Aurelia's heart began to hammer so violently she could hear the thrum of her pulse in her ears. The air seemed to dissolve into wind and static, all other sound and sensation falling away as if it simply no longer existed. Perhaps it didn't. The world seemed to twist and narrow, drawn only to the raw electricity beating between her and the man she could see standing at the barrier.
Teo. Even at this impossible, intrusive distance between them, she couldn't mistake him. His thick, dark hair was slightly longer, tousled in a way that immediately made her want to run her fingers through it. His nose, slightly too large for his face, only made him more human, more real, accentuating his pronounced jawline, which had more stubble than when she'd last seen him. He had seen her too, his grey eyes locked onto hers, searching, haunted, aching with the same longing that pulled at her every nerve.
Someone, possibly Reuben, was at her side, asking if she was alright, did she need to sit down, was something wrong, but her body refused to listen. All she could do was move forward, each step a reckless surrender, feet skimming the grass as if gravity itself denied her.
A security guard had stepped forward, hand on Teo's shoulder, ready to push him back as she approached, but she waved him away without a second thought. The crowd surrounding him parted like the sea, a hush falling over them as anticipation thickened the air. Every single eye, both in the crowd and on the set, watched, breath held, as she stopped, a few feet away from the barrier.
"Hi," The word tumbled clumsily from her lips, low and trembling. It was more of a confession than a greeting, a silent acknowledgement of the decision she'd had to make.
His tone matched her reverence, the atmosphere charged between them,
"Hi."
Neither of them spoke and the silence pressed in, making her almost painfully aware of every sensation; the soaked gown clinging to her curves, the rapidly cooling air biting her skin, the molten ache curling in her belly under his gaze. It wasn't lustful, wasn't crude, but nevertheless, she was stripped utterly bare.
Completely, devastatingly undone.
"I'd started to wonder if you were ever real," She said softly, betraying the thoughts that were never supposed to be heard. He gave a wry smile,
"Me too. You're not exactly easy to forget."
She couldn't help but smile, glancing down before meeting his eyes again, the blush settling on her cheeks as the shyness took her unexpectedly. Her nerves fizzed beneath her skin.
"I've just jumped into the ocean!" She blurted, laughter bubbling through the tension, hand going to her wet, tangled hair, "I promise this isn't how I usually introduce myself."
He let out a quiet laugh, his gaze steady, intentional.
"What a shame. I was rather hoping it was your trademark."
Something about his tone loosened the tension in her chest, and she searched his face, finding the tender warmth, the kindness of the man in front of her. It was that which made the heat rise within her, the memory of London, weighty and achingly unresolved.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about that night," He murmured, voice stripped bare.
"Me neither. About what we didn't do."
His eye dropped to her mouth, unable to disguise the longing written in the way his lips parted. The barrier between them felt obscene, almost cruel – just an arbitrary line that had been unnecessarily drawn. Everything inside her screamed that it was time for the gap to close.
"I wasn't sure you'd want to see me," She admitted, her voice tinged with embarrassment, "Not after what I said to you. Not after the time we've spent apart."
He shook his head, slow but certain, eyes wide and intense with feeling,
"That couldn't be further from the truth. That's… the opposite of how I feel."
Her breath stuttered, everything fading once more to a distant hum; the crowd, the chill, all irrelevant against the heat building between them.
Teo braced his hands on the barrier, drawing her in with a gravity she couldn't resist. She took a single step towards him, heart in her throat.
"I suppose I should say this now," His voice was quiet, low and trembling with restraint, edged with a wild intensity, "Before I make a complete fool of myself. I had planned to say something else, if I ever saw you again, but I think I need to be a little more direct."
"Oh…?"
He looked at her for a long, burning moment, his knuckles working against his skin,
"I have much, much more than a little crush on you."
Her laugh was reckless and wild, released from the humiliation of the first time those words had been said between them,
"I've been trying to convince myself I didn't feel the same. I'm such a liar."
His relieved smile was slow, appreciative, lighting her up from the inside. It made her hungry for more. He hesitated, losing the fight with himself, eyes roaming down her body,
"Secondly," He lowered his voice until it was for her and her alone, "Oh. My. God."
She saw it coming and stepped even closer to him, eyebrow arching mischievously as heat rolled off her in waves,
"What is it?"
"Your thighs."
The crowd gasped, but all she felt was a flush crawling up her neck, the anticipation sparking every nerve ending,
"Careful," She heard her voice quivering with promise, "You could get into trouble for saying things like that."
"Perhaps," A crooked, almost wicked smile was forming across his lips, "But here we are, aren't we?"
The air snapped taut between them. Aurelia closed the final distance to barrier, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. She reached out without realising, her fingers outstretched, almost brushing his,
"Teo.." Her voice was a demand, raw and unyielding.
This time, he didn't hesitate and nobody interrupted them. In one decisive vault, he cleared the barrier, closing the last of the distance in a heartbeat. His hands found her body; one anchoring her waist, the other cradling her face with a fierce tenderness that made her weak.
"Most importantly," His lips brushed against her own as he spoke huskily, "You're so… fucking… hot."
Then he kissed her.
It wasn't a gentle kiss, but a claiming, desperate, hungry kiss, one that left no room for doubts or restraint. It was the kiss they'd denied themselves on a cold hilltop in London, repaid to each other for that unfinished moment.
Public. Uninhibited. Irrevocable.
She yielded completely, melting into him with a soft, desperate sound, fingers clutching at his jacket, determined to keep him tethered to her. He kissed her like he'd been starved of her, slow and relentless, holding her so tightly she thought the world might dissolve around them.
When they finally broke apart, they were both gasping, faces mere inches apart. Teo leaned into her again, lips grazing her lower lip, biting gently, a most wicked promise.
She laughed, breathless and giddy, stealing a quick kiss back, unable to hide her blazing need.
"Is this payback for the text?" she asked, voice teasing, eyes dark as embers.
"Absolutely not." His words dripped with intent, "But I'm sure I'll think of something."
She'd been about to step away, to catch her breath and acknowledge the presence of the people around them, but his words disarmed her. Teo's hand tangled in her hair, drawing her back to him, and they were kissing again, deeper, rougher, molten with longing. The world blurred, oxygen replaced by fire, her body curving into him, hands roaming with a wild purpose. She tugged him closer, banishing every last sliver of space. He groaned and gently pushed against her, backing her up until the barrier pressed into the small of her back, pinning her.
"Aurelia," he rasped, her name a benediction and a demand, "If we don't stop-"
She kissed him harder, fierce and greedy, lost in the urgency. His hands travelled; desperate, not careless, pulling her still-soaked body flush against his. She could feel his need for her, unmistakable. It sent a delicious shudder through her, legs trembling, a fever building in their tangled embrace. She kissed him like every second wasted was a sin, like every moment since London was repentance. His mouth mapped her jaw, her throat, lips again, breath uneven, control slipping dangerously fast.
Watching from the set, Iluka and Jasper cheered them on, whilst Tarni's hands had gone to her mouth. A mixture of awe, horror and deep, deep respect crossing his face, Reuben glanced at Priya, who was beside him, for once dumbfounded,
"If we don't stop them, they'll-"
"People are filming them-"
Aurelia and Teo didn't hear a word of it.
Teo's knee banged against the barrier. For one wicked, reckless moment, he thought, let them watch, let them see everything, because with her nails scraping down his back, it felt like even the crowd couldn't cool the fever burning between them. But then-
"Put. That. Beautiful. Man. Down. Now!"
A voice sliced through, sharp, urgent, magnified to ten times normal volume, and a second, gentler voice, close behind them added, gently;
"Aurelia, this needs to stop."
It was a jolt, a slap back into the present. Reuben had screamed at them through the director's microphone, whilst the director herself had approached them, gaze slightly averted.
Aurelia stilled immediately. Teo didn't retreat, but his forehead touched hers, breath ragged, hands gentle as he pulled the gown back over her shoulders, defiant even in restraint.
They turned, slowly, reluctantly.
Priya stood, maintaining her poise, clipboard hugged to her chest, eyes wide, struggling between professionalism, awe, and wanting to strangle them both.
"Are the pair of you," She hissed, under her breath, the gentleness leaking away as they came back to earth, "Out of your fucking minds? What the hell was that?"
"Oh…" Aurelia stammered, awareness dawning, the crowd's silence deafening, "OH!"
Teo let out a strangled laugh, backing away, hands up, surrendering to the moment.
"Right," He said, breathing hard, "Yes. Of course. Stopping. We're stopped."
Aurelia pressed her hand to her mouth, mortified, cheeks flaming from flush to bright red,
"I'm so sorry. I completely forgot where I was."
Priya tried not to smile; forgiving, yet stern,
"That was obvious," She said, sliding her clipboard between the two of them and flapping it wildly, forcing them even more apart, "But I can advise that it is not in the best interests of the production to have our lead arrested for public indecency before we've finished filming the first episode."
Teo snorted.
Aurelia hid her face, overwhelmed.
"Oh my god. Oh my god! We nearly just had sex in front of all these people!"
Priya sprang into action. She shot a look at security and motioned sharply with her hands. They understood immediately, and began ushering people away, shifting the barrier firmly until they were out of earshot.
"You need to go and see wardrobe," She said to Aurelia, in a tone that meant no arguments, "And you," She added to Teo, "Might want to… cool down. Preferably somewhere that isn't here."
"Working on it," he replied, unrepentant, still burning.
"I swear this isn't how I usually do my job," Aurelia was explaining weakly, stumbling as Reuben took her elbow and herded her back towards the set. Teo's grinned, colour deepening at his throat.
"Should I wait?" He called, voice full of promise as Priya attempted to shoo him off.
"Yes!" She shouted back, heart still racing.
"No!" Priya barked, more insistent. "Someone give him her number and get him off my set!"
The crew tried not to grin but failed.
Around them, Sydney grinned, too.