Yay! I am updating fast! Well, thanks to all who reviewed in the last chapter. All those reviews really made my day! I am glad that a lot of you liked this story. So let's not make this any longer, here's chapter 5 of Mysterious Lover. Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It only belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sakura's ear was pressed hard against Itachi's chest and she could feel the heavy thumping of his heart inside. She had never been so close to him before, never felt the strength of him.

Raising her head, she looked into his eyes. They were guarded but there was a hint of emotion that she had never seen before. "How are you feeling?" she managed to say. Her voice sounded weak and trembling.

"I'll feel better once we get away from this place. If you hadn't arrived, things could have been a little desperate. There's nothing to eat up here and the nights get a little cold, even in August."

"Did you have some water?"

"Yes. There's a well."

Shisui spoke up. "We've got food in the truck. I don't see any reason to hang around here, do you?"

Itachi glanced over at him. "No, I don't. Especially, if you think you've been followed."

The three of them started for the truck but Itachi hadn't let go of his grip around Sakura. He had tucked her under his arm, his hand clamped against her waist, holding her to his side.

Sakura clambered into the truck quickly and sat in the middle. The men hastily followed, slamming their doors. Shisui had automatically slid behind the wheel again, leaving Itachi to sit beside her. Because of the floor shift, Sakura found herself plastered against Itachi's side. His arm was draped on the seat behind her. She wriggled, trying to place some distance between the two of them. His hand fell on her shoulder, effectively pinning her to his side.

"You are fine, just where you are."

Of course. He still knew what she was thinking. He had always known, even when they were working together. Never by any hint had he given away his extra knowledge of her. She wondered how he had managed.

"It was not easy, Pinky, believe me."

She dared a glance in his direction but he was not looking at her. Instead, he had leaned forward and was digging into the sack at his feet. "Ah, food." Reaching down the sack, he pulled out a plastic-wrapped sandwich. With a grin, he handed it to her. "How about opening this for me, would you? I'm short of hands at the moment."

Since his left hand was curved around her shoulder and he gave no indication that he would ever move it, she recognized that he preferred their current position over eating, despite how hungry he was.

Without saying anything, she unwrapped the sandwich and held it out to him. He seemed to inhale it. She reached down and found the six pack of soda they had bought and without asking, opened one of them for him.

"Thanks," he muttered, taking a long swallow and exhaling with a sigh.

"What do you think is going on?" Shisui asked.

That was what Sakura wanted to know but she had a hunch that they were concerned about two different subjects.

"The way I figure it, your friend didn't appreciate all my questions. I was sent out here on a wild goose chase."

"Where did they force you off the road?"

"I don't know. I have never been out here before. It was long before we left the highway, though." Itachi replied. He began to massage Sakura's neck and shoulders, his fingers pushing and kneading the stiff muscles. They hit a sudden bump and he held her against him for a moment then eased his grip and began to stroke across her shoulders again.

"I didn't see any sign of your car."

Itachi sighed. "I am not surprised. I didn't have the chance to remove the keys. There were three men in the car. Only two brought me up here. My car will turn up abandoned somewhere."

"Do you think they intend to let you die up here?" Sakura asked.

"Who knows? I didn't make any friends when I hit the first guy. That's when I must have gotten clobbered from behind. By the time I came to, I was in the back seat with a gun aimed at me and we were on this road. My biggest fear was that one of the holes on the road would cause that gun to go off. You can bet I stayed quiet as possible."

Shisui laughed. "Actually, you look a hell of a lot better than I expected. I can remember some of the scrapes we used to get into when–" Itachi cut him off.

"Yeah. Me, too, Shisui but I'd rather not go into them at the moment."

Sakura felt his gaze rest on her profile but she refused to look up at him. He still didn't want her knowing any more about him than he could help which she found extremely annoying under the circumstances. He knew everything about her.

"Not everything, Pinky."

She forced herself not to answer him out loud. Shisui didn't need to know what was between them. Why didn't you ever let know who you really were?

"How could I? Remember, it wasn't my idea for you to come and work at the agency. It took me a few weeks to overcome the shock of finding you working for me and another few weeks to decide that despite everything, you were the best employee that I had."

She remembered now that he had questioned on her choice of coming to work there. At the time they were having a high turnover of employees. Since then, the problems had been worked out and the work force was much more stable.

"People still move away and have babies. That's the norm for the working world these days," he continued.

If you didn't want me working for you, why did you make me your administrative assistant?

"I didn't say I didn't want you working for me. I said it was a shock. Like I told you, despite our relationship, you were the most suited for the position. The personnel director suggested you to me although I had already recognized how well you edited my tapes as you went along."

I thought you were upset about that.

"I was more amused than anything. You have such a keen mind. You constantly amaze me. You might be shy in other areas but when you know you are right, you do what you have to do."

I am not shy.

"You are. You rarely date."

Whose fault is that? She demanded, glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye.

Itachi had been eating another sandwich while she held his soda. Now he took it from her, deliberately trailing his fingers across hers.

"I never stopped you from dating. You and Naruto seemed to have a good relationship."

A friendly relationship, that's all.

"What's wrong with being friends?"

Not a thing.

"Are you still blaming me for telling you Shiranui Genma was married?"

Of course not! She thought back for a few minutes. Wait a minute. You are the one who introduced me to Genma.

"Right but I didn't expect you to date the man just because I introduced him to you."

Then why didn't you say something there in the office?

"We don't have that sort of relationship in the office."

Sakura grew quiet. So much had hit the past hour that her head was still reeling. What was going to happen to her now? Nothing in her life was going to be the same again.

"That's the way life works, Pinky. Nothing ever stays the same. We wouldn't want it to, now would we? That's part of our growth pattern: to learn, to gain wisdom and to expand."

I was perfectly content to leave things the way they were.

"Oh, you were now? Who was it who insisted on coming up here to finally meet Itachi? Who was so gleeful that you have found me in a position where I had no choice? You wanted to know. Now you do."

Now I do, she repeated a little sadly.

"And you're disappointed." Itachi shifted. She could feel the long length of his leg pressed against hers. Since he had taken the can of soda out of her hand, it was free. She could almost feel the hurt that he was experiencing at the thought that she was disappointed to learn his true identity. She shifted her hand until it rested on his thigh.

Not disappointed. Shock is more the word. When I think of the times– Itachi cut her off.

"Don't think of them."

How can I possibly forget them? You listened patiently while I carried on and on about how cold and unfeeling my boss was. You must have a tough time not revealing how amusing you found me.

"I wasn't amused, Pinky. I could feel your frustration with the situation. Unfortunately, what you were dealing with was the real out in the business world."

Nonsense. You are not cold and unfeeling. You are warm, caring and – Sakura caught her breath as the memory of his earlier words came back to haunt her. He had told her that he loved her. He had told her that he had always loved her. Itachi loved her. That meant, her boss, Mr. Uchiha also loved her. She was dazed by the thought.

He sat quietly beside her, refusing to comment on her most recent thoughts. She was almost grateful.

The two men began to talk and Sakura gratefully tuned out their conversation. Her mind was in such turmoil. In all the years that she had tried to guess at the type of person Itachi was, she would never have pictured him as a no-nonsense businessman, brisk and efficient.

Sakura let her head rest wearily against his shoulder. Too many things had come at her too quickly for her to take them in. She allowed her eyes to close, enjoying this solid warmth beside her. She would have to think about everything later.

By the time they reached the smoother surface of the highway, Sakura was sound asleep in Itachi's arms.

Later, Sakura vaguely recalled being lifted and held close and a sense of movement but that was all. She had been so tired. And why not? She had made the drive from Los Angeles, plus the additional one into the Utah mountains. She had been bounced and bruised and she had met her lifelong friend in the flesh which had been traumatic, to say the least.

The next thing she knew was that she was lying in bed, the covers tucked cozily around her.

"Pinky? Are you awake yet?"

Drowsily, she opened her eyes. She was in a strange room. Rolling onto her back, she saw that she was in a hotel room. The drapes were closed and there was very little light in the room. Bewildered, she sat up and the covers slipped to her waist. Only her scraps of underwear kept her from being totally unclothed.

"Itachi!"

"Hn. So you're awake now. Good, I–"

"What did you do with my clothes?!"

"?"

"And don't play the innocent with me!"

"If you will look on the chair in front of the window, you will find them neatly folded and waiting for you to put on."

She saw them just where he described.

"Oh."

"Did you bring any others with you?"

"Yes but they are in the car."

"And the car is –?"

"Parked in the U-QIZ's parking lot. You had no right to take off my clothes, Itachi."

"No right? Come on, Pinky. You sound like some Victorian lady. You wouldn't have rested in those jeans and you know it. Are you afraid I took advantage of you while you slept?"

"Fat chance."

She could feel his amusement. "Would you like to meet me for brunch? Several casinos around the town put on an excellent spread."

Sakura tried to see what time it was but it was too dark.

"Almost ten."

That late! And she had to get back to Los Angeles. After all, she had a job to do and her job! Suddenly, she remembered all that she had learned the previous day.

"Are you afraid I'll fire you if you don't get back to work in time?"

She didn't know what to think. Never had she been so confused. "I'm going to take a shower. I should be ready in about half an hour."

"Hn."

She hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. Everything in the two rooms was clean and of the highest quality. The hotel had thoughtfully provided shampoo and deodorant as well as a shower cap if she didn't want to take time to wash her hair.

Sakura had no choice. She felt grimy after the dusty ride on the back roads yesterday. The hot water felt wonderful beating down on her body and she forced her mind to relax and enjoy it. She had enough time later to try to figure out what to do with all the new information she had just received.

Eventually, she faced that she would have to leave the security of the shower. Wrapping her dripping hair in a towel she stepped out of the tub and started drying off.

"Pinky?"

She kept drying. "Are my thirty minutes up?"

"No but I brought your suitcase with you. Do you need anything out of it?"

Her suitcase with her toothbrush, her hair dryer, her –

"Where are you?"

"In your room. Where else would I be?"

Hastily, she draped the large towel around her and jerked opened the bathroom door. Peering around the corner, she saw her suitcase on her rumpled bed and Itachi sitting on the chair by the window.

He had obviously spent a restful night. His hair appeared slightly damp from the shower and his clothes looked fresh. Today, he wore a pair of Levi's that fit him embarrassingly well and a white, long-sleeved shirt that once again the sleeves turned up above the elbows. He was sitting stretched out in the chair, his legs extended and crossed at the ankle. Today, he wore moccasins. His elbows rested on the high arms of the chair and his hands made a steeple under his chin.

She had never seen her boss dressed in anything but three piece business suits that effectively concealed his well-developed and super sexy body. Wait where did that come from? Anyway, nothing Itachi had on today hid much of anything. The top three buttons of his shirt were opened and she could see his wide muscular chest.

When her gaze met his eyes, she saw that he was amused at the long study she was giving him. He hadn't been wasting his time either, obviously enjoying the view as she stood there with a towel wrapped under her arms and hanging to mid-thigh.

"How did you get in?"

"I have a key, why?"

"No reason, I guess. Thank you for getting my clothes for me."

"My pleasure." The way he drawled the words and the look he had on his face as his eyes continued to wander from her towel-draped head to her bare toes made her grab her suitcase and hurry back to the bathroom.

She could hear his laughter through the closed door.

Sakura did not find the present situation particularly amusing. To think that all this time she had been working for Itachi and he had known…

She saw her wide-eyed expression in the mirror and almost groaned out loud. How could he?

Flashback…

That time, two years ago, when she had gotten so angry at Mr. Uchiha, she had almost quit. In fact, if it hadn't been for Itachi insisting she simmer down before making any decisions…

Of course he had been right. No one should make decisions when they were angry. A person wasn't really thinking when angry. But oh! How she had wanted to quit. He had been so arrogant, so rude.

He had also been putting in long, grueling hours and he had several clients come in demanding immediate help. At the time she had not seen the situation from his side. All she knew was that he was demanding impossibly long hours from her. Yet he had been there working right along side with her.

What would have happened if Itachi hadn't calmed her down and she'd given notice? Would she have been any happier anywhere else?

The answer was no. She enjoyed her work. She found it challenging. Now that she recalled that particular incident, she remembered that she was surprised the next day when M. Uchiha ask her to go to lunch with him to discuss some business matters that he preferred not to have interrupted by some constant ringing of the phone.

They had sat there for two hours while he discussed the present crisis in the office. He had asked her advice on how to handle the sudden influx of business, and he had listened when she made a few suggestions. Before long, each of them was coming up with ideas built on the other's suggestions. By the time they returned to the office, Sakura had totally forgotten that she had seriously considered resigning. He had stopped in front of her desk while she put her purse away. When she sat down, he was still standing there.

"Thank you for a very valuable lunch, Ms. Haruno. I hope we can get some of these ideas working for us immediately. They should help the wear and tear on our nerves."

She smiled at him, aware if the strain in his face. "I hope so too, Mr. Uchiha."

No sooner had she gotten home that night and had been greeted by Sam when Itachi had gotten in touch with her.

"Well, Pinky? Did you resign today?"

"No, of course not."

"Why did you say 'of course not'? Didn't you tell me last night that you no longer wanted to work for an arrogant, rude, bullying slave driver of a boss and that you weren't sure you'd even be able to stay for the two weeks necessary to work out your notice?"

"I overreacted."

"You mean, he isn't any of those things?"

"He's tired, Itachi. Really worn out. The poor man has been trying to do the work of three people. I think I convinced him today to hire at least one more investigator, possibly two, to help him with the work load. He's seriously considering it."

"What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, he was arrogant and rude. Today, he's a poor man."

"You can make fun of me all you want. Once I calmed down, I realized that I only saw what was happening to me, what I was going through, how mistreated I was. Today, he gave me an opportunity to look at it from this point of view. He's never asked more of me than he has asked of himself. In fact, he generally puts longer hours than I do, since he's out in the field so much as well as in the office digging through the piles of paper alongside of me."

End of flashback…

Now as Sakura put on the finishing touches of her makeup and made sure her slip didn't show under the dress, she had hastily packed. She realized how many times she and Itachi had discussed her relationship with her boss.

How embarrassing. No wonder he as her boss had no trouble understanding her. If only she had been given the same opportunity but she had, actually. As Itachi, he had explained his position as much as he could without revealing his identity. He had given her an opportunity to see inside of him, to share his thoughts and feelings.

Sakura had placed her hand lightly on her breasts, where the butterfly fluttering seemed to have started. She and Itachi had been much more intimate over the years than other people. They had never shared a physical intimacy but that seemed almost superfluous to what they already had.

She knew he loved her and was there for her, just as he had known when he had contacted her that she would do anything to help him, no matter what it was. They had experienced a true union of their innermost spirits by the long familiar exchange of their thoughts and feelings.

How could she say she didn't know the man sitting out there waiting so patiently for her? She knew him as well as she knew herself.

And she loved him with a depth of feeling that almost shook her with its intensity.

Sakura opened the door and steeped out into the room. Itachi had his eyes closed and he opened them when he heard the door. She knew that the dress she wore was the same color as her eyes. It was a simple cotton sundress that she generally wore to the beach or to go shopping. Not wanting to take much time with her hair, she had combed it back from her face and let it wave to her shoulders.

Itachi never took his eyes off of her as he slowly came to his feet and walked over to her. She could smell the light scent of his after shave and she realized how familiar the smell had become to her over the years. Many times, before she looked up, she had known when he had returned to the office by that special scent.

Now, she carefully explored his face with her intent gaze – his sexy brows, his deep-set dark hooded eyes that seemed to glow with a secret fire of their own; his nose, his high cheekbones and his jaw. She saw the honesty and integrity stamped on his face, the experiences life had tossed his way, how little joy he had found so far and how little he really expected to find.

Sakura went up on tiptoe and slid her arms around his neck. "Oh, Itachi, I love you so much," she whispered with trembling lips as she placed them on his firm and well-shaped mouth.

A/N: The end…

No I'm only joking! I wouldn't end this story just like that. I know all of you are gonna kill me if I end it there. I don't wanna die yet. I'm still young and had a lot of things to do in this world. Hehe…well, chapter 5 is done! See you on my next update and please don't forget to give me a review.