Chapter 6
Sherlock calculated and predicted each move she made staring intently at the board while she watched him. It seemed her mind was elsewhere, she barely looked at the pieces he was moving and Sherlock knew exactly what she was gazing at, but remained immersed in the game.
She was a good player. He'd only ever played with John, Molly and Mycroft whom he'd bested each time. Irene however, had a different method of playing. While John went about playing the attacker, disregarding any defence strategy and Molly, who only valued the king and queen, making her very easy to beat, Irene seemed to play 3 strategies at once. She would caress each piece before she moved it, making Sherlock impatient, countering his every move. She was trying to distract him again, in or and out of the game.
A smile crept onto Sherlocks face as soon as she started keeping her queen away from harm, like Molly it seemed. Women are so easy.
As he broke her defences, taking her queen and bishops, her warm smile diminished noticeably. She knew she was losing and Sherlock wasn't merciful when it came to chess, or indeed anything.
Just as Sherlock narrowed down on her lowly last defence, he made the fatal mistake.
He looked up, just for a second, into those dark eyes realising how engrossed he'd become in the game, not noticing that she was a few centimetres away.
Neither of them commented on each others pupils. Irene's had dilated enough so her eyes were almost black and Sherlock prayed his own remained normal or that she took it for the darkness of the evening that surrounded them, but her small smile gave her away.
Sherlock surprised himself when he didn't object as she leaned closer. Only a few millimetres away now. A strand of her hair fell in front of her and Sherlock automatically stroked it back behind her ear.
Her lips barely brushed his own as they stared into each others eyes. He hadn't noticed her hand "returning the favour" and taking his pulse.
Sherlock's lips opened very slightly as he heard a quiet thud beneath both of them.
"Checkmate, Mr Holmes."