar, and try as she might she failed as her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips parted, and she was responding to him with wild abandon.

Blake tore his lips away, and demanded, 'tell me you want to be with me Samantha. Tell me you want a relationship with me.'

She could not. She was attracted to him. She enjoyed making love with him, but they had no future.  none whatsoever.  He was not going to become a statistic!  Not on her watch.  Shoving him aside, she hoisted herself up and was on her feet in a flash.

'No Blake.   I don't,' she replied softly.'

He glared at her angrily.   If his glacial stare could freeze her, she would make a good tourist attraction in the Arctic. He stormed to her lounge, swiped his shirt and jacket from the floor, tossed the both on hurriedly and slammed the door on his way out.

Oh boy, she needed to get the hell out of this apartment. Changing into jeans and a sweater, she slipped on a pair of boots and climbed onto Trent's bike. It was still an hour or so before he would arrive to "nanny" her.

'I'm just going to the cafeteria,' she lied to Henk, knowing he won't follow her as it was literally at the corner of her street.

She clicked on the remote and the gate to her dad's garage rolled up. His jaguar was stilled parked there.  Her mom had not wanted to sell it, and Samantha just kept it there. She walked around the place, and climbed the stairs to her old bedroom on the second floor. Everything was as she had left it from the day she left home. She smiled as she looked at a picture of herself and her dad walking on the ice in Antarctica.

'Oh dad, I miss you so. You would be so proud of what I've achieved,' she whispered.

Samantha slipped her boots off and climbed onto her old bed. It still felt so comfortable. She remembered every expedition she had accompanied her dad on. He had designed the training manuals for soldiers in covert operations. She had gone with him when soldiers pitted their strength against the environment in the picturesque Amazon forest. Another time she went with her dad and had trained with his soldiers in the unforgiving mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. And she had again accompanied her dad on another expedition to the war torn borders of Israel, where they pitted their strength against seasoned Palestinian soldiers in mortal ground strikes. She had begun her training as a young inexperienced girl, and twelve months later was successfully certified as a specialist all terrain operator who was given the clearance to either join the navy, army or air force.

She had taken another two years and had under gone more grueling physical training in harsh conditions, learnt martial arts and became a skilled markswoman. And for some reason when it came to making the choice she had chosen to hook up with NPS, to do her small part in trying to rid the country and the world of narcotics that were destroying the lives of the next adult generation. She loved every second of it until the night Brad had been brutally gunned down.  That very night, her heart hardened to stone and her career took over her life.  She was interrupted by the soft vibrating of her mobile.  A look at the screen told her it was Trent.

'Yeah?' she answered.

'Sam where in the blazes are you?'

'It's Saturday.  I'm not on duty right now, so go chill,' she suggested.

'Sam whether you are on duty or off, you are to be protected,' he reminded her.

'I'm not working right now, I don't need protection.  I need space.'

Trent was silent for a few seconds, trying to process her "need for space."  'Where are you?' he demanded.

'I'll meet you at our rendezvous tonight,' she cut the call and switched off her mobile.

Samantha did not see or hear from Blake the entire day.   She could not believe that Blake loved her. How could he love her? They hardly knew anything about each other. There was explosive chemistry between them for sure. They ended up having exhilarating sex every time they touched each other. But he can't love her.   He just can't. She had thought he might pitch up at the club that night, but he hadn't. And the next three days there was no sign of him either.

Best he stay away, they were from different worlds.   She was a hardened, tough police agent and specialist field operative, and he was a civilian, albeit a brave, head strong and impetuous civilian . But never the two shall mix in harmony.

Not surprising his absence was short lived.  For he pitched up at her door the one evening. He seemed to know she had a night off from the club. No prizes for guessing who was feeding him with intel.  Samantha was on the floor.   She was studying reels of photos covertly taken from the club and matching them to visuals she was receiving from a warehouse at the Durban harbour.

Blake watched as she casually gathered all the material together, slipped them into an envelope and locked it into her safe.  He did not know what was in the envelope.  For she'd answered his knock and hurried back into her living room.  And when he followed, all he saw was her sealing the envelope.   He took a moment to admire her.  She looked gorgeous in a chunky sweater and  skin tight denims ripped on the thighs and the knees.  She was bare footed and  she had beautiful small feet for a tall slender lady.

'What can I do for you Blake?' she unwisely asked.

He smiled and stepped towards her.   She instinctively stepped backwards, except there was not much further she could go when her shoulder touched the window pane.

'I want you Samantha,' he murmured as he pulled her into his arms.

She should have said, "No."

She should have pushed him away. But when his lips brushed hers, a muffled cry choked in her throat, her lips parted, desperate to feel and enjoy his kisses. He lifted her arms and placed it on his shoulders.   His tongue caressed the throbbing pulse on her throat, his teeth nibbled on her aroused and excited flesh. When his palm slipped under her sweater, he found it free, unrestricted, no bra.  He groaned, imprisoning her against his body in a vice grip. Holding her tightly, as his eyes sought hers.

'I love you,' he whispered huskily.

And then she shoved him away, and turned her back on him.

He could see her shoulders rise up and go down a few times, before her body stood ramrod still. And then she turned to face him again.

'Blake I don't want to see you. I don't want you coming over.  Stay away from me,' she instructed.

'What are you afraid of Samantha? What causes a lady with so much fire and passion to instantly become so cold and dismissive?' he questioned.

'N__nothing. I don't have time for__ for you__ for a relationship,' she escaped and stood behind the settee that separated them.

'You could make time for me Samantha.   I know you want me. I feel the chemistry and the attraction between us every time I look into your eyes and every time you're in my arms.

She shook her head vehemently.  Not sure if she was denying herself or what he had just spoken.

'I don't need confirmation from you Samantha. I know what my heart feels, and I know how you respond when you are in my arms. You felt the sizzling attraction between us, the very first day you stormed into my office.   Just as I had felt it,' he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She was so captivated by his words, that her eyes had not registered the few shorts steps he had taken to close the distance between them. And when he lowered his head and his mouth closed over hers, all she could do was wrap her arms around him tightly and participate in the earth shattering kiss. She hardly noticed when he gently moved her backwards, so that she was pinned against the wall. She hardly remembered to reject his advances when his fingers undid the zip of her denims and slid it down to her thighs. She purred her pleasure, when he lifted her sweater and his tongue caressed over the hardened nipple. She groaned delightfully as he inserted his finger into her moist womanhood and found her arousingly wet and ready for him. He drew her hand down to his trousers, urging her to unbuckle him. He was so hard, so erect, she could feel his piercing form through his trousers. She hastily ripped at the buckle, pushed the zip down, then slid his trousers down his waist, it dropped to his ankles, and he kicked it off.

He knew she was ready for him.   She was so beautifully wet. And with one quick thrust, he was inside her. Samantha cried out her pleasure. Blake lowered his knees and positioned himself to fill her with his engorged manhood. She groaned, pulling at his head, her mouth capturing his hungrily, their tongues wrapped erotically around each other, as he filled her with wave after wave of exhilarating pleasure, until they exploded. Unable to contain herself, her knees buckled.  Samantha slid to the floor, taking Blake with her.

Blake gazed into her eyes adoringly. His fingers tucked the loose strands behind her ear as he dropped a soft kiss on her lips. He smiled at her but she did not respond. Instead she pulled his head to her chest and hid her head against his shoulder.

What had she done? What the hell had she done AGAIN?

'I'd like to shower,' Samantha murmured, needing some space between them

'Can I join you?' he requested.

'Use the guest room,' she murmured, avoiding his eyes and hastily escaped to her shower.

But Blake was not to be put off.  He opened the shower door as she was wiping the spray of water off her face. She just stared at him.

'We made love,' he pulled her body flush against his. He was aroused all over again, when her wet breasts pressed against his chest.  'I know you enjoyed that as much as I did.'

She looked away, unable to deny the truth.

'You're not going to discard me like a soiled diaper,' he placed a finger under her chin and gently brought her eyes back to his.

Blake brushed his lips to hers, and she just gazed at him. He tried again to get a response from her.   His tongue erotically traced over her upper lip, he heard her soft whimper.  It was all he needed and his mouth covered hers.  Her palms cupped his taught buttocks.   Her pelvis pressed against his aroused form and he was making love to her again in the shower. When they were spent, he dropped liberal amounts of shower gel onto the sponge and scrubbed her back.   He poured gel on to his palms, and gently worked it all over her beautiful breasts arousing her all over again. He did not stop until he hand soaped and scrubbed every inch of her delightful body from head to toe. She had thought he had had enough of showering but she laughed, when he insisted she allow him to shampoo and condition her beautiful glossy mane of hair.

Samantha wanted to get rid of him but instead, he whipped out his mobile and ordered takeout pizza. He seemed to be a movie boffin of note and every time she could not guess a movie scene he enacted, he demanded a kiss. Eventually her lips were aching from all the kisses he demanded.

'This is not fair,' she complained, 'why don't you test my knowledge of history or geography, or music from the nineties?'

He laughed.

'And something else may surprise you,' she murmured, 'I know a lot about electric guitars.'

'No,' he groaned loudly, 'a piano or a violin makes beautiful music. Electric guitarists discovered their find by accident when a drunken hippie accidentally spilled his beer on the cords.'

'Is that a fact now?' a cynical smiled played across her face, as she snuggled closer to him.

He was sitting on the settee.   She was laying across on him, her head on his lap.  'I love you,' he whispered, when he caught her gazing at him.

'You're not staying the night,' she warned, springing off him before he could hold her prisoner.

She laughed when he reached out, but was too slow as she escaped him.

Blake stood up  and she realized her lounge was too small.

'Okay, I have nowhere to run,' she raised her hands in surrender, seeing she was boxed in by the settee and his towering frame, but you are not staying Blake,' she stepped backwards.

'You could run outside, and get onto your bike,' he teased.

She raised her eyebrows, 'you won't catch up with me,' she asserted.

'I will eventually Ms. St. Claire,' he pinned her in his arms, 'it's just a matter of time,' he promised.

Slowly but surely he seemed to be penetrating her defenses. Samantha was feeling like she was in a battle she did not want to fight anymore.

'I have things I need to do.  You must leave now,' she pleaded.

She was also not going to tell him that she was flying down to Durban for the next three days.   She had not told Trent either.  She had sent Trent to follow on a new lead by chance she got wind off.  He  knew that she only trusted him and Boyd in sensitive situations during field operations.  She'd received intel that Tobias was meeting an important contact in Mozambique, she had summarily dispatched Boyd to tail Tobias.  So the Department had sent somebody else to cover for Trent.

Samantha grasped for the rail that would assist her aboard the SAS Drakensberg.  She had just swam two hundred meters from where a speed boat had discreetly offloaded her into the warm Indian Ocean. Rendezvous with the South African Naval vessel was scheduled for nineteen hundred hours. If she had accurately calculated the time her swim would take, she was on schedule. Every move she made was always effected with calculated precision.   She prided herself on that.  She had even made allowance for the high tide waves that continuously threatened to toss her in the opposite direction of her intended destination. But she was an expert swimmer and outmaneuvered every wave that attempted to derail her.  Slipping her goggles off, she hoisted herself with ease up the short stairway that would get her on deck.

What Samantha had not bargained for was the reception party of half the ship's crew just ogling and drooling at the apparition that had just boarded their vessel from the depths of the ocean. Who could blame the men in uniform, who spent untold months on sea, when a strikingly gorgeous woman whose wetsuit did little to hide her stunning figure, emerged from the depths of the ocean?

She was definitely a treat to be ogled at.  Samantha cast a brief glance at the insignia on every man's shoulder.  She  identified the highest ranking officer, who was leaning against the rail and addressed him.  'Commander Prinsloo.   Senior Superintendent St. Claire, National Prosecution Services. I believe you are expecting me,' she extended her hand in greeting.

The Commander nodded and took his time to reach her.  Samantha slipped off the cap from her hair and shook her head, until her blonde curls came cascading down. She tried to ignore the sighs and groans from the younger officers who could hardly contain themselves.  As the Commander approached, Samantha was certain this officer had been in a training program with her dad some eight years ago. It was a long time ago, he was not of the rank of Commander then, but she never forgot a face.

'It's a pleasure to welcome you aboard the SAS Drakensberg Senior Superintendent St. Claire,' he smiled warmly.  'We are at your service. Please advise how we can be of assistance to NPS,' he invited, reaching out to her extended hand.

Samantha nodded and looked around at the men, 'I just need the assistance of one of your officers to assist me from your communications room,' Samantha requested.

'I'm off duty now, I can assist,' she heard from the one to her left.

'You know nothing about Communications,' another shoved the shoulder of the first.

'I know all about electronics and communications, and I have time on hand,' a third serenaded.

Samantha removed her backpack from her shoulder, slipped her goggles into its pouch.   She cast a glance at the Commander as if to say, "make the decision quickly, I need to get going."

'Senior Superintendent I'll assign Private Gator to you.   You'll find there's no electronics gadget he has not yet mastered.'

Samantha followed the finger of the Commander and her eye caught the attention of a young ruddy officer, whose ears had turned a bright hue of red, despite the coolness of the early evening. He smiled politely, but found difficulty in holding her gaze.

'Thank you Commander.  If we can be on our way,' she looked to the young officer.

'May I have a moment before you are on your way, Senior Superintendent,' the Commander placed his palm gently on her shoulder.

Samantha nodded.

'Back to your stations, officers,' the Commander instructed, which drew a chorus of  grunts of disappointments.

'With a surname like St. Claire, and a marked resemblance, you have to be General St. Claire's little one, right?' the Commander inquired.

Samantha smiled.   I recognized you from a training camp I accompanied my dad to,' Samantha offered, 'I wondered if you remembered seeing me there.'

I don't recall seeing you, but I don't think the General would have taken kindly to his students directing their attention to his daughter,' he smiled.

Samantha smiled politely, and flicked a glance at her wristwatch.

'Shout if you need any assistance whatsoever,' the Commander took his leave.

Samantha turned to get the attention of young Officer Gator.

He was nervously studying his shoes.

'Will you please direct me to the Communications Room,' Samantha requested politely.

Gator nodded, and dashed off at a speed, as if he needed to get away from her, and then remembered she needed to follow and reduced his speed somewhat.

She scanned the view around them, making a mental note of every vessel in the vicinity and located the single vessel her business was about tonight. Thanks to the satellite images that Jordan had forwarded to her, she was now within five hundred meters of the vessel with Tobias' Chinese kingpin aboard. She smiled to herself.  Trent would be spitting mad that she'd excluded him from this particular party.

All she had to do now was link her surveillance device to the Navy vessel's onboard computerized system to get visuals, then later tonight, she would swim out to the Chinese vessel, and exactly at the time the shift changed at the navigation station, she will plant her electronic magnetic device discreetly on the vessel and that would give her audio footage. The Navy's onboard system will link up with Jordan's system, and a Chinese interpreter will relay every word back to Samantha.

Samantha quickly removed all the electronic devices from the water proof container. She handed the joy stick like device to Gator to enable him to sync it to the Navy's system. His fingers scurried across the keyboard, pressing a few installation and set up commands, and within minutes she had a visual of young Gator himself on her screen.

She laughed when he got all embarrassed.  Samantha clicked on a few icons, requested an aerial shot and pointed at no particular object outside. Nobody need know which vessel she had under surveillance. When she dived into the water, nobody would know in which direction she was heading. Only the directions studiously ingrained in her memory will take her straight to the vessel in question.

'Officer Gator, pick any vessel outside, zoom onto the bridge, and bring up some images of some warm bodies out there, will you?' Samantha requested.

'Yes Senior Superintendent St. Claire,' he eagerly went about the task, like a kid with a new toy.

Samantha nodded, and smiled encouragingly.

'Senior Superintendent St. Claire, your visuals as requested,' he beamed excitedly.

Samantha smiled when she saw he picked the furthest vessel, that was the most difficult to capture, but with some finesse and tweaking he was able to brag about his accomplishments without saying a word.

'Well done,' she acknowledged, 'you can call me Samantha. What's your name?'

'Bernie, ma'am,' he studied his shoes again.

'I'll call you Bernie, if you promise to call me Samantha.'

'Yes ma'__ Sam__ Samantha' he mumbled.

'Okay Bernie,' Samantha studied her wristwatch, 'in precisely thirty five minutes, I'm going for a swim.'

His eyes widened as if she was talking gibberish.

'It should take me twenty minutes to get back to this ship, but from the time I hit the water, I want you to keep me on your radar,' she pointed to the joy stick.

His head nodded vigorously.

                                                                                  -end Chapter Twelve-