Disclaimer: JER/NBC own characters

LuvinEvian and Courtaney, you are both the wind beneath my wings! THANK YOU:) :) :)--EF

Julian's heart ached at the misery that he caused Eve. He was sorry to have raised his voice at her, but he could not seem to make her understand the depth of his need for her presence. The years he spent bereft of any other human contact left him scarred. He could not even conceive of spending another day in that kind of torment.

"You do not know what comfort you bring me," he thought to himself. "Even your sadness at being torn from the life you once knew makes me feel alive again, for soon I will be the one to dry your tears."

Eve huddled inside the fur wrap, freezing because she didn't have a chance to dry off or put on her clothes before her altercation with Julian.

"It's just as well," she told herself. "My skirt was ripped from my fall, and I need to mend it." Eve then thought how she would accomplish that with neither needle or thread. "Oh, no," she moaned aloud, just as Julian entered, his arms full of trees that looked like he had simply ripped them out of the earth.

"What is the matter?" he inquired, having heard her moan. He was rewarded with a glare from Eve's beautiful eyes. "Eve, I only wanted to see if I could help in any way." Julian placed the wood down, and then came to the cage. "Tell me what is wrong."

"You have to ask?"

He sighed. "I am all too aware of your feelings in regards to staying here. However, since I have established that there will be no leaving, perhaps you can tell me if you have an immediate need that I can see to."

Eve shook her head. "I don't need or want anything from you."

"Brave words, my dear, but not altogether true. You need me as much as I need you," Julian told her, a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. "You know this to be true, no matter how much you want to deny this fact."

"I do not need you." Eve turned away from him, only to hear his laughter. "Why are you laughing at me?" she demanded, becoming even more agitated.

"You will at least need food and water, my beautiful captive. Where would you acquire these if not from me?" Julian grinned at her, rather liking the fire in her eyes.

"I did manage before you stole me for your own pleasure," Eve returned hotly. "I am no pampered miss." Julian then opened the cage, reaching for her. Eve tried to scramble away from his invading hand, but it was useless. He lifted her out of the cage, Eve struggling in frustration.

"Eve, my dear, please save your strength. You fight me, but you know you cannot prevail." Seeing her shiver as he held her, his eyes became concerned. "You are still damp from your bath, aren't you?"

"No," Eve lied, not wanting Julian's assistance. "I'm quite all right."

Julian was not fooled for an instant. "You are cold. I think I know of a way to warm you up." He held her carefully in both hands, then went to sit by the fire, taking care not to sit too close for Eve' s sake. "We will sit here by the fire, until you feel better."

"No! I mean, it's not necessary, I am warm enough," Eve objected. She tried to extricate herself from Julian's grip, but his hands held her firmly. "You don't need to do this."

"I cannot have you catch cold," he insisted. Eve soon gave up trying to free herself, and allowed Julian to hold her. Truth be told, his hands were very warm, and she did not mind at all. Julian, on the other hand, was keenly aware of the fact that Eve was clad only in the fur wrap. His breathing becoming labored, he tried to control his body's reaction to Eve's nearness, but was having very little success.

In spite of her anger with him, Eve was concerned about Julian's sudden erratic breathing. "Julian, what is the matter?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him ."Do you need to get some air?"

Julian lowered Eve to the floor, close enough to the fire to feel its warmth, but not be harmed by the flames. "Yes," he said standing. "I need some air." He backed away and that was when she spotted the boulder-like bulge in his trousers.

Oh, my Lord! Did she do that? He was so...so BIG. Having never been with a man in that way, she lacked experience in the ways a man and women related to each other, but if that was what he demanded of her... Eve's heart raced, the room spun, and everything went black.

Julian watched in horror as Eve dropped to the floor. "Eve!" he yelled, racing back towards her and gently lifting her limp body. He frantically wondered what would cause her to pass out. "I had her too close to the fire, the poor darling," he decided. He went over to the bowl that held her bathwater and dipped his fingertips in it. Then, returning to Eve, he splashed a tiny drop on her face. Eve began to cough, then sat up, wondering where she was.

"Are you all right, my love?" Julian asked, relieved to see her conscious.

"I...I'm all right, I think," Eve managed to say, though she could not remember what happened.

"You gave me quite a fright, Eve. I regret I had you too close to the fire."

Fright? Eve suddenly remembered what caused her lapse of consciousness.. "Oh, uh, no, I wasn't too close to the fire," she said, glancing at his midsection that wasn't nearly as profound as it was minutes before. Still, there was no denying he was not a normal man.

"Are you certain that you are all right?" Julian wondered just what caused her to faint, if not the heat from the flames...

"Julian, you were in need of air before. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm concerned about you."

"Well, don't be. I'll be okay while you go and get your air."

"I don't need the air now."

"You--you don't."

"No. My moment of weakness has passed."

"Why is it you care for me when you keep me against my will? You are a man. What exactly do you want from me? And why do you address me as your love? I am not that, nor will I ever be!"

Julian's cheeks grew hot. Had she seen what she did to him? She must have. "It's just an expression...I don't understand what you mean," he hedged.

"You keep me as prisoner, yet your actions belie your role as my jailer." Eve took a deep breath. "You act as a man who wishes to court me." She looked away. "And that is not all of the truth of the matter."

"What else could there be?"

"Don't play coy with me! I saw you just now! Trust me, I didn't want to notice that, but how could I not. You speak of your loneliness, you hold me here, make my friends think I'm dead... Is there any wonder I fainted? You must know I cannot help you with...with that. It is impossible."

Julian looked at her sadly. "I know this, Eve. With every fiber of my being, I know this. I am a man, so I will feel and respond like any man to a beautiful woman, but you have nothing to fear. I am all too well aware of the fact we cannot be together like a normal man and woman, which is why I tried to remove myself. I can control my physical reactions, Eve, but I cannot bear to be alone. I want your sweet presence around me...no matter if I desire you, but cannot have you in that way."

Eve's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "You think me beautiful?." Julian crouched down in front of Eve, his finger caressing her face.

"You are the most beautiful lady I have ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because you're the only one in the vicinity, but because it's a fact. Of all the women I've met in my life, you are by far the fairest of them all." His finger hovered about her lips.

"Thank you," she whispered. Julian closed his eyes at the feeling of her lips. How he wanted to kiss them! Yet he knew that it could never be...his punishment from Tabitha Lenox never making itself more prevalent than at this very moment.

As he pondered his plight, shaking his head dejectedly, he felt a tiny pressure on his index finger. He opened his eyes abruptly as he realized what the feeling was. Eve, his beautiful captive, had pressed her lips to the finger that had been caressing them. Julian's heart soared. Eve had given him a kiss!