I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE NETFLIX SHOW DAREDEVIL OR THE CHARACTERS USED IN THIS STORY (EXCEPT FOR ESME JACOBS, SHE'S MINE) AND I'M NOT MAKING ANY SORT OF PROFIT, THIS IS WRITTEN PURELY FOR FUN.

A Detail Escapes Him

The Scent of Burning Wood

PART TWO

I'm On Fire

The sign for "Pyro Art" was hung outside of the small shop that stood out against the Starbucks and Chinese restaurants. It would have been much better across the street with the tattoo and piercing parlor. James found himself liking how it stood out against the yuppies and designer baby families that rushed by, not paying it another glance.

It was an odd commodity.

James entered the establishment and his senses were immediately assaulted by the scent of burning wood. Very powerful and strong. An open window filtered out the smell and the light smoke was being taken up through a vent but the smell had sunk into the walls. Behind the counter, in a workshop, a feminine figure was hunched over her work station. James recognized the short blonde hair sticking out of the helmet.

Esme noticed him and turned off her torch. She smirked. "Well, if it isn't the man who never was. I was beginning to think you were a figment of my silly imagination." She said removing her protective helmet and gloves. She wore a leather apron with the name Ezzy stitched into it. James smiled and approached the counter.

"I'm afraid I'm here on business." James said, but Esme wasn't buying it. He could tell. God, how could he know that? How could he sense what she was thinking? How could he read her facial expressions so well after only having met her once before. James quickly looked her up and down, taking in the sight of her. The calm and uneasiness of her two different colored eyes. They were beautiful. She wore tight fitting blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Business? Are you interested in art? Well, my kind of art anyway." Esme said stepping out from behind the counter. James smiled and took in the art around him. A lot of it looked original and a lot of it was actually good. Seeing it in person was different than seeing it on a website where the pictures may have bad lighting or something else within the picture that he would find distracting. Like Esme posing with a man near one of her pieces.

"I'm here on behalf of my Employer," James started as he walked towards a wall of various pieces. Esme followed him. "Employer? Sounds very important. I'm honored." Esme teased, he could tell she was trying to flirt with him, perhaps try and recreate some of the "magic" they had shared the other day. Recapture it like water escaping from a glass, slowly.

"He's decorating and is looking for some art. I thought perhaps he might like something of yours." James explained. Esme nodded her head and crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. Her hands were slightly dry, probably from not being exposed to air or lotion. Her hair was a little messy from her helmet.

"And just how did you find out where I work, James?" Esme asked him. But this didn't make James nervous. He would answer honestly. He didn't need to set people up to watch her or follow her.

"I... Googled you." James answered honestly. Esme seemed to like his answer. "Is that as creepy as it sounds?" She asked him, that smile still hadn't left her face. James shrugged.

"Probably." He answered simply. There was a pause but it wasn't awkward. It was just a simple stare they held and shared. It was a private and intimate and completely silent conversation. The attraction between them was palpable. Almost as strong and intense as the smell of the burning wood behind the counter top. Esme's smile faded and she drew her bottom lip into her mouth slightly, it wasn't really a bite but an expression of yearning she couldn't seem put into words.

Esme moved away, suddenly breaking their eye contact. She turned the "open sign" over so it read "closed". She locked the door and pulled down the blinds. Her hand lingered on the blinds, her back to him. "Your... Employer, he wouldn't like anything in here would he?" She asked him quietly. James knew she couldn't see him but he nodded anyway, slowly moving towards her. His steps calculated, precise. Detailed. "Then... am I correct in assuming this isn't a business visit?" Esme asked, her voice still quiet. There was a slight raspiness to it that James felt utterly drawn to.

Esme turned her head a little, her back still to him. He was there. Tall and surrounding her. There was no noise just their breathing fusing together as one long heady pant. James pressed his lips to her forehead and they lingered there as she turned around to face him. As soon as she faced him, his hands came up to grasp her neck in both his hands. He wasn't choking her, he wasn't even squeezing... just holding. His mouth slanting over hers. Her hands gripping his wrists; she didn't know where else to put them.

It all moved so fast. One second James Wesley was walking down the sidewalk the next he was nearly splattered all across the street only to be saved by this tiny little creature; like she was plucked from a novel and placed in his life for a... reason? James Wesley tended to lean towards the phrase "everything happens for a reason". And after Esme had pulled him away from certain death the first fleeting thought, before seeing her face and his mind went blank for a tiny second, was how would his Employer get along without him?

But now, with Esme pressed so closely against him, her mouth moving across his, his Employer was almost a distant memory. The kiss was slow at first; just a gentle pushing and pecking of lips. When James went in for a third kiss her mouth peaked open just a little, a clear indication she wanted more, and he couldn't restrain himself. His hand slid down her neck to her waist while his other played in her hair. Esme moaned in the back of her throat and he pressed her against the wall. Her hands moved down to her suit and unbuttoned it, her hands spreading across his stomach and up his chest.

James pressed himself closer to her, as close as he could get and it still wasn't enough. She was still out of reach even if her tongue was in his mouth. Their kissing became deeper and rougher. She ran her fingers through his hair. He pulled away and removed his glasses and placed them inside his suit jacket and went after her again with even more vigor.

They didn't speak; they didn't need to.

Esme's scent was all encompassing; the faint sweet scent of her perfume hidden beneath layers of something smokey, something bitter but refreshing and harsh. The smell of burning wood corrupting him; and a man like James Wesley was beyond anymore corruption. He was a man beyond the definition of saving. Not that he needed it or wanted it. But in the moments lost between Esme's sweet tongue, her nature, her scent he felt himself desiring to be more than what he was. He wasn't a good man some might even call him the worst of men and he wouldn't be able to disagree.

Is this was falling feels like? Begging that you'll be good enough for a few more moments with someone you care for? Is falling more like floating in a sea of sounds and smells and desires yearning to be more than what you already are? James Wesley didn't have the answers to any of these questions and he didn't think anyone truly did; all he knew was that Esme was corrupting him in a way he had never been corrupted before.

James felt like he was being saved, being carried out of the shadows, reborn anew. He also felt like he was drowning in a cloud of smoke; being choked and tethered to something he never asked for. And no matter where he went in his life or how long he had left to ponder these thoughts or hold or kiss Esme or wonder at the future, the scent of burning wood would cling to him, adhere to him forever. Esme burned him in a way that he hated and craved.

They broke apart briefly and he gazed into her different colored eyes, a complex and dizzy look glazed over her them; fire and ice, love and hate. They were smooth and glassy and silently begging him to keep going.

James was about to oblige when his phone began vibrating. He groaned and pressed his forehead to hers while with one free hand immediately answered the phone. His voice was composed and without a trace of annoyance. He didn't even sound out of breath. Esme, for some reason, wasn't even hurt that he chose whomever was on the other end opposed to her.

"Yes, Sir. I understand." His voice was completely different. It was sharp and the playfulness she had liked about it completely disappeared. It was replaced by this cold, clinical almost robotic voice. The man stood straighter, his head held higher. Esme wondered briefly who was on the other end, his boss it must be. James spoke as if his "Employer" was in the room with him, staring behind Esme as if his boss had taken shape right in her shop.

Esme leaned forward and began planting lingering kisses along his neck. She noticed a muscle twinge in his neck and knew he was having a hard time restraining himself.

"Very good. I will. Goodbye." James hung up and pocketed his cellphone. He placed his hands on Esme's shoulders and suddenly his own shoulders relaxed. "That was a very dangerous thing to do." James said, meeting her eyes once more. Esme smiled. There he was, there's the man who came into her shop. "What? You've never done something like that before?" Esme countered. James was about to reply but instead he kissed her again.

When he pulled away Esme rested her head on his chest.

"Do you have to go?" Esme asked. She felt James nod his head.

"Yes. I'll contact you." James said and pulled away, Esme straightened his tie and buttoned his suit for him. There was something very sexy the way she did it, her fingers playing with the center button like she wanted to tear it off. "Contact me? It sounds like I'm part of a business plan not a person." Esme said and James sighed.

"I apologize. I'm in... work mode." James explained. Esme leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"I guess I'll be waiting for your call." Esme said and James nodded and headed for the door.

James didn't look back. Like he said, he was now in work mode.

A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story so far. You can follow me on Tumblr by searching for intheruinsofhislove. Please review! :)