A/N: Here's the next chapter as promised! No more challenges, but do let me know what you all think! This was most fun, I am not ashamed to admit and my gremlin was quite happy in her endeavor to keep me on track. I will probably repost in a day or two for editing purposes. Anyhoo, enough rambling, Enjoy and stay tuned for next week's episode!

She was testing him, there was no other explanation for it. Sheldon bit back a growl of frustration, but kept his eyes on hers. There was a smug gleam in the grey depths that he could recognize because it was so often reflected in his own. She firmly believed that she had him and, if he were to be honest with himself, she did. He was jealous. She had placed her finger on precisely what was troubling him and that only heightened his irritation.

Although, he was more irked at himself than at her. Copper inspired such intense emotions that it was becoming difficult to keep his head above the water, so to speak. She was either infuriating or compelling; either she repelled him or she drew him to her like a bird to flight. Truly, it was maddening. Then the memory of how the eyes that regarded him now had slithered over the man on the screen and his gut tightened, a flash of heat streaking down his spine, making his fists clench in his pockets. He withdrew them and let them hang limply at his sides, reflecting his indecision.

Why did he care? It was an excellent question and a better one than perhaps she realized. It was where she had laid her second finger, cutting through the illusions and the pretenses of aloofness that he had so carefully constructed around himself. At the most, she was a friend and, based on his limited knowledge of what that meant, it did not entitle him to sole occupancy of her attention or her affection.

Affection? That was an interesting word to use. As they had matched wits, affection was not the word he would have used. It was more like an affable rivalry; a chance to see what she was capable of, how far she would push back, an establishment of boundaries. As of yet, he didn't believe he had truly found those unspoken lines in the sand, but he had been perfectly willing to leave it at that.

And then she had kissed him and everything had tilted.

Logically, he needed to back away from this. It was too distracting, too consumptive of his time and energy when he needed to be focusing on achieving the Noble Prize. But it was also too interesting, too stimulating and Sheldon was reluctant to walk away from it.

The air in the room was thick with tension and Sheldon felt it gathering in his shoulders, in how tight his body felt. It was as if he was a string on her beautiful violin; one careless motion of the bow and he would snap.

Of course, allowing that to happen opened all sorts of fascinating possibilites.

To say he was torn was an understatement and to say that, for once, Dr. Sheldon Cooper was at a loss as to how to proceed could not be stated enough.

"You're playing with fire, Copper," he was surprised by how deep the timbre of his voice had lowered, how pronounced the Texan lilt had become.

Copper tilted her head back a little and Sheldon's gaze flickered down to the long, elegant column of her neck. She took another step closer, voluntarily invading his personal space silently. He caught the sweet scent of peaches that wafted from the mop of messy curls, noted that her breathing had changed once again. Her pupils dilated and her lips parted. Oh, how she was tempting him, the vexatious vixen, and they both were fully aware of what she was up to.

She was calling his bluff, attempting to push him so far that he would have no alternative but to retreat. Under any other circumstances, he would, and prove her correct. But that was the problem, wasn't it? If he backed up, if he allowed her this small victory and turned his back, then he would have to admit that he was wrong. That he couldn't do this, he couldn't handle…what exactly?

The questions only compounded on themselves, expanded like the fringes of the universe, constantly refolding themselves into different angles, different notions, but still remained the same at their core.

Why did he care? And what was he going to do about it?

She took another step, her fingers brushing against the back of his and drawing his immediate attention back to where they were. That daring gleam was back in her eyes, taunting and teasing him, and he knew that she was looking at him like that on purpose. There was no mask of innocence on her features, no trace of the naïve enticement. She was very aware of what she was doing. Sheldon may not have been the most adept at reading facial expressions or vocal tones, but his body had certainly become painfully awakened to what she was mockingly offering.

And that was what this was; a mockery of courtship, a jeering, scornful counterattack to his previous jibe at her interest in a man that didn't even exist.

She was clearly convinced that what he was going to do was nothing. Did he think or want to change that? The question pestered him, drove him to pull some sort of tangible answer out of the aether of his brilliance. The tension in the room only increased as they both remained silent. Something had to give, to release. It was only logical.

Thus it came as no surprise when she murmured four very soft words that carried the weight of her conviction within them.

"So burn me, Sheldon."

What did surprise him was how quickly his physicality had overridden his common, logical sense.

Without waiting for a second invitation, Sheldon captured her lips with his, the more logical processes that so dominated his life almost completely drowned out by the sensation of her mouth pressing against his own. Even more astounding was the fact that Sheldon felt her kissing him back. Her lips were warm, pliant beneath his aggressive onslaught. This wasn't the gentle, hesitant exploration of their first kiss. It was greedy, hurried, as if Sheldon felt like he needed to brand her.

His hands buried themselves in her hair, tilting her head just a little further back so that he could gain better access, his body intuitively knowing what to do. He felt her more slender fingers sliding up his chest, sending heat skittering down his spine. The same electric, static feeling from where their lips first met was zinging through his blood, making his heart pound at an alarming rate. But his world had narrowed to her, where he made contact with her and the concerns that normally swarmed in his mind escaped him.

He stepped closer to her, his body demanding that he be nearer. He pulled back slightly for air, their breath mingling and he dove back down, seemingly unable to get enough. His hands roved down to her shoulders, following the lines of her upper arms until his questing fingertips found her waist. Sheldon wrapped his arms around the trim, feminine curve, murmuring appreciatively against her lips. He flattened his palms against the curve of her spine, skimming them upwards and bringing her against his chest. Her arms lifted higher to grip his shoulders. When her lips parted beneath his, the kiss deepened unexpectedly and the tiny moan that escaped her throat sent a shiver and a bolt of something alien through him. Possessiveness streaked through his consciousness, emboldening him to nip at her bottom lip lightly with his teeth and she let out another sound, this one breathy and, he inferred, surprised.

She pressed closer to him, her arms moving to curl around his neck, her fingertips brushing the hair at the nape of his neck. Her touch caused what was akin to tiny shocks to dance across his skin, igniting in his blood stream and sending it rushing through his veins. Copper's hips bumped into his as she shifted in his arms and he felt a jolt of pure heat as blood rushed down his body. His pants were starting to feel rather constricted, but he couldn't quite bring himself to stop touching her. She was like a new comic book, encompassing all his perceptions, reducing his world to just the sensations that she envoked.

Gently, Copper sipped at his lower lip, her teeth barely grazing it and he let out a low groan against her mouth, the action sending another spark of that strange something skating through him. She shivered against him when his hands began to slowly roam over her back and she arched a bit. So she was highly sensitive to tactile contact on her vertebral column. He filed that away for future purposes, allowing himself to simply enjoy her against him.

When they parted, he looked down at her swollen, slightly red lips and felt satisfaction. They were both breathing hard and his heart felt as though it would pound right out of his chest. He swallowed hard.

"That is what I will do," he whispered softly, cobalt eyes searching hers for some kind of answer, though he knew on some level that even if there was one hidden there, he probably wouldn't be able to see it.

He loosened his arms from around her and Copper took the opportunity to take a half-step back, lifting an only moderately tremulous hand, which had strayed down to his chest, to her lips. Then her head tilted, curls spilling over her shoulder like a russet stream as she traced the contours of her lips with her fingertips. Sheldon found the action to be fascinating, paying rapt attention. Then she lifted her hand, again, placing the pads of her fingers on his lips. With equal care, she mimicked her earlier gesture and Sheldon allowed it.

Most of his mental facilities had recovered by this point, but he supposed that, considering the action he had just taken, she had some right to a similar exploit. He tried not to flinch when her hand moved to his cheek, trailing lightly, delicately and he found himself both enjoying and dreading her touch.

Something must have shown in his expression, because he watched something flicker in hers and she withdrew her hand. Copper also completely stepped away from him. The smile that had been hinting around her lips faded and her expression became inscrutable.

"Well, I did ask you to burn me, Sheldon," she said quietly.

He looked at her in confusion, but she merely shook her head.

"Comment la déception suit les étapes de l'espoir," she muttered under her breath and Sheldon barely caught the words. Lifting her head, she regarded him silently for a moment.

"I suppose I know better now than to push you so far, Dr. Cooper. I apologize, it was unfair of me to do so," her words reflected the stiff formality of her tone and Sheldon found himself at a loss as to what had triggered this response from her.

"Copper, what-"

"It's alright," she cut him off quickly, shaking her head, "I was wrong to act like that. I was angry, but that doesn't justify my behavior."

The pieces clicked into place and Sheldon couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. When he returned his gaze to hers, she was frowning at him, her hands on her hips; a clear signal of her displeasure. He crossed the distance she had placed between them and carefully took her hands in his.

"Copper," he spoke slowly, his brow furrowed as he looked at her smaller hands in his, "I can't say with absolute certainty that I am going to be comfortable with physical contact. I am also not going to promise anything to you, because I do not have all the data necessary to make a concrete conclusion, but," he raised his gaze to look her in the eyes, "what I will say is that I think it is worthwhile for both you and myself to attempt to have some kind of mutual exchange of companionship, perhaps even a few steps outside of the traditional parameters of friendship."

Copper gave him a considering look.

"Am...I translating that correctly in that I...think you're asking to be in some form of a relationship with you?"

After a moment's hesitation, Sheldon nodded and nervously dropped her hands from his.

"That is, if you are willing to enter into such an agreement and provided that you are willing to adhere to certain protocols-"

She lifted a brow.

"Protocols, Sheldon? What protocols?"

Sheldon shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I haven't exactly worked out all the details just yet, but I can certainly come by tomorrow with a draft of a relationship contract for you to look at-"

He trailed off at her incredulous look.

"I know better than to ask if you are kidding me," she commented with a small twitch of her lips, "but if you are more comfortable with setting up certain boundaries, I think I could live with that."

He nodded and her expression became thoughtful.

"Tell you what, Sheldon," she continued, "You type up whatever agreement you'd like for me to look at and bring it by tomorrow evening. We can discuss everything then. Deal?"

She stuck out a hand to him and he stared down at her outstretched hand for a long moment. Then he pulled his out of his pocket and carefully shook hers before dropping it again. He frowned when it was she who chuckled at him, but he dismissed his initial irritation.

Progress always came with a price and if coming to understand what it was about her that was so fascinating to him, then he could sacrifice the occasional jibe or touch.

After all, anti-bacterial soap was abundant and Dr. Cooper was always prepared.

Copper leaned back against her door when she left the boys' apartment not long after her conversation with Sheldon. She had held herself together rather well, or at least she had thought so. The man bewildered her as much as he intrigued her. First he had raged at her in the Sheldon version of jealousy, then he kissed her like he had every intention of claiming her in some kind of primitive male...thing, and finally he asked her to enter into a contracted relationship that may or may not be his way of asking her out.

Copper groaned and buried her face in her hands. The entire evening had just managed to give her a headache.

Her head wasn't the only part of her that ached either. She sighed and lifted herself from the door, locking it behind her. Padding towards her bedroom, she tugged at the strings that kept her pants around her hips. He was frustrated by her, he had shown that much this evening. Just remembering the feelings that had rocketed through her had her cheeks heating.

And that was just kissing. He hadn't even tried to french kiss her. Copper shuddered, not even daring to imagine how taking an even further step in their physical relationship was going to do, if it ever happened.

As she crawled into bed, she considered the ramifications of her decision. If, and that was still a pretty big if, she accepted his terms and entered into some sort of a relationship with him, taking that physcial step was not going to come soon or easily. Oh, he learned fast, she would give him that; he had figured out quite a number of things that had her wanting writhe against him, to let him take what had happened as far as he wanted. Although, that probably wouldn't have been very far at all. He probably would have come to his senses in a blind, bacteria infested paranoia filled panic and fled like the devil himself dogged his heels.

The image made her laugh quietly in her darkened room.

It had been a long time, she admitted to herself as she settled under the covers, since she had felt like that. For more years than she cared to count, she had been focused, driven in obtaining her doctorate and then with her career. She had something to prove and many of her peers had picked up on that. Some had even tried to turn it to their advantage; the world of graduate studies and academia was as brutal as any other field and her time in Minnesota was proof of that.

It had taken all of her concentration, all of her time and effort, in order to make it as far as she had, to claim herself as independant and accomplished. Her family life had suffered from the choices she had made just as her love life had been relatively nonexistent. A few stolen moments at various intervals of her life, moments when she needed affirmation that she was still a warm, living human being, not just another grade number in a professor's ledger, speckled her past. Some could be fondly recalled while others left a bitter taste in her mouth. The blessing and curse of humanity, she supposed, if she was to indulge her more poetic tendencies.

With that sobering thought in mind, Copper allowed herself to fall asleep. It wasn't until the next morning that Copper realized that Sheldon had only answered one of the questions she had posed to him.

Perhaps not even he was entirely certain of the answer just yet.