Starcrossed

Her eyes slid open with regret.

"I'm the most ridiculous female in all the world," Makenzie apologetically stated, removing her hand from his leg. "You're right here, in the flesh, asking me-me!-to follow you to the bed your sleeping in tonight." His bright eyes dimmed a bit and his hand fell from her neck to her shoulder, the circles gone. "My mind is in there with you already, doing things to you that my father isn't even aware I know to do. I mean- Bollocks!"

All contact between them faded in an instant. Makenzie took her discarded tea cup and went to pick up his on the other side of the chair. She cursed when his fell from her shaking hands. His last sip of tea spilled on the carpet- Mark Gatiss' guest home carpet! Ben tried to help but didn't know what he could do.

"I shouldn’t have come up here with you. It was inappropriate and I-"

"Makenzie." She was walking to the kitchen with him on her heels.

"Dinner was remarkable. Meeting Martin was… brilliant."

"Makenzie!" She rinsed the cups then sat them inside the sink.

"You have been everything and more than I hoped you would be. Sorry about the stain. Please return the dress. And now I'm going to get a cab and-"

"Kenzie!" he shouted taking her by the shoulders and turning her towards him.

Her face went pale, not from fear but something much more complex. Kenzie?, she repeated in her mind. They both stood breathing hard. Benedict gathered his words as she fell silent and stiff beneath his grasp.

"Calm down, my sweet girl. It was only a suggestion and one I knew you would decline," he tried to explain without wasting another second.

"Oh? You knew?" she challenged.

"Yes."

"And how did you know what I was going to do?" she hissed, removing herself from his desperate grasp.

Benedict's shoulders fell, his hands raised to his waist, and he took a deep breath. His eyes still hadn't left her, as if he couldn't rip his stare off of her. If he did she would surely vanish from him forever.

"Because you are more mature than that- wise beyond your years. You're not the kind of girl that sleeps with a bloke just because he's your 'celebrity crush'. There's so much more to you. I've bent over backwards trying to impress you tonight and I didn't get close until you tore my walls down."

He took her now rosy face between his hands. A sweet passionate smile crossed his lips, his eyes glowing. "You wanted the man in a cotton shirt and jeans more than you did-"

"I've always wanted…" she began, cutting him off. As soon as she started, she didn't have the rest of her sentence prepared. But he listened to her, intently, all the same. "When I saw any interview of you, saw any clip of you, heard you read poetry and novellas," she finally shifted towards his pull but kept her hands at her sides. "I always wondered about the man, not the famous actor. They are one in the same, I know. But you know what I mean. I'm still far more interested in the man off camera than the man wearing the suits on the red carpets. They are both you but-"

"I understand," he interrupted with a lover's tone, so foreign to her. His fingers brushed her hair back to reveal the full power of her own blue crystal eyes.

That was the moment. Not the moment he fell in love- he was beginning to wonder if he was even worthy of the kind of love he longed for- the kind that often interfered with his profession. No. That was the moment Benedict Cumberbatch knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted Makenzie Daniels at his side as often as possible. She only had a few more days in London and the future was a mystery even to him. But the passion this young woman had for life-the respect she held for herself, the love she had for others, and her traits that pulled him hopelessly towards her-was something he needed in his own lonely existence.

He wouldn't bring up dating, not this early in the game, but he absolutely wanted to spend as much time with her as possible the rest of the week. She would argue with him and she would have to wrestle with her own conscience for breaking class rules but he just had to have her with him.

She blushed and smiled at the same time when he took her hand and pressed a tender kiss against her palm. Her attention darted all around the kitchen at first, doing anything to avoid contact with his. Benedict found her painfully beautiful on the rare occasion that she was flustered or speechless. This girl-with her sturdy opinions, quick mind, and free spirit-pulled at his heart even then without knowing what she was doing to him.

"You needed to be at the hotel an hour ago," he whispered, still holding her shoulders as their eyes memorized the other's face.

"I don't care," she answered with the soft factual tone he had used.

Ben wasn't sure what was going to happen between them next. He knew desire when he felt it but with Makenzie-Kenzie he had unexpectedly called her earlier-he wanted nothing more than to take his time. He was patient in most aspects but when it came to wanting something in reach, especially a woman he found himself unusually attracted to, the virtue began to fade. They would probably never see first light together from a hotel bed, naked in eachother's arms, yet he still wanted her to become some sort of fixture in his life- he couldn't predict how long she would stay. Then the beautiful fiery creature surprised him yet again.

"Damn it," she breathed before folding her arms around him. Her head pushed against his chest as her grip tightened.

It didn’t take him more than a second to react to her sudden proximity. Ben pulled her close to him, his long toned arms wrapping around her perfect frame. They took in the smell of eachother, listened to their breathing patterns rise and fall so quickly, and her knees almost gave out when she felt his gentle hum vibrate against her cheek. She would never guess that she felt better in his arms than he did in hers.

Makenzie suddenly had this fear of upsetting him. It wasn't proper for one stranger to latch onto another, celebrity crush or not. The young woman nervously began to pull away from him.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Benedict shushed her and let his hand rest just below the messy bun, now loose from the night's activities. When he pulled her even closer, her content sigh gave him a sense of relaxation he hadn't felt in ages, not this sort anyways. The girl's head snuggled further into his chest nearly bringing a chortle from him.

"Go get your dress and purse. You need your rest for tomorrow," he spoke into her hair while his hand slid down to her neck, dreading the moment her skin left his.

"Drop me off?" she replied against his chest with a new spark in her tone, one he recognized immediately.

"Of course."

Makenzie grabbed the gown from the closet, picked up her few belongings from around the beautiful flat, and met him at the door. They hailed a cab their first try and was soon on their way back to the Hyde Park Radnor. The two remained quiet the first few minutes of the ride, each very pleased with the way the night had turned out.

Makenzie couldn't stop grinning. The night was over but she felt in her heart that something else was just beginning. Even if it was only for the week, she had the full attention of the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch. Just the thought of him holding her in Mark Gatiss' kitchenette made her stomach flip. She wasn't sure how he felt about her but she knew that this was going to be the best week of her life. It had already become so. Yes, she was a different person from the few experiences alone. And the week wasn't over yet. His hand wrapped around hers without warning.
When she looked over towards him, his brilliant smile and exploding eyes were already on her. His expression mirrored how she felt, maybe even mirrored her own blissful expression.

"I'm going to see you again, right? This week?"

"I will do everything in my power. But you may have to break a few rules in return," he teased with a wink.

"As if you leave me any choice," the girl blushed, giving his hand a quick squeeze. She was holding hands with him in the back of a cab- did life get any better?

"We'll be on Gower Street on Thursday doing last minute things- perfecting the set and such. Think you could sneak away long enough to stop by?"

"Blimey, I'll do my very best," she gasped. "And meet everyone?" He nodded with fireworks in his eyes. "Yes," she exclaimed as quietly as possible. "I may be a bit late but I'll be there."

"You'll hear from me before then… Makenzie Daniels."

Her name melted from his tongue leaving a sweet taste on his lips and the most perfect low rumble echoing in her ear. They had both lost track of the miles when the cab came to a halt a few paces away from the hotel.

"That was fast," she whined. They got out of the cab and walked a few paces closer to the front door. "Guess I'll be hearing from you tomorrow?"

"Without a doubt."

"Then goodnight," she blushed, butterflies soaring from the valleys of her stomach to fluttering in her throat. Ben started to lean in for a kiss on the cheek but she thought he was making his first attempt of a real snog. The sassy young thing pulled away giggling, "We have all week… my dearest Ben."

Instead of speaking, he kissed the back of her hand.

"Good night. Sleep well."

Their eyes met one last time before she left him standing there. Her hand slid from his then she was up the stairs and through the front door. Little did he know that it took every bit of willpower not to glance back. She heard the cab take off just before the desk clerk greeted her, suspicion in his eyes. Makenzie threw herself against the back wall off the lift and quietly screamed with pure joy. The hall was empty when she snuck to her room. She managed to get inside without a sound.

"You're a bit late," Sophie teased from the other side of the room. Suddenly the bedside light was turned on. "Looks like you had one hell of a date," the giddy blonde cheekily grinned.

"Only the best night of my life," Kenzie happily sighed plopping onto her bed.

"Did he kiss you?"

"No, wouldn't let him."

"What? You’re kidding, right?"

"I don't kiss on the first date. You know that," the breathless girl smirked, teasing her mate right back.

"Yes. But, if you didn't notice, that wasn't any old date from uni."

Makenzie couldn't help a laugh, "Yeah, noticed that a bit early in the day. But thank you anyways."

"What's that?" Sophie excitedly asked, her eyes on the mysterious blue thing her friend had brought in.

"That, Sophie my love, was the dress I wore tonight," the brunette announced with pride. She held it up for the wide-eyed best friend.

"Makenzie, it's absolutely beautiful! I want to know everything."

"Well, I promise to tell you in the morning. I'm exhausted now and couldn't keep myself up long enough to tell you everything."

"Fine," the blonde groaned, moving from sitting up in her bed to lying down again.

The lights went off a few minutes later and both girls were asleep before another word was spoken. Sophie was more than happy that her friend was genuinely happy- happier than she'd been in a while.

Makenzie, on the other hand, drifted off to dreams almost as good as her reality. The first face she saw had beautiful dark curls and eyes that couldn't keep his latest secret. Yes, she was almost positive- Benedict Cumberbatch had a crush on her.