Sorry for the waiting. I didn't hear a lot with the last chapter. I hope you'll like this one better ! :) Thanks to my girls for the reviews 3

Tom didn't know what time it was but he knew it was late, probably the middle of the night. The house had been silent for a long time now but he couldn't find sleep. He was thinking over and over again about his conversation with Lord Grantham and the one with Sybil. He knew the Earl was right but couldn't stop himself to feel sad about the whole situation. It was breaking his heart to abandon Sybil now he knew how she felt about him. He could easily agree with her and let her take care of him but his pride was the strongest and he knew he couldn't live happily with her knowing the sacrifice she was making.

The day had passed in agonizing slowness for him, expecting to see an angry Lord Grantham to burst into his room at any time but he never came. Nor did Sybil. He just saw Bates who came back to finish the letter and take it to the post office. It had even been a regular nurse who came to take care of his meals and he didn't ask anything, fearing to hear that perhaps, Lord Grantham had locked up his youngest daughter in her room until the Irish blind man had left. Or worse, he was afraid to learn that he had succeeded in convincing Sybil her future wasn't with the former chauffeur. Even if he knew deep inside him that it would probably be the best thing to happen.

Tom couldn't see anything but he was standing near the window, lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out how he would survive once her was back in Ireland, alone. He knew his family would take care of him but how would he survive Sybil's absence?

Hearing his door opening, he jumped slightly.

"Who's here?" He asked, suddenly nervous.

"It's just me", answered Sybil's soft voice.

Tom heard the door closing then being locked up. He gulped. He didn't know what she had in mind but he was feeling very uncomfortable with it, whatever it was.

"What are you doing here? You should be sleeping at this hour."

"I couldn't", she said softly. "Not after what happened today."

Tom felt her coming closer.

"You shouldn't be here, if your father…"

"I Don't care", she interrupted him. "We fought this morning. I went to find him after we talked. But I couldn't make him change his mind. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Sybil. You don't have to be sorry", he said trying to hide the sadness in his voice. "We both know that's the best thing to do. I have to go home and deal with my new condition and you'll have your life back. Now that the war has ended, things are going to be back to normal."

"But I don't want my old life back! I want to work, I want to live the way I want! They were all happy at dinner tonight but I couldn't join them in it because that's not what I'm expecting from life. Not anymore."

"You can have anything you want, Sybil. You're beautiful, smart, and full of life. I'm sure big things are waiting for you."

"I don't want big things", she answered. "I just want you."

"You know you can't have me anymore. I won't allow it."

"How can I make you understand", she implored. "I don't care if you can see or not. To me, you're the same man I've always known…the same man I fell in love with."

Tom went perfectly still, stunned by her words.

"Yes, that's right", she whispered. "I'm in love with you and you know it. I have been for a long time and I should have already told you back at York. Things would have been different."

"But you're wrong", he whispered hoarsely. "The man you fell in love with is gone."

"No, he's not", she insisted. "He's right here in front of me. Tom, I didn't fall in love with the chauffeur, or the socialist in you. I fell in love with the proud, honourable, passionate man you are. And now, you're denying what's between us because you suddenly think you're not enough of a man for me."

She took his hand and placed his palm flat against her chest, letting him feel the frantic beating of her heart through the thin material of her nightdress.

"I still love you, Tom. Nothing will change that and nothing will change the fact that I decided to leave with you. Or run away with you whatever you want to call it."

"I can't let you leave with me against your family's will. I know you, and I know you love them."

"Yes, I love them. But I love you too. And if they really love me, then they have to understand that I'll never be happy without you. And nothing will change the fact that I want you in all the ways: in my life, in my heart…and in my bed."

Tom forgot to breathe.

She was so warm, so close, and he wanted this so badly. Oh, how he wanted to believe her words. He ached to pull her close and lose himself in her warmth, if only for a little while even if they both would regret it in the morning. His trembling hand found her shoulder, and then moved to the column of her throat, seeking her lips so he could kiss her before he came apart completely from the need.

Sybil didn't give him the chance to do more than find her chin. Her warm palms surrounded his face a second before her lips touched his. Instantly, Tom was bathed in fire. A groan rumbled up from his chest as he dragged her against him. His hand, still pressed to her chest, drifted lower, gliding over then cupping her breasts. His whole body tightened at the depth of her response. Her lips parted beneath his as she arched against him, pressing herself into his hand.

His other hand snaked around behind her, cupping the fullness of her bottom as he pulled her hips tightly against his own. A soft whimper escaped her as she dragged her mouth away from his. Catching his hand, she silently led him to the bed.

Once near it, she immediately returned to him, kissing him until neither of them could breathe.

"Sybil, we…shouldn't", he said against her lips.

"I know", she whispered, tugging at his undershirt. "I know all the reasons why we shouldn't and a very good one why we should. I love you, Tom Branson."

And with that, he was lost. He groaned as his mouth came down on hers, his tongue sweeping her lips apart to tangle with hers. She peeled the undershirt from him and a moment later, he returned the gesture slowly with her nightdress. Her fingernails drew trails of fire across his chest and abdomen, slowly caressing the scars reminding her she had almost lost him once, as he bent to place a line of kisses across her exposed collarbone.

He nibbled on her neck and felt the shiver that went through her. His breath came in as a hiss when her hand snaked lower to capture him through the front of his pyjamas. She then pulled at the elastic and slowly peeled it from him.

For a moment, she left it at that, her hands skimming up his torso again to resume their restless exploration of his body. His throat closed on a welling of emotion deeper than he'd ever felt before, making words impossible. But none were needed. He was supposed to be the experimented one but he was too overwhelmed to try anything. And she rather seemed to know what she was doing if what he was feeling was any indication. Their mouths, their hands, their breath, all spoke of the love they have denied for too long by fear. Tom was losing himself in her, the line between their two worlds blurring rapidly.

She then pushed him back slightly and he heard the soft, incredibly arousing sound of her underwear hissing down her legs. She guided him to the bed, gently urging him to sit down.

"Lie back", she whispered.

He did as she asked and she then left him for one brief second that felt like an eternity. He would die if she changed her mind now. When she came to him again, he let out a breath of relief. Her mouth roamed his body as her hands had done only moments before, igniting a fire inside that threatened to consume him. She trailed a line of kisses across his chest, sliding up his body until her mouth again found his.

As her tongue performed an intimate duel with Tom's, Sybil knew with absolute certainty that what they were doing was right. It felt more right than anything she had ever done in her life. As their tongues, their bodies, intertwined, their souls mingled just as freely. Completely lost in a world of pure sensation she never had been to, Sybil wasn't even sure anymore where he ended and she began.

She brought one leg across his body to straddle him, feeling for the first time the intimate contact of his straining need against the most sensitive part of her. Tom seated up then and his hands began a slow ascent on her body before folding around her and drawing her against the hard planes and angles of his body. The heated ache of desire rushed through her as she wound her arms around his neck, letting one hand slide over the silky softness of his hair, cupping the back of his head to pull him closer. Very slowly, his tongue retreated but he continued to kiss her several endless moments more before drawing back. His chest rising and falling ragged pattern, he "looked" at her, one big hand lifted to sweep across her hair.

"My sweet, sweet Sybil", he whispered, his voice rough with desire.

Her name became a groan and he took her mouth again in a kiss made all the more tender by the fierce restraint she sensed within him. Long moments passed as they slowly explored each other. Without asking permission, Sybil's hands lifted to explore the hard muscles of his chest, watching them contract beneath her touch, his breath squeezed from him in a rough, ragged hiss that sounded like her name. The hiss became a groan as her hands dropped lower and he fight back with both of his hands sliding so very slowly from her throat, down through the valley between her breasts then across her stomach. Then, his hands and mouth were everywhere, calling for sensations more intense than anything she'd ever experienced as he was looking at her with his hands. She nearly wept from the feeling of his long, strong fingers sliding deep into the most secret part of her. Arching her back, she instinctively pressed closer to his touch, desperate to feel more of him. He was taking her on the most amazingly sensual journey and what she wanted the most now was to take him with her, to show him the same kind of agonizing pleasure he was giving her, but when she reached for him, he twisted away from her questing hands.

"Please", she whispered, "please let me touch you".

"I can't", he murmured softly, his lips pressed to her throat. "Not this time".

"Why?" She tried again, and again, he moved out of her grasp.

"Because, I want you too much."

The words came out as a tortured groan. But to her pleasure-intoxicated mind, his words made no sense, especially when she could feel the rock-hard evidence of his arousal pressed hard against her thigh. Or perhaps, she did understand. She could sense the control he was imposing himself, felt it in the tremble of his body against hers, and heard it in the hitch of the breath in his throat. Catching his hips, she urged him closer. He responded by letting one hand travel the length of her body. Wanting him to lose control at last she pushed back his chest and Tom lay down. She then rose up slightly and felt the broad, blunt tip of him probe gently. Arching her back, she pressed closer, silently urging him to complete a joining that had been inevitable from the moment they met. With immeasurable care, he raised his hips slightly and she then sank slowly down, taking him deep within her as his tongue penetrated her mouth with an equally urgent thrust. A wave of emotion swept through her, so powerful it threatened to consume her. Suddenly, she was complete, as she had finally found the other half of herself.

It was the first time for Sybil and all this was new to her but it also strangely felt so familiar. It wasn't hurting a lot like she had been expecting it, it just felt right and somewhat overwhelming because the dual assault on her senses threatened to throw her over the edge instantly. She didn't know it would be like this and she thought briefly it was better that way or she would have jump at him a long time ago…

She froze, holding him deep inside as a wave of emotion crashed over them both. In the dim light from the moonlight coming through the opened curtains (why bothering to close them when you are blind?), she could see the look of exquisite torture in his expression and watched the emotion flicker over his face. Tom lifted one hand to sweep the hair back from her face.

"Okay?" He whispered his face and voice filled with an infinite tenderness.

"Wonderful", she murmured.

Tom whispered her name again as she began to move and she knew she was probably doing things right because of his moans. It started as a slow exploration of the new and breathtaking sensation, but she felt deep inside that the slow pace wouldn't last. She burned too hot, too high and so did Tom.

As if feeling her growing urgency, he grasped her hips and quickened the pace but not without cost. She felt the tremors that wracked his body as he struggled to control the urge to thrust harder as well as faster.

"Tom, I'm fine", she moaned against his ear. "Let it go. I need you."

A groan wrenched from his throat with every thrust and she felt his body tighten beneath hers. He then surprised her by rolling them over, his heavy body now fully on her, pining her against the mattress as he entered her again. It was a new sensation and Sybil loved it. Tom took some of his weight on his forearms, rocking his entire body so that it stroked hers with every wonderfully powerful thrust. Wrapping instinctively her legs around him, she used them to draw him deeper each time, silently showing him that he would not hurt her. Sweet tension coiled inside her, building and spreading everywhere. Rough moans wrenched from her throat as he gave in just a little, quickening the pace again as he drove deep.

One more thrust was all it took and she was flying over the edge, her entire being shattering in a kaleidoscope of pure sensation. Each and every piece of her fractured self belonged to him, it always had and always would. The force of her release brought her head and shoulders off the bed. Sliding his arms around her, he gathered her close, continuing the deep, rhythmic strokes, drawing out her pleasure until she sobbed with it. His movements lost their rhythm, becoming as erratic as his breathing. He thrust once, twice, and then a third time, tensing as the final wave crashed over him. His head thrown back, she felt him pulsing deep within her, spilling himself into her welcoming heat.

He held her there, trembling violently, for what seemed an eternity, so long that she was almost beginning to worry. Very slowly, the tension bled from him until he finally dropped his head to hers and his arms gave up slightly. He rolled to his side, gathering her to him as he went. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently as they slowly came down from the magical place they had carried each other. Sybil burrowed down in the crook of his arm, her cheek pressed to his chest, the silent of the night engulfing them.

"I'm sorry", she heard him apologize softly.

"What for?"

"I think I've been carried away. I…"

"Shhh, Tom", she said leaning to him. "You didn't hurt me. It was wonderful."

As if to prove her words to him, she kissed him long and deep. When he began to respond in earnest, his hand going to the back of her head to steady her against the increasing pressure of his lips, she knew she had succeeded. A long moment later, they finally brought the kiss to an end. He wrapped her in a fierce embrace and silence fell on them.

An unexpected ache rose inside Tom as he held her against him. In his heart, he'd known what would happen if they took this step. Now, he never wanted to let her go. He wanted to keep her for himself in this magical world where social rank and disabilities were unknown concepts, where the lack of vision was irrelevant. Right here, right now, nothing else mattered but her warmth against him and the intense glow in his heart. She just gave herself to him. She gave him a precious gift but, no matter how hard he tried to hang on, this world had to come to an end sooner or later. The real world waited outside that room, a world he could no longer fully join her in. Nothing she'd said earlier made any difference. It didn't matter if she thought she could accept him this way or that she would run away with him. He knew he never would, and if he couldn't, he had no right to expect her to. And even if he ever accepted this one day, he was sure her family, her father ahead, never would. The overwhelming despair that rolled over him forced a sound from his throat that was more than a moan and less than a sob.

Instantly, Sybil came up on one elbow, her arm draping across his chest. Her fingers trailed across his cheek.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She whispered.

"Nothing."

He forced the word past a lump in his throat that wouldn't go away. He gently guided her head back down to his shoulder.

"Let's just lie here a little while longer then you'll have to go back to your room."

She snuggled down again immediately but for Tom, the magic was gone. He'd hold her for however long he had left, then he'd go and find a way to put the pieces of his heart back together, or quietly go insane trying.

To be continued...