Archived July 2001 ------------------------------------------------ Warning: This story is rated R. If you are under 18 years then please do not read any further ------------------------------------------------ "Are you sure we're not lovers?" Nick almost fell out of his chair at Natalie's question. She stared at him innocently, so innocently that he didn't know what to say. Finally he was able to stammer out a reply, "Uh, why would.. um, why would you think, you now.. that?" Natalie, the new Natalie, didn't seem to notice that there were about forty pairs of ears honing in on the conversation. "Well, this morning I found a shirt in my laundry that looks a lot like the kind you might wear. I found a bunch of pictures of us in an album. I seem to have the alarm code to your loft written down in my diary, and I found a key on my keychain that belongs to a safety deposit box under your name at the main branch of Toronto Savings." She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Oh, and I found the top to a pair of black silk pajamas with the initials NK monogrammed on the front pocket. Also, I seem to have a deja-vu vision of what you look like without a shirt. So, understandably, I thought we must be lovers." She leaned on the edge of his desk and smiled. Nick's mouth fell open, and his head swiveled around to take in the nosy expressions of his fellow co-workers. "Um, listen Nat," He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, "Can we talk about this later? When we can be alone." Natalie smiled, shrugged and leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. "Okay, I'll see you after shift." She waved at Schanke and left the building. Nick stood up and watched her leave, a very confused look on his face. Schanke snickered and made his way over to stand next to his partner. "Well, I guess that explains why she can't remember you. Love hurts as much as it heals." Nick gave him an odd look. "What are you talking about?" Don shrugged and took a drink of his stale coffee. "I dunno." "Well, all I can say is that's not Natalie.. not MY Natalie." Nick sat back down and tried to concentrate on his paperwork, not the snickering and whispering going on around him. Grace watched Natalie curiously. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. "This is ridiculous! How can you get amnesia that only affects your memories of Nick Knight? That just doesn't seem possible." Natalie poked around the chest cavity of her newest 'guest'. "Don't ask me. The last thing I remember was getting hit on the head from that falling debris at the construction site that dead mobster was found at. When I woke up in the hospital I had no memories of this really handsome man holding my hand and staring at me with those beautiful blue eyes." She sighed and cut away at the ribcage. "Not that I don't want to remember him, because I'm sure we've shared some very intimate moments together." Grace's mouth fell open. "Well, maybe you need to get hit on the head more often! It sure seems to have improved your attitude, I've never seen you so assertive with Nick. The grapevine is on fire with this whole situation." Natalie giggled a little. "I guess that if we've been involved for as long as everyone tells me we have, I might as well try to pick up things from where they left off." Her brow furrowed, her hands stilled and her eyes suddenly became sad. "Grace, why do you suppose I can't remember him? Do you think something really bad happened between us and now my subconscious doesn't want to remember it?" Grace moved to her friend's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "From what I've seen of the two of you together, there's nothing but pure love going on. Maybe the amnesia is God's way of telling you two to get your butt's in gear and figure things out." Natalie thought for a few moments more as Grace went about her business and left the coroner to the solitude the morgue and it's endless lost lives. "Maybe you're right, God. I guess I'll find out tonight." Nick wiped the blood from his lips, his fifth bottle sitting on the table in front of him. For some reason he had been so hungry tonight, so hungry that he had delved into the stash of human bloodwine that he had never told Natalie about. LaCroix had thought it would bring about his 'natural' state if one day Nick had stumbled across it in the garage, had smelled the beauty of the blood. When Nick did find it, he instantly thought of pouring it all down the drain and forgetting about it. For some reason though he hadn't, but instead Nick had placed it in one of the hidden panels in the far wall of the guest bathroom. Now he was very thankful to his father, but he would never give the elder vampire the satisfaction of knowing that. But at least his hunger was satiated, for tonight. He sat up guiltily as the lift began to stir to life, carrying inside it's metal gut... the woman he loved more than his immortal life. Quickly, Nick disposed of the empty bottles and flew upstairs to brush his teeth. As he was lathering his gums, he heard Natalie enter the loft. "Nick?" Natalie looked around, nothing seeming very familiar to her, and draped her coat over the arm of the couch. "I'll be right down, make yourself comfortable." Nick spit the toothpaste out and watched his expression in the mirror. His desire for her was evident, especially to him, but he pushed it away. He would not take advantage of her medical condition, no matter how much he wanted to. He swished some water in his mouth and choked on it when he heard her step into the bathroom. He whirled around from the counter to face her. "Natalie, you scared me." Natalie cocked her head and smiled. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm the one who usually says that?" She approached him, reached up to wipe a drop of water from his lower lip and brought her finger back to her mouth. Nick dropped his water cup and felt his mouth begin to salivate as he watched Natalie suck on her finger. Her tongue curved around and licked her finger. "Huhhh, um... I don't think you should be up here Nat. It's not a good idea." She smiled and walked further into the bathroom, pinning him against the counter. "Why not? I've got a feeling I've been in here before." Natalie took in a deep breath and placed her hands on his chest. As she fingered the top button on his shirt, she asked, "Can you say that you've never, in all the time that you say we've known each other, wanted me to be here with you?" "Well, not in the bathroom." Nick quickly caught himself. "But Nat, it's not as easy as that. There's a reason we're not together, the way we want to be." "And how is that? Like this?" She pulled him forward by the front of his shirt until his mouth met hers. Her lips caressed his, each touch igniting a passion she was sure they had shared before. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and mingled with his, his saliva cool and slick against the heat of her own. Nick started to protest but was taken so totally by surprise as she began to kiss him. He hadn't kissed her since Valentine's day, but he remembered her taste so well. His hands roamed across her back, making their way down to her rear, cupping each cheek and kneading them beneath the dress she wore. He lifted Natalie, all common sense fleeing from his mind at her closeness, and swung her around until she was sitting on the counter. Natalie felt herself lifted off the ground and deposited on the counter roughly. She let the hand on his shirt front move slowly down to the front of his pants, she rubbed the hardened mass inside. It stiffened more at her touch, she was pleased. Her hand deftly undid the belt buckle and zipper, she let the pants slide down to the ground. Her fingers played with the elastic band of his underwear, they were black silk. Nick felt his erection pressing against his jeans, when Natalie undid them he felt more comfortable but he needed to be completely free. His hand left her body and reached around to pull down the side of his briefs, he was having trouble until she gave him a hand, literally. He sighed against her mouth as her actions became a wakeup call to him. He pushed away from her slightly and closed his eyes. "Nat, we can't." His breath was laboured and he was almost gulping in air as he spoke. Natalie reached down and pulled the other side of Nick's briefs down, the anticipation was causing her panties to become wet with her desire. When Nick suddenly pulled away from her, she groaned out. "NICK! What's wrong with what we're doing, doesn't it feel right to you? Don't you want me as much as I want you?" Nick didn't speak, he just leaned his head on her shoulder. "I don't remember you as my best friend, or even as a co-worker. I do however know that the minute I saw you in the hospital, I wanted you no matter what I had to do. I could feel something special between us," her hand moved down to grasp his penis and stroke it slowly, it hadn't softened while she spoke and it became rock hard at her touch, "there's a feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I see you. All I know is that I loved you before my amnesia, and I love you now." Nick stared into her eyes, not even realizing that all the blood he had consumed earlier was keeping the beast at bay; all he felt for her now was love... and desire. "I love you too, Nat." He pulled her to him and crushed his lips against hers, devouring her every breath with his passion. He reached down, under her dress and snapped her lacy underwear right off of her body. She moved her hand from his shaft and reached around to hold his ass, guiding him inside her warmth. She moaned out as he entered and began to move within her. Nick, still within her, moved her off of the counter and to the floor. He was thankful that he had decided to get the plush carpet as he laid Natalie down and began to make love to her. His thrusting was slow and measured at first but the lonely years of waiting for this moment caused him to rush the act, every inch of his body straining for the ecstasy of release. Natalie arched up from the floor, her breasts pressing into his chest through the fabric of her dress. Her mind was a swirling mass of memories, and her body was alight with her desire for him. She gasped as her body began to shake with orgasm, her limbs prickling with numbness. She cried his name out, her voice reverberating throughout the room. Nick groaned as he felt his own body hanging close to the edge, he rocked against her hard, her vagina stroking his penis. Hearing her call out his name pushed him past all reality and he came inside her, his bloody seed filling her and completing their union. He slumped against her and let out a breath he could swear he had been holding the entire time. Mindful not to crush her, Nick rolled aside and onto the floor next to her. "Oh, Nat. That was incredible." Natalie shuddered one last time, her mouth falling open as he moved off of her. "You're not kidding, I just got my memory back." Nick sat up with a look of disbelief on his face. "What?" She sat up and smiled at him. "I don't know what say, but it's true. I remember every minute of our time together," She frowned. "even Valentine's day. I can't believe you've been living with that memory all alone. Oh, Nick." She pulled him into her arms and kissed him deeply. When they finally parted, Nick looked into her eyes. "I didn't want to take your memories of my love, but I didn't want LaCroix to kill you either. Can you ever forgive me?" She started to laugh. "You just gave me an orgasm that brought back something I didn't even know I needed to remember, I think I can make an exception this time." Her hand caressed his face. "Besides, I know you only did it because you love me." She got a wicked look on her face. "So, do you think there's anything else you could help me remember?" He smiled back and began to unbutton the front of her dress. "I think I could try, only this time I'll pay more attention to detail." The End