Connor was stretched out on his couch, relaxing with a glass of his favorite scotch and a good book. He had been trying without success to read it for the past week but the presence of Katherine had proved very distracting. He still wasn't having much luck reading because of the giggling and laughter going on upstairs. Gwena had come over to help Katherine get ready for her date with John Clayton and the two of them were apparently having a very good time. He had stuck his head in earlier to see if he could *help*, but the outraged reaction of the two women when he had made that suggestion made him think that it would safer to face a den of hungry wolves than those two. He did the most prudent thing, which was to flee while he was still in one piece.

This whole affair had amused him greatly, from Katherine’s first hesitant admission to having made the date with the man in the first place; to her whirlwind shopping trip with Gwena. Connor couldn’t help but laugh to himself, remembering when she had come home, giggling like a schoolgirl with her arms overflowing with packages. She had been a little contrite about how much of his money she had spent, but the happy glow on her face had made it more than worth it. Of course, he had to have her try on each one of the outfits and model them for him, and he had had a great deal of fun removing each one of them from her.

SIMsCity was going to be a good experience for her, he thought. For the first time since she was a small child, Katherine was letting herself relax and have fun. Between playing with the band at Joe's, singing there once a week, her weekly appointment with Darius, her training sessions with Crystal, and her volunteer work at the day care she was keeping herself busy. And most importantly she was sleeping peacefully now for the first time since he had known her. Rayden had come by the next day after they had helped her defeat the night terrors, and the three of them had spent several hours talking about what had happened. The fact that they had tinkered with her mind while she slept had not bothered her nearly as much as finding out that every time he and her had made love, she tended to broadcast it to half the town. Connor chuckled to himself. He had been getting curious looks and friendly jibes from people all over town every day that week.

His reflections about what had been going on this last week were interrupted by the doorbell. "I've got it!" he called out as he jumped up to go greet Katherine's date.

"Good evening, John! Come on in", he said pleasantly to his neighbor as the two of them shook hands. "Katherine will be down in a minute. Would you like a drink? I have some nice scotch whiskey here or I can fix you something else."

"Scotch would be grand, Connor", John Clayton said as he sat down. "I do appreciate you being so understanding about this."

"No problem, John. If Katherine can accept without question my involvement with others here, it is just common courtesy that I do the same for her. I told you that when you called earlier this week and nothing has changed since then", Connor said as he took another sip of his drink. "Besides, I've been getting a kick out Katherine blushing crimson every time your name is mentioned. Apparently you made quite an impression on her."

Lord Greystoke laughed at that last comment. "The Lady Katherine made quite an impression on me too. There is something about her that made me want to grab her and carry her off to a tree house somewhere." With that he beat on his chest and grinned broadly. "Just like in those silly Hollywood Tarzan movies."

Connor just about choked on his drink as he broke out in laughter. "Oh God! I could just see you doing that too!" The two of them settled down and sat in comfortable silence awhile as they waited for Katherine. At the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs, both of the men stood up and turned in that direction, only to see it was Gwena instead.

"Hello John! Herself will be down in just a second", she said to him with a wicked grin on her face. "It took a wee bit longer than expected because the lass tried to chicken out at the last minute from wearing the dress we had picked out for this evening." She raised her eyebrows at Connor, who was chuckling quietly to himself. "Behave yerself, Connor!" she warned.

Before Connor could respond to that, their attention was drawn back to the stairs as Katherine slowly descended them. Gwena wasn't watching her because she already knew what her friend looked like. Instead, she was studying the two men, seeing what their reactions would be. She grinned broadly when both of them dropped their jaws and stood gaping in stunned silence.

The stunning young woman coming down the stairs looked entirely different from the one who normally tended to dress very conservatively. Katherine was wearing a short dark hunter green slip dress that had a slit on one side all the way to the top of her hip. The silky dress clung to her slender figure like a second skin, and it somehow made her appear that she had a great deal more cleavage than normal. Her golden hair framed her glowing face in soft curls and had with a small spray of little white flowers woven into it. Gwena had helped her apply just the right amount of makeup and it resulted in Katherine looking a lot older than she normally did. Connor could not resist whistling softly at her as his gaze traveled up and down her body.

John Clayton swallowed hard, then recovered enough to bow deeply and say "You look wonderful, Lady Katherine!"

"Woman, you look good enough to eat! Maybe I shouldn't let you go out after all!" Connor interrupted, a wicked grin on his face.

Before either Katherine or John could respond, Gwena grabbed Connor by the arm and steered him away, saying ""Oh no, ye don'! I hae plans for yerself tonigh' ennaway. Yer gonna shew me jus 'ow much ya appreciate my helpin' Katherine pik ow't all those sexy dresses for yew. 'Sides, we hae a lot o'catchin' up ta do, Connor, me lad." Whenever she spoke to Connor, Gwena's Irish brogue, normally a barely noticeable lilt, came out strong. Pushing Connor down hard onto the couch, she then turned to John Clayton and told him to get Katherine out of the house while the getting was good.

"Go on, Katherine honey. Have a good time. Try not to behave yourself for a change!" Connor said encouragingly, his arm wrapped around Gwena's small waist. "Looks like I won't be alone tonight after all."

Katherine smiled at the two of them, and then after wrapping a lacy shawl around her shoulders, placed her small hand in the crook of Lord Greystoke's arm and let him escort her from the house and into the night.

John Clayton and Katherine Dixon strolled around the city, enjoying the gentle evening breeze and getting to know each other as they talked. When he found out that she had not seen the fountain yet, John took her there, just to see her reaction. As they stood watching the cupids and little winged horses circling the pink marble fountain, Katherine shook with laughter.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder.

"It very unique!" she giggled as he pulled her close to him. He turned her body to face his and tilted her chin up so he could look down into her face.

"You, Lady Katherine, are the unique one", he said softly as he leaned down to brush her lips gently with his own. Katherine sighed softly as she closed her eyes and stood up on her tip toes, placing her hand around the back of Lord Greystoke's neck so she could deepen the kiss. This went on for several minutes before he reluctantly broke the kiss and stepped back, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it.

"At this rate, we will never make it to the zoo!" he said, his eyes shining with merriment. Katherine laughed with him as he put his arm back around her shoulders and led her away from the fountain towards their destination. Katherine could not help looking back at her fountain and giggling again at the sheer audacity of it.

Upon entering the zoo, the first thing she saw was a patio table set for two near the entry way. In the middle of the table surrounded by flowers and lit candles were several covered dishes and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket.

"I thought we would have a little bite to eat before we go out exploring", he said as he pulled out a chair for her. Katherine lowered herself gracefully into the chair. He then sat down beside her and opened the bottle of wine, pouring some for both of them. He could not help but admire how lovely Katherine looked in the combination of moon and candlelight. She cautiously sipped the wine as he took the lids off the dishes revealing kabobs laying on a bed of seasoned rice in one, and an assortment of tropical fruit on a platter on the other.

"It looks wonderful, milord!" Katherine said, her eyes reflecting back the light of the candles as she removed the shawl she was wearing and let it fall onto the back of the chair. John made no attempt to hide the fact that he was enjoying what he was seeing.

"Fitz does a wonderful job of catering", he said, still keeping his eyes on her as he filled her plate. "And please call me John. Or Johnny. Your choice. And I don't want you to play the stubborn little Scottish lass like you did with your friend the Captain."

Katherine raised an eyebrow and giggled. "He told you about that, did he?"

"Hmmm. Yes. He said it took a great deal of verbal persuasion before you relented and called him by his given name", he said as he filled his own plate.

"Persuasion? Interesting way to put it", she snorted as she slid the meat and veggies off the kabob. "And twas far from verbal. He had me up on a garden wall and was doing perfectly wicked things to me in front of God and everybody." Her eyes shone with mischief as she remembered what had happened. John looked at her in amusement and laughed as his vivid imagination filled in some possible details.

"I don't suppose you would let me do some of those 'perfectly wicked things' to you tonight?" he asked in a deep voice with just a hint of a low growl as his hand reached out to caress her face.

Katherine studied him for a moment, trembling slightly as she caught a glimpse of some of the primal urges he was keeping under firm control. Totally intrigued by what she was picking up from him, she ran her tongue over her lips slowly to moisten them.

"Maybe. If you think you can keep up with me", she said with a wicked grin as she then turned her attention to back to her food, doing her best to ignore the louder growl that escaped his control in response to her comment.

The growl turned into a chuckle and John Clayton turned his attention to the food as well, smiling in anticipation of what he hoped would follow the meal.

The meal went very well between them. Katherine had somehow managed to get the conversation around to his childhood in the jungle and he spent most of their time at the table sharing his experiences with her. John Clayton was inwardly amazed at how easy it was to open up to the tiny immortal woman sitting beside him, and he found himself talking to her about things he had never been able to fully express before to any other person. Her attention was stayed totally focused on him, and he felt she understood and accepted without question everything he told her. The way her clear blue eyes met and held his intense gaze without wavering pleased him to no end, very few people that he knew were capable of doing so.

Once they were done eating, he gathered up the remainder of the fruit and placed it into a small bag to take with them out into the compound. Looking up and down the petite woman, he frowned slightly at the shoes she was wearing, thinking they would not be very practical in some of the places he planned to take her. As if catching his thought, Katherine grinned at him and kicked them off, saying she preferred to go barefoot anyway.

"I hope you don't mind if I get a little more comfortable myself then", he said. Katherine giggled at him and told him to go ahead, watching with undisguised interest as he proceeded to removed his shirt and took off his boots. Then catching her eye so he could gage her reaction, he unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down. Katherine just raised an eyebrow slightly as the courtly Lord Greystoke stripped down to nothing but a leather loincloth. Without comment she noticing the many fine scars from both tooth and claw that covered his long, lean, and muscular body; fully realizing now what his childhood among the apes must had been like. John tied a leather thong around his waist and attached both the bag of fruit and a long narrow leather case to it. She finally broke down and giggled.

"I never thought that with this dress on, I would end up wearing more clothing than my date", she teased as she unabashedly admired his physique.

"Anytime you are ready, we can rectify that little situation", he said in a low husky voice. Katherine blushed a little, knowing for her to be wearing less than him again would involve her not having anything on at all. " Shall we go in then?" he asked, his strong hand reaching out for hers. Grinning broadly, she placed her small hand in his and he led her away from the sidewalk that surrounded the animal compound and through a gate into the huge open area where the animals roamed freely.

They hadn't even gotten more than few yards into the compound before several small monkeys appeared from nowhere and scampered up both John and Katherine. The two clinging to Katherine's neck and shoulders made short work of the flowers in her hair despite a warning grunt from him. Katherine and John spent the next several hours roaming from one end to another of the compound. She ended up with a chimp riding on her hip as well as the two smaller monkeys her shoulders and even tried, much to John's delight, to imitate some of the sounds that he used to communicate with them. The animals knew and trusted him, thus allowing the couple to get very near to them and in some cases even touch them. Katherine was having the time of her life as the Lord of the Apes gave her an up close and personal look at the animals he had in the zoo. They ended in the center of the zoo at a secluded pool of water surrounded by tall trees. A family of gorillas were foraging there, and they all ran up to greet their human master, surrounding him as he reached out to touch everyone of them as he talked back at them in their own language. Katherine was fascinated by all this, standing off to the side and watching them. He grunted at some of them that seemed equally fascinated with her, causing them to scamper off.

John then opened up the bag of fruit and distributed the contents to the apes, and they started to wander off to resume their foraging. Smiling broadly, John Clayton sat on a log and motioned for Katherine to join him. She walked over to him and stood between his open legs and stoked his face and hair, a wicked little smile on her face that was quickly fanning the smoldering coals of desire in his belly to a roaring fire.

"Are you enjoying yourself, my lady?" he asked as he drew her close to him till her slim body was in complete contact with his own. One of his hands traveled up to the slit in her dress and found it way under the back of her dress to caress her bare bottom, his breath hot on her throat as he struggled to maintain control.

"Very much so, John, very much so", she said as she cupped his jaw with her small hand and tilted his head up so she could kiss him softly. After a moment of this he released her and while watching her closely for any signal to stop, he took hold of the bottom of her dress and slowly started to pull it up. Katherine responded by giggling happily and raising her hands above her head to enable him to remove her clothing completely. Laying it carefully to one side, his hands returned to her bottom and pulled her close to him again, moaning softly as Katherine's warm naked body pressed hard against him and her mouth joined with his in a deep and sensual kiss. When they broke for breath he pulled her onto his lap, making soft little noises in the same language that he used to converse with the apes as his hand ran up and down her body. Katherine leaned her head into his shoulder, humming softly to herself as she enjoyed the feel of his body against hers and the touch of his hand. After awhile, he sighed deeply and sat her up straight so she could look at him.

"Do you remember the day you and I were in the aviary together?" he asked.

Katherine resisted the urge to giggle and answered "Oh course, John. You took me on a wonderful trip back to the jungle with all different animal sounds that you can make. It made me feel I was in the Congo again."

He smiled at her as his hand found her small firm breast and squeezed it gently. "You took me along with you on that trip, Katherine. Everything was so vivid I felt like I was there too. I can't tell you how fascinated I was by that experience. But I was just curious about a fleeting scene that I saw while we were on that journey", he said as he twisted her nipple between his fingers and pulled on it, causing her to moan and arch her back so her breast was pressed up against his exploring hand.

"Oh? Which one was that?" she asked, moaning again as he leaned over and captured the nipple with his mouth, sucking it hard as his tongue flicked over its sensitive end. He nibbled on it gently before releasing it and looking into her eyes again.

"I saw you sitting on a log like this next to a river and you were playing a flute. And all the animals in the jungle around you were quietly watching and listening to your music", he said as he continued to play with her hard little nipple.

"Hmmm. Yes. I used to go to that particular spot whenever I could. Sometimes the monkeys and birds would come so close to me I could almost touch them", she replied, lost for a moment in her memories. With that, his hand gave her breast one more firm squeeze and then went down to the leather case at his side. He pulled out it's contents to handed it to her. When Katherine saw the beautiful silver flute her face lit up like a happy child's and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight before taking the flute from his hand.

She slid off his lap and walked a few feet away from where he was sitting, raised the flute to her mouth, and started to play a soft mysterious melody that somehow spoke of the dark mysterious jungle to his heart and soul. John Clayton leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he drank in the beauty of Katherine standing naked and unashamed in the moonlight as she played her music. The apes looked up from their foraging and sat on the haunches, obviously as entranced by the magical melody as he was. He could hear the noises of the other animals in the background fall silent as well as they too stopped to listen. The music continued for quite awhile before Katherine let it softly fade into the deep silence of the night. He got up from the log and crossed over to her to take her into his arms again, holding her close without saying a word for several long minutes, breathing in the scent of her as they stood listening to the night noises around them slowly returning to their normal levels. Finally he stepped back, with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"How are you at climbing trees?" he asked with a wicked grin on his face. Katherine raised an eyebrow and laughed out loud.

"Not as good as you I imagine! But I can manage", she said as she chuckled softly to herself as he replaced the flute in its case and laid it carefully on her dress before leading her to a huge tree and lifted her up to the lowest branch. She scrambled up the tree, needing only an occasional boost by his strong hand on her bare bottom as he followed close behind her.

"This is far enough", he said as he stepped around her onto a strong branch, supporting her as she clung to the tree trunk. Looking around from their lofty perch she could see the lights of the city beyond the walls of the zoo and she gulped and clung tighter to the tree. "You ok?", he asked as he felt her tremble slightly against him.

"I guess I'm not much for heights", she said nervously, feeling better when he wrapped his arm tight around her.

"Hang on tight then", he said. It was then she noticed he had a vine wrapped around his other arm and his leg.

"Oh my God, John! You're crazy!" The last word came out in a high pitch squeal as he pushed off from the tree and swung with her across the deep pool below them. The squeal turning into a scream as he let go of the vine when they were over the middle of it and they fell together into water with a tremendous splash. Katherine kicked her way vigorously to the surface and tossed her hair back out of her eyes, an outraged expression her face and yelling at him in Gaelic. This just caused him to roar with laughter and push her firmly under the water again, delighted when she chose to respond by pulling him under as well by yanking on one of his legs. They battled fiercely for several minutes in the warm water trying to get the better of each other before finally pulling themselves up on the shore, choking and gasping for air to stretch on the soft cool grass.

Raising up on one elbow, John ran his fingers lightly over her lips before moving them softly down her neck unto her heaving chest, stopping to give a nipple a little twist again before descending yet further to her firm flat belly. His mouth found hers again as Katherine opened her legs, allowing him access to her hidden treasures. Her hips arched up against his hand as he explored her, inside and out, bringing her with agonizing slowness towards a climax. Finally she could stand no more and she pushed him hard back onto the grass, struggling to untie to wet leather drawstring holding his loincloth on. John Clayton laughed at the frustrated expression on her face and reached down to assist her in removing the offending article of clothing, releasing his erect manhood. He pulled her down on top of him, groaning with pleasure as his penis disappeared into her warm, tight moistness. He reached up to lift her off of him then arched his hips up to ram it back in hard, causing her to throw her head back and to gasp out loud. Groaning softly, she started to ride him as he pulled her shoulders down to kiss her again, one hand kneading a tiny breast and the other playing with her firm bottom as she rocked back and forth on top of him. He was not really surprised when he felt himself being drawn once again into what she was feeling, but the intensity of her pleasure combined with his was almost maddening as the rhythm of their movements increased in tempo and force. A few moments later they both cried out loudly as she went over the edge and his release followed right on the footsteps of hers, causing the curious apes who had gathered around them to scatter back into the trees. Breathing hard, Katherine collapsed on top of him and he held her tight to him, chuckling at the noisy reaction of his furred friends to their lovemaking. As they lay there together, their bodies still joined together, John Clayton could not help but wonder if his friend Connor really knew what a lucky man he was to have a woman such as Katherine. He was still mussing along that line of thought when Katherine raised up and looked him straight in the eye, a crooked little grin on her face.

"Again?" she asked, laughing wickedly as he groaned. Oh well. He had been warned.