The Eyes Have It – By Sapphire Blue

Marlena looked at her watch again.  One more hour and she would have to go home to get ready for the dinner tonight.  She hated these events…. boring business dinners with the Tyton executives and their even more boring spouses.  If she didn’t enjoy writing her columns so much she would quit Tyton just to avoid these evenings.  She hated making small talk with people she hardly knew, plastering on a smile and pretending to be listening when she’s really just wondering when she can sneak out and go home. And she especially hated dancing with overweight, balding business men while trying to avoid their groping hands and clumsy feet.  Marlena had been single for almost 2 years now and everyone knew it.  She was beginning to think that she had become some kind of contest for all the men in town… who can get her in bed first.  She wasn’t interested in any of them.  She had been through 2 divorces and a bad relationship in the past 10 years and she wasn’t about to ever go through that kind of pain again.  She was very content with her life on her own and kept herself busy with her psychiatric practice and her columns for Bella magazine.

 

She knew she couldn’t get out of the dinner tonight.  It was being given in order to introduce everyone to the new owner of Tyton Publishing…Mr. John Black.  Marlena was not looking forward to it.  She had read about John Black in several magazines…..wealthy businessman, very successful, never been married, always photographed with some beautiful model on his arm.  Granted he looked very handsome in his pictures, but she knew the type.  Men like this were always trying to hit on her, trying to impress her with their money and their power.  She was never interested.  They were all so full of themselves and treated her like some sort of conquest.  They all bored her to tears.  Unfortunately, John Black was now her new boss so she would have to put on her charming face and make nice tonight.

 

Marlena finished up her paperwork and tidied up her desk a bit and then headed home.  When she got home, she quickly showered and changed for the evening.  She examined herself in the mirror and was pleased with the new midnight blue dress she was wearing.  It came slightly off the shoulder and gathered in the back so it made her waist look especially small.  There was a slit on one side of the skirt that traveled up to her thigh, but didn’t show off too much.  Marlena thought it looked very flattering.  She did enjoy the dressing up part of these evenings even though the rest of the night was going to be a bore.

 

When Marlena arrived at the Penthouse Grill, she scanned the room for a familiar face.  She saw Kate Roberts, one of the editors of Bella Magazine, sitting at a table having a discussion with an older man she didn’t know.  She decided to join them.  Marlena didn’t especially like Kate, but she knew she could easily carry on a conversation with her without much effort until she was able to make her excuses and leave.  And at least Kate was an improvement over her previous editor, K.C.  That jerk tried to get into her pants on more than one occasion.  Marlena had been thrilled when his wife finally caught him cheating and took him to the cleaners in their divorce.

 

Marlena was introduced to the gentleman and began to make small talk with him and Kate when the voices began to get louder in the room.  A small group of people had just entered and were being greeted by the people standing near the door.  This must be the infamous John Black, thought Marlena, as the small group made their way towards her table.

 

As introductions were being made, Marlena got a good look at Mr. John Black.   She had to admit that his pictures didn’t do him justice.  He was probably the most attractive man she had ever seen….thick jet black hair, wide shoulders, slim waist.  He had a very strong chin and a long, straight nose and as he was introduced to her she couldn’t help but stare into his gorgeous, deep blue eyes.  He was definitely the definition of tall, dark and handsome.

 

“Mr. Black, I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Marlena Evans, she writes one of our more successful columns in Bella Magazine.”

 

John was stunned when he first laid eyes on Marlena.  She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Golden hair pulled up off her face, creamy white skin, delicate arms, a tiny waist and full figure. Her face was like a work of art, every feature in the perfect place.  John was used to having the most beautiful woman in the room on his arm and she was definitely it.

 

“How do you do, Dr. Evans?  It’s a pleasure” John said as he reached out his hand to shake hers.

 

“Mr. Black.  Very nice to meet you.  Welcome to Salem.” Marlena replied in her polite, business like voice while shaking his hand.

 

“I believe you know Kate Roberts?”

 

“Yes, we’ve spoken on the phone several times.  How are you Ms. Roberts?” John answered as he turned his attention towards Kate.

 

“Oh, call me Kate please.  After all we will be working very closely together.” Kate responded as she moved closer to John.

 

Marlena knew that Kate would be after John Black as soon as she heard he was coming to Salem.  She was always after the most eligible bachelors in town, but she couldn’t believe she was all over him already.  The man just walked through the door for Pete’s sake.

 

When all the introductions had been made, Kate invited John to join them at their table.  John sat next to Kate and they all made polite chit chat while dinner was served.  Marlena spoke very little, giving short simple answers to any questions that were sent her way.  Every once in awhile, she noticed John looking her way.  She found his eyes unnerving somehow, like he could see what she was really thinking.  He made her very uncomfortable.  She was very eager for this evening to end so she could get away from Mr. John Black.

 

After the dinner dishes had all been cleared away, a small band began to play dance music.

 

This was Marlena’s least favorite part of the evening.  She figured she’d have to put up with at least a few clumsy feet before she could make her excuses and leave the party.  Kate was the first one up as she asked John to dance.  John politely accepted and took her out onto the dance floor where she began to drape herself all over him.  Marlena noticed that John was a very elegant dancer even with Kate hanging all over him.

 

The older, balding gentleman next to Marlena, asked her to dance.  She politely accepted just hoping to get this over with quickly.  He happily led her to the dance floor, where he held her too tight and proceeded to bore her with his knowledge of stocks and real estate.  Marlena didn’t notice that John was watching her face the whole time.  He was almost laughing at how absolutely bored she looked.  He decided that he would rescue her when the next song began.  But Kate had other ideas.

 

Several songs had played when John finally made an excuse and got himself away from Kate.  He noticed that Marlena was now dancing with another, rather rotund gentleman and looking absolutely miserable as she was trying to avoid his rather large, clumsy feet.   He decided to cut in.

 

“Hey Steve,  how about giving the new guy a chance?”  teased John as he tapped on his shoulder.

 

“Oh certainly…” stammered Steve as he let go of Marlena and backed away.

 

John quickly took Marlena in his arms and began to gracefully twirl her around the dance floor.  Marlena wasn’t thrilled to be dancing with John Black, but she knew that after this dance she would be able to easily make her excuses and head home.  It had been a very long evening and she was tired of making small talk and dodging the advances of boring businessmen.

 

“I thought you might need some rescuing.”

 

“Rescuing?” questioned Marlena.

 

“From that rather bad dancer.  You looked like you were very bored”

 

“Oh, well I guess I’m just tired of dancing.  Do you mind if we sit this one out?”

 

Marlena felt extremely uncomfortable in John’s arms.  She knew his type.  Arrogant, cocky, always thinks he can get anyone or anything he wants.  She had no desire to play games with him tonight. She was happy when he agreed to sit down.

 

They sat back down at the table and Marlena proceeded to ask John her usual, standard questions. How did he like Salem?  Did he have any family?  Where was he from?  John gave her the answers which he had already repeated several times this evening. He tried to ask her questions, to find out something about her, but her responses were short and simple.  She wasn’t interested in giving out any information about herself.  It was like she was on auto pilot just giving out the standard canned answers that didn‘t mean anything.  John felt like he was giving her a job interview.  Too bad, John thought to himself.  She was a gorgeous woman, but not much personality. No wonder she was single.

 

After a few minutes, John excused himself and went off to chat with some board members at another table. Marlena was surprised when he left.  She expected him to hit on her or ask to take her home like most men did.  She had been all prepared to deliver her “I don’t mix business with pleasure speech” but, he never gave her the opportunity.  Even though she wanted nothing to do with him, it bothered her that he didn’t try anything.

 

“I’m probably not young enough for him” Marlena thought angrily…“Him and his 20 year old models”.  Marlena quickly got up from her table, said her goodbyes to the few

people that were nearby and left the restaurant as quickly as she could.   Thank God this evening was finally over.

 

John noticed Marlena leaving the party out of the corner of his eye.  Even though she was boring as hell to talk to with that wall she had built around herself, he was disappointed to see her go.  She was really something to look at.  And he would have loved to get closer to that incredible body.  He noticed the eyes of the other men in the room following her too. Obviously, he wasn’t the only man who felt that way.

 

John began to say his goodbyes shortly after Marlena had left.  Kate Roberts was still clinging to his side, obviously waiting for an invitation to leave with him.  He had no doubt that Kate would happily accept an invitation to his bed this evening, but he had no interest in having company tonight.  He made his excuses about having an early day tomorrow and made his way out of the Grill.

 

Before heading to his car, John decided to take a little walk in the cool night air.  He liked being in this smaller, quiet little city of Salem.  It was a nice change from the large cities he’d lived in before.  He had gotten tired of the constant noise and dirt and traffic…the hustle and bustle.  That’s why he had decided to make this change.  He had gotten bored with his life lately.  He was extremely successful in business and he had more money now than he would ever need.  He almost always had a beautiful woman on his arm and never lacked for company.  It was all too easy.  There never seemed to be any challenges any more.

 

John kept walking, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening. He ended up on a little pier down by the waterfront.  It was a lovely remote place.  A great place to sit and think and look out at the water.  John relaxed and just let the calm soak into his skin.  He leaned back and closed his eyes.  As soon as his eyes closed, he saw Marlena’s face in front of him.  He still could picture her perfect face to the last detail.  And he could even remember how her body felt in his arms for that brief moment that he held her on the dance floor.  He could even remember what she smelled like. John jerked his eyes open.  “What the hell?” thought John.   He usually never gave a second thought to women that he had just met….especially women as cold and closed off as she was.  Why was he thinking about her?  “Because she had absolutely no interest in you John Black” …he answered himself.  That was it.  John had never met a woman who was so obviously not interested in him and it bothered him.  “Well, I may have actually found that challenge I was looking for”, John chuckled to himself.  He headed back home with a new found goal….to break through that rather large wall around Dr. Marlena Evans.

 

John had a new apartment just a few miles from the waterfront.  One of his assistants had found it for him and he had just moved in a few days ago.  It was large and had a terrific view.  There were still some boxes on the floor that needed to be unpacked, mostly books.  They could wait.

 

John poured himself a drink and sat down at his computer.  He decided to do a little

research on Dr. Evans.  He found several of her columns that she had written in the last year.  They were quite impressive…..some got a little dry and technical for his taste, but he was very impressed with her knowledge and insights. She was obviously a very brilliant woman as well as being beautiful.  “Well, she writes a hell of a lot better than she talks”, he thought to himself.  John couldn’t find very much personal information about her.  He did discover that she had been married twice, but was single now and she didn’t have any children that he could find.  But there was no mention anywhere of any other interests or hobbies.  She apparently was all about her work.  She was nothing like the women John was used to dating…superficial, ambitious, interested in fame and fortune.  The kind of women that John never gave a second thought, but for some reason he couldn‘t stop thinking about Marlena Evans.  “This IS going to be a challenge” thought John as he leaned back and finished off his drink.

 

 

Chapter Two

 

A few days later, John was touring University Hospital.  He had been asked to become a member of the Board after his rather large donation for the new Children’s Wing.  John knew that Marlena worked at the Hospital and he was hoping to bump into her.  He wanted to see if she was really as beautiful as he remembered.  So even though he was running late for the board meeting, he had made a point of walking by her office but unfortunately she wasn’t in.

 

John entered the board room and was surprised to see Marlena standing at the head of the table speaking to the Board members.  John apologized and quickly took a seat.  She gave him an irritated look and continued speaking.  She was talking about the importance of the new Abused Children’s Center and about the funds that they needed.  She was quite animated and obviously very passionate about the subject.  John enjoyed seeing her like this….actually interested in what she was talking about and yes, he decided, she was as beautiful as he remembered, even more so.  Her blonde hair was down and framed her face, that beautiful perfect face that he remembered.  She was wearing a black jacket with white trim and a matching skirt.  She looked very elegant and professional, but sexy as hell.  “How does she do that?” John thought to himself.  Most of the women he knew were either one or the other.  They were either professional business women in suits or attractive sexy models, but very few of them had been able to pull off both and none at the same time.

 

After the meeting, John approached Marlena and complimented her on her impassioned plea for the Children’s Center.  He let her know that he was quite moved by what she had to say.

 

“Thank you Mr. Black,” she replied without really looking at him.

 

She gathered up her files and then said “I didn’t realize you were a member of the Board.”  She looked at him with that cold, professional look again.  She had reverted back to the closed, hard woman from the other night.

 

“I was asked to join after my rather sizable donation for the new Children’s Wing.” John informed her.

 

“You are very generous I’m sure,” Marlena replied rather coldly.  There it was….trying to impress her with his money.  She was so tired of men like this.

 

“I enjoy helping where I can, Dr. Evans,” John answered.  Wondering what the hell he had done to piss her off.

 

“I’m sure the hospital greatly appreciates your contributions.  Good afternoon,” and with that, Marlena picked up her briefcase and walked out.

 

“Man, what is wrong with that woman?” thought John.  “What happened to that animated, passionate woman that I just saw speaking about the needs of the abused children?”

 

John was now more determined than ever to break through that cold wall surrounding Dr. Marlena Evans.

 

Marlena returned to her office.  She was fuming that no one had told her about John Black joining the Board.  He was the last person she expected or wanted to see.  She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him and his damn blue eyes ever since she met him at the Penthouse Grill and that was annoying her to no end.  Now today, he had to walk in when she was speaking about a subject close to her heart and she became so nervous and flustered that she didn’t even know what she was saying.

 

“Damn it Marlena,” she said to herself under her breath.  “Get over it.  He may be handsome, but he’s just like all the rest, bragging about his sizable donation today, trying to impress you.  He just wants to make a conquest, like all the rest.”

 

Marlena tried to forget about John Black and busied herself by diving into her patient files.  She had been falling behind on her paperwork ever since she took on the Children’s Abuse Center project.  Marlena worked for several hours and was happy with the progress she had made.  She looked at her watch and realized that it was almost dinner time.  She was meeting some of her friends at Blondie’s.  She was looking forward to this evening.  She was dining with her old friends Eugene & Calliope.  They were crazy and hysterical and she loved them dearly. They had known her for years and had seen her through a lot of difficult times.  She packed up her briefcase and locked up her office and then headed straight over to Blondie’s.

 

John was on his way home after work and decided to stop into one of the local nightclubs for a drink.  He was still checking out Salem and getting to know the various hot spots.   Several people had told him to check out Blondie’s so since it was on the way home, he thought he’d try it out.  When he walked in, he was pleasantly surprised.   The place was very elegant. There was a spacious foyer which led into a large dining area with a small dance floor and over to the right was a good sized cocktail lounge with a view of the dining room.  John walked into the lounge and took a seat at the bar.  He ordered a drink and just sat and watched the people coming and going.  He decided that he would definitely come here for dinner on another night, maybe even with Marlena if he could ever get her to actually talk to him.

 

As he was sitting, enjoying his drink, listening to parts of various conversations going on around him, he heard a very distinct laugh.  Someone was having a very good time and their laugh was contagious.  It made him smile just to hear it.  He turned towards the dining room to see who was having so much fun and he couldn’t believe his eyes.  Sitting at a table in the middle of the room, with 2 people that he didn’t recognize was none other than Marlena.  All three of them were laughing and talking and obviously having a wonderful time.  He loved Marlena’s laugh.  It was captivating.  He couldn’t believe that this was the same woman who had been so rude to him just this afternoon.  For a brief moment John actually considered walking up to her table, but then decided against it.  He was pretty sure that she had no desire to see him tonight.  John finished his drink and walked out of the restaurant before Marlena could see him.  He drove home and wondered the whole way how he was going to get this side of Marlena to come out for him.

 

That night John dreamed about Marlena.  He dreamed that they were having dinner at Blondie’s and that he was the one sitting at the table making her laugh that infectious laugh.  Then after they ate, they began to dance. He was holding her close.  He could feel her body next to his and her breath hitting his neck.  He looked into her face and then down at her luscious lips.  He began to move his mouth closer.  He was just about to place his mouth on hers when….his alarm went off.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

It had been a week since John had seen Marlena at Blondie’s.  He had hoped that he would bump into her somewhere…the hospital or Tyton, but they never seemed to be in the same place at the same time.  He hoped that she would show up for the meeting at Tyton today.  Maybe she would be in a more receptive mood this time and would actually have a conversation with him.   He thought he might invite her to lunch to discuss an article he wanted to print concerning the Children’s Abuse Center.  He knew that she was very passionate about that subject.

 

When he entered the meeting room, John was pleased to see that Marlena was already there.  She was engaged in a discussion with some other members and as John headed towards her, Kate intercepted him.  She quickly began discussing some business that he wasn’t really paying attention to and before he knew it, the meeting was called to order.  John did not pay much attention during the entire meeting because for the majority of the time he was watching Marlena.  He was hoping that she would look his way, but she never did.  In fact she seemed to be going out of her way to avoid looking at him.  And when the meeting ended she was up and out of the room so quickly that John didn’t even get near her.

 

“Oh no you don’t Dr. Evans,” John thought to himself.  “You’re not getting away that easily.”  He quickly followed her to the elevator and caught the doors just in time before they closed.

 

“Dr. Evans! So nice to see you again,” he said a little sarcastically as he entered the elevator.

 

“Mr. Black” she responded with a small nod of her head as she looked down and fidgeted with her files.

 

“Please call me John.”

 

“I prefer to remain on a professional basis when I’m at work Mr. Black,” Marlena replied in her usual cool manner.

 

“As you wish, Dr. Evans.”  John replied, just as formally as he looked up at the floor numbers lighting up.

 

“I was just wondering……. who the guy was?”  John continued.

 

“What?”  Marlena said, looking up at him, very confused.

 

“…the guy who did this to you?”

 

“Excuse me?”  Marlena asked, not knowing what the hell he was talking about.

 

“…the man that screwed you over and made you so cold and unfriendly.  Something must have happened to you to make you like this and I’m guessing it was a man.  Am I wrong?”

 

Marlena just stood there in shock.  She couldn’t believe that this man, who she barely knew, had the nerve to talk to her like this.  She just stood there with her mouth open, not knowing what to say.  Thankfully for her, the elevator reached John’s floor and the doors opened.  John started walking out and turned back to her.

 

“It’s really a pity you know,” he said softly as he leaned towards her. “We could have had a lot of fun getting to know each other.  Good afternoon Dr. Evans,” John said, emphasizing the Dr. Evans.

 

When Marlena got home, she was still furious.  She slammed the door and threw her purse and keys on the table.

 

“Damn that man!” she swore.

 

She couldn’t believe what he had said to her.  The nerve!  That he would say something so personal and so mean just because she wasn’t interested in him.  She was absolutely livid and she was even more angry because she had just stood there like an idiot and didn’t say anything.  She was cussing herself out just as much as she was cussing out John Black.

 

When Marlena went to bed that night she was still thinking about John.  “That arrogant bastard!  Thinking he knows everything about me.  Thinking I would ever give him the time of day.  How dare he talk to me like that!”

 

Marlena got very little sleep that night, thinking about all the things she wanted to say to Mr. John Black.

 

John didn’t sleep much either.  He also couldn’t stop thinking about Marlena, but for a very different reason.  He couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he saw laughing at Blondie’s, or the passionate woman who spoke about the Children’s Center at the hospital board meeting.  He thought about how she always looked perfect, her clothes and makeup, always classy and professional, but sexy as hell. He could remember how she smelled when he stood next to her in the elevator and how her face turned pink and her chest heaved up and down when

she got angry.

 

“You’ve really done it now, Black”  he said to himself.  “That was probably not the best way to get her attention,” he admitted to himself. But there was just something about that woman that set him off and made him act like an ass.  He had to laugh, he did like the way she looked when she got angry. There was passion in her eyes and he found it very seductive.  God she was a gorgeous creature.  John tried to go to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Marlena.

 

Marlena was glad that she had managed to avoid seeing John for several days.  Even though she still dreamed about telling him off and slapping his arrogant face, he was still her

boss and she did enjoy the work that she did for Bella Magazine.  She was also embarrassed that she hadn’t thought of a comeback at the time and had just stood there like an idiot.  She didn’t understand why what John said to her bothered her so much. Why should she care what he thought of her?  She had her career, her patients, the Abuse Center and plenty of good friends to keep her busy.  She was perfectly happy without a man in her life. The next time she saw him, she wasn’t going to let him bother her at all.  She would basically ignore him and show him that she couldn’t care less what he thought of her.

 

That next time came sooner than Marlena expected.  She had arrived in the Hospital Board Room early for a meeting so that she could look over some files.  She was standing at the table when John walked in and startled her.  She knocked one of her files off the table and papers scattered all over the floor.  John bent down to help her gather the papers.

 

“I’m quite capable of picking them up myself, Mr. Black,” Marlena spat at him.

 

“Yes, I know Dr. Evans. I was just trying to help, but you don’t need any help do you?  You don’t need anything or anyone.  That’s quite obvious,” John spat back.

 

There he goes again thought Marlena, but this time she was ready for him.  She stood up tall to her full height and looked him straight in the eye.  Damn his eyes were piercing.  “Concentrate Marlena!” she thought to herself.  “Now’s your chance to tell this guy off.”

 

“Mr. Black you know absolutely nothing about me and don’t presume that you do,” she began.  “..just because I won’t fall all over you and be flattered by your attentions.  I have no desire to have anything but a business relationship with you and I’d appreciate it if you would keep your comments to yourself.”  Marlena was trying to remain calm but failing miserably.  All she really wanted to do was slap that smug smile off his face.

 

John was enjoying watching her.  This was that passionate woman he had glimpsed before.  God she was beautiful when she was ticked off.

 

“Believe me, Dr. Evans. I have no interest in you either. You may be a gorgeous woman, but your personality leaves a lot to be desired.”

 

Marlena reacted quickly.  Before she realized what was happening, her right hand flew up to smack the side of his face.  John caught her wrist just before she made contact.  They stood like that for several seconds…John holding onto Marlena’s wrist and staring into her eyes.  Marlena was breathing heavily and couldn’t look away.  They were both startled when they heard other voices entering the room.  John dropped Marlena’s wrist and turned to greet the other Board Members.  Marlena quickly took a seat and tried to control her breathing.  She felt very warm and just wanted out of that room.  She managed to make it through the meeting by avoiding looking at John.  When it was over, she left quickly without looking back.

 

John was the last one left in the boardroom.  He stood there thinking about what had just happened between him and Marlena…..and wondering what would have happened if no one else had walked in.

 

 

Chapter Four

 

Marlena could not sleep.  In fact she really hadn’t slept well in days.  Every time she tried to close her eyes, she remembered what happened in the Hospital Board room several days earlier.  She was absolutely mortified that she had completely lost it and had actually tried to slap John.  How was she ever going to face him again?  She knew that at some point she was going to have to apologize for her behavior and that just killed her….the thought of apologizing to that arrogant Jerk.  She’d almost rather leave town than have to face that chore.

 

But that wasn’t the only thing keeping Marlena from sleeping.  She also couldn’t stop dreaming about that man and his gorgeous, penetrating blue eyes.  She would dream that they were standing there in the board room.  He was holding her wrist and staring into her eyes.  She couldn’t look away and was having a difficult time breathing.  All of a sudden, he dropped her wrist and his arms were around her…..one behind her back and the other behind her neck.  He was pulling her hard, against his body.  His mouth was just inches away from hers as he whispered, “I want you Marlena.  I’ve never wanted a woman so much in my life.” He took her mouth in a passionate kiss, tasting her lips and invading her mouth with his tongue.  One hand was tangled in her hair, holding her head tightly to his mouth while the other was on her ass, pressing her into his body.  She could feel how much he wanted her.  She felt like her body was on fire and she could feel herself getting wet with desire.  As his hand started slowly pulling up her skirt so he could touch her soft, creamy thigh…….Marlena jerked awake in her bed.  She was breathing heavy and covered in sweat.

 

“Oh God, not again,” she cried softly.  She sat up in bed and held her head in her hands.  “Why can’t I stop thinking about him?”  Marlena hadn’t thought about being with a man in over a year.  She honestly thought that part of her life was over, until John Black came to town.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so physically attracted to someone…..Oh God, why him?….an arrogant, rude, conceited  Asshole!  She had to find a way to get him out of her mind.  She got up and decided to take a cool bath.  She poured herself a glass of wine and climbed into the tub. The water felt good on her hot skin.  She tried to relax and just let the cool water wash away her thoughts.  As she began to doze off in the tub, her mind traveled back to thoughts of John Black and the things that he could do to her body.

 

Across town, John wasn’t getting much sleep either.  He also couldn’t stop thinking about what had almost happened in the Hospital Board room.  He really wanted to know if no one else had walked in and he had the nerve to kiss her ….how she would have reacted.  He had wanted to kiss her more than he’d ever wanted anything before and he’d thought…for a moment….that she wanted it too.  He sensed something about her…not just anger….but longing, attraction….maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he couldn’t forget the passion that he saw in her fiery, hazel eyes and the way she smelled as he stood so close to her.  He loved the thought that he had caused such a passionate response from her.  The cool, collected Dr. Evans had totally lost it.  He couldn’t wait to see her again and hopefully get her alone.

 

Marlena knew it would happen sooner or later.  She knew that she would bump into John and have to face him.  Well, today was that day.  She was riding up in the hospital elevator when it stopped and the doors opened.  She took a quick breath as she saw John enter the elevator.  Thankfully they were not alone.  He nodded and smiled towards her and then turned and faced the front.  Marlena hoped that he would be the first one off, but no such luck.  The other passengers got off on the next floor, leaving John and Marlena alone in the elevator.

 

“Good morning Dr. Evans,” John said very politely.  “How are you today?”

 

“Fine, thank you.” Marlena replied feeling rather embarrassed.  She knew that she really

should apologize for her previous behavior, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

 

They rode in silence for a few moments, as John was trying to decide what to say next when all of a sudden the elevator jerked to a stop.

 

“What happened?” asked Marlena.

 

“I’ll find out,” John opened up the control panel and lifted out the phone line.  He waited a

moment and then heard a technician on the other end.  They assured him that everything was fine and they would have the elevator going in just a few minutes.

 

“It will be fixed in just a few minutes,” John assured Marlena.  “..nothing to worry about.”

 

“I’m not worried,” Marlena replied a little nervously knowing that this was the perfect time to make her apology.  She was getting very warm and feeling incredibly embarrassed as she remembered the dream about John that she had the previous night.  “Mr. Black, I would like to apologize for my incredibly unprofessional behavior the other day…..,” she began.

 

John interrupted her, “There’s no need to apologize Dr. Evans. I was being very rude and I believe that I am the one who owes you the apology.”

 

John turned and looked into Marlena’s face.  She looked very flushed and incredibly nervous.  “Are you all right?” John asked, concern on his face.

 

“Yes, I’m…..” just as Marlena was answering him, the lights went out in the elevator.  Marlena let out a small scream and without thinking John took her in his arms.  He held her tight to his chest and gently patted her hair, whispering to her and trying to soothe her.  Marlena rested her head against his broad chest, thankful to have something to hold on to.  Marlena hated the dark, ever since she was a child and she was very glad that she had someone here with her, even if it was John Black.  They stood like that for what seemed like several minutes.  John was thrilled to be holding her in his arms.  Her hair felt like silk and her smell was intoxicating.  He could stand like this for hours.

 

After just a minute or so, the lights came back on and the elevator began to move.  Marlena gently pushed herself away from John.

 

“Are you okay?” John asked.

 

Marlena just nodded.

 

“Are you sure?  You look a little pale.” John asked with real concern in his voice.

 

“I’m fine, really.” Marlena managed to say.  “Thank you.”

 

“It was my pleasure Marlena.  I’m glad I was here for you.” John replied very sincerely.

 

When the doors opened and they walked out, Marlena held out her hand to John.  “Good-bye John….. and thank you again.”  She quickly shook his hand and then headed down the hall.  John watched her go and happily realized that they were now on a first name basis.

 

 

Chapter Five

 

The next day John was going out for lunch.  He stopped by Shenanigan’s to grab a quick bite to eat.  As soon as he walked in the door, he noticed Marlena and Maggie Horton sitting at a table together.  Maggie saw him and waved him over.  He asked if he could join them for lunch.  Maggie was more than happy to accept.  She hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk much to the town’s new resident bachelor and as the head of the volunteers at the hospital, and various social committees, she had made it her duty to know everyone and everything that was going on in Salem.  Marlena just nodded her head and smiled.  She did not want John joining them for lunch, but there wasn’t much she could do.

 

Maggie kept John busy, asking him question after question and informing him about all the goings-on in Salem.  Man, that woman could talk.  John didn’t really mind because it gave him a chance to watch Marlena and he was hoping that she was listening to his

answers, since he was sure that she would never ask him these questions.  Marlena was still not looking well, she looked flushed and John wondered if she was ill.

 

When Maggie finally left the table for a moment, John leaned closer to Marlena and asked her if she was feeling all right.

 

“I’m fine.” she replied.

 

“John what are you doing here?” she asked a little brusquely.

 

“Well, I think I’m having lunch with two beautiful women. Why?”

 

“This just doesn’t seem like the kind of place where you would come for lunch.”  Marlena stated while playing with her salad.

 

“Well, if you want to know the truth Marlena,” John said while leaning in again, “….I overheard Maggie at the hospital saying that she was meeting you here for lunch and I wanted to see you.”

 

Marlena’s fork froze as she realized what he had just said and her heart began to pound a little faster.  She was extremely uncomfortable sitting this close to John.  She couldn’t stop thinking about the dreams she had been having lately.  “Calm down, Marlena,” she said to herself.

 

“Why did you want to see me, John?  Is there some business that you would like to discuss?”  Marlena said, trying to sound cool and collected.

 

“No Marlena.  There is no business I would like to discuss.  I simply wanted to see you and possibly ask you out for dinner.”

 

A moment of panic raced across Marlena’s face.  She didn’t want to go out with John.  She didn’t want to be alone with him.  She didn’t trust herself to be alone with him.  The last thing she wanted in her life was to fall for a man like John Black and just be another one of his many conquests.  She had to end this conversation right now.

 

“I’m sorry John.  I’m afraid that I’m busy tonight.”  She prayed that he would just take no for an answer and drop it.

 

“It doesn’t have to be tonight Marlena.  Any night would be fine with me.”  John was enjoying watching Marlena squirm.  He knew that she felt uncomfortable, but he also knew that he wasn’t about to give up.

 

“John I appreciate it, but I really don’t feel comfortable dating my employer.” Marlena said as politely as possible.

 

“I’m not really your employer Marlena.  You simply write columns for one of my magazines.” John stated matter-of-factly with a little grin on his face.

 

Now Marlena was getting annoyed.  “Fine, then I’m simply not comfortable with you, all right?  Would you please just go find someone else to pursue?” and with that Marlena got up from the table and headed towards the back door of the restaurant.

 

John was in quick pursuit.  He had had enough.  He needed to know why she persisted in disliking him so much.  He came up behind her and grabbed her by the arm.

“That’s it Marlena.  I’ve had enough.” he said to her angrily like a father reprimanding a child.

 

“You get your hands off of me!” she screamed.

 

John dragged Marlena into a nearby storage room and shut the door, standing in front of it so she couldn’t get out.

 

“How dare you?  You open that door right now John Black,” she was furious now.

 

“Not until you calm down and talk to me Marlena.” he said, just as angry as she was.  “I’ve tried to be pleasant.  I’ve tried to be polite, but you won’t give an inch will you?  I really thought that after we got stuck in the elevator we had gotten past this irrational, juvenile behavior, but apparently not.”

 

Marlena glared at him.  “You let me out of here right now, or I’ll….”

 

“You’ll what Marlena?  Slap me?….oh, wait I think you already tried that .”

 

With that, Marlena threw herself towards John, pounding on his chest and trying to push him away from the door.  Her arms were flailing….she was frantic to get away from him.  John grabbed her arms and held them tightly.  “Would you just STOP!” he yelled at her, shaking her slightly.  Marlena just glared at him and tried to twist her arms out of his grip.  He grabbed her upper arms and pushed her against the wall.  They just stared at each other, both of them breathing heavily.  John wanted to kiss her so badly right now he couldn’t stand it.  He started to lean in, thinking that she would push him away or turn her head.  Marlena felt like she was frozen in place.  She was caught in his eyes like a deer in the headlights.  She felt her face getting hot.  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

 

John was close enough to feel her breath on his face and her perfume was absolutely intoxicating.  He moved towards her until his mouth was just inches away from hers giving her one last chance to turn away.  She still didn’t move.  She was drowning in his eyes and she couldn’t look away.  He couldn’t stand it anymore.  He grabbed her arms tighter and pulled her to him.  He captured her mouth in his and feasted like a starving man.  The combination of the taste of her lips and her intoxicating aroma were driving him crazy.  He took a chance and moved his tongue into her mouth.  She still didn’t pull away.  Her mouth fit his perfectly and her tongue began to tentatively dance with his.

 

Marlena didn’t know what was happening.  Just a moment ago she was furious at this man and wanted to hurt him, now he was kissing her and she was kissing him back.  She had wanted to pull away, she had wanted to slap him, but when he caught her with those deep, penetrating, blue eyes, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak and then when he began to kiss her she felt like she had feet of clay and she was melting into the floor.

 

At first John’s kiss was hard and desperate, but as he realized that she was not going to pull away, his kiss became slower and more passionate…taking his time, enjoying the feel of her lips and her tongue against his.  Marlena could feel the heat from John’s body traveling through his mouth into her, every vein, every nerve was on fire.  She had never been kissed like this before…ever.

 

When John finally pulled away to catch his breath, he looked into Marlena’s face, afraid of what he might see.  Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily.  “Look at me Marlena” he demanded softly.

 

She slowly opened her eyes and matched his.  They both stared at each other, their breathing in unison.  “I’m not going to apologize for that, Marlena” he began, “….because I’m not sorry it happened.”

 

“Neither am I….” she barely whispered.

 

“Good. Now what time should I pick you up for dinner tonight? Is 7 good for you?”

 

Marlena just nodded like he was willing her to do it.

 

“I….I have to go now.” she managed to say as she finally broke the spell his eyes had on her.  She looked away from him as she stepped back.  She straightened her jacket, picked up her purse which had fallen on the floor and walked out the door.

 

As John watched her go, he raised his hand up and touched his lips, remembering what her mouth felt like on his just a moment ago.  No, Marlena wasn’t like any other woman he had ever known.   There was something overpowering about her, intoxicating, seductive…and John wanted more…much more.

 

 

Chapter Six

 

Marlena was pacing up and down in her penthouse apartment.  Her heart was pounding and her stomach was in knots.  Oh God, what had she done?  When she left John at Shenanigans she had called her secretary and told her that she was going home ill and to cancel all her appointments for the afternoon.  She knew she couldn’t concentrate on other people’s problems when she had a bigger one herself.  She had actually agreed to go to dinner with John.  Oh God….she was absolutely terrified.  What if he took her back to his place after dinner?   What if he kissed her again like he did in the storage room?  That kiss had been incredible…like nothing she had ever felt before.  She knew that if he kissed her again like that, she would be lost…..her body would betray her.  But she wasn’t ready for this….she wasn’t ready for another love affair…and she definitely didn’t want to go through that kind of pain again when it was over.

 

“Calm down Marlena,” she kept repeating to herself.  “It’s just a dinner, for God’s sake….get a grip.”  She poured herself a glass of wine to try to relax and downed it in two gulps. She turned on some soft music and sat on the couch with her second glass of wine.  She closed her eyes and concentrated on taking long slow breaths.  She kept telling herself that it was going to be fine.  She was an intelligent, successful woman and she was in control.  It was just a dinner, nothing else.  After awhile and several glasses of wine, Marlena had finally calmed herself down.  She was feeling better and had herself convinced that she could handle this.  She got up from the couch and headed upstairs to get ready for her date with John.

 

After Marlena walked out of Shenanigans, John rejoined Maggie at the table.  He explained to her that Marlena wasn’t feeling well and had gone home.  John knew of Maggie’s reputation as the town gossip and he intended on taking advantage of that.  Once he began being his charming self, he got her talking and he was able to get all kinds of information about Marlena.  He found out that she had been very hurt by her two divorces, her first husband had cheated on her and her second had been so obsessed with his work that he ended up leaving the country to pursue it.  Apparently there was also a devastating love affair with a crooked cop that ended when he was shot during a drug raid.  John felt terrible about the things he had said to Marlena.  No wonder she was so closed off and reluctant to let new people in.  All of a sudden, John felt an over whelming desire to protect her and to

make her happy again.  This was no longer a game of pursuit.  He didn’t just want to get her in his bed.  He wanted her in his life and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

 

Marlena was getting dressed for her evening.  She picked a simple black cocktail dress…nothing too sexy or revealing.  As she was trying to put her earrings on, but having a terrible time because she kept dropping them, she started to feel nervous again.  Her head was starting to spin and she felt a little dizzy.  “Maybe I am coming down with something,” she thought…“I wonder if it’s too late to call John and cancel?”  Just as she was about to pick up the phone….the doorbell rang.  “Oh Shit,” she said under her breath as she headed downstairs to answer the door.

 

John could hear Marlena on the other side of the door.  She was fumbling with the deadbolt and seemed to be having a difficult time opening the door.  He laughed when he heard her swearing at it.  She finally got the door open and stood there leaning on it.  She looked gorgeous in her short, black dress. John’s eyes started at her feet and traveled up her incredible, shapely legs.  He continued up, taking in every detail of the ravishing beauty standing before him, including the interesting fact that she was only wearing one earring. John looked in the room and noticed the wine bottle on the coffee table that was more than half empty.

 

“Hi Marlena,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.  “Are you feeling all right tonight?”

 

“Actually John, I was just about to call you to see if we could reschedule…I’m not feeling that well.” Marlena said as she let go of the door and headed over to the couch.

 

John knew exactly what was wrong with Marlena.  She had had a few drinks because she was nervous.  He had actually had a few too, but apparently not as many as she did.  He

grinned as he watched her plop down on the couch.  She was adorable.  He still wanted to take her out.  He thought some food and fresh air would probably do her some good.

 

He closed the door and then walked over and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his “Marlena…” he began as he noticed that there was something in her hand.  He turned her hand over and opened it gently.  “Aha…,” he said as he grinned widely, “…there’s that missing earring.  Can I help you with that?”  Marlena just looked down at the earring in her hand and nodded.  John gently lifted her chin with his hand and clipped the earring on with his other.  He looked into her face.  “Marlena, I would really like to take you out to dinner tonight.  I think a good meal would make you feel better….. and I promise that I will be a perfect gentleman.” He raised one eyebrow and smiled as she looked into his face “Okay?”

 

Marlena couldn’t help but smile at how charming John was being.  Maybe he wasn’t a total asshole after all.  And actually she was feeling rather hungry since she never ate her lunch at Shenanigans.  She nodded her head and said, “Okay…..let’s go…I’m starving.”  John laughed and they got up and headed out the door.

 

Blondie’s was rather busy when they arrived, but John had reserved a nice quiet table in a corner.  Marlena commented that this was one of her favorite places.  “I know….” began John before he remembered that she didn’t know that he had seen her here. “…I mean, I’ve been told by several people that it’s very good.”

Julie, the owner and an old friend of Marlena’s, greeted them and showed them to their table.  She smiled as she handed them their menus, it was good to see Marlena finally out on a date again, she thought.

 

After they ordered their food and some champagne, at Julie’s insistance, John was happy to see Marlena begin to relax.  He asked her about her work, and about her friends.  As they ate, she began to tell stories about her friends Eugene and Calliope and began to laugh so hard that she was almost crying….she was definitely feeling no pain.  John knew that she was going to have a whopper of a headache tomorrow, but he was loving every minute of this.  This was a side of Marlena that he had been dying to see.

 

The band began to play a rather quick, salsa number and Marlena jumped up from the table.  “Oh, I love this song….dance with me John,” she said as she took his hand and pulled him up from the table.  John had been waiting to get his arms around Marlena all evening, but he didn’t think she could handle a fast salsa right now.  He wasn’t even sure she could stay on her feet.  Her wrapped his arm around her waist and held her tightly, trying to make sure she stayed upright.  Marlena wrapped her arm around John’s neck and began moving her hips to the music.  John was holding her so tightly that he could feel every little bump and grind and it was driving him crazy.  He knew Marlena was having a good time now, but he was afraid that she wasn’t going to remember any of this in the morning….and he had no intention of taking advantage of her when she was in this condition.

 

John was grateful that the next song was a slow one.  He didn’t think he could take much more of her hips rubbing against his body.  He reached up and softly placed Marlena’s head against the side of his neck. He placed one hand on the small of her back and with the other he held her hand tightly to his chest.  They stayed like that for several songs…just softly swaying to the music.  Marlena felt like she was floating on a cloud, far, far away.  She felt so safe and so warm.  The voices and the music seemed to fade away and all there was left was just her and John, dancing like this, forever.

 

John felt Marlena get heavy in his arms and knew she was starting to drift off.  He hated to let her go, but he knew it was time to get her home.  “Marlena?…honey?…I think it’s time to go home now.” he said to her gently.

“Umm-hmmm,” she responded, not knowing what he was saying.

 

John gathered up her purse and her jacket while still holding on to her with one arm and gently led her out of the restaurant.   Once they were outside and the cool, night air hit Marlena in the face she began to come out of her fog.  “Oh, are we going home?” she asked John.  “I was having such a wonderful time.”

 

“Yes, Marlena,” he answered, laughing.  “I’m afraid I’m rather tired and I have a busy day at work tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, pooh,” Marlena stated as she plopped herself into the car.

 

Somehow, John managed to get Marlena up to her penthouse.  It wasn’t easy since she kept trying to do the salsa from earlier in the evening.  As soon as they got inside and closed the door, she was in his arms again, begging to dance.  “But there’s no music,” John stated matter-of–factly.

 

“Who needs music?” Marlena answered as she wrapped John’s arms around her waist.  She began to move slowly, sensuously, rubbing herself against John.  John groaned, he couldn’t take this much longer.  He wanted her so badly, he was about to explode.  She nuzzled her face into his neck and began kissing and sucking on him.  That was it.  John couldn’t take another second.  He lifted her face up to his and captured her lips between his own.  He held her head tightly to his, pushing her lips open with his tongue, tasting every inch of her mouth.  At first, Marlena was kissing back just as passionately, tasting him with her tongue and sucking on his lower lip.  Then John felt her get heavier in his arms and could hear her deep breathing.  Marlena had passed out.

 

John chuckled to himself.  He had a feeling the evening would end up like this.  He scooped Marlena up in his arms and placed her on the couch.  He removed her shoes and debated over whether he should remove her dress.  He thought it might get ruined if she slept in it all night.  “You can do this, Black,” he said to himself.  He carefully unzipped the back of her dress and slowly slid it down past her feet.  Marlena was left wearing her black lace bra and panties.  God, she was beautiful.  John knew that one night very soon he would be lying next to this gorgeous body.  As he covered her up with the blanket from the back of the couch, he kissed her forehead.  Marlena snuggled under the blanket as she curled over onto her side whispering his name.  He laid the dress carefully across a nearby chair, turned out the lights and whispered as he went out the door, “Good night Marlena. Sweet dreams.”

 

 

Chapter Seven

 

Marlena rolled over and her arm hit something.  She tried to stretch out but there wasn’t

much room.  Where the hell was she?  She knew that she wasn’t in her bed.  She could feel the sun shining in her face, but she couldn’t seem to open her eyes.  Her head was pounding and she felt like she had been hit by a truck.  Every muscle in her body hurt, especially her hips.  What the heck happened to her?  She finally managed to open her eyes half way and realized that at least she was in her own penthouse.  She seemed to be lying on the couch.  How the heck did she get here?  She laid back and put her hands over her eyes and tried to remember what happened last night.

 

She remembered being in her room and getting dressed… dressed for what?  Then she remembered being at Blondie’s…and dancing.  The fog was slowly starting to lift…she remembered dancing with John.  She was on a date with John.  She remembered eating dinner with him and laughing hysterically, at what she had no idea.  And then dancing….why couldn’t she remember anything after that?  How did she get home?  She slowly sat up, trying to clear her head.  The blanket that had been covering her fell away and she saw that she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties.  She saw her dress draped across the chair next to her.  Oh my God, what did I do?  Marlena was panicked.  She had no idea how she got home last night, no idea how she got out of her dress, and no idea what she may or may not have done with John.  She was absolutely mortified, but she knew that she had to find John and ask him what happened.  She couldn’t stand the not knowing.

 

It took Marlena quite awhile to get herself together.  She slowly made her way upstairs to the bathroom….where she quickly took 2 aspirin and then started a bath.  She climbed into the tub slowly still wondering why the hell her hips were so sore. “I probably don’t want to know,” she groaned to herself.  She sat in the warm tub trying to work out the kinks in her muscles and waiting for the aspirin to take effect.  She decided to go over to John’s office at lunchtime today.  She had to talk to him and she didn’t want to do it over the phone.

 

By the time, Marlena finally got herself cleaned up and dressed it was almost noon.  She was just about to head out the door when the doorbell rang.  She opened the door to find a delivery man with a huge bouquet of flowers.  Her first thoughts were not pleasant… “Oh God, I must have slept with him if he’s sending me flowers.”  She took the flowers rather rudely from the delivery guy and closed the door.  As she set them down on the desk, she noticed a note and a bottle of something down inside the flowers.  She pulled out the note and read it.

 

 Good Morning Marlena,

 

I hope your head doesn’t hurt too terribly this morning.  I just wanted you to know that nothing happened last night except some dinner and some dancing.  Then I brought you home and tucked you in on the couch and made you comfortable.  I promise that I didn’t even peek, (well maybe just a little).

  

I had a wonderful time.  Can I see you again tonight?

Love,

John 

 

Marlena smiled and reached into the flowers.  Inside there was a bottle of aspirin.  Marlena laughed….it was very easy to see why so many women fell for Mr. John Black.  Marlena knew that she was falling too.

 

Marlena decided that she might as well go to her office to make up for the work she had missed the other day and to catch up on messages.  She tried several times during the day to call John to thank him for the flowers, but every time she called his office he was on the phone or in a meeting.  His secretary sounded flustered so Marlena figured it must just be a very busy day at Tyton today.  She decided to just wait until John called her about tonight.  When she left her office at 5pm, John still hadn’t called.  She tried not to be annoyed, after all, he hadn’t said a specific time and the night was still young.  She realized that she was really looking forward to seeing him again.

 

Marlena went home and picked up the Penthouse a bit.  She felt embarrassed when she discarded her wine bottle from the previous night.  “That was a bright idea,” she said to herself sarcastically.  She went upstairs to change and ended up trying on about 5 different outfits.  She couldn’t decide what to wear….dressy or casual? After apparently being a total lush the night before, she wanted to look especially nice tonight.  She settled on a casual cream blouse and skirt….since she didn’t know what they were doing tonight.

 

Marlena tried to keep herself busy, fussing about the apartment and moving things from here to there….checking her hair and makeup in the mirror….checking her phone messages…nothing.  As it continued to get later and later and John still hadn’t called, Marlena was starting to get more and more upset. “Well, he obviously found something more interesting to do…or someone,” She said to herself. She decided that either she had made an absolute fool out of herself the night before and John had been completely turned off by her drunken behavior or he had lied to her and they had slept together and now he was moving on to better things.  She wasn’t sure which one was worse.  But she knew that she sure as hell wasn’t going to wait for him anymore.

 

She stormed up the stairs and into her bedroom….cussing out John the entire way.  “Who needs him?!” she yelled as she threw off her shoes and ripped off her clothes. “I sure as hell don’t!”  She quickly changed into her soft flannel robe and slouchy socks.  “I knew I was right about him….the jerk!”  Marlena made her way back downstairs and into the kitchen.  She grabbed a pint of Butter Pecan ice cream from the freezer and went back to sit on the couch.  She turned on the TV and started to flip channels….looking for one of those sappy, stupid love stories that were totally unrealistic.  She had finally settled on one and was starting to calm down when there was a knock on the door.  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said as she looked at the door.

 

“Marlena, are you still up?” she heard John calling through the door.  He knocked again.  “Marlena?”

 

If he thought he could show up at 10 o’clock at night when he never bothered to return her calls all day long, he had another think coming.  Marlena slammed her ice cream down on the table and marched over to the door.  She pulled the door open and stood there with her hand on her hip.  “What do you want John?” she asked him rudely.

 

John could tell she was pissed. “I’m so sorry it’s so late Marlena. I just wanted to stop by on my way home to say good night. It’s been a hell of a day today.” John leaned against the door jam.  He looked absolutely exhausted.

 

“Yah? Great. Thanks John. Good night.” she said as she started to slam the door.

 

“Woah,” John called out as he put up his hand to stop the door.  “I said I’m sorry for coming by so late, I just wanted to see you for a minute. What’s going on?”

 

“Why don’t you tell me, John?” she asked as she backed up into the living room.  “You send me flowers and a thoughtful card in the morning and then you’re too busy to take any of my calls and don’t bother to show up until 10 o’clock at night. What’s going on with you John? Did you get a better offer?”

 

“Oh Jeez, Marlena.  Didn’t my secretary call you?”

 

“No John. No one called me.”

 

“Marlena I am so sorry.  I’ve been in closed door meetings all day.  I asked my secretary to call you when I knew I wouldn’t get out in time for dinner.  We’re having a major problem in one of our foreign offices…in fact, it started last night…I haven’t even been home.”  John reached up and ran his fingers through his hair.  He looked terrible.

 

“You haven’t been home?” Marlena let it sink in.  “You mean since last night?”

 

“Yep, just after I had tucked you in on the couch and was driving home…all hell broke loose.  I’ve been at the office ever since.”

 

Marlena began to soften.  John really did look like he’d been up all night and she even thought those looked like the same clothes he had been wearing on their date, although her memory was a little foggy on that subject. “I’m sorry, John. Is everything okay now?”

 

“Not yet,” he sighed as he sat down on the couch.  He noticed her ice cream sitting on the table.  “Dinner?” he asked.

 

Marlena smiled, “Uh-huh, see what you missed?” She sat down next to him on the couch.

 

“I’m more of a Rocky Road person myself.” he smiled at Marlena and took her hand.  “I truly am sorry if I ruined your evening.”

 

“I’ll get over it.” Marlena shrugged. “But John you said the problem isn’t solved yet.  What’s going on?”

 

“Just a little embezzlement problem in our Dubai office.  Apparently it goes all the way up to one of my Senior V.P.s, but we’re taking care of it.  I just had to get out of there for a little while and get some sleep.  I just wanted to stop by on my way home to make sure you were okay after last night.”

 

Marlena was touched that he was so concerned about her when he was obviously having such a terrible day himself.  She offered to get him some food or a drink, but he was too tired to even eat.  He tried to get up to go, but she made him sit back down on the couch.  He was in no condition to drive home right now.  He leaned back into the couch, content to just be sitting next to her and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

 

Marlena loved sitting here next to John.  She watched him as he slept.  He still had the most beautiful face even though he looked exhausted and like he hadn’t shaved in awhile.  She loved his long, straight nose and his strong chin…his lips were soft and pink and his dark eyebrows framed his eyes perfectly.  Marlena cuddled up next to him and rested her head on his broad chest….and that’s where she fell asleep, listening to the sounds of his breathing.

 

 

Chapter Eight

 

When John opened his eyes he realized that he was still on Marlena’s couch.  He was lying down and covered up with the blanket that he had placed on Marlena just the night before.  He wondered how long he had been out.  He could hear Marlena moving around in the kitchen.  He sat up and stretched and noticed it was light outside.

 

Marlena came walking into the living room with a tray of toast and coffee.  “Good morning,” she smiled at him.  She was still wearing her robe, but it looked like she had already showered and done her hair and makeup.

 

“Good morning,” answered John a little sheepishly.  “How long have I been sleeping?  It looks like it’s morning already.”

 

“It’s almost 8,” Marlena replied.  “I was just about to wake you.”

 

“8 o’clock?…in the morning?..Crap, I should have been back at the office hours ago.  I’m so

sorry I fell asleep on you Marlena.” he said as he started to pull on his shoes.

 

Marlena laughed, “I guess we’re even now.  Last night I tucked you in and made you comfortable… and I promise I didn’t peek.” she continued as he looked up at her.  John smiled as he stood up and took her in his arms.

 

“I really wish I could stay this morning, Marlena.  I hate to sleep over and run.” He planted a soft kiss on her lips.  Marlena’s stomach filled up with butterflies.  She reached up and placed her hands on the back of John’s neck and pulled him in for a longer kiss.  She began to lick and suck on his bottom lip.  John groaned and pulled her body tighter against his.  His tongue entered her mouth and began to dance with hers.  She tasted divine and he could feel his passion building.  He knew he had to leave now or he would take her right here on the couch.  He released her and rested his forehead against hers.

 

“I really have to go now.” he whispered.

 

“I know.” she whispered back, her eyes closed, leaning against his forehead.

 

“I’ll call you later, maybe we can have lunch.” he suggested.

 

Marlena lifted up her head and looked him straight in the eyes. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” she said only half kidding.

 

John reached up and took her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes.  “I will do everything in my power to get away for lunch today Marlena, but if I can’t , I will call you personally and let you know, okay?”

 

Marlena smiled at him, “Okay.” she agreed.

 

After John left, Marlena quickly got dressed and headed to work.  She was practically humming as she walked into her office.  She had spent most of the night sleeping on the couch next to John.  She loved being near him.  For some reason he made her feel safe and protected…and it had been a very long time since anyone made her feel that way.

 

Just before noon, Marlena’s phone rang.  She smiled….hoping it was John.  “This is Dr. Evans,” she answered with her usual greeting.

 

“Hi Marlena.  It’s John.” he sounded rushed and not in a very good mood.

 

“Hi John, is everything okay?” Marlena asked concerned.

 

“I’m afraid not.  It looks like it’s going to be another late night tonight and there’s no way I can get out of here right now.  I am so sorry.” he sounded extremely disappointed.

 

“It’s okay, John, really.  I understand.” Marlena was disappointed too, but very happy that he had gone out of his way to call her.

 

“If there’s any way that I can get out of here by 8 or 9pm, can I come over to see you?” John asked hopefully.

 

“Absolutely,” she answered, a smile on her lips. “I’ll even fix you some dinner.”

 

“That would be wonderful, Marlena.  I’ll call you around 8 and let you know what’s going on.

I have to go now, my other line is ringing.” and with that he was gone.

 

After Marlena put down the phone, she couldn’t stop thinking about how stressed John sounded.  She knew that he hadn’t eaten any breakfast this morning or dinner the night before and now he was skipping lunch.  She decided she would surprise him and bring him lunch at his office.  Even if he was too busy to eat with her, she could at least drop it off for him. She left her office and went by the deli to pick up some sandwiches and salads and then headed to John’s office at Tyton.

 

When she got to John’s floor, she approached his secretary, Mrs. Bowman and asked if she could see him for a moment.  Mrs. Bowman was a middle aged woman who had worked for John for many years.  She always relocated when John did because she liked her job and didn’t have any family to speak of.  She felt very protective of John, like he was her own son.  She explained that John was very busy in meetings today and couldn’t possibly see anyone.  Marlena explained that she just wanted to drop off some lunch because she knew that he was working around the clock and wasn’t taking any time to eat.

 

Mrs. Bowman smiled at Marlena.  She liked her.  She wondered if Marlena was the reason that she hadn’t noticed John going out with anyone lately.  Marlena was much more beautiful and elegant than the women she was used to seeing with John, the ones that she didn’t approve of, especially that Kate Roberts who had been trying to snare John since the day they arrived in Salem.  Mrs. Bowman asked Marlena to take a seat and told her she would let John know that she was here.

 

Marlena sat down in one of the large, comfortable chairs and looked around the office.  It was a very warm and comfortable place with big overstuffed chairs and dark green carpeting.  The pictures on the wall were soft landscapes with lakes and trees.  It made her feel like she was out in the country in a nice cabin…a very nice  cabin.  Marlena could see down the long hallway from where she was sitting and she saw an open door at the end of the hall.  She wondered if that was John’s office.  She could see a man standing with his back to her and something around his neck. When Mrs. Bowman buzzed him on his speaker phone, he reached up and removed what turned out to be arms around his neck.  Marlena strained to see clearer and as the man moved over to his desk, she could make things out quite clearly.  It was definitely John standing there and Kate Roberts was standing there next to him.

 

Marlena just froze.  She couldn’t believe what she just saw.  Her heart started pounding in her ears.  Kate and John began to walk out of his office, Kate in the lead.  Marlena stood up and faced them not knowing what to do or say.  Kate saw Marlena standing there holding the bag of food.  “So this is what’s been keeping John busy,” she thought to herself.

 

Kate had not given up on getting John Black for herself.  She walked up to Marlena and said, “Hi Marlena, is that food for John?  I hope so, he was just telling me how hungry he was.” and with that, Kate walked off towards her office, leaving Marlena just standing there.

 

John was several steps behind Kate and he hadn’t heard what Kate said to Marlena.  He greeted Marlena with a big smile and said, “Marlena, what a nice surprise.  I’m sorry I had to cancel lunch, but I’m so glad to see you.”

 

Marlena could feel the blood rushing up to her head.  She couldn’t believe the gall of this man. “ I just came by to bring you some lunch because I knew how busy you were,” she barely got out with her teeth clenched.  “Don’t choke on it!” she spat out as she dropped the lunch bag on the small reception table and quickly headed for the elevator.  She made it inside just as the door was closing.

 

John was right behind her, but he just missed it.  He banged his hand against the elevator door and swore.  “God damn it!”  What the hell was wrong with that woman?   She had more damn mood swings than anyone he’d ever met.  Unfortunately, she was also more interesting and exciting than anyone he’d ever met and he knew that he wanted to be with her more than anything, even if she was a royal pain in the ass.

 

As John was pushing the elevator button to go and follow her, one of his manager’s came out of a nearby office. “John, we’ve got Dubai back on the phone.  We need you in here.”

 

“Dammit!” cussed John.  “I’ll just have to deal with Marlena later.”

 

Thankfully Marlena only had one client to see that afternoon.  She tried to remain calm and listen patiently as the woman went on and on about her husband ignoring her and never taking her out anywhere.  She had no sympathy for the woman what so ever.  All Marlena

wanted to do was to go home and cry her eyes out.  She couldn’t believe that she had actually been thinking of starting a relationship with John Black.  She was thanking God that it hadn’t gone any farther than it had.

 

By the time Marlena got home, she had calmed down a bit, but as soon as she walked in the door, she saw the flowers that John had sent her.  Her rage came back full force.  She took off one of her shoes and hurled it at the flowers.  Half of the blossoms came off on one side of the bouquet but it stayed standing, looking rather lob sided.  Marlena marched upstairs to soak in a hot bubble bath.

 

John had tried to call Marlena, but she wasn’t answering her phone.  He wasn’t surprised.  Things were finally starting to calm down at his office and he managed to get out by 8pm and headed over to her place.  He had no idea what had happened at his office, but he was determined to find out.  He was even bringing a peace offering although he had no idea what he did wrong.

 

He knocked on the door and was surprised when Marlena opened it, looking fairly calm although her eyes looked puffy like she had been crying.  When she didn’t say anything, he tentatively asked if he could come in.  She opened the door wider and let him walk in.  Right away John noticed the lob sided flowers sitting on the table.

 

“What happened to the flowers?” he asked, trying to break the ice as he set down the package in his hands.

 

“They had an accident,” was her cool reply.  “Why are you here John?”

 

“I’m here, Marlena because I said I would be,” answered John feeling incredibly frustrated.  “And I’d really like to know what that was at my office today.”

 

“I’m sorry John.  I guess I owe you an apology for that.  I had no right to behave that way,” she answered with absolutely no feeling in her voice.

 

“I didn’t come here for an apology Marlena.  I want to know what the hell is going on?”  John was getting scared now.  She was behaving very strangely and like she didn’t care at all.

 

“Nothing is going on John.  There is nothing between us.  I have no claim on you.  You have every right to see whoever you wish.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

 

John was totally confused.  “Marlena, what are you talking about?”

 

“I saw you John.  I saw you in your office with Kate and I got upset because I thought you were busy working.  It doesn’t matter to me who you’re seeing John just please don’t lie about it.”  She was starting to get upset now.

 

“I’m not seeing Kate, Marlena and I was busy working.”  He was starting to get defensive.

 

“Oh please, John.  I saw you….with Kate’s arms wrapped around your neck.  You looked pretty cozy from where I sat.”

 

John was finally beginning to understand what had happened.  A smile began to creep over his face as he realized that Marlena was jealous.

 

“What the hell are you smiling at?”

 

“You…..you’re jealous.”

 

“I am not jealous.  I told you it doesn’t matter to me who you’re interested in John.  It’s none of my business.”

 

“But I’d like it to be your business, Marlena.” he said softly as he slowly walked towards her.  “Kate was in my office today because she’s been helping me a great deal the past few days.  She’s a very sharp business woman.  In fact, I just gave her a promotion.”

 

“Yah, I’ll bet you did…” Marlena whispered under her breath.

 

John was facing Marlena now and he put his hands on her arms. “Marlena, listen to me.  I am not now, nor have I ever been interested in Kate Roberts.  There is only one woman that I am interested in.”

 

Marlena was still not convinced.  “Then why were your arms around her John?” tears started to well up in her eyes.  God, Marlena hated being a needy, emotional female.

 

“Her arms were around me and she was just saying goodbye.”

 

“What do you mean, goodbye?”

 

“Her new promotion puts her in charge of the Dubai office.  She’ll be leaving next week.”

 

All of a sudden, all the fear and the anger and the jealousy that Marlena had been fighting to hold back released and tears started running down her face.  John took her in his arms and held her tightly to his chest.  He patted her head and tried to soothe her.  After a few moments, her crying subsided and her breathing began to return to normal.  John lifted up her chin and made her look into his face.

 

“I’m crazy about you Marlena,” he said as he wiped away the last few tears on her cheek.  “..just you, no one else.”

 

He placed a soft kiss on her mouth. They stood there just looking into each other’s eyes, both of them feeling the heat of their bodies next to each other.  “I want you so much Marlena,” John finally whispered, not being able to stand it any longer.  He lowered his head and began leaving small kisses along her jaw line to her soft neck. He sucked on her neck gently and then worked his way up to her earlobe.  Marlena leaned her head back and closed her eyes.  She could feel the heat growing inside her, spreading out to all her limbs.  Her nerve endings began to tingle and she felt a rushing in her ears.  She let her body just relax and sink into John’s arms as he held her tightly and continued to suck on her earlobe and her neck.  He finally came back to her mouth and took it possessively with his own, pressing hard against her lips.  He urged her mouth open with his tongue and tasted every part of her sweet mouth.

 

Without breaking the kiss, John found the sash on Marlena’s robe and quickly untied it.  As her robe fell open, his hands reached inside and around to her back and he pulled her tightly against his eager body.  He could feel her through the thin satin of her nightgown.  His hand began to travel around her waist and then up her rib cage until he found her breast.  He cupped it in his hand and squeezed softly while gently rubbing his thumb across her nipple.  Marlena moaned and arched her back which made her pelvis press harder into John.  She could feel how much he wanted her.  She began to shake and tears began to slowly roll down her face.

 

John felt Marlena begin to shake and then he tasted her tears in their kiss.  He pulled away and looked into her face.  Her eyes were closed and she was crying.  He gently pulled her head into his chest and rocked her like she was a small child.

 

“I’m sorry John….” she began, trying to control her crying. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

 

“Shhh…it’s okay.  There’s nothing to apologize for.”  He said kissing the top of her head.

 

“I guess I’m just nervous….and a little scared…”

 

“You don’t need to explain, honey.  It’s okay.”  John continued to hold her in his arms and rock back and forth.

 

When she finally calmed down, John led her over to the couch and puller her down next to him, cradling her in his arm.  When she tried to apologize again, he stopped her. He lifted her face up to his.

 

“I want to make love to you Marlena more than anything in this world,” he told her, looking her straight in the eyes, “..but not until you’re absolutely ready.  I’m not going to rush you into anything.  I can be a very patient man, when I need to be.” And then he added with a twinkle in his eye, “…besides, I’m actually getting used to cold showers.”

 

Marlena laughed, rather embarrassed, but so grateful for this loving, caring man sitting next to her.

 

“So where’s that dinner you promised me?” John asked, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“Coming right up, sir.” Marlena answered as she jumped up and headed to the kitchen.

 

John and Marlena spent the next few hours just enjoying each other’s company.  They sat on the floor in the living room eating macaroni and cheese at the coffee table.  It was the worst macaroni and cheese John had ever had, but he didn’t care.  He just loved being there with Marlena, listening to her tell stories about her friends and her childhood, watching her expressions, seeing her laugh.  He never got tired of looking at her.  After they cleaned up the dishes and John was getting ready to leave, Marlena apologized for not having any dessert.

 

“Dessert!” John yelled.  “Oh crap, I forgot all about it.”  John found the bag that he had carried in when he first got there.  He looked inside and laughed.  “Would you like some Butter Pecan soup?” he asked.

 

Marlena burst out laughing and grabbed him in a big hug.  “No thanks. I think I’ll pass, but thanks for trying.”

 

They kissed good night at the door, like teenagers ending a date.  “I’ll call you later.” John said as he kissed her nose.

 

Marlena watched him as he entered the elevator and disappeared.  She couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.  Marlena knew that there was no going back now.  She was falling head over heels in love with John Black.

 

John called her thirty minutes later as she was climbing into bed.

 

“I just wanted to say good night,” he said softly, “…and don’t make any plans for this weekend.  This weekend, you’re mine.”

 

Marlena fell asleep with a huge smile on her face, wondering exactly what John planned on doing with her this weekend.

Chapter Nine

 

On Saturday morning, Marlena was ready at 9am on the dot just as John had asked.  She was dressed comfortably in jeans and a tee shirt and had packed an overnight bag.  She was a little nervous, but incredibly excited about the prospect of spending two whole days getting to know John.   She couldn’t remember the last time she had looked forward to something so much.

 

She hadn’t seen John the day before, he was finishing up with the problems at work, but he had called her several times and even sent her some new flowers to replace the ones that had had the “accident”.  Marlena felt like a teenager embarking on her very first romance.  Everything in the world seemed new and exciting…and it was all because of John Black.

 

John knocked on the door right on time and Marlena quickly swung the door open with a big smile on her face.

 

“Are you ready baby?” John asked, admiring how she looked in her tight jeans and tee shirt.

 

“All ready,” Marlena replied eagerly.  John picked up her bag that was sitting on

the floor, took her arm in his and away they headed on their weekend adventure.

 

John wouldn’t tell Marlena where they were going, but she didn’t care.  They had left the city an hour ago and were now driving on a winding mountain road surrounded by trees on both sides.  The windows were open and the air was crisp and clean.  Marlena

leaned her head back and relaxed. She was enjoying just being in the car with John, sitting close to him, listening to his stories, watching his profile as he drove.  She felt totally at ease and like she didn’t have a care in the world.

 

They stopped for lunch at a cute little diner on the side of the road. They ate juicy burgers and french fries and Marlena let herself just enjoy it without thinking of the

calories for a change.  They just sat, telling stories and laughing, enjoying their food and each other.  John had ordered milk shakes with whipped cream for dessert and when Marlena went to take a sip, she ended up with whipped cream all over her upper lip.  John laughed and reached over to wipe it off with his index finger. As soon as his finger touched her lip, John froze.  He stared at her luscious lips and then slowly wiped the cream off and brought his finger to his mouth and licked it off.  He couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her and making love to her.  He wanted her so badly, he couldn’t see straight.  But he had sworn  to himself that he would wait, he wouldn’t pressure her, not until she was ready.  He didn’t want to scare her off.  She was too important to him now.

 

Marlena could feel the heat building in her stomach and spreading to every inch of her body as she watched John lick the whipped cream off his finger.  She felt her cheeks get warm and suddenly felt very anxious about tonight.  She was scared but excited at the same time thinking about what was going to happen when she and John reached their destination.

 

There was a little, dusty antique store right next to the diner.  Marlena dragged John into it and began to explore.  She let out a little shout of excitement from behind a shelf and when she came around the corner, John laughed at her.  She was covered in dust, but had a huge smile on her face.  She was holding an old, dusty book.

 

“Look John!” she said, very excited.  “….a first edition!”  John purchased the book for her, which turned out to be a book of poetry, and they headed back on the road.

 

As they were driving, Marlena began to read some of the poems to John.  She was very excited and animated and John just loved to see her like this and listen to the sound of

her voice.  They stopped a few more times along the way, whenever they saw something that looked interesting…a little shop, a duck pond, even an old swing set in a little children’s park.  John pushed Marlena so high that she thought for sure she was going to flip over and she was laughing so hard that her sides ached.

 

It was already getting dark when they finally reached their destination…a rustic mountain lodge with several small buildings all next to a beautiful little lake.  Marlena got out of the car and twirled around, admiring the scenery and breathing in the glorious mountain air.  As John came around to her side of the car, she grabbed him in a big bear hug.  “It’s absolutely beautiful, John.  I love it.”

 

“I’m glad Marlena.  That’s all I wanted to hear.”  He kissed her and led her into the lobby.

 

While John checked in, Marlena went to freshen up in the ladies room.  When she came out, John had already gotten them a table in the small hotel restaurant.  They sat and had a nice quiet dinner.  As their dishes were being cleared away, Marlena stretched and opened her mouth in a nice big yawn.  She caught herself and began to apologize.

 

“I’m sorry John.  I guess I’m not used to being out in this mountain air all day…”

 

John smiled and got up, coming around to move her chair back for her.  “Come on,” he said.  “Let’s get you to bed.”

 

John led Marlena to their building which was right next to the lake.  He opened the door to the room and let her walk in ahead of him.  The first thing she saw was the large queen sized bed and her stomach immediately started to do flip flops.  As John set down their bags and pointed out the features of the room, Marlena just stood and stared at the bed.  John walked up to her and took her in his arms.  He kissed her and said, “Good night Marlena.  If you need anything, I’ll be right next door.”

 

Marlena wasn’t sure that she heard right.  “What?” she asked.

 

“I’m right next door, these are connecting cabins.  But if that makes you uncomfortable…I’m sure I can change mine.” John answered, misunderstanding her question.

 

“No, I just thought that you….that we….,” Marlena began motioning towards the bed.

 

John could sense how nervous Marlena was.  He held her close and lifted her face to look into his.  “I meant what I said Marlena…” he began,  “I want you more than anything in this world, but not until I know that you are ready, with no doubts, no reservations.   I know that you’ve been very hurt in the past and I will never pressure you into something that you’re not ready for.  I can wait for you Marlena….you’re worth it.”

 

Marlena felt her body start to relax.  She hadn’t even realized how nervous and

tense she was.  She wasn’t even sure if she was relieved or disappointed.  She

wrapped her arms around John’s neck and hugged him close.  “Thank you John” she whispered in his ear.  She lifted her face and kissed him softly and sensuously.  Slowly licking and sucking on his bottom lip.  John kissed her back for just a moment, before gently pushing her away.

 

“I have to go now Marlena before I forget everything that I just said.  Good night.  I’ll be thinking about you.” and with that John walked through the door into the adjoining room and closed it behind him.

 

Marlena quickly showered and changed for bed.  She couldn’t stop thinking about John.  She had never known such a thoughtful man in her entire life.  Even as she let out another big yawn, she couldn’t help wondering if he was already asleep in the next room.  She was tempted to knock on the door, just to say good night again, but decided against it.  She was absolutely exhausted after their busy day and he must have been too, especially since he had done all the driving.  She didn’t want to wake him if he was sleeping.  She crawled into the large, overstuffed bed and curled up under the covers.  She was so tired and it felt so wonderful, she knew that she would have no trouble going right to sleep.  She was wrong.

 

 

Marlena drifted in and out of sleep.  She tossed and turned.  She couldn’t shut her mind off.  No matter what she did, she couldn’t stop thinking about John in the next room.

She imagined him lying in his bed with the sheet only coming up to his waist, exposing his wide, tanned chest.  She imagined lying next to him, her fingers tracing his warm, muscular arms up to his chest and playing with the dark hairs they found there.  She imagined him rolling over to face her, exquisite passion burning in his eyes as he caressed every part of her body.  Marlena sat up in bed, breathing heavy with her heart pounding in her chest.  She was so hot, she was burning up.  She felt like she couldn’t breathe.  She got up and walked over to the window, breathing in the cool air.  It wasn’t helping.  She was stifling…she had to get out of this room…and away from that door that led to John.

 

Marlena left her room, wearing nothing but her silk nightgown.  She walked down the short path to the lake.  There were no lights on in the neighboring cabins, everything was dark and quiet.  The only light came from the moon and it sparkled on the calm water.  Marlena was still burning up.  She quickly removed her nightgown and set in down on a large rock next to the lake.  She waded in until the water was up to her chest, letting the cool water calm the fire that was burning inside her.  She splashed water on her neck and face, concentrating on taking long, slow deep breaths and trying not to think of John.

 

John couldn’t sleep either.  He had been tossing and turning in his bed for the last hour.  And now, after his second cold shower of the day, he had gone to the window to get some air.  He thought he saw someone by the edge of the lake, but it was too dark to make out who it was.  The person was walking into the lake.   The protective side of John kicked in and he decided that he better walk down to the lake to make sure the person was okay.

 

When John got to the edge of the lake, he saw the nightgown sitting on the rock.  He picked it up and brought it to his nose.  He knew right away that it was Marlena’s…he could smell her scent.  He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.  But then he remembered that he had seen her walk into the lake.  He became concerned that she was out here by herself in the dark.  He began to scan the lake for her.  He saw her, just as she was turning around and beginning to walk back to the shore.  She was standing just waist deep in the water when she saw John standing on the shore watching her.  Their eyes met at the same time and they both froze.   John could see that Marlena was naked from the waist up.  The water and the moonlight were glistening on her body.  He couldn’t take is eyes off of her.  He had never seen anything so exquisite.  She looked like a goddess rising from the sea.

 

John removed his robe and began to wade into the water towards her.  He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame and there was no power on Earth that could stop him from

approaching her right now.  Marlena didn’t move an inch as John approached her except for her chest rising and falling as her breathing became labored.  It didn’t even occur to her to cover herself up.  She was frozen in place…waiting….wanting.yearning.

 

As John approached her, he had no conscious thoughts, just the overwhelming desire to touch her, to possess her, to make her his own.  He reached out his hand as he closed the distance between them, unable to control the desire coursing through his body.  When he reached her, his hand immediately went to her breast, holding it softly and caressing it.  Marlena let out a deep, guttural moan as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, exposing her soft, white neck to John.  He attacked her neck with his mouth, licking and sucking like his life depended on it.  Marlena’s body was going insane with sensations.  The fire that was already burning inside her had become an inferno.  She was trying hard to breathe, to get some air into her lungs and her body began to quiver uncontrollably.  John felt Marlena begin to shiver and he felt goose bumps appearing on her flesh.

 

“We’ve got to get you out of this water,” he said, his voice filled with desire.  He took her hand and led her out of the lake.  He picked up his robe and wrapped it around her, rubbing her arms and back to dry her off.  She picked up her nightgown and they walked together back to her room, neither one of them saying a word.  When they got in the room, John placed Marlena on the foot of the bed.  He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and began to dry her feet and her legs.  As he worked his way up, his hands brushed against her inner thigh.  An electric shock coursed through Marlena’s entire body and she trembled.  John moved to sit next to her and placed his hand along the side of her face.  He brought her mouth to his and kissed her passionately, devouring her mouth with his own.  When he heard a soft cry from deep in her throat, he pulled his mouth away, breathing heavily.

 

“Marlena, are you all right?  Do you want me to stop?” he asked, fighting

every urge in his body.

 

“No,” she whispered.  “I’m just….scared.”

 

John lifted her head and looked into her eyes.  “I’m scared too Marlena.  I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you.  I have never needed anyone like I need you.  I’m falling in love with you Marlena and that scares the hell out of me.”

 

“John, …I….” Marlena began, not really knowing what to say.  John stopped her.

 

“You don’t have to say anything Marlena.  Just let me love you.”

 

Marlena stared into those incredible, intense blue eyes.  She had never seen such love and desire.  She knew that she wanted this man more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life.  She had no more doubts.  She had no more fears.

 

“Make love to me John,” she whispered as she grabbed his head and pulled him down on top of her.  John’s hand quickly found its way inside the robe she was still wearing as his mouth took possession of hers. He feasted on her lips and then moved on to her chin and her neck.  He wanted to taste every square inch of her entire body.  His hand traveled down her narrow hip and caressed her thigh, tracing a path to his ultimate destination.  Marlena spread her legs wider so John could settle himself against her.  She could feel his desire pressing against her thigh and her own wetness, aching to be touched.

 

As John’s hand finally reached the spot it had been searching for, his mouth found Marlena’s breast.  He touched and caressed and sucked until Marlena thought she was going to drown in ecstasy.  It had been a long time since Marlena had been intimate with anyone, but she never experienced anything like this.  She had never felt this kind of passion.  She was close now.  He was taking her over the edge and even though she wanted him inside her, she couldn’t stop him.  She was too far gone.  She felt every muscle in her body contract as she arched her back, pressing her hips into John’s hand and holding his head tightly to her breast.  She called out John’s name as she reached her peak and fell over the other side, her body trembling and convulsing against him.  John held her tightly as her muscles began to relax.  He brought his face up to her neck and nuzzled her softly, whispering her name

in her ear.

 

As Marlena’s breathing returned to normal, she grabbed John’s face between her hands and kissed him passionately.  As she kept kissing, she whispered, “I want you….inside me….now.”

 

John quickly discarded his boxers and settled himself between Marlena’s thighs.  He entered her slowly, enjoying every sensation it caused him.  There was nothing in the world right now except her warm wetness surrounding him.  He moved back and forth inside her just as her tongue was moving back and forth in his mouth.  It didn’t take long for either of them to reach that moment of passion when there is no turning back.  John increased his speed and before he knew it they were both convulsing in unbelievable ecstasy.  They held on to each other very tightly, not wanting the moment to ever end.  When John finally rolled over onto his back, he pulled Marlena over to rest on his chest.  They fell asleep like that, both incredibly content and extremely satisfied.

 

 

Chapter Ten

 

The next morning, as Marlena slowly began to wake up, she stretched and smiled, remembering the incredibly erotic dream she had the night before.  As she became more conscious and realized where she was, she began to remember that it hadn’t been a dream.  She and John had really made love last night and it was the most incredible, passionate night she had ever had.  She pulled the covers up tightly under her chin and snuggled in their warmth.  She felt herself blush slightly as she remembered all the events of the evening.  She slowly rolled over to curl up next to John and discovered an empty side of the bed.  For just a brief second, she thought that maybe she had dreamed it, but that thought quickly vanished.  No, it had been too real.  She couldn’t possibly have imagined anything that intense.  But where was he?

 

She called out, “John?”  But there wasn’t any answer and she couldn’t hear any noise from the bathroom.

 

She became a little more nervous.  She didn’t like that he wasn’t here.

 

“John?” she called again, a little louder.

 

Just then, the door opened and John came walking in carrying a tray of food.  “Hi there, sleepy head.” he called out with a huge smile on his face.  “I’m sorry,  I hoped to be back before you woke up.”

 

He sat on the bed next to Marlena and placed the tray in front of them.  He had brought some toast, fruit and juice.  He figured Marlena would be hungry when she woke up….especially after the late night they had.

 

He placed a warm, soft kiss on her lips.  “Good morning.” he said with a very satisfied smile on his lips.

 

“Mmmmm…good morning.” she replied feeling pretty good herself.

 

John couldn’t believe how gorgeous she looked…just waking up, hair tousled around

her face, holding the sheet up under her arms….she was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.  John had never experienced feelings like this before….wanting to be with someone so much…and not just in bed.  John had been with plenty of women in his life, but he had never been in love before.  Heck, he didn’t even usually spend the night with women.  He always got up and went home.  But things were different with Marlena.  He wanted to spend every moment with her…just looking at her…sharing things with her…touching her.

 

He reached out and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand just admiring her beautiful face.  Then he placed a soft tender kiss on her lips.  Marlena just smiled dreamily.  She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so happy, so content.

 

“So what are the plans for today Mr. Black?” Marlena asked John as she began to dig

in to the bowl of fruit.

 

“Well, after breakfast I thought I’d ravage you a few more times, and then I thought

we might take a short hike up to the waterfall.” John replied with a wicked grin.

 

Marlena nearly choked on a piece of melon.  She felt her cheeks begin to blush and all of a sudden she felt shy and embarrassed.

 

“Marlena, honey, I was just kidding.  Are you okay?” John asked concerned, worried that she was regretting last night.

 

“I’m fine,” she managed to get out as she tried to finish chewing the bite in her mouth.  “You just surprised me that’s all.”

 

John wasn’t convinced.  He had to know how she was really feeling.  He had to know if

she regretted what happened last night.  He placed his hand on top of hers, his thumb gently playing with her fingers.   “Marlena there’s something I need to know..,” he began.  “Are you okay with what happened between us?  Do you regret that we made love?”

 

Marlena closed her eyes and took in a long deep breath.  She was overwhelmed by the sweetness of this man.  Here he was again, so concerned about her and worried about her feelings.  She opened her eyes and moved the tray of food off to the side.  She turned and faced John, taking both of his hands in hers.

 

“I’m fine John.  In fact, I’m wonderful,” she said, looking up into his face and smiling.  “Last night was absolutely incredible and I wanted you just as much as you wanted me.”

 

She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face.  John covered her hand with his and held it tightly against his cheek.  Then he slowly slid her hand down to his mouth and softly kissed her palm.  Marlena watched John’s lips as he kissed her hand feeling an anticipatory rush course through her body.  There was an electric charge in the air between them as their eyes sank into each other’s and their passion began to grow.

 

“Hey Sailor,” Marlena whispered, her voice deepening.  “Are you hungry?”

 

“Starving” he answered, his eyes full of lust.

 

“Then what are you waiting for?” she replied as she reached around the back of his neck

and pulled him down on top of her.  They made love slowly, taking their time to get to know each other….touching, feeling and tasting each other’s bodies.  They were in no hurry.  They had the rest of the day to enjoy each other.

 

Later that day, as they were checking out of the lodge, John picked up a picnic basket that he had ordered that morning.  He was planning a little surprise for Marlena.  They loaded up the car and drove a little ways up the road to a trail head.  They parked and began to hike up the trail, hand in hand, John carrying the picnic basket.  After hiking just little over a mile, the trail opened up into a little clearing.  There were several large, flat rocks warming in the sun and a small waterfall running off the mountain into a crystal clear pool.  They were surrounded on all sides by lush trees and evergreens.  It looked like something right out of a book….a magic, mystical place.  Marlena leaned up and kissed John on the cheek, “It’s lovely.”

 

John pulled a small tablecloth out of the picnic basket and spread it out on one of the rocks.  They both sat and ate their lunch, enjoying the gentle sounds of the birds and the waterfall and content just to be with each other.  After lunch, John was lying on his back with his head in Marlena’s lap as she gently ran her fingers through his wavy black hair.  He yawned and stretched as he sat up.

 

“Hey, I have an idea,” he said with a mischievous smile on his lips.  “Let’s take a dip.”

 

“You mean swim?  Now?  We don’t have our suits with us.”

 

“Who needs suits?” he answered, as he pulled his tee shirt off over his head.

 

“John, we can’t…” Marlena began, feeling her cheeks turn red. “Someone might see

us.”

 

“There’s no one else here, Marlena.  And we’ll be able to hear anyone coming up the trail.

 

Come on,” he said as he reached over and began to unbutton her shirt.

 

Marlena felt embarrassed. “John….I’ve never done anything like this before.”

 

“What about last night?” John teased, raising his eyebrow.

 

Marlena began to get very warm now as her cheeks grew even redder.

 

“It was dark out then….and I thought I was alone.”

 

“It’s much more fun with company,” John replied as he finished unbuttoning her shirt.

 

Marlena began to giggle nervously.  She couldn’t believe that she was actually considering going skinny dipping, right here, in the middle of the day.  She let John finish removing her shirt and then he unzipped her jeans and slowly pulled them down her legs.  Marlena jumped away and ran to the side of the pool.  “Last one in is a rotten egg,” she shouted as she quickly discarded her bra and panties and dove in head first.

 

John laughed as he quickly removed the remainder of his clothes.  He stood on the rock and yelled “Cannonball!” as he jumped in, completely dousing her with water.  They splashed and played in the water, laughing like little kids.  Then they swam over to the waterfall and sat on the edge so they could feel it running down their backs.  It felt wonderful.

 

John moved so he was standing in the water directly in front of Marlena facing her.  As she leaned her head back into the waterfall, he began to massage her hair like he was washing it.  “Mmmmm….that feels wonderful.” Marlena sighed.  John bent his head down to lick the water that was running down her neck.  He used his tongue to trace the trail of water down her neck to her shoulders and then across her chest and down between her breasts.

 

Marlena could feel the passion beginning to build deep within her.  She grabbed John’s head and brought it up to her mouth.  She began to devour his lips, sucking and biting on them.  As John pressed his body against her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer.

 

“I want you John,” she whispered against his lips.  “I want you, right now.”  And there they made love, frantically and passionately and not even the cool water falling down their bodies could calm the fire that burned inside them.

 

On the drive home, they sat quietly, holding hands, both lost in their thoughts and memories of the weekend.  Marlena rested her head against the seat with her eyes closed, reliving the weekend and committing it to memory.

 

When they got home, John kissed her goodbye at her door.  She had invited him in, but it was already late and he knew if he came inside, neither one of them would get any sleep and they both had busy days ahead of them. In fact, Marlena had to leave fairly early in the morning for a 2 day Psychiatric conference in Chicago.  They parted with several kisses and promises to call each other.  And John did just that, right before Marlena fell asleep.

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

Marlena had been at her conference for two days now and she was extremely grateful that she had been absolutely buried with meetings and presentations the entire time.  It was making it easier to not think about John every minute and the time was going by quickly.  Whenever she did have a break, all she could think about was getting back to Salem and seeing John again.  They had spoken on the phone several times and he always called her at night when he was going to bed…..just to say good night and tell her how much he missed her.   He told her that he had already made plans for Wednesday night when she got home.

She couldn’t wait.

 

Marlena managed to finish up early on Wednesday morning and actually caught an earlier flight.  She decided to stop by John’s office just to see him for a moment and let him know that she was home.  When she got to his office, Mrs. Bowman asked her to wait while she tried to locate John.  Not more than a few minutes later, Marlena saw John quickly approaching from the direction of Kate’s office.  He was grinning from ear to ear and quickly grabbed her in a tight embrace.  Then realizing that they were not alone, he released her and took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes.  “I’m so glad to see you.  I’ve missed you.”

 

“I missed you too.” she replied, reading his eyes…knowing that he wanted to say much more.

 

“So are we still on for tonight?”

 

“Definitely.  So what are these big plans of yours anyway, Mr. Black?”

 

“You’re going to come to my place Dr. Evans where I am going to cook for you.”

 

“You cook?” she asked, very surprised.

 

John pretended to be offended.  “Yes, I cook and I’m pretty good at it too.  You won’t be disappointed.”

 

“I’m sure I won’t.” she answered with a gleam in her eye.

 

They stood there like that for several seconds, lost in each other’s eyes, when John became acutely aware that they were not alone.  “I’m sorry I can’t get out of here now.  Shall I pick you up at 7 at your house?”

 

“No, pick me up at my office.  I’m heading over there now to catch up on some work.”

 

“Okay, then,” he said as he walked her back to the elevator. He leaned in and stole a quick kiss.  “I’ll see you later.”

 

 

 

As Marlena stepped into the elevator and turned to watch John walk towards his office, she was unpleasantly surprised to be joined by Kate.  Kate was working on clearing out

her office and was taking the last box of personal items down to her car when she witnessed the little scene between John and Marlena.  Kate did not like losing and she couldn’t resist taking one last dig at Marlena before she left town. So after their initial pleasantries and Marlena congratulating Kate on her new position, Kate decided to torment Marlena.

 

“I heard John say that he was going to cook for you tonight?”

 

“Yes, he did,” Marlena answered, thinking that this was none of her damn business.

 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time.  And be sure to admire the view from his

apartment.  It’s fabulous….especially at night.” and with that the elevator doors opened and Kate walked out with a delicious grin on her face.  Marlena just stood there feeling like the rug had just been pulled out from under her.

 

Marlena managed to drive back to her office, but she didn’t remember getting there.  She just drove like she was on auto pilot, her mind traveling a million miles an hour.  She kept hearing Kate’s voice in her head… “..fabulous view….especially at night.”  How would Kate know about the view from John’s apartment unless she’d been there?  Why would she be there?  Why would she be there at night?  John had told her that he never went out with Kate.  So why was she there?  Why had John come from the direction of Kate’s office today?  Was John lying to her?  Did he just tell her what she wanted to hear to get her away for the weekend?

 

Marlena’s heart was pounding and her head began to ache as she paced back and forth in her office.  She didn’t know what to think.  She didn’t know what to feel.  She just knew that she couldn’t go to John’s apartment tonight.  She didn’t even want to see him right now.

 

She had to be alone so she could calm down and think this through.

 

She called John’s office and left a message with Mrs. Bowman.  She told her that something came up regarding a patient and she would be busy all evening.  She asked her to tell John that she would call him tomorrow.

 

As soon as Marlena hung up the phone, she began to feel sick, like she had rocks in her stomach.  She rested her head in her hands and began to cry.

 

When John received the brief message, he was immediately concerned.  He asked Mrs. Bowman if that was all Marlena had said.

 

“Yes,” she replied, “but she sounded rather upset.”

 

John came out of his office a few minutes later.  He told Mrs. Bowman to make some excuse and push his next appointment back.  He had to go out for awhile.  Mrs. Bowman smiled to herself.  She knew exactly where he was going.

 

When John arrived at Marlena’s office, her receptionist wasn’t there due to the fact that Marlena hadn’t been expected back today.  John decided to knock softly on her door in

case she was in with a patient.  There was no answer and when he placed his ear near the door, he couldn’t hear anything.  He tried the knob, it wasn’t locked, so he opened the door slightly.  When John peeked inside her office, he saw Marlena bent over her desk, holding her head in her hands.  He immediately rushed in and walked towards her.

 

“Marlena, honey, what’s wrong?”

 

As soon as Marlena heard John’s voice, her head snapped up.  John could see that she was crying.  He began to move around her desk towards her.  She jumped up and moved away from him.

 

“John, you can’t come bursting into my office like that.  I could have been with a

patient.”  He could see that she was very upset.

 

“I’m sorry, but when I got your message, I was worried.  I just wanted to check on

you.  Are you all right?”

 

“I’m fine John.  I just have a lot of things going on right now.  I can’t talk to you.”  There was obviously something very wrong and John wasn’t about to leave until he knew what it was.

 

Marlena, please tell me what’s going on.  I just want to help.”  John kept trying to approach her, but she kept moving away.

 

“Not now John.  I just need to be by myself right now.  I need to think.”  Marlena knew that she couldn’t be around John right now.  She couldn’t think clearly when he was near her.

 

John was getting frustrated now.  “Marlena, just talk to me damn it!  Tell me what is going on!”

 

Marlena swung around to face him.  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on between

you and Kate, John!” she yelled as she fought desperately not to start crying again.

 

John was taken aback.  Where on Earth did that come from?  “Marlena,” he began, trying to calm things down, “…I’ve told you before there’s absolutely nothing between me and Kate.”

 

Then why were you coming out of her office today?  Why was she hugging you the other day?  And why the hell was she at your apartment John?”  Marlena was beginning to get hysterical.

 

John was trying very hard to remain calm.  Something had obviously upset Marlena and he didn’t have a clue what it was.  “I have no idea what you are talking about, Marlena.

I’ve already explained about the hug in my office.  She was just saying goodbye.  Today I was helping her clean out her office, and she has never been to my apartment.”

 

Marlena glared at him. “Get out John.  Get out of my office now.”

 

“What the hell is going on Marlena?” John couldn’t take it anymore.

 

Marlena took a deep breath… “If she was never in your apartment,” she stated slowly and carefully, “…then how does she know about the lovely view?”

 

“What view?  What are you talking about?”

 

“Kate told me today that I should admire the lovely view from your apartment, especially at night……how would she know that John if she had never been there?”  Marlena was starting to cry now.

 

John was beginning to feel like a drowning man fighting for survival and he didn’t even know why.  “Marlena I have no idea what she was talking about.  I’m telling you, Kate has never been to my……” he paused,  a distant memory suddenly returning to him.

 

Marlena saw the look in his eyes.  She felt panic spread throughout her whole

body.  “Are you finally remembering something John?  Something that just

happened to slip your mind?”  Even as she was saying those words to John, inside her head she was screaming, “No, please God, don’t let it be true.”

 

John sighed, “Yes, Marlena it slipped my mind because it wasn’t important.  Kate was at my apartment just once.”

 

“Oh, great….just once….so I guess that makes everything just fine, doesn’t it?” Marlena turned her back to John so he couldn’t see the pain and the tears in her face.

 

John moved quickly and grabbed Marlena from behind and wrapped his arms around her so she couldn’t get away.  He rested his head against the side of hers so he could whisper in her ear.  “Listen to me Marlena,” he spoke firmly as she squirmed to get away.  “One night last week, Kate and I worked late…you already know about that because I told you.  I had some files at my apartment that Kate needed so she followed me home.  She came up to my apartment where she admired the view, I gave her the files and she left.  That’s all there was to it Marlena.”

 

Marlena was still crying and trying to get away.  She was arguing with herself inside her head.  “Of course he would have an explanation,” she told herself, “he always does.”  But she did remember that night he worked late with Kate.  He had told her about it.  She wanted to believe him so badly that it was physically painful, but she had been so hurt by people she loved before, it was difficult to trust anyone.

 

John began nuzzling her neck and placing soft kisses behind her ear.

 

“I don’t want Kate, Marlena.  I don’t want anyone…”  He turned her around in his arms, “anyone but you.”  He quickly took possession of her mouth with his.  Marlena’s body began to react to his as he held her tightly against him. Marlena was still crying and trying to catch her breath, as she grabbed John around the neck and began kissing him desperately.  She wanted to believe him.  She wanted to trust him.  She wanted him.

 

John scooped Marlena up into his big, strong arms and carried her over to the couch, never breaking their kiss.  They fell down together on the couch, clinging to each other, kissing and sucking on each other’s mouths as they franticly tried to remove each other’s clothes, John needing to show Marlena how much he loved her and Marlena needing to feel loved.  As John moved over her, holding her tightly against him, he grabbed her face with his hands.  “I am deeply, madly, passionately in love with you Marlena.  I have never felt this

way about anyone else….ever.”

 

“Show me” she whispered, a tear slowly dripping down her cheek.  John kissed away her tear and made all her fears and doubts disappear as he worshipped and made love to her body.

 

They decided to skip the dinner at John’s that night.  John knew that Marlena was emotionally and physically exhausted so he suggested that he just take her home and they have their dinner another night.  Marlena rested her head against his chest and thanked him for being so understanding.  When they got to Marlena’s apartment, she said she was too tired to eat, so John sent her upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for bed.  She did as she was instructed.

 

While Marlena was bathing, John made some small sandwiches for dinner.  He knew that she should eat something.  When Marlena came downstairs in her fuzzy pink robe and socks, John had the coffee table all set up with the little sandwiches and some hot tea.  They curled up next to each other, found an old movie on the TV, nibbled on their sandwiches and sipped their tea.  Marlena felt so warm and relaxed, it wasn’t long before she began nodding off.  John finally turned off the TV and carried Marlena upstairs to her bed.  As he was kissing her forehead good night, she grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go.

 

“Don’t go,” she mumbled in her sleep. “Stay with me.” She rolled over onto her side, pulling his hand with her.  John climbed into bed behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and there they slept, curled up together, all night long.

 

 

Chapter Twelve

 

When Marlena woke up the next morning, John’s arm was still wrapped around her.  She could feel the warmth of his body cuddled up behind her and she loved the feeling.  She held his hand between her own and brought it up under her chin, snuggling against him.  She loved waking up in her own bed with someone holding her.  It had been a long time.

 

John kissed the side of her forehead.  “Good morning, Beautiful.”  He had been awake for awhile, happily watching Marlena sleep.  He never got tired of looking at her face.  She was like a magnificent work of art, every feature just right, her skin like porcelain.

 

“Have you been watching me?” Marlena asked as she stretched her body and rolled onto her back.

 

“Umm-hmmm,” John answered, kissing her temple again.  “You make the cutest noises when you sleep.”

 

“What?  Are you saying that I snore, John Black?” she asked, half kidding.

 

“No….not snoring exactly….more like sighing.  You sounded very happy.”  He gently moved some hair out of her face with his finger.

 

“I have a feeling that you have something to do with that.”

 

“I sure hope so,” he kissed her lightly on the mouth.  “I hate to sleep over and run, but I have to get to work, and I’ll bet you do too.”

 

“Uh-uh, I don’t wanna get up,” Marlena answered as she burrowed back down under the covers, acting like a child that doesn’t want to go to school.  John laughed, the one thing he had learned about Marlena already was that she was definitely not a morning person.

 

“Come on sleepy head,” he said as he pulled the covers off of her, “Walk me

downstairs so I can go.  The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back to pick you up.”  Now he had her attention.

 

“Pick me up for what?” she asked as she slowly got out of bed and put on her robe.

 

As they started to walk downstairs with their arms around each other, John explained, “I would like to take you out on a date tonight?”

 

“A date?”

 

“Yep, a traditional, old-fashioned date.  You know, maybe some dinner, a little

dancing, a little hand holding, a little making out….”

 

Marlena laughed, “I think we’re way beyond “a little” making out.”

 

 

As they reached the front door, John turned and took Marlena in his arms.  He rested his hands on her lower back and looked into her face.  “I know Marlena.  I think maybe

we’ve moved a little fast.  We sort of skipped the beginning and started in the middle somewhere.  I think that’s why you got so scared.”  He reached up and softly stroked the side of her face.  “I want us to really get to know each other Marlena.  I want to know

everything about you, what you like, what you don’t like, what you’re scared of, everything.  And I want you to know me too.  Then they’ll be no more doubts, no more fears…”

 

Marlena held John’s face between her hands and kissed him softly on the lips.  “You are the sweetest man…”  She rested her head on his chest and hugged him close.

 

“So does that mean you’ll go out with me tonight?” John asked as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

 

Marlena laughed, “I’d love to go out with you Mr. Black.”

 

“Good.”  John opened the door and began to leave. “One condition…” he said as he turned back.

 

“Yes?” Marlena asked seductively as she leaned against the door.

 

No wine until after I get here.”

 

Marlena slapped his arm and pushed him out the door.  “Get to work Mr. Black.  You’re late.”

 

As John was getting in the elevator, Marlena called to him, “Oh John, thanks for staying with me last night.”

 

Thanks for letting me,” he replied as the elevator doors closed.

 

Later that day, Marlena was having lunch with Maggie Horton in the hospital cafeteria when she noticed Maggie looking at her funny.  “What?”  Marlena asked.

 

I don’t know,” said Maggie smiling.  “You just have this look on your face like

you’ve got a secret…a really good one.”

 

Marlena smiled and began to blush a little.  “I have a date tonight.” she said, just like

a teenager.

 

“Hmmm, let me guess,” said Maggie.  “With a Mr. John Black?”

 

“Uh-huh,” Marlena replied, blushing again.

 

“Why, Marlena Evans, you look absolutely giddy.”

 

Marlena giggled.  “I am Maggie.  He is the sweetest, most incredible man.   We spent last weekend together and we had the most amazing time.”  Marlena did not share the intimate details of her weekend with Maggie.  That was personal and not something she was comfortable sharing.

 

“Well, I haven’t seen you look this happy in a very long time.” Maggie said as she grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed it.  “I am so happy for you…..and I must say, he is a hotty.”

 

Marlena laughed, “Yes, he certainly is.”  They finished their lunch together, chatting

and laughing, with Marlena happily sharing some of the G rated portions of her weekend.

 

Marlena spent over an hour getting ready for her date with John.  She wanted to please him, she wanted to dazzle him, so she decided on her sexiest dress, the red strapless with the slit all the way up to her thigh.  She pulled her hair up in a twist on the back of her head and fastened it with a diamond clasp.  She examined herself in the mirror, pleased with what she saw.  She wondered where he was taking her tonight, not that it mattered, she’d go anywhere with him.

 

When she heard the knock on her door, she felt the excitement shoot through her body.  “You’re being ridiculous,” she told herself.  “You just saw him this morning.”  But she ran down the stairs anyway.  She couldn’t wait to see him.

 

She opened the door to see him standing there with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.  He was dressed to perfection in a perfectly tailored dark blue suit and a tie that matched his cobalt blue eyes.  John held his breath when he saw her.  He had truly never seen anything so beautiful.

 

“Marlena, you literally take my breath away.” he managed to get out as his eyes took in every inch of her. “You are stunning.”

 

Marlena rewarded him with a huge smile, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

 

John kissed her cheek as he handed her the flowers.  “For you, but I must say, they pale in comparison.”

 

“Why thank you sir.” Marlena replied in her best southern accent “You do know how to turn a girl’s head.”

 

John laughed as he watched her set the flowers on her desk.  “I hope these ones don’t meet up with a terrible accident.”

 

She gave John a warning glance as she said, “I think they’ll be just fine.  So….where are we going tonight?”

 

“I’m taking you to the Penthouse Grill.  I thought we should start again at the very beginning.”

 

Marlena blushed a little, remembering that first night at the Grill and how she behaved towards him. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

 

John watched her as she gathered her wrap and her purse. “So I have to ask Dr. Evans,” John began, his eyes caressing her every curve, “…is this how you usually dress for a first date?”

 

“A first date?” Marlena giggled.  “Well, no, not usually, but you see I had nothing else to wear, everything else was at the cleaners.”

 

“Well, isn’t that fortunate for me.” John said with a big grin.  He took her arm in his and they headed out on their date.

 

The Penthouse Grill was extremely busy when they arrived.  It looked like some kind of

party was going on.  John & Marlena decided to sit in the bar and have a drink while they waited for their table.  Marlena ordered a white wine and sipped it slowly, she did not want a repeat of that other night which she vaguely remembered….she wanted to remember this one.  When the band began to play Unchained Melody, John got up and asked Marlena to dance.  “I believe you still owe me that dance from the first night I met you here.”

 

“I believe you’re right.” Marlena replied with a big smile.

 

He led her out to the dance floor where they settled into each other’s arms.  He held her body close to his and held her hand close to his heart.  Marlena wrapped her arm around his neck and rested the side of her head against his cheek.  They fit together perfectly.  They moved and swayed to the music like they were floating in their own little world.  No one else was there, it was just them.  They danced this way through several songs, neither one wanting to move or let go of the other.  All of a sudden they were startled, they had bumped into someone.  Marlena came out of her reverie to see Calliope and Eugene.  They greeted her with shouts and hugs and invited John & Marlena to join them at their table.  John recognized them as the couple he had seen with Marlena over a month ago at Blondie’s and decided it was a great idea.

 

They all sat and ate and talked and laughed and had a wonderful time.  John sat back and watched Marlena laughing hysterically at Eugene’s terrible jokes.  He loved seeing her like this.  He joined in and laughed at their crazy stories, especially the one about Marlena being Eugene’s Best Man at his wedding.  Marlena knew that John had been watching her all evening and she began to wonder if John was really having a good time or if he was just being a good sport.  She felt bad that their date had been crashed by her friends and she really did want to be alone with him, so she finally made an excuse about how late it was getting, and got up to leave.  John followed her lead and they said their goodbyes and agreed to get together again soon.

 

As they were heading down to the car, Marlena began to apologize to John for her friends interrupting their evening.  John silenced her right away.  “I had a wonderful time Marlena.  I loved meeting your friends and I loved watching you with them.  They’re quite something.  How did you meet them anyway?”

 

“Well, Eugene was actually a patient of mine, a long time ago.”

 

“A patient?  That explains a lot.” John said laughing.  Marlena punched him in the arm. “John,”she scolded.

 

He grabbed her and gave her a big kiss.  “I loved your friends, Marlena.  I think

they’re wonderful people.”

 

Before they returned to the car, John asked Marlena if she would like to go for a

walk.  It was a lovely night out so she agreed.  They held hands and walked towards the water front.  John took her down to the pier where he had ended up that first night he met her.  He told her about that night and about how he couldn’t stop thinking about her.  Marlena confessed that she had been thinking about him too.  She couldn’t get his gorgeous blue eyes out of her mind.

 

“Oh really?” John asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

 

“Yes, really,” she answered as she placed a kiss on his lips.  They just stood and stared at each other, studying each other’s faces, memorizing every detail.  John used his finger to trace a path across Marlena’s face, he touched her eyebrows, her nose, her cheeks and then her lips.  He kissed her slowly and sensuously, softly licking and sucking on her lips.  He loved the way she tasted.  Marlena held the back of John’s head and kissed him back, her lips wrapping around his and pulling him in.

 

As John rested his forehead against hers, he whispered, “I’ve got something for you.”

 

“You do?” Marlena responded absently, her eyes closed, her head resting against his.

 

“I do,” he pulled away and reached into his coat pocket.  He pulled out a small square box and handed it to her.

 

“Oh John, what have you done?” Marlena smiled up at him.

 

“Open it….I got it a few days ago and I’ve been waiting for the right moment to

give it to you.”

 

Marlena opened the box and found a small crystal heart on a gold chain.  She lifted it out and it immediately lit up with all the colors of the rainbow as the streetlights reflected off of

1. “Oh John, it’s absolutely beautiful.”  As Marlena examined it a little closer, she could see a line down the middle.  “John it looks like it’s cracked down the middle.”

 

“That’s because it’s a mended heart Marlena.  It was broken, but now it’s been put back together and healed. ….and that’s what I want to do for you Marlena.  I want to heal your heart.  I want to take away all the pain it’s had in the past and I want to fill it with love and happiness.”

 

Tears started to form in Marlena’s eyes as she held the necklace to her chest.  “It’s wonderful John.  I love it.”

 

“Let me put that on for you.”  John took the necklace out of her hands as she turned her back to him.  He fastened it around her neck and then turned her back to face him.  “I love you Marlena.  I want you to know that.  I want you to believe it.”

 

“I do.”  She said, staring into his eyes.  She kissed him again, slowly at first, but it quickly became more passionate.  She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer.  She opened her mouth and kissed him hungrily, passionately until she couldn’t breathe.

She whispered against his mouth, “I think ……you should take me ……to your place.”

 

“My place?” John questioned, knowing exactly what would happen if they went to his place.

 

“Um-hmm,” Marlena mumbled as she began exploring his neck with her mouth and tongue.

 

John was quickly losing his ability to form any rational thoughts.  He was completely turned on by her aggressive behavior.  “I thought we agreed to slow things down a bit,” he managed to get out before totally giving in to his desire.

 

“That was your idea.” she whispered into his neck, “..but slow can be good,” she

continued as her hands slowly traveled down his chest and then down the front of his pants.

 

“We have to get out of here now, Marlena,” John answered, barely under control.  They quickly returned to the car and made the short drive to John’s apartment both eager with anticipation.  They made it to the elevator, but as soon as the doors closed, they were in each other’s arms, kissing and touching and grabbing frantically.  Marlena pushed John against the wall of the elevator and began pulling his jacket off while her mouth clung possessively to his.  John got his arm out of his jacket and quickly found the slit in the side of her skirt.  He grabbed her upper thigh and pulled it up so her leg was wrapped around his side.  Marlena was busy working on the buttons of his shirt so she could get her hands on his bare chest.  John grabbed her hair and pulled her head back so he could get at her neck.  He licked and sucked on her delicious white skin until he was sure it would leave a mark.  Marlena moaned and began moving her hips, rubbing herself against John.  John switched their positions and slammed Marlena up against the opposite wall, reaching out and hitting the stop button at the same time.  The elevator jerked to a stop, but they didn’t.  They were frantic, they were out of control and there was no turning back.  They managed to remove just enough clothing, so John could take her right there, against the wall.  Marlena digging her fingernails into his back and wrapping her legs around his body.  John holding her up with one hand while leaning against the wall with his other for support.  They finally collapsed on the floor together, both panting, their legs shaking, totally exhausted.  They rested against each other for several minutes, waiting for their bodies to recover.

 

John was the first to speak, “Oh my God.”

 

Marlena smiled, “You can say that again.”

 

“Lady, you’re gonna kill me if you keep this up.”

 

“I’ll try to go easier on you next time.”

 

“Next time?” John teased. “Are you planning on us doing this regularly?”

 

“I plan on us doing this quite often John Black.” she said as she began to kiss him again.

 

“Oh no, you don’t,” he said as he disentangled himself from her and managed to get

1. He helped her to her feet.  “We need to get out of this elevator.”  They pulled themselves back together and John started the elevator again.  “You still haven’t even seen my apartment.”

 

Marlena laughed.  “No, I haven’t.  I hear you have a lovely view.”

 

 

Chapter Thirteen

 

It was nearly 2 in the morning by the time Marlena got home to her apartment.  John had dropped her off and being the sensible one had decided not to stay overnight.  Marlena had been disappointed but now that she wasn’t near John and could think clearly, she knew that he was right.  After all she was a respected psychiatrist and he was a well-known eligible bachelor and Marlena really didn’t want to see photos in the tabloids of him leaving her apartment every morning.

 

As Marlena got ready for bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about her evening.  She was actually shocked by her own behavior.  She had never behaved that way before, the way she did tonight, first in the elevator and then again in John’s apartment.  She had never felt that kind of overwhelming desire, that burning passion, so strong that she lost all rational thought and could think of nothing else.   She had heard patients talk about such things, but she had never experienced it herself.

 

Marlena had always enjoyed sex, it was always pleasant and she had enjoyed being with her husbands, Don & Roman, and even Richard, though she hated to admit it.  But it had

never consumed her thoughts and she had never done anything particularly wild or out of control.   The wildest thing she had ever done was fooling around in a Jacuzzi with Roman on their honeymoon and even then, they returned to their room before they went all the way.  But tonight with John, she had been totally out of control.  Her body craved him so badly that she could think of nothing else.  She remembered standing next to him in the elevator, knowing she had to have him inside her right then….she couldn’t wait another minute.

 

And then later in his apartment, she had been standing by the window, sipping her glass of wine, commenting on the view when she turned and saw John watching her.  Their eyes met and that’s all it took, she knew that she wanted him again.  She couldn’t stand not touching him, not feeling him touching her.  They didn’t say a word as they approached each other.  John’s hands went around her back and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground.  She pulled off his shirt and then backed him up to the couch and pushed him down.  She knelt down in front of him and undid the belt and zipper on his pants.  She pulled his pants off his legs and then climbed up on his lap, straddling him.  John made love to her neck and her breasts while she drove him crazy, rubbing herself against him.  They became mad with desire until they finally ended up on the floor….sweating, panting and utterly exhausted.

 

Marlena felt herself blush just remembering what had happened.  She couldn’t believe that had been her.  She had become a totally different person tonight.  She had been the aggressor, the seductress, something she had never been before.  It had been exciting, but a little frightening too.  Her desire for John was overpowering and she had felt totally out of control like her body had a mind of its own.  Even now she was still thinking about John and she knew if he were here right now, she would make love to him again.  She was actually beginning to understand what it felt like to be addicted to something or someone, because that’s what she was, totally addicted to John Black.

 

The next several weeks seemed to fly by for Marlena.  Between her patients, the Abused Children’s Center, her column and spending as much time with John as possible, her days were filled.  Except for the few short business trips that he occasionally took and a few late night meetings, she & John were together every night.  They had lunch together whenever they could and they always spent their weekends together.  Marlena couldn’t remember ever being so happy.  She loved being with John.  She loved talking to him, eating

with him, shopping with him, just doing nothing with him and she especially liked making love to him.  It was extraordinary…she thought for sure that the initial passion they felt for each

other would begin to fade, but she was wrong.  It just seemed to get stronger with each passing day.  The more she was with him, the more she wanted him.  She could never get enough and she found herself constantly thinking about him.

 

The last 3 days however had been torture, John had been called out of town at the last minute, forcing them to cancel their weekend plans.  She had been so disappointed.  She just wandered around her apartment all weekend, bored out of her mind.  She couldn’t concentrate on anything.  She kept telling herself that this was not healthy….this obsession with John, but no matter what she said to herself, she knew that she needed him to be happy.

 

It was Monday afternoon and John was supposed to be back this evening.  Marlena was in her office trying to focus on paperwork, but she couldn’t.  She was waiting for her phone to ring, so she could rush into John’s arms.  He finally called just as she was getting ready to go home.  She was so happy to hear his voice, but he sounded very tired and frustrated.

 

“John are you at home?” she asked anxiously.

 

“Not yet,” he answered.  “I’m at the Salem Airport.  I’m sorry baby, it’s going to

be a few more hours.  I’m meeting with some investors at the restaurant here.  They’re

flying out tonight and this is my last chance to see them.”

 

“I understand,” Marlena managed to say, not being able to hide the disappointment

in her voice.  “I’ve missed you.”

 

“I’ve missed you too….so much….hey, how would you feel about meeting me here and

joining us for dinner?”

 

“Joining your business dinner?  Wouldn’t I be in the way?”

 

“Of course you wouldn’t be in the way.  I’m afraid it will be boring for you, but I’d love to show you off.”

 

Marlena smiled.  She loved that he wanted her there.  This wasn’t exactly what she had

planned for the evening, but at least she would get to see him…..and she still had plans for later in the evening.  “What time should I be there?”

 

“Hmmm…how about now?”

 

She laughed.  “I don’t think I can manage that.  I have to go home and change….how about in an hour?”

 

“I’ll give you 45 minutes and no longer.”

 

“I’ll do my best sir.” she said still laughing.  “See you soon.”

 

“See you soon, Baby.”

 

As Marlena was happily gathering up her things to head home and change, she found

it funny that she had always hated the name “Baby” until John started to call her that.

 

She drove home and got changed as quickly as possible.  She put on the new dress which she had just bought for John.  It was sapphire blue, his favorite color, with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline.  She even had matching lingerie.  She hoped that this business meeting wouldn’t go on for too long, she didn’t know how long she could sit next to John without touching him.

 

When she arrived at the restaurant and stood in the doorway looking for John, every

set of eyes looked her way, including John’s.  She was absolutely stunning.  John noticed the looks she was getting and he was filled with pride that she was his.  He quickly moved to her side and placed a quick kiss on her neck.  “You take my breath away lady.”

 

She smiled shyly at him.  “Don’t start that or I’ll never make it through dinner.” she teased.  “Hi…”

 

“Hi yourself,” he kissed her softly and they stared into each other’s eyes, wanting

each other so badly, wondering how on earth they were going to sit at a table in a crowded restaurant.  “Come on,” he said as he took her arm in his, “let’s get this over with.”

 

John did his best to keep his mind on the conversation at the table and Marlena

joined in when she could, which wasn’t very often.  After about an hour, she was getting terribly bored and decided to start “playing” with John.  She slipped her foot out of her shoe and began to gently rub his ankle.  He gave her a warning look and she just batted her lashes at him and sent her foot up a little higher while she played with her dessert.  She picked up a slice of strawberry with her fork and dipped it into the whipped cream.  As she ate it slowly, she made sure to get some whipped cream on her lips.  She stared at John as she wiped it off with her finger and then proceeded to suck it off.  She smiled as she noticed John shift in his seat.  She knew that she was getting to him.

 

John was relieved when she excused herself from the table.  He could no longer concentrate with her sitting across from him and now that she was gone, he had every intention of ending this meeting as quickly as possible.  He was wrapping things up, when she returned.  She leaned over next to him, pretending to whisper something in his ear and he felt her reach into his pocket.  As she sat back down, he reached into his pocket and glanced down.  When he realized what it was, he just prayed that no one noticed the color change on his face.  He tried to catch Marlena’s eyes, but she made a point of avoiding him as she was saying her goodbye’s to the gentlemen at the table.

 

When they were finally left alone at their table, John walked around to Marlena’s

side, he grabbed her elbow and lifted her up.  “May I talk to you for a moment?”  he asked, acting very serious.

 

She looked at him innocently, “What?”

 

“Come over here, you,” he said, pulling her over into a corner next to the door to

the stairs.  “Someone has been very naughty,” he whispered into her ear as he held her against the wall.

 

Marlena grinned.  “My, whatever do you mean?” she asked sweetly.

 

He reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out her panties, just enough so she

could see them.  “Do these happen to belong to you?”

 

Marlena just peeked up at him and smiled a devilish grin.

 

“So I suppose that means that you have nothing on under that beautiful dress?”

 

Marlena ducked under his arm and opened the door to the stairs, “I guess you’ll just

have to find out,” she called out as she raced up the stairs to the roof.  John ran after her and caught her in his arms as she reached the top.  They stumbled out onto the roof, holding each other tightly.  There was a small viewing area where you could watch the airplanes take off and land.  It was dark now and no one else was there.  Marlena wrapped her arms around John’s neck and began kissing him hungrily.  She felt like she’d been deprived for ages.

 

They both held each other as tightly as possible…wanting each other, needing

each other, not being able to get close enough.  John grabbed the back of Marlena’s head and began devouring her mouth.  She had been driving him crazy all evening and he couldn’t stand it anymore.  Marlena could feel him against her thigh.  She knew how much he wanted her.  She was ready for him too.  John’s hand began pulling her dress up until he could get underneath it and grab her thigh.  His hand slid up and he discovered that she did indeed have nothing on.  He grabbed her rear end tightly and whispered against her mouth, “You are a naughty girl aren’t you?”

 

As she continued to lick and suck on his lips, she whispered, “What are you going

to do about it?”

 

“I think I’m going to have to punish you.” And with that he quickly let go of her

and flipped her around so she was facing a wall.  He grabbed her hands and placed them flat on the wall above her head.  “Now don’t you move,” he ordered.

 

Marlena was breathing heavily; she was burning up with anticipation, wondering what he was going to do to her.  John stood closely behind her, he began to kiss and nuzzle the back of her neck.  Marlena moaned, wanting more, craving his touch on her body.  His right hand found her breast as he pressed his chest into her back.  His left hand had found its way under her dress and was caressing the inside of her thigh, edging closer to her center.  Marlena pressed away from the wall, pushing herself into John and bending her head back.

 

“What do you want Marlena?  Do you want more?”  John was truly torturing her now.

 

“Ummm-hmmm,” Marlena moaned, trying to rub herself against him.

 

John was trying to go slow, to tease her and drive her crazy, but he was so turned

on, he knew that he wouldn’t last long.  She was the sexiest creature he had ever known and sometimes he just couldn’t believe that she was his.  How did he ever get so lucky?  He began sucking on her neck and behind her ear as one hand fondled her breast and the other found her moist center.  “Do you want me here?” he growled into her neck.

 

“Yes……” she managed to get out between breaths, “..don‘t stop, …..please” she was

begging for release and John was about to explode himself.  He was done with the teasing, he needed her just as much as she needed him.   He took her that way, just the way they were standing, from behind, holding her tightly as their bodies moved in perfect unison.  Marlena used the wall for support, afraid that her legs were going to give out on her.  They came together, shaking and convulsing in unbelievable ecstasy.  As Marlena leaned her head against her arms, she couldn’t believe what they had just done.  She had never experienced anything so incredibly erotic.

 

As their bodies calmed down, John turned her around and they wrapped their arms

around each other and just held each other.  Both of them enjoying the moment and lost in their own thoughts.  They stood that way for a long time, just enjoying the quiet of the night, the stars shining down on them, holding each other close.  This was heaven on Earth and they both wanted to stay like this forever.

 

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

It was several days later and John and Marlena were enjoying a lazy, rainy day in John’s apartment.  Marlena was lying on a pile of blankets by the fireplace watching John cook dinner for her.  She loved to watch him in the kitchen and he loved to cook for her.  For one thing it gave them privacy and for another it kept her out of the kitchen because even though John loved everything about Marlena, she really was a lousy cook.  John finished pouring the sauce on the pasta and brought their plates over by the fireplace.

 

“Ummm…..it looks delicious”  Marlena said hungrily.

 

“Yes, it does.” John replied, leaning over and kissing her.  Marlena just smiled and gave him a knowing look.

 

As they were both enjoying their dinner, John let out a sigh, “Marlena I have something to tell you.”  He sounded serious.

 

Marlena finished chewing the bite in her mouth…. “What?” she asked concerned.

 

“Well, actually it’s something I want to ask you.  You know that I have to leave again next week for the annual meeting in Dubai…”

 

“Why did you have to bring that up?” Marlena said as she dropped her fork, looking very unhappy.

 

“Well, I decided to make it a longer trip and get a lot of business out of the way at once…I’ll be going to several locations and I’ll probably be gone for several weeks.”

 

“But you just got back…” Marlena whined.  She couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing

him for several weeks…..3 days had been torture.

 

“I know….and I don’t want to be away from you for that long…so this is what I wanted to ask you….how would you like to join me in Paris?”

 

“Paris?”  Marlena began to perk up a bit.

 

“After Dubai, I thought I’d check in on the Paris office and I would love to have you there with me.  I’d love to show you Paris.  Say you’ll come.”

 

Marlena jumped into his arms, knocking him backwards and spilling their plates in the

process, “I’d love to join you in Paris.”

 

John laughed and wrapped his arms around her, rolling around on the floor and making a terrible mess.  They ended up on their backs, lying next to each other and talking about what they would see and do in Paris.  Marlena had never been there before and the thought of seeing it with John was absolutely thrilling .  She didn’t know how she was going to wait.  She wanted to leave right now.  John held her and laughed at her excitement.  He had big plans for her in Paris and he couldn’t wait either.

 

As Marlena finally began to get up and clean the mess they had made on the floor,

John told her not to bother….they still had dessert coming up.  Marlena looked at him strangely, wondering what he was planning.  John went into the kitchen and quickly returned with a tray.  He’d been thinking about this ever since that night at dinner when she had been teasing him at the table.  Marlena saw the strawberries and whipped cream and grinned deliciously at him.

 

“Marlena, would you care for a strawberry?” he asked, very seductively.

 

“I would love a strawberry.” she replied, licking her lips.

 

John sat down on the floor next to her and placed the berries and cream down in front of them.  He picked up a strawberry and dipped it generously in the whipped cream.  He placed the berry between her lips.  She slowly licked the cream off and then bit it in half, staring into his eyes the entire time.  He finished the other half, licking the cream

off of his fingers.  Then it was her turn.

 

“Let me show you how that’s done,” she whispered.  She dipped a berry in the cream and then slowly ran it around the edge of his mouth, covering his lips with the sweet,

white cream.  When he began to lick it off, she stopped him.  “No, no…let me.”

and she leaned over and began to slowly lick the cream off of his lips.  As her kiss became more passionate and she began devouring his mouth, he pushed her away.  She whined her displeasure.

 

“I think I’ve got it now,” he said with a wicked grin as he raised his eyebrow.  He pushed her down so she was lying on her back and then he slowly opened the satin robe she was

wearing, revealing her bare skin underneath.  He dipped his finger in the whipped cream and began to draw a circle around her belly button, then he made a trail up her tummy and in between her breasts.  Marlena squirmed underneath his touch.  The combination of his warm finger touching her and the cold whipped cream was giving her goose bumps all over her body.  He then bent down and began to lick it off, starting with her belly button and traveling up her torso.  When he got to her neck, Marlena tried to pull his mouth up to hers, but he kept pulling away.

 

“I’m not done with my dessert yet.”  He told her.  He continued to make a buffet of her

body.  He teased her with the strawberries and left dollops of whipped cream in several different places which he slowly removed with his mouth and tongue.  He ended up on her breasts, slowly sucking the last bit of whipped cream off of them.  Marlena was going absolutely insane with the sensations he was causing inside her.  She finally managed to grab him and roll him over onto his back where she took her turn, making love to his body.  They went back and forth, teasing, touching, kissing, tasting.  There were never two people who worshipped or adored each other more than they did that night.

 

John & Marlena spent every possible moment with each other before he had to leave on his trip.  Marlena was dreading the day that he left, but just kept reminding herself that she would be joining him in just two weeks in Paris.  That made it a little less painful.  They spent their last night together at Blondie’s, holding each other on the dance floor.  They slow danced like they were the only two people on the planet, holding each other, smelling each other, kissing each other, staring into each other’s eyes….oblivious of everyone else.

 

When they returned to Marlena’s apartment, John noticed that Marlena had gotten very quiet.  She just stood and stared out the window.  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.  “Are you okay, baby?”

 

Marlena hugged his arms that were wrapped around her and leaned her head back against him.  “Umm-hmm,” she mumbled.  She didn’t want to tell John what she was thinking.  She didn’t want to ruin their last evening together.  But she had this incredible feeling of sadness and uneasiness ….like something was going to go wrong.  She couldn’t shake it.  Even knowing that she would be meeting John in just two weeks, wasn’t making her feel any better.  She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Don & Roman and what happened when they left her for their business trips.  She was making herself miserable.

 

“The two weeks will be over before you know it,” he whispered in her ear.  “And then I promise you the most romantic week of your life.”  John held her tightly and began nuzzling her soft neck.  He found that spot that she loved, right behind her ear.

 

Marlena tried to get out of her head and just enjoy this last night with John.  She tilted her head so he could get to her neck more easily, “oh….. I love it when you do just that,” she sighed.

 

John worked his way around her neck, up her chin and found her mouth.  Marlena turned and wrapped her arms around his neck as their tongues slowly started to dance.  Without breaking their kiss, John scooped her up in his arms and headed upstairs.  They made love all night, slowly and tenderly….making a memory that would last them both for these two long weeks that they would be apart.

 

 

Chapter Fifteen

 

The two interminably long weeks were almost over.  Marlena had gone home early to finish packing for Paris.  She was so excited, she couldn’t sit still.  She would be meeting John tomorrow.  She had missed him terribly and the feeling of uneasiness had stayed with her the whole time he had been gone, but he had helped ease her fears by calling her every day.  He always called as he was starting his work day and she was going to bed.  He would tell her about his day and tell her how much he missed her.  She always went to bed with a big smile on her face.

 

But this was his last night in Dubai, so this time she wanted to call him as he was going to bed.  It was 2pm in Salem so that meant it was 11pm in Dubai, John should be in his room now.  She called the hotel and asked for his room.  She hoped he wasn’t sleeping already.  After just one ring, a woman’s voice answered the phone, Marlena apologized and said she must have the wrong room….she was looking for John Black.

 

“This is John Black’s room,” the woman said. “He’s in the shower right now.  Can I take a message?”

 

Marlena paused before she said, “No…..no message.”  Her hand began to shake and she nearly dropped the phone as she went to hang it up. Marlena just sat very still for

several minutes….like she was frozen in time.  She had to concentrate on what just happened.  A woman had answered John’s phone….at 11 o’clock at night…..while he was in the shower.  Her chest began to get tight as she heard the voice on the phone again in her head.  She had recognized that voice.  It was Kate Roberts.

 

Images began to bombard Marlena …. images of Kate hugging John,  Kate in John’s apartment admiring the view,  John explaining that there was nothing going on between them, images of the day when Marlena found out that her first husband Don was cheating on her, images of Roman leaving her for his job.  The room began to spin and Marlena began to feel sick.  No, this wasn’t happening again.  She had sworn she would never let this happen again.  She had really believed that there was something between her and John and now as soon as he was away from her, he was with someone else.  She felt so stupid.  She had believed him.  Every time she had seen him with Kate, he had given her some excuse and she bought it.  How could she have been so naive?…so trusting?  Marlena doubled over, she felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach.  Why did this hurt so much?  Why did she feel like a part of her was being ripped away?   God damn him!  Why did she care so much?  She was furious at herself for wanting him so badly.  She hated him.  She never wanted to see him again.  All of a sudden her hand flew up to her mouth and she ran for the bathroom, just in time to throw up into the toilet.

 

Marlena sat up all night that night.  She couldn’t sleep and she didn’t want to lie

down in her bed, the bed she had shared with John.  She had decided that she had to go away, to get out of Salem for awhile.  She knew that when she didn’t show up in Paris, John would come looking for her and she didn’t know if she would have the strength to resist him.  She knew that her body would betray her as soon as she saw him, but she couldn’t be with a man who lied to her and used her.  She had to get away from him.  She had to get him out of her system somehow.

 

She went into the hospital in the morning to meet with Dr. Horton, the Chief of Staff.  She explained that she had a family emergency back home in Colorado and she needed to take a few weeks.   Marlena hardly ever took time off and you could tell by looking at her that something was terribly wrong, so Dr. Horton had no problem giving her the time off.  Marlena got the first flight out of Salem.  As she sat looking out the window, watching the plane leave the ground, she began to cry for all that she had lost, especially for what she thought she had with John.

 

* *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *

John was standing in the Paris airport watching everyone come off the plane from Salem.  He had a huge smile and was carrying a bouquet of yellow roses.  He couldn’t wait to see Marlena and show her the sites of Paris.  It had been a very long two weeks without her.  Everyone was off the plane and they closed the doors, but Marlena never got off.  John checked at the desk to see if she had missed the flight.  They told him that she had never checked in.  John became very worried.  He tried to call her but he just got her voice mail.  He spent the next hour trying to track her down, but no one seemed to know where she was….even Maggie Horton thought she was on her way to Paris.  John was going out of his mind.  What could have happened to her?  He booked the next flight to Salem.  He was going home to find her.

 

Even when he got back to Salem, he still couldn’t find out what had happened to her.  She just seemed to have vanished and no one knew where she went.  John was finally able to convince Dr. Horton that it was urgent that he find her and was told that she had some kind of family emergency.  John then traced her family to Colorado and immediately set off to find her.  By the time he tracked down her parent’s house, it had been several days since she was supposed to meet him in Paris.  He didn’t understand why she never called him or answered his calls.  When he knocked on the door he was told that she didn’t want to see anyone….even after he explained who he was.  John was losing his mind.

 

He kept watch on the house until he saw her going out one day and he followed her.  As she got out of her car, he came up beside her and grabbed her arm.  She let out a scream.

 

“Quiet Marlena.  It’s just me.”

 

“John, you scared the hell out of me.  What are you doing here?”

 

“What do you mean what am I doing here?  What did you expect me to do Marlena?  You never show up in Paris, you disappear, you won’t answer my calls.  I’ve been losing my mind trying to find you.”

 

Marlena was trying desperately not to look at John and not to be affected by him, she had to keep repeating in her head, he lied to you, he cheated on you, when all she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and never let him go.  “I’m sorry you were worried John, but as you can see I’m fine.”

 

“That’s it?  You’re fine.  Well, I’m not fine Marlena.  What the hell is going on with you?” John was extremely angry and frustrated.

 

“I needed to be with my family for awhile that’s all.  I don’t owe you any explanation.”

 

John was feeling extremely nervous, why was she acting this way?  Like he was a total stranger.  He tried to take her in his arms.  “Baby, please tell me what’s going on.  If you needed to be with your family, you just had to tell me.  I’d understand, but please don’t shut me out.”

 

Marlena tried to pull away from him.  It was taking every ounce of strength she had

not to sink into his arms.  She kept thinking of Kate’s voice answering the phone, she repeated it in her head over and over again.  She knew that if she confronted John, he would come up with some explanation again and she would give in just like the last time.  She couldn’t keep doing that.  She couldn’t be with a man that she didn’t trust who would just keep hurting her over and over again.  She had to stop the cycle now.  She had to make John go away.  She had to make him realize that it was over between them so he’d give up and leave her alone.

 

“Let go John.  I’m not yours to worry about.”

 

“Marlena, what are you saying?”  John was really scared now.

 

“I’ve just decided that I need to move on.  What we had was a lot of fun, but it’s over

now.  I don’t want to be with you anymore.”  Marlena felt  a tightness in her chest and a lump beginning to form in her throat.  She was fighting as hard as she could to remain calm on the outside while inside her head she was screaming, why did you have to do it John?  Why did you have to be with her?  Why couldn’t you love me enough?

 

“Marlena you don’t mean this.  I’ve only been gone for two weeks, and you’ve

completely changed.  What happened?”

 

“Nothing happened John, I just realized that I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want a relationship with you. It’s over.  Now, please go back to Salem and leave me alone.” She pulled away from him and climbed back into her car.  She drove away as quickly as she could, her eyes filling up with tears and her chest convulsing as she began to sob.

 

John just stood there in shock, watching Marlena drive off.  This wasn’t happening.  He was having some horrible nightmare and any minute he would wake up.  How could she

be like this?  Did he just imagine what they had?  He had been so sure that she loved him as much as he loved her…..was he just fooling himself?  It’s true that she had never actually told him that she loved him, but he was sure that she did.   Something must have happened to make her like this.  He had to find out what it was.  He decided to head back to Salem and try to figure it out.

 

It had been an entire week, and John was no closer to figuring out what had happened to Marlena.  No one seemed to know anything.  As far as Maggie knew, Marlena had left work that Friday to pack for Paris.  And all that Dr. Horton knew was that Marlena said she had a family emergency.  No one else knew a thing.  John continued to try to talk to Marlena, but she still refused to take his calls.  He even wrote her several letters, but hadn’t received any reply.  He couldn’t stand how helpless he felt.  All his life, John had always been in control.  He had been on his own since he was 17 and he was always in charge of his life and knew what he wanted and where he was going.  But now he was floundering.  He didn’t know what he was doing.  Everything he believed to be true, he was now questioning.  Had it all been a fantasy in his own head?  Did she just use him out of boredom, because she needed a little excitement in her life?  Did she ever care for him at all?

 

A few days later he got his answer, a small package arrived in the mail.  It was from Colorado.  He opened it with dread in his heart.  Inside he found his unopened letters and the

crystal heart he had given her on the pier.  No note, nothing else.  He felt like it was his own heart he was holding in his hand.  It was true.  She hadn’t cared for him at all.  She didn’t even care enough to open his letters.  He felt like a world class fool.  He had given his heart to her, told her that he loved her, and she was just playing with him….using him for her own entertainment.   How could he have been so blind?  He should have realized it when she never did say that she loved him and she was never willing to talk about making a serious commitment.  To think that he was actually going to propose to her in Paris.  What an idiot he was.  He hoped that she was planning on staying in Colorado.  He had no desire to ever see

her again.

 

After a few weeks of trying to get on with his life, John realized that it was impossible for him to get over Marlena.  Every place he went in Salem reminded him of her.  He couldn’t stop thinking about her.  He couldn’t stop wanting her….no matter how much he hated her now.  He had to get out of this small town.  He decided he needed to get back to the city, where he belonged.  He began to make arrangements to leave Salem as soon as possible.

 

* *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *  *  *  * *  *  *

 

Marlena had been in Colorado for almost two months now and she wasn’t getting any better.  There wasn’t a day that she didn’t think of John or a night when she didn’t dream about him.  She was driving herself crazy.  She knew that she had to find a way to get back to her normal life.  She couldn’t hide out at her parent’s house forever.  She had heard from her contacts at Tyton that John was leaving Salem, so it would be easy now for her to return.  She needed to get back to normal…to her work at the hospital, to her patients, to her friends in Salem.  To everything she had before John Black had come in to her life.  She called Dr. Horton and let him know that she would be returning the following week.

 

 

Chapter Sixteen

 

Maggie welcomed Marlena back with open arms.  She had missed her friend and was anxious to share all the gossip and goings on around Salem that Marlena had missed for the past two months.  They were having lunch together in the hospital cafeteria and Marlena was perfectly content to just sit and listen to Maggie talk, it meant that she didn’t have to share anything.  Marlena wasn’t really paying attention to Maggie, she was just nodding and playing with her food until she heard Maggie mention Kate’s name.  That got her attention.

 

“What about Kate?”

 

“She just married Victor Kiriakis.  Can you believe that?  I know he’s rich and all, but he’s not exactly a pillar of the community.  I guess she just got desperate after John fired her…”

 

“What?….what do you mean after John fired her?” Marlena’s heart began to beat a little faster.

 

“Oh, I thought for sure you’d heard about that.” Maggie continued.  “Well, the rumor is, when John was in Dubai, apparently she snuck into his room one night and he caught her going through some of his personal papers and then she tried to seduce him.  He fired her on the spot.  I thought for sure he would have told you about that….hey, whatever happened between you and John anyway?”  Maggie finally took a breath and looked over at Marlena who was staring blankly ahead and had turned white as a sheet.  “Marlena are you okay?”

 

“I have to go now Maggie” Marlena said as she quickly stood up.  “I forgot that I’m meeting a new patient.”  Marlena rushed out of the cafeteria and headed back to her office.  She felt like she couldn’t breathe and she was starting to feel dizzy.  Voices were yelling at her inside her head.   What did Maggie say?  John had fired Kate in Dubai?  He wasn’t sleeping with her?  Why didn’t he tell her?  He couldn’t tell you Marlena…you wouldn’t talk to him.  Was it true?  Had John really been in love with her?  Oh god, what had she done?  She made John think that she never cared about him.  She had wanted to hurt him just like he had hurt her, but he hadn’t hurt her.

 

Marlena managed to make it back to her office.  She collapsed at her desk and kept going over and over what had happened.  How could she have been so wrong about him?  Why hadn’t she been able to trust him?  Why did she always want to believe the worst about people?  She had just thrown away the greatest love she had ever known.  And now it was too late.  John had left Salem never to return and she was sure that he despised her now.  Marlena leaned back in her chair and let the tears flow….again, but this time she was crying because John did love her and because she loved him and she had never told him.

 

Slowly Marlena began to get back into her routine.  She somehow managed to get through her days without really thinking about her life.  The nights were harder.  She felt

lonelier than she ever had before and she knew that she would be alone the rest of her life now.  No one could ever replace John Black in her heart.  She lived on her memories of the time they had together and she knew she would keep him in her heart forever and never forget the biggest mistake she ever made in her life.

 

 

It had been two weeks since Marlena had returned to work.  She was still operating on auto pilot, not really caring or feeling anything.  She had just sat through a board meeting, not really paying attention and now she was in the elevator, headed back to her office when the doors opened and there stood John.  Marlena’s heart stopped.  She hadn’t seen him in over two months.  He was as handsome as ever, but he looked very tired.  He froze for a moment when he saw her, then walked in and turned his back to her.  Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she could feel the tears welling up inside her.  It was physically painful to be this close to him and not be able to touch him, to have him ignoring her.  She couldn’t leave it like this.  She had to say something, anything.  She had to at least say goodbye and that she was sorry.

 

When the other passengers got off, and they were left alone, she had her chance.  He still had his back to her.  “Hi John,” she said cautiously, “How are you?”

 

“I’m fine Marlena. How are you?” he answered coldly, not really looking at her.

 

“Oh God, what have I done?” Marlena thought to herself.  “He hates me so much.” She felt absolutely sick inside and a little unsteady on her feet.  She braced herself against the elevator wall.

 

“I didn’t expect to see you here.  I thought you’d already moved back to Chicago.”

 

“I’m leaving tonight.  You won’t need to worry about bumping into me again.”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant…..I just…” Marlena didn’t know what to say.  She began to bite her bottom lip trying to hold back the tears, but her eyes began to get blurry.  “I’m sorry John,” she barely got out, her voice just above a whisper.

 

“Sorry for what Marlena?”  his voice was still cold and angry.

 

“Just….. sorry….” she stared at the floor.  She didn’t have the courage to look at

him.  When the elevator doors opened, she began to walk out, but she stumbled as everything began to go dark and she collapsed on the floor.

 

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on the couch in her office.  John was kneeling next to her with a glass of water in his hands.  “Here drink this slowly,” he said.

 

“What happened?” she asked as she sat up and slowly sipped the water.

 

“You fainted as soon as you walked off the elevator.  I carried you in here.”

 

“I’m sorry, John”

 

“You said that before.” he answered as he rose and walked away from her.

 

“Yeah, I seem to be saying it quite often lately.”  She placed her head in her hands.

 

John couldn’t help but be concerned about her.  God help him, he knew that he would never stop caring about her.  “Maybe you should see a Doctor.” he suggested.  “You don’t

look very well.”

 

“No doctor can fix my problem.” she mumbled under her breath.  “I’ll be fine, John.  I’m sorry if I was any trouble.” her eyes began to fill with tears again, she tried to hide them from John.

 

John was worried about her.  Even after all these weeks of trying to put her out of his mind, he couldn’t walk away from her.  He still wanted to take care of her, to comfort her, he couldn’t help himself.  “You still look really pale Marlena.  Are you sure you’re all right?”

 

“No, I’m not all right.  I’ll never be all right again.” the tears began flowing freely down her cheeks now.  “John, did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

 

John stopped and stared at her, “Why are you asking me this now, Marlena?”  John did not want to go down this path again.  It hurt too much.

 

“Please, I just need to know.” Marlena begged.

 

“Yes, I meant it Marlena…..unfortunately for me.”  Marlena could see the pain and the hurt in his face and she knew that she had caused it.  She had caused it all.  She had this

wonderful man in love with her and she had thrown it all away because of her own insecurities, her own inability to trust someone, to believe in someone.  She had ruined everything.  “I loved you too.” she barely whispered wiping the tears from her cheeks.

 

John wasn’t sure that he had heard her.  “What?”

 

“I loved you too.” she repeated without looking up.

 

John couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  In all the months they had been together,

Marlena had never told him that she loved him.  Why was she saying it now?  Why was she bringing back all the pain that he was trying so hard to forget?

 

“Why would you say that now Marlena?”  He was angry.  “You made it perfectly clear that it was over between us and that you wanted nothing more to do with me.”

 

Marlena still didn’t look up at him…she just stared at the floor.  “I made a mistake John, one that I’ll regret for the rest of my life.  I just hope that one day you’ll be able to forgive me.”

 

John’s heart, which hadn’t felt anything for the past 2 months, was pounding in his chest.  He was having a difficult time controlling his breathing.  Did she really mean it?  Was it possible that it wasn’t completely over between them?  He wasn’t ready to get his hopes up yet.  He was still hurt and angry.

 

“You completely shut me out for months, you won’t talk to me, you won’t tell me what the hell happened and now you’re telling me this?  What’s different now Marlena?  What changed?”

 

Marlena could barely speak.  She felt like her stomach was sitting in her throat.  She had hurt this man so terribly and she didn’t see how he could ever forgive her or believe in her again.

 

“I know the truth now John.  And I know that I’ll never love anyone again the way that I loved you.”  She finally looked up at him.  “..the way that I still love you.”  They both stared at each other, neither one moving, neither one daring to hope that it wasn’t over between them.  “Do you think that maybe…one day…you’ll be able to love me again?”

 

“I never stopped loving you Marlena.” John admitted, his eyes now filling up with tears.  “But I can’t go back to what we had before.”

 

Marlena’s eyes went back down to the floor.  John could see her chest rising and falling

as she silently began to sob.  He slowly moved over to her and knelt down on the floor, taking both her hands in his.  “I can’t go back Marlena because I need more.”  Marlena just nodded her head like she understood.  She hadn’t really expected him to forgive her.

 

“Marlena look at me.” he ordered, gently lifting her chin.  She tried to stop crying long

enough to look him in the eyes.  “I need more from you.  I need a commitment.  I don’t want to just spend occasional evenings and weekends with you…always leaving before it gets light.  I want to be with you every day.  I want to go to bed with you every night and I want to wake up with you every morning.  I want to eat your lousy macaroni and cheese and I want to rub your feet after you’ve had a hard day at work.  I want to marry you Marlena.”

 

Marlena didn’t move, she didn’t say a thing.  She was in complete shock.  This couldn’t be real.  She knew she had to be dreaming.

 

“Marlena?….  Did you hear me? ….. Honey? ….. Say something?”  John was getting worried that she was about to pass out again.

 

Marlena finally took a breath and without changing her expression, she said “So you think my macaroni and cheese is lousy?”

 

John burst into laughter, “That’s what you got from everything I just said?”

 

Marlena looked down at John’s hands holding hers.  She began rubbing her thumbs gently across his fingers.  “Do you really mean it John?  Do you really still love me?”

 

John lifted her hands up to his mouth and kissed them.  “I love you Marlena.  I love you with all my heart.  And I know that I could never be happy without you in my life.  So please, tell me that you’ll marry me.”

 

If it was possible to die from happiness, Marlena was sure that she would drop dead right now.  She couldn’t believe that she was being given this second chance, that this

incredible man wanted her as much as she wanted him.  Her heart felt like it was going to pound its way right out of her chest.  The tears began to flow down her cheeks again as she nodded her head and tried to speak…. “Yes….oh, yes, I’ll marry you.”

 

John grabbed her in his arms and pulled her to her feet.  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.  They were both crying now.  Marlena wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.  She buried her face into his neck and let the tears fall.  She couldn’t believe that she still had any tears left, but now they were tears of joy.  John tried to hold every part of her at once.  He rubbed her back, he held her head, he touched her face, he couldn’t get close enough to her.  He felt like he was whole again, that a part of him had been missing and now he had it back and he would never let it go again.

 

“I’m so sorry John…”  Marlena began as she cried into his neck.  He lifted up her head and began planting soft kisses all over her tear-stained face.

 

“Shhhhh…..no more crying,” he whispered as he kissed her softly and tenderly.  “Tomorrow we’ll talk about everything, but not now.  Right now, I just want to hold you.”

 

He slowly placed kisses on her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, her mouth.  Marlena held John’s face in her hands and nuzzled her face against his.  She just had to touch him, she had to let him know how much she loved him.

 

“I love you so much……Dear God, I love this man so much.” She told him, her eyes still full of tears.

 

John felt like his heart was going to burst.  That’s all he needed to hear.  He lifted her up off the floor and spun her around in a circle.  Marlena laughed as she held on tight.  He set her back down and stared into her eyes as he wiped the tears off of her cheeks with his thumbs.  “I love you Baby and I always will.”  He grabbed her face and began to kiss her.  He kissed her deeply and passionately, but slowly, taking his time.  He was in no hurry.  He had the rest of his life to make love to her.

 

 

Chapter Seventeen

 

John & Marlena never stopped touching all the way back to Marlena’s penthouse.  They walked with their arms around each other, they held hands in the car, they held each other tightly while riding in the elevator.  They simply had to be connected physically to each other.  They had been apart for two long, lonely months and they had both been absolutely miserable.  Now that they were back together, neither one wanted to let the other one go, not even for a moment.

 

When they walked into the penthouse, John led Marlena upstairs, through the bedroom and into the bathroom.  He started the water in the bathtub and added some bath crystals that were sitting next to the tub.  Marlena just watched him curiously.

 

“I would like you to relax in the tub, while I make you something to eat,” John explained.  “I’m worried about you, you did just pass out on me you know,” John continued while he kissed her on the nose.

 

Marlena wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed the side of her face against his.  “I love you so.”

 

“I love you too, baby.  And I’m going to take care of you now.”  He gently removed her jacket and began to unbutton her blouse.

 

Marlena reached for the buttons on John’s shirt.  “I’ll get into the bath on one condition…..you have to join me.”

 

“But then who will get the food?” John asked, teasing her.

 

“We’ll order Chinese later,” Marlena replied, as she pulled his shirt down his arms.

 

“Mmmmm……I love Chinese.”

 

They continued to slowly undress each other until they had removed every last stitch of clothing.  John climbed into the tub and offered his hand to Marlena to help her in.  He sat with his back resting against the tub and had Marlena sit in front of him with her back leaning against him.  He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.  Marlena rested her head against his chest and hugged his arms.  She felt wonderful….so content, so happy.  She just wanted to stay in John’s arms forever.

 

Marlena was so content and so relaxed that she actually dozed off for a few minutes.  When her head began to fall, she jerked awake.  “Oh my gosh, did I actually fall asleep?” she asked John, embarrassed.

 

John just chuckled, “Only for a few minutes baby.  It’s okay.  I could hold you like this forever…..well, at least until the water gets cold.”

 

John grabbed the soap and began to wash Marlena’s back and arms, massaging her as he lathered her up.  Marlena leaned forward so he could get lower on her back.  His hands felt so wonderful. He turned her around so she was facing him and continued to wash her.  He lifted up one of her legs and began to lather and massage her foot, working his way up to her thigh.  Then he did it again with her other leg.  He reached around to her lower back and pulled her up onto his lap so she was straddling him.  He lathered and massaged her lower back and her tummy and worked his way up to her breasts.  Marlena closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she just enjoyed John’s touch on her body.  Every muscle in her body felt warm and relaxed.  Her arms and legs felt like noodles and she felt like she was literally melting into John.

 

John rinsed her off and then held her tight, her head resting on his shoulder.  “I think we should get out of this tub,” he suggested.  “It’s a little difficult to maneuver in here.”

 

“Hmm-umm,” Marlena sighed happily, not having a care in the world.

 

John helped her out of the tub and wrapped a big fluffy towel around her. “While you finish up in here, I’m going to go order us some dinner,” he told her.  “Anything special

that you want?”

 

“Whatever you order is fine,” she smiled at him.

 

While John was on the phone placing the order, Marlena peeked her head out of the bathroom, “John don’t forget those crispy dumpling things.”

 

“Okay,” John added them to the order.

 

“Oh, and some egg rolls,” she shouted from the bathroom.

 

John laughed and added the egg rolls. “Anything else?” he asked.

 

Marlena peeked out of the bathroom again, “Nope, whatever you order is fine,” she smiled at him from under her lashes.

 

When Marlena came out of the bathroom, she was wearing a white, satin nightgown that clung to all the right places.  John was wearing a robe and pajama bottoms from the suitcase that he had brought in from his car.  Marlena was pleased when she saw his suitcase.  “Are you moving in?” she asked as she walked into his arms.

 

“I sure hope so since I no longer have an apartment here in Salem.”

 

“Oh, that’s right.” Marlena remembered that John was actually leaving town tonight.  Her face turned sad as she realized what she had done to him.  “Were you leaving Salem because of me?”

 

John held her face and looked into her eyes.  “There was no way that I could stay here and not have you, Marlena.”

 

“John, I’m so sorry.  I disrupted your whole life….”

 

“Shhh…,” he interrupted her, “It doesn’t matter now.  I can live and work anywhere, that’s the benefit of being the boss, but I’d give it all up, everything, just to be with you, Marlena.  You’re my life now and where ever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

 

Marlena stared into John’s face with tears in the corners of her eyes.  She was completely overwhelmed by the love she saw in John’s eyes.  Never in her life had Marlena felt so adored, so protected, so loved as she did right now.  She reached her hands up and held the sides of John’s face.

 

“I love you John Black.  I love you with all of my heart.”  She closed her eyes and placed a soft kiss on his mouth, slowly deepening the kiss until her arms wrapped around his neck and held him tight.

 

John’s arms wrapped around her waist as he joined her in the kiss.  God, he loved her mouth.  The way she nibbled and sucked on his lower lip, the way her tongue played with his, the way her lips felt when he caught them between his own.  He could kiss her forever and never get tired of it.

 

“Marlena,” he whispered as he pulled away to catch his breath.

 

“Hmmm?” she answered dreamily.

 

“Should I get your robe?”

 

Marlena opened her eyes, “My robe?…why?” she asked surprised.

 

“Because our dinner will be here any minute and I’m going to see to it that you eat

something.”

 

“But I don’t want dinner right now,” she complained as she pressed herself tighter

against him.

 

“But I promised that I was going to take care of you and I don’t want you passing

out on me again…..besides I have some plans for the rest of this evening and you need to build up some energy.”

 

“Plans, huh?….I think I like the sound of that,” she purred as she began to suck on

his neck.

 

She was driving John crazy.  He wanted nothing more than to throw her on the bed right now and make mad, passionate love to her, but he wanted it to be perfect and romantic.  Luckily for him, the doorbell rang and gave him the excuse that he needed to push her away and gather her robe for her.  She whined as he pulled her robe around her and began to lead her downstairs.

 

As they sat down and began eating their Chinese food, Marlena realized that she

really was hungry.  For the last few weeks, she hadn’t cared enough to eat well and it probably had made her run down.  She was happily digging into the little cardboard boxes when John started laughing at her.

 

“What?” she asked, with her mouth full of eggroll.

 

“I think someone was hungry,” John commented with a big smile on his face.

 

Marlena finished chewing her bite and daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin.  “I’m just doing what I was told.” She grabbed some chicken with her chopsticks and reached over to feed John.

 

“Here, you need to eat too.”  As she placed it in his mouth, he reached up and grabbed her hand.  They stopped playing and stared at each other.

 

“Marlena, I need to ask you something…” John began, sounding very serious.  “Earlier today in your office, you said that now you know the truth.  What does that mean?  And what stopped you from joining me in Paris?”

 

Marlena placed her hands in her lap and looked down at them.  She had been avoiding this conversation.  She didn’t want to tell John what had happened, that she had thought he was with Kate, that she had doubted him.  But she knew that they had to tell each other

the truth, otherwise they couldn’t move on with their life together.

 

“I called you,” she said quietly.

 

“You called me?….when?”

 

“The night before I was leaving for Paris.  I wanted to call you as you were going to sleep….to say good night.”

 

“But I didn’t get a phone call….”

 

“I know.  When I called, a woman answered the phone.  I thought I had the wrong

room, but then she said that you were in the shower and asked if I wanted to leave a message.”

 

“What?…..”  John was confused.

 

“I recognized her voice John.  It was Kate.”

 

John sat up straighter and took in a deep breath, realization coming over his face.

 

“I didn’t know what to do John.  I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.  I

thought you were there….with her.”  Marlena was trying not to cry now.

 

“Son of a bitch!” John yelled as he practically leaped off the couch.  He knew Kate was a devious business woman, but he didn’t know that she could be so cruel.  He began pacing back and forth.  He wanted to hit something, he was so angry.

 

Marlena began to panic.  She thought that John was upset with her.  “I’m so sorry

John.  I should have trusted you.  I should have known that you weren’t with her, but it all came rushing back at me….how it felt when I discovered that Don was cheating on me.  I couldn’t go through that again so I just panicked and ran away.  It hurt so much.”  Tears began to fall down Marlena’s cheeks.

 

John heard the panic in Marlena’s voice and immediately softened.  He rushed back to her side and held her in his arms.  “Shhh….it’s okay, baby.  I’m not mad at you.  I understand what happened now.  That was the night I found Kate in my room going through my papers.  She tried to cover it up, by pretending she was just there to be with me.  I told her I still wasn’t interested and I was tired of her games and asked her how long she had been spying for Kiriakis.  She didn’t take it well and I ended up firing her on the spot.  I never heard the phone ring Marlena.  I had no idea that she spoke to you.  I’m so sorry, baby.”

 

Marlena buried her face into John’s neck and held tightly to the collar on his robe.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you John.  I was just so hurt and I felt so alone.”

 

“You’re never going to be alone again, Marlena.  I can promise you that,” he placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to his.  “But you have to promise me something.”

 

“Anything,” she replied, gazing into his eyes.

 

“Promise me that you’ll never doubt my love for you and that you will always tell me if

you’re worried or afraid of something.”

 

“I promise….” she placed a soft kiss on his mouth… “I promise..” she kissed him again, longer this time.

 

John’s arms wrapped around her as their kiss became more passionate.  Their breathing became heavy as their mouths and tongues began to devour each other.

 

“John…,” Marlena panted against his lips, barely able to speak, “Take me upstairs…. and make me yours.”

 

John placed his arm under her knees and scooped her up like she didn’t weigh a thing.  He quickly carried her upstairs and set her on the edge of the bed.  “Wait right here,” he whispered with a twinkle in his eye.  Then he went over to his suitcase and dug something out of a side pocket.

 

“What are you up too?”  Marlena asked impatiently.

 

John walked over to Marlena with one hand behind his back.  He took her hand in his and kneeled down on one knee in front of her.  Marlena sucked in her breath and held it in anticipation.

 

“I know I already asked you this in your office, but that wasn’t really how I intended to ask you.  Marlena, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else on this Earth.  My life began on the day that I met you and I know that I could never go back to a life without you.  You fill my heart and my soul and you make me complete.  And there’s nothing that I want more than to be your husband and take care of you for the rest of your life.”

 

John brought his hand out from behind his back and opened the small box that he was

holding.  Inside was the most beautiful ring Marlena had ever seen.  There was a large diamond in the middle, surrounded by several smaller sapphires.  John pulled the ring out of the box and held it near Marlena’s finger.

 

“Marlena, will you please marry me?”

 

Marlena was finding it very difficult to speak.  She was completely surprised and overwhelmed.  “John, that ring is absolutely exquisite, but how did you…..?”

 

John interrupted her.  “I’ve had it for awhile.  I couldn’t bring myself to return it.  You see, I was going to give it to you in Paris.”

 

“Oh, John……” Marlena’s eyes filled with tears.

 

“Now I don’t mean to be pushy, but could you give me an answer please?” John asked

her with that teasing look in his eyes.

 

Marlena smiled through her tears.  “I would love to marry you John Black.”

 

John slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed it.  “Now it’s official,” he declared as he sat up on the bed next to her. “Now, you are mine.”

 

“And you are mine,” she added as she grabbed him around the neck and pulled his

mouth towards hers, “…forever and always.”  She began placing kisses on his lips, licking and sucking gently.

 

John grabbed her tightly and took possession of her mouth.  He had to have her right now…every part of her.  “I need you Marlena,” he whisperedinto her mouth.

 

“You’ve got me John….all of me.”  John began kissing and sucking on her neck and shoulders as he slowly slid the straps of her nightgown down her arms.  Marlena

moaned as he slid her nightgown all the way down her body.   As he sat back to admire her, he quickly shed his own clothes and returned to lie against her body.   He loved the feeling of her bare skin against his and he was still amazed at how perfect her body was…..her soft skin, her flat tummy, her round breasts….she was like a work of art.  And he wanted to possess her… body, heart & soul.

 

Marlena kissed and caressed his chest.  She loved his body so much.  She loved how strong and muscular he was, but so soft and gentle.  She loved how he touched her.  It

was amazing how well he knew her body …. how he knew just how she liked to be touched.   She grabbed his lower back and pulled him deep inside her.  Now they were truly joined in every way.  They held each other as tightly as possible, slowly rocking back and forth against each other.  John grabbed her hands and held them over her head, entwining their fingers together.  He rested his forehead against hers as his movements became more frenzied.  He began to move faster as Marlena urged him on.  It wasn’t long before they were both convulsing against each other, calling out each other’s name.  They stayed in the same position for quite some time….holding each other while their bodies calmed down.  Neither one of them wanting to break contact with the other.  They ended up making love for hours… occasionally dozing off in each other’s arms, only to wake up an hour later and make love again.  It was a glorious night.

 

 

Chapter Eighteen

 

Marlena woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon floating into her room from downstairs.  She smiled at the thought of John in the kitchen fixing her breakfast.  She stretched lazily and realized how sore she was, but she didn’t mind.  Every ache and pain was a reminder of the amazing time she spent with John last night.  As she stretched out her arms, she noticed the new adornment on her left hand.  The ring that John had given her was even more breathtaking in the daylight.  It was truly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  She held her hand close to her heart, feeling like the luckiest woman on the planet.

 

She got up and brushed her teeth, washed her face and ran a brush through her hair.  As she was pulling on her robe, she noticed John’s suitcase and decided to make some room for him in her closet.  She started pulling clothes out and tossing them in a pile.  “Sheesh,” she thought to herself.  “It’s been way too long since I cleaned out in here.”  Her pile continued to get bigger and bigger.

 

When John came back up to the bedroom, he found a huge pile of clothes in the middle of the room.  “What’s going on?  Are we going somewhere?  Or is it just laundry day?”

 

Marlena came out of the closet and threw herself into John’s arms.  “Nope, I’m just making some room for you so you can officially move in.”  She planted a big kiss on his mouth.

 

“Well, thanks, but I only have one suitcase right now and even when I send for my other things, I probably won’t need this much room.”  He laughed and hugged her tight.  “Are you hungry?”

 

“Starved!”

 

“Good, I’ve got a big breakfast all ready for you downstairs.”

 

“I think I could get used to this Mr. Black.”

 

“You better….cuz I’m not going anywhere.”  He kissed her nose and led her downstairs to the kitchen where he had a beautiful breakfast all laid out for her.

 

“Marlena…,” John began as they were lazily enjoying their breakfast, “..I had an idea.  I assume that we’re going to the big opening of the Children’s Wing at the hospital

tomorrow night.”

 

Marlena nodded and smiled as she realized that she wouldn’t be going alone now…she wouldn’t be going anywhere alone anymore.

 

“Well, I thought it might be fun to announce our engagement there.  All your friends from the hospital will be there.  Heck, almost everyone in town will be there.  What do you think?”

 

“I think it’s a marvelous idea, but I don’t know how I’m going to wait until then to tell anyone…maybe I’ll just call my folks, and Eugene and Calliope?”  she sounded like a

little girl on Christmas morning.

 

John laughed.  “Why don’t you go ahead and call them while I clean up these dishes?”

 

Marlena got up from the table and walked around to sit on John’s lap.  “Are you always going to spoil me like this?”  she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

 

“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.”

 

“Oooo…and your best is just the best there is.”  Marlena took his mouth in a long, slow kiss.

 

As they pulled apart, John wiped his mouth, “Umm….bacon.”

 

Marlena swatted his arm.

 

John laughed as he pushed her up and swatted her behind.  “Go on and make your calls, and then get dressed.  We have things to do today.”

 

“We do?” Marlena asked.  So much had happened in the last 24 hours, Marlena didn’t even know what day of the week it was.  “Oh, yeah, I guess I should go to work,” she said laughing.  “What are you going to do?”

 

“I’m going back to my office before they clear it all out.  I have a little…uh… reorganizing to do.”

 

John sent Marlena upstairs to get ready for work while he cleaned up the kitchen.

 

When John came upstairs, Marlena was still on the phone with her mother.  “I don’t know yet Mom…this just happened last night.”  She covered the phone with her hand when she saw John.  “My mom wants to know when we’re getting married.”

 

John kissed her and replied, “As soon as humanly possible,” and then he disappeared into the bathroom.

 

Marlena smiled, “It will be very soon, Mom.  I’ll let you know as soon as we set a

date.  Give my love to Daddy.  Bye Mom.”  She ended her call and started getting dressed.

 

John drove Marlena to work since she had left her car there the day before.  When he dropped her off with a kiss goodbye, Marlena giggled and said, “Have a nice day Dear.  I’ll see you at home for dinner.”

 

John took her in his arms and planted a big, sloppy kiss on her mouth.  “Yes, you will….in fact, I have a little surprise in store for tonight.”

 

“You do?…. What?”  Marlena asked, she never could wait for surprises.

 

“You’ll find out later.”  He kissed her nose.  “Bye Dear.”  He left her standing there and

drove off to his office.

 

Marlena spent her day seeing patients and avoiding everyone else at the hospital.  She knew she couldn’t hide the very large ring on her finger and the even bigger grin on her

face and she didn’t want to spoil John’s big announcement on Friday night.  She kept watching the clock…just waiting until she could go home to see what John had planned.  He had called her once during the day, but she couldn’t get anything out of him.  So now she was just waiting for 5 o’clock, not very patiently.

 

Finally, Marlena was heading home.  When she got there and was getting off the

elevator, she could hear music, very faintly, coming from her apartment.  She couldn’t make out what it was.  As she began to turn her key in the lock, John opened the door.  He was dressed in a tuxedo, holding a single red rose.

 

“Bonsoir, Madam, welcome to Paris.”  John opened the door wider to reveal

Marlena’s transformed apartment.  There were small, white lights hung everywhere.

There was a small table and chairs in the middle of the living room with an ice bucket and champagne next to it.  There were posters on the windows of the Eiffel Tower and the Paris skyline and there was soft, French music playing.  Marlena walked in and spun around in a circle as she took it all in.  It was truly magical.

 

John closed the door and approached her, handing her the rose.  “For the most beautiful woman in this world and the love of my life.”

 

Marlena could hardly speak, “You are the most amazing man…” She fell into his arms and held him tight, resting her cheek next to his.  “I love you so.”

 

“I love you too, Baby.  And I’m going to show you every day for the rest of your life.”  He lifted her head so he could look into her face.  They just stared at each other,

sinking into each other’s eyes before he finally took her mouth with his.  He kissed her deeply, exploring and tasting every part of her mouth.  He kissed her until she felt like her mouth was melting into his and she couldn’t catch her breath.  John finally pulled away and rested his forehead against her.

 

“I think we should eat now before our dinner gets cold.”

 

Marlena smiled and shook her head, “Is part of your plan tonight to torture me?” she asked.

 

“No more than you do to me on a daily basis,” he said with a grin.

 

Marlena pushed him away and stood and admired him.  “You do look dashing tonight John Black.”

 

“Thank you very much,” John replied, standing up to his full height.

 

“And I am horribly underdressed,” Marlena continued, looking down at her business attire.  “I’ll be right back,” she took off upstairs with a gleam in her eye.

 

“Don’t take too long,” John yelled after her.  “Dinner really will get cold.”

 

Not more than 15 minutes later, Marlena made her appearance, walking slowly down the stairs.  She was wearing a very tight fitting, nude colored evening gown that

sparkled in the lights.  When the light hit her just right, it looked like she was wearing nothing at all.  John’s mouth literally dropped open.

 

“You’re gawking Dear.” Marlena commented as she walked past him.

 

“Umm…yeah.  Where did this little number come from?”

 

“You’re not the only one who did some shopping for Paris.”  Marlena pulled out her chair and sat at the table.  “Come on Dear.  Your dinner is getting cold.”

 

Marlena teased John all through dinner…which she really did enjoy.  John had picked up dinner from a local French restaurant, Chez Vous:  roasted apricot Brie, coq au vin with saffron rice and sauteed zucchini Provencal.  It was absolutely sinful.  Marlena enjoyed every bite, licking her lips, licking her fingers, reaching over and feeding John.  She was enjoying it even more because she knew what she was doing to John.

 

Finally, John couldn’t take it anymore.  He got up and came around the table.  He held out his hand to her, “I really need to dance with you right now.”

 

Marlena just smiled as she wiped her mouth on her napkin and then placed her hand in John’s.  He pulled her up and held her tightly against him as they began to sway to the

soft music.  “So, I was getting to you, huh?” she asked sweetly.

 

“Uh…yeah.  Can’t you feel how much you were getting to me?” John pulled her closer.

 

“Oh…oh, I can feel it.” Marlena whispered huskily.

 

John began to nibble on Marlena’s neck and traveled up to the spot behind her ear that he knew drove her crazy.  Marlena moaned and leaned her head back, giving him better access.  Her hands began pulling John’s jacket down his arms, until he was able to drop it on the floor.  Then she quickly removed his bowtie.  As she began to struggle with his buttons, John grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, sending buttons flyingacross the room.

 

Marlena smiled as she moved in to attack his neck, biting and sucking on him as her hands began to unfasten his pants.  John removed Marlena from his neck so he could attack her mouth voraciously.  They were both in a frenzy now, needing each other so badly.  John found the zipper on the back of Marlena’s dress and forced himself to pull it down carefully.  As he slipped the dress off her shoulders and it fell to the floor, he discovered that she had nothing on underneath.  Marlena took his hand and pulled him over to the stairs.

 

“No Marlena, we’re not going upstairs.”  John quickly kicked off his shoes and

finished removing the rest of his clothing.  He gently pushed Marlena down on the stairs and kneeled in front of her.  He grabbed her legs and pulled her tightly up against his eager body and then he made love to her right there, franticly, on the stairs with her legs wrapped around his hips and his mouth making love to her neck and breasts.  When they were finally able to move again and John felt like his legs would support him, he scooped Marlena up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs and into the bedroom.  He made love to her again, slowly this time, enjoying the touch and feel of her body against his, knowing that they belonged to each other and would be like this for the rest of their lives.

 

 

Chapter Nineteen

 

“Marlena!” John yelled up the stairs.  “We’re going to be late.”

 

“Patience, Dear,” Marlena answered as she came out from the bedroom and headed down the stairs.  “I wouldn’t be running late, if you hadn’t felt the need to join me in the

shower.”

 

John took her in his arms as she reached the bottom of the stairs.  “Are you complaining?”

 

“No, definitely not complaining, just explaining.” She kissed him softly.

 

John held her hands and pushed her away so that he could admire her dress.  She was wearing a long gown in deep purple with a full skirt and sleeves that fell off of her shoulders.  She looked like royalty.  “You are absolutely breathtaking.”

 

Marlena pulled John closer, “I think WE are absolutely breathtaking.”  She began to kiss him, softly sucking on his bottom lip.

 

John pushed her away.  “And you say that it’s my fault that we’re running late.”  John helped her with her wrap and they headed out the door.

 

The Opening of the Children’s Wing was probably the biggest event Salem had seen in years.  They had set up a huge tent in the parking lot of the Hospital for the event.  All the Big Wigs from the Hospital were there, along with almost every member of Salem Society.  University Hospital was one of the top rated hospitals in the Midwest and the people of Salem were very proud of that fact.

 

By the time John & Marlena arrived, most of the guests were already there, milling around, eating hors d’oeuvres and drinking champagne.  As Marlena excused herself to

the ladies room, John headed to the bar to get some champagne.  As he turned around with his drinks in hand, he came face to face with Victor Kiriakis and Kate.

 

Victor was very surprised to see John, but kept his usual composure. Kate, on the other hand, looked absolutely stunned.

 

Victor spoke first, “John, I didn’t know you were coming tonight.  I’d heard that you left town.”

John had plenty of things he wanted to say to Victor and especially to Kate, but now was not the time.  He didn’t want anything to ruin this night.

 

“I had a change of plans.  Looks like I’ll be staying here for awhile.”

 

“Really?  I’m surprised.  It seems like it would be much easier to run a large company like Basic Black from a bigger city, like Chicago.”

 

“Well, it turns out that there are some things here in Salem that I need to keep my eye on,” John answered, staring straight at Victor.  “By the way, congratulations on your marriage, you two really deserve each other.”  John raised his champagne glass and walked away, looking for Marlena.

 

“I thought you said he was gone.” Victor said to Kate.

 

“He was…..he gave up his apartment and all his things were shipped to Chicago.  I don’t know what happened.”

 

“This is not good news.  I can’t have John Black nosing around in my business again.  He already ruined everything in Dubai.  I will not let him ruin my plans for Salem.  We need to find a way to get rid of John Black.” Victor ordered a scotch at the bar and downed it in one gulp.

 

As everyone began to find their tables and take their seats, Dr. Tom Horton, the Chief of Staff, stood up on the small stage and began to speak.  He thanked everyone for being there and spoke of all the hard work and dedication it took to make this evening possible.  He especially wanted to acknowledge the two largest contributors to the Hospital…. “for his very generous donations, Mr. Victor Kiriakis”  (he was interrupted by polite applause)  “ …and for the unbelievably generous donation of over ten million dollars, our thanks go to Mr. John Black of Basic Black Industries.” The crowd burst into loud applause.  Marlena’s mouth dropped open as she placed her hand on John’s arm.

 

Dr. Horton continued, “ It’s because of this donation that we are now starting work on the Dr. Marlena Evans Center for Abused and Abandoned Children.”  The room filled with cheers and applause.

 

Marlena sat absolutely stunned.  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She

finally managed to move her head and look over at John.  “Are you kidding me?”

 

John laughed and kissed her on the cheek, “No, Baby, we’re not kidding you.  You’ve fought long and hard for your Center and now you’re going to get it.”

 

Marlena’s eyes filled with tears as she grabbed John’s face and held it next to hers, her

mouth next to his ear.  “Thank you,” she whispered, so overcome with emotion that she didn’t know what else to say.

 

As the crowd settled down, Dr. Horton introduced John and asked him to come up on

stage.  John stood and taking Marlena’s hand, led her up to the stage.

 

“Thank you,” John addressed the applauding crowd, “I would just like to say that the

only reason that the Center for Abused Children is being built is because of this lady standing next to me.  Her hard work and dedication to this project is what made it happen.  I am very proud to be working with her.  She is my inspiration.  She is my friend.  And very soon, she will be my wife.”  The room erupted in cheers and congratulations as John took Marlena in his arms.  The noise from the room drowned out the sound of the champagne glass slipping out of Kate’s hand and crashing to the floor.

 

All through dinner, John and Marlena were interrupted by well wishers congratulating

them on their engagement and on the Children’s Center.  They didn’t get any time to talk until John finally got Marlena alone on the dance floor.

 

“Happy Baby?” he asked her as he twirled her around in his arms.

 

“So happy,” she answered, “but John, I can’t believe what you did.”

 

“What?  Donated to a worthy cause?”

 

“Yes, but 10 million dollars?” Marlena had a hard time just saying it.

 

“Giving the money is the easy part.  What you’ll be doing is the hard part.  You’ll be in

charge of making sure this thing is done right.  Are you sure you’re up to it?”

 

Marlena smiled.  “Just watch me.”

 

“Oh Baby, I’m never gonna stop watching you.”  They held each other and twirled around the dance floor, smiling and laughing.  They were having the time of their lives.  Nothing and no one could spoil their night.

 

John and Marlena were having way too much fun to notice that Kate had been watching

them all evening.  She was sitting at the bar, drinking way too much and glaring at them.  She didn’t understand what John saw in Miss Goody Two Shoes.  And she still couldn’t get over the fact that he hadn’t been interested in her.  No man in Kate’s life had ever turned her down.  John Black had been the exception.

 

When Kate saw Marlena head to the ladies room, she followed her.  She couldn’t resist the chance to get under her skin.  When Marlena came out of her stall, Kate was standing at the mirror fixing her makeup.  There was no way that Marlena was going to let that woman get to her tonight, so she just ignored her as she washed her hands.

 

“Congratulations Marlena, that was some announcement tonight.”

 

“Yes, it was.  I can’t wait to get started on the Children’s Center” Marlena answered politely.

 

“Actually, that’s not what I meant.  I meant the fact that you and John are engaged.”

 

“Oh, well I knew about that one.”

 

“Funny, John never seemed like the marrying kind to me.”

 

“I guess he just never found the right woman before.” Marlena replied.  “I think you could use some more blush, Kate….you look a little pale.  Good night.”  Marlena breezed out of the ladies room with her head held high, proud of herself that she had remained calm and eager to return to John’s arms.

 

Unfortunately for Marlena, she didn’t get to be in John’s arms for very long, because every man in the place wanted a chance to dance with her.  She was the Belle of the Ball and she spent the entire evening twirling around on the dance floor.  By the time things started winding down and people began leaving, Marlena was exhausted.  She and John were finally sharing a slow dance and she was resting her head against his chest.

 

“Did you have fun tonight, Baby?” John asked her.

 

“Um-hmm,” Marlena murmured, her eyes closed.  “I felt like Cinderella at the ball.”

 

“Well, it’s after midnight, Cinderella.  Maybe I better get you home.”

 

“In just a minute, okay?”  She wrapped her arm around John’s neck and nuzzled her nose against him.  She took a deep breath and let out a very contented sigh.  John laughed and kissed her forehead.  They kept dancing while the guests continued to clear out.  They didn’t notice the last jealous glare they got from Kate as she stumbled out of the tent.

 

On the drive home, Marlena was very quiet.  John just assumed that she was exhausted, but when they walked into the penthouse, she looked very deep in thought.

 

“Are you okay, Baby?” he asked.

 

Marlena turned and looked at John.  “John, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.  When did you make that donation to the hospital?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Did you make it…..while we were apart?”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“John….I don’t know what to say.”  Marlena was overwhelmed.

 

“I can’t believe you did that.”

 

John took Marlena in his arms.  “I simply made a donation to a very worthy

cause.  I’ve always believed in the Children’s Center, Marlena and I’ve always believed in you.  That never changed.”

 

Marlena reached up and held John’s face in her hands, “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

 

John chuckled, “I’ve been thinking the exact same thing about you all evening.  I have never felt prouder than I did tonight just being by your side.  The only thing that will make me prouder is when you become my wife.” John kissed Marlena softly.

 

“I can’t wait to become your wife.” Marlena said as she kissed him back.

 

“Ok then, hang on,” John said with a flourish as he scooped Marlena up in his arms and started to carry her upstairs.  “We need to get to bed.”

 

Marlena wrapped her arms around John’s neck and held on tight,  “What’s your hurry?” she asked, giggling all the way up the stairs.

 

“Tomorrow, we have a wedding to plan.”

 

 

Chapter Twenty

 

John wasn’t kidding.  By the time Marlena woke up, John was already up and dressed and ready to go.  He had a list of places that he found on the Internet that he wanted to check out; restaurants, bakeries, florists, etc.  He was very excited about it.

 

“Honey,” Marlena began as she was laughing at him, “we don’t have to do all of this today.”

 

“The sooner, the better,” John explained as he took her in his arms.  “Come on, this will be fun.  I want to plan the most perfect, beautiful wedding Salem has ever seen.”

 

“But John, I don’t need a big wedding.  I just want to marry you in front of God and

a few close friends.  That’s all I need.”

 

“And all I need is you,” He kissed her softly, “But I want our wedding day to be the most beautiful, amazing day of your life.”

 

“It will be because I’m marrying the most beautiful, amazing man in the world.”  She kissed him intensely.

 

“Nope, uh-uh, no way, you’re not going to work your wiles on me…” John gently pushed her away. “…that will have to wait until later.  We have a busy day today.  Go get dressed.”  He turned her around and pushed her towards the bathroom.

 

All that weekend and over the next few weeks, John and Marlena spent all their free time planning their wedding.  Even though Marlena really didn’t want a big wedding (she had already had two), she couldn’t help but get caught up in John’s excitement.  She had never seen or even heard of a groom that was so interested in every little detail….they went to a florist and discussed all the different types of flowers and decorations, they went to bakeries and looked at photos and sampled cakes, they went to several restaurants & hotels to look at their banquet rooms….Marlena still thought that John was going completely overboard, but she was having a marvelous time.  She did convince him to cut back a bit on his extravagant ideas, but the one thing that they did agree on was where they wanted to get married.  As soon as they saw it, they both knew that this was the place.

 

It had been a lovely family mansion, up on a small hill overlooking the lake that was just outside of Salem.  The family had turned it into a hotel several years before and had kept it in marvelous shape.  The grounds were surrounded by trees and beautifully landscaped with little gravel paths and gardens.  And as John and Marlena walked along the paths, they found the little stone chapel on the back of the property.  It was something out of a fairy tale.  It looked like it was 100 years old and belonged in Old England.  They both immediately fell in love with it.

 

Marlena jumped into John’s arms.  “This is it!  I love it here!”

 

“It’s perfect,” John agreed as he swung Marlena around in a circle.

 

“It’s not very big, you’ll have to cut down your massive guest list,”  Marlena teased

John.

 

“Well, I guess you’ll get your small, intimate wedding after all.”

 

“You don’t mind, do you?….really?” Marlena asked as she placed kisses along John’s

jawline slowly getting closer to his mouth.

 

“No, I don’t mind…..,” he paused as an idea came into his head, “on one condition.”

 

“What?”

 

“You have to let me buy you something else.”

 

Marlena sighed, “John I don’t need you to buy me anything.”

 

“I know, but I want to…” he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned so

that they were both looking out over the lake.  “You really like it here don’t you?….the lake I mean.”

 

“Umm-hmm…it’s lovely here and it smells so good.”

 

“Then how about we go looking at houses?”

 

“Houses?”  Marlena turned and looked at John.  “In this neighborhood?  Are you crazy?”

 

John laughed.  “Marlena you keep forgetting that I’m loaded.”

 

Marlena felt herself blush as she looked at him through her lashes, “Yeah, well, you

won’t be for long at the rate you’re going.”

 

John kissed her, “Come on, there’s no harm in looking.  Let’s go book this place for our wedding and then drive around the lake a bit.”

 

“Okay, but I don’t want a mansion John…just something small and comfortable.”

 

“Yes, Dear.” he said, teasing her as they walked back to the front of the hotel.

 

The hotel chapel was usually booked six months to a year in advance, but it turned

out that there had been a cancellation for the Saturday that was just four weeks away….John and Marlena were offered the date if they wanted it.

 

Marlena looked at John, “Just four weeks, can we do this?”

 

“Yeah…” John smiled, “let’s do it.”

 

Marlena smiled back, staring into John’s eyes, “Let’s do it.”

 

John grabbed Marlena in a tight embrace.  He had never been so happy in his entire life.  “Just four weeks Baby,” he whispered into her ear. “In four weeks, you’ll be my wife, and we’ll be together forever.”

 

“Forever,” Marlena whispered back, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  “I love you so much.”

 

“I love you Baby.”  John took Marlena’s mouth in a deep, passionate kiss, oblivious of the Hotel Manager that was standing right next to them.

 

“Yes, well…..I’ll um…I’ll just get the paperwork while you….. uh….excuse me..,” the Manager quickly slipped out of the room.

 

Most of the houses that they saw while they were driving around the lake were much

too large for Marlena’s taste.  John kept trying to convince her that they could afford it, but she wasn’t interested.

 

“Seriously, John, how do you take care of a place that big?” she asked him, as they were driving home.

 

“You hire a maid and maybe even a cook.” John glanced sideways at Marlena.

 

Marlena hit him in the arm.  “I don’t want servants John.  That would be too strange.  I just want a comfortable place, just for the two of us.”

 

“What if there are more of us some day?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“What if we have children?”

 

Marlena froze for a moment.  “What?”

 

“I know we’ve never really talked about it before, but what if we decide to have

children?”

 

“I didn’t know you wanted children.  You’ve never mentioned it before.”

 

“Honestly, I’d never really thought about it until recently.  I’ve never been with anyone that made me think about it until I met you Marlena.  And now I can picture us in a beautiful house by the lake, with a large backyard full of trees and our kids playing in the treehouse I built them.  Can’t you just picture it?”

 

“Yeah, I can picture it.” Marlena replied rather softly.

 

“Hey,” John reached over and took her hand in his.  “It was just an idea.  We have

plenty of time to talk about it and decide what we both want, okay?”

 

Marlena smiled weakly and squeezed his hand.

 

“Honey, are you okay?” John asked, very concerned with the change in Marlena’s mood.

 

Marlena smiled bigger, “Um-hmm, I’m fine….just fine.  I’m just ready to get home now.

We’ve got a lot to do in the next four weeks.”

 

John knew that Marlena was changing the subject, but he decided to let it go for

now.  He just wanted to concentrate on their wedding day and making it the most memorable, wonderful day of Marlena’s life.

 

When they got home, Marlena went upstairs to change while John started on dinner.  As he was chopping up the fresh veggies and poaching the fish that they had picked up on the way home, he couldn’t stop thinking about all the wonderful things that he and Marlena had ahead of them.  He imagined what she would look like walking in the door of the chapel on their wedding day as he was standing there waiting for her, and he imagined placing the ring on her finger as he vowed to love her for the rest of his life.  He imagined carrying her over the threshold of their brand new house by the lake.  He even imagined growing old with her and watching their grandchildren play in the backyard.

 

John had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized how long Marlena

had been gone.  Dinner was almost ready and she still hadn’t come back downstairs.  He turned everything off and headed upstairs to find her.

 

“Marlena?” he called as he entered the bedroom.  She wasn’t there.  He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked softly.  “Marlena?”

 

He thought he heard a muffled sound, but she didn’t answer.

 

“Marlena are you okay?” he asked again.  When she didn’t answer, he opened the door a crack and peeked in.  He could see her reflection in the mirror, she was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, holding a towel against her face.

 

John rushed in, “Honey, what’s wrong?”  He moved the towel away from her face.  She

had obviously been crying and from the looks of her eyes and nose, for quite awhile.  John sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.  Marlena buried her face against John’s chest and continued to cry.  John could feel her whole body shaking as she held on to him tightly.  John tried to soothe her by talking softly and slowly rocking her back and forth.

 

When Marlena could finally get some words out, she just kept saying, “I love you so

much.” and “I’m sorry.”

 

John was getting scared.  He had no idea what had upset her so terribly or what she was talking about.

 

“Marlena, honey, please tell me what’s going on.  Why are you so upset?”

 

“Please don’t leave me.  I couldn’t bear it if you left me too.”

 

“Baby, what are you talking about?  You know I’ll never leave you.”  John held her

tighter and stroked the side of her face gently with his hand.

 

“They left…..they both did….maybe if I could have, they wouldn’t have gone.”  Marlena was still sobbing and John still didn’t know what she was talking about.

 

John lifted her face up and tried to get her to calm down.  He made her take some deep breaths and concentrate on his face.  He spoke very slowly and gently, “Marlena, I need you to calm down, okay?  I love you Sweetheart and there’s nothing that you can tell me that would ever change that.  Please try to tell me what’s going on.”

 

Marlena took a few long, shuddering breaths as she tried to calm herself down.  She looked down at her lap before she spoke.  “I can’t have your children, John.”  she admitted very softly.

 

“Oh, Baby…..is that what this is all about?….I told you, I was just talking.  If you don’t want children, that’s fine…..I just need you….”

 

“I do want children,” Marlena interrupted him,  “I want to have your children more than anything in this world, but I don’t think it’s possible.”  She looked absolutely desolate.

 

John was beginning to understand now and his heart began to ache, just seeing the

incredible sadness in her eyes.  “Do you mean that…. physically…it’s not possible?” he asked her very gently.

 

Marlena nodded and wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand.  She continued to look down at her lap while she explained, “I’ve always wanted children.   I tried with Don and then again with Roman and it just never happened.  My doctor finally told me that it would be……….. extremely difficult for me to conceive.”

 

John lifted her chin so he could look at her.  “But not impossible?” he asked her.

 

She shook her head, “It’s very unlikely, John.  After Roman left, I gave up any hope of ever having a child.  I figured it just wasn’t meant to be.”

 

“That might be true…..and it might not.”  John took Marlena’s face between both of his hands.  “But I can tell you what is meant to be….you and me.  We were meant to be

together, Marlena, no matter what happens in the future….whether we have children or not.  You’re what I want.  You’re what I need.  I can’t imagine ever being without you,

Sweetheart.”

 

John began to kiss the tears off of Marlena’s cheeks as he continued to hold her

face in his hands.  Marlena finally began to calm down as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against the side of his face.  “Promise that you’ll never leave me,” she whispered.

 

“I promise, Baby.  I could never leave you.”  They sat there for several minutes

just holding each other, finally John nudged her gently.  “Hey, did you know that there’s a lovely dinner waiting for you downstairs?”

 

Marlena slowly sat up and wiped her face.  “I’m sorry John.”

 

“For what?” John asked as he picked up the towel and dabbed at her cheeks.

 

“For ruining this beautiful day…..for being such a mess.”

 

“You’re a beautiful mess,” John said with a smile,  “…and you’re my beautiful mess….don’t you forget that.”

 

He took her hands and helped her to her feet.  “Now I want you to splash some cold water on your face and then come downstairs and eat.”

 

Marlena wrapped her arms around John and hugged him tight.  “Thank you…… for always knowing what to say….for always taking care of me.”

 

“I told you, Marlena.  I will always be here for you.  I will always take care of you.  You don’t have to go through anything alone anymore.  You just have to share things with me so that I can help….okay?”

 

Marlena finally smiled as she looked up into his face, “Okay.”

 

She placed her hands behind his head and pulled him towards her.  She began to kiss him softly, her lips just brushing against his.  As John’s mouth opened wider and he began to kiss her back, softly licking and sucking on her bottom lip, Marlena felt the familiar heat in her belly begin to spread throughout her body.  She grabbed him tighter and began to explore his mouth with her tongue.  John groaned as he pulled her body tightly against his.  Marlena could feel John against her thigh.  She rubbed herself against him and kissed him harder.  John kissed her back ravenously as he began to back her into the bedroom.  Dinner would have to wait.

 

 

Chapter Twenty One

 

The next four weeks were so hectic that John & Marlena never had time to sit down and discuss the subject of children.  John had every intention of bringing it up again, but not until after they were married and settled in their new home.

 

They spent every moment they had making final arrangements with the caterer, the

florist, the minister, the musicians, the jeweler.  They were having matching platinum rings made with their wedding date and initials engraved inside.  Marlena took care of her dress so that John wouldn’t see it and John took care of the honeymoon plans because he wanted to

surprise her.

 

Mrs.Bowman was a big help.   She helped with all the phone calls and appointments, filled out paperwork, addressed the invitations.  She was thrilled to be involved.  She had never seen two people more in love than John and Marlena and she felt like her own son was getting

married.

 

Eugene and Calliope were also helping out.  They were so happy for Marlena that they asked if they could host the rehearsal dinner party for John and Marlena.  They were so excited about it, that Marlena just couldn’t say no, but she did beg them to keep it small and not too outrageous.  John just laughed when Marlena told him about it and suggested that they

ask Eugene and Calliope to stand up with them.

 

Marlena threw her arms around John’s neck, “And that is why I love you so much Mr. Black.”

 

In addition to all the wedding preparations, Marlena was also very busy at work.  In between patients, Marlena had started work on the Children’s Center.  She was in the process of interviewing counselors and assistants and sending letters out to hospitals and doctors all over the country with invitations to visit and hopefully volunteer their time once the Center

opened.  She was also trying to get caught up on all her paperwork, so that she wouldn’t have a total disaster on her hands when they returned from their honeymoon.

 

John had also been busy at work.  He was making sure that everything was running smoothly and that any and all problems were taken care of.  He didn’t want any phone calls during his two week honeymoon and he made sure that everyone knew that.  He was also working on a side project of his own that very few people knew about.

 

Ever since the problems at his office in Dubai, John had a feeling that there was a lot more going on with Victor Kiriakis than just business rivalry.  At first, John was just keeping an eye on the competition, but the more he discovered about Victor Kiriakis, the more he was

convinced that Victor was involved in illegal activities.  John had some spies on the inside and was hoping to get some definite proof so that he could put him away.  John did not like men like Victor.  They gave big business a bad name.  So far, John didn’t have anything concrete

that he could take to the police, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

 

Just a few nights before the wedding, Marlena was cleaning up the living room.  She smiled as she gathered up all the papers and files that were spread all over the desk, happy that all the wedding planning was finally over.  As she tried to carry them all, she ended up dropping a file.  As she bent down to pick it up, she noticed the name Kiriakis written on the file.  She wondered what John was doing with this and hoped that he wasn’t doing business with that man.

“John?” she called out towards the kitchen.

 

“Just a second…” he called back.  A moment later, John appeared from the kitchen carrying two mugs of hot cocoa, covered with whipped cream.  “Care to join me?”

 

He noticed Marlena holding up a file.  “What’s that?”

 

“That’s what I want to know.  John, are you doing business with Victor Kiriakis?”

 

John set the cocoa down on the coffee table and took the file from Marlena.  “No, I am not doing business with Kiriakis.  I would never do business with him.  I am simply keeping an eye on him.”

 

“Be careful of him John.  I don’t trust him.  He makes me think of a mobster.”

 

John laughed.  “He’s not a mobster.  He’s just a rather shady businessman who is

trying to get hold of some of my companies, but who never will.  Don’t worry, there’s nothing sinister going on.”

 

John felt a little guilty lying to Marlena about Victor, but he didn’t want her worrying about him, not now.  She had too many other things to think about right now.

 

He took Marlena’s hand and led her over to the couch.  “Now, we have much more important things to discuss….like this whipped cream that is melting as we speak.”

 

Marlena couldn’t help but smile.  John always knew what she was in the mood for.  She

settled herself on the couch as John handed her the hot cocoa.  John sat on the couch and pulled Marlena’s feet up onto his lap.  He began to rub her feet and calves as she sipped her drink.  Marlena let out a very contented sigh.

 

“So, I was wondering,” began John.  “We have the wedding rehearsal tomorrow, right?”

 

“Umm-hmm,” Marlena nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

 

“So, when is the honeymoon rehearsal?”  He glanced at Marlena sideways as he raised that now very familiar eyebrow.

 

“You really think we need a rehearsal for that?” she chuckled.

 

“Well, practice makes perfect,” John answered as his hands moved a little higher on

her leg.

 

“Actually,” Marlena began as she pulled her legs away from him, “I was thinking that maybe

we should….abstain….until the wedding night.”

 

“Oh, you were, were you?” John set down his cocoa and moved closer to Marlena.

 

“Don’t you think that will make it even more exciting?”

 

“It might just kill me if it gets any more exciting, Marlena.”  John took Marlena’s cocoa and set it down on the table.  Then he stretched her legs back out and lay down next to her.

 

“What are you doing John?” Marlena asked, trying not to giggle.

 

“Nothing,” he replied innocently.  “It’s okay if I just cuddle up next to you, right?  Is

that allowed?”

 

“I suppose there’s no harm in that.”

 

“Oh, but you do have a little whipped cream on your lip.  Let me get that for you.”  He softly licked the cream off of her lip.

 

“It looks like you got some on your neck too.  How did you do that?”  He proceeded to lick and nuzzle her neck, working his way up to her ear.

 

Marlena closed her eyes and began to breathe deeper.  She couldn’t even pretend to resist John.

 

“So you think we should wait until our wedding night, huh?” he asked her as he

continued to nibble on her ear.

 

“Umm-hmm…” Marlena answered absently.

 

“So, I suppose that I should stop doing this?”

 

“Yea, I suppose….”

 

“And I definitely shouldn’t be doing this,” John stated as his hand found its way

underneath her sweatshirt.

 

“No, you shouldn’t do that,” Marlena answered as her arm went around his neck and

she held him tighter.

 

“And this would definitely be out of the question.” John added as he rolled over on

top of her and spread her legs open with his knee.

 

“Out of the question,” Marlena mumbled as she pulled John’s mouth down to hers.

 

Just as she began to kiss him, John pulled away.  “Hey, what are you trying to do?

I thought we weren’t allowed to do this.”

 

“Oh, shut up and kiss me,” demanded Marlena.

 

“Is that an order?” John asked with a definite gleam in his eye.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I honor and obey…” John took possession of her mouth hungrily as Marlena’s hands

went under his sweatshirt and began pulling it up.  John ripped his sweatshirt off over his head and began attacking Marlena’s neck.  Marlena wrapped her legs tightly around John’s hips as her nails began scratching his back.  They managed to undress each other completely without ever losing contact.  It was like they were one mind, one heart, one body.   They moved in perfect unison as they satisfied each other, both knowing exactly what the other wanted and needed.

 

As they laid in each other’s arms, cuddled under a blanket, Marlena softly rubbed

her cheek against John’s chest.  She had never in her life imagined such happiness as she was feeling right now.  She sighed contentedly as she hugged John tightly.

 

John smiled and kissed the top of her head.  “What are you thinking?”

 

“I was thinking that every time we make love, I think it can’t possibly get any

better…..and then it does.”  She lifted her head and looked into John’s face.

“How is that possible?”

 

“Hmm?….I’m not sure….maybe we should do some more research on the subject to investigate this further.”  John rolled Marlena over onto her back and began kissing her softly as his hands began to roam under the blanket.  Marlena moaned as she opened

her mouth to meet John’s tongue.

 

Suddenly, John lifted his head,  “Wait a minute, what about the abstaining thing you wanted to do?”

 

“We can always start that tomorrow,” Marlena said as she pulled his mouth back down

to hers.

 

“Yea, sure we can.” John smiled as he took possession of her mouth ……..again.

 

Chapter Twenty Two

 

The morning of the wedding rehearsal did not start well.  John came upstairs to find Marlena

sitting up in bed crying softly…..not what he expected to see the day before their wedding.  He immediately sat down next to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks.  He discovered that her mother had just called to tell her that her father had an accident.  He was going to be okay, but he broke his hip falling off a ladder and wouldn’t be able to travel, so they weren’t going to make it to the wedding.

 

“I’m sorry I’m crying John,” Marlena began.  “I know it’s silly, at my age, to be so upset

by this….”

 

“Shhhh…it’s not silly at all.” John pulled her into his arms and held her tight.  “Of course, you wanted your parents here.  I know how much you love them.  I have an idea.  How about we stop in Colorado on our way back from our Honeymoon for a few days?”

 

“Oh John, could we?  That would be wonderful.  I really want them to get to know you.”

 

“And I want to know them….and I would love to see where you grew up.  But now, I want you to cheer up.  We have a wonderful day ahead of us and I’m making it my mission to see that you have the time of your life.”  He kissed her softly before he got her out of

bed and sent her off to the bathroom to get ready for their day.

 

While Marlena was getting dressed, John called Eugene on the phone and explained about Marlena’s parents.  He asked Gene to help make this day fun for Marlena and keep her spirits up, which was something Eugene was very good at.  Eugene told John not to worry, he

would take care of everything.

 

John and Marlena spent the morning running some last minute errands and then John dropped Marlena off to get her nails done while he went to pick up the wedding rings and her wedding present….a necklace of perfectly matched pearls.  He planned on giving them to her later tonight after the rehearsal dinner.  He thought the necklace would go well with their “Somewhere in Time” theme and hoped it would match her wedding dress.

 

By the time, John and Marlena arrived at the hotel for the rehearsal, Eugene & Calliope were already there.  They greeted Marlena with hugs and kisses and even a small bouquet of flowers.  Eugene grabbed Marlena’s hand and pulled her towards the reception room.

 

“Come on,” he said excitedly, “You’ve got to see this.”

 

Marlena was thrilled when she entered the small banquet room.  It was decorated in soft pinks and greens and there were small round tables in a semi circle around a dance

floor.  One whole wall was nothing but windows looking out at the lake and there were small white lights draping the other walls and ceiling.

 

“It’s absolutely beautiful.” Marlena gushed.

 

“And the flowers aren’t even here yet.  They’ll be delivered first thing in the

morning.” explained Calliope.  “Then it will be spectacular.”

 

“I love it.” Marlena hugged Calliope.

 

“Shall we try it out?” John asked Marlena as he grabbed her hand.

 

“Huh?”

 

John pulled Marlena out onto the dance floor and began gracefully twirling her around.

 

“What do you think Gene?”

 

Eugene grabbed Calliope and joined them on the dance floor.  The four of them laughed and twirled around the floor and then switched partners.  Eugene spun Marlena in and out until she was laughing so hard she couldn’t dance anymore.

 

“Ok, you clowns,” she finally got out.  “We need to get over to the chapel for the

rehearsal.”

 

“You go ahead….we’ll be right there.” said Eugene as he and Calliope ran off.

 

“Now what are they up to?” asked Marlena.

 

John just shrugged.  “You never know with those two.”

 

He took Marlena’s arm in his and they walked outside, and along the gravel path to the chapel.  Marlena could hear music coming from the chapel as they approached.

 

“There isn’t a wedding going on now, is there?” asked Marlena.  “I know this is when we were supposed to meet the minister.”

 

“No I’m sure there isn’t.  Maybe the organist is just rehearsing too.”

 

When they walked inside, Marlena was surprised to see several people she knew sitting in the church.  They got up and greeted her…. Maggie and her husband Mickey, Julie and

her husband Doug and Mrs. Bowman were all there.

 

“What’s going on?” asked Marlena.

 

“Eugene called us,” explained Maggie. “He said that the rehearsal dinner party was starting here.”

 

Marlena looked at John.  “Do you know anything about this?”

 

Before John could answer, Eugene and Calliope came bursting through the door in full wedding costume…..Calliope in a tux and top hat and Eugene in a floor length gown.  Everyone just stared at them for a moment before bursting into hysterics.  Much hilarity ensued as Eugene explained that since Marlena had been his Best Man, he naturally assumed that he was her Matron of Honor.  He and Calliope ran around the church, instructing the guests on what they were supposed to do….stand up, sit down, oooh and ahhh,  maybe even cry….which Marlena was already doing, she was laughing so hard.

 

As things began to calm down and she wiped the tears from her eyes, she said, “Thank God you’re not doing this tomorrow.”  She looked at Eugene.  “You’re not, are you?”

 

Gene shrugged, “It’s your wedding….if you want to go traditional…”

 

When the minister arrived, they started the rehearsal for real.  The organist played the theme from Somewhere in Time as Calliope and then Marlena walked slowly down the

aisle.  As John watched Marlena walking towards him, he became overwhelmed with emotion and felt a lump forming in his throat.  When Marlena reached him, he took her hand and kissed it.  The minister then began to explain the service….we’ll start with a prayer, then I’ll ask you if you have something to say to each other, then I’ll ask you to

join hands and repeat the wedding vows after me…we don’t have to do that now…”

 

“Yes, we do.” John interrupted.  “I mean, I’d like to say them now, if you don’t mind….Marlena?”

 

Marlena smiled as she noticed the tears in the corners of John’s eyes. “No, I don’t mind.  I think that’s a lovely idea.”

 

They faced each other as John took Marlena’s hands in his.  He repeated the words after the minister.

 

“I, John, take you, Marlena, to have and to hold from this day forward.  I promise to love you, honor you, comfort and keep you, in sickness and in health, for richer or

poorer, in good times or in bad, to love and to cherish, ‘til death do us part.”

 

Marlena reached up and wiped a tear off of John’s cheek as he finished.  Her eyes never left John’s as she repeated the vows to him.

 

They stayed that way, as the minister explained the rest of the ceremony.  They didn’t even hear him.  No one else in the world existed at that moment.

 

Finally, the minister cleared his throat and said, “Well, that’s it.  Now I just say, I now

pronounce you Husband and Wife.  You may now kiss the bride.”

 

John heard that line and was more than happy to oblige.  He wrapped his arms around

Marlena and placed a soft, warm kiss on her mouth.  Marlena placed her hand on the back of John’s head as the kiss became more passionate.

 

The minister cleared his throat again as he announced, “Um….yes,

well….ladies and gentleman, may I now introduce Mr. & Mrs. John Black.”

 

Eugene and Calliope began to hoot and holler as John and Marlena finally remembered that there were other people there.  Marlena blushed as she and John walked back

down the aisle while their closest friends cheered and applauded.  As they walked out of the chapel they were doused with bird seed and confetti and then Eugene grabbed Marlena and dipped her while planting a rather large, noisy kiss.  While Marlena was still laughing, Mickey & Doug joined in and gave her kisses too, until John broke it up.

 

“All right, all right…..that’s enough.  Get your hands off my woman….that’s my

job.”  John swept Marlena into his arms and stopped her laughing by planting an earth shattering kiss on her mouth.  As their kiss continued, their friends began whistling and pretending to look the other way.

 

“All righty then,” began Eugene as he clapped his hands together.  “Everyone to the cars!  Back to Blondie’s!  We have some partying to do!”

 

Everyone followed Eugene & Calliope back to Blondie’s, including John & Marlena in their car which had “Almost Married” written on the back window compliments of Eugene.  Everyone had a wonderful time.  They ate a delicious meal, drank champagne and even did some dancing.  After dinner, Calliope brought out a little miniature wedding cake, so they could practice “the cutting of the cake” too.  Marlena tried to not get too carried away as she fed a piece of cake to John.  To no one’s surprise, John was worse.  He spread the frosting all over Marlena’s lips before proceeding to lick it off.  As he was finishing up his snack, Marlena’s hand found the cake, she scraped up some frosting and spread it on the side of John’s face.  As John pretended to be mad and Marlena laughed hysterically, Julie broke it up before a full on food fight ensued.

 

John and Marlena were the first to leave the party.  John could tell that Marlena was getting tired and she had a very big day tomorrow.  He was going to take her home and then spend the night at the Salem Inn.  They hugged everyone and headed out the back door towards the parking lot.  As they stepped outside, John took a moment to just stand with his arms around Marlena.  He gave her a soft, warm kiss.

 

“I’m not going to get any sleep tonight, you know,” he whispered into her hair as he held her tight.

 

“I know, me neither.  But after tonight, we’ll never be apart.”

 

“Never,” John agreed. “I have something for you.”

 

“You do?” Marlena looked up and smiled as John pulled a small jewelry box out of his coat pocket.

 

“I want you to have this for tomorrow.”  John opened the box to reveal an exquisite

strand of pearls.

 

Marlena sucked in her breath.  “Oh John, they’re beautiful.”

 

“Will they go with your dress tomorrow?” John asked hopefully.

 

Marlena kissed him, “Yes, they will be absolutely perfect.  I love you John Black.”

 

“And I love you Dr. Evans.” John placed his hand on the side of her face as he brought his mouth to hers.  He kissed her thoroughly and deeply, holding her as tightly as possible.  As they finally pulled apart, resting their foreheads together, John whispered, “I think I better get you home.”

 

“Yes, I think you better.” Marlena answered breathlessly.

 

John wrapped his arm around Marlena as he began to lead her across the alley to the parking lot.  Neither one of them noticed the dark car with the tinted windows that

had been sitting at the end of the alley watching them.  Within an instant, the car revved its engine and headed straight for them at full speed.  John had only a split second to react.  He shoved Marlena off to the side just before the car hit him.  John rolled on to the hood and then fell off the side as the car sped away.

 

Marlena was dazed.  She had no idea what had just happened.  She was lying in a pile of cardboard boxes.  They had cushioned her fall, but she felt something warm on her forehead.  When she touched her forehead, she got blood on her hand.  One of the boxes must have scratched her she thought.  She slowly climbed out of the pile and tried to get her bearings.

 

“John?” she called out as she began to look around.  “John?” she called out again, a little more desperately.

 

As she turned towards the parking lot, she froze as she focused on the lifeless form lying in the street.  “Oh my God…John!” she screamed as she ran over and collapsed on the street next to him.

 

 

Chapter Twenty Three

 

It was no more than a few minutes before the paramedics arrived, but to Marlena it seemed like an eternity.  She sat on the wet ground next to John, petting his head and whispering into his ear.

 

“It’s going to be okay, John.  Everything’s fine.  I’m here honey.  Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.  Everything’s okay.”  She just kept repeating the words over and over again.  Willing them to be true.

 

When the paramedics took over, Eugene pulled Marlena away and held her close.  She still kept talking to John, never taking her eyes off of him, oblivious of anyone else

around her.  Eugene was worried.  She was obviously in shock and her whole body

was shaking uncontrollably.  Eugene tried to keep her warm by wrapping his jacket around her shoulders.

 

When they put John into the ambulance, Marlena tried to climb in after him, but there wasn’t enough room.  Eugene had to use all his strength to hold her back and guide her over to his car so they could follow John to the hospital.  Eugene sped along right behind the ambulance, just daring a policeman to try and stop him tonight.

 

As they wheeled John into the hospital and then right into surgery, Marlena tried

to follow him again.  Dr. Horton stopped her this time.  He tried to speak to her, to explain that she’d just be in the way and to make sure she was okay, but she didn’t hear a word.   She wasn’t there…she wasn’t in her body…..she was in the operating room with John.

 

Eugene & Calliope stayed with her.  They got her to sit down in the waiting room

and kept her warm.  A nurse cleaned and bandaged the cut on her forehead, it wasn’t serious.  Marlena didn’t even notice.  She kept mumbling to herself and just stared

straight ahead.  Eugene had never seen Marlena like this before.  He’d never seen anyone like this before.  It really scared him.  He prayed to God that John would survive, because if he didn’t, Eugene doubted that Marlena would ever recover.

 

When John’s surgeon finally came out to report on John, Eugene stood to talk to him.  As he began to explain John’s condition, Marlena finally came out of her stupor when she heard John’s name.

 

“Is he alive?” she asked quietly as she stared at the surgeon. “Is John alive?”

 

“Yes, Dr. Evans.” the surgeon told her as he came over next to her.  “Yes, he’s alive.  There was some internal bleeding which we are repairing right now and he did suffer a minor concussion, but there doesn’t seem to be any swelling in his brain.”

 

“He’s alive.” Marlena repeated to no one in particular.  She closed her eyes and let

out a deep breath.  “He’s alive.”

 

“Unfortunately, there is another problem,” the surgeon continued.

 

It took a few seconds for Marlena to focus, but then she pulled herself together and was able to concentrate on what the surgeon was telling her.

 

“There was significant damage to John’s lower back.  We won’t be able to tell the extent of the damage until after the surgery and after the swelling goes down.  I have to tell you, that there is a chance of paralysis.”

 

Marlena was quiet for a moment before she asked, “When will we know for sure?”

 

“In the next few days, we’ll keep a close eye on him and we’ll do whatever we can to help him recover.”

 

“I know you will…..thank you……when can I see him?”

 

“He should be out of surgery soon and then in recovery.  I’ll let you know as soon as

you can go in.”

 

“Thank you Doctor.”

 

Eugene returned to Marlena’s side as soon as the doctor left.  He was relieved to see her actually talking again.  He offered to get her a coffee or something to eat, but she didn’t want anything.  She wasn’t going to budge until she was able to see John’s face again.

 

When they finally let her into recovery, John was still under anesthesia.  He was all hooked up to the various monitors that Marlena was used to seeing with other patients,

but it seemed very strange to see John this way.  One side of his face was badly bruised and he looked very pale, but Marlena was just so grateful that he was still alive, she didn’t care about anything else.  She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed, gently taking his hand in hers.

 

“You scared me John,” she began softly as she kissed the back of his hand.  “I was terrified that you were going to leave me, but you promised me that you never would, didn’t you?  I should have known that you would keep your word.  I love you John.  I’m right here.  I’ll be right here when you wake up.”  She rested her head on the edge of his bed, never letting go of his hand as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

 

It was several hours before John was fully awake.  He tried to open his eyes but his head was pounding.  The side of his face felt sore and swollen and it hurt to move in any direction.  As he moved his hand, he felt Marlena’s in his.  He opened his eyes enough to see her head lying on the bed next to his hand.  He squeezed her hand as he called her name, “Marlena?”

 

Marlena’s head jerked up when she heard John. “John?”  She smiled with her eyes full of tears when she saw him looking at her.  “You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

 

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus.”

 

“Yeah, well, you sort of were…..” Marlena leaned over and kissed him very gently.

 

“What happened?  I’m a little foggy on the details?”

 

“You were hit by a car when we were leaving Blondie’s.  We were walking across the alley, heading to the car, when I heard a loud car engine and then you pushed me into a pile of boxes.  By the time I managed to get up, the car was gone and you were lying in the middle of the street.”  Marlena’s voice began to crack. “It was the scariest moment of my life.”

 

John reached over and touched the side of her face.  He noticed the bandage on her forehead and touched it softly.  “Are you okay?  Did you get hurt?”

 

“I’m just fine….now that you’re awake.”

 

“Thank God, you’re all right.  Come here.”  John tried to sit up, to take Marlena in his arms, but his body wasn’t cooperating.

 

“John, don’t try to get up. You just got out of surgery.  You’re going to have to rest for awhile and let me take care of you.”  Marlena climbed up on the side of the bed next to John, carefully avoiding all the cords and monitors.  She settled herself gently against his chest so he could put his arm around her.

 

“Okay, Dr. Evans….so tell me, how long will I be here, letting you take care of me?”

 

“I’m not sure yet.” Marlena began as she looked up into John’s face.  “You were very seriously hurt, John.  I really thought I was going to lose you.”  Tears began to roll down

her cheeks.

 

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, lady.  You still have to marry me,” John told her as he wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumb.

 

“Yes, I do.” Marlena leaned up and kissed him softly and slowly, but thoroughly and completely.

 

“Hey, that’s not fair,” John complained as she finally broke the kiss.  “You can’t do that to me when I’m stuck lying here.”

 

Marlena smiled, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”  She placed her hand on his face, softly

touching the bruised side as if her touch could heal him.

 

John placed his hand on hers as they stared into each other’s eyes, both so grateful that the other one was still here.

 

“Now tell me, seriously, when can I get out of here?” John asked.

 

Marlena didn’t want to tell John everything that his doctor had told her, not until they knew something for sure, so she only explained what they did know.  “You had some

internal bleeding which they were able to repair in surgery and you have a mild

concussion, but there doesn’t appear to be any swelling on your brain.  There is some swelling in your lower back so you’ll have to take it easy for awhile until that goes down.  Your doctor wants you to be very still for several days to allow everything to heal, so I want you to be good and listen to orders, you got that?”

 

“Yeah, I got that.” John pulled Marlena back down against his chest and held her tightly.  “I love you Marlena.”

 

Marlena fought desperately to keep herself from breaking down into tears.  “I love you too, John.”

 

Later that day, after John had finally convinced Marlena to go home to shower and change, he picked up the phone and called his friend, Commander Abe Carver of the Salem Police Dept.  He asked if there were any leads on the hit and run driver and proceeded

to fill him in on everything he knew about Victor Kiriakis.

 

 

Chapter Twenty Four

 

It had been several days since the accident and John’s condition was not  improving.  He still had no feeling in his legs and couldn’t move them on his own.  He was getting extremely restless and anxious and frustrated that he couldn’t get any definite answers from anyone.  His doctors told him that they still didn’t know the full extent of his injury or when he would recover.  They were still doing scans and tests and examining the results.

 

Marlena was doing her best to remain upbeat like everything was going to be just fine, but she could see John’s mood changing as he became more and more frustrated.  She urged him to be patient….that once he was strong enough, they would begin intense

physical therapy and she’d have him back on his feet in no time.  John didn’t really believe her, but he tried to play along.  He hated what this was doing to her and he felt incredibly guilty.  He was convinced that it was because of his own actions against Kiriakis that had caused all this and the thought that she could have been killed was eating him up inside.

 

Marlena spent every waking moment scanning the Internet and pouring through medical

journals, just hoping to find that miracle cure and when it was determined that John was healed enough to start moving around, he began every kind of therapy and exercise that Marlena could find.  Sometimes she helped him and sometimes he had a physical therapist.  She worked tirelessly and refused to give up hope, even when John became angry and upset.

 

Marlena knew what this was doing to John.  He had always been the strong one, the man in charge who took care of everyone else.  He couldn’t stand being helpless and dependent on others.  Marlena was determined to be the strong one now.  She was tough on John when she needed to be and refused to break down in front of him, no matter how difficult it was to watch him struggle.

 

After several weeks of physical therapy and very little improvement, John was

becoming extremely depressed.  He had regained some feeling in his legs, but he still couldn’t move them on his own.  Marlena was finding it very difficult to remain strong and optimistic.  She knew that John’s depression was natural and she was trained to deal with it, but it took everything she had to remain objective with John and it was killing her to see him like this.  Even showing him the newspapers about the collapse of Kiriakis Enterprises didn’t cheer him up.  (Victor had fled the country before he could be arrested.)

 

John was becoming more and more distant and kept trying to push Marlena away.  He had already asked her to stop sleeping in his room at night because she was always fussing over him and he couldn’t stand her seeing how helpless he was.  But she was there every morning and every evening and several times during the day.  And in fact, she was usually sleeping in her office just one floor below him.

 

One afternoon, when Marlena walked into John’s room, he was especially quiet.  He was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out the window.  As Marlena fussed about the room, picking things up, moving things around and chatting to John, he didn’t say a thing.  Finally when she asked if he would like a bath today, he snapped.

 

“No, I do not want you to bathe me, Marlena.”

 

Marlena knew he was not in a good mood, but she tried to keep the conversation light

anyway.  “Okay, we can do it later.  Or were you hoping for that cute little red headed nurse….”

 

“Would you stop?” John interrupted her.  “And stop fussing around the room, like you’re cleaning house.”

 

Marlena took a deep breath to try and remain calm and set down the things she was

holding.  She walked over and sat across from John.  “Okay, what do you want me to

do?”

 

“Why don’t you go out and do something fun?  Go out with a girlfriend…or Eugene & Calliope.  You need to get away from this hospital.”

 

“I need to be where you are and right now this is it.”

 

“You can’t spend every day taking care of me.”

 

“I hope we’ll spend the rest of our lives taking care of each other.”

 

“I can’t take care of anyone….not even myself.”

 

Marlena placed her hand on John’s leg.  “Maybe not yet, but you will.  It’s just going

to take some time.”

 

“Stop it Marlena.  Stop lying to me.”

 

Marlena sat up straight.   “What do you mean?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about the surgery?” John asked her.

 

“What surgery?”

 

“The surgery that has been performed several times to repair nerve damage like

mine.”

 

“You don’t mean the one that has only been done a handful of times, with limited

success?”

 

“Yes, I do………my doctors agree that I would be an excellent candidate for it.  Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

 

Marlena did not like John’s accusatory tone and she was getting angry, “Maybe because it’s still experimental and incredibly risky!?”

 

“But it’s a chance Marlena, a chance for me to get out of this chair.  What other options do I have?”

 

“We can continue with your physical therapy.  I’ll help you.  We’ll work harder.  You don’t have to risk your life.”  Marlena was losing control now as her eyes began to fill with tears.

 

“You and I both know, that physical therapy alone is not going to fix my back.  It’s been five weeks now and there has been no improvement.  I can’t live like this Marlena.  I can’t let you spend the rest of your life taking care of me.”

 

“This is where I want to be….”

 

“Marlena….” John closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

 

Marlena got down on her knees next to John’s wheel chair and grabbed his chin with her

hand.  “Look at me, John.”

 

John opened his eyes and looked into her tear-stained face.

 

“We may not be legally married, but in my heart, you are my husband.  We made vows to each other, in church, and I meant every word…for better or worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish…..for all the days of our lives.  I’m not going anywhere and I expect the same from you.”

 

“Marlena, don’t you see…..I can’t be a husband to you….not like this.  I can’t protect you.  I can’t take care of you.  I can’t dance with you.  I can’t make love……..”

 

Marlena placed her fingers over his mouth to stop him.  “Shhh…stop it right there.  I

love you with all my heart….YOU…” She moved her hand to his chest and placed it over his heart.  “…what’s inside here.  We will handle whatever we have to, together.  You can’t scare me away.  I need you too much John Black and I’ll take you any way that I can get you.”  She climbed up and gently sat in his lap.  She grabbed his face between her hands as she kissed him softly.  “I love you.”

 

“I love you too Baby….so much.”  John wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.  He loved her more than anything in this world and he would do anything for her, but he knew he could never spend the rest of his life like this……weak, useless and a burden to the woman he loved more than life itself.  They sat there, just holding each other for quite some time.  Each of them overwhelmed by their emotions and not knowing what else to say.

 

Finally John lifted her head off his shoulder.  “Don’t you need to get to work?  I’m sure there are lots of other patients in need of your services Dr. Evans.”

 

“Yes, I probably should.”  Marlena answered reluctantly.  “Are you okay?  Do you need anything?”

 

“I’m fine.” John smiled weakly.  “…just a little tired.  I didn’t sleep well last night.  I think I’ll try to get some sleep.”

 

“That’s a good idea.  I’ll let your nurse know not to bother you for awhile.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

After a rather awkward goodbye, Marlena gave John a quick kiss and promised to be

back in a few hours.  She left his room and headed for her office.  She made it all the way there and managed to shut the door behind her before she slowly sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Chapter Twenty Five

 

By the time Marlena had finally calmed down and cleaned up her face, she had come up with a plan.  She had to prove to John that she still needed him and wanted him as much as ever; that his physical condition made no difference to her.  She loved him just the same.  She decided to plan a nice romantic dinner for the two of them, complete with champagne, candlelight, soft music and, of course, strawberries.

 

When she came into his room an hour later, John was sitting up at the table doing some paperwork.

 

“Work time is over,” she announced as she came up beside him and kissed him on the cheek.  “It’s time to relax and have some dinner.”

 

“I’m not really hungry tonight,” John answered, still in his somber mood.

 

“You will be when you see what I brought you.” Marlena held the door open as she pulled in a large cart, loaded with goodies.  She proceeded to pick up all of John’s papers and move them aside.  Then she covered the table with a cloth, and set it with candles, silverware and covered platters.  She handed John the champagne and asked him to open it while she set up a CD player to play romantic dinner music.

 

“What’s the occasion?”  He asked.

 

“I’m madly in love with my husband to be.”  She leaned down and kissed him softly.  “Is that okay with you?”

 

“Yah, that’s okay with me,” he grabbed her hand.  “Marlena, I’m sorry about earlier today…”

 

“Shhh…we’re not going to talk about that right now.  We’re just going to enjoy a lovely romantic dinner.  Look, I got your favorite.”  She lifted the lid off of his plate to reveal his favorite dinner from Blondie’s; poached salmon, red potatoes and sautéed zucchini.

 

John smiled, “It looks delicious.  Thank you.”

 

Marlena just smiled as she sat down across from him.  They enjoyed a lovely dinner and chatted about everything; the Children’s Center, Basic Black, Eugene’s current inventions, hospital gossip, everything except John’s condition.  When they were done eating, Marlena cleared their plates away and brought out another covered dish.

 

“Are you ready for some dessert?” She asked with a twinkle in her eye.  She lifted the lid to reveal the strawberries and whipped cream.

 

John just stared at the berries and then at Marlena as she was moving her chair closer to him. “Marlena….what are you doing?”

 

“What does it look like I’m doing?  I’m feeding you your favorite dessert.”  Marlena picked up a berry and dipped it into the whipped cream.

 

“Marlena, you know this can’t go anywh…..”

 

“Shhh…” Marlena interrupted him.  “Trust me.”

 

She held the berry near John’s mouth so he could lick off the whipped cream.  Then she dipped it again and placed it halfway in her mouth.  She held it between her lips as she climbed onto John’s lap.  She brought her mouth to his until he finally took the bait and bit the strawberry in half.  She held on to the back of his head tightly so he couldn’t move away and began to kiss him passionately.  John couldn’t resist her.  He loved her mouth so much. He kissed her back hungrily, devouring her mouth and holding her head tightly.  Then just as quickly, he pushed her away.

 

“I think it’s time for you to go now Marlena,” he told her with absolute anguish in his voice.

 

“I’m not going anywhere tonight.” Marlena stated firmly.  She stared into John’s eyes and

he knew that there was no point in arguing.

 

“Can I help you get into bed?” she asked calmly as she climbed off of his lap.

 

“No, I can manage,” John answered, wondering how he was going to get through a whole night with her lying next to him.

 

“Okay then….I’ll be just a minute,” she picked up a small overnight bag and disappeared into the restroom.

 

When she reappeared a few minutes later, John had already managed to pull himself up into bed and get himself settled.  Marlena turned down the lights and climbed up on the bed next to him.  She was wearing a short, blue silk robe that tied around the waist.  “Are you comfortable?” she asked as she began to unbutton his pajama top.

 

John grabbed her hand to stop her.  “Marlena….I can’t…”

 

“Yes, you can….” she interrupted him again.  “Do you remember the very first time you made love to me?  Do you remember what you did to me?  You drove me crazy…..with your mouth,” she reached up and softly touched his lips. “..and your tongue,” she leaned over and licked his bottom lip. “….And your hands,” she grabbed his hands and placed them on her thighs as she swung her leg over and straddled him.  “Do you remember?”

 

His eyes locked with hers. “Yes, Marlena, I remember.”

 

“I need you, John.  I need you to touch me.  I need you to love me.”  She opened her robe to reveal that she had nothing on underneath.  She slid his hand from her thigh, up her torso and placed it on her breast.  She leaned down close to his mouth and whispered against his lips, “Love me, John.”

 

He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her roughly, devouring her lips and invading her mouth with his tongue.  His head and his heart wanted her so badly and he was furious that his body couldn’t follow.  He made love to her mouth and her neck like a man possessed.  He was angry with himself and angry with the world for doing this to him.  He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back so he could attack her breasts.  His other hand dug into her thigh and worked its way towards her center.

 

Marlena bit her lip to keep from crying out.  She knew she would have marks on her body from his rough hands and his hungry mouth, but she didn’t care.  It felt so good to have him touch her again.  It wasn’t long before her body began tensing and shaking against his touch.  She held his head tightly against her chest as her whole body shuddered violently against him.  She finally collapsed onto his chest, breathing heavily.

 

They stayed that way, wrapped in each other’s arms, for quite some time, neither one saying a word.  Marlena was the first to speak.

 

“What are you thinking?” She asked John, her head still resting on his chest.

 

She felt John take a deep breath before he began.  “I love you Marlena.  I love you so much and I love touching you….”

 

Marlena’s heart began to beat faster as she waited for him to continue.  “But?” she asked.

 

“But….it isn’t enough….not for either of us.”

 

Marlena felt herself begin to panic.  She pushed herself up so she could look at John.  “I can’t lose you John.  I don’t want you to risk your life on something that might not even work.”

 

“But if there’s the slightest chance that they can repair the damage to my back and make me whole again, don’t you think I have to take it?”

 

“No!  Not if it means you could lose your life.”

 

“That’s not going to happen.  I’ll have the very best surgeons.  They know what they’re doing.”

 

“You don’t know that.  What if something goes wrong?”  Marlena was crying now and nearly hysterical.

 

“Marlena please…just think about this.  Try to understand how I’m feeling…..”

 

“No,” She climbed off the bed and pulled her robe around herself.  “I can’t lose you.”  She started to head for the bathroom, but began to lose her balance.  “I won’t lose you.”  Her hand went up to her forehead as she began to feel dizzy and the room began to spin.

 

John noticed Marlena begin to falter but he couldn’t reach her.  He yelled out to her just as she began to fall.  “Marlena!?”  He managed to use his arms to launch himself out of his bed, but not before she hit the floor.

 

 

Chapter Twenty Six

 

John was “pacing” in his room….rolling his wheelchair back and forth.  It had been several hours since Marlena had passed out on the floor. And even though she had only been unconscious for a few minutes and was already coming to when the nurses came in to help her, John had been scared out of his mind.  They had taken her to another room and asked her to spend the night so they could keep an eye on her blood pressure, but Dr. Bader had assured John that she was just fine.  They had given her a mild sedative and  just wanted her to get a good night’s sleep and they were waiting for some lab work.   John knew that she was sleeping now, but he had to see her anyway.  He couldn’t rest until he saw her with his own eyes.   He convinced his nurse to sneak him into her room while the hospital was quiet.

 

The nurse pushed John into Marlena’s room and agreed to leave him for a few minutes.  She was sleeping soundly and John was happy to see that the color had returned to her beautiful face.  He took her hand softly in his trying not to disturb her, but needing to touch her.  He blamed himself for everything that she was going through and he hated it.  He knew that she would never leave his side, no matter what his condition and he couldn’t live with that.  He knew that he would never be happy and he could never make her happy.  He had to somehow make her understand why he had to have this surgery.  He had no choice.

 

“I love you, Marlena,” he whispered as he softly kissed the back of her hand.  “And I would do anything for you, but I need you to support me in this.  When I saw you start to collapse in my room, I couldn’t get to you.  There was nothing I could do.   What if something worse had happened?   And I couldn’t do anything to protect you?  Sweetheart, I couldn’t live with myself…..I can’t live with myself.” John closed his eyes as a tear slowly fell down his cheek.  “Please God, help Marlena to understand what I need to do and keep her safe if I’m not around to protect her.  I love her so much and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her….caring for her, loving her, being the man that she deserves.”

 

John froze when he felt Marlena begin to move.  Her head moved to the side and he thought he heard her whisper his name, but luckily she didn’t wake up.  He didn’t want to disturb her.  He knew that she needed her sleep.   He placed a kiss on his finger and then softly touched it to her lips.  “Sweet dreams, Baby.  I love you.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  He stared at her face for another moment before he quietly wheeled himself out of her room.

 

The next morning, John was trying to be patient, but was not very successful.   First they told him that Marlena was getting some lab work done.  Then they took him down for his physical therapy.  Then they told him she was in with Dr. Bader.  John was getting very frustrated and the nurses were getting tired of assuring him that everything was fine.  John was already eating his lunch, or playing with his lunch, by the time Marlena finally showed up at his door.

 

She stood against the door frame and watched John as he absent-mindedly pushed mashed potatoes around on his plate.  She finally had to clear her throat to get him to look up.  “Hi Sailor,” she called softly, a little apprehensively.

 

“Marlena!”  John called out, ecstatic to see her.  He shoved his lunch tray aside and patted the bed next to him.   “Baby, come here.  Are you all right?  I was so worried about you.  What did Dr. Bader say?  Is everything okay?”

 

Marlena walked towards the bed and placed her hand in John’s out stretched one.  “Shhh….I’m fine.  I’m sorry if I scared you yesterday.”  She sat down next to him.

 

John felt a little nervous.  Marlena looked strange.  He didn’t recognize the look on her face….nerves?….apprehension? ….something was different.

 

John placed his hand on the side of her face.  “Marlena, honey…tell me what’s going on.  What did Dr. Bader say?  Did they find anything in the lab tests?”

 

“I’m fine…really, John.  I just over did it a little.  Honest.”

 

“Oh Baby….”  John felt incredibly guilty as he let out a huge sigh and pulled Marlena into his arms.  He held her tightly against his chest as he softly stroked her hair.   “I’m sorry.  I knew you were spending too much time on me…..worrying about my condition.  You’ve worn yourself out….”

 

“John….shhhhh…”  Marlena pushed herself back up so she could look in John’s face.  “It’s not you….or your condition….it’s my condition.”

 

John’s heart stopped for a moment.  “What?  What condition?  What’s wrong?”

 

Marlena placed her hand on John’s chest to calm him down.  “Nothing’s wrong………   John?” She paused as she looked into his eyes.  She still couldn’t believe what she was about to say.

 

John was feeling very nervous.  Marlena was acting very strangely.

 

Suddenly, Marlena’s face lit up with absolute joy as her eyes filled with tears.  “John…..I’m pregnant.”

 

“What?”  John was sure that he couldn’t have heard her right.

 

Marlena nodded her head.   “It’s true.  I’m pregnant.  We’re going to have a baby.”

 

John’s face turned absolutely white as he tried to comprehend what she was saying.  “Are you serious?”

 

Marlena burst out laughing.  “That’s exactly what I said to Dr. Bader when she told me.”

 

The color slowly began returning to John’s face as he realized that Marlena was indeed serious.  John began to stammer….“But….how?….when?”

 

“She thinks I’m about 6 weeks along.”

 

Marlena could see the wheels turning in John’s head as he did the mental calculation.  He smiled and closed his eyes as the memory returned…and all he said was, “Hot cocoa.”

 

Marlena smiled and nodded as she repeated the words…. “Hot cocoa.”

 

John looked down as he took Marlena’s hands in his own.  “But I thought ….you couldn’t…”

 

“So did I,” Marlena answered softly.  “But somehow….we managed….”  She looked up and caught John‘s eyes with hers.   Her heart melted when she saw the love and the joy in his eyes.  And any worry or apprehension she had about how he would react,  immediately vanished.

 

John reached out and touched her face.  “A baby.”   His eyes traveled down to her belly and he rested his hand there.  “Our baby.”

 

Marlena rested her hands on top of his.  “Our baby,”  she repeated.  They looked up at each other and Marlena began to laugh as she realized they were both crying.  She reached over

and wiped a tear off of John’s cheek.

 

He pulled her close and began to place soft kisses all over her face.  “I love you so much, Marlena.”

 

“I love you too.”  She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a long, warm kiss on his mouth……feeling him, tasting him, breathing him in, letting him know just how much she loved him.  She settled herself next to him, resting her head next to his.  “Think of it, John.  Our very own baby.”

 

John wrapped one arm around her and placed the other hand on her tummy.  “I can‘t

believe it.  To think that there‘s a little life in there.  I hope she‘s the spitting image of her Mother.”

 

“Or a gorgeous little boy, just like his father.”

 

“So are you really okay?  How do you feel?”

 

“I don’t really feel anything yet.  Just tired.  Dr. Bader wants me to take it a little easy and cut down on my work load a bit.”

 

“Absolutely.  You need to slow down and take care of yourself.  I don’t want you to worry about anything.  I’ll take care of…..”  John stopped.  Who am I kidding?  He thought to himself.  I can’t take care of anything.  Not like this.

 

“Marlena?  I need you to listen to me, okay?”  John spoke very softly as he held her against his chest and softly stroked her head and her arm.  “I know you’re dead set against this surgery, but I need you to hear me out.  I can’t stand the thought of sitting in a chair and watching you run and play with our child.  I want to give  horsey rides and piggy backs.  I want to play catch and soccer and tag.  I want to build a treehouse.  I want to do everything that a Dad does that I can’t do right now.  I have to take this shot.  I just have to.”

 

Marlena didn’t say anything.  She had remained very quiet and still the whole time John was talking.

 

“Marlena?” John asked, terrified that she might become hysterical again.

 

“I know,” Marlena admitted, very quietly.

 

John turned her face towards him.  Not sure that he heard her.

 

“I know,” she said again.  “I’ve always known.  I just kept hoping and praying that there was

some other way.”

 

Relief flooded John’s face.  He grabbed her tightly and placed kisses on the top of her head.  “Oh Baby, it will all be fine.  I swear to you, nothing will go wrong.  I have complete faith in my surgeons and there’s no way that I’m going to leave you.  I have so much to live for…..you and now our baby.  We’re going to have an amazing life…you’ll see.  I love you so much Marlena.”

 

Marlena just hugged him close, knowing that she had to let him make this decision, but terrified just the same.  “I love you too, but I’ll never forgive you if you leave me John Black.”

 

John grabbed her face and stared at her with the most intense gaze she had ever seen.  “Never.  I swear to you.”   Marlena tried to catch her breath as John took her mouth in the most passionate, loving kiss she had ever known.  And all her fears and worries just floated away….at least for awhile.

 

 

Chapter Twenty Seven

 

It was the longest day of Marlena’s life.  John’s surgery had taken over 8 hours and not everything had gone smoothly.  Repairing this kind of nerve damage was extremely intricate work and had only been attempted a handful of times.  Eugene, Calliope and most of the nursing staff at University Hospital did everything they could to keep Marlena busy and thinking about other things.   The baby was the most important, Marlena concentrated on that and tried her hardest to keep herself calm for that reason alone…..even though her heart was in the operating room with John.  Marlena found out some time later that they had almost lost John twice during the surgery, but his heart and his will were strong and he fought hard to stay with her.  She wasn’t surprised.

But that was six weeks ago, and today Marlena was finally taking John home.  He wasn’t strong enough to support his own weight yet, but he had regained feeling in his legs and he was able to move them.  It would still take a lot of work to rebuild his strength and train his muscles again, but his doctors felt that he was healed enough to live at home now and just come into the hospital for his physical therapy every day.   Marlena was absolutely ecstatic.  She almost couldn’t believe that John was finally coming home with her and they could start to plan their future with their baby, together.

 

As Marlena pulled the car up to the front of the hospital, John was already sitting there in a wheelchair waiting for her.

 

“Are we in a hurry to leave this wonderful establishment?” Marlena said with a laugh as she walked around to open the passenger side door.

 

“Umm…no offense,” he began, glancing at the nurse behind him, “but, yah…..get me the hell out of here, Woman!”  He grabbed Marlena’s face and gave her a big, noisy kiss.

 

Marlena laughed, “Yes, Sir!” she replied.  “It will be my pleasure.”

 

She held the chair as John lifted himself into the car.  She leaned in and kissed him once more before she shut the door and went around to her side.  They both had the biggest, happiest smiles on their faces as Marlena started the car and they headed home.

 

John was enjoying the scenery, both inside and outside of the car, when he realized that Marlena wasn’t driving towards the penthouse.  “Where are we going?” he finally asked her.

 

“Home,” was all that Marlena replied while still looking straight ahead with a little smile on her lips.

 

John’s eyebrow went up as he stared at Marlena and wondered what she was up to now, but he didn’t ask any more questions.  She obviously had something planned and he didn’t want to spoil her surprise.

 

John just sat back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery going by, he was so happy to finally be out of that hospital.  After awhile, he realized that they were heading towards the lake and moments later Marlena was turning into the circular drive of a beautiful 2-story French Country style home.  She stopped and turned off the car.

 

“Well, here we are.” She climbed out and opened the trunk to retrieve a portable wheelchair and brought it around to John’s side.

 

“What’s going on?  Whose house is this?”  John questioned as he lifted himself into the chair.

 

Marlena turned his chair so he was facing the house.  “Ours,” she replied.  “..if you want it.”

 

“Ours?…but I…..when?…” John began to stammer.

 

“Come on….I can’t wait to show you around.”  Marlena interrupted excitedly.  She pushed John up the ramp to the front door and quickly unlocked the door.  As they entered into the foyer, John was speechless.  The house was almost exactly what he had imagined living in with Marlena.  There was a beautiful living room to the left and a curved staircase that led upstairs.  Straight ahead led to the family room and large spacious kitchen and to the right were two closed double doors.  Marlena walked over to the doors and opened them to reveal a large bedroom suite.  “Isn’t it perfect?” she asked.  “We can use this bedroom until you’re able to go up and down the stairs easily.”

Before John could even say anything, Marlena was quickly pushing him into the family room.  “And wait until you see this,” she continued with a huge smile on her face.  She opened the set of French doors in the family room to reveal a large deck overlooking the lush green backyard which led down to the lake.  She pushed John out onto the deck so he could see the entire view.  It was breathtaking.  “Look John,” Marlena pointed towards the far corner of the lawn, “isn’t it just perfect for a….”

 

“treehouse.” John completed for her as he saw the magnificent old oak tree.  He grabbed Marlena’s hand and pulled her onto his lap.   “It’s absolutely perfect, Marlena.  I couldn’t have dreamed up a more beautiful or perfect house.  How did you find it?”

“I had to do something to keep myself occupied while you were in that hospital.  Do you really like it?”

 

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen……almost.”

 

“Almost?”  Marlena asked with a twinkle in her eye.

 

“Yah,” John said as he reached up and grabbed Marlena’s face between his hands.  “Come here, you beautiful thing.”  He pulled her down to his mouth and kissed her long and deep.  Marlena wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly as their tongues enjoyed a slow dance together.   For the first time, in a very long time, Marlena felt truly relaxed and happy.  They spent the rest of the afternoon out on their new deck, enjoying the view.  Marlena brought out some sandwiches and champagne which she had picked up earlier and they toasted to their future in their gorgeous new home.

 

John didn’t want to wake up.  He was having the most wonderful dream.  He was curled up in bed behind Marlena with his arms wrapped around her after having just made love in their brand new bedroom, in their brand new house.  He could remember every detail of the house and every detail of her body as he touched and explored it.  He could feel and smell her hair against his face and as he moved slightly, he could feel her body pressed against his.  It felt so real.

 

Marlena stirred and rubbed against him.  She was dreaming too and didn’t realize that what she was feeling pressing against the back of her thigh was indeed very real.   She sighed as she reached back to rub John’s thigh and hug him close.  She was very surprised at what she found.

 

“John?” she questioned softly.

 

“Shhh…..I think I’m still dreaming.”

 

Marlena’s heart began beating faster.

 

“Oh?……and would you care to tell me what you’re dreaming about?”  Marlena tried to sound calm when inside she was full of nervous, excited knots.

 

“Hmmm…..how about I show you?”  John’s hand slowly worked its way up Marlena’s body to gently cup her breast as he nuzzled behind her ear, all the time pressing his hips against her so she could feel exactly what was happening and how she was affecting him.

 

Marlena began to breathe heavily.  She was overwhelmed with feelings; happiness, desire, relief, passion…..all at once.  She turned in John’s arms so she could look into his face, her concern for him being her first thought.  As soon as she looked into his eyes, she knew that everything was going to be right again, that her John was back, completely; body, heart & soul.  And that he loved her and wanted her more than ever and he was finally able to show her just how much.

 

They stared into each other’s eyes, not needing to say a word, knowing exactly what the other was thinking and wanting.  Their hearts were pounding to the same rhythm as their breathing became heavier.  Marlena reached out to touch John’s face as she pulled his mouth to hers.  She began licking and sucking on his lips hungrily, finally able to let herself go and show him how much she wanted him.  John let out a groan as he molded himself against her.  It seemed like a lifetime ago since they had been together.  He held her as tightly as humanly possible… just wanting to feel her body pressed up against his.

 

They made love slowly and carefully, each one concerned about the other.  Marlena still worried about John’s back and John worried about the baby.  They took their time, getting reacquainted – touching, feeling, tasting, exploring.   When Marlena finally felt John inside her again, filling her up completely, she couldn’t stop the tears from overflowing.   She wrapped herself around him and pressed her face against his, her mouth next to his ear.

 

“Oh God, I’ve missed you so much,” she barely got out.

 

John held her tear-stained face between his two large, strong hands and kissed her deeply.  “I’m back, Baby…..and I’m never letting you out of my arms again.”

They held each other tightly as their bodies began moving slowly and rhythmically together…slowly climbing the mountain, wanting to reach the peak, but not wanting the moment to end.  When they got there, it was together, as it should be, holding each other tightly as they convulsed against each other, deliriously happy and passionately in love.     As they held each other, with tears slowly running down both their faces, Marlena simply whispered, “ Welcome home, My Love.”