Chapter 2

He just stood there, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and taunting her with those warm hazel eyes. She didn't know whether to slap him or inch forward close enough to taste the chocolate on his breathe and welcome the familiar sensation of his hungry lips on hers.

She would never admit this to him or even to herself, but since that night; the night Izzie saw Alex for the first time, she felt herself beginning to fall. There was something about seeing a man like Alex cry: a sensitive man who wore the rugged exterior to fend of childhood nightmares all too well. Something about the way he touched her face before leaning in to kiss her. Had she not known in her heart that it was wrong to act on her attraction to him that night, she would have welcomed his affectionate advances without question. Because every time he touched her, she felt flashes of what they used to be. And she had forgotten all those memories until that night. Now everyday she felt herself continue to fall deeper and deeper…

There had always been something about Alex Karev that Izzie never could quite shake, and this evening was no exception. If the denial of her current emotional attachments to him weren't enough, Izzie also had to pretend the physical chemistry existing whenever they were in a 5-mile radius of each other was just her fantasies getting ahead of themselves. Then again, he did just suck chocolate from her finger… So this might be harder than she thought.

After starring at him for a while in fake shock, she decides to play along. Playing with Alex was always fun, even if it did get her into trouble.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" Izzie sees him eyeing the bowl of chocolate and she steps in front of him, maneuvering herself in between Alex and the counter. He just smiles, resting one hand on the counter next to her hip and bringing his mouth right behind her ear.

"I would. That's why I asked babe." He attempts to snake his free hand under her arm but she swats it away quickly. Izzie turns to face him, alarmed to find his face inches from hers. She grabs the chocolate covered spoon and holds it defensively, pushing against his chest with her other hand. Alex takes a step backward but continues to grip the counter with both hands. She's amazed to still find him smirking.

"Well it looks like Mr. Grumpypants finally decided to cheer up." She hopes Alex can decode her teasing tone as a sign of genuine happiness over his mood change. "Looks like all he needed was a healthy dose of chocolate." She brings the spoon into the small distance between them, tempting him to take a lick.

He looks from her grin to the spoon and back suspiciously. "I guess so." As he draws his face toward the spoon, Izzie retreats her hand away from him. He follows the spoon as she extends her right arm as far as it can reach. He then looks back into her playful chocolate eyes.

"You're having way too much fun with this." She can still sense faint cynicism in his voice.

"Maybe I am." She brings the spoon back toward them and scoops a drop of chocolate with her finger. "You do remember what fun is…" Fully aware of his attentive gaze, she brings her finger to her lips and closes her mouth around the sugary substance, taking her time as she pulls her finger back out and peers back at him innocently. "Don't you Alex?"

Alex lets his gaze linger on her wet lips for a moment longer. With Izzie, he always felt lost in the dark. The last couple times he tried to kiss her, it had been off impulse and the hope that the glimmer in her eye was a reflection of the same desire he felt for her; the same hope he had for their second chance. But he had been wrong, and even Alex could acknowledge that his last attempt was for all the wrong reasons.

But tonight, things were different. Izzie was different. And it wasn't a glimmer he experienced when their eyes met. It was a roaring fire. He could have sworn he saw it building in her eyes for the past couple months too, but Alex always second-guessed himself when it came to her. Except for tonight. Tonight the invitation was most definitely there. However he knew when it came to her, it was all about power. And now that he had it, he relished in using it wisely, knowing that she could take it all away with one simple kiss.

Izzie's breath caught in her throat as he inched closer to her. She closed her eyes, waiting patiently for his hand to cup the side her neck and his tongue to find it's way into her mouth, roaming with just the right amount of hunger. But his lips never touched hers. Instead she exhaled deeply at the soft sensation of Alex's lips on her cheek. She felt his tongue lick a chocolate covered spot on her blushing skin as his hand found its way up to her neck.

Alex retreated slowly to find Izzie with her eyes still closed, lips slightly parted and her brow pinched in faint disappointment. He tucked a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear and brought his voice down to barely above a whisper. "Missed a spot."