Later on I lay in his arms. My head was on his chest. I was just listening to his heartbeat and he was playing with my hair. My thoughts drifted to the moment he'd walked in from his fishing expedition. It seemed like a long time ago.

"Felix?" I said.

"Hm", he grunted.

"Earlier when you walked in, after you smelled the scents you asked if I was trying to seduce you. Those are the same candles you lit when I was here. Were you trying to seduce me back then?" I asked.

"Um..." he said and didn't continue.

"Felix!" I said.

He chuckled. "I wasn't trying to seduce you. I bought them for myself. The scent reminded me of you. Vanilla: your scent, Pear: how you smelled like when you slept in my bed; and sandalwood was just a random pick".

I raised my head to look up into his face. "How did I miss this? I ran away from you that night because the scents reminded me of that night we shared and I was afraid I was going to act wanton again and you'd think I was clingy".

He sighed. "This is why I think love is terrible. There's no manual".

I didn't say anything; just put my head on his chest.

"I enjoyed the chase Pancakes. I was stabbed trying to save you, I mean, how more beautiful can our story be?" he said.

"I guess danger can be beautiful sometimes", I said.

We went on to have sex again. The climax was even more incredible. It wasn't just sex, it was the longing and feelings packed into one act that culminated in gratification for both of us. I used more of my mouth and he invented positions. I'd had to jail my thoughts about Ricky at one time when my leg ended in a way that made me wonder if it wouldn't snap at some point. But Felix knew what he was doing and I forgot all about my leg when the position ensured more pleasure from Felix's movements.

We lay in bed for a while before deciding we were both hungry. Felix started on his task of making dinner and I settled in the living area, lighting the fire and covering myself with the polar fleece.

I could smell the aroma of lemon and fish coming from the kitchen. It was mouthwatering. I didn't trust Felix with the stove, but if his fish tasted as good as it smelled there would be no complaints from me.

"Pancakes, have you ever tasted Chardonnay?" he asked from the kitchen.

"No", I replied.

"It goes very well with rainbow trout. Would you like to taste it?"

"Does it taste like Scotch?" I asked.

He chuckled. "No".

"In that case then yes", I said.

"Great. I'm almost done. You can get it so long", he said.

I glared at him- at least I tried. He was far and had his back to me. I didn't want to leave the warmth of the polar fleece blanket and my current position – lying peacefully on the couch. I was warm and too comfortable.

"I can't see it", I lied.

"You are not looking", he said. He still had his back to me. How was I supposed to lie to him with that sixth sense of his?

"I don't even what it looks like", I said.

"Stand up and I'll tell you", he said as he appeared to set the table in the kitchen.

I groaned and stood up, walking towards his liquor cabinet.

"It's not in there. It's in my study", he said.

Great! I bet he'd intentionally made me walk all the way to the cabinet.

"Gary Farrel, 2014, Rochioli vineyard; first row, you won't miss it", he said.

I groaned again just to let him know I wasn't pleased with having my lying-on-the-couch-doing-nothing moment interrupted.

I walked to the study, which I'd largely ignored during my time there. I knew where it was since I'd peered in the day I woke up in the cabin. It seemed long ago that I'd tiptoed along the small passage looking for a way out. Lately I preferred walking in than out.

I pushed the large oak door to the study open. It was like I'd seen it the last time, organized and smelled like wood and books. There was a desk and chair in the middle and books on shelves that surrounded the room. There were financial, medical and law books, each subject having its own shelf.

At the end of the medical shelf there was a wall-mounted wine rack, with several holes empty. The wines were stored on their bellies, which meant I had to remove each one to see the names. Felix had said top row, so I went there. The Chardonnay he wanted was the first one on the left. I pulled it out gently. I was about to leave when I spotted something on the desk. It was a folded piece of paper.

Curiosity got the better of me. I walked over to the desk and placed the wine bottle on it gently. I picked up the note and opened it slowly. I think my hands were trembling. I did after all have a boyfriend with a sixth sense. I expected him to appear at the door any second.

"1. Contacts, 2. Commit, 3. Artists, 4. Space, 5. Employees, 6. Online presence", I read out loud. It looked like a list of things to do, but there was no heading.

Well, that was an anticlimax. But it sparked my curiosity.

I grabbed the Chardonnay and walked to the kitchen, deciding I would ask Felix about the list some time.

The table was set for two, with the places set next to each other. It was ideal; I didn't think I could sit opposite him. It was just too far. There was a single candle in the middle of the table, illuminating the two cooked rainbow trout that sat in a baking dish. They smelled divine. There were two other casseroles there.

Felix was getting the tall-stemmed wine glasses for the wine. I wouldn't have minded even a plastic cup because I was clueless when it came to wine. I put the wine bottle on the table and took a seat.

Felix passed me a glass and took a seat next to me.

"This was cooked properly, so expect a bit more flavor this time. I can't cook anything else, but I can cook fish", he said grinning, reminding me of the last time I'd eaten something cooked by him. "I cut the heads off, wasn't sure you'd appreciate them creepily looking at you through empty sockets".

"And yet I appreciate the creep that is my boyfriend looking at me", I said.

"You are supposed to. I do it with love", he said winking. I may have, may have not blushed.

He dished for us and poured the wine. For someone who couldn't cook anything else, he'd gone an extra mile, cooking rice and veggies. I suppose it couldn't be hard cooking rice and veggies. They tasted ordinary. It was the fish that was amazing. He'd done something with dill, thyme and salt that made me enjoy every single bite of my fish. It was a good thing he'd given me the whole fish or I would have eaten off his plate, a comment I made while we ate.

The chardonnay complemented the meal. It tasted like apple, pineapple and lemon. I was no wine connoisseur, but I liked what I tasted.

"This is good", I said indicating my wine glass. I was done with the main course and it had tasted divine.

"I'm glad you like it", he said and leaned in for a kiss.

His lips crashed against mine, taking me by surprise. I recovered fairly quickly, and our lips moved in unison. I could taste the wine in his mouth and it was heavenly. He smiled into the kiss.

"I've been wanting to feel the taste of this wine in your mouth for too long", he said.

"Like what you tasted?" I asked grinning, taking as sip of my wine.

"We are taking it to bed with us", he replied.

I giggled, something that was so not me, but Felix brought that dormant side out.

"Baby", I said and reminded myself I had to find a nickname for him, hopefully something as ridiculous as food. "When I was in your study I saw a note. Normally I am not curious..." I said and he gave me a look that said, "Really?"

"Okay, I'm always curious. What's the list for?" I asked, giving him a sheepish smile at the end. I wasn't proud of having opened the note, but curiosity had gotten the better of me, like then.

"I want to open an art gallery at some point. It's just a guideline", he said.

I smiled. "That is really cool!"

"Yeah. And maybe I can have a photography section and you can show something".

"No" I said clearly.

He beckoned me to sit on his lap, which I did. He put his hand around my waist to support me. I couldn't resist giving him a short kiss, which at the end I hoped dissuaded him from the topic. It hadn't been the motivation, but I hoped it worked.

"You are a good photographer", he said. That was evidence my unplanned distraction hadn't worked.

"I'm not a professional photographer", I said.

"You..." he said and I put my index over his lips, replacing it with my lips soon after. I could still taste the Chardonnay in his mouth.

"Wanna go to bed?" he asked when our lips separated.

I stood up and he grabbed the wine and glasses and handed them to me. He cleared the table. I left him dousing the candle and the fire and walked to the bedroom. I put the bottle and glasses on the nightstand and jumped on the bed.

"You know baby, I'm worried about Stella and Clark", I said as he walked into the room and closed the door.

"Hmm", he merely said.

"They fight a lot more than usual", I said.

He gave me an "I know" look. "You told me last night".

"I know, I don't know what to do", I said.

"Nothing?" he said shrugging.

"You clearly don't have friends", I said and brought my hands together. "I have to find a way to get them to see that they love each other".

"I could kidnap one of them", he said and shrugged a little.

"Felix!" I said.

"What? It worked for us", he said.

"You nearly died!"

"I didn't say I was going to threaten to kill him...or her. Though kidnapping Clark would be easier. Stella is feisty like you and unlike you, very physical"

"Felix you can't kidnap Clark. The police will be involved and it will be a mess. Promise me you won't do it", I said.

He chuckled.

"Felix!" I yelled.

"I won't kidnap him", he said. "I love it when you yell my name like that", he said seductively.

I glared at him.

"How about we get them in a room and lock the door?" he suggested, finally deciding to be serious- though I swear he'd sounded pretty serious previously.

"That could work", I said thoughtfully. I could imagine Stella clawing at the door with her nails. Eventually she'd stop, right? It wasn't an original idea, but it seemed perfect for the insufferable duo. Stella always walked away after her outbursts. With nowhere to go she'd be forced to explain her outbursts to Clark – if he pushed, that is. Clark had a laid-back demeanor that was irritating.

"We can trick them. Get them here, in the study, lock it..." he said.

"I love you", I said suddenly.

"You'll pay for every book and wine that Stella ruins", he said.

I grinned. "I can start paying right now", I said winking, opening my arms and inviting him to join me on the bed.

Felix's POV

I stared a little at the boy lying on my bed. He had his back to it and was beckoning me to him with his arms. It was a little stare, but it was filled with so much love and other beautiful feelings I had never experienced before. Archer probably didn't see the momentary pause. He had a smile on his face and I hoped everyday that that same smile was in his heart.

I walked over to him, giving him what he wanted and what both my body and heart desired. I crushed our lips together in a hot kiss.

When Archer got kidnapped, it forced me to face my greatest fear. I'd put him in danger and failed to protect him. I'd failed once, I could fail again. It was scary knowing I wouldn't always be able to protect him and being with me exposed him to danger. When I told him I couldn't be with him, I'd thought being safe was all he needed.

He needed loving too. I needed loving too. We were two souls madly in love with each other. I couldn't let him go even though the rational part of my mind wanted me to, demanded that I did. I decided to give us both what we wanted and I hoped I didn't regret it.

I'd planned on leaving once I ensured Archer's safety, but things hadn't gone according to plan. I'd managed to fool the Vasiliev brothers and their second-in-charge, claiming the death of Thomas Gonzalez's son. It was a ploy that Thomas Gonzalez, the local police and the DEA were privy to, and the death was faked. After faking the death we had a limited window of opportunity to carry out the raid before the brothers realized it was fake. With my task done and "loyalty" proven, the brothers let me in on operations and my future duties. They didn't hand me all the information on a silver platter but with enough proximity to them, I was able to access information about their labs, deals, storage facilities and employees, allowing the DEA to pull off a major raid.

My deal with the DEA was simple, they would not go anywhere near the building until I located Archer and was able to protect him.

Everything had gone well up to that point. My inability to finish off Konstantin because of Archer's presence came back to stab me in the heart, literally. I'd knocked out the boy and against my better judgment, decided he was not dangerous to warrant further action. I couldn't kill him with Archer there, even though I thought he deserved it. But then he'd woken up and advanced towards Archer with the scalpel I'd left on the floor. I saw him a split second before, and did the one thing I'd do again in that situation – I pushed Archer away from me, knowing the move would delay my reaction time and make it hard to avoid the stabbing.

I saved Archer's life and he decided he wanted to die there with me. It was ridiculous and the most beautiful thing. Its beauty didn't outshine its ridiculousness and I made sure to tell him that. He only said that, "Circumstance drives actions. I'm not sure what I'll do if I'm faced with something like that again. Maybe I'll leave or maybe I'll stay and hold your hand while you yell at me".

The only thing I could hope for was that it never happened again because Archer was crazy.

I'd never been in a relationship and I wasn't even sure what it entailed, but so far it was nice. I loved spending time with Archer and I missed him when he left. Every moment- be it fighting for the laptop or cuddling on the couch- was great. It filled me with so much love for him I was in danger of bursting.

And when we made love, it was magical. Sex truly was different when it was with someone you loved. Archer brought out the animalistic, un-caged desires and growls I didn't know I was capable of. He brought out intense feelings and an abundance of pleasure. He was my kryptonite and my aphrodisiac.

The dark-haired boy with soft lips and an abundance of snarky comments was mine. I was his, and it felt great belonging to someone. I loved it. For once in a long time, someone told me to do something and I did it. I wasn't always compliant. Let's just say I loved the annoyed stares, glares and red cheeks too.

"I hope Stella destroys many books. You'll have a lot of paying to do", I said taking a breather from our hot kiss.

"You know you don't", he said grinning right before he claimed my lips back.

Later on we lay on the bed with sweat glistening on our skins. I had my hands behind my head and Archer was lying a little on my chest. He was lying on my right side so he kept glancing at my dressing.

"I wish I could capture this moment", I said. "That look on your face is priceless", I broke the silence.

"What look?" he said raising his head.

"The way you are looking at my dressing. It's like you are trying to see through it. If you must know, there's no pain", I said.

He rolled his eyes and put his head back on my chest. "Felix?" he said. His voice sounded worried.

"Pancakes, I was serious. There's no pain", I said sighing.

"It's not that. I was just wondering...I don't know stuff about you. I mean, I know things...just, how did you end in Russia?"

I shifted slightly and put my hand in his hair, slowly moving my fingers through it. "After my mom's suicide I moved to Albuquerque to live with my uncles. Both my uncles – my mom's only relatives – lived in the same town. They both didn't want me so they made me go back and forth between them. When dad died he left me some money because he felt guilty for abandoning me. I saved that money and did odd jobs, increasing it bit by bit. I had plans to leave my uncles when I turned 16 and that happened with the help of a friend of a guy I worked for, Dmitri Kuznetsov, a weapons manufacturer with an MD", I said.

"He had uh...crazy ideas about who rules the world and stuff like that. I moved to Russia and "trained" while working for him. I stayed with him and we travelled around Europe. While there I enrolled in college. Dmitri taught me a range of things, from languages to medicine. I only realized late that he wanted to turn me into an assassin. When I was 20 I decided to leave, under the guise of finding my long lost sister. I came back to the states, but some of his ideologies had stuck. I got a job and saved money. I tried living a normal life, until I witnessed the murder of a 14 year old by her stepdad. I was the only witness. I testified in court. I thought I'd done enough, but he was found not guilty. I was enraged. That was the turning point. I was seeing Dmitri's stories come to life. The things he'd told me about justice being an illusion came back. The girl's dad was the first. I pulled the trigger. And then more came. It was like with every bad person that I got rid of, more surfaced. I...I made it a game. Every subsequent hit cleared my conscience. I led a double life. I think you know the rest", I said.

While talking I'd been in my own world and I hoped I had sent Archer to sleep. I wasn't one to reminisce about things, but as I talked I remembered previous years. I remembered the turning point in my life, the moment I decided revenge was the only justice there was.

"Have you ever talked to your uncles since?" he asked.

"No and I don't intend to. It's better for them and me", I said.

There was some silence.

"Sometimes I think about my mom...not a lot, just sometimes", he admitted softly. "I don't even know what she looks like. I wonder if I inherited anything from her", he said.

"Grey eyes", words escaped my lips before I could stop myself.

While I was cursing myself over and over again in my head, Archer raised his head from my chest, fully this time. He wanted to get a good view of my face. I removed my hand from his hair.

"You..." he started.

"I'm sorry Pancakes. I'm really sorry. It...I...when..." I stuttered.

"Tell me", he ordered.

"Archer I don't think..." I said but he interrupted.

"Tell me!"

"It was shortly after I kidnapped you. I'd gone for so long believing you were my father's son. When you told me about your real parents I was curious. I guess I was trying to make sense of the whole thing. I looked for your mom", I told him. "I found her. She lives and works in Las Vegas as a prostitute. Her name is Jenny Whitmore".

He just looked at me.

"I'm sorry for doing it behind your back", I said honestly.

His head went back to my chest. He surprised me by putting his arm around me.

"Thanks for doing it", he said.

"Oh...?" I said.

"I've wondered how I'd feel knowing where she was. I thought I'd feel something. I don't. I don't want to meet her. I don't want anything. I'm not angry and I'm not sad", he said.

I was about to say something when he raised his head and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"You do things in an unorthodox way, but they have a way of working out", he said looking me in the eyes. He smiled. "You helped me move on".

"I did?" I said.

He nodded. "Now, don't ever look for people connected to me without telling me first", he said.

"I guess now is the time to tell you I did a background check on Alex?" I said giving him a sheepish grin.

He narrowed his eyes. "Tell me there is something in his life story I can use to blackmail him into doing all chores at the apartment", he said grinning eagerly like a little kid promised candy.

"Pancakes!" I reprimanded laughing.

He laughed too. "Well, you've already done it, so I can't chide you for it. It might as well be useful", he said.

"There's something, but first we have to talk about something", I said.

"More important than getting Alex to do all chores? It'll be good for you too, you know. We can spend more time together", he said.

"I've been thinking about your mom", I blurted.

"That sounds so wrong", he said jokingly. "On a serious note, what have you been thinking?"

"I'm not familiar with this relationship thing. Do I have to meet her?" I asked uncertainly.

He looked up at me. "At some point I hope you will, but only if you are comfortable with it", he said.

"I don't think I am", I admitted.

I was brave. My bravery was what convinced Dmitri Kuznetsov that I was the right boy. My bravery had its limits. I wasn't afraid of physical pain, but emotional pain – especially pain connected to my mother- was a different story. I no longer blamed Archer's mom for my mom's suicide, but seeing her would bring back memories I loathed. She hadn't just helped break my mom's heart, she'd scarred my childhood. My mom wasn't the only one who got to hear her and my dad's lovemaking.

He smiled, assuring. "You'll meet her whenever you are ready".

I smiled back.

"So, tell me about Alex!" he said excitedly.

I couldn't help but laugh. There was a glint in Archer's eyes. He looked so handsome and he was all mine. He was my first real relationship and I hoped it was my last. Looking at his eyes, I just knew this was it. This was the boy who did what many couldn't and he'd done it without intending to, proving that this wasn't fake. It was destiny.

I was in love and it felt exciting and serene all at the same time. I'd run away but love had found me in the end.

"Okay, okay..." I began.

================================The End====================================

Yeah, I know. We all hoped it could go on forever, but forever is a long time for someone like me whose ability to concentrate is next to zero. SS has "ended"...but not quite.

It's like this: due to some adult onset separation anxiety, I decided to write additional chapters for SS, also known as bonus chapters. These are extensions of the story but not part of the main plot (like an epilogue, but many of them?). They will be set a couple of months or even years into the future. The first follows this chapter and the rest are in a separate book titled "Spaces in between" (check my profile).

I hope you enjoyed SS and will read the bonus chapters.

XxDante

Now venture forth to read about Stella and Clark. .........................>    
(Ignore the last update on this book if you are a new reader, it basically says the same thing)