CHAPTER TEN

When Nick got to the coffee shop, Adalind was already sitting at a table. She seemed preoccupied, so much that she didn't notice his presence right away. He walked up to her, and when he touched her shoulder, she startled. When she realized it was him, she got up from her chair and threw herself in his arms.

"Nick, I'm so glad you're here" she said, her face pressed against his chest.

"Are you all right? You seemed upset when I came in" he told her as she slightly loosened her embrace to look at him.

"It's Sean… he's breathing down my neck. He called me earlier… he's pressuring me to get the key from your aunt."

Nick led her back to her chair and sat down next to her. He took her hand and gazed into her eyes.

"My aunt's gone; she left this morning."

"Did she give you the key?" she asked.

"Yeah… that and a bunch of other stuff. She left me her trailer. You have to see what's inside..."

But Adalind wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

"Adalind? Is everything ok?" he asked.

"No… Sean wants the key at all costs. Nick… he'll kill for it."

"What did he tell you exactly?"

"He ordered me to go to your house and get the key from your aunt."

"So when he calls you again, tell him she wasn't there."

"He won't accept that for an answer. He'll keep on pushing until I get his dirty work done" she said, clearly worried.

"It'll be ok" Nick replied, stroking her hand with his thumb. "I'll let it slip that my aunt is no longer in town so he'll stop harassing you."

"That won't convince him… he'll just order me to go after you next."

"Then let him think you are… I swear, I won't fight back" he told her with a smile, trying his best to comfort her.

"I can't do this; I can't possibly go after the man I…" she said, her voice fading down to a mere whisper.

Nick's smile slowly disappeared as he heard her words, his gaze growing more intense. He desperately wanted her to finish her thoughts, but he didn't need her to; he knew exactly what she had meant to say. He leaned in closer, until the heat emanating from her lips set his on fire. When she broke the kiss, Adalind opened her gorgeous blue eyes and looked deep into his. He sensed she wanted to tell him something.

"Adalind" he said, his eyes trying to convince her to open up to him.

"I need to feel your arms around me" she whispered. "But not here."

Nick swallowed his saliva, working hard to control his urge to whisk her off her feet. He wanted to be alone with her, wrap his arms around her, kiss her, feel the heat of her skin against his own.

Not taking his eyes off her, he took her hand and led her up from her chair. They walked out of the coffee shop, and once outside, they made their way to the same alley Adalind had unsuccessfully tried to hide in the day before. As soon as they were out of sight from the prying eyes of the world, Nick pulled her into his arms and began kissing her passionately.

Adalind felt completely safe in Nick's arms, like nothing could get to her with him protecting her. She let herself drown in his embrace, forgetting about the threat hanging over them. She ran her fingers in his soft black hair, all the while pulling his head down for fear he was going to let her go if she didn't. But she didn't need to; he was holding onto her so tight, his arms fused to her body. His lips, as warm as the sun, made her insides melt. As he kissed her, her mind wandered to a beautiful place where the only ones who existed were the two of them; no Sean trying to hurt the man she loved… no Juliette fighting to take him away from her. The bliss she felt suddenly morphed into guilt; she was the evil one, not Juliette. She was the one threatening to steal Nick away from his lover, not the other way around.

Adalind suddenly broke the kiss and took a step back.

"Is something wrong?" Nick asked her, a worrisome look on his face.

"Yes… me" she responded. "I'm the one who's wrong to do this."

"Do what?"

"Take you away from Juliette" she murmured.

"Adalind…" he said, reaching for her hand. "You are not taking me away from her…"

"Yes I am!" she shouted. "I can't do this; I care about you too much to let you give up the life you have with her."

"I told you before, she's not you" Nick said in a soft voice.

"You mean she's kind and pure? I'm incapable of such qualities. I can't possibly be the woman a man as good as you deserves" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Nick, the last twenty-four hours have been a beautiful dream; I met an amazing man who made me feel special, and not for the wrong reasons. You gave me hope that I can erase all the bad things I've done in the past and start fresh. But the truth is, I'm a Hexenbiest… and you're a Grimm. And history says we're not made for each other."

"So then let's rewrite history" he told her, taking her in his arms. "Let's prove to the world that a Grimm and a Hexenbiest can..." he trailed off.

He gazed into her eyes, and she knew he wanted to say something. But perhaps, his Grimm mind was trying to silence his heart, preventing him from making a huge mistake. She lifted her hand and gently touched his cheek.

"Nick, it's ok. You don't need to save me; I'm strong enough to survive on my own. Always have been."

"I'm not trying to save you" he whispered. "I'm trying to save myself. Adalind, you've kept me from making the biggest mistake of my life."

"What mistake?" she asked.

"Right before I met you yesterday, I bought an engagement ring… I was going to propose to Juliette last night."

Adalind felt a huge lump rise in her throat and tears sting her eyes as Nick put his hands on her shoulders. Hearing him say he had intended to ask Juliette to marry him shattered her heart into a million pieces.

"But everything changed the second I saw you across that street" Nick told her, gently rubbing her shoulders. "You ignited a flame inside of me… and before I knew it, that fire ravaged everything I believed in. And when the smoke finally cleared, the only thing left was you. Adalind, please don't ask me to leave… because I have nowhere else to go."

"Nick, you can still go back to Juliette; you can forget about me and go on with your life as though we never met. It's not too late…"

"It is too late" he interrupted, putting his hand behind her neck, holding her face up. "There's no going back, I can't… I won't. Adalind, I don't care what the world says about us; the only thing I want to listen to is my heart… and it's telling me you're the one."

Adalind's eyes started to fill with tears again; she desperately wanted to believe Nick. But how could he, a Grimm, fall for her, a Hexenbiest? And yet… as he gently cupped her face with his hand and gazed deep into her eyes, he made the same confession as the night before. Only this time, there was no thunder to muffle his words; she heard them loud and clear.

"I'm falling in love with you... and I don't ever want to get back up" he murmured right before he kissed her tenderly.

Nick knew it was crazy to confess his feelings for Adalind so soon, but he didn't care; he needed her to know just how much she meant to him. This overwhelming passion he felt for her was unlike anything he had ever felt before… not even close. As he held her in his arms, kissing her, there was no doubt in his mind that Adalind was the love of his life, the woman who had been put on this earth to complete him… despite of what anyone else thought.

His arms still tightly wrapped around her, he broke the kiss for just a moment to look at her. She opened her eyes and glanced up at him.

"Are you sure?" she breathed.

"What does your heart tell you?" he asked, placing his palm on her chest.

"That I've found my missing piece..." she said in a whisper.

"And I've found mine" he replied, caressing her cheek. "There's no point in fighting the undeniable… we both know we're destined to be together."

"Nick…" she murmured.

He didn't let her finish her thoughts; he took her face in both of his hands and kissed her with all the passion that burned inside of him. When they both ran out of air, Nick broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers.

"I'll break things off with Juliette" he said after a moment.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" Adalind asked.

"Without a doubt. I can't possibly remain in this relationship… not when my heart belongs to you."

"This is just happening so fast…" she whispered.

"Does that scare you?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"No, I just… I just don't want you to make a rushed decision."

"I've never been more certain of anything. I want to be with you, no one else."

"Nick… how long have you been with Juliette?" she asked.

"A couple of years… why?"

"How can you compare a couple of years with someone you love versus a couple of days with a complete stranger?" she said, her voice breaking.

Nick wrapped his arms around Adalind and gazed deep into her eyes. He tightened his hold on her before he spoke.

"Adalind… have you ever met someone who in an instant turned your entire existence upside down? Someone who makes you forget about everything and everyone else around you? Someone who makes your heart race every time they look at you, and who ignites deep inside of you feelings you've never experienced before? Because I have met such a person; you. And this is just after two days… just imagine how much better it's going to get."

A faint smile appeared on Adalind's lips.

"I don't need years to go by to realize that I want to spend a lifetime with you" he continued. "I knew the second I met you."

"I want to be with you too… more than anything" Adalind said.

Nick smiled at her and bent down to kiss her ever so softly.