He froze. He knew that one day he would look back at this moment and hate himself for what he did but in the moment there was nothing else he could do.

He froze.

After a few moments of staring into her eyes he realised that joy he had just seen was disappearing faster than he could have expected. Then he felt guilty, he'd caused this fresh pain. Taking action, he did the only thing he could think of, leaning forward and crushing her lips against his. She let out a small yelp of surprise before kissing him back almost playfully. Nikola, on the other hand was now trying to quash the fire her words had started. Suddenly he pulled back, eyes searching hers.

"Say it again," he commanded and she blushed, looking flustered. There was a beat of silence and he shook his head, certain he'd imagined it. Without a second though he stood up, ignoring what was now occurring in his pants. He walked away from her and cursed his imagination. He stood for a moment and looked into the fire, trying to block out Helen's short breaths in the background.

Nikola swallowed an angry curse and tried to fight the anger building in his chest. He was so consumed by his thoughts of his own idiocy that he didn't even hear her footsteps as she walked up behind him. He only realised how close she was when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.

"Nikola," she said, her voice soothing but still she managed to sound like a school teacher. He spun on his heel, apology lingering on his tongue but never got the time to provide it, his tongue quickly becoming far too occupied with Helen's. Her hands were cupping his face and her lips moved against his firmly. He felt every fear in his body evaporate and it was all he could do to hang on as the pure joy inside him burst forth.

She pulled back slowly, not letting go of his face.

"I love you," she said again, her mouth twitching into a smile as she finally said the words. The first time had been hard, nearly breaking her but then afterwards it was as if everything started to knit back together again. All the pain she had endured wasn't gone, more surpassed by this beautiful feeling. Then the second time everything seemed to fall into place, every moment between them becoming easier to define as his words took on a second meaning. Now kissing him felt like breathing, sustaining her, like it was all she needed.

When he froze, staring at her in disbelief, her heart started to break again and she remember the reasons why she'd not wanted to say this in the first place. Then when he'd asked a third time she'd been confused, dazed by the ferocious change in this moods. Where she had expected smug joy, maybe even snide comments she had seen fear.

He had not believed her.

Now his eyes contained a mix of wonder and joy, his face looking younger than she had ever seen it. She chuckled lightly as she realised he was now speechless. He raised an eyebrow at her, her humour pulling him out of his trance. Internally she groaned, now he'd be nigh unstoppable in his sexually loaded agenda.

Or not, she realised with a start as she looked into his twinkling eyes. He wouldn't need the agenda now. With that thought shivered. She'd just given him permission to indulge in every sneaky little comment he'd ever made.

Funnily enough, it made her shiver in anticipation.

"Are you laughing at me Helen?" he asked, his voice dangerous and low as he stepped closer to her, their bodies touching. "Because I'm sure I can find a way to wipe that smirk of your pretty little face," he promised as his hands slipped around her waist. He pulled her roughly to him and she let out a little gasp, eyes widening at the foreign sensation that was his body against hers.

Then it was his turn to laugh before lowering his mouth to hers. Instinctively, she went to push away, struggling against his hold before she realised she didn't have to. He growled as she squirmed in his arms but, as she stopped, he pulled his mouth from hers.

"That's more like it," he whispered darkly, his voice on the edge of transformation. Helen slid her hands from where they rested on his chest up to wind around his neck, one hand twisting into his hair, closing the small gap between their lips and it was if they had never stopped kissing.

His tongue traced the outline of her lips, begging for entrance which she denied, keeping him in check for a moment. He growled into her mouth and the vibrations sent shockwaves through her body. She gasped at the sensation and Nikola took the opportunity. And to be honest, Helen was glad.

His hands moved from her waist, one tracing a line down to her hip, the other moving to the back of her neck. Together they moved backwards, holding each other tightly as Nikola managed to manoeuvre them onto the couch, Helen straddling his legs. She moaned as her dress was forced up her thighs, the soft fabric of his pants brushing against the inside of her legs. Nikola's hands began exploring the newly exposed flesh before roughly pushing the fabric of her dress higher and higher until it was sitting above her hips.

Helen sighed as the cool air hit her overheated skin and she kissed Nikola with an ever increasing passion. His hands moved to her hips, holding her tightly. Without her consent or knowledge, Helen's hips began to grind out a small circle and Nikola let out a strangled cry against her lips.

He dug his fingers into her hips, holding to so tightly that she had no choice but to stop. Although one part of him wanted nothing more than for her to continue, a larger and more rational part of his brain realised that if she kept that up, there was no way they'd make it to the bedroom for the long slow night of torture he had dreamed of.

"Not here," he whispered into her lips and she let out a whimper, a sound he had never, ever heard from her lips.

"Please," she begged, fighting his hands and he almost relented. He knew if she begged again he'd be lost so he made a choice. Quickly he put her to the side of him, breaking the contact she was clearly enjoying.

"Not here," he said again before standing up. He held out a hand to her which she quickly took, standing up immediately, her face unsmiling in her need. He had to fight the urge to throw her back down and take her right then and there. With a groan he pulled her from the room, walking so fast she was almost tripping as she tried to catch up.

They got to the elevator and he shoved her into the wall before kissing her again hungrily. By the time they reached the right level, he was again far too close to screwing her up against the wall but this time she saved him, breaking out of his embrace and tugging his hand in her impatience to get to her room.

They made it down the corridor with great difficulty, stopping every few feet for another heated embrace, unable to keep their hands off of each other. Nikola was holding back and she could tell. He didn't want to turn, not now and it was taking every ounce of self control he had to stay human.

And Helen was working as hard as she could to make him surrender his control, her lips hot and insistent against his first and then the skin of his neck. She bit down at one point and heard his growl, loud and twisted with the vampiric edge she had always found arousing.

Suddenly she could feel a door knob behind her, one that felt very familiar. She reached back blindly with one hand while the other was clung to Nikola's shirt. The stumbled through the door and Nikola slammed it shut behind them, not breaking their kiss. As clothes started to fly, Helen's mind disappeared into an abyss of pleasure and, she decided, it would be perfectly OK if it stayed there.