Chapter 14 - Beginnings

She was dizzy.

She was dizzy and her head was spinning and the only thing keeping her standing was his hand, strong on her neck, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened. She was vaguely aware of a few bar patrons walking past them, headed for the restroom. She was more aware of his tongue, searching her mouth, carefully avoiding the gap where her ill-fated tooth had once been.

Then his mood shifted yet again. He pulled away, staring at her, afraid of her reaction. "Sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have...not so soon after..."

Not so soon after she had cried herself to sleep, guilty over the man she had lost, and afraid she might lose another. Not so soon after she had woke to realize that she would probably cry every time she heard that song, and that Vaughn would always understand.

"No," she whispered. "This is right."

Before she had been recruited by SD-6, Sydney had been a terribly shy college student. It had taken months of training and several missions for her to learn how to instantly thicken her skin, to do or say whatever it took to get what she needed. She was still shy, but could leave it behind in a moment, become instantly brash.

Which was what she did when she reached around his neck and pulled his lips back to hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, wanting to be closer, so close there was nothing between them. The chills down her spine returned as he ran his fingers through her hair, followed by another, deeper sensation as his desire for her became more apparent.

Finally, she pulled back slightly, breathing heavily. "Vaughn..."

"Why don't you call me by my first name?"

She wasn't quite sure where that question had come from, particularly at this point and time, but decided to give it a shot. 

"Michael...Mike," she tried, frowning. "It just doesn't work."

Her next attempt garnered a much better reaction. "Vaughn," she said, voice deep and a little hoarse. "Let's get out of here."

She stopped him as they made their way across the bar, pulled him close for another kiss. Realized she didn't care that they were in the middle of a very-crowded bar. Didn't care if Will was watching. Only cared about his closeness, his hands roaming her back.

Her body was tense and aroused as she drove them to her house, wishing the old Land Rover wasn't a stick shift so she could hold his hand. So she could keep some part of her body in contact with his. He seemed to sense this and placed his hand on her knee. She responded by running a red light.

As they stumbled through her front door, lips pressed together, his hands toying with the straps of her tank top, she replayed every mission, every meeting, in her mind. Those memories overwhelmed her, and her eyes grew watery. Sensing the change in her demeanor, he pulled away.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she whispered, a smile overtaking her face. "I'm great." She took his hand and led him to her bedroom.

Coherent thought left her shortly after they reached the bed.

Hands. Lips. Clothes. Touch. Warmth. Chills. Pants. Naked.

Naked with Vaughn. Stunning self-consciousness accompanied this realization, not helped by the shocked expression on his face. 

"Wow," he whispered. "You weren't kidding about that bruise."

It had faded to the point where it consisted of an ugly shade of yellow intermingled with purple blotches, but was still clearly visible, trailing much of the length of her body on one side.

As he traced it with delicate fingertips, she remembered him calling her name, three times. His voice, pleading with her to get up. The relief she could almost feel through the radio waves when she finally did.

The memory prompted the tears in her eyes to finally spill over, and her mouth to say, as if of its own accord, the words stabbing at her mind.

"I love you."

He was quick to tell her the same.