Author's Note: Okay, this chapter is a bit of a higher rating than the previous ones. I had a bit of trouble with it too, which is why it took so long. Hope everyone seems in character and I hope you enjoy!

Cheeky.


Never Broken

By cheeky-chaos

Chapter Nine:

Gobi Desert

The heat blasted through me like a furnace as sweat dripped from my skin. It was so unbelievably hot out here. I mean, I know it was a desert, but come on! Sark and I had left the jeep at the beginning of a deep canyon as it was unfortunately too narrow to drive through. This meant we'd spent the last hour slogging through the heat, the sand and the unforgiving sun – which somehow still managed to beat mercilessly down on my head despite the high canyon walls. This was worse than the Himalayas!

I was dressed for the trek in boots, khakis and a loose shirt over a white tank, with a hat and sunglasses. Sark was dressed the same, except his tank was black – he seemed incapable of going anywhere without wearing one article of black clothing. I'd already teased him about it, which, let me tell you, is quite a surreal experience.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate Rambaldi?" I grumbled to Sark when he stopped briefly for a drink.

He shot me an amused glance as he drank and I was distracted momentarily by his bared throat. Despite the heat and the sweat, it looked good enough to nibble. "You might have mentioned it." Sark replied, breaking into my thoughts.

Taking a drink myself, both to distract myself from dangerous-while-on-a-mission thoughts and because I needed it, I let the sweet, if warm, water slide over my tongue and pretended I was somewhere else; away from the heat and sun and threat of psychotic bad guys on our trail. "The beach." I muttered.

"The beach?" Sark echoed, a little confused by my seemingly random statement.

"I want to be at the beach." I explained as we began walking again. "Sipping one of those drinks with an umbrella in them. Or swimming."

Sark grinned. "Behave yourself and I might just take you." He teased.

I smiled back, still feeling the warmth that had spread through me at his gentle teasing. It wasn't malicious or an attempt to gain the upper hand, just relaxed and genuine. "Same goes for you buster!" I shot back.

"Buster?" Sark repeated, sounding a little offended.

"Mr. High-and-mighty?"

Sark glared. "I think I preferred 'Buster'."

"What about: Mr. I'm-so-badass-I-have-to-wear-black-all-the-time?"

"Sydney…" Sark sounded amused, yet annoyed, but trailed off as we rounded a corner and came face-to-face with what we were looking for.

The temple that housed the map was tall and imposing, carved right out of the dark brown canyon walls. The entrance gaped wide, full of shadows and reminded me of a monster's open mouth, just waiting for someone stupid enough to enter. A shiver slid down my spine. I didn't need the Rambaldi symbol above the door to tell me this was a bad place.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." I muttered to Sark.

"Me too." He agreed.

Cautiously, we walked through the entrance and into the shadows beyond. My muscles tensed, expecting something bad to happen. When nothing did, instead of relaxing, the tension seemed to grow. Sark clicked on one of the torches we had brought, as I dug in my pack and did the same.

The light illuminated centuries of dirt and sand that had been blown inside and the odd bit of evidence that the temple had been stumbled across once or twice over the years. Nothing indicated, however, that they had used the temple for anything but shelter.

Making our way deeper into the temple, I noticed with some delight that the temperature was cooler. It wasn't much, just a degree or two, but that, combined with being out of the unforgiving sun, made me feel a lot better. At the back of that I can only really call the entrance hall, we found a tunnel that led deeper into the rock. With a nod to Sark, I disappeared down it, comforted by his familiar presence at my back. The deeper I went into the passage, the closer my hand seemed to drift to my gun. Shooting a glance at Sark through the shadows, I noticed his hand was doing the same.

Gradually, the passage seemed to slope upwards, before opening up into a large and brightly lit room. I switched off my torch, not needing it anymore. Bright shafts of sunlight poured in from the small holes in the ceiling, colouring everything golden. I raised my eyebrows in surprise when I caught sight of the floor.

A large map completely covered the sandstone floor, still brightly coloured even after the years that had gone by since it had been painted. It looked slightly odd to my eyes, skewed slightly compared to the maps of today, but it was surprisingly accurate for the 15th century.

"Wow." I said. "Think we're going to have a hard time rolling that up and taking it out of here."

Sark smiled slightly at my weak attempt at a joke. "We'll just have to read it here." He said. "Then destroy it."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

We set to work, retrieving the Watchglass from our packs and trying to find an indication of how to use it. Spotting a shaft of sunlight that appeared brighter than all the others, I wandered over to it, carefully skirting the map. I smiled triumphantly when I spotted the niche in the floor where the shaft landed. "Found it!" I called. "Hand me the Watchglass, will you?"

Sark raised an eyebrow in curiosity, before walking over and passing me the Watchglass. Carefully, I took it from him and our fingers brushed. Suddenly, I felt like a teenager all over again. It was insane! Shooting him a shy smile, I crouched next to the niche and he followed, crouching on the other side.

"So it fits in there?" Sark asked, indicating the niche.

"I think so." I nodded.

Still very careful, I fitted the base of the Watchglass into the niche and it sank in with an audible click. Almost immediately, the bright sunlight filtered through the lens of the Watchglass, diffusing across the map in the shape of the Rambaldi symbol.

"Okay." I said as I stared at the map. "Any idea how to read this?"

"I'm afraid not." Sark replied.

I blew out a frustrated sigh, still crouched by the Watchglass. "Stupid Rambaldi!" I muttered under my breath. "So where is that?" I asked in a louder voice, pointing to the spot on the map that fell in the circle part of the symbol.

Sark leaned over and read the markings. "The Atlantic Ocean." He answered.

"Oh."

He smiled at me, a real knock-out smile. All I could think was 'Wow!'. I think I even forgot to breathe there for a second. "When you said you wanted to go swimming, you weren't kidding, were you?"

I smiled a little sheepishly. "Guess I'll have to work on my subtlety, huh?"

Sark chuckled. Then, suddenly struck by a thought, I turned back to the Watchglass. "Hang on…" I muttered.

Carefully, I reached out and turned the Watchglass so it was facing the opposite way. I grinned in triumph when the map lit up a different way, this time showing us a path. "Impressive." Sark said, his eyes on me, not the map.

I blushed a little as I grabbed paper and a pen from my pack, which was thankfully nearby. I quickly sketched the location on the map and jotted down what looked like the coordinates. "Where is that?" I asked absently. "Colombia?"

"Possibly." Sark replied. "Somewhere in the Amazon definitely."

"The rainforest?" I said with disgust. "Great. We're trading sand and almost unbearable heat for bugs and almost unbearable humidity."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Sydney?" Sark asked.

"In my other pants." I quipped.

Sark chuckled. "Try and focus on the fun parts, Syd."

"What? You mean the snakes and the leeches and the bad guys on our ass?" I asked, trying to ignore the strange flip my stomach did when Sark used my nickname.

Sark shook his head. "You have a weird sense of fun. I meant the romantic atmosphere and the thrill of exploration."

I shot him a disbelieving look. "You've never been to the Amazon, have you?"

"I try to avoid anywhere with snakes large than me."

Shaking my head at the disgust in his tone, I concentrated on finishing my drawings. When I was done, Sark carefully removed the container of acid he had brought and poured it all over the map, dissolving the pain and making it unreadable. As soon as he was done, he turned to me. "Let's go."

We quickly made our way back along the tunnel to the entrance hall, before I was suddenly yanked backwards as Sark flattened me against the rough wall. I frowned at him when I felt his tense muscles, before I heard the sound that had put him so on edge. Someone was out there!

I drew my gun even as I nodded to Sark, letting him know that I knew someone was out there. Sark remained pressed against me and try as I might, the sensation of his chest pressing me into the wall was distracting me from what I was supposed to be concentrating on.

He bent his head to my ear, his warm breath on my skin sending tingles down my spine. "There's no cover out there." He whispered. "Our best chance is to find cover in the canyon."

I nodded and Sark stepped away from me, leaving me feeling strangely bereft. He drew his own gun, before we both exploded out of the tunnel. I heard cries of surprise as I sprinted past and got off a few shots before the Covenant team had time to bring their guns up. Beside me, Sark was doing the same.

Using the advantage of surprise as best we could, Sark and I darted out into the merciless sunshine, gunfire following us from inside the temple. I gasped in surprise when I saw what was waiting for us just outside. It seemed the Covenant wasn't taking any chances.

Bullets bit into the sand inches from me legs as I changed direction suddenly, still firing as I went. Sark was a little faster at reacting than I was and managed to grab the back of my shirt when I lost my balance for a second. Together, we sprinted down the canyon and away from the Covenant standing guard just outside the temple – in the opposite direction of the jeep.

Sweat poured down my face as I sprinted through the blazing heat, but I didn't dare let up the pace even for a second. Thankfully, this half of the canyon was narrower and more twisted than the other, providing partial cover from the bullets being fired at us. I glanced around a little wildly as I searched for somewhere to hide or fight from. The Covenant would catch up before we emerged from the canyon and even if by some miracle they didn't, we wouldn't have anywhere to go.

Abruptly, I stumbled forward as I tripped over a rock, having been paying too much attention to the canyon walls and not enough to where I was going. I landed heavily on my hands and knees in the sand, my head snapping to the left.

"Syd!" Sark called out, having seen me go down.

Frowning, I scrambled to my feet, having caught a glimpse of something while on my hands and knees. When I was on my feet again, I looked hard, but couldn't see the small cave's entrance. It appeared to be hidden by an outcropping of rock. "Syd! Come on!" Sark yelled.

He ran forward to grab my arm as the bullets got ever closer. Instead, I grabbed his sleeve and tugged upwards. He frowned in confusion, so I let got of his sleeve and began to scramble up the canyon wall. With a loud curse and a glance towards the pursuing Covenant goons, he followed me, wiggling into the small cave seconds after me.

Sark gave me an impressed glance, before moving further into the cave as the Covenant goons raced by below. There was barely enough space in the tiny crevice for us both to fit, especially if we wanted to do anything than stand almost jammed together. We were hidden from the men on the ground by the outcropping, however, and right now, that's what was important.

My heart pounded loudly and my breath came in pants as I listened to the angry shouts below. Sark, too, was still panting from the chase and the sounds seemed loud in the small space. "They've gone." Sark whispered about ten minutes later.

I let out a breath of relief and sagged a little. "Thank God." I gasped, finally letting the fear flood through me.

Carefully, Sark and I managed to sit down in the cramped space. I rested my head on the wall behind me, letting my eyes flicker closed. "We should probably wait here until dark." Sark said, the same weariness I felt in his voice. "With any luck, they'll think we've gone."

I nodded my agreement, my eyes still closed. I still wasn't feeling up to speed after what Sloane had done to me, and now that the adrenaline was waning, the exhaustion was setting in. "Sleep, if you like." Sark told me softly. "I'll keep watch."

"No." I protested softly. "I'm fine…"

"You can't keep your eyes open, Syd."

I cracked one eye open long enough to glare at him. He chuckled. "Come on, Syd."

Gently, Sark tugged me down so that my head was cushioned on his thigh and I was as comfortable as I was going to get. I smiled sleepily as a hand came up to stroke my hair. "I like it when you do that." I mumbled tiredly. "And when you call me Syd."

I felt the soft rumble as Sark chuckled. "Sleep, Syd." He said, and I did.


I woke a little after sunset with a shiver. Like most deserts, once the sun went down, the temperature dropped rapidly and I could already feel the chill in the air. Sark put a gently finger to my lips, telling me to be quiet and I nodded slightly. Sitting up, I reached automatically for my gun as my hair fell across my face. Somewhere along the chase I had lost my hat and my hair had come loose in a tumble. Irritated, I reached up with my other hand and tried to brush it away, but it fell right back as soon as I took my hand away. Sark grinned in amusement, just a flash of white in the growing dark.

Leaning closer, Sark once again whispered in my ear. "There's two men down there."

"What do you want to do?" I whispered back.

"Are you up to climbing down there and dealing with them?" Sark asked, his mouth only a breath from my ear. "If you're not, we can wait them out."

I shivered slightly and moved closer to Sark, pretending I was clod. His arms came up around me in response, but I don't think he was fooled for a second. "I can do it." I answered, knowing just as he did that we wouldn't last long if we waited them out – we weren't dressed for the cold.

Sark nodded and carefully we scrambled out to the edge of the cave. Below, I spotted two goons on patrol, their movements giving them away. In unspoken agreement, we leapt at the same time, jumping the distance of about a body-length to the ground. I hit one of the goons heavily on the back, driving him into the sand. I hit him with the butt of my gun, before looking up and seeing Sark lowering the prone body of the other guard to the ground. "Come on." He whispered.

I nodded and scrambled up, following him as he cautiously jogged back towards the temple. We only spotted one more goon on the way, and Sark took him out easily. "We need to get to the jeep." I whispered to Sark as I came to crouch beside him, before turning and gazing out at the temple.

Two guards patrolled the air, with a third manning a bright spotlight. "We need to shoot out that spotlight." Sark whispered.

"No." I shook my head. "They'll know where we are if you do that."

"Well then, what do you suggest?"

I watched the movements of the guards for a moment. "I can sneak up on the man behind the spotlight if you can take out the guard over there."

Sark nodded in reply, so I snuck through the shadows towards the man with the light. Keeping to the shadows, I managed to get right behind him with relative ease, my training superior to his. I took him out with a swift blow to the head, moving again as soon as I had taken him out, immediately searching for the other guards. I spotted one of them peering into the darkness with a torch and crept towards him, hoping Sark had managed to take out the other guard.

"James?" the guard called out. "Where are you, man?"

He never got to say any more, as I knocked him unconscious with a viscous spin-kick. Sark smirked at me as he emerged from the darkness, obviously having taken care of the other guard. "Let's go." He said.

I nodded as we resumed our cautious jog, the night getting colder around us. I shivered, cold despite the jogging and the fighting and the adrenaline. We slowed as we got closer to where the jeep was parked, just as the canyon got wider around us. We hadn't seen any goons since the temple, and frankly, that was making me nervous. We should have seen some.

My muscles tensed in response to the growing unease I felt, and I grew more alert, scanning the darkness for the first hint of movement. Even so, the attack still caught me by surprise. I was slammed into the sand by something heavy smashing into my back, and I tasted dirt and blood. I reacted in a second, twisting viciously to stop myself being trapped by whoever it was and bringing up my gun. I pulled the trigger, killing the man on top of me before he could use the knife in his hand.

The gunshot sounded loud in the quiet night and everything seemed to explode a second later. I shoved the heavy body off mine as bullets tore into the ground where Sark had been standing only moments before. Scrambling to my feet, I dove out of the way of a second spray of bullets, this time directed at me. I managed to shoot a few more of our attackers before I ran out of bullets, as did Sark by the sound of things.

"Pin him down, damnit!" Came this hissed order from the shadows.

Damn, I knew that voice. Sloane. What the hell was he doing here?

I scrabbled around in the small bag I wore over my shoulder for a spare clip, slamming it home with a satisfying sound as I kept moving. Our jeep was at the end of this damned canyon and right now, it was the only thing that would save us.

"Hello, Sydney." Sloane's voice said in my ear as he grabbed me from behind.

Pressing a gun into my neck, Sloane dragged me further from the fighting after relieving me of my gun and I cursed myself a million times for letting him get the better of me. Fuck, he would have planned on ambushing me and I'd walked right into it!

"You ran off before we could finish our conversation." Sloane continued conversationally, and I felt the gun shift as he let go of me.

Suddenly I knew exactly what was going to happen. Sloane hadn't been waiting in ambush for the Watchglass, or for some attempt at revenge. He wanted to inject me with that green stuff again, probably because Rambaldi made it or something – and that scared me more than anything else ever could. I knew that it meant incredible pain, but I was no stranger to pain. No, the part of it that scared me the most was the feelings of being controlled while whatever it was swam through my system. Like I wasn't myself anymore.

"You call that a conversation?" I snapped at Sloane as I waited for my moment. "I've had better conversation with rats."

"Oh, Sydney." Sloane said, shifting his grip on his gun again slightly. "You used to confide so much in me. Don't pretend it was nothing."

Instead of saying anything in reply, I responded with a sudden spin, tearing myself from his grasp and getting away from the gun and more importantly, that needle. I kicked the gun out of his hand in a smooth movement, not wanted to have Sloane tempted to shoot me, before turning my attention to the hand holding the needle.

Sloane gasped slightly when my boot slammed into his wrist, but he held firm. He jabbed at me with the needle, aiming for my neck and I retaliated with a vicious kick to his stomach. This time he grunted, almost doubling over in pain and I felt a curious sensation take over me. It was almost as if the world was taking a second or so too long to catch up to me. Like slow motion, only this wasn't due to adrenaline…this was something far scarier.

I lashed out with a punch to Sloane's jaw, my anger taking over for a second, before I knocked him out with another kick. Hearing gunfire coming from the direction I had seen Sark disappear in, I quickly grabbed my gun back from Sloane and took off. Then I paused and ran back, grinding the syringe containing the green stuff into the dirt. I probably should have taken it to look at, but I wasn't taking any chances with that stuff.

Another goon charged me as I turned and I shot him before he could get closer enough to hurt me. I lashed out with a spin-kick at the next, slipping under his arm and breaking it with a snap. Then I slammed the goon's head into the nearby canyon wall. Looking around for someone else, I scanned the shadows and almost lashed out as they seemed to move. Thankfully I recognised Sark and stopped in time.

I blinked, Sark's face suddenly in front of mine. When had he moved? "Sydney!" his voice finally seemed to filter through to my ears and his tone was worried. "Sydney, can you hear me?"

The spell around me shattered and I sagged to the ground. Sark looked worried. "Sydney, are you alright?"

I looked up at him, feeling the tears gather in my eyes. I was confused and scared, feeling like I was being sucked further and further into Rambaldi's endgame no matter what I did to try and stop him. "Syd?" Sark asked more softly, crouching down in front of me and gently cupping the sides of my head. "What happened?"

"Sloane." I whispered brokenly. "He did something to me when he put that stuff in me, Julian. He tried to do it again."

"Ssh." Sark soothed, gathering me into his arms. "We'll fix this."

I'd caught the flinty look in Sark's eye as he had gathered me close and knew Sloane never stood a chance now. Not with both of us after his blood. "Come on." Sark said, pulling away again. "Let's get out of here."

I nodded, still feeling scared and vulnerable, particularly when Sark reached out and grazed his fingers over my cheek bone, as if tracing something. "What is it?" I asked.

"The Rambaldi symbol." Sark said, his eyes as tormented as I felt. "The bloody Rambaldi symbol."

A tear slipped down my cheek. Was there no escaping destiny?

"We'll fix this, Syd." Sark repeated, before he gently tugged me to my feet. "Come on."


Beijing

We'd managed to find our jeep not long after that and the drive to Beijing hadn't seemed to take long at all. I'd slept fitfully, keeping silent when I was awake, needing to understand what was happening to me. Now I sat curled up on the couch of a hotel room in downtown Beijing, wearing one of Sark's old sweaters and feeling no surer of what was going on. The nightmares hadn't helped either. Images of betrayals had filled me head, followed by memories of confinement and torture. I knew these weren't Isabella's memories, either – they were mine, from my missing two years.

I knew I should be glad that I was finally remembering parts of what had happened to me, even if it was only in my dreams, but somehow, my nightmares had left me feeling even more vulnerable. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and laid my head on my knees. I felt so alone.

Gradually, I became aware of sounds of a struggle coming from Sark's bedroom and fearing the worst, I surged to my feet, grabbing my gun from the couch beside me. I padded softly to the door and peered in, hoping no one had found us. I let out a slow breath of relief when I found it was not an attacker Sark was struggling with, but his own nightmares. I padded softly to the bed, before perching gently on the edge. Reaching out, I put my hand on his shoulder and shook slightly, knowing it would be enough to wake him.

It did. His blue eyes snapped open and almost immediately his breathing began to calm. I took my hand off his shoulder, his skin sweaty beneath my touch. "You, okay?" I asked.

He sighed and nodded. "Just nightmares." He said.

"Figured as much." I replied, getting up to leave again.

His hand snaked out and grabbed my wrist, stopping me. I turned back and saw he was now sitting up in bed, the sheet pooling in his lap and revealing his naked chest. Yesterday, that sight might have made me blush or even blurt out some sort of flirty comment, but today I just felt empty. Tears gathered in my eyes and I didn't stop them. I just didn't care anymore. Nothing seemed to matter.

"Oh, Syd." Sark whispered, pulling me into his arms and gently slipping the gun from my hand and onto the nightstand beside us. "I promise you we'll find out what he did and fix it."

Cradled in his arms, I began to feel a little better. The comfort my once-sworn enemy gave me was unlike any other, as I knew that it was only for me. No one else had ever seen this tender and caring side of Sark. Just me. "I know." I whispered back.

We sat there in silence for a moment, taking strength and comfort from each other. "My dad knew about the second half of the prophecy. Dixon did too." I said suddenly, wanting to finally let go of the pain I had felt at their betrayal. "And it hurt. I hadn't wanted to believe he was capable of betraying me like that again. And Dixon…"

I trailed off. What could I say about the man who had once been my partner at SD-6? There were so many lies and secrets between us now, I feared we would never be close again. And after this betrayal…I felt like so many people in my life had betrayed me; how was I going to forgive him?

"That's why you finally left the CIA, isn't it?" Sark's quiet question broke into my thoughts.

Leaning back a little so I could see his face, I nodded. "In a way." I answered. "My leaving the CIA had been a long time in coming. Ever since I began to work for them they've used me to do the dirty work they couldn't do. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being at the beck and call of assholes who believe that you owe them. I'm sick of secrets and betrayals and hidden intentions."

Sark gave me a wry smile. "My life and the one you've chosen are hardly free of secrets or hidden intentions, Syd." He said.

"But not from you." I replied. "And I don't have to smile anymore, not if I don't want to. I can scream at the world and no one is going to tell me I can't."

"It really got to you, didn't it?" Sark said, his blue eyes gazing into mine with more compassion than I expected. "Your mask always seemed just as good as mine, but the cracks have been there for a long time, haven't they?"

I nodded, unable to really say anything else. My short declaration had exhausted me, even as a massive weight seemed to lift from my chest. Sark seemed to sense it, gently tugging me down to lie beside him, curled into this side. Once again, Isabella's words came back to me and I understood now. There was no one else in the world like Julian Sark.

"You're not the only one." Sark admitted softly. "Although, my nightmares are far less exciting than yours."

It was comforting; lying there in the dark, listening to Sark's heartbeat as we shared our secrets in the darkness. "Tell me." I whispered softly.

"Prisons and cages." Sark said. "They terrify me. I've fought so hard in this life to survive and to be free, but somehow it seems that every time I turn around I find myself in another cage; Sloane and Irina, the CIA and now the Covenant. I just want to be free."

"We're really not so different, are we?" I said, with a slight smile, understanding Sark's fears, just as he had understood mine.

"No, not so different at all." Sark agreed.

I shifted so I could look up into his face and the blue eyes that seemed to reflect so much even when they didn't show anything at all. I smiled again when I saw his eyes were closed. I reached up to gently trace his cheekbones, fascinated by how boyish his face looked at that moment. Sark had had a hard life – it was obvious in every line of his face, every guarded shadow in his eyes. And yet, right now he lost some of that hardness. He blinked open his eyes to find me staring at him, my fingers still tracing over his face.

Still watching him, I stretched upwards and pressed my lips to his. Somehow it felt right when his arms tightened around me and dragged me closer to him. Sark knew me better than anyone now. I hadn't let anyone else see that soul-deep confusion and pain I had been carrying with me for so long and he hadn't flinched from it. More than that, he'd understood because he carried the same wounds, the same scars.

My fingers slipped down to trace the curving scars across his rib cage and felt the bones underneath. "You need to eat more." I told him when our mouths broke apart.

He smiled, a genuine, knock-out smile straight from the heart. It melted mine from the inside out. "So do you." He replied, his hands tracing my ribs beneath his large sweater.

Because it was too tempting not to, and because it seemed like my very soul was crying out for this, I leaned back down to kiss him again. His mouth was hot and tasted as darkly sinful as I remembered. Our tongues duelled as he flipped me beneath him, dragging of the sweater as he went. My hands traced over his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath the hot skin and the way his heart seemed to speed up with every touch.

Clothes fell to the floor in rumpled piles as each of us struggled to get closer to the other. My mouth drifted from his, down his neck, nibbling as I went. I traced the scars decorating his hard chest with my mouth as Sark's hands drifted up from my back to tangle in my hair. He tugged me back for another deep kiss and left trails of fire over my skin as he hands traced over it.

His mouth followed and then he was thrusting into me and I felt my mind loose the ability to form coherent thought. Then I exploded and fell back into his arms, blissfully sated and feeling more treasured that I ever had before in my life. "Sleep, love." The whispered words drifted over me as my eyes shut and I drifted into oblivion.


I woke up in the morning to a knocking at the door. Sark answered and came back with a grim look on his face and holding a short note.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting up and pushing the hair from my face.

Sark looked over at me, his eyes heating when his gaze ran over me, and I realised belatedly that the sheet was pooled in my laps. He smirked at me as I pulled it up, but his eyes still held that note of worry. "It's from Irina." He said, passing the note to me.

It was short and simple, just like I expected. Meet me in the Summer Palace Gardens, 1pm. "What do you think it's about?" I asked him.

"I have no idea." Sark replied. "Irina and I haven't spoken in a while. And I hardly think this is a meeting to renew old acquaintances."

"No." I agreed.

"Come on." Sark said, trying to sound more cheerful than either of us were feeling. "We've still got a few hours before she wants to meet. I'll buy you breakfast."

I smiled. Breakfast with Sark sounded like a good idea. "She won't want to see both of us, Julian. This is meant for just you."

"Well, then she's just going to have to deal with it, isn't she?" Sark replied. "We're in this together, aren't we?"

His words brought a grin to my face that was as real as the feeling of sunlight finally beginning to drive away the clouds. I got out of bed, dragging the sheet with me and kissed him, feeling blessed that he was by my side. Together we could do anything. "Of course we are." I told him when we broke apart, a little breathless. "Now, are you sure you want breakfast? Because I'm sure room service can do…"

I never got to finish my sentence as Sark pulled me close for another passionate kiss. Storm clouds were rolling in again, I knew that, but I'd be damned if they were going to take my sunshine this time. No one would.

To Be Continued…