Starcrossed

He filled her mouth as his lips opened against hers. Only deep breaths and the sounds of soft panting were between them. His hands caressed and stroked her face then traveled down her neck. Makenzie couldn't help it, nor did she want to. Lost in the blissful wonder of the moment, her hands found his waist under the soft material of his shirt. Ben's hips ever so slightly rocked into hers without permission, driving them on a bit further.

"Kenzie," he breathed.

"Don't speak," she smiled before claiming his mouth once more.

They went on like this, swaying and kissing in front of the fire, for what seemed hours. It was hours yet it was only minutes. When they finally parted for air, Makenzie closed her eyes and melted into her favorite place against his chest. His familiar hold felt like heaven on earth. She both longed for and dreaded what was to come later in the night. Benedict moved his head until their foreheads were pressed together, eyes locked with shadowed faces glowing in the most magical of ways.

"We shouldn't have done that," she whispered unconvincingly. Ben kissed her chastely once more before her stomach growled. "Can we get room service?" Her voice was suddenly excited and her eyes filled with the most adorable innocence. After a small chuckled and nod, Makenzie wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Minutes later, they were sitting at the bar table in the kitchenette sharing a large bowl of pasta talking about the mad things they had done. Ben talked about skydiving then Kenzie shared a few of her and Sophie's secret campus adventures. They laughed a great deal and even teased eachother, mostly verbally. Mostly. Their conversation changed to more details of his acting; she was the perfect listener as he so animatedly entertained.

A groan escaped her when she glanced at the clock. Ben's light eyes followed hers to the opposite wall. That angelic face faced him once more with a gentle blush across her cheeks.

"I'm going to stay the night since you promised your best behavior but I need a quick shower," she announced.

"Very well," he smiled, pleased with the first part of her statement while tempted by the last bit. I'll just clean up in here."

She nodded then stood to leave the room only making it a few steps, in which he shamelessly watched her hips, before turning back around with a slight look of panic.

"I don't have anything to sleep in." The poor beautiful thing was obviously embarrassed for not planning ahead. She wasn't sure what Ben's deep chuckle meant but she loved the way the sound filled the room.

He walked her into the bedroom then dug in his luggage before producing his Hemlock Sherlock shirt. Kenzie giggled, rolled her eyes, then called him a nerd. When she tried nicking the shirt from his grasp, he moved it behind his back.

"On one condition," he smugly grinned.

"Please?" she replied in the manner a snobby teenager would to a teasing parent.

"No," he smirked. Her asking politely wasn't what he wanted. Her expression of realization was a sight beautiful to behold. Benedict was going to make her kiss him to borrow the coveted shirt.

"Fine," she hesitantly stated, trying to avoid another round of kissing. It appeared as if she had accepted his terms as the clever beauty inched her lips towards his. Ben closed his eyes just before their lips should have met. "Gotcha!" she giggled, his shirt suddenly in her hand.

"Oh, you," he beamed. Ben chased her laughing all the way to the loo until she locked the door- just as he went to turn the door handle. "I could help you in there, you know."

"I'm sure you couldn't," she challenged. He could feel her scarlet blush from the other side of the door. Just the thought made her heart drum in her ears. "Besides, you already said you were going to tidy up. I won't be long. Race ya!"

The hot water washed away all tension and feelings of griminess left by her run in the rain to get to the set. Her hair was only half dried when she put his shirt on- his shirt. She could hardly believe her reflection in the steamed mirror. How did she end up in one of Benedict Cumberbatch's most famous tee shirts? It was a wonderful feeling. The deep rich sound of him clearing his throat down the hall urged her to hurry.

Time was too precious to be wasted. Tomorrow was their last day. Their last night. Her heart began to race as she entertained the thought of not putting her jeans back on. Then again, she didn't want to do something she would regret. Perhaps it was already too late for that.

When Makenzie walked out, the suite was mostly dark. The only light in the rooms was the fire still blazing in the sitting room. All was quiet, too quiet. She exited the hall to find the sitting room rearranged with Benedict lighting the last candle on the mantle. It was impossible not to stand and watch him; she had only seen men do this sort of thing in movies. The realization that old fashioned men still existed was so bitter sweet. The man she wanted, the only one who had truly shown interest in her, she couldn't have.

Benedict turned upon feeling her eyes on him. She wasn't undressing him with her eyes by any means, this was so much deeper. He couldn't believe how quickly she already had his heart pounding in his chest. Makenzie Daniels was absolutely breathtaking with his favorite shirt hanging loosely on her small frame, the hem covering her upper thigh. The damp curls framed her sharp features perfectly. Still confident in her stance, her free spirit had never been more apparent. The free spirit he was in the first stages of-

"Beautiful," he breathed, similar to the tone he had used when seeing her all dressed to the nines for dinner.

"It's your shirt," she giggled with another blush. "And you look rather well in it as well, for the record."

Makenzie walked close enough to the sofa to find a site that immediately raised her pulse. Not only had he moved the sofa further away from the fire, the silly man had folded the feathered duvet a few feet from the fire with pillows and a simple sheet. What was he expecting? Though he was wearing sleep pants and another tee shirt, she began to question his motives.

She wrestled with herself for only a moment. It was up to her how far they went tonight. Ben wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do. And they would have been sleeping in the same bed anyways so it wasn't much different than it would have been. Right? Besides, sleeping with him by a fire would be a unique memory compared to sleeping in the room- how dull, she thought with a smile growing on her face.

"You approve?" he asked, genuinely anxious that she wouldn't like or agree to it. He just had to give it a shot, even if he himself was shot down.

"It's sweet. Yes, very approved."

"Tired?"

"Getting there. Maybe one more cuppa," she smirked walking into the kitchen.

He followed her into the kitchen, catching her off her guard when resting his hands at her hips. The way she jumped amused him, his clever girl was a bit jumpy. As she put the kettle on, he put his chin on her shoulder, watching her now nervous hands tearing the tea from the bags and placing them in their cups.

"What did you mean by your wings analogy?" he finally, oh so gently, spoke into her ear.

Did he have to ask that question? Makenzie turned in his hold to face him. This was the difficult bit. She wished she would have started some other conversation.

"You know what I meant." He noted the slight pain in her voice.

"The last several days or in general?" He paused, moving just a bit closer to her. "Will you still have your wings days after you've returned to school?"

"I meant…" Oh, why did she have to explain? "I meant what I said about this not working out, even if we wanted it to. We have different lives and I promised myself not to get into anything unless I truly believed it would work. Couldn't you just imagine it? Paparazzi would be banging down my classroom door trying to get a photo of you. My students wouldn't be safe. You would never have a moment's rest. Everyone-"

"I don't care about everyone," he interrupted in a stern but passionate tone. "Every reason you just gave was protecting someone else. What does MakenzieDaniels want?"

"That's not fair," she whispered.

His pleading lover's eyes were killing her. This was the most difficult thing she had done in quite some time. Did he want her this badly or was she simply a challenge he wanted to conquer? No, that wasn't the Ben she had gotten to know in the last week. Then again, anyone could fake being a fantastic person for the better part of seven days. She was back to ground one- to trust or not to trust? No, she already trusted him far more than was rational. The beeping of the electric kettle was her savior, a perfect excuse to remove herself from his arms.

"Grab your mug," she sweetly ordered before making her way to the sofa. He was soon to follow, that look on his face pulling at every string of her heart.

"Is there someone else?' He asked after several moment of silence.

Makenzie tried to stifle her laugh, "Not at all."

"You probably intimidate most blokes your age," he deduced. She only stared into her tea, thoughts racing. "Ever date a teacher?" Again she blushed red and laughed at the absurdity of the very thought, shaking her head of beautiful brown curls. Oh, those eyes were shining. "You probably could, you know. You'd be the girl that could secretly date the young teacher, about five years older than yourself."

"Ben!" she giggled. Did he really see her that way?

"No, you could but you wouldn't. Not that you don't break a few rules every now and then but-" he took a sip of his tea. "Nevermind," he mused, a dopey grin still on his face.

"I just don't want to get hurt in another relationship, or hurt you for that matter. And that's the only solution to this," she answered. The girl had become completely serious despite his honest efforts of lifting the mood.

"You don't know that we'd get hurt," he softly argued. Why did he have to look at her so longingly? It wasn't like he-

"You would undoubtedly be the one to get hurt," she frowned. "Just trust me. I know myself and I would let you down. Be it age, inexperience, the stress of a celebrity and teacher, or everyone else's constant displeasure of us."

"Kenzie-"

"Please. I'm going to kiss you, probably a few times, before we go to sleep and more in the morning, but I can't offer more than that. No dating, being official, going to public affairs together, or-"

"So I won't see you this summer?"

She suddenly felt a bit of power over him, not in a threatening manner but more like confirmation of how much he truly wanted to spend time with her. Even if his words were never backed up with actions, he wanted her this badly for tonight.

"I'll come around when I can. You can stop by also, if you'd like. We'll be special mates. Nothing more," she concluded with all the optimism their situation would allow.

After a pause and a cheeky glance down towards her he added, "Mates that snog on occasion?"

Makenzie couldn't stand it a moment longer. Though her words were firm and decided, her heart was in an entirely different place. Now, while their cups were both empty and on the table, was the opportune moment. He wasn't expecting it which made it easier, took the pressure off her. And he was being exactly everything she had ever wanted in a love. It wasn't fair to him but she would regret not taking this chance, allowing herself this selfish bit of happiness.

She looked as if she was contemplating something and thought he couldn't tell. But then her eyes glanced towards their tea cups before returning to his with a new spark blazing inside them. Without warning she pulled him by the neck closer to her then crushed her lips against his. He didn't need a further invitation. No, this wasn't the sort of kiss that came right before a couple's first time. This was so much more. In all of his one-night-stands, those younger years that still made him cringe to think of, never had a woman looked at him the way Makenzie Daniels had just stared into him before claiming his mouth. That was a kiss he knew he'd remember the rest of his life.

Ben wanted to be all around her, not restricted by the sofa or table. He moved around until he could sweep her up princess style into his arms. Their lips didn't part a single moment as they descended down onto the warm duvet. He put her on her back as gently as possible, not wanting to break this porcelain angel. As soon as he was hanging above her, she pulled his body down further on top of hers.

She didn't know how much she unraveled him at the slightest pumping of her hips. The man was fighting with himself. It had already been decided that he wasn't going to take her all the way, possibly not even as far as she would venture. Ben had already set a limit in his mind and wasn't going to surpass it under any circumstance. Tonight was about her and he wanted everything to be as perfect as the rest of their week had been. As he planted steamy kisses down her jaw line, moving gracefully down her neck, he wondered how it was that this young woman had pulled at his heart the way she did.

He loved the specific combination that made her his Makenzie: mischievous, intelligent, silly, adorable, strong willed, opinionated, confident, humble, kind, thoughtful, sweet, beau-

"Oh," he moaned as she took her turn in nibbling and kissing him senseless, first just below his ear then moving down to his exposed collarbones.

"Arms up," she panted with that cheeky grin that drove him mad.

"Yes, ma'am."

He felt more shy than usual when removing his sleep shirt. This wasn't the first time but it was the first time with someone like her- who didn't care if he was Sherlock or any other character. Kenzie just wanted him, Ben, and that was the most spectacular part of this. This was him, no masks or smoke. It was too easy-no effort whatsoever-to hold her against him, kiss her in this lover's way, to know exactly what to do next to bring those immaculate little whimpers from her, and unreasonably tempting to think of spending every summer night with her just like this.

When they paused for air, she gave a giggle of disbelief then breathed, "What? Not going for my trouser button or zip?"

Oh, he wanted to. Every fiber of his male being had been ordering him to do just that since she allowed his hands on her. His only want was to satisfy her right there and then, to romance her in a way she had probably never experienced. Ben wanted, with everything in him, to show her true love in every sense of the word. That was the moment he rolled off her, putting all his weight onto one arm while keeping one hand on her stomach. That was the moment he knew what he longed for more than anything else. Her. Not just for tonight then keep in touch but her in his life every day.

"I'm not going to take that from you. Not tonight, at least," he stated, a few damp curls stuck to his face. "I respect you, Makenzie." Their foreheads met.

"Thank you," she whispered back her stunned reply. As if she hadn't been turned on enough… Before he could speak again, she rose to press her lips to his once more in hopes of round two. He started to go along with it but stopped for reasons she couldn't figure out.

"You need your sleep. One more day in London."

"This is my last night with you," the angel argued.

"We have this summer. Remember?"

"But we might not be in such a romantic atmosphere again," she playfully challenged, moving as close as possible to him.

"Why do mates need a romantic setting?" He was teasing her now.

"Shut up and kiss me," she grinned, pulling him in once more.

This make out session went just a bit further, hands much braver and kisses more urgent, but was ended when Ben pulled away. The exhausted man rolled onto his back. It was stop now or forget his promises to her. His sleep pants were already showing evidence of his thoughts towards her. Trying to calm himself down a bit, Ben pulled her onto his chest.

"You're tired," Kenzie noted in amusement. "And more than a little turned on. Poor man. You must be in pain." Her genuine worry was all the more adorable.

"Big day tomorrow. It's already two," he sighed, closing his eyes for the first time.

"I'll be right back," she gasped.

Kenzie ran into the bedroom and grabbed her mobile. Sophie squealed at the few details her best friend shared and was pleased to hear that all was well. They made a quick plan for the morning then hung up. When she returned to their fireside bed, Ben gave her a handsome sleepy little smirk.

"All's well?"

"Yeah, just checking in with Soph."

"Come back here," he begged. She obeyed, taking her place beside him. They moved until both were under the sheet spooned with her facing the fire. Ben couldn't remember anyone fitting more perfectly in his arms. "This is nice." Their legs tangled.

"This is more than nice, sweetheart," she softly laughed, more of a heavy puff of air.

"Well you feel good in my arms, sweetheart." He was being Prince Charming again. "Just sleep. I already have an alarm set." She nodded, her head using his arm as a pillow as his wrapped around her waist. "Warm?"

"The most peaceful than I've been in ages," she yawned, already half asleep in the most blissful state of mind. Was this how the women in the romance films felt? If so, it was the best feeling in the world. For the first time in years, her world was without care.

Makenzie was out long before Ben. As she lightly snored in his arms, he played with her hair and stared into the fire. She was right there, the woman of his dreams, yet she seemed so far away. It was so soon and he didn't want to force her into anything but he knew what he had to do. She had said no tonight but his task had just begun. He was going to prove to her just how much he needed her. Makenzie Daniels wasn't just another fling or girl to pass his time, his time that everyone wanted lately.

His last thoughts of the night were of her. He even fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

One day. One day you'll be mine. I want to love you the way you've always dreamt of being loved, my Makenzie.