Something awakened her. She lay tense with terror. Her eyes were wide, and a scream clogged in here throat, but no sound came out. Moonlight entered at the window giving a half-light, throwing other parts of the room into deeper shadows. Something crouched amid the shadows appearing to hover a ghostly, which moved towards her.

"Get back…" CC yelled. "Get back." She waved her hands around.

"No harm CC, just checking." CC places the covers over her head. "Go away. Go away."

She didn't even flinch when he opened the door and walked in. He saw that she was all curled in the bed with her back facing him. I don't have the nerve to wake her. But he was too late. He didn't have too. She turned at the sound of his voice or a voice, she wasn't sure. She turned her head towards him. He was about to leave the room.

"Yes, Niles." He quickly faced her.

"I just came to check on you. How are you feeling?" He slid a chair up to her bed. The chair scarps across the floor, which made her teeth cringe.

"Sorry." She smiles some.

"I'm better?"

"Why did you leave me here all alone?" she turned her head from his.

"I…." Niles was about to get up when she looked back at him. Her eyes had tears streaming from them. "Don't cry." He reached for her hand but she pulled it back. "You…. needed sleep. What you went though was terrifying."

"Terrifying? What are you talking about?"

"The ghost…in the portrait." Now she remembered. She reached up her arms grabbed his neck and pulled him closer to her. She clung onto him never wanted to let go of him.

"I guess I shouldn't have told you."

"I'm glade." She sniffed. "I'm glade you did."

"Then why are you strangling me?" She loosened her grip a little. Now he was able to breathe again. "Thanks." Came out hoarse. He rubbed his neck. Wow, she has a grip.

Held he out his hand.

"Come on I'll show you there's nothing in this house that can hurt you." he said, leaning as he came toward her once more. She took the risk why not what else did she have to lose? Tugging her towards the darken hallway of second floor excited him. Something forbidden, well he thought so. He wondered how many times he's been alone with her, easily thousands. Maybe even tens of thousands. Why was this time any different?

Maybe cause there would be no distractions, no one to 'break' then up if things got out of hand. She could feel the skin of his palm quiver and sense that lighting fast rush of blood racing through him as well as hear the shallowness of his breath. Swallowing hard knowing he was feeling the same thing she was wondering what on earth was going to happen next.

A picture hung on the wall, "her grand daughter is beautiful too."

"Say that again and again and I might believe you," CC said with a sigh.

"You don't believe it?" he looked over at her. She had this weird look like she didn't believe in herself at all. A frown lined her face. He knew that she had been hurt before but how much, what happened to her?

"You should believe me by now," he forcefully said. Yeah I believe you, like I believe in this curse. She said to herself. "Cause it's the truth." She still didn't speak to him. She just walked a little to the side. So he continued. "Who hurt you? Who did this to you?"

"No one did a number on me?" she looked at him and started to walk forward. "I'm just tired, stressed out that's all."

"That's not what I meant, not today. I mean… who hurt you enough to make you run away from guys."

"I don't run away. I'm just….." she started to have a flash back of a secret she was keeping from everyone. "What's it any of your business anyway." She started to yell at him.

"Something happened to you. Didn't it? Why wont you tell me?"

"Cause I don't wanta. Now drop it." He understood the look in her eyes.

"I understand. I'll be leaving." He said disappointed. He starting going the opposite direction then CC. He didn't want to argue with her. He wanted to remember what just happen as something happy well to him it was.

"I don't…" he turned to face her again. "Want to be alone."

Lighting crashed. "Ah," He grabbed her just in time. As she trip on the lose board near the edge of the stairs. He tried to steady her. She snuggled closer to him and his body hardened. Holding her was big mistake. He drew a deep breath, which was another mistake because she smelled like a garden of flowers. The hell of it was that she hadn't done a thing to detect his reaction to her.

The warmth of her breath on his throat and the slight shift of her thighs were playing the devil with his restraint. Wishing that he had put on a shirt and pair of jeans like he did for the construction site pictures that they shot with Maggie's boyfriend. CC pressed her hands up against his chest then thought about the time that he wore a tight shirt. CC started to remember how good he looked in it.

She wanted to tell him that day but never had the courage too. The same thing happened today. She didn't have any courage to tell him how she felt. He sighed and leaned down to kiss her forehead yet somehow it was her lips he caught beneath his lips. He found himself deepening the kiss searching for the sweetness he knew lay below the unhappiness. After a stunned second, CC's arms moved around his waist and neck.

He thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth, forgetting everything that just happened but the exploding heat, low in his gut. She'd never felt anything like the heat streaming through her blood, the tingles sparking deep in her core. The tense and grabbing sensation in her lower abdomen almost hurt. She had never felt this kind of feeling with any other man. Why this one? She wondered.

She felt so empty and so needy she knew that this man could fill her up with what she needed most of all. Softly he breathed as if talking to himself, "I've never felt anything so dammed soft." Sliding her tongue across his lips inside, delving into him like there was no one better in the world. With out warning he pulled away leaving the coolness of loss like a slap of cold water in her face.

"This isn't going to work." She stared at him looking downwards. She ran her hands across his pants.

"Seems to be working fine."

"Not that part," he started blushing again. Oh that felt so good. Focus Niles, focus. He shook his head of all the thoughts he wanted to do to her. "It wouldn't be fair," Even though he wouldn't mind. He wouldn't mind it one bit. "Not to either one of us to do this now…." a heartbeat passed, a long painful heartbeat.