Paris
You talk in your sleep, Sark said to Sydney when she awoke from her nap on the plane. Her few hours at SD-6 before her flight had gone well, although Sloane was upset that Sydney had been late for the second day in a row.
Sydney's whole body tensed. Uh, wh-what did I s-say?
Well, I heard you calling out my name, so—
That's just great, Sydney interjected, then turned her head to look out the window as they landed.
Sark said calmly.
Right, easy for you to say. Sydney sighed heavily and kept her eyes focused out the window.
Ms. Bristow—
Jesus, why can't he just call me Sydney?
I was kidding about you talking in your sleep, Sark said with a crooked grin.
Sydney snapped her head away from the window to look at Sark.
I just wanted to give you a start. He stood up and collected his suitcase. Come on.
Sydney forced herself to stand and her legs wobbled. She grabbed her own suitcase and followed Sark off the plane.
Bienvenue vers Paris! a cheery airport employee greeted them.
Sydney and Sark replied automatically.
Sydney stayed a few steps behind Sark as they walked through the airport. He was wearing a polo shirt and khakis and looked absolutely delectable. The adjective was appropriate because Sydney was suddenly thinking of tasting him. She pinched herself angrily and the image of her partially dressed lying on top of a naked Sark as she licked every inch of his body retreated to the back of her mind. Sark's voice tore her from her thoughts.
We'll take a cab to the hotel. According to the information Sloane gave us, Shatz will be leaving soon for a flight to Berlin—his flight is at four this afternoon.
Sydney checked her watch to find that it was after one. She looked around to see that the airport was absolutely packed. We need to hurry.
Sark nodded and they exited the airport. He hailed a cab and the driver popped the trunk upon seeing the suitcases. Sark put in his then took Sydney's and put that in as well. He closed the trunk and got into the car. Sydney was already inside. Sark closed the door and gave the driver directions to the hotel.
Sydney sighed and rested her hands in her lap. She almost jumped through the roof when Sark's leg lightly brushed hers. She brought her left hand by her side so Sark couldn't see and clenched it into a fist.
It wasn't long before they were at the hotel and Sark was the first one out of the car after paying the driver. He grabbed their suitcases and marched into the hotel, Sydney on his heels.
he greeted the receptionist.
the receptionist replied.
Je suis Bryan Cortelli et elle est Kate Jones. Nous avons des réservations.
The receptionist checked her computer and typed in their names. Ah, oui. Vous resterez dans la chambre quarante-sept sûr la quatrième étage. She handed the room key to Sark.
Sark said and marched to the elevator.
Sydney got in first and Sark followed. He stood remarkably close to her and pressed the button with the number four on it. Sydney felt chills run down her spine when Sark's shoulder brushed against hers as they stood.
God, why does he have to have this effect on me?
She swallowed hard as the elevator arrived on the fourth floor. She left the elevator first and began looking for room forty-seven. She found it and waited for Sark, who had the key.
Sark set down both suitcases and slid the keycard into the lock. He struggled with it for a moment, then Sydney volunteered to try it.
Be my guest, Sark said with a shrug.
Sydney reached for the card just as Sark was pulling his hand away and for a brief moment, their hands touched.
Sydney honestly thought she would die.
More chills ran down her spine and she cleared her throat then tried the key. With one try, she was able to open the door. She smiled at Sark who gave her a look that was less than congratulatory and grabbed her suitcase as she went inside.
Sydney set her suitcase on the floor in the room and froze.
There was one bed.
We reserved—
I know.
Our folder of information said—
I know.
So what do we do? Sydney asked.
We handle the situation like adults, Sark answered with a shrug.
Like adults'? What the fuck did that mean? Sydney bit her tongue to keep from asking and scanned the room. There wasn't even a couch. They would have to sleep in the same bed. The dirty thoughts came flooding back to her. She pinched herself. There was no way she would allow herself to think about those things.
Okay, so, what room is Shatz staying in? she asked, trying to keep her mind off of Sark.
Room forty-six, Sark replied.
How ideal, Sydney said with a small smile. So what's the plan? How are we going to do this?
Well, I was thinking that the way to make it the least suspicious is to perhaps loiter out in the hallway and pretend to be a horny couple.
Sydney's mouth dropped open.
We go out there, wait until Shatz opens his door, signaling that he's ready to leave, then pretend that we want him to join us. He'll obviously refuse, but you'll subtly push him back in the room. Once you do that, lead him to the bathroom and just—keep him occupied—and I'll go through his belongings until we find that mechanism for the gyroscope.
Sydney shook her head in disbelief. Jesus, Sark, we can't do that. There has to be another way. Why am I turning this down?!
Do you have a better idea? Sark asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
she admitted.
Sark nodded and checked his watch. It was after two. He's going to be leaving soon; we better move.
Sydney's hands were shaking so she shoved them into her pockets.
She walked over to the door and opened it. She walked out and stood in the hallway. She absently leaned against the wall, listening for sounds that Shatz may be packing up his belongings.
Sark moved into position in front of her, ready to put his plan into action when the sound of Shatz's door being opened was heard. He gazed at Sydney, who was looking off to the right down the hallway. He thought about their short conversation on the plane after Sydney had awoke. He had told her he was joking about her talking in her sleep.
But he wasn't.
He had heard her, at first, mumble his name. He immediately went over to her to wake her up but decided against it. Instead, he sat a few feet away from her in the empty-except-for-them plane and listened with interest as the mumblings became full-fledged cries of pleasure. He found it odd because he had never really considered her to be anything more than a colleague. But the fact that she was having erotic dreams about him piqued his interest and made him rethink his initial impression.
He still wasn't sure what he felt and the horny couple' idea really was the only good suggestion he had for completing the mission. But it could also serve as a test of sorts. If he felt something during what he planned to do, he would make a note of it and plan to tell her. He just didn't know when he would. Their jobs were extremely strict in terms of relationships between co-workers.
Sark nodded to himself. He decided that if he did feel something, he would wait until SD-6 was destroyed or until he absolutely couldn't stand it—whichever came first. He didn't want their lives to be put in danger just to have something that might not be as great as he thought. He was also afraid that she might only have had dreams about him because she was just looking for a quick fuck. If that was the case, he didn't want to have his feelings hurt if he fell too hard for her.
They both heard the door open.
Sark put both his hands on the wall, trapping Sydney as he melded his lips to hers. He had his mouth open after a second as did Sydney. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, making it mingle with hers as he continued his tour of her mouth.
Sydney barely had time to react. Her eyes closed automatically and her lips responded well to the kiss. She allowed Sark to slip his tongue into her mouth and her own tongue to rise to brush against his. Her eyes popped open when she suddenly felt Sark's hands on her, exploring her curves. A moan escaped from her throat and she immediately regretted it, thinking Sark might stop and see that she was actually aroused by this.
He didn't.
Sydney's eyes darted to the open door and saw Shatz exiting the room with his suitcase in hand. He saw the two of them and laughed a bit and shook his head.
Jeune amour, he said with a smile and started to walk down the hall. Sydney reacted quickly and grabbed his tie. Shatz stopped suddenly and looked at her.
Sydney smiled seductively and licked her lips.
Ah, non, non. Shatz started to walk away again but Sydney kept her grip on his tie. He raised an eyebrow at her.
Aww, vous savez que vous voulez nous joindre, Sydney cooed.
Shatz allowed his eyes to drift to the parts of Sydney's body that Sark was caressing with ferocity. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Sydney had worked out of Sark's grasp and pushed Shatz back into the room. Shatz dropped his suitcase on the floor and Sydney led him into the bathroom. She kicked the door shut with her foot.
Je pense que nous devrions prendre une douche, Sydney said, still gripping Shatz's tie and leading him over to the shower. She reached behind the curtain and turned on the water. Tournez autour. He turned and stood with his back to her. She heard a slight knock on the door and knew it must be Sark, announcing he had found the mechanism. Oh là là, je dois aller. Je suis désolé. She quickly hurried from the bathroom leaving Shatz there calling after her.
Sark was standing in the hallway waiting for her and they quickly slipped back into their room. They heard Shatz mutter out in the hallway as he gathered his suitcase and trudged to the elevator.
Good work, Sark complimented, sitting in a chair.
You too. I can't say that...he felt me up then simply grabbed the mechanism. Sydney bit her lip. She watched Sark put the mechanism into his suitcase, then decided to sit on the bed. She sat on the mattress and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Out of the corner of her eye, she was more than aware that Sark was watching her. She thought about what the return flight would be like. The return flight...when was it? She tried to think back to the folder of information. Something told her it was at six the next morning. She quickly calculated. It was after two now, she figured they would have to get up around four, so that left just under fourteen hours. Fourteen hours. We could do so much... She chased the thought out of her head and sighed.
What's your middle name? Sark asked thoughtfully.
Sydney laughed nervously. My middle name? Why?
Sark shrugged. We have about—I would guess—fourteen hours until we have to be up and ready for our flight. I figured you might want to do something to fill up the time.
You have no idea... She cleared her throat. Oh, well, in that case, she grinned, it's Aurora.
Sydney nodded and Sark smiled.
It fits you.
You think so? Sydney asked with a chuckle.
Yeah, the Roman goddess of dawn. You're— he restrained from saying something along the lines of you're like the dawn.' He knew it would only provoke feelings in both himself and Sydney that he knew they wouldn't be able to act upon. He sighed. I just think it fits you well.
Sydney said quietly with a small smile. Her cheeks were hot and she hoped they weren't as red as she figured they were. What's your first name? I'm just—I mean—it would be nice to maybe call you something other than Sark once in a while.
Sark replied, and my middle name's David.
Sydney tilted her head to look at him. Andrew David Sark.'
Sydney Aurora Bristow.'
Sydney felt her cheeks grow even hotter and she chuckled nervously. she paused, nervous of how Sark would react, can I tell you something?
Of course. Just then, the phone rang. Oh, hold that thought. Sark got up and picked up the ringing phone on the bedside table. He was quiet as he listened to the voice on the other end. Oh, well, thank you, I'll be right down. He hung up.
Who was that? Sydney asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
The front desk. They wanted to apologize for giving us a room with one bed instead of two, so to make up for it, they're giving us a second room at no extra charge.
Sydney's heart sank. she said quietly.
Well, I mean, that's all right, isn't it?
Sydney forced a smile. Of course, yeah, it's fine.
Sark nodded. I'll take that one if you want, you can stay here, seeing as you look pretty comfortable. He smiled.
Yeah, I'll just stay here, Sydney told him.
We'll need to get up around four tomorrow, to give us enough time to get ready and be at the airport. I'll swing by around a quarter til five to get you, and we'll go.
Sydney said with a nod. She fought to keep her voice steady. See you.
Sark nodded and grabbed his suitcase. Oh, what did you want to say before the phone rang?
Oh—uh—nothing. See you tomorrow.
Sark nodded again and left.
Sydney's lip trembled. She had been so close to confessing her feelings and now she wouldn't have a chance, at least not until they had another mission that allowed them to get as close as they did. Silent tears rained down on her cheeks and she looked out the window to find that it had started to rain. How ironic. She sniffled and picked up the phone to call room service.