Detect Me (21 page)

“Remember, I’ve seen you in action. And you have so much more to offer than just that.” Mark paused at the skeptical look on Nikki’s face. He followed the curve of her arched eyebrows and realized in a painful flash that she might actually walk away. He gritted his teeth. “But if that’s all you wanted to do, I would scour the streets for art thieves. I’d talk to finger-painting teachers in elementary schools. I’d pay people to rob the galleries. Hell, I’d steal paintings myself if that’s what it took to make you stay.”

Maybe it was the shock kicking in again, but Nikki was suddenly terrified. Mark was staring at her, all light eyes and dark hair and earnest expression, and she couldn’t process this. Nothing in her entire life had prepared her for a brilliant, exceptional man spreading his arms and offering himself up for her.

She pushed out of Mark’s hold, forcing herself to ignore the shadow that crossed his face.

"What if you - what if we only feel like this because we're both alone?" Nikki asked, wrapping her arms around herself to hug away the chill she couldn't ignore. It felt like it was seeping into her bones and she wanted to move closer to Mark to get rid of it, but she was afraid to.

Mark’s eyes didn’t waver. "Then every second I was alone was worth it, if that was what it took to find you. I think we’ve earned some happiness, don’t you?” he said with a small smile. His light eyes stared straight into hers, unafraid and unashamed. The sight gave her strength too. "And I do like you, Nikki. I might need someone - I might need you - but it isn't just that. I feel the same way I felt when I first met you, only more. I like your hair and your smile, and the way your hips move when you walk. I like that face you get when you're about to be stubborn. I just... Well, I love you, alright?"

Her eyes flew open wide and she resisted the urge to clasp her hand over her mouth. Mark looked a little shocked himself, but he wasn't taking it back.

"It's okay," he added. "You don't have to push yourself if you don't feel the same way right now. I'm a pretty handsome guy. I trust you'll fall for my wit and charm eventually." Mark winked exaggeratedly and Nikki had to chuckle.

There were still worries tugging at the back of her head, but Nikki realized that there was a time for caution and a time to leap. She would never be truly safe, not in life, not in love - Ghost had taught her that.

The only thing to do was to reach out for what she wanted with both hands.

"A little late for that," she said through her tight throat. Mark cocked his head to the side and she smiled. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "Way too late, actually."

For a second Mark smiled back at her, that fleeting, brilliant smile that had taken her breath away on that first day the same way it did now. Then it dimmed as his face grew more solemn.

"I do want this," he cautioned, "but this isn't going to be easy. Being together isn't going to just fix everything. I'm still going to have nightmares, and hate elevators, and be a pain, so I don't want you to go into this thinking..."

Nikki glared and Mark cut himself off, looking slightly abashed.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" she said, and propped her hands on her hips, no longer needing to hug warmth into her body. "Look, I'm not exactly a picnic either, okay? We might have some matching nightmares for awhile."

He smiled faintly. “I never did care much for taking the easy way out.”

But Mark was still just standing there, still an infuriating foot or so away. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug, and Nikki was done talking.

She took a step forward, and another half-step, and that was close enough to bring them chest-to-chest. Nikki tilted her head and looked up through her eyelashes at Mark. In her peripheral vision she saw his hands reaching out for her, but there was still hesitation written all over his face.

Without letting another moment pass Nikki stretched up and brushed her lips across Mark’s, just a barely-there whisper of a kiss that left her mouth tingling anyway. Her body was ten steps ahead of her mind, demanding that she move forward and get on with things already.

“Yes?” Mark said with a hint of a mischievous grin. Infuriating looked good on him. Everything did.

“I wanted to get your attention,” Nikki said. She dared to reach forward and press her palm flat against his stomach, solidifying the connection. This wouldn’t be like the last time, something fleeting. If Mark’s arms were going to go around her again, they were going to stay there this time.

A hand came up and the back of Mark’s knuckles traced a line down the side of her face. Her heart stuttered. Mark leaned in and stopped with his mouth just a hair’s breadth away from hers.

“You have it,” he murmured.

“Good,” Nikki whispered, and then Mark wrapped his other arm around her waist and hauled her in close, kissing her with the kind of searing passion that felt like the line between ice and flame, so intense it was almost painful.

They broke apart, panting, and Mark reached out and entwined their fingers together with one hand. He stole another quick kiss that made Nikki gasp and drew back to look at her like she was one of those masterpieces in the museum – something precious.

"No doubt, we're going to be trouble together," he said, grinning. He looked lit from within by joy, but this time because of Nikki, not because of facts and files. She could barely breathe for happiness.

"I like trouble, sometimes," she said, in spite of everything that had happened, and Mark caught her up in another kiss that felt like coming home.

-FIN-