This is the first time I've arived at a part of the story I have written about before. I you like, you can read a previous fic of mine called 'The safe house' which would fit in between chapter 12 and this new chapter 13. It's not necassary for the flow of the story to read it though. This chapter is from Christian's POV.

~c~s~

I wake up, rested, relaxed, for the first time in days. It takes me a while to notice something's different. I open my eyes and smile as I realise the difference I notice is him. Syed.

'Hi there sleepyhead', he whispers, and kisses me on the nose.

I stretch luxuriously and lift my head up from his arm. He smiles down at me and starts wriggling his arm and shoulder with a blissful sound, bending it, stretching it and massaging it.

'My arm decided to take a little nap with you', Syed explains.

'Why didn't you wake me? I'm way too heavy for you…' I worry.

But he just smiles at me and says: 'You looked like you needed the rest. Besides, I don't mind'.

He never ceases to surprise me.

'What time is it?' I ask, stifling back a yawn.

'It's almost seven. I need to get back for dinner soon', he answers, with a hint of regret in his voice.

I swallow my disappointment, determined not to expect anything more than he can give me right now.

'I understand', I say quietly.

He hesitates. It seems like he has something he wants to say, but for some reason he is nervous about it. I watch him swallow a couple of times while his fingers fidget with the sheets. I want to say something, ask him what's up, but I bite my tongue.

'Christian… I… I could come back later for a bit', he says, not looking at me, 'I mean… if you want' he finishes lamely.

I try and act casual, but as I can't repress the huge grin splattered all over my face, I doubt I'm very convincing.

'I'd like that', I tell him.

I watch the radiant smile forming on his face and bask in its warmth.

'Right, I'd better be off then', he says, climbing out of bed.

'Is it ok if I take a shower first?'

I nod. He rests his arms on the bed and leans over me to give me a slow, sensuous kiss.

'Hmmmm…' is the little sound he makes as he lets go.

He starts to look around, probably looking for his clothes that are haphazardly all over the floor.

'What did you do with my pants?' he inquires, furrowing his brow.

I try and retrace my steps, vaguely remembering swirling them around my finger and then letting go. I think they landed somewhere…

'Aha, found them!' I say, as I lie on my stomach, head hanging over the edge of the bed. He scurries around the bed and bends down to pick up both our pants, lying intimately entangled together on the floor. I would have picked them up myself of course, put his picking them up has the added bonus of a spectacular view of his delicious arse. So I just lay there and watch, sighing happily as that delicious arse makes its way to my bathroom.

'Stop looking at me like that you perv!' he says accusingly as he pulls the bathroom door closed with a wink.

'Shut up, you know you love it!' I shout, loud enough so he can hear me through the closed door. I can just hear his muffled laughter before the sound of running water drowns it out.

As I roll on my back and stare at the ceiling, I feel bubbles of happiness rise up in me. The grin on my face has become so wide, it actually hurts my face. My lip has probably split again, but I couldn't care less. It is exhilarating, feeling happy again after being miserable for days. First there was the hurt when he denied what we had together. Making it seem like it was nothing, insignificant. Then there was the anger, after he pushed me away, rejected me, telling me never to touch him again. After that it was the pain of being attacked and the anger for letting it happen. Dark feelings, hovering over me like a storm cloud, leaving a vile taste in my mouth. Making me feel like there wasn't any room for any feelings of happiness ever again. Luckily, I was wrong.

I remember him standing there, waiting for me, outside the police station. I couldn't understand why he was suddenly there again, caring about me, looking after me, waiting for me. But I forgot all that when he asked me to take him home. It was wonderful. We talked for a bit. He told me he wasn't going anywhere. And somehow… I believed him. Before we knew it, we ended up in bed again. I don't understand how, every time we are together, it is so different, yet the same. Both familiar and exciting and new. Safe, but thrilling and earth shattering all at the same time.

~c~s~

This time, he takes the lead and I let him.

'Lay down', he commands softly, while pushing my shoulders down on the bed. Slowly, he starts to undress me, taking care not to hurt me. He unbuttons my shirt and pushes it off my shoulders. I help him out by lifting myself up slightly. He manages to free me of my sleeves and tosses the shirt aside. With one movement, he has pulled his own shirt over his head, throwing it after mine. I watch as his dark hair bristles with electricity for a moment before it settles down again. I reach out my hand to touch it, but he avoids it.

'Uh uh', he reproaches me mockingly, 'hands off mister'.

I lay back down, expecting him to unbuckle my belt next. But he doesn't. We've lost our shoes and socks somewhere between the sofa and the bed, so we now are both only wearing our jeans. He seems in no hurry to do anything about that. Confused, I look into his eyes. He is straddling me, examining me with a thoughtful expression on his face. I open my mouth to ask him what he's thinking about, but he quickly leans over me and presses his finger gently on my lips.

'Shhh…'

My eyes widen as I just wait for his next move.

The pained look in his eyes startles me as I don't understand it. Then he carefully places his hand flat against the right side of my face, covering my bruises.

'I hate that someone's hurt you', he says, with a tremble in his voice.

'I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…' he says over and over again as he starts pressing tiny, feathery kisses on my bruises. He is very thorough, looking for any part of my skin that is cut, bruised or tarnished in anyway and giving it the same treatment. He finds them all over me, whispering his apology against my skin before he kisses it.

'It's ok…' I say. Because it is, now that he's here.

When he's convinces he has found every last spot, he returns to the one on my lip and kisses it softly.

'I'm afraid to kiss you, you might start bleeding again'

He looks at me with a hint of worry in his eyes.

'I don't care', I assure him, 'come here'.

I reach up and pull him on top of me. Not needing much persuasion, he gently presses his lips against mine. He takes hold of my hands and raises them above my head. Then he starts sliding his hands teasingly along my arms, down the sensitive skin of my sides. He repeats the motion, over and over again, until I want to scream with frustration. I make to move my hands, meaning to place them on his hips, but he stops me before I have the chance. I want to protest, but he just intensifies our kiss. I give in and just enjoy the feeling of his hands on me, his lips on mine and our tongues darting around each other. The only sounds I hear are the soft, approving little moans he lets out between kisses, my own desperate groans and the rubbing sound our jeans make as he repeatedly rubs his groin against mine. My nerve endings are zinging with his sounds, his smell, his taste, his touches.

~c~s~

As I hear the water being turned off, I decide it's time to get out of bed. Reluctantly I pull on my jeans, not bothering with anything else. I look up to see him zooming out of the bathroom, wearing only his tight fitting pants. He flashes me a quick smile before he starts gathering up his clothes and getting dressed. Pity that, I think to myself.

'Ok, I'm going now. I'll be back after I'm sure everyone's asleep. Should be about one I think' he promises.

I follow him to the door. I open my arm for him and he slips inside, hugging me as tightly as he dares. One more kiss, and he's about to leave.

'Wait!' I suddenly say excitedly.

I hurry over to the table and grab something from the bottom of the fruit bowl. I walk back over to him and press it in his hand. It's my spare key.

'So you can come in any time' I say, suddenly nervous.

He looks down at the key in his hands.

'You sure about this?' he asks hesitantly.

'Yeah… yes, I'm sure. Keep it' I say, as I wrap his hand around the key with mine.

'Alright than' he says, a smile on his beautiful face.

He gives me a quick kiss and then he's out the door.

~c~s~

Reviews, as always, much appreciated :-)