"Why did you kiss me?" Nikola asked, coming to stand next to her. "It's not that I object, it's just that I'd very much like to know what it was so I could do it again and again and again," he finished. It was fun and flirty and gave her an easy out.

"Cheeky bastard," Helen said, turning to face him. Nikola smiled at her in the darkness, the boyish grin of pride making her laugh."Some things never change," she muttered, crossing her arms as she decided to give up this particular battle.

"And some things do," Nikola responded, his voice serious.

Helen took a deep breath, trying to steady the emotions fluttering inside, making her lightheaded.

"Because I wanted to," she said finally. Her words hung in the air and she could feel Nikola freeze behind her. Whether in shock or apprehension, she couldn't discern.

He was holding his breath, probably waiting for a comment Helen wasn't sure she could deliver even if it was true.

"Helen," he said warily and she turned to face him. He stood for a moment and looked into her eyes. Then, so slowly Helen thought he'd take an hour, he closed the distance between their lips. He stopped a safe distance away, hovering uncertainly.

It wasn't an emotion she'd often seen in Nikola's eyes and she had half a mind to simply enjoy it for a long moment. Fortunately for him, the stronger part of her was willing her to get closer, to take his lips in another kiss. So she did just that. There was nothing rushed or desperate about it this time, instead they were gentle, exploring, testing the waters.

It was like a first kiss, sweet and lingering, making Helen tingle from head to toe. He was soft with her, lips caressing with infinite care as if he'd be perfectly happy to continue like this until the sun rose.

Helen didn't have nearly as much patience, hands moving from his shoulder up into his hair, curling her fingers and dragging him closer.

Her lips became harsh as her tongue begged entrance. He gasped at the change in her, body bowing into hers as their kiss deepened. He was quick to respond moving one hand to the small of her back, pulling her against him while the other settled on her ribs, just under her breast. Taking his move as encouragement, Helen nipped at his lip, enjoying the resulting moan she drew from him as they pressed even further together, his erection making itself known.

Suddenly, Nikola's mouth left hers and Helen let out a squeak of surprise followed by another as his mouth descended on her collar bone, pushing away the fabric of her dress. He left a trail of hot, wet kisses up her neck before tracing the same path back down, only this time alternating small bites and soothing caresses of his tongue.

"I love you," he whispered coarsely between nips, his voice thick with emotion. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Helen shuddered, pretending it was the feeling of his hot breath against her damp skin. "Shut up," she moaned, using his hair to tug him back to her mouth.

"I love you," Nikola whispered into her lips and his kisses, while still passionate, became warmer, kinder, more loving, taking on an edge that frightened her.

"No," she growled, pulling away for a second. In a heartbeat she was back, diving for his lips fiercely.

Nikola acquiesced but couldn't help feeling shocked and more than a little upset. While he'd spent more than a century facing her displeasure at his advances, protestations of love had never made her angry, uncomfortable and withdrawn yes, but never angry. And just like that, everything clicked into place. He'd always assumed he'd wanted her unconditionally, more than happy to take whatever scrap of herself she would give him but he didn't. He wanted her to want him, he wanted the version of her that was madly in love with him, they were not to be a quick fuck but forever.

Gently, he pulled away from her demanding kisses, maintaining his grip on her shoulders to prevent any escape.

The moment Helen realised he wasn't moving to find a better position, her face dropped, heart stinging with rejection. She squirmed in his grasp, careful not to look into his eyes as she threw out her arms to push him away.

"Look at me Helen," he demanded. She refused, who was he to do this, to reject her after more than a century of pursuing her?

"Look at me," he said again, this time more forcefully. "Look at me!"

Helen stopped fighting for a moment, locking her eyes on his blue grey gaze.

"I love you," he said seriously. She took a deep breath, trying desperately not to fall apart but it was useless. Without any conscious decision, she collapsed into his arms, clinging to him but he didn't seem to relent, still holding her rather stiffly. So she pulled away, anger bubbling up.

"Get off me," she spat, voice wavering. Two sides of her were warring, one yelling, screaming at her for allowing Nikola to get this close to her heart. The other, far more meek, insisted that she give in to the tears, give in to the grief that it seemed she hadn't buried.

"I love you, Helen. I always will," he insisted softly, grip on her arms loosening just a fraction.

And then she was kissing him again, seeking out his lips to make the words stop. He kissed her back but it lacked the passion she was trying to illicit from him. He was soft and friendly, like they had been back in Oxford when still experimenting with each other.

"No," she growled again, clutching the front of his suit desperately.

Nikola pulled back slowly, his last, lingering little kiss slipping off the side of her mouth as he moved from her grasp, standing between her and the escape the door could provide.

"I hate you," she half shrieked, voice rising dangerously. Something flashed over his face, a look she couldn't decipher but she chose to see hurt, relishing the fact that she'd been able to wound him even in such a small way.

"Leave me alone," she yelled, clinging to the childish insult in the vain hope that it would help her to forget this ever happened. She was a mess and she knew it but there was little she could think of that would help at this stage. More than that, Nikola had seen her at worse than this. They could cope with a little misplaced passion.

Couldn't they?

"I love you," he said once more, voice quiet as he pleaded with her to understand. There was something so vulnerable in his eye that she cracked, stepping closer to him.

"Then show me," she begged in return. He groaned, eyes fluttering shut before he closed the remaining distance between them, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss, salty tears leaking onto his tongue.

Their arms wound around each other quickly, each of Nikola's carefully thought out reasons behind leaving disappearing as her hands frantically stroked his body. They flitted over his chest softly before curling into his waist. He gave her everything he had, hoping that he could convey just how much he cared for her in the kiss. It was nigh impossible but he had to make her understand.

Suddenly her hands were moving again, undoing buttons with and ease that his logical brain knew would have come from practice. His possessive streak rising once more, his hands became more demanding, shifting to the zip running down her back as his lips slid to her neck. He bit into the soft flesh with his dull human teeth just enough to make her moan breathlessly as he tugged down the zip. His hands shook with the pleasure of being allowed to stroke that soft, bare skin.

Helen shivered as the cold air hit the bare skin but she refused to let it stop them, instead enjoying the rather erotic combination of warm skin and frigid air. Taking a deep breath instead of a shallow pant, Helen reached down, hands shaking as she tried to unfasten his belt.

Suddenly he was flying backwards and away from her, making Helen's heart freeze in her chest. Part of her dimly hoped he'd been attacked by some abnormal but the rejection was clear. Before she could speak or even think to wipe away the fresh tears that stung her eyes, he stepped forwards. Of course, he wasn't close enough for her to touch but close enough that she could just about feel his body heat.

"I love you," he said hurriedly. Helen opened her mouth but again he spoke. "I love you Helen, and I always will but this is not how I want you."

He took a step closer to her, reaching out his hand to gently stroke her cheek and Helen had a vivid flashback to Rome. Only this time, she did not jerk away.

"I want you, more than anything but I want all of you Helen, I will not be a fling, a means to an end that you can discard once you've found your release," he said tenderly, eyes never leaving hers.

Helen's eyes widened but she remained glued to the spot. He was still breathing heavily, clearly affected by their latest encounter and her heart swelled just looking at him, waistcoat unbuttoned, hair flattened in places from her hands, his eyes wild with more than lust.

"I want you Helen, and I will wait for an eternity for you to want me, to love me. Because to be with you now, and have you hate me for it in the morning…" he took a deep breath, arms still shaking slightly.

"I know this is hard for you Nikola but I can't. I just… can't," she said, finally finding her voice, as raw as it might have been.

"Hard?" he asked incredulous, eyes widening with hurt and anger. "Watching you pick Druitt was hard, standing by as you picked him time and time again was hard, watching your heart break when I knew that I'd never do the same was hard, but this…" he gestured wildly between them, "this is excruciating, Helen! I love you, I LOVE YOU," he started to shout, stepping back from her as she flinched at his words.

"I love you and to know that you may never love me… walking away from you now isn't hard, Helen," his voice dipped and his breathing became heavy, "it is killing me," he finished, annunciating every word.

They both stood for a minute, Nikola turned away from her, looking out over Old City. "Nikola, I..." she started, her voice still shaky as she took a step towards his heaving figure.

"No," he said harshly, body tensing as if he knew she was moving towards him. Helen stopped in her tracks, hurt. "No," he said again, softer this time as he turned towards her. With one swift movement, Nikola was holding her again, face pressed into her hair, his mouth inches from her ear. "I want you, Helen, I need you, all of you," he whispered frantically. Helen closed her eyes against the tears that were forming.

"Come find me, when you want me, all of me," he finished before stepping back, eyes guarded

With that, he turned on his heel and walked to the door. Hand on the door knob, he stopped suddenly and Helen had the distinct feeling that he was going to say something but without a word Nikola pulled open the door smoothly and stepped through it, letting it swing shut behind him.


Weee! Chapter two! On a roll! I remember why I liked this one now :)

Thank you for all those kind enough to review, favourite or alert. Means a lot *huggles*

xx