He was beyond infuriated – first he was made to leave his cozy Baker Street apartment in the wee hours of morning (well according to him anyway, but he knew John would beg to differ) and then being told in the Buckingham Palace by none other than his pompous brother that he had an anonymous client just ticked him off. But seeing the pictures of Irene Adler tugged an unfamiliar feeling inside Sherlock Holmes – something that was new and foreign to him.

He knew the affair was simple; he knew it would be taken care of in a matter of minutes. But what puzzled him was his eagerness for this case – he was never excited about such a simple investigation before! Little did the world's only consulting detective know that his seemingly innocent curiosity was sowing the seed for something he wasn't ready to digest just yet.

XXX

Sherlock Holmes was puzzled. A naked woman had never alarmed him – but when Irene Adler walked in proudly into the room in her birthday suit, he felt the entire world around him go still. He just stared as she waltzed in and proceeded to sit on his lap, making a conscious effort NOT to look anywhere else but her face. He thought it would be easy to do so – after all he was never interested in trivial matters like sex. Imagine his surprise when there was this slight, naughty thought tugging the back of his mind - his eyes yearned to wander over her slight curves, his hands longed to touch the smooth, velvety skin… unknowingly he took note of her desirable measurements and locked them away in one of the infinite grooves in his mind palace.

Just when he began to lose himself oh so slightly in his mischievous fantasy, his faithful medical friend walked in, breaking the trance. His conscious, calculative mind was thankful for this interruption – he could finally get to work on something useful. 'Calm yourself Sherlock,' he told his confused mind, 'don't behave like John… you're here to observe, not see.'

Irene Adler positioned herself on the opposite side of the room. He continued to observe her as she perched herself on the sofa in a manner which left some of her attractive body to the imagination. He kept looking for the slightest muscle movement, the tiniest frown – but to his immense surprise, he couldn't read anything. Sherlock's mind swam around as he tried harder and harder to see anything about Irene Adler – but the longer he looked, the more confused he got. 'How is it possible for her to fool me!?' Then there was this other emotion in the deep recesses of his mind… something that was not Sherlock Holmes' regular cup of tea – awe.

Sherlock Holmes was in awe of this woman who was able to defy his observing eyes… who stood before so him defiantly, challenging his every move. His awe for her grew even more when he found out that she had sneakily hid a gun in the safe where she kept her camera phone.

Then there was satisfaction, this woman was smart, but not smart enough to beat him… or so he thought. He could have quietly left the house, handed over the camera phone to his brother and close the case. But he couldn't help but succumb to this little dancing thought in his mind – the thought of showing-off and impressing her. And when he did, he cherished the look of shock and amazement on her face. He had seen that look on other people before, but seeing it on her countenance gave Sherlock an immense satisfaction he couldn't exactly place.

But his satisfaction was short lived when she unexpectedly drugged him and took the phone from him. His ever alert senses did not see her coming. As he slipped into unconsciousness a wide range of emotions which he kept so carefully wrapped up surfaced – anger at being 'beaten', frustration for not seeing her coming, shame for being so helpless and the most of all – again, awe and amazement at this woman's intelligence and cunning mind.

His vision began to blur and he could hear John calling out his name, his voice laced with concern, but none of that registered in Sherlock's mind – all he could think of was that Irene Adler was just any woman… she was THE woman.

XXX

A/N: This is my first Sherlock fic, hope you guys liked it. I know I'm 2 years late to put up a story like this, but I was watching the episode again for the millionth time and I couldn't help but write this. I'll put up the next and final part soon – in the next couple of days mostly. Do review
Until the next update, Ciao!