If Only for One Night

Rating: R, just to be safe

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, they belong to JJ Abrams and Bad Robot Productions.

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She was Sydney Bristow, and she was exquisite. He smiled down at her, brushing her silky brown hair from her face, and she reached for him, pulling him closer to her. Inviting him to enter her, possess her.

"I love you," she whispered, caressing his cheek. Her smile told him that she meant it.

"I love you," he responded. He slipped inside of her, and she gasped.

God, he adored her. He only hoped he could make her as happy as she made him.

She was Sydney Bristow, and she was his. If only for one night.

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"I love you," she'd said. She'd barely believed it when the words had left her lips; she'd uttered them at the most unlikely time. It had been a meeting like so many others. He'd given her her counter-mission and she'd turned to go. His words had stopped her.

"Syd," he'd said. "I just thought you should know, Alice and I--"

"I love you," she'd blurted out, before she'd even known if he was going to say Alice and I broke up, or Alice and I ran off to Vegas last night and got married, or something in between the two. Quite frankly, she hadn't even cared what he was going to say. If she'd been thinking at all, she'd only been thinking that she had to get the words out, no matter what.

"Sydney," he said, his eyes wide. "Did you--"

"You heard me," she said boldly, stepping toward him. "I love you, Michael Vaughn. Maybe you had to almost die twice and get back together with your ex-girlfriend for me to realize it, but I love you so m--"

She didn't get the rest of the sentence out before he caught her lips with hers. When they parted, they were both breathless, giddy. Trying to say everything they had wanted to say but hadn't.

"I've loved you for so long, Sydney," he said in a rush, between the kisses he rained on her lips, her cheeks, her neck. "I tried to fight it, tried to tell myself we could never be together--"

"We'll make this work," she breathed. "Please tell me we'll make this work, Vaughn."

"Of course we will, baby." Baby. It sounded so intimate, so familiar. So good coming from his gorgeous lips.

She moved to kiss him again, but instead stopped, forcing herself to ask, "What were you going to say about you and Alice?"

Vaughn smiled softly, gently caressing her cheek with his hand. "We're not seeing each other anymore, Sydney," he said. She closed her eyes, bathing in the luxurious, velvety feel of his touch. "We were never serious, not this time, we were just spending some time together. She's a sweet person, and I care about her, but she's not--"

"Not what?" Sydney asked breathily.

His hand left her face, and she opened her eyes to see him smile at her. "She's not you, Syd," he said tenderly. "She could never be you."

They'd stayed at the warehouse forever that day, kissing every now and then. Mostly, though, they had just clung to each other, afraid to leave, afraid that they might find out that the revelations they'd made had only been a dream, that when they saw each other again, they'd find each other in their former state of perpetual limbo.

That hadn't happened. From then on things were different between them. Every look meant more. Every touch was electric. After more than a year of wondering if they were on the same page, they finally knew where they stood with one another, and it was a glorious thing.

It was weeks before they had a chance to act on their feelings, but when they got that chance, they took full advantage, putting the tiny little hotel room in Rome to good use. She reached for him, inviting him to enter her, possess her.

He was Michael Vaughn. He was hers, all hers, only hers.

If only for one night.