Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. This is a short chapter to make the story progress, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 8

She could feel the intensity of his stare piercing through her. Actually, more than feeling it she could visualize it, vivid clear blue eyes observing her every move as she slowly made her way to where he was.

Maybe if she would do as much as lift her head she could reciprocate the stare, but the early morning sun was already high and bright in the sky and shinning directly into her face and she was evading the nuisance that was having the stubborn rays of light bothering her eyes.

That was the excuse, at least, the official version if you will, but the truth was that she wasn't looking at him because she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to do that yet.

Yes, it was true that ever since waking up she has been rehearsing the approach as if it was a very important meeting and by then she knew what she had to say and do, but the thing was that while making up the speech in the solitude of the shelter and then in the lake when she went to freshen up, she hadn't taken in consideration the effect those eyes still had on her.

And if she couldn't even look at him how was she supposed to tell him what she had to say?

"Good morning."

He was the one who spoke first and deep inside she cringed. She already started with the wrong foot and that couldn't be good.

But if there was something she was really good at was playing nonchalant and detached and that was what she was going to do. Keep it simple and professional, say what she needed to say and go. "Good morning."

Her voice came off a bit hesitant, but not something that worried her.

"So how was your sleep?" Now… his tone, very different from the one she just used was more cheerful than it had any right to be and she decided that it was time to look at him eye to eye and be done with it.

She had to lift a hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun, but she was still able to take a good look at him and she grabbed the opportunity to study the situation.

As he did every single morning, he was by the shore, preparing for another tryout of his fishing attempts. And as he was used to, he was shirtless and he was smiling at her. He was also very much focusing all his attention on her now, just as she predicted.

That definitely didn't help her case.

"It was good." Not that she has gotten much of it, not after the kisses they shared during the night. There has been a lot on her mind once she was in the shelter and shutting her eyes didn't come any easy. "How about you?"

"Bloody cold." He scoffed, but his features remained undisturbed.

At his reply, she lowered her gaze and ran the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth and focused instead on whatever it was that he was doing with the lining of a pair of storage bags.

He was ripping them apart and using them to do some kind of net he was tying to some sticks. She wasn't sure what that was for, but looking at it was better than to get caught up with feeling guilty about the fact that he spent the night out in the cold.

Not that it has been entirely her fault because yes, even though she has been the one who suggested that he remained out while she returned to the shelter, the truth was that after saying that he kissed her again and well, maybe she wouldn't have mind if he didn't do as she said.

Now that her mind was totally clear she was glad he did, because if the final decision would have really been hers, the results would have been terrible.

Her mind has been in the wrong place, not to say in the gutter, and adding to that the memory of the dream, the way he was kissing her while holding her close and yes, he had left her more than a little flustered.

She has even been surprised and perhaps a bit disappointed when he pulled away and said that it was probably better if he indeed remained outside. But she didn't say it, she just walked away, got into the shelter and spent half the night torn between going back to him or staying in her place.

At the end she opted for the safest option, but even though she wished that if it wasn't her, that at least he should be the one going to her.

That didn't happen, and now that morning came and the dream faded off her system, she was feeling well enough into her senses to come and make things clear with him.

Clearing her throat and tilting her face back to him, she folded her arms to her chest. "What happened last night can't happen again."

There, straight to the point as she liked it. She has never been one to beat around the bushes and this was not going to be the exception.

"Oh." He said, but even though his brows knitted some, his patented dimple smile still graced his face.

"Well now that we have that clear I'll leave you to whatever it is that you are doing."

"Can I ask you something?" He blurted as she was about to turn. He was now finishing with the improvised net and arching an eyebrow, she waited for him to ask his question. "Why is it that you are so afraid of me?"

Snorting at the absurdity of what he just said, she blinked a couple of times before replying. "And what makes you think I'm afraid of you? That's ridiculous."

He shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps I got the impression from the fact that you always try to put a barrier between us. You are extremely cautious not to let yourself get close to me and it seems like it is because you are afraid."

"That's one of the most absurds things I've ever heard."

"Probably. But like I said, just an impression. Don't mind me, I have this tendency of trying to read people and most of the time I'm pretty accurate."

Allowing her arms to fall to her sides, her lips twisted petulantly. "Maybe you are not as good at reading people as you thought you were."

He just smiled, and instead of letting it there as she knew she should, she held her head high and arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not afraid, mind you, I just don't want you to get the wrong impression about what happened-"

"You mean that you kissed me?" He said interrupting her.

She scoffed. "Excuse me? You were the one who kissed me." He started it, if he would have left her alone and kept his lips away they wouldn't be dealing with the aftermatch of it all.

Yes, she didn't make much of an attempt to stop it and may have even encouraged him, but it hadn't been her the one who started it.

"If that's your version of it…" He shrugged and she saw that his face had the same smug look as the night before.

It rubbed her the wrong way, not only because he was having fun at her expenses, but because the conversation was nothing like the one she had rehearsed earlier on. It felt as if she was stuck in a bad debate, one she was indisputably losing.

"It is. So let's just leave it there."

"Is that what you want, to leave it there?" His gaze went back to hers and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do." Or did she? She wasn't sure; she was a hundred percent sure that she didn't want to complicate her life more than what it was already but at the same time, his kiss woke up something in her she thought to be asleep. It was confusing.

"You, Regina Mills, are a terrible liar. I definitely would have expected better out of a Mayor."

Snarling her lips she did a double take. "And you are way over your head. You don't know me, Locksley, so don't think you do just because of a simple kiss."

He nodded, his free hand going to his face so he could scratch at the light stubble that has taken over his jaw. "Fair. I do not know you, but I think I'm starting to read into you. Took me a while to even start and haven't quite figured you out completely, but I'll get there. You can even help me a little you know?"

Once again keeping the conversation going when she knew she should cut it off, she shifted the weight of her body to her left foot and set her eyes on him. "And how's that?"

"Let's get out of this wretched sun first."

With that said, he grabbed her hand and guided her to the shadows of a few palm trees and then he made her sit with him. She went along, not even sure why. She even drank a sip of coconut water when he offered it.

"Alright. Maybe you can help by letting me in. I'm intrigued, Regina, you are an enigma wrapped in a riddle and I definitely want to figure you out. I want to get to know more of you."

Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed. "And what, now you want me to tell you all about me just because you are curious?"

"Well… yes."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I thought you already asked all you wanted to know about me through town." That was what he implied, and apparently Storybrooke's residents have been more than willing to share everything they knew.

"I did ask some, very professionally mind you, but I wouldn't say I asked everything I wanted to know."

His tone came low on his throat and she looked at him, taking quick notice on the glint in his eye.

It felt dangerous, but instead of telling him he should mind his own business instead of nosing in things that didn't concern him, she tilted her face and studied him.

"And what was it that you wanted to know?"

"Just about everything. Not the town's gossip and not what I could read from your file, but whatever I could find through you." He let the words sink in. "But you are quite a hard person to get to know; all you let people see is this… Madame Mayor that's a bit too haughty for her own good."

"Maybe that's all there is to see."

"No it isn't. But that's what you want people to think and even stranded here you try to cling so hard to that image and for some reason that makes me want to tear those walls down even more."

She puffed out a breath, tilting her head down so she could escape the way he was staring at her. "I think you'll be highly disappointed… if you did get to know me." And she really believed so, he was digging on infertile ground.

His hand came to her face and he brushed her hair behind her ear. The act made her look back up and once again their eyes ended up fixed onto one another's.

"I don't really think that's possible."

She saw his intentions from a mile away; she saw it in the way he moved closer and on the way his hand slid to the back of her head to hold her still. But even though she saw it coming, she did nothing to make it stop.

No, she just closed her eyes and allowed him to get near enough for him to end up kissing her lips. It was a chaste peek though, brief and soft as a butterfly's touch.

Pulling her face an inch away and blinking her eyes open, Regina licked her lips and blinked slowly. She wanted to ask what he was doing because she basically just told him they couldn't be kissing anymore, but the words got caught in her throat and instead she watched in silence as he leaned forward to once again close the distance and kiss her.

With this new contact, he sought entrance into her mouth and she granted it, the feeling of his tongue sneaking into her mouth to swirl against her own while his fingers buried themselves into her hair making her sigh.

He didn't linger too long though and pulling away, he smiled. "Kissing you is certainly not disappointing."

Scoffing and biting on her lips she rolled her eyes. She didn't say anything thought and just lowered her head when his thumb came to smooth her cheek.

"Let's do something tonight. I'll treat you to dinner under the stars, cozy bonfire, waterfront panorama and some exotic cuisine. You'll love it so much that you won't mind telling me more about yourself."

Scrunching her nose, Regina moved her head to him. "I don't know, that setting is getting kind of dull now." She said that because what he described was very much what the did every night since they got stranded in the Island.

"Then I'll have to find a way to make it oven more special." He didn't give her time to think about it. No, once he said that he kissed the corner of her lips and getting up to his feet he left to keep on with what he has been doing.

Regina just watched him leave, wondering what the hell happened that she didn't cut whatever it was that was going on with them as she had it planned.

And as she wondered about that, a thought came into her mind that made her snort and maybe even blush.

She thought that maybe she should go with whatever flow the current would take her because after all, what happened at the Island, stayed at the Island…

TBC