Author's Note: Finally over my writer's block. I've recently started seeing someone named James and continuing to write this story was a little awkward at first. But as he's nothing like Moriarty, it turned out to not be a big deal. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! x

Chapter Sixteen: The Intruder

The next afternoon, Melissa sat at her desk, glancing over some case files. She wasn't really reading anything though. Instead, she was replaying the kiss over and over again in her mind. She closed her eyes. She could feel his arms wrap slowly around her waist and bring her closer…

"Melissa."

Melissa opened her eyes and looked up.

"Sherlock." She tried to make her face impassive, hoping against hope that nothing would give her away.

"Great job last night," he said, walking closer to her desk.

"Thank you," she replied.

"About the other night…" Sherlock paused. After a moment, he continued, "Are you alright?"

Melissa was taken aback. Sherlock…caring?

"Yes," she answered him truthfully. "Thank you, for calming me down. I really appreciate it."

Sherlock didn't answer, just sort of nodding instead.

"You can't care too much in this profession," he finally said.

"I'm aware of that. This case just brought me back to the death of my father," she responded, averting her gaze from his.

He stayed silent again. After a few seconds she looked back at him.

"Just be careful, Melissa," Sherlock warned before he turned to leave.

Much later that day, Melissa lay on the couch in her living room, listening to some classical music to unwind after her long day at work. The doorbell interrupted her relaxation. She wasn't expecting anyone, but it seemed that people just decided to show up unannounced on her doorstep fairly often as of late. She really didn't want to get up though. She glanced at the clock to see that it was nearly 11 at night.

Who the hell would be here at this hour?

Whoever it was was not going to get an answer from her. She closed her eyes again, just listening to the music. Her phone vibrated on the table, indicating that she'd received a text, but she couldn't reach it from where she was. Reaching it would involve moving, and she was decidedly done for the day. Her phone vibrated twice more, signifying that she'd gotten two more texts. If it were really that important, she knew that whoever it was would just call her instead.

Suddenly Melissa heard a faint noise coming from her front door. She opened her eyes and tried to listen more closely. She had no idea what the sound was. Slowly, she sat up just as she heard the lock of her door turn. She grabbed her purse off the table near her feet and pulled her gun out. The sound of the door opening reached her just as she leapt over the back of the couch so she'd be hidden from view when the intruder entered the living room. The door closed and she heard whoever it was relock it.

The intruder took a few slow steps towards the living room, obviously creeping about. Melissa held her breath, weighing her options in the situation. The footsteps stopped as soon as the intruder entered the living room, obviously taking it all in.

Melissa decided that now was her chance. She stood up, aiming her gun at the intruder.

"Must we always conduct our conversations at gunpoint?" James asked, arching an eyebrow. He was clad in suit and tie, as usual.

"James?" Melissa asked, incredulously.

"I took the liberty of letting myself in since you couldn't be bothered to answer the door. I texted you, by the way," he replied lazily.

She lowered her gun. "I thought you were in Taiwan."

"I was," he countered. "Everything went according to plan."

She nodded slowly.

"Well are you going to invite me in or…?" he trailed off.

"Invite a man who's just broken into my flat inside?" she asked.

He just looked at her expectantly.

Rolling her eyes, she gestured towards the couch that she'd just been lounging on.

He made himself comfortable on the couch and she placed the gun back on the table.

"Do you want anything to drink or – "

"Come here," James interrupted her. She made her way to the couch and sat next to him. "I hope you realize why I'm here."

"Why?" she asked, playing dumb.

"Mmmm, I think you know why," he replied, his voice a low purr as he leaned towards her.

His lips touched hers. One of his hands tangled itself in her hair, the other wound its way around her waist. Her own arms snaked around his neck. Soon their tongues were battling for dominance. James' hand slowly moved from her waist down to her thigh as he guided her back so that she was lying on the couch. He lay on top of her, feeling her heart beat in her chest, their lips still locked. Her hands moved down to his back and she tried to hold him as close as possible.

He detached his lips from hers and kissed from her jaw down to her neck. His teeth softly raked the bare skin of her neck and she smiled because it felt great. He sucked and kissed his way along her neck until suddenly, he hit a spot that made her breath hitch. He hit it again, and this time she moaned. He smiled to himself, making note of the spot for a later date.

He again focused his attention on her lips, reattaching his to hers. They continued to kiss for a few minutes before he pulled away and sat up, leaving Melissa lying on the couch where he'd left her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Melissa asked, sitting up herself.

"I don't know that you're ready for me just yet," James replied, locking eyes with her.

"What do you mean, not ready for you?" she retorted.

"If this is how you act from just kissing me, you're really going to lose it when – "

Melissa cut him off, kissing him passionately and moving so that she straddled him. She wove her hands into his hair and kissed him with all the passion she was feeling for him at that very moment. His hands made their way to her waist again, holding her tightly. As she kissed him, her entire body moved, causing her hips to move against his. She kept kissing him, and he let out an involuntary moan.

His breathing was becoming heavier and she could feel his heart beat quickening. James didn't usually like not being in control, but he was thoroughly enjoying himself. She kissed along his jawline and he let his head fall back on the couch, letting her do whatever she pleased. She kissed down his neck, leaving a few marks that most certainly would be seen later. She stopped kissing his neck for a second to loosen his tie and unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt. She placed a few kisses on his chest, admiring his pectoral muscles.

She pulled away from him for a moment just to look at him. His eyes were closed, a smile playing on his lips, his hair messed up from her hands running through it, his tie loose, shirt unbuttoned. She smiled. It was a good look for him.

He slowly opened his eyes and caught her staring at him. They simply gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments before both of them went in for another passionate kiss.

A while later, Melissa leaned her head on James' chest, just listening to his heartbeat. It had slowed considerably since they'd stopped kissing and Melissa found it to be rather soothing. Classical music still floated softly through the air. James' arm was wrapped around her waist and every once in a while, he'd move his fingers, the only evidence that he was still awake. She still sat on his lap, but now they were in a much more comfortable position. His chin rested on the top of her head and they sat in a comfortable silence.

Melissa liked seeing this side of him. It proved that he wasn't the cold, hard criminal that he usually pretended to be. She knew he was a sociopath, acting the way others wanted him to. But somehow she believed that this was real. No one, not even the best actor, could fake something like this.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked quietly.

"Mmm…you," she answered truthfully.

He let out a small chuckle as he readjusted his arm on her waist.

"What about me?" he queried.

"You're an amazing kisser," she replied, not wanting to divulge what she'd been pondering. She did, however, agree with the statement she'd just made.

James smiled.

"So are you." His soft Irish lilt added a certain sexiness to what he said.

Melissa smiled too.

"I thought you were supposed to be proving that you're Mr. Sex," she whispered flirtatiously.

His hand stroked her side lightly.

"If I prove it to you already, what will you have to look forward to?" he responded softly.

"I'm starting to think that you're all talk," she teased.

"But you just said that I'm an amazing kisser. That's something," he backtracked. "And I'd just like to remind you that my name isn't Mr. Kiss, its Mr. Sex. Take that as you will, Melissa."

He had a good point.

She laughed suddenly. James stiffened a little.

"What?" he asked defensively.

She continued laughing a little bit.

"What?" he demanded again. "Why are you laughing?"

"Don't worry, I'm not laughing at you," Melissa reassured him. He relaxed again. "I'm just thinking about how you got the idea that you're Mr. Sex. Like how that even comes up in conversation."

"What can I say, I'm a ladies man," he replied with a little shrug. He paused for a moment, before adding, "And it wasn't really in conversation. I'm in bed with this girl and out of nowhere she looks up at me and just says to me, 'You're Mr. Sex if I've ever met one.' And for the first time in my life, I'm pretty sure I had no idea how to respond to something." Melissa giggled softly. "She wasn't very smart, but I really liked that thought."

"And so now you just spread that around?" Melissa asked.

"Well its true, so why not?" he whispered.

"Cocky, aren't we?" she said.

"Of course," James murmured directly into her ear. "It works as a great pick-up line."

"Oh really?"

"Mhmm, all the ladies want to see if it's true," he continued, his breath lightly tickling her ear. "And I can guarantee that I don't disappoint."

"And just how many 'ladies' have you slept with?" she queried.

"How many gentlemen have you slept with?" he countered effortlessly.

"Fair enough," she responded, letting it go. James moved his lips to just below her ear, lightly touching them to her neck. She let out a breath. "What do you want with me then?"

His lips stilled on her neck. He pulled away to look into her eyes.

"It was easy to slip my way in and out of other women's lives with one-night stands because they were all dumb. But you, you're different than everyone else. You're so much smarter. You think like me. You understand how I think. You are like no one I've ever met before, not even Sherlock Holmes," he told her.

"That doesn't answer my question though," she prompted him. "What do you want with me?"

"I don't want you to be a one-night stand." He stopped, deciding how to say this. "I feel…different than I've ever felt with anyone else. A good sort of different."

"You're just saying that," Melissa said, dismissing him and moving to stand up.

He stopped her with the hand on her waist and pulled her close again.

"No, I'm not just saying it." And the way he looked at her made her believe his every word.

She touched her lips gently to his.

"Don't tell anyone or I'll have to kill you," he threatened when she'd pulled away.

I felt like Moriarty was slightly out of character, but I really liked how the chapter turned out. I tried to make him his old self by the end with that last line. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm working on the next chapter already, so hopefully it'll be up soon. Sorry for the delay. Love you all. x