A/N: Here's another one… enjoy. :)

Last superficially edited 11/07/08.

At midday, showered, dressed and very apprehensive, Lara emerged from her suite. Sure Kurtis would be up and moving around by then, she wandered around the manor, trying to work out where he was without being seen and accepting a cup of coffee from Winston on her way.

At last she was forced to conclude that he was still either asleep or taking refuge in his room. That was a bad sign. Paranoia began to nip at Lara's mind. Maybe he'd engineered the entire notebook to mislead and torment her, and was surprised into silence by the enormity of his success. Perhaps he'd changed his mind when he saw she was more attainable than he'd suspected.

Or maybe he's still reading it or hasn't even woken up yet, she admonished herself. Calm down. She returned to the translation she'd been attempting the day before, and was almost finished when she sensed a presence in the doorway.

"Afternoon," she told Kurtis pointedly.

He watched her with an unreadable expression in those striking eyes, and Lara felt her nerves begin to stir again. "I was up at eleven," he replied, "Got distracted reading something. I heard you open your door at twelve. What's your excuse?"

Ah, the dance began. "I didn't fall asleep until about four this morning," Lara answered, hoping her eyes were just as blank. She got up, walked past him to put her book back on the shelf. His hand brushed the skin of her arm as she moved around him, and Lara busied herself straightening books to hide the profound effect the contact had on her. He'd better not be Karel, because so help me, if he tries to kiss me there's no way I can resist it… "Did you find whatever you were reading to your liking?" she asked casually, still maintaining the charade that nothing had changed between them.

He leaned against the bookcase, and she felt his eyes on her like warm spotlights. "Very interesting."

Lara met his eyes. "'Interesting' is a neutral word."

Kurtis reached out to run his finger down her arm. "Oh, this was definitely a good 'interesting'," he confirmed. Lara felt her heart skip a beat as he stepped in closer to her, tilted her chin a little so that she looked up into his face. Time seemed to slow, and Lara fought the urge to close her eyes, afraid that if she expected a kiss she wouldn't receive one.

Finally, after torturous seconds that seemed to last forever, she felt the brush of lips against her own. It wasn't until he drew back from the brief, tentative kiss that something snapped inside her, and she pulled him back to her forcefully, arms entwining around his neck, one hand pressed against the back of his head to prevent him from drawing away. His arms tightened around her in return, all but crushing her. The embrace was desperate, almost aggressive, and when Lara pushed away from him, gasping for air, she saw surprise and lust in his expression.

She averted her eyes, biting her lip as she waited for the adrenaline to fade and normality to return to her world. Never mind that she'd wanted it so very badly – the loss of control was completely out of character, and she resented the breach of that control. Anger duelled with her desire, and won as she looked up and saw his smile. Abruptly, she shouldered past him, skin tingling at the contact, and left the room.

She half-expected him to follow her, and wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed when he didn't. As the distance between them increased, her anger faded, replaced with thick, choking confusion, and she hugged her stomach to repress her trembling. Despite the lust she seemed to inspire in ninety per cent of the male population, and even some of the female, Lara did not give her heart easily. Even a kiss was a huge milestone for her. She'd been with very few men, and none had elicited the reaction that Kurtis did in her. The question had very quickly become 'What now?'

Preparing herself to go back inside and face him, she paced the orchard. It was only when she glanced back towards the house that she realised he had followed her, after all. He leaned up against the wall a short distance away, his eyes holding a mixture of curiosity, concern… and hurt. Lara didn't blame him.

She walked towards him, and he watched her silently. His face had shut down, impossible to read now, but his earlier emotions were imprinted in Lara's mind. She took a deep breath, but couldn't find the words she needed. 'I'm sorry' seemed horribly inadequate.

Kurtis nodded. "I know." Know what? she wanted to ask, but was still rendered speechless. "Slowly?" he asked, his voice quiet and almost tender. Without its edge of sarcasm, Lara barely recognised it. She nodded, opened her mouth to thank him. He gently placed a finger to her lips. "We need to find Karel. This can come later."

Given a focus, Lara felt herself regain even footing. She squeezed his shoulder and led the way back into the house.

"Ah, of course…" At the murmur, Kurtis looked up from the book he'd been skimming through and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken query. Victorious eyes met his, and she smiled. "Have you ever been to Cappadocia?" Off his negative reply, she continued, her voice taking on an almost scholarly tone, "It's a nice place, apparently. Lots of temples. One of them has the answers we need, according to this." She gestured to the same text she'd been translating since he'd gotten there. "The temple's name is the Nephilia Veritas."

Kurtis stood up. Without words, as one, they headed for their respective rooms to pack.

Alone with no distractions for the first time since that turbulent kiss, Kurtis sank down on his bed, the notebook that had triggered it beside him. Out of habit, and to organise his whirling thoughts, he reached for it. "Have just kissed Lara. Never been so confused, so frightened, so ecstatically happy. Didn't expect it to be so forceful, but don't know why I thought it'd be anything less. Both agreed to take it slowly after that – she seems to have her own issues – but how slow is slowly, and how slow is too slow? If I mess this up, it'll be one of the worst mistakes I could ever make. So this is romance. God help us both."

It took him a scant two minutes to pack the bag he'd brought. Emerging again, he stood quietly in the doorway of Lara's suite, watching her rifle through her closet, deposit outfits in a bag similar to his own, and take a variety of ammunition clips from a drawer. Then, she picked up the phone, her back to him.

"Jean-Yves? It's Lara." A pause. She winced, bit her lip. "No, it's really me." A bittersweet smile spread across her features, and she chewed on a nail as she listened to a lengthy speech at the other end of the phone. "It's a long story. I just needed some time. No, it's true. I'm cleared of all the charges now." She proceeded to give him a sketchy outline of events in mainland Europe. "Can you meet us in Turkey? I'll explain more there. I think I'll need your… expertise." A few arrangements and pleasantries exchanged, and she hung up, a sigh escaping her lips. As far as Kurtis could tell, the next call she made was to Heathrow airport, reserving them seats for their journey to Istanbul. When she hung up this time, she looked around, spotted him. "Ready?"

Kurtis took a seat on her bed. "Ready as I'll ever be." Lara nodded and began to zip up her bag. Kurtis reached out, unable to stop himself, and stroked a finger down the tightly braided ponytail that fell down her back. Goosebumps rose on the bare flesh of her arms, but she ignored the touch, and Kurtis trailed off, dropped a kiss on her shoulder, and left the room. Best not to push her too far.