Thanks for reviews. Much appreciated. Anyway, on with the story!

Nat woke in the middle of the night to Sands' yell. Her eyes flew open to find him sat bolt upright in bed. Even from her position on the couch, Nat could tell he was trembling. What had happened? She'd never seen him like this. Sheldon Sands was never scared. Of anything.

She slowly crawled off the couch, making sure to make a noise so that he would know she was there. She reached over to touch his shoulder but he pulled away and moved to the wall, his arms around his middle.

"Sands…" Nat almost pleaded with him. What was wrong with him? He shook his head at her, not saying a word. Deciding to try her chances, she cautiously approached him, her hand outstretched as though he was a wild animal she wanted to tame. "Don't push me away, Sands, not again. I want to help."

"You can't help and you know it," he hissed. "You know… you know it all. You saw what they did to me." Nat sighed, realising. He must have had a nightmare. God knows, she couldn't exactly blame him. She'd probably have locked herself away and gone mad if anyone had ever done that to her. But Sands hadn't and she had to respect him for trying to carry on with his life, not treat him like a young boy who had just experienced a bad dream about monsters under the bed. She dropped her hand. "Fine," she said, coldly. "Just don't be surprised when you find yourself alone again pretty damn soon." Uh oh, now the tears started. Why was he always such a bastard? "God, Sands, why can't you just accept that someone on this goddamn earth cares about you. Even if you don't care about them." He didn't answer and Nat wasn't sure if that was due to his being cold or his just being at a loss for words. She turned away and headed for the door to the hotel room. She had fallen asleep with her clothes on and could handle a little walk around Mexico on her own.

Sands, however, had other ideas. Just as her hand had touched the door handle, his larger hand appeared above her, slamming against the door, making sure she wouldn't open it. Resigning from her intentions, she turned, eyes on the floor. His fingers slid down the door to the lock, turning it, before he moved both his hands to her shoulders.

"You're not leaving," he whispered. Was that a note of desperation in his voice? Her suspicions were confirmed when he spoke again. "Please, baby, don't do this to me."

Against her will, tears started leaking down her pale cheeks. "And what about what you're doing to me, Shel? I don't even know you anymore. You're so different to when I first met you. Is this because of the drugs, Shel? Tell me because I really am screwed up in my mind at the moment. I don't know you anymore…I don't know you but I still love you…"

"I'm sorry," he breathed, pulling her into his arms, her face buried in his uninjured shoulder. Her tears soaked his shirt but he didn't care. All that mattered right now was this, them. "I'm sorry, baby, please forgive me. I'm such a fuckmook. I don't even know myself anymore. Please don't leave, I don't know what I'd…I lost you once…"

"And why was that, Sands?"

"Because I'm a dickhead. Because I loved you and I was so scared to admit that to you. Hell, I was so scared to admit it to myself but it was true. And because I'd never told you, you always thought I felt nothing for you and you left. And I realised that, baby, as soon as you'd gone. And that's when I finally admitted it, sweetie, to myself, to everyone. I love you so much and it nearly killed me when I'd lost you." He couldn't believe he was opening his heart up to her like this but he meant every word. She was the only woman he had ever loved in this way. Silent tears were still streaming down her face and he ran his thumbs over her cheeks, kissing her on the forehead. "Do you want to leave?" he asked.

She shook her head. "God, Sheldon, everything's such a mess. But I love you. So fucking much. I love you so much right now…" He silenced her ramblings with a gentle and loving kiss to her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut and she moaned. Her hands moved to his shoulders like they always did when he kissed her and his hands wandered up and down her sides. His fingers caressed her shoulders, before sliding down her arms to her hands. He broke the kiss and gently led her back to the bed, giving her plenty of time to think about whether this was what she wanted. When his legs finally hit the bed, Nat still hadn't shown any sign of resisting so Sands turned them around, slowly lowering her to the bed. His mouth covered hers and her tongue slipped through his lips, searching, exploring once more.

Leaning back, Sands pulled off his shirt and let her run her hands down his toned chest. He lifted her off the bed slightly, pulling up her black top and she lifted her arms to aid him in his task. He unhooked her bra, throwing both items to the floor beside the bed. He laid Nat back down and ran his fingers through her tangled hair. As he leaned over to kiss her neck, he felt her leave feathery kisses across his shoulder and then across the front of his neck to the bandage covered one. She was very gentle, knowing how much it would hurt him if she pressed too hard. Sands captured her lips again, his hands pulling down her jeans and underwear, her boots coming off as well as he pulled the whole lot off her ankles.

How he wanted to see her right now. Just one more time, to look over her beauty, to see her gorgeous body writhe and squirm beneath him. He ran his hands over every inch of her, trying desperately to compensate for his blindness. Her fingers found their way into his pyjama pants, grasping his manhood firmly and he gasped. Nat's own breathing was heavy as well and every time his mouth or fingers reached a pleasurable spot he would receive a delightful moan from her, causing more desire to spread to his nether regions. He knelt back and ridded himself of the last piece of clothing keeping them apart. Settling between her thighs, his lips kissed and nibbled at her neck, moving down to her breasts, sucking on her nipples, causing her to groan out his name.

"Natalie…" Sands moaned as he pushed slowly into her. She arched her back and groaned once more, feeling herself stretch after so long. God, they'd missed each other. He gave them both a moment just to get used to the feeling, before slowly pulling out again. His mouth worked at her neck and her breathing became heavier as Sands continued at his torturously slow pace. The tight knot in Nat's abdomen became heavier and she whimpered quietly as he pushed slightly harder.

"Sands…" she gasped before his mouth stifled any more sound from her lips. He moaned into her mouth as he felt her tighten around him, her climax reaching her with her barely making a sound. He slowed down further still, releasing her lips from his, letting her catch her breath before picking up his pace rapidly, deeper and faster. They gasped and moaned, kissing and sucking at each others' skin and Sands' hand found its way between her thighs, gently pressing and teasing her into her second orgasm. She groaned and sighed his name in pleasure, feeling him start to spasm. His hands found hers and, burying his head in her neck, he let himself spill into her with a long, loud and deeply satisfied groan. He lay gently on top of her, trying not to collapse his whole weight on to her. "I love you, Sands," she whispered. He smiled, for once in his life, enjoying the sound of those three small but special words.

"I love you too, Nat, so much." He heard her sigh contentedly and he just lay, not knowing for how long exactly, listening to the soft sounds of her breathing as she fell into a peaceful sleep. Gently, he withdrew himself from her, instantly feeling cold so he moved to her side, gathering her into his arms and wrapping the bed sheets around them both. He kissed her shoulder, his lips lingering for a second, breathing in her scent, feeling the beautifully soft skin beneath his lips.

For this night, this short while, he could push everything back, the cartel, work, his wound, their rocky history. Everything he didn't want to know about. He could focus on the warm feeling, throughout his body and mind, caused by the young woman sleeping soundly beside him.

He could imagine her sleeping face, a perfect oval, long black eyelashes and a small full mouth below her small straight nose. Her face was framed with black wavy hair, tousled from their lovemaking, a small ear poking out from the black silk. He smiled, even though his heart longed to look at her, and he pushed the pieces of hair from her face, behind her ear. He planted a small kiss on her forehead, feeling her shift slightly beneath his arms. His grip around her tightened slightly and he allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.