Title: Numb

Chapter 2: Kisses?

Disclaimer: This story is for entertainment purposes only. The characters herein are the property of J.J. Abrams, Touchstone Television, and Bad Robot.

Author's Note: So one of my new goals (I don't do the whole resolution thing) is to update my stories at least once a month. So at least that way I'll be writing. I do miss it so! I just updated another fic of mine, DANCING IN THE DARK. If you're a Gilmore Girl fan, check it out : ) So, two down and seventeen more to go! Hehe

Thanks for reading, you guys are awesome! :)

And just like that, she was in his arms with her lips fused against his in a passionate kiss. He tasted like peppermint and vanilla and smelled like leather. He was in a word, intoxicating. Their bodies pressed tightly together he pushed her into the wall gently, trying desperately to get closer to her. When air became necessary and their lips broke apart, he stayed close to her, placing lighter kisses along her face and lips. He sighed and sank further into her embrace and then he pulled away completely and she could see his guard go back up. Before he could say anything she smiled, her only warning, and then kissed him again.

They stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, exchanging kisses until they heard a throat clear behind them. They broke apart, embarrassed at the affection after just two weeks of being in such close quarters. And seeing the look on Tovah's face he was sharing their thoughts. "I have to…" Sydney shook her head and then without warning sprinted out of the house, not looking back once. Had she, she would have seen a pain clearly written all over Julian Sark's face different from any other pain she had ever caused him, this one came from the heart.

She kept running. It was in her blood, which was pulsing harder than any mission. How could she have been so reckless? She just threw herself at him! She just pushed harder. This was ridiculous. This was not part of the plan. Because she, the one and only Sydney Bristow was falling for the one man she never thought possible one Mr. Julian Sark.

BACK IN THE COMPOUND

"Do you want me to send someone after her, sir?" Tovah's voice brought him back to the present, snapping him out of the vision of her running away over and over again.

"No. She'll come back when she's ready." Silently he added, and I hope it's soon.

Sydney kept running, further and further until finally she couldn't anymore. She collapsed on the side of the road and curling into a ball she let all the pent up emotions of the past three weeks out. Vaughn leaving her, coming back to a life that wasn't hers, abandoning the only people she had ever loved, and now… now falling in love with one of the most dangerous men on the face of the planet. Finally, she saw all of the sparks that had always been there, the way he challenged her the way no man ever could have. Not even Simon. Oh, Simon. Her heart was swelling to it's bursting point and then she heard a car approaching. It slowed when it neared her and she prepared herself for anything. But the power window of the grey Mercedes rolled down and she saw his face. He had come for her. Sark. The relief was evident on both of their faces.

"You've been gone for hours. I was worried." He didn't tell her to get in or try and persuade her to come back with him. He didn't have to.

With her safely in the car he rolled the window up and sat there for a moment with his hazards flashing. "The nearest town is five more miles the way you were headed. You're about nine miles from my home." It was a choice that she had to make, and she had to make it right then. The words she said next almost made up for the image that was still playing in his head. "Take me home." He made a quick U-Turn and her wish was granted.

When that got back to the house, Sark opened the door for her and followed her in. Tovah was there waiting with a secret smile that said he knew something the couple wouldn't admit to knowing. "Do you to be examined, Miss Bristow or should I tell the kitchen staff to bring the rest of your dinner up to you?" It was another choice and suddenly she felt so drained from the realization she'd had earlier and pushing herself so far after not being as active as she had been in LA, she swayed slightly on her feet. Before she knew it she was back in Sark's arms only this time he was carrying her upstairs. "I can take it from here. Thank you, Tovah." The old man bowed his head and then disappeared.

When they reached the staircase he pushed straight into her room and set her gently down beside the bed. "Goodnight Miss Bristow." So formal, as if nothing had happened; as if there was no kiss, she hadn't left and he hadn't just carried her Rhett Butler style up the staircase.

"Sark?" Her voice came out surprisingly small and timid, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

"Please call me Julian." It wasn't a formal request, it came out more as a plea to see him for the man he could be, the man he wanted to be and she responded by reaching out her hand to him. It was a question of faith and trust and he answered in kind. He let himself be pulled towards her and the kisses they shared this time were slower, easier than the ones they had shared earlier. And then just as quickly as it started he pulled away from her.

"You will be the death of me Sydney Bristow." She smiled at him and stepped towards him again but he put his hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "Wait." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "We should wait." It was almost a question the way he said it and she wanted to laugh at his gentlemanly gesture until she realized that's what it was. He was trying to be someone that he had always wanted to be but wasn't sure how. He wanted her to help him be that man. She nodded, afraid of what she might say if she opened her mouth. But his smile told her she had done the right thing.

"Thank you Sydney. Can we meet for breakfast tomorrow?" He said it like they didn't live in the same home together.

"Are you asking me out Mr. Sark?" There was a playful tilt to her voice that he had never heard before but he wanted to hear it much more often.

"It depends on the answer." She smiled at him, almost shyly.

"Then my answer is yes. I'll be ready at nine. Not a minute sooner." He chuckled at her and kissed her cheek.

"Until the morning then." She nodded and as he slipped out of her room she felt the excitement for the morning to come.