Oh my gosh, another chapter out! I cannot believe how quickly I'm getting these posted. Well, I should let you all get to what you really want to read. So, here you go.

Chapter Nineteen

Chloe studied the screen of the laptop computer. She sat on the bed of the hotel room, the bed where she and Sark had become very close to crossing lines that, in her mind, should never be crossed. Before leaving her parents' home, Sark had been able to knick his laptop from the Ferrari that he had had to abandon.
Chloe studied the rows of names, dates, and numbers. It was all so confusing. What was it supposed to mean? With a frustrated sigh, she fell back on the bed and covered her face with her hands.

"Why is this so confusing?" she yelled at the ceiling. The door to the room opened and Sark entered with a bag of take-out in his hand.

"Why is what so confusing?" he asked, placing the food on the rickety table that sat in the corner of the room.

"The stuff on this stupid disk." Chloe said, ready to smash the laptop against the wall. The smell of french-fries wafted through the room and her mouth started to water. She got off the bed and headed over to the table. Before she could reach into the bag and wrap her fingers around a french-fry, Sark grabbed her hand.

"Nope," Sark shook his head, a teasing smile spreading across his lips, "what do you say?" Chloe stuck her bottom lip out and lowered her eyelashes at Sark.

"Please." She said, doing her best impression of a little girl. Sark pulled her to him and kissed her lips teasingly. Just as Chloe was getting into the kiss, he pulled away and dangled the bag in front of her face. "Thank you." she took the bag from him and sat down on the bed. She tore into the food eagerly and wolfed down a burger quickly.

"Breathe Chloe." Sark laughed as she started in on the fries.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, wiping a bit of ketchup off the corner of her mouth, "I'm just really hungry."

"Could have fooled me." He teased, leaning in and kissing off a bit of the ketchup that Chloe had missed. Chloe leaned back in to meet his lips, and kissed him hungrily. She was almost as hungry for his kiss as she was for the Big Mac and fries. The events of that afternoon had left her aching for more. She needed to feel his lips on hers, needed to be reassured that she had done the right thing, made the right decision.
She pulled away and looked Sark in the eyes.

"I love you." She whispered. "I know I shouldn't, but I do." Sark looked down at the faded old quilt that covered the bed and sighed. "What is it?" Chloe asked. She was worried. Had she said the wrong thing? "Julian, what's wrong?" she needed him to answer her, reassure her that everything was all right.

"I lied to you." he said, refusing to look up and meet her eye.

"What?" She said. There was no doubt she was confused.

"I lied when I said I love you." Sark looked up at her, and then quickly looked away again. Chloe could only stare at him, angry and confused. "I only said that because I needed you to come with me."

"Why?" She asked. Chloe desperately wanted Sark to look at her. She needed to see his eyes, needed to see whatever emotions were running through them.

"Because there's no way I can figure out what's on this disk myself." He said, "And because I'm selfish. I wanted you with me." he looked at her and Chloe couldn't hold back the tears that pricked at her eyes. The tears fell down her cheeks in slow, large drops.

"You lied to me?" She said, still not believing it. She looked at Sark, uncertain of how she felt about what he had just said. He reached out to brush the tears from her face, but Chloe pushed his hand away angrily. "How could you do that? How could you look me in the eye and tell me that you love me?" She felt like strangling Sark. She wanted to hit him, kill him, but she also wanted to hold him and cry into his shoulder.
She stood up, unable keep from fidgeting, and paced the room. Anger all of a sudden took over her, and she rounded on Sark.

"I betrayed my family to come with you!" she cried, "Damn it Sark I thought you loved me. God, I almost slept with you." She fell down into one of the chairs that sat next to the table and buried her face in her hands. "How could you do that to me?"



He could understand her anger and frustration. He was frustrated with himself. When he had heard her whisper those three words, those words that held so much power, his heart had jumped into his throat. He wanted her to say it over and over again. He wanted her to love him, and he wanted so badly to be able to love her in return. But love was a foreign thing to him. He had never known love in his life, never been loved or loved another.
Sark stood, walked over to Chloe, and knelt before her. He took one of her hands in his and traced his thumb in lazy circles around her knuckles.

"I care about you Chloe. I care about you so much that I didn't want to do this by myself. I need you Chloe." He said, pleading with her, hoping beyond hope that she would look at him.

"How can I believe that?" She asked, shaking her head. "How can I believe anything else you ever say?" Sark felt like crying. The one person who would stand by his side, the one person he knew he could trust, was disgusted by him. Chloe pulled her hand out of his and wiped away the tears that were falling onto her jeans. Sark itched to reach out and take one of her trembling hands in his, but he knew she would only pull away again.

"I know you're angry with me Chloe," he said, looking down at the floor. "What can I do to make you trust me again?" He searched her eyes hopefully for some sign of compassion or care.

"I don't know Sark," she said shaking her head, "I just don't know."



Chloe needed air. The room was too stifling, too filled with Sark's presence. Hours had passed and they had not spoken since he had made his confession. She sat on a chair, looking out of the dirty, dingy window at the velvety black night. She bit her bottom lip, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Sark lay on the bed, his breathing even and deep, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Chloe glanced over at him and her heart raced.

"I have to get out of here." She thought tearing her gaze from him, "If I stay here much longer I'll go crazy." Silently, so as not to wake Sark, she stood, opened the door, and walked out into the balmy night air.

The sound of singing crickets calmed her frazzled nerves, and the gentle night breeze brushed the hair out of her face. Chloe breathed in deeply, inhaling a lungful of warm air. Just stepping outside the room did a lot to calm Chloe. She felt more serene and her heart and mind stopped racing.
Slowly, she walked the few steps towards the road. It would be so easy to just retrace the steps she and Sark had taken, and return home. But even as she thought of that, she knew she could never leave him. No matter how bad his lie was, Chloe could not stop loving him. She was so deeply in love with Julian Sark that she would never be able to climb out. It was as if she was trapped in a deep, never ending hole.

"Why are you doing this to me God?" She thought as she looked up at the star strewn sky, "Why did you make me fall in love with him?" However, there were no answers to her questions, only silence. Chloe felt weak. She sank down onto the rocky earth beside the road. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her head in the small space between her knees. Fat tears fell down her cheeks and landed on the dirt below her, creating small pools of mud. Her shoulders shook with tremendous sobs as all her frustrations fell to the ground with her tears.
She rubbed her arm, which was still sore whether from the spur-of-the- moment surgery or Sark gripping it in the heat of passion, she didn't know. With a sigh, Chloe tilted her head back so that she could star at the sky and the clouds that slowly drifted over the crescent moon.

"What are you doing out here?" Sark's voice behind her startled Chloe. She whirled her head around to see him, but his face was shrouded in darkness.

"I had to think about some things." She said, turning away from him and focusing on the growing clouds. A strip of lightening split the sky and thunder shook the ground. Chloe felt the shaking deep within her soul.

She loved thunderstorms. The smell of the rain, the bright lights that ripped through the sky, and the loud booms that hurt your ears, all of it sunk deep within her. Large fat raindrops fell down on her upturned face, cooling her skin and mingling with the sweat that had started to bead upon her forehead. She didn't know where her tears ended and the raindrops began. The rain soaked through her shirt, making her shirt cling to her torso.

"Come on," Sark said, reaching down and forcing Chloe to her feet, "you're getting soaked." Chloe pulled her arm out of his grip.

"Don't touch me." she screamed at him, her anger rushing back into her at his touch. He pulled back, startled, or scared, maybe both. "I am this close to killing you right now!" Her words were nearly drowned out by a loud crash of thunder. A bolt of lightening slashed the sky, and Sark's face was illuminated briefly.

"Chloe please." He cried, shouting to be heard over thunder, "Just come back inside." He reached for her again, but Chloe pulled back.

"No," she yelled, "I'm tired of this Sark. I'm tired of you telling me what to do and ordering me around."

"I don't..." Sark started.

"Yes you do." Chloe cried. The rain pressed her hair flat against her face, and the wind had begun to pick up, making her shiver.

"I don't mean to." He said, "Chloe I...I love you." Chloe slapped Sark hard. Water droplets sprayed everywhere as her hand met his face.

"Don't you dare say that to me. Not after what you did." She yelled, her voice ringing through the air.

"I may not have meant it before Chloe, but I mean it now." he cried. Lightening cast his face in a brief flash of light, and Chloe could clearly see the anguish in his eyes.

"And how the hell do you expect me to believe that?" She screamed, fresh tears falling down her face.

"I don't expect you to." Sark said, "But I'm hoping you will."

"Well keep hoping you son of a bitch!" she yelled, "Because I'm never going to forgive you." She brushed past Sark angrily, but he grabbed her arm before she could walk too far from him. "Let me go you bastard." Chloe tried to yank her arm free, but, as it was her wounded arm, it only increased the pain that had been coursing through it.

"Would you just listen to me?" Sark yelled. Chloe turned away from him.

"Stop being so damn stubborn Chloe." He pulled her around to face him. "I didn't mean what I said before, but I mean it now. I'm in love with you. I have been ever since I first laid eyes on you. You're strong and independent, and you don't take crap from anybody. You're smart and the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. Every time I kiss you, I feel like I'm in heaven. I've never felt that way before."

Chloe closed her eyes tightly, trying so hard not to listen to what Sark was saying. It was hard. Everything he was saying was exactly what she had always wanted a man to say to her. It was her dream for a man to confess his undying love to her. To recite a speech of just how in love with her he was, and name all the attributes he loved about her. She had dreamed of this moment forever, and now it was happening. But she had never imagined it would happen this way. She had never imagined that he would make this speech after telling her only hours before that he had not meant it when he first told her he loved her.

"Shut up." She whispered quietly, unable to take anymore.

"I'm telling the truth this time Chloe." Sark said, cupping her face gently with his hand. His thumb ran against her bottom lip slowly. "I really, truly love you." he leaned in and kissed her lips gently. She pulled away from his kiss reluctantly; too afraid she wouldn't be able to resist him any longer.

"I can't do this Sark." She said looking him in the eye. "I love you, but I can't trust you anymore." His grip on her arm loosened and Chloe hurried away from him.



Oh no, could there be trouble in paradise for the lovebirds? Please review and tell me what you thought.

Csk8-20: I cannot tell you how hard your review made me laugh. You never cease to make me smile with what you write. Thank you so much. Unfortunately, I must continue to disappoint you. Chloe will continue to pull away from Sark for quite awhile.

Alias-Addict-4-Life: Thank you for reviewing, I love receiving reviews from new people and I'm glad you liked the story.

Sarks-Girl-89: Thank you for reviewing and offering suggestions of what you'd like to see happen in this story. I will consider your suggestion, but I make no guarantees.

Beautiful Tragedy: I didn't go too in detail about what Sydney and Vaughn were feeling because I wanted to focus more on Chloe and Sark than anything. However, I will try to put in more about them later on.

Wicked-sista, RedRose121, Serindipity9, cg's-gal-72689, and Sallene: Thank you ALL for taking the time to read this story and review. You all mean so much to me and I love hearing what you have to say about my story. Thank you.