I just realised I have no open stories on FF at the moment, which is a fairly strange feeling. It had been a long time since the last part of the Simon epos, so I though it's time to move on. The idea has been lingering on my mind for a long time, and I simply could not resist writing it. The first chapter is a little bit different, but else I plan to make a story a bit darker, so don't be afraid it will be a rosy love-story. But I promise they won't argue anymore! What you can expect: a chase, bad guys, emotions and (hopefully) an interesting twist.

This is a sequel to my two previous stories (New adventure of Lara Croft and When the sky is falling). If you are interested of their history, read them as well. Else the story would be understandable without those as well. That golden book is what Lara and Simon were after in the second part. Now it's time to find out what it's all about!

Let's start a new adventure and hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Reviews are always welcome!

Lara loved these mornings. As much as she longed for adventure, these quiet, peaceful moments pleased her. Lying in his arms, enjoying the silence. She had found her peace of mind.

The small room with the white walls... it brought back so many memories. It connected the past, the present and hopefully the future. Lara wanted to believe it. Maybe for the first time in her life she wanted to believe in stability. A man standing to her and accepting her as she was.

Simon's arm was lying on her stomach, keeping contact, but at the same time giving her the freedom she needed. It was all so natural and Lara was not afraid of it anymore. When she raised her left hand, the simple, silver ring glinted on her finger. It wasn't a strange feeling to see it there as she thought it would be.

No, she actually liked looking at it. It showed they belonged together.

He stirred, shifted, pulled her closer. His slight stubble touched the soft skin of her shoulder, and Lara liked the feeling. There was utter silence around them, only her soft, dreamy moan broke it when his lips touched her skin. Why did she feel so much like a woman when being with him? So soft and emotional. Where was the tough, strong adventurer she always had been? She simply melted in his arms whenever he touched her and did not mind it.

When Simon had come to her study last evening, she had admittedly raised a brow. Since they had arrived back from Panama, she had spent a lot of time working on that golden book, and he had always been patient with her. When he had come for her though, taken her hand and pulled her out of the room, she had known she did not want to resist. Without saying a word, he had led her to the car, gently pushed her in and drove to the city. As he had stopped in front of the house she knew so well, there had been a smile on her face. Simon had taken her, had her, become one with her, giving her the most beautiful night of her life. And Lara knew the feeling would last forever.

Now he slowly opened his eyes, fixing his gaze on her. When their eyes met, Lara smiled at him and felt so tender.

"Hey," he said in a low whisper. His hand that was lying on her stomach, gently moved under the blanket to meet her warm skin.

"Hey," she answered back, wetting her full lips, still feeling his on them. "Been a long time since I was lying on this bed." She looked around, searching in her memories.

"I never want to see you like that again." He raised his head, supporting it on his elbow. He reached out, brushing a curl of hair out of her pretty face. Watching her like this was simply amazing. Knowing all those little scratches and scars on her body, remembering the way she had reacted to his touch, her screams of pleasure echoing in his head still. The first time she had lain on this bed, she had been all broken, injured, suspicious. This time she was all his, willing and gorgeous. Already that time he had known he would never want anyone else.

"I can't promise anything," she teased him a bit, but Simon put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Please don't say this." He did not want to hear it. She, being hurt. Never again. Even though Simon knew he could not stop her, and did not really want either, at that moment all he wanted was to be with her, to spend a few silent hours without the feeling that danger was lurking everywhere.

So he gently pushed away the blanket, revealing her perfect body. She did not resist, neither did she say anything. His fingers ran down, absentmindedly tracing the soft curves of hers. There was nothing greedy or hungry in it. Only a move of pure admiration. His fingers were followed by his eyes, and Lara enjoyed the sensation of being watched by him. That glinting appreciation in his stare. He moved above her, taking over the place of the blanket, smoothly covering her body. All was so calm around them, so strangely undisturbed. As if the world out there ceased to exist and only the two of them were left alone on this small island of stillness.

"I love you so much," he whispered softly, not moving his stare away from her. Not even waiting for her to answer, his lips stole a gentle, slow kiss from her. The laziness of it sent a familiar thrill through her and she welcomed the feeling. The memory of their first kiss ran back to her mind. How different it had been back in the MI6 house. That time it had been simple attraction, now she felt so much for him. More than for anyone else in her life before. The end of the world could have come now, and she would have happily gone down in his arms. He moved lower. Brushing his lips tenderly along her skin, he planted an innocent kiss on her belly, breathing in the sweet scent of her. Her body arched slightly to him in answer. Not wanting to get caught by passion this time, he pressed his face against her stomach, his stubble caressing her skin. Her fingers skimmed through his hair, and they embraced this silent moment together. Words were not needed, they sensed each other in a deeper way than ever before.

The soothing silence was suddenly disturbed by the stern vibration of her phone on the bedside table. No sound was turned on, only the rumbling on the hard surface could be heard. Lara winced, trying to close out the outer world. It was still too early, she did not want to get back to reality yet. She could feel him moving a bit, just enough for her to realise. Closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh of surrender, but then the phone went silent and Lara felt grateful. She wanted this moment to last a bit longer still, just a few seconds…. a few minutes or hours. It did not matter. She could have just stayed in this bed with him forever. The stillness returned only long enough to be disturbed by another rumbling of the phone a few seconds later.

Lara frowned, somehow feeling in her bones that this was not a good sign. Shifting a bit, she reached out for it to see it was Winston calling her. Annoyance turned into curiosity, then again into worry.

"Please… don't take it." Simon looked up at her, kissing his way up to her neck. "I need a bit more time for us." He smiled a bit, trying to take the phone out of her hand.

"I have to take it." Her tone somehow scared him. There was worry in her voice even without knowing what the message was. She moved the phone to her ears. Simon rose a bit, starting to feel more and more concerned seeing her face.

"What?" she asked suddenly, sitting up with a quick move. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" he looked at her, but she did not answer.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." She answered to her butler, trying to jump out of the bed right away, but Simon stopped her.

"Tell me what happened." He held her arm, looking at her so intensely that it calmed her just a little bit. Only for a fraction of a second.

"Someone broke into the manor. The book is gone. We have to get back." Even if her face looked worried, Simon was grateful to her for using 'we' instead of 'I'. Maybe for the first time Lara thought of them as a unit, sharing her problems with him.

"Get dressed, I'll drive." He let her hand go, starting to find his scattered clothes as well. They only needed five minutes to get ready. This time the small car rushed through the city with an incredible speed. No sightseeing, no gentle turns. They did not talk, but he knew what was going on in her head.

"I'm sorry," he said, thinking she blamed him for taking her away from the manor last night. Blamed him for losing the book.

"Don't say that." She looked at him, caressing his face with the back of her hand. Even in this tense moment she found a way to give him some tenderness that meant so much to Simon now. As if she was reading his mind, she knew what he had meant and told him with those three simple words he was not right.

They just turned in through the gate of the manor when it happened. Simon had no idea why but he lost control of the car. There was a loud explosion, the vehicle flipped around. There was smoke, blinding light, loud crackling, windows smashed. He felt pain, lost his sense of direction. Everything happened so fast that Simon had no time to realise it. Lara was on his mind. He reached out to her, but then the car bumped into a tree and his head hit the door hard. All went black…

...

Simon groaned out loud when he came round. His hand reached to his head that was ruefully pounding in pain. For a moment he had no idea what had happened. All he could feel was pain everywhere. He smelled smoke. It took him several seconds to grasp that the car he was sitting in had turned upside down and he was still attached to the seat by the safety belt. When his fingers found the belt, he pushed the button, releasing it. He dropped painfully to the ground… well, actually to the roof of the small car.

"For God's sake" he groaned out, trying to find out where he was. He could hardly see anything, the smoke burning his eyes, blurring his vision. Driving through the city… the phone call… the book. Suddenly it all came back to him. Lara! He looked around desperately. The realisation hit him harder than any physical pain. She was gone…