Chapter Three- One Cold and Stormy Night…
The summer sun hit the pavement with melting heat, causing the ground to look as if it were swirling beneath their feet. She stood there, by the side of the road, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, not wanting to let him go.
"I'll be back." he promised, his words brushing softly against her tear stained cheek.
"Why do you have to go?" she asked. A tear fell down her face and he brushed it away with his thumb.
"Because I said I would," he ducked down so that he was eye to eye with her, "and I always keep my promises." He kissed her lips lovingly, causing her knees to buckle. She held tightly, savoring the feel and taste of his lips, letting his kiss burn itself in her memory. All too soon he pulled away and climbed onto his bike. She watched as he revved the engine and took off down the quiet street.
Tears streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep the feeling of being in his arms fresh. She held his promise close to her heart, and knew that he would be back. The only question was, when.
Sark sighed and placed the book down beside him on the bed.
Though written about teenagers, the story was so similar to what had transpired between himself and Chloe. It was slightly eerie to read about a character whose personality was so close to his own it was like looking in the mirror.
Against his will, Sark's mind conjured up an image of Chloe. He remembered the way she looked at the airport, the last time he had ever seen her.
He wished that their lives could have been different. He wished that he had never grown attached to the young woman. But he had and, no matter how much he wanted to, Sark could not change the past or how he felt about Chloe.
Sark closed his eyes and laid down on his bed, which was located in the safe house that the CIA had moved him to. Memories of Chloe and their time together flooded his mind. He could remember the way her skin felt and the way she smelled. He recalled the way she tilted her head when she was thinking or getting ready to kiss him. He could hear clearly the way her voice sounded after they made love, husky and low.
Now some other man was kissing Chloe, touching her soft skin, and loving her. Some other man was making her weak in the knees, causing her voice to turn into the husky voice he loved to hear. The thought of Chloe being intimate with someone else made Sark ill.
The door of the safe house suddenly opened then slammed shut. Sark had just enough time to slide Chloe's book under the bed before Sydney stood over him, looking at him with unbridled contempt.
"Mrs. Vaughn, how nice to see you." he drawled, looking up at her through half closed eyes.
"Get up." Sydney snapped.
"You forgot to say please." Sark smirked. Like a flash of lightening, Sydney reached down, grabbed the collar of Sark's shirt, and hauled him to his feet.
"Please." she growled in a low, threatening voice. Angrily, Sark pushed Sydney's hands off him and straightened his shirt. The two enemies stood staring at each other.
"As much as I enjoy this staring match," Sark said, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen around them, "I'm sure you came here for a reason."
"Where is it?" Sydney asked. Sark played dumb.
"Where is what?" He cocked one eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.
"You know we track your movements Sark," Sydney eyed him, "and you know that everything you bring into this safe house has to be approved by me or another agent. Now where is it?" She stared him down, trying to make him feel uneasy. But Sark wasn't going to play her game. He simply stood there, his mouth in a tight, angry line.
The tension in the room was thick, but neither adversary was going to give an inch.
"I know you have something Sark, it'll only be a matter of time before I find it anyway, so why don't you just give it to me?" Sydney's voice was cold, and the look in her eyes even colder.
"Why are you so interested in what I am reading Mrs. Vaughn?" Sark asked, cocking his head just slightly in the way he knew would drive Sydney crazy.
"I know you have her book Sark. Why else would you have gone to a bookstore? And I know you still have feelings for her."
"And just who are we talking about here?"
"I've read the letters Sark," Sydney was becoming annoyed, "Why else do you think I kept them from Chloe? She had to move on with her life, she had to get over you. You weren't good for her." Her voice had grown louder and louder with each word. Sark felt his anger surge up within him. So it had been Sydney who kept his letters from getting to Chloe.
"You had no right to read those." He yelled at her, "Those were personal."
"When it comes to my daughter I have every right!" Sydney yelled back. The room grew quiet. Then Sydney added in a much quieter, but still threatening tone, "She's doing good now Sark. Don't mess it up."
Humming contentedly, Chloe stirred the spaghetti sauce, watching bubbles rise to the top before popping. The smell of garlic bread filled the kitchen, making her mouth water as she drained the noodles in the sink and set the table for dinner. The house was quiet, Paris was working on some homework back in her room, and Devin was working on a spreadsheet to show to his investors. Chloe flipped on the radio and began to quietly sing along with the song that was playing. She didn't know it that well, so she made up some of her own words along the way.
The ringing of the telephone and the loud, annoying beep of the oven timer sounded at the same time.
"I got it!" Devin called from the room they used as an office. The ringing stopped, and Chloe pushed the button to turn off the timer before pulling the bread out of the oven. A few minutes later Devin came into the kitchen, pulling on his jacket and trying to keep a hold of his briefcase.
"That was James." he said, fixing the collar of his jacket, "there's some kind of problem with the books and they need me to come in and take a look at it. I also have my meeting with the investors tonight, so I probably won't be home 'til late." He kissed her cheek gently. "Don't wait up for me."
"I won't." Chloe replied with a smirk, a habit that had stayed with her since the Affair, as she had come to call her time with Sark. Devin chuckled and kissed her lovingly.
"I love you." he said, his breath warm against her lips.
"I love you too." Chloe smiled and pushed him towards the door, "now go before James winds up putting us in the poor house." Devin kissed her one last time before heading out the door.
Dinner was over and the dishes had been washed and put away. Chloe sat on the couch reading while Paris lay on the floor watching television. It was dark out, and the only light inside the house was that from the TV and the lamp that sat on the end table beside the couch. Rain splattered in large drops against the window and the wind whipped around the house, making eerie whistling noises.
"Hey mom," Paris said looking up from her show, some news report about the rising rate of adoption. Chloe never questioned why Paris liked watching the news, it was just nice that she didn't have to worry about her daughter watching things that she shouldn't.
"What?" Chloe looked at her daughter over the edge of her book.
"Do you ever think about dad?" The girl asked.
"Of course I think about my husband." Chloe replied.
"No, I mean my real dad." Paris looked at her with wide, inquisitive eyes. Chloe felt shaken. Of course she thought about Sark. As much as she didn't want to, and as much as she tried to put him from her mind, at least one thought popped into her head every day.
"No," she lied. Her voice sounded fake to her own ears and she hoped that Paris wouldn't pick up on it. "No I don't think about him. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." Paris shrugged her shoulders, looking downcast, "I just was wondering about him. You know, what he was like and all that."
"Oh." Chloe didn't know that Paris thought about her father. She didn't know that her daughter wanted to know about the man that had stolen Chloe's heart and refused to give it back.
"What…what do you want to know about him?" She didn't want to get into it, but if Paris wanted to know, Chloe had to tell her.
"I don't know," Paris said, sitting up and looking at Chloe with those vivid blue eyes of hers. "Just…what he was like. You know, was he nice or a jerk? Did he treat you like a princess? Did you two love each other?"
Chloe took in a deep, calming breath. She wanted to tell Paris, really she did. But she couldn't. It hurt her to just think about her past with Sark.
She held her arms out to Paris, inviting the girl to come sit with her. Paris got up and climbed into her mother's lap.
"I did love him," she said to the young girl, "I loved him very much. And he was nice, very nice actually once you got past his tough exterior and the walls he had set up around himself."
"Was he handsome?" Paris smirked. Chloe's heart jumped into her throat. When Paris smirked she looked just like Sark.
"Yes," Chloe hugged her daughter tightly, "he was very handsome."
"Do you wish he hadn't left us?" the question was innocent, but it shook Chloe to the core.
"No," she lied, "no, I'm quite happy with the life I have now and I wouldn't change it. I love daddy and he loves me." Paris nodded her head, seemingly happy with the answers she had received. She climbed back onto the floor and settled in to watch a re-run of Friends, which had just come on.
Rain fell down in sheets from the sky, soaking through his clothes and making him shiver. It was cold rain, and the wind that whipped across the ground did nothing to help.
He still didn't know why he was here. Sydney had given him strict instructions to stay away, but since when did Julian Sark listen to orders? Sark knew there would be hell to pay when he returned to the safe house, the cold metal that was locked around his ankle would make sure of that. But he had to see her, just once. He had to be sure that she no longer felt for him what she once had.
Sark stood there, staring at the door, letting the rain soak further into his skin. His teeth chattered and his hands shook, whether from nervousness or the cold he didn't know. Sighing resolutely he reached up and rang the door bell.
Chloe looked up at the sound of the doorbell. Paris glanced briefly over her shoulder, but quickly turned back to her show.
"Who could be out in this weather?" Chloe asked herself as she stood and walked to the door. It certainly wasn't Devin. He had said that he wouldn't be back until late at night and besides, he would have just walked in or used his key.
Chloe turned the knob and opened the door.
Oh am I evil or what? Lol. I just love leaving you all in suspense for what is going to happen next. At least this time the chapter was longer. Hope ya liked it.
le Citron: Thank you so much for the amazing compliment. It really meant a lot to me.
Triple Agent, wisechild, freakygirl, Marie, Sarks-Girl-89, Moni, Masta D, csk8-20, and Eyghon: I want to thank all of you for reviewing the last chapter. It really means a lot when people take the time to tell mehow much they enjoyedmy story.