Part One, Chapter Six

Thunder reverberated outside, the deep bass of its after-tones rattling the windowpanes as the rain continued to strike against them in a constant rhythm. John continued to study her, waiting for a refusal that would never come. She looked back at him. Heart still beating like a captured creature's, but her arm was relaxed. Her hand comfortable against the side of his face, with his fingers pressed over it, and stray, damp strands of his hair brushing over the tips.

Never taking his eyes from her, he turned his mouth to press it once again close to the underside of her wrist. Rubbing his lips against her skin once more, the tip of his tongue flicking out to taste her. Jane closed her eyes to the sight of what he had just done, swallowing against the tiny shock wave running through her body at the sensation. She then felt the edge of his teeth as he gently tested the skin over the fine tracery of veins and she shuddered at the contact.

Obeying his unspoken demand, she opened her darkening gaze to lock eyes with his once more. Battling to once again regain control over her body and somewhat succeeding.

His brow was furrowed slightly, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with her now. As if he wasn't sure just what exactly was happening. Neither was she. All that she knew however, was that she didn't want him to stop touching her. She didn't want to stop touching him.

"Jane?" his voice was hoarse. The tone indefinable. Putting into her eyes what she was feeling in her heart, she smiled reassuringly at him.

"Shh," She whispered. "Don't say anything. Just stay. Stay with me."

… Come to me now…

She wasn't even sure what it was she was asking of him, but for once, she forgot about thinking. About consequences, about her fear of commitment. She just reacted. And now… now all she wanted to do was what had been her first reaction upon seeing the bruises that crisscrossed over his chest.

Gently pulling her hand free even as she shifted closer, she brought the other up to meet it at his chest as her palms came to rest over his heart. Feeling it beating just as strongly as hers.

… And lay your hands over me…

Carefully, she grasped the edges of the wet shirt with her fingertips and slowly peeled them away. For the first time really, truly allowing herself to study the shape and contour of his upper torso. Her fingers brushing over his skin as she pushed the wet garment further and further back on his shoulders. The heat of his body a startling contrast.

Bringing her hands back to the middle of his chest, she traced the outlines of the tendons and muscles present just under the skin. Feeling them shift and ripple slightly under her fingertips. Her touch feathered over the top slash of marked flesh before slowly dropping down to rest on his sides. She chanced a glance upwards to see his expression.

They were only inches apart, and the fire in his gaze was so strong she could almost feel it crossing that distance and wrapping itself about her. Blanketing her. Coating her skin.

Dropping her gaze, and moving her head closer, she brushed the skin directly over the bruise with her lips, and listening to his sudden and harsh intake of breath at the simple contact. She knew it wasn't because of pain that he had reacted so.

Moving down just a fraction, she placed a series of slow, lingering kisses over that bruise. Wishing with all of her heart that her touch could erase it from his body.

She traced it soothingly with the tip of her tongue, enjoying the texture and taste of his skin in reciprocation to his earlier action. But despite her attraction to him, the caress wasn't sexual, at least not entirely. She knew the sensation of being restrained was still with him. Knew now that that was what had driven him to nearly kill Richard. He didn't like to be touched by others for fear of being restrained. She wanted him to know that not all touch was bad. Not all contact was painful. It was a lesson she should have given him a long time ago.

She felt his hand come up to cradle the back of her head tentatively, and only then did she pull her lips away from his chest to look back up at him. Only then was she aware of the tears staining her cheeks.

… Even if it's a lie, say it will be alright, and I shall believe…

An aching tenderness combined with an overwhelming hunger shone in his eyes. Making them burn brighter than the purest of flames that she had likened them to before. She had only seen his eyes truly this potent one time before, when they had last been in the Atrium, after she had interrupted his bath in the manmade waterfall.

It struck her how impossibly beautiful he was. How he was so many different things all at the same time. Tender and passionate. Innocent and feral. Dangerous and loving.

As if reading her thoughts, he brought her face closer to his. Carefully kissing away the tears, drinking them from her skin. His lips brushed over her closed eyelids and she shivered at the sensation. Fingers tightening reflexively on the sides of his waist as an unexpected blossoming heat began to spread through her body in reaction.

She was suddenly reminded of the night he had first come to her bedroom. That first time he had stood in front of her, eyes darkened with a knowledge he shouldn't have possessed, and her all too aware of what he had wanted, what he was offering.

She hadn't been prepared for him. For the intense way she would react. She had always been in control of every aspect of her life, but what he made her feel… it wasn't anything close to being in control.

Only Nikki unknowingly interrupting them had saved her. Stopped her from going to a place with John that would have been impossible to escape from. He wasn't a one night stand. He wasn't something casual. Whatever connection she formed with him would be permanent. Forever.

So the following morning, she had begun to build her walls into place, to keep that night from happening again. She'd found every excuse in the world to keep from falling back into his eyes and arms. But now her walls were crumbling. Shattered by the pain she had just seen in his eyes and the bruises on his body.

… I'm broken in two...

It was déjà vu all over again, and yet not. Now, she knew him. Knew him more than she had in those first several days. And despite what she wanted to tell herself, he was as much a part of her as the air she breathed. Call it destiny, fate, or God, but she now knew her path belonged alongside his. It may have taken her a little bit longer than him to come to this conclusion, but there it was. She was faced with a second chance of recapturing that night what seemed like ages before. With the opportunity to give it a different ending. The choice was right in front of her…

All she had to do was take it.

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So sorry for the long wait! Let me know what you think!