First Impressions – By Hibit76

Marlena had a seemingly perfect life to any outsider looking in; even she had become extremely complacent in her life. She had the seemingly perfect marriage, the perfect family, the perfect friends, the perfect job, and the perfect life. She never considered for a minute that she lacked anything in her life and she never had wanted for anything.

 

Her husband, Roman, was a good man, he was kind and caring to her, the kind of man she had always wanted to marry.

 

When she first met him they had their differences, but soon grew closer and when they married she thought she couldn’t be happier, and though things have gotten in the way for them in the past, for the most part they were very happy.

 

But, in the past few years, they had become more accustomed to a very routine marriage. Nothing about it  was exciting and new and it was what she would eventually call, at some point or another, very boring.

The routine had set in. When she woke in the morning for work he was already gone, when she got home in the evenings he was hardly ever there, thus is the life of being married to a police officer. Sometimes, he would be gone for days on police business and though she always worried about him, she knew he would always come home to her and their children.

 

He was not particularly romantic, but that was something she had accepted long ago and she had grown to think things like that were silly and a waste of time and effort anyway. Sometimes during the month they would go out to dinner, but usually would wind up running into old friends and would turn their date night out into a friend night out, which was fine with her most of time. When it was just the two of them they usually only spoke of the children at dinner and when they weren’t doing that they would talk about work, but most of the time there was total silence between them.

 

She remembered growing up and going out to eat with her parents, sitting there observing other couples, older couples, sitting across from each other and staring in opposite directions. They would never speak a word to each other, it was as if these couples had nothing in common and were only together because they had to be, not because they wanted to be. She told herself at a young age that she would never be with someone who wouldn’t speak to her at dinner, someone who couldn’t even look her in the eyes. She wouldn’t have cared if they never spoke a word to each other, as long as they could just stare into each other’s eyes without feeling uncomfortable or the urge to look away. She told herself that she would never be a part of that couple who would sit for an hour and wait on their food, yet never spoke one word to each other. To her, it seemed like it would have been less lonely to be sitting there by herself than with someone who sat across from her and never spoke a single word to her and never looked her in the eyes.

 

But she had gone back on her word and she soon found herself doing the exact same thing with Roman when they went out for dinner; avoiding eye contact, talking about work and the kids when they actually did speak to each other, and then there was nothing. They would stare at opposing walls as if in a desperate attempt to find anything or anyone to come and rescue them from the silence that consumed and dominated their evenings out together. Soon, though, they would coordinate their evenings out with friends like Abe and Lexie or Laura and her date of the month.

 

Other things in their marriage had also become routine. They spoke little on their way in and out of the house, but they always managed an “I love you” followed by a quick non-affectionate kiss. They would share parental duties of the children, each taking turns shuffling them back and forth to cheerleader practice, soccer practice, or whatever sport dominated their children’s lives for the season. They would often take time to watch television together, but they always sat on opposing sides of the couch or she laid on the couch and he would sit on the floor or in the chair. But at least they were doing something together.

 

Their sex life also had a routine. They never had sex on Friday nights, they were both too tired from the work week and Mondays were too chaotic, usually it was just during the week sometime, though they never really had a set night. A lot of times they would just laugh about it when they realized that they had gone weeks without having sex, both too busy to care, or just not as interested as they really should have been in it. It wasn’t that the sex between them was horrible, they were just used to their routine these days and when they were together it was over in a matter of minutes and Marlena could have cared less most of the time, considering that it seemed like Roman was only interested in pleasing himself and not her. But Marlena did not want to fight with him about it, besides, he never really knew how to please her the way she liked anyway, not that he ever bothered to ask her what she liked. But it wasn’t a big deal to her now, it was again, something she just learned to live with and she learned to lie to herself about the fact that she never thought about it and that she never missed it.

 

It was not that she was angry or mad or hurt, she just never sat down to think about what was missing in her life and since she never concentrated on what was missing or wrong, she was never able to realize just how intensely tedious and scheduled her life had actually become. But when she realized that her life was consumed with repetitiveness and she combined that with the fact that she couldn’t remember the last time that Roman simply took her breath away, Marlena finally began to understand that even though she wasn’t unhappy she wasn’t exactly happy either.

Marlena’s children could keep her pretty entertained, or busy, she wasn’t exactly sure which to call it, but that only applied when they actually made time for her.

 

Carrie was long gone from the house, but Sami and Eric were constantly here and there, usually only wanting their mom and dad for money or a ride. If Marlena had just broken down and gotten the twins a car to share like they begged her to, her life would have been a lot less hectic, but secretly, she loved being able to drop them off everywhere they needed to go, even if Sami and Eric acted ungrateful at times she still loved them desperately and longed for the days when they acted like they needed a mother around to care for and comfort them.

 

They were typical teenagers. They only cared about themselves and their friends. They wanted to be left alone when they were at home and god forbid their parents ever asked them to do something family oriented. But when coerced with promises of allowance or extra time with friends, Marlena could usually get them to cave in.

Now that her children had grown older, Marlena found herself with little to do around the house, besides her being her children’s own personal chauffer, she was fairly bored when at home. Soon she delved herself deeper into work duties, picking up extra patients at the hopsital, and helping out with any charities that she found to be of benefit to those who needed it most.

 

She had her friends to keep her busy as well.

 

Laura had been a life long friend to her, they shared the same interests and she often looked to her for advice, even if it wasn’t always the best advice in the world. Lexie and she were also friends, but mostly because of Abe, at first didn’t like her because she felt as though Roman was forcing her to be friends with her, shoving her down her throat almost. But soon she warmed to Lexie, if only for the benefit of having an extra friend, but she still decided that the more friends she had the better it was for her and her sanity. Abe and Marlena had always been great friends, he saw her through a lot of rough patches in her life and they were as close as two friends could be, she constantly swore to him that he had been a girl in his past life and that’s why they got along so well. But he did not know about the problems she had with Roman, only Laura knew that and even then she hadn’t told her everything, how could she, she wasn’t even sure herself the extent of their problems and that was fine with her, after all, why mess up a good thing.

 

Tonight she and Roman were to have dinner together. She was excited to go because Abe and Lexie would be meeting them there and that meant that she wouldn’t have to stare off into space and be void of all conversation like she did when it was just Roman and her.

 

She had come home early from work to find Eric and Sami in their rooms, or at least she thought it was their rooms, either that or something fowl had exploded in there, for which she promised them both that they would never leave the house again if it she couldn’t at least see their floors by the time they returned home from dinner, which was met with a reply from both of them of, “fine, whatever, mom.” And she was more than positive that they both rolled their eyes in unison at her. But she was already running behind and needed to get ready to go to dinner so she dismissed it and went to the bedroom she shared with Roman to begin getting ready for their night out. She decided to take the opportunity to get ready first since Roman was still at work.

 

After showering and applying her make up, she stood in front of her closet and contemplated what to wear for dinner that night. Tuscany didn’t require a particularly dressy outfit, but it wasn’t a jeans and t-shirt kind of place either. She was sure that Lexie would be dressed beautifully, and she didn’t want to be upstaged by her. She had already laid out Romans outfit for the night for him since she dressed him way better than he could ever dress himself. She had laid out a rather nice black suit and tie set for him, something comfortable, yet appropriate, since she did not feel like hearing Roman complain all night about how uncomfortable he was. She finally decided on a black dress, something she had bought one day while out with Laura. They had shopped most of the day and then went into a little dress shop and Laura picked it out for Marlena, telling her it would look perfect on her and she kept going on and on about how Roman would love it on her and want to rip it off of her the moment he saw her in it, and though Marlena thought she was crazy and probably a little high, she decided to go ahead and buy it. Tonight she would try it out and see if Laura was correct in her assumptions, but Marlena was pretty sure that she wasn’t. Marlena was certain that the only thing that Roman would ever rip off of her was a big juicy steak, but only if she was covered from head to toe with one.

She slipped the dress on over her body and it fit perfectly. It was simple yet elegant. The material was silk and it hung and embraced her curves in all the right places. She loved the way it felt against her skin as she moved hands down her hips and across her flat stomach. The straps were thin and the front plunged deep enough to reveal ample amounts of cleavage. She worried it might be a bit much but decided that with the help of a great push up bra her breasts would shine on their own, and she was very right. The back of the dress was equally amazing, part of the lower portion was cut out and showed enough to leave little to imagination, revealing her lower back. The dress, being made of silk, required no panties to be worn and unless she wanted to show everyone that she had zero class by showing off a distinct panty line, she would opt to go without any. Besides, ‘maybe that would excite Roman even more’ she had thought to herself, but she decided not to tell him and just let him figure it out on his own. Her high heels completed the outfit, as did her small matching purse and small diamond earings.

 

Her hair was another story. She couldn’t figure out how to wear it tonight. When she put it up she thought it made her look too old, when she left it down she thought it made her look like she put all this effort into her dress and makeup and then none into her hair. Finally, she decided to pull the sides back and clip them loosely behind her head with a pin she loved, and let the back fall down. Normally she has her hair very straight, but tonight she decided to forgo that and let it remain a little curly, besides, it looked better with a small amount of curl in it, sexy almost, with small curls hanging down on the sides.

 

Finally, she looked in the mirror and smiled back at what she saw, she thought she looked almost beautiful. She turned around slightly and looked back into the mirror, yes, even her ass looked pretty great tonight, panty less or not, she had a nice ass, she had always thought so.

 

Now, the only question was, where the hell was Roman at.

 

Ten minutes later he finally walked into the bedroom and was huffing and puffing about some case and having to chase down a robber and some other stuff that was fairly incoherent considering he was talking to her as he was undressing and getting into the shower.

 

He never once noticed the way she looked and if he had he had not said anything to her about it.

 

She leaned against the bathroom door as she contemplated crying at the fact that he hadn’t even told her that she looked pretty, but then decided against it, considering she would have to reapply her mascara if she did. Besides, maybe he would tell her later, but if not, he certainly would not be getting any sex from her tonight.

Fifteen minutes later they were both in the car and on their way to Tuscany.

 

“Abe and Lexie are meeting us there?” Roman asks her as he bobs and weaves out of traffic.

 

“Yes, Roman, of course it won’t matter because I am pretty sure we won’t be good dinner dates if we are stuck in the morgue after you wreck and kill us both,” Marlena tells him and then smiles to herself as he slows down and apologizes.

 

The car ride to Tuscany isn’t very far for them, but the silence is still the worst part. Roman long ago gave up holding Marlena’s hand while they were in the car together, or anywhere else for that matter. She liked for him to hold her hand, the closeness of it, but Roman always said that it made his hand sweat and that public places were not the appropriate time to show affection, and eventually Marlena simply put it out of her mind, except for times like these when the silence seemingly drove things like that into her mind and forced her to think about it.

 

She fiddled with the radio in hopes of finding something good to listen to, anything that would take her mind off the deafening silence in their car. She settled on a station that was playing a slow song, something new she had never heard before but liked it and decided to leave it there. As she listened to it she heard something about ‘but if I still believe you love me then maybe I’ll still survive’ and then the words continued on to say, ‘I can’t break it to my heart,’ it rings loud in Marlena’s ears and she begins to hum along. Roman then grumbles loudly about the song and how the game is on and could he just turn it for a minute so that he could hear the score. She turns her head and looks out the window as she mumbles ‘fine’ to him. She looks out the car window and watches as the trees and buildings move by so fast that she can’t make out anything too clearly, ‘kind of like my life these days,’ she whispers to herself as she lays her head against the cold window and closes her eyes.

 

Minutes later they pull into Tuscany’s parking lot and the front door man opens Marlena’s car door for her and extends her a hand to help her exit the car.

 

“I am just going to park the car and then I will meet you inside,” Roman leans over and tells her.

 

She briefly nods and then continues inside to meet Lexie and Abe. As she enters the door she finds the elevator and pushes the button to the correct floor. She leans back against the elevator wall and sighs to herself, saddened by the fact that Roman has still yet to comment on her outfit or appearance tonight. The only thing he managed to tell her was how they were going to be late and how she didn’t need anymore lipstick on and, “could they please just go already.” Marlena then remembered to herself how she thought, ‘how dare he have the nerve to say that to me, especially after I was the one who had been waiting on him,” but then she quickly let it go, it was pointless to argue with Roman about some things and that was one of them.

 

Marlena exited the elevator when the doors opened and immediately saw Abe standing there holding a drink,

“I could use one of those myself,” she tells Abe as she leans in and kisses his cheek, he gently kisses her back.

 

“Ahh, Marlena, great to see you, here take my drink, I haven’t touched it yet.” He places it in her hand without even waiting for a reply from her. He thinks to himself about how beautiful she looks, she always does, ‘that Roman sure is a lucky man,’ he smiles as he comes back to reality when she speaks to him.

 

“Thank you, Abe, that is nice of you, but only if your sure you don’t mind if I take your drink,” Marlena says it just to be polite, she knew Abe wouldn’t mind and before she even got the last bit of the sentence out she was already sipping on it and almost chokes aloud as it burns deep in her throat.

 

“You know I don’t mind one bit, besides, I am pretty sure that is still your drink of choice,” he replies to her and laughs, knowing she never drinks the hard stuff but plays along just the same.

 

He begins looking around the room as if he has lost something.

 

“Mmm, it is the perfect drink,” she coughs again as she takes another bigger sip, “Abe, did you lose something? Or someone? Where is Lexie anyway? I though she would be joining us tonight,” Marlena asked as she continues to sip her drink, already aware that she feeling the effects of it, though it never takes much since she isn’t much of a drinker to begin with.

 

“Oh, she is here, I just managed to lose her somewhere. She ran into Laura when we came in and…”

 

“What? Laura is here, too? Where?” Marlena interrupts Abe and begins almost furiously looking around the room for her.

 

Abe just smiles at her, he finds it amusing that women get so excited when they think their friends are in close proximity.

 

“I’m not sure Marlena, they are probably in the bathroom together, isn’t that where women usually are when they get together in a restaurant.” He laughs a little as he says it.

 

“I’m not sure Abe, I will have to consult my next issue of Cosmo for the answer to that one,” she says as she glares at him and then smiles, because it was pretty funny, even for Abe, after all.

 

“What is Laura doing here, I thought she had some meeting tonight, I had asked her to come with us earlier in the week.,” she continues to question Abe who looks helpless because he has no idea what the answers to Marlena’s non-stop questions about Laura are.

 

Roman finally walks up and joins them.

 

“I didn’t miss all the fun yet, did I.” Roman chuckles as he shakes Abe’s hand.

 

“Where is Lexie at, I thought she was coming with you tonight?” Roman asks Abe.

 

“Well, that seems to be the million dollar question tonight, Marlena was just interrogating me about the same exact thing,” again Abe laughs loudly.

 

“Abe, I was not interrogating you at all, I was simply asking if you knew why Laura was here and where her and Lexie were at the moment…Oh just forget it, I am going to go and see if I can find them myself.” Marlena rolls her eyes and turns towards the ladies room, since that probably really is where they are. But before she gets very far she turns back toward the men, who are already obviously talking about something else that is probably sports or work related.

 

“Abe, Roman, will you please go ahead and get the table and Roman, please order me another drink…Abe knows what I am having, just ask him,” she waits for their nods before turning back towards the bathroom. Marlena then  places her now empty drink on a table beside the ladies door before going inside it

Tuscany is not particularly crowded this evening, a benefit of going there on a week night; try going on the weekend and you can expect to wait for hours for a table.

 

As Marlena heads into the bathroom she immediately spots Lexie and Laura standing near the sink, gabbing like school girls. They immediately stop talking, as if they have been caught red handed, but in actuality they have just stopped talking long enough to make sure that whoever is entering the bathroom isn’t in fact the person that they are talking about. When they see that it is Marlena they both smile and rush over to her.

 

“Marlena!” they say in unison as they both take turns lightly hugging and kissing her on the cheek and she returns the favor to them both.

 

“Laura,” Marlena says with a stern look on her face, “what are you doing here, I thought you had a meeting or something tonight and that is why you couldn’t come out with us. Did you lie to me? Are you on a date and I have no idea about it?” Marlena smiles as she asks her, because she already knows that that would be impossible, Laura tells Marlena everything and vice versa, if there were a date she would be the second to know about, second only because Laura would be the first to know.

 

“Oh no, don’t be silly, Marlena. I had my meeting earlier with the hospital board and it was over sooner than I thought it would be. I remembered you asking me about dinner and I figured I would take my chances and hope you would still be going out and wouldn’t mind if I showed up unannounced.”

 

“Mind,” Marlena acts appalled, “Laura Horton, you know we would never mind, besides, the more the merrier, isn’t that right, Lexie.” Marlena looks towards Lexie and sees her nod her head and smile.

 

“Oh good, I was hoping you would say that. I did, however, invite a board member along with me, I hope that is okay. I tried to call you at home before you left but Eric told me that you and Roman had already left the house. Oh, and by the way, Eric also said to tell you something about a bomb not going off and that he was sure you would be quite please with how sparkly his floor looked.” Laura repeated it to her and giggled, only imagining what that was all about.

 

Marlena laughed out loud.

 

“Thank you for the message Laura, and trust me, you don’t want to know.” Marlena laughed along with Lexie and Laura.

 

“So, who did you bring with you? I assume it’s someone we know since we know everyone on the board,” Marlena tells Laura.

 

“Actually, you don’t know him,” this statement elicits several eyebrow raises from both Marlena and Lexie, “He is new to town, he just came on board at the hospital and they decided to use today’s meeting as sort of an impromptu get to know the new guy briefing for all of us. And Marlena, if you had been there like you were supposed to, instead of faking more important things to do, then you could have met him, too,” Laura gives her the disapproving look, because she knows that Marlena is quite aware of how bad she hates to go to board meetings without her.

 

“I know and I am sorry, Laura, it’s just that I was so busy and I had to get ready for tonight, and it’s just well,” Marlena does the eyebrow raising thing again and then chuckles out loud, “I just really didn’t want to go Laura, I am sorry though,” Marlena finishes the statement by hugging Laura once more, hoping that her friend will understand this time, besides, Laura should know how boring those meetings can be and how badly she hates to go to them herself.

 

“Lets not change the subject though, tell us, who is this new mystery man on the board,” Marlena asks as both she and Lexie get wide eyed looks and stare intently at Laura while awaiting her response, they both live for gossip like this and in a small town like Salem, someone new coming to town is about as exciting as it can get.

 

“Well, I don’t know too much about him,” Laura tells them with a bit of hindrance in her voice and they both nod because they know Laura will soon find out everything about the new mystery man, and not because she is nosey, but more because it’s just nice to be well informed about new people that have come in to town, “but I do know that his name is John Black and he just moved here a week ago.”

 

“And?” Lexie and Marlena say in unison.

 

“And, that’s all I know.” Laura says.

 

“That’s all you know. That’s all she knows,” Marlena turns and says to Lexie, as if mocking Laura.

 

“Hey,” Laura speaks up, “I didn’t have much time, okay, he just sort of came in last minute, apparently it was some big secret that he even moved to town. But I do know the most important bit of information so far.”

 

“Yeah?” again Marlena and Lexie chime in unison.

 

“Well, I do know that he is single,” Laura says with a smile on her face.

 

“Oh great, a lot of good that information does Marlena and I,” Lexie says as she throws her hands up and walks back to the mirror to check her make-up.

 

Laura gets an annoyed look on her face and Marlena, knowing that Laura doesn’t much care for Lexie, jumps in with her own opinion.

 

“Now Lexie, we are forgetting that our Laura here is in fact a single gal, so this bit of information is very exciting for her,” she says as she places her arm around Laura and squeezes her a little. Laura looks at Marlena and smiles, glad that someone in the room is obvious to her previous bit of information.

 

“Oh, yes, of course Laura, that is great news for you,” Lexie says as she turns back to face Laura and smiles a fake smile in her direction. Considering the fact that Lexie doesn’t much care for Laura, she decides that for Marlena’s sake she will at least put forth an effort to be civil to her tonight. The only reason she was even in there with Laura to begin with is because Laura spotted her right away and drug her into the bathroom with promises of juicy gossip, and who was Lexie to pass up something that good.

 

“So, this John Black, tell us, what does he look like exactly,” interjects Marlena, who, though seemingly happily married is all for hooking Laura up with a little fun of her own. Marlena may lead a committed and married dull life but that doesn’t mean she can’t live vicariously through Laura and her hot dates. Besides that, she would love to see Laura as happy as she is, though she isn’t totally sure she would wish the kind of happiness that she has onto her best friend.

 

“He is gorgeous, Marlena, he is totally eye candy!” Laura exclaims.

 

“Eye Candy? Well, I am not sure what that means, but if you say so,” she tells Laura with a quite perplexed look on her face since she has no clue what that means.

 

“Yes, well, apparently that means something good because when I was at your house the other day I heard Sami call some boy that, so I assume it must mean that he is quite handsome.”

 

They all laughed together because there have been more than a few times when they were all in a room with Sami when she was talking about boys and things like, ‘total hottie, scrumpalicious, and meaty,’ had in fact come out of her mouth and even those words were quite perplexing to all of the ladies. They assumed that ‘eye candy’ would now need to be added to that growing list as well.

 

Just then, Marlena’s cell phone began to ring. When she flipped it open she saw that it was Roman and started to worry because she knew they had probably been in the bathroom longer than they realized that they had.

“Hello….yes Roman….no Roman we didn’t fall in…yes Roman we will be right out,” Marlena hangs up the phone as she rolls her eyes at his previous statement of ‘falling in,’ since only he would say something like that and despite the fact that Roman was a grown man she began to wonder if was ever going to be very mature.

 

“Well ladies, shall we continue on to our husbands and on to Laura’s hot date,” Marlena quips.

 

“It’s not a date Marlena, I simply invited him out to meet some new people,” Laura says with a look on her face that says she means business.

 

“Okay, sorry, geesh, its not a date then” Marlena leads the ladies out the door, “you just wish it were, is all,” she retaliates.

 

“Marlena Brady! That is not what I wish at all, I am simply just trying to introduce him to some new people in town and show him a good time is all,” Laura barks at her and then, Marlena, not skipping a beat, as they head out the door, barks right back at her with, “you just want to show him a good time in bed later, is all,” Marlena giggles so loudly that Roman and Abe are suddenly aware that the ladies have now joined them.

 

They all say their hellos and sorrys about being in the bathroom for so long, claiming lady things as their excuse. Though Abe and Roman seem annoyed, the truth is that they were too busy talking about work to even notice how long they had been gone and it wasn’t until the hostess let them know that their table was ready that they realized the ladies needed to come on so they could all eat, since both men were now starving. As they made their way to the table, Laura parted from them explaining she needed to find John and that they would join them all soon.

 

“Who is John,” Roman asks as they are seated.

 

“Apparently he is the new board member at the hospital, he just moved here last week,” replied Lexie.

 

“Do you know who he is Doc,” asks Roman as he places Marlena’s fresh drink that she had asked him to order for her beside her plate.

 

“No idea, but I do think that Laura would like to get to know him a little better,” Marlena says as she tries to hide her smile by picking up her drink and taking a sip.

 

Roman brushes off her comment because he is sure he should get whatever it is she is insinuating but is so hungry that all he can think about is eating a big juicy steak. Roman then leans over to Marlena and mumbles to her about slowing down on the booze since she does have to work tomorrow.

 

Roman returns to his menu, looking for the biggest steak that hey have on hand.

 

Marlena sits and mulls over what Roman has said to her and she grows more upset when she realizes that when he said it aloud to her, that he had in fact said it loud enough that both Abe and Lexie heard him, and she quickly noticed the embarrassed look that Lexie had on her face for Marlena, even though she tried not to have one, which caused Marlena to become both embarrassed and hurt.

 

Marlena then proceeds to pick up her glass and quickly downs the rest of her drink and signals to the waiter that she would like another one.

The table now consists of Marlena, who is seated across from Lexie, and Roman, who is seated across from Abe, leaving two empty chairs for Laura and John, one chair at each opposing end of the table. Marlena is the first to realize this and contemplates moving down to one end and making Roman scoot down as well, that way Laura and John can sit next to each other and Laura can work her charm on him. ‘Of course,’ Marlena thinks to herself, ‘if Laura decides she doesn’t like him it would be easier for her to ignore him if they were on opposite sides of the table.’ As Marlena is lost deep in thought and still sipping on her fresh drink that the waiter had brought her moments ago, Laura and John begin to approach the table and Laura is mildly disappointed as she realizes that the group has seated and not left a spot for her and John to sit together. But then Laura shrugs it off because after spending most of the day with him in the meeting and then in the car, she isn’t sure if he is her type after all.

 

He sure could be quite boring; he hardly talked to her at all in the car on the way there and when he did he wasn’t very forthcoming when she asked him all kinds of personal questions. Then, after noticing that he never once even tried to look at her breasts when she bent down to pick her purse up after she dropped it on purpose minutes ago and that he nicely rejected her offer for coffee at her house after dinner, she was almost sure that the guy might actually be gay. Laura then decided she did in fact need a break from the boring and possibly gay John Black.

 

They approach the table and Abe and Roman stand to greet Laura and John.

 

Marlena is still deep in thought when she notices Roman and Abe stand up. Not realizing what is going on, she looks over at Lexie whose full attention is on something or someone. Marlena looks to her right and sees Laura standing there with someone she assumes is this John guy, but Roman has managed to block her whole view with his body. She puts her glass down and contemplates standing when she looks back at Lexie who is now staring, wide eyed, at Marlena, and begins to mouth the words ‘Oh My God,’ to Marlena, which in turn makes Marlena shake her head and lower her eyebrows and mouth ‘what?’ back at her. Lexie then mouths, ‘John Black…Oh My God,’ and points discreetly in his direction. Marlena shakes her head at Lexie and thinks to herself, ‘this woman has finally gone off her rocker for good,’ then Marlena decides that whatever it is, she has got to get a good look at him and decides that Roman is taking too long to shake hands and is fixing to stand when Roman starts to sit down. John then walks behind Roman and Marlena and so as not to appear a total gawking idiot, much like Lexie is appearing to be, Marlena decides to not twist her head around like some demon possessed fool and decides to wait until he takes his seat before she sees what it is that Lexie is in fact still gawking her eyes at.

 

John slowly pulls out the chair that is at the head of the table that is beside Marlena and Lexie and while still standing he turns toward Marlena and extends his hand to shake it as Laura introduces her to John. Marlena looks up at John Black and does everything she can to not smile the kind of school girl smile that makes her blush.

 

“Hello, Marlena, nice to meet you,” John says as he takes her hand in his and shakes it gently enough for Marlena to notice how soft his hands are and strong enough to notice that he has a nice firm hand shake, something that Marlena likes in a man. As John turns to shake Lexie’s hand, who has still not closed her mouth and stopped gawking at John, Marlena finally realizes what it is that has so enthralled Lexie.

 

John is handsome, to say the least, however, Laura failed to mention just how handsome he was. ‘That little shit,’ Marlena thinks to herself and then makes a mental note to have a talk with her later about her obvious withholding of pertinent information. As John takes his seat he smiles at everyone at the table, especially Marlena who looks quickly at her plate and then grabs her drink and begins sipping it like crazy, trying to focus her eyes on anything except John for fear that her cheeks are now red due to embarrassment from her staring at him.

 

Marlena is sure that she has never seen a man more handsome in her life. He is ruggedly handsome, he looks like the kind of man that could trap some writhing animal with his bare hands one minute and could make passionate love to a woman the next minute; Marlena, Lexie, and Laura all shared that same brief fantasy at that moment, and a small smile befell each of their faces.

 

After a few minutes the noise at the table returns to normal conversations, Laura asking Roman about the case he is working on and Lexie asking Abe about the wine list.

 

However, Marlena is still taking in every bit of John that she can without being too obvious about it. After all, it was only natural for her to want to inspect any man that her best friend was interested in. John, however, wasn’t totally lost to the fact that this gorgeous blonde keeps briefly glancing at him and since no one else seemed to be engaging her in conversation he would be happy to do so.

 

“So, Laura tells me that you are a psychiatrist Mrs. Brady,” John speaks directly to her and he catches her gaze with his piercing blue eyes that cause Marlena’s words to catch in her throat.

 

“I, um” she giggles deep in her throat, “actually, it’s Marlena, please, you can call me Marlena, Mr. Black, and yes, I work at the hospital and I am a psychiatrist.” She finally manages to regain her composure but not before she is sure that she has made a total ass out of herself and that her cheeks must be blazing red with embarrassment.

 

“Okay, Marlena, I must insist then that you call me John,” he smiles at her and has yet to take his eye off of hers, something that has not gone unnoticed by Laura, who at the end of the table is now wishing that Roman would just shut up already, but continues to nod and act interested in what he has to say.

 

“Tell me John, do you like Salem so far,” Marlena begins with her routine set of questions that she has especially reserved for every new person that moves to town that she is curious about; she figures she will take it upon herself to get to know John a little better seeing that Laura wasn’t interested in sharing very much about this new mystery man.

 

“Very well, thank you. It is quite the charming town, isn’t it. Tell me, Marlena, have you lived here long, you and your husband,” he knows the routine quite well, this is after all, say, the fiftieth person who has started with this same line of questioning. Though he can’t blame people for being nosey, he just wishes people around here would mind their own business, but Marlena, she is quite the looker and he doesn’t mind answering her questions.

 

“Roman and I have both lived here for quite some time actually. Where are you from originally, John,” she asks him and looks deep into his eyes again, but glances away and grabs for her drink again.

“Up north, I have moved around a lot lately for business and such,” he replies to her.

 

He then backs up and into his seat as the waiter starts to come around and take everyone’s orders. He studies his menu as he mulls over the fact that so far he has learned a few things in the very short time he has been in Salem, including the fact that Marlena is breathtaking and that it is such a shame that she is taken, especially by the long winded Roman who doesn’t seem to notice one bit that his wife is not having a very good time, something he picked up on in minutes, well, that and the fact the she obviously liked her liquor. But he quickly dismisses any notions of romance with Marlena because she is married, ‘oh well, all of the great one’s usually are,’ he thinks to himself and returns to his menu.

Marlena leans slightly to her right and asks Roman what he is having for dinner and when he answers steak she rolls her eyes because she was pretty sure that was going to be his answer and isn’t sure why she even asked him to begin with. Actually, she knows exactly why she asked him, she is starting to feel a little left out of the conversation at the table, conversation that is being held by everyone else and she is feeling completely ignored by Roman. She decided to interject herself into his and Laura’s boring conversation, but soon was sorry that she had.

 

But she had to busy herself with something, this John Black radiated sex appeal, and she kept trying not to look in his direction, because every time she did he would notice and smile back her, forcing her to have to smile back at him. She didn’t like knowing that he knew she was looking at him, and she didn’t want him to think she was gawking at him, unlike Lexie who still staring at him like a schoolgirl every few minutes. Marlena decided right then that it would be a good idea to kick Lexie from under the table and hope she would get the point and stop staring at the man.

 

Fortunately, though, just then Roman’s beeper went off and he stood to go and make a phone call, but not before letting the waiter know how he would like his steak cooked. Marlena just shook her head as Roman finally made his way from the table, this remained unnoticed by everyone, except John that is, who couldn’t help but wonder why she was shaking her head. He squinted his eyes slightly at her and then returned them to his menu.

 

Marlena placed her order, “a salad and the chicken marsala,” she told him, though she would never eat it all, it did sound wonderful and she was growing a little hungry and thirsty, so she decided that she would go ahead and let the waiter know that she needed another drink seeing that hers was almost gone now.

 

“That sounds wonderful,” John spoke up as it was his turn right after Marlena’s, “I will have what she is having,” he said to the waiter who nodded and quickly wrote it down as he made his way over to Lexie and Abe.

 

Marlena smiled and grabbed her glass again. Pausing momentarily before sipping what was left of her drink, she wondered to herself who exactly this John Black was and what exactly he was in town for. Then she put her drink down on the table and as she lifted her hand she noticed that all of the sudden she became very warm and that all the noise in the room suddenly ceased. She closed her eyes tightly for a few moments and then slowly re-opened them. When she re-opened them everything just as suddenly went back to normal, ‘what the hell,’ she thought to herself as she swayed a little in her seat and began to grin uncontrollably.

Abe and Lexie are still deep in conversation, sharing looks of longing into each other’s eyes, they are very much in love and can never seem to get enough of each other. Abe looks over to see if Roman has finished with his phone call but can’t tell where he has gone so he looks back to see if Marlena has that look on her face that shows she is pissed that Roman has been gone for so long. When he looks at her, though, he is quite surprised to see a very wide grin on her face, and he is pretty sure she is swaying in her seat. He giggles to himself a little, deciding she needs to be brought back to reality before Roman gets back and is upset to see that his wife is a little drunk because he knows that Roman doesn’t like it when Marlena drinks, and this is exactly why.

 

“Marlena, how are Sami and Eric doing,” Abe asks her, praying she answers him coherently.

 

“Oh, they are both wonderful, tonight they are learning the benefits of keeping a clean room and being able to keep what little freedom they have,” Marlena tells him with a laugh, a very loud laugh that captures most everyone’s attention that is the restaurant that night.

 

“Sami and Eric, are those your children,” John asks her. He also realizes that she is feeling a bit tipsy and he isn’t sure she will make it much longer, but damn, he also notices how sexy she looks when she is a little drunk. He gazes into her eyes and smiles a little and waits for her answer.

 

“Yes, they are, they are twins,” Marlena answers him as she places her now empty glass back down on the table, but also twirls it around a little bit, clanking the ice, and she contemplates sticking her tongue down into the cup for the last bit of drink but changes her mind at the last minute.

 

“How old are they,” John asks and is trying very hard to not laugh, she looks very amusing since its pretty obvious that she is trying to suck every last drop of drink out of her now empty glass.

 

Marlena smiles at him after she gives up on her drink, ‘damn, he has a sexy mouth,’ she thinks to herself.

 

“They are sixteen, though they think they are eighteen and ready to fly from the evil clutches of their parents,” she laughs nervously and then realizes that she may be laughing too much and becomes a little embarrassed at this realization so she tries to quickly recover and fidgets with her empty glass. ‘Where is my damn drink, already,’ she thinks to herself.

 

“Do you have any children, John,” Marlena asks him while she starts to put small cubes of ice in her mouth, figuring that she might still be able to get some of the remnants of her drink off of the ice.

 

“No, I don’t, but I love kids,” he tells her and he smiles at her and she smiles back at him, she leans in a little closer to him and makes sucking noises on her ice cube. He is not lost on the fact that she has an amazing mouth with sexy lips that make him think all kinds of naughty things about her mouth and tongue, which in turn makes him think to himself that her husband is indeed ‘one lucky bastard.’ Marlena begins to place another ice cube in her mouth but stops just short of it and slowly traces her lips with it as if to show John that she could indeed do amazing things with both her mouth and lips and tongue.

 

Just then Roman returns to the table and tells them something about a case he is working on but that everything is okay and that the office just needed to ask him something about it. Marlena smiles widely at Roman who then smiles back at her because she seems happy that he won’t be ditching her yet again tonight; he is totally lost on the fact that the big grin she now constantly holds is from far different reasons than what he thinks.

 

Abe stands and holds out a hand to Lexie to ask her to dance, to which she takes a hold of it and he leads her out to the dance floor. Marlena watches them both intently and then relaxes her face, wondering why itsuddenly seems sore, but quickly dismisses it, she is oblivious to the fact that her constant goofy and slightly drunk enduced smile has consumed her mouth for quite some time.

 

She watches Abe place his arms around Lexie and hug and hold her tight, she then watches Lexie put her arms up and around Abe’s neck, pulling him in even closer. She sees Lexie whisper something into Abe’s ear and though she isn’t sure what it is, she is sure that Abe appreciated it very much given the fact that his face now holds a big goofy grin. Marlena smiles at the thought of them and their perfect marriage, how happy Abe seems to be with her and how Lexie always seems to be glowing and in good spirits, but then she frowns when she realizes that to anyone else that that must be how people see her and Roman as well. And it’s not that they aren’t happy, they are, it’s just that they don’t have that glowing spark like they used to and that makes Marlena miss it and yearn for the good old days.

 

The waiter has returned to the table to ask if anything is needed and Marlena reminds him that the drink she requested ten minutes ago would be great to have right about now, the waiter apologizes and promises to have it right to her.

 

“Doc, you better take it easy, you don’t usually drink that much,” Roman says with a more serious tone.

 

“I’m fine Roman, besides, I know my limit,” Marlena quips at him, almost sternly, but decides to avoid a confrontation that could have easily come about.

 

John is sitting back and watching his surroundings, he is watching Abe and Lexie on the dance floor, he is watching Laura try to avoid Roman and his non-stop boring conversation, he is watching Marlena fidget with her fork. He notices though, when she glances up, the look in her eyes when she fixes her gaze upon Abe and Lexie dancing. Her look is familiar to him, it is one of longing and need, she looks sad and desperate, clinging to anything she can for comfort. He notices how she becomes very serious and that she no longer is swaying to the music and no longer holds a smile on her face. He notices her lift her hand to the table and place it on Roman’s and he notices Roman quickly move his hand away and grab his glass and take a drink. He sees all the life drain from her face, all the happiness is gone, and she looks as if she may cry. He feels sorry for this woman, though he doesn’t know her at all, he feels something for her instantly, not something of pity or sorrow, no, he feels as if he knows her soul and he wishes that he could reach his hand over and grab hers and look deep into her eyes and tell her that he knows how it feels to love someone so desperately and not have that love returned.

 

Marlena returns to watching Abe and Lexie and she starts to slowly move her foot to the slowness of the music. John briefly takes his eyes off of Marlena and notices Laura staring at him, he smiles at her and she smiles back and she nods her head at him and then at the dance floor. He realizes that she wants to dance and doesn’t want to hurt her feelings so he begins to rise, something Marlena immediately is aware of and soon she focuses her eyes on him, her eyes never leave him and she watches him get up and move to Laura’s end of the table.

 

“Laura, I would be honored if you would dance with me,” he says to her as he reaches for her hand. Laura wastes no time in grabbing his and lets him lead her to the dance floor, where she all but molests him in front of every other person in Tuscany. Laura has long since lost interest in John, but still, he is very good looking and decides this may be her final chance to feel him out and see if he is at all interested in her.

 

Marlena laughs softly at the spectacle, she feels bad for John, but she just can’t help but laugh because Laura sure does know how to work a man on the dance floor.

 

‘Poor John, he will never know what hit him, huh Doc,” Roman says to Marlena. She doesn’t answer, she never heard him due to the fact that her eyes are still fixed upon Laura and John, and she notices every move he makes, some of his moves are slow and soft while others are humorous as he tries to avoid Laura’s wandering hands.

 

“Doc, did you hear what I said,” again Roman asks, but this time he nudges her arm.

 

“Oh, sorry Roman, what did you say I didn’t hear you,” she tries to think of a good reason as to why she wouldn’t have heard him considering the fact that he is sitting right beside her.

 

“I said that John guy will never know what hit him.” He giggles a little, feeling sorry for him as he watches Laura try to grab onto John’s ass.

 

“What do you mean, Roman, are you talking about Laura, because I wouldn’t think that you of all people would be insulting my best friend,” she says it almost accusingly.

 

“Doc, I just meant that sometimes Laura, well, she just gets a little carried away is all. I mean, hell Doc, look at her, she looks like a bear cub who hasn’t fed in days, she’s practically drooling on the poor guys jacket,” he says, wndering if his answer was appropriate and really wishing that she won’t pick tonight to fight with him, especially in front of all of their friends.

 

“I think that John is perfectly capable of handling himself when it come to Laura, besides, it looks to me like he is having a nice time dancing with her,” she responds and follows it with a sigh, more so due to the fact that it isn’t completely lost on her that she and Roman are the only two people at their table who aren’t out there dancing.

 

The waiter comes over to Marlena’s table and places her drink beside her and she thanks him and picks it up and begins to down it so fast that she almost chokes on it.

Laura was having a nice time dancing with John. His arms were hard as a rock and she could see the outline of his chest muscles through this shirt, yet his hands were gentle and soft, he was by far one of the sexiest men she had ever had the pleasure to molest on the dance floor. She had a hard time not picturing him naked and may have gotten a little carried away when she was dancing with him, but she was having fun and that was all that mattered. Besides, she didn’t hear John complaining so she wasn’t going to stop having fun herself. Soon though she noticed John’s expression and decided that he wasn’t having nearly as much fun as she was.

 

‘Pity,’ she thought to herself, ‘another one wasted, oh well, plenty more out there anyway. I am sure that I saw a guy checking me out on the way in anyway; maybe he will be more fun than this boring John guy. Hell, Roman is more fun and talks more than this guy, and even if Roman is as boring as hell, as least he talks in more than one sentence at a time phrases.’

 

Just then Laura looked back at the table and saw Marlena sitting there downing another drink. Laura frowned a little and thought, ‘damn, Roman, just ask her to dance already,’ she swore Roman was about as dense as they came when it came to making his wife happy. She was starting to become a little concerned about Marlena, she was sucking down drinks as if her life depended on it and she knew as well as anyone that Marlena could not hold her liquor.

 

But maybe it would be healthy for her to loosen up a little tonight. Lately, Laura and Marlena often talked about how dissatisfied Marlena had become with her marriage and how Marlena had no clue how to get Roman interested in her again. Marlena had been so down and depressed as of late and Laura wished she knew a way to cheer her up.

 

And then it hit her, Laura decided that if Roman wasn’t going to ask his wife to dance that she would make damn sure that Marlena had just as good a time as she deserved to tonight.

 

“John, I was wondering if you could do me a favor,” Laura looked up at John who looked bored out of his mind.

 

“What’s that Laura,” John asked, praying it was anything except another dance with her and her man grabbing hands.

 

“Would you be a dear and ask my friend Marlena to dance,” she smiled up at him with a pleading look on her face. John lowered his eyebrows at her, “I don’t think Roman would appreciate that very much, and seeing that I am new in town, I would like to keep my enemies down to a minimum and having the police chief as my enemy does not sit well with me,” he replied with an honest look on his face.

 

“Oh John, you worry too much. Roman won’t mind, besides, look at Marlena, if she sits there any longer she will either die of boredom or start sweating alcohol through her pores, either way, I won’t let that happen and she needs to have a little fun tonight. I will ask Roman to dance and you can ask Marlena to dance, see, problem solved,” she said, as if she had it all planned out from the beginning, and of course she did.

 

John, who by now wanted to do anything to remove Laura’s roaming hands from his seemingly now infected body, decided it was well worth it as long as it involved getting her hands off of him.

 

“Sounds good to me, lead the way,” and so he followed her as they walked back to the table, each taking their seat after they walked by Abe and Lexie who were still holding each other close out on the dance floor.

 

Laura leaned over to Roman who was busy fidgeting with his watch.

 

“Roman, listen, I had a couple of questions about the case you are working on,” Laura knew exactly how to get his attention, “what do you say we dance and talk about it,” she asked him as she shook her head yes at him and grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, not giving him much of a chance to say no.

 

Roman however wasn’t exactly interested in dancing, though he did want to talk to Laura about her involvement in the case he hated to dance and would rather have just sat down and talked to her. He looked back at Marlena who nodded her approval to him and then began to smile again because she knew how much he hated to dance and knowing he was uncomfortable made her smile inside and out.

 

“Doc, are sure its okay, I mean, if you would rather I danced with you,” Roman said to her as if he wanted her to save him from Laura and her wandering hands, but Laura jumped in before she could answer.

 

“Oh Roman, she is fine with it, besides, if Marlena would like to dance I am sure that John would be happy to take her for a spin around the dance floor,” success was hers and she knew it, Marlena had damn better thank her for this later.

 

Laura was quite the sly one, that is for sure, and Marlena knew her all too well. Laura would never want to dance with Roman and that she was sure of, so immediately she knew something was up. And when Laura mentioned something about John dancing with her, she finally realized what she was up to. Laura felt sorry for her, and that pissed Marlena off, she didn’t need Laura or anyone else to feel sorry for her, she was sure of that. But before she had time to get any angrier, John was by her side holding out his hand for her take it.

 

When she placed her hand in his she was surprised at how warm it was. He grasped her hand and pulled her up, when she stood she realized that she did it a little too fast and almost fell back down, but John managed to grab on to her arms and held her steady, “You okay Marlena,” and she shook her head yes and laughed at little, “Oh sure thing, I just lost my footing is all,” she knew that he knew it was a lie, but still, it made her feel better to just dismiss it as such. He grabbed onto her hand and led her to the dance floor.

 

He held out one hand and she placed hers in it and then she placed her other hand on his shoulder, while he placed his other hand around her back and rested it. His fingers rested on the opening in the back of her dress and as soon as they came in contact with her skin she jumped a little and felt her stomach go weak, but tried to brush it off as if it were nothing.

 

He pulled her in closer to him and he smelled her hair; she smelled of flowers and of an intoxicating scent that he knew would drive him wild. She smelled exactly how she looked, beautiful and breathtaking. He pulled her into him tighter.

 

She closed her eyes but quickly opened them when she realized what she was thinking, dismissing it quickly.

 

They danced for a little while before either one said a thing, both thinking about what they should say to get past the awkwardness of the moment. John enjoyed having his hands on her, he enjoyed the feel of her silk dress beneath his touch; it was exciting to touch such a beautiful woman, and it had been years since he was able to dance with, much less hold one as beautiful and as breathtaking as she was. He was not lost on the fact that her beauty made me turn around to get another glimpse of her, he had done the same thing when she first walked into the restaurant. Her beauty amazed him, she was delicate and sexy and he immediately felt a desire for her.

 

Marlena enjoyed the proximity of their bodies. She was drunk, she knew she was, she could no longer deny it, but she was pretty impressed with the fact that she could still stand on her own two feet and hell, she was even dancing, kudos to her for that. Damn, Roman, thinking she couldn’t hold her liquor, damn him for embarrassing the hell out of her. She wanted to slap him hard across the face, she wanted him to wake up and realize what a good thing he had with her, and how she was tired of how he took advantage of her all the damn time. He was an asshole, he was a dick and she was going to tell him that tonight. She started to let go of John but then the room started to spin a little, “watch out there Marlena, I don’t think you want to fall out here in front of everyone, besids, people might start saying that I tripped you or something and I don’t want my reputation as a dancer to be as a bad one,” John took the opportunity to hold on to her arms a little tightly and decided that if he didn’t think fast that she would probably wind up passing out and hitting her head on the floor.

He then grabbed to her waist and held on tight and he cocked his head a little to the side and she looked up at him and they both smiled at each other.

 

Marlena felt a little better and let him know that she was fine and he let go of her and they returned to their previous dancing positions. Marlena leaned in close to John, smelling him, smelling a deep scent that radiated sex appeal, it had been a long time since Marlena was this close to a man besides her husband and she was enjoying every single minute of it. He exuded charm, he was handsome and flirtatious and she wanted him, she was very, very aware of how much she wanted him.

 

John pulled her back a little from him and looked into her eyes and smiled. She was beautiful, she was heavenly and he imagined she was the kind of woman that any man would want to spend hours with. He enjoyed everything about her that he had witnessed so far, she was far more worthy of what she was getting from her dickhead of a husband, and he had a feeling that she was under appreciated and that Roman didn’t realize what a good thing he had in her.

 

Again, John met her eyes with his and started to speak softly to her, “Marlena, I am sure you’ve already heard this tonight, but please don’t feel uncomfortable when I say this to you, okay,” John stared into her eyes.

 

“Okay, go ahead,” she stared back into his eyes not sure of what he was going to say.

 

and then he pulled her back in close to him, adjusted his arms again around her back, slightly grazing his fingers against her exposed skin causing her to catch her breath in her throat. He leaned his head down and found her ear and whispered into it, “You look beautiful tonight, Marlena.”

 

She could not breathe. She was consumed by his words and his hot breath on her skin. She was void of all speaking abilities. Her heart hurt and felt full at the same time. She could not breathe. She shut her eyes tightly and allowed him to hold onto her. She could not breathe. She laid her head onto his shoulder. She could not breathe. For a moment she moved the hand that was on his shoulder up and around to the back of his neck and lightly stroked the back of it with her fingers before bringing her hand back to his shoulder. She could not breathe. She grasped her hand tighter into his shirt and then she pulled her head back and looked into his eyes. She could not breathe. He smiled at her but she did not smile back at him. She could not breathe.

 

“Marlena, are you okay,” he asks starting to seriously worry about her now as it was that she had a strange look on her face and was quite literally turning a pale shade.

 

“Marlena….Marlena,” he again asks her and grabs onto her waist with both hands as he can sense her that she is starting to feel a little uneasy on her feet.

 

And then just as he grabs tighter to her waist and says her name once more, she calmly holds her hands up a little, takes a step back and then leans over and throws up all over him.

When Marlena wakes in the morning it is with great hesitancy, she snarls her nose and eyes and is quite certain that she may in fact be dead, and if not she is starting to wish that she were. She has a strange acidic taste in her mouth, her eyes are heavy, and her body is so damn sore she can barely move, not to mention the fact that her head feels like it will burst in two at any minute.

 

“STOP IT,” she hears loudly in her head or ears or something, whatever it is, she just knows that she wants it to stop and stop now.

 

“I SAID STOP IT NOW,” again she hears it and closes her eyes so tightly that now they begin to hurt as well, if only she could shut out that damn noise.

 

“Stop it, Eric, or I am going to tell mom about the porn stashed under your bed,” she hears Sami yell at her brother, followed by a devilish laugh.

 

“You wouldn’t dare,” he yells back at her.

 

“Oh yeah, TRY ME BUDDY,” Sami yells back at him and then slams a door as loudly as she possibly can.

 

‘Oh for the love of god,’ Marlena thinks to herself, ‘please just shut the hell up already.’ She shoves her head under the pillow, eager to drown out the shouting coming from across the hall.

 

“SAMANTHA, STOP IT, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM NOW,” Eric shouts as loud as he can.

 

“OH MY GOD, YOU SAID HELL, I AM TELLING MOM THAT YOU SAID HELL, ERIC!” Sami snaps back at him.

 

“Oh yeah, well I am going to tell mom about you and Jan sneaking out the house last weekend,” he quickly retorts to her.

 

“You wouldn’t dare,” she shouts.

 

“JUST TRY ME YOU SPOILED BRAT,” he yells, with hopes that it will finally shut her up and get her out of his room.

 

By now Marlena has given up and is aware that her children, who keep raising their voices even more by the minute, are in fact devil children. Yes, they are the spawn of Satan because children that yell like that could never come from her womb.

 

She slowly maneuvers herself up and out of bed, finds her robe and starts to put it on when she hears Roman start yelling, “Now what in sam hell is going on in here, I told you that your mother wasn’t feeling well and that you both needed to be quiet, now didn’t I, DIDN”T I!!!” He is now shouting as loudly as both Eric and Sami were.

 

Marlena shakes her head and thinks to herself, ‘yes, my children are the spawn of Satan and Roman is in fact Satan himself.’ She contemplates lying back down but when she hears more shouting decides that it would be best if she intercedes whatever is going on across the hall since Roman obviously has no clue how to handle the twins and their teenage hormones, not that she is very sure that she does either, but anyone, she is quite certain, can do a better job at it than Roman is doing.

 

She ties her robe together and notices that it is earlier than she thought it was. She walks out of her bedroom and into the hallway and finds herself staring at a huge mess of books, magazine, and something that resembles clothing in the middle or Eric’s floor. She shakes her head as she recalls that Eric had told her his room was clean.

 

This doesn’t go unnoticed by Eric, who quickly interjects, “Mom, um, I, uh…SAMI DID IT, MOM!” he shouts as he stares Sami dead on, pointing straight at her.

 

“I SO DID NOT” Sami yells back at him.

 

“YES YOU DID SAMANTHA, TELL HER, TELL MOM THAT YOU DID IT, YOU FREAK,” Eric has decided that he will not be blamed for this, porno’s or not, he will not end up being grounded for his sister’s constant intrusions into his room.

 

“SHUT UP ERIC, YOU ARE THE FREAK NOT ME,” she stares him down.

 

Marlena, who is now sure that her head is going to burst in front of her family, holds her right hand up and calmly and quickly responds to them while looking, one at a time, at all three of them.

 

“I do not care who did this, it does not matter to me one bit, all I care is that you clean it up and that you clean it up now, before you are both late for school,” they all three look at her as if she has lost her mind, they were certain she would yell, she usually does. Marlena, who feels as if her point has not been clearly made due to the fact that no one has made a single move, quickly adds again, “I said clean it up, NOW!” and hastily turns and walks back into her bedroom. She distinctly hears the sounds of books and various other items being quickly picked up and small utterances of “I told you to be quiet,” and “see how mad you made your mom,” and “you better hope she didn’t hear you Sami,” being whispered.

 

But all Marlena cares about is a shower and her head which now, if possible, feels ten times worse than it did when she first woke up. She finds medicine in the cabinet in the bathroom, she takes a few pills and then gets into the hot shower. With her back to the shower water, she leans her head against the side wall as the water beats down on her back. She breathes in the steam and slowly lets it out. “What in the hell happened last night,” she says to herself, “I don’t remember a damn thing,” and then she lifts her head and wets her hair.

 

Roman has since come into the bathroom and starts brushing his teeth, wondering if he should say something to Marlena about the twins and how he didn’t think it was necessary for her to raise her voice at all of them like that, besides, he thought he was doing a fine job handling it before she ever walked in.

 

“Hey Doc,” Roman, who is now standing against the shower door, hollers toward her but she is oblivious to him and his shouting.

 

Concerned, he opens the door and sees her standing with her head down and under the shower, letting the water beat against the back of her head.

 

“Doc, are you okay,” he asks as he holds his hand out and grabs to her naked arm, startling her.

 

“Roman, shit, you scared the hell out of me,” she says as she pulls her arm from him and turns around and lets her backside face him, almost in an attempt to hide her front side from him, though she isn’t sure why, it’s not like he hasn’t ever seen her naked before, they are married after all. But she instinctively does it anyway and then turns her face back toward him.

 

“Sorry, Doc, I hollered but you didn’t answer me, I was worried about you is all. After last night I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Roman says as he begins to stare at her ass.

 

“Roman,” Marlena quickly begins, obvious to where his eyes are, she does not want to give him time to get turned on because she is certainly in no mood to go there, “what exactly do you mean, what in the hell happened last night and don’t leave out a thing because I apparently have zero recollection of what happened.” She watches his face turn angry.

 

“I am not surprised one bit, Marlena, I told you to stop drinking, didn’t I,” he glares at her and shakes his head slightly. He ponders the fact that she never seems to take his advice on things lately, maybe if she did she wouldn’t have wound up in the predicament she was in last night. Embarrassing him in front their friends like that, he was sure that they would never be able to show their face at Tuscany again.

 

‘Shit,’ Marlena thinks to herself, turning off the water and getting out and finding a towel, she wraps herself in her robe and glares back at Roman. She knows exactly what he is thinking, well, most of it anyway. If she could just remember what happened then she was sure would realize the extent of Roman’s anger that is now extremely visible across his face.

 

“Just tell me what happened already, Roman,” she tells him as she finishes putting her robe on and wipes off the mirror with her towel, grimacing at her reflection. She looks terrible and is very aware of it.

 

“Well, I was dancing with Laura and we were talking about the case I am working when all of the sudden I look over and you are throwing up all over the front of John Black’s shirt, pants, and shoes,” Roman says and then he busts out laughing, letting go of  his anger momentarily. By now he could care less as he starts to picture it again in his mind, because damn, if that wasn’t one of the funniest things he had ever seen in his life, the look on that John guys face was priceless when his wife threw up all over him.

 

Horrified, Marlena, who has now moved into the bedroom with Roman, sets down on her bed as she starts to recall bits and pieces of the events of the evening. She listens to Roman tell her about how after she threw up all over John and that Roman and Laura quickly came to her rescue and how Laura drug her to the bathroom and that while she was in there she had passed out. Roman wound up having to carry her to the car and quickly put her to bed where she slept the rest of the night. Marlena then asked Roman if John had been upset by what had happened but he told her that he was so wrapped up in getting her taken care of that he never saw him again that night.

 

“Good thing, though, I am not sure if I could make for you barfing all over some stranger,” Roman said again, still laughing. “I hope you are prepared to pay for the guys dry cleaning bill, although, if I were him I think I would just burn those clothes,” still laughing he then shudders at bit at the thought of the guy having to ride home in his car with puke all over him.

 

All of the events are soon clear to her and she quickly retreats into the bathroom, leaving behind Roman and his uncontrollable laughing fit.

 

Closing and locking the door behind her, she falls to the floor and closes her eyes tightly as she brings her knees up and rests her hands on them, she rests the back of her head against the door. The evening had gone so horribly. She had too many drinks and then she remembered not eating much that day, she had been too busy, and had known that she would be having a nice meal at Tuscany later that day she hadn’t bothered to worry much about it. She remembered other small details, the uncomfortable car ride with Roman, the conversation in the bathroom with Laura and Lexie, Roman embarrassing her, the laughing and gossip about the new mysterious John Black, who would later wear whatever it was that she held in her stomach. ‘Oh the horror of it all,’ she thought to herself. She recalled how he was polite and easy going with her, how she was so struck by his good looks and charm. And those eyes, those piercing blue eyes and inviting lips. And then she opened her eyes, ‘what in the hell are you thinking about Marlena,’ she thought to herself, realizing she was a little too aware about the physical characteristics of John Black. She then recalled their dance that they had shared and how Laura probably coerced him into dancing with her because she most likely felt sorry for Marlena. He was a good dancer, he held her just far enough from his body, quite the gentleman. She remembered how his hand felt soft in hers. She remembered jumping a little when his other hand grazed the bare skin on her back, but that she had felt fine until then, a little drunk but not sick at all.

 

And then it hit her all at once. She closed her eyes again remembering him pulling her in closer to him, how he wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, drawing his fingers along her backside slowly, gently. She remembered how his mouth looked so inviting and that she wanted to kiss him, feel his tongue on hers. She recalled how he had leaned into her ear and told her that she looked beautiful last night. All at once it came rushing back to her, how she squeezed his hand, how she had ran her fingers along the back of his neck, how she had felt light headed, how she could not breathe, how she looked deep into his eyes and how he never once looked away, the way he called her beautiful, they way only he had called her beautiful that night.

 

And then it hit her again and she soon found herself with her head hovering about the toilet, releasing what little she had left in her stomach into the toilet bowl.

 

“Oh dear god,” she whispered to herself before releasing into the toilet once more.

 

Roman thought he had heard the distinct sound of Marlena throwing up again and rushed into the bathroom to find her on her knees with her head hung into the toilet bowl. He shook his head and grabbed a washcloth for her.

“Doc, here is a washcloth.” He handed it to her and checked his clothes in the mirror, showing little concern for her or the state that she was in. ‘And why should I be concerned about her,’ he thought to himself, ‘I told her not to drink. Maybe she will learn her lesson this time and actually take the advice I give her from now on,’ he picked up his badge and gun and then turned to walk out the door but stopped and turned back to Marlena who was still dry heaving into the toilet.

 

“Doc, are you going to be okay, should I get you something,” he asked her. He did care, he knew he did and although he was pissed at her for the spectacle she made of herself last night, she was still his wife and he was concerned about her.

 

“No, Roman, I am fine. I am sure I just drank a little too much and I may have forgotten to eat yesterday. I will be fine, don’t worry about me.” She told him and began to feel a bit better and got up from the floor with his assistance.

 

“Okay, if you are sure. Listen, Doc, I have to get going a little early this morning for work,” he told her as he released her hands when he saw she was returning to a normal color. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and hugged her.

 

“That is fine Roman, I will see you tonight,” she said, matter of factly, wishing he would just leave already as it was that she felt like he was taking up her breathing space and how him hugging her suddenly made her feel like she was going to vomit again.

 

He kissed her cheek once more and walked out of the bedroom, stopping at the twins rooms he told them to hurry and come on and that he would drop them both at school. Marlena overhears this and is relieved, since she was quite sure she couldn’t put up with the both of them arguing all the way to school, something that had become more of a past time for the both of them, though she was pretty sure that most of the time they did it just to get on her nerves.

 

After Marlena brushed her teeth several times, she dressed for work. She found a black button up dress shirt and paired it with a matching black skirt that fell to just above her knees. She then located her cell phone and saw that she had two messages, ‘probably both from Laura,’ she thought to herself as she imagined her leaving a message and that Laura would probably try to contain her laughter, but Marlena was sure she wouldn’t have done a very good job of it. She dials her voicemail and enters her password and waits,

‘Marlena, its Laura, Oh My God, you have got to call me as soon as you get this message! I can not believe that you threw up all over John last night. I mean, umm, are you okay? Are you feeling better? Oh my, you should have seen John last night after that happened, the poor guy. Okay, well, I hope you’re feeling better this morning,  call me as soon as you get up, or I will just call you, love you!’

 

Laura was never any good at hiding anything from her, from the moment she started with her message she could hear her holding back her laughter, and she was pretty sure she heard her snort a little out after the ‘you should have seen John last night’ part. Marlena held head down as she thought about poor John Black. Her next message played,

‘Marlena, its John Black. I hope you don’t mind me calling you, I got your number from Laura, she said you wouldn’t mind if I called and left you a message. I was just worried about you and wanted to make sure you were feeling better. I will try to come by your office later today and check on you.’

 

Marlena sat there. Her mouth slightly open, that intense feeling of wanting to throw up again was returning. “I will kill Laura,” she stated loudly. “I will kill her with my own two hands, I can not believe she gave him my number, as if I weren’t embarrassed enough from last night, she gave him my damn phone number. I will kill her. No jury will convict me; they will think I am doing society a favor.”

 

She had no idea what to do now, she didn’t want to talk to him ever again, much less see him in person. Dear lord she threw up all over the man, and now she was going to have to look him in the eyes. This was not going to be a good day, that she was sure of.

Marlena is now sitting in her office desperately trying to reach Laura on her cell phone. Over and over she has called her and she keeps getting her voicemail. She left two or three messages but she has yet to return her call and again she decides to leave her another message, “Where the hell are you Laura, call me back or just get over to the hospital and come to my office, either way we have to talk now,” she slams down the phone.

 

“Well,” she says aloud to herself, “maybe if she does come to my office I can just kill her right here without having to do it in front of any witnesses,” Marlena giggles to herself. While she may not in fact kill Laura, she did have quite a bit of explaining to do, like what John said after the incident and anything else she could fill Marlena in on that she was having trouble remembering.

 

Marlena returns to looking over her files, she doesn’t have that many patients today and the one’s that are coming are spread far enough apart that she can get some work done. That is, assuming that she can actually manage to get anything done at all. She is still constantly trying to put the memories of last night out of her head, not to mention that her head is still splitting in two.

 

She lies her files down on her desk and places her fingers on her temples and rubs them gently. If only the aching feeling would go away. If only her head would stop throbbing. If only she should could go back to last night and change what had happened. After several minutes of rubbing her temples she gives up and lays her head on her desk atop of her arms and lets out a deep moan as if to let her office walls know that she is feeling miserable.

 

“This is useless,” she mumbles aloud, “I need some air.” With that Marlena stands and walks out of her office and tells her secretary that she is going for a meeting and will be back shortly. She gets in the elevator and pushes the button for the next floor up; she knows exactly where she needs to go. The doors open and she slowly exits. There are not many people on this floor, which is why she comes here sometimes. Marlena knows that on her floor she can make use of the balcony but that so many people are constantly going out there that she realizes she will not get any privacy and today she doesn’t feel like talking to anyone, besides that, she is sure that half of Salem already knows about what happened last night. She walks over to the dark set of doors that lead out to the balcony and slowly opens them, hoping there is no one else out there.

 

She steps out onto the balcony and smiles when the sun and wind hit her face. It feels a little cool against her skin, but not too chilly. She is relieved to find that she is very much alone and she smiles and then sighs. She reaches in her pocket and pulls out a hair bow and places her up and in a loose ponytail, she loves to feel the rush of air against the back of her neck. She lets out a deep sigh showing her gratefulness that no one else is out here and that she has the whole place to herself.

 

She chuckles a little at the thought because the balcony isn’t that large, it has remnants of cigarettes in a bowl on the ground left over from the nurses who sneak out there and smoke; it has flowers that are potted, a couple of chairs for those who want to sit and enjoy the view of Salem. And it also has her favorite part, when you round the corner of the balcony there is a divider, a small nook surround by three walls. Someone could stand there for hours and never be noticed by another person and the best part is that very few people know it is even there; Laura had found it years ago and shared it with her.

 

At times this place is Marlena’s safe haven, it is her escape.

 

She walks around the divider. She leans her back against the hard wall. She feels the wind start to blow harder and several small pieces of her hair fall against her face; she leaves them there and just enjoys the wind and the sun upon her face. She looks out and sees most of Salem and then she closes her eyes so that she can just feel, she wants nothing except to feel.

 

Though her head is still aching, it is a welcome change for her to be able to smell fresh air and to be outside with no one else around her.

Unbeknownst to Marlena, when she stepped off the elevator someone did see her. John had been rounding the corner, coming back from a meeting, and saw her out of the corner of his eye and had started to get her attention, but when she looked as if she was trying to go unnoticed he decided to not bother her. She had however, noticed that she looked like she was feeling better this morning, a lot better than the last time he saw her, but still, she looked as if something was bothering her. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to tell her that last night was not a big deal, that he wasn’t angry and how, in fact, he was worried about her and wished that he could have done something to help.

 

John makes a quick call on his cell phone pertaining to a meeting he had in half an hour and then glances around to see if anyone is looking in his direction, when he is satisfied that no one is, he walks over to the dark doors that lead out to the balcony and he slowly opens them.

 

He was met with sunshine and a light breeze. He walks out and onto the balcony and looks to his left and then to his right, but Marlena is nowhere in sight. ‘What the hell,’ he thinks to himself, ‘I know she came out here.’ He thought that maybe she had slipped back in unnoticed by him while he was one the phone and he turns to walk back out the door when he hears a small noise, something that sounds like a half moan, half sigh and he raises one eyebrow. He sees a wall there but is sure that the sound came from the other side of it. He walks over to the wall and sees that you can in fact go around it, not very easily, but that it is possible. He slowly moves around the wall and there, standing before him, is Marlena with her eyes closed, leaning back against a wall, her head slightly raised allowing it to hit the sun. Some of hair gently sways in the breeze and he notes to himself how she looks absolutely breathtaking to him with her hair above her head and small pieces flying about her face and he smiles. He is quick to remember that she is in fact a married woman and he lowers and shakes his head a little at thought, more so because he wished she weren’t but the fact still remains that she is.

 

He didn’t want to scare her and he didn’t want to bother her either, she looked so peaceful, but they needed to talk and he decided that now was as good a time as any.

 

John cleared his throat a little and waited. She did nothing. He took a small step closer to her and cleared his throat again, this time a little louder. Marlena scrunched her face a little, wondering what that weird noise was and opens her eyes to see John Black standing in front of her with a smile on his face. She feels like the wind has just been knocked out of her; the sight of him standing there, smiling at her and looking her in the eyes makes her go weak in the knees. She steadies herself against the wall she is leaning against and takes a deep breath and smiles back at him, but then quickly drops her smile when she quickly recalls the events of last night. John is not lost to this, he sees her once smiling face quickly turn sour and he speaks up before she can think much more.

 

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” John quickly offers, hoping she would forgive him for his intrusion.

 

“It’s okay. I assumed I would run into you at some point today,” she lets out a hard, deep, fast breath. She did not by any means want to have this conversation, hell, she had convinced herself that she never wanted to see him again but there he was, standing in front of her, taking her breath away.

 

“Look, John, I am really sorry about last night, I just wasn’t myself, I had a little too much to drink. I am not usually like that at all, I promise. I will be happy to pay for your clothes to get cleaned or I can replace the one’s you were wearing if you would rather I did. But really, I am so sorry; I did not mean to embarrass you, or my friends for that matter. I guess I just forgot to eat earlier in the day and when I drank a little, well, you know what happened” she tells him, quite apologetically. As all of the words escaped her mouth she became very surprised at herself, she kept going on and on, basically spilling her guts out to some total stranger. She was sure he did not care about any of it, but she knew it would make her feel a better if she could just give him all the details all at once and perhaps he wouldn’t think of her as just some drunk who couldn’t hold her liquor.

 

“Marlena, listen, its fine, I don’t think you need to apologize at all to me or to anyone else for that matter. It could have happened to anyone, it’s probably happened to me in the past, too. But I didn’t want to talk to you because I need you to buy me new clothes or pay to have mine cleaned. I wanted to talk to you because I wanted you to realize that it really was not a big deal and I hope you realize that I would never judge you for what happened. I was also just really worried about you, and I know it’s none of my business, but your husband seemed pretty angry last night and, well, I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay. I know I just met you but you seem like a very nice person and I am just one of those guys that cares enough to make sure that the lady he was lucky enough to dance with made it home okay,” he tells her and realizes that as soon as he said it that it was a total lie, well, it kind of was anyway. John really could care less about some people and situations, he never butted into peoples lives and he certainly never got involved in matters of the heart, especially when it involved people he knew nothing about, but there something about Marlena that just pulled him in from the moment he laid his eyes on her.

 

“That’s really nice of you, John, thank you and thank you for being so understanding and concerned. I really am feeling much better today,” it was a total lie, she felt like shit but he didn’t need to know that as well. She smiled a little at him and he smiled back at her.

 

“I am glad that we have everything settled then, Marlena. Well, I don’t want to bother you any longer, I just wanted you to know that everything was fine between us,” John smiles again and takes a small step back, “I better go, but I am sure I will see you around the hospital though,” he smiled at her one last time and turned to leave.

 

“John, umm, you don’t have to go you know. I mean, it is a free balcony after all, you are more than welcome to stay, if you aren’t busy with something else that is,” her face was a little flushed, had she really just said something that corny to him.

 

John starts to turn back toward her but wipes away the cheesy smile on his face before he does; he is relieved she has asked him to stay; he takes a step back towards her, getting closer to her, but not too close.

 

“No, I am not busy, I do have a meeting but not for a little while. I just didn’t want to bother you in your zone, and I assume that’s what this is. I had no idea this side was even over here. I like it, it’s like a personal sanctuary, I had no idea you were even over here. I guess that’s why you come out here,” he asked her, hoping to engage her in conversation; he wanted her to feel more comfortable around him.

 

“Yes, I like it out here, its quiet because not a lot people use it and Laura was the one who filled me in on this nook here, it’s nice to just be able to escape at moments throughout the day,” she told him.

 

“I will have to remember that it’s here,” he chuckled a little, god she made him so nervous, “They didn’t have a place like this where I used to work, but it was still a nice place and the people there were nice, kind of like Salem, everyone here is so nice and welcoming,” he continued on.

 

Marlena looked into his eyes while he talked to her, she knew she really should be paying attention to what he was saying, but she was focused on more important things, like his mouth. They way his lips moved when he spoke, the way he licked his lips in-between sentences. The way he stood there, it was sexy, he was sexy. She smiled a little and nodded, she had no idea what he had just said but she could fake that she was listening and smiling and nodding were both good ways to do that. His eyes were inviting, she wondered what secrets they held and his hands, god those hands, she wanted them on her back again and in her hand, holding it, she wanted to feel them on her breasts. She wanted to kiss him, she wanted to grab him and slide her tongue deep into his mouth. She wanted to taste him. She became aware of the fact that her nipples were growing hard. She pulled at her shirt as if to make sure they were peeking through and even though she was wearing a black shirt and they could not be seen she was still a little embarrassed. She felt a little guilty at the thoughts she was having, but she was so drawn to this man, this man who could hold her attention and pull her into him like no man had ever done before. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down and noticed his dark pants, wondering what they were hiding behind them and then she swallowed hard, quickly looking back at him. He had still not taken his eyes off of her, it caused her to blush and she wondered if he knew what she was thinking about. His voice made her take deep breaths, she was drawn back to last night when she felt his hot breath on her ear and it made her gasp a little. She felt like he was burning a hole in her by staring at her, she was longing to put her arms around him. She was full of lust for this man, this John Black. He was standing so close to her, she was sure that he could feel the heat radiating off of her body. Again, she caught a glimpse of his tongue as he re-wet his soft pink lips, she wanted to taste him so badly that she grew wet with every passing thought of him and his tongue. Her body now ached for him, it yearned for him, it thrived to be touched by him and still her nipples grew harder.

Marlena’s face had grown flush, she ached, and her body needed and wanted. Her lust for John grew stronger the longer she stood there watching him. She took a small step towards him. She wanted to kiss him and though uncertain of how he would react, she knew that it was now or never, but fuck never, she wanted him now.

 

She raised her hand to touch his face and just as she got it to his cheek she heard the distinct sound of doors opening and the idle chatter of women coming out and onto the balcony.

 

‘Shit,’ she thought to herself. John looked at her strangely, he had stopped talking moments ago, and though he was pretty certain she hadn’t been listening to him for quite some time, he wasn’t sure what exactly was bothering her. He was also perplexed as to why she had come so closely toward him and had acted as if she had wanted to grab his face, but the look on her face when they both became aware that they were no longer alone, spoke loudly.

She looked as if she had been caught red-handed, but they had been doing nothing wrong, but he still wondered and was quite curious as to what it was that she was going to do when she was reaching for him. He stood there and stared at her, watching the range of emotions that came across her face.

 

Marlena was quickly brought back to reality, to think of what she had almost done, it embarrassed her. Here she was having all of these thoughts and for all she knew John Black could have just as easily turned away from her, who was she to think that he was even interested in her. Here he was talking about his life and all could she could think about was pouncing on him. And now, they were not alone and she was essentially trapped in a corner with him; she wondered to herself how many times in the matter of hours would she embarrass herself in front of this man. He was looking at her strangely now as if he was trying to figure out what she was thinking and then it hit him. He brought his finger up to his lips and whispered, “shhhh,” to her and laughed very low. She laughed back at him and shook her head yes, she was glad that he realized the predicament of the situation and that he was in essence agreeing that the last thing that needed to happen was for the two of them to be caught together, even though they really weren’t doing anything wrong. He slowly turned and placed his back against the wall, positioning himself right beside her. They both stood there and listened intently to the people who now joined them on the balcony.

 

“We have to hurry, we don’t want to get caught,” one of the ladies spoke aloud. She was coming out for her smoke break and though she knew it was against the rules to smoke out there she didn’t feel like walking all the way to the smoking station across the hospital.

 

“Okay already, shit, I looked and no one saw us coming out here, but, I do agree, we need to hurry. I have a patient that needs to be walked, but he is pretty drugged right now so it should be fine for a little while anyway,” she took a cigarette from her friend and they both lit up and continued their idle chatter.

 

John and Marlena were now listening intently. Marlena shook her head when she realized that she had no clue who the people were that were talking, but that they obviously worked there. She glanced over at John who glanced back at her; she smiled when he shook his head and when he made gagging sounds when the ladies talked about smoking, she laughed quietly at him.

 

Marlena dropped her arms down at her sides and placed her palms against the hard cool wall, lifted her head up to the sun and closed her eyes. John noticed her doing this and followed in suit, dropping his arms and raising his face.

 

“Did you hear about what happened last night,” the lady exhaled her smoke.

 

“What happened; please tell me that it is good and juicy? I had to work last night and besides that, I never hear anything good in this place anymore, not since they moved me to ICU,” she inhaled again on her cigarette, looking at her friend with anticipation and hoping it was going to be something good.

 

“Well, apparently Dr. Evans got smashed at Tuscany last night,” the nurse smiled at the thought, wishing she had been there to see it first hand.

 

“No fucking way, you’re lying,” she had a shocked look on her face.

 

“Swear to God, a friend of mine was her waiter, he said she kept ordering drink after drink and that she sucked them down like there was no tomorrow,” she laughed when said it.

 

“Wow, Dr. Evans is a sot, who the hell would have thought it,” she shook her head, having a hard time believing this one.

 

“It gets better. Apparently that new board member was there, John Black, and she was dancing with him and then she threw up all over him,” she said it and mimicked it, and they both busted out laughing while continuing to smoke.

 

Marlena dropped her head, she knew this would happen, she was afraid it would, but she knew it was inevitable. She was finally hospital gossip. She grew mad though when she heard them laughing at her, but suddenly she became even more embarrassed. John opened his eyes and looked over at her, she had her head down and he didn’t have to guess what she was thinking, it was written across her face. He looked down and saw her hand and he slowly placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed it gently.

 

She looked down at his hand on hers.

 

It was a simple gesture; it was sweet and kind of him. He wanted her to know that everything would be okay and though he knew nothing about her, he wanted her to know that at least someone was there for her.

 

She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. He smiled at her, a soft smile, a gentle smile, one that told her what he was thinking and he hoped she would appreciate that a total stranger cared enough to be concerned for her.

 

She turned the palm of her hand to meet the palm of his and then slid her fingers through his, gently, slowly, allowing their flesh to become intertwined. He lowered his head and looked at their hands; he wasn’t sure what she was doing. He raised his face and looked into her eyes again with his, she had no expression and he had no idea what she was thinking.

 

She took a step, turned, and faced him, taking his other hand in hers as well. She sucked in a deep breath and then she hastily raised both of his hands above his heads and pushed them into the wall above him. She moved her face so that it was within inches of his; she could feel his breath on her mouth. She closed her eyes momentarily and then re-opened them.

 

He wasted no time thinking about it. He moved in and claimed her mouth on his, sliding his tongue deep into hers. He tasted her; he moved his soft tongue against her raging tongue. Marlena nearly cried out when he slid his wet tongue into her mouth, it was everything she imagined it would feel like and more. Her legs grew weak beneath her and he noticed her legs start to give a little, he swiftly lowered their arms and took his hands out of hers, and he released himself from her mouth. He grabbed her shoulders and switched places with her, he pushed her body into the wall where his had once been. He brought his hands to her face and he gazed into her eyes, she bore no smile, she only bore the look of a woman who wanted a man to give her exactly what she wanted, exactly what she needed, and he was just the man to do that for her.

 

Marlena grabbed his face and pulled his mouth onto hers; she slid her tongue back into his mouth, grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast. That was all the urging he needed, if he had any doubts as to what she wanted before they were now long gone from his mind.

 

His kiss was everything she had expected it to be, though it was hunger filled and fast, she felt the gentleness and the softness of his lips on hers. He broke from their kiss and dipped his head to her neck, he slid his tongue from his mouth and met it with the base of her neck drawing a line up to her jaw line with his tongue; she tasted sweet and salty. Marlena placed her hand on the back of his head guiding him where she wanted him to go, letting him devour her with every movement. He stepped in closer to her and pulled her out from against the wall, he placed both of his hands on her ass and pushed her whole body into him, she felt his already hard erection push into her and she moaned. He quickly placed his hand over her mouth, reminding her that they were not alone. She raised both eyebrows and shook her head, letting him know that she remembered she had to be quiet. He removed his hand, replacing it with his mouth and swiftly brought his hand down to her breast, he squeezed it hard. He moved his fingers to her blouse and unbuttoned it, she smiled at his skill; a man who could unbutton a blouse with one hand and squeeze her ass with the other, he was turning her on even more. He unbuttoned her blouse, pulled it from her skirt and slid both his hands inside her blouse; he leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth. She felt one hand on her breast and she felt his other hand slide around to her back and pop open her bra with his two fingers, she gasped in his mouth when she felt her breasts fall free from her bra. He pushed her back against the wall and then his hands quickly found both bare breasts. He released her mouth from his and bent down and momentarily enjoyed the view of both of her breasts, he wanted to taste her nipples. He took her right breast into his mouth and felt the hardness of her nipple against his tongue.

 

When his tongue came in contact with her nipple Marlena nearly cried out, she had to bring her hand to her mouth and cover it so that no sound would escape it. The wetness between her legs was becoming more and more obvious to her, she was throbbing, she wanted him inside her, and she didn’t care what part of him it was as long as he was inside her.

 

She grabbed the back of his head and forced his mouth onto her breast even more. He opened his mouth, trying to take in as much of her breast as he could without hurting her, finally he released it and continued on to her left breast, moving his free hand to the breast he just released with his mouth, the other hand still grabbing at her ass. He gently licked her nipple; he craved her taste on his tongue. He ravished her breast with both his hand and his mouth. She pushed his head harder onto her breast; she leaned her back into him and arched her body.

 

He slowly ran the hand that was on her ass forward and placed it on her outer thigh. She was aware of every movement that he made and her hunger for him increased; he was not moving fast enough for her. She grabbed at his hand that now rested on her thigh and she moved it down and underneath her skirt, forcing his hand to cup her centre. He released his tight hold on her breast and she quickly brought him up to her face and kissed him. She tasted him; she tasted her breast on him, in his mouth. She wanted to dive inside his body and take her place there; she wanted to fulfill this overwhelming need that she had for satisfaction. He slid her skirt up with his hand and held it in place, exposing her black lacy panties, with the other hand he slid her now wet panties down to just below her thighs. He continued to play with her tongue against his. He ran his hand up her naked thigh.

 

He stopped kissing her and pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. The faint sound of the women talking in the background was becoming harder for the both of them to hear as they were fully concentrating on each other now.

 

Marlena leaned up and placed both of her hands on the front of John’s pants; she unbuttoned them and then unzipped them. She pulled at them until they dropped down over his thighs and hit his shoes, next she dropped down his boxers and his hard erection sprang free. She licked her lips and took her bottom lip in her teeth as she stared at it with hunger in her eyes. John came closer towards her. He leaned down and ripped her panties the rest of the way down her thighs and legs, he lifted one of her legs and then the other and released her panties from her body. He quickly rose back up and grab at her thigh, lifting it, he stared deep into her eyes, they pierced her and she never took her eyes off of his. He took his free hand back to her inner thigh, the one that was lifted in his other hand, and traced the inside of it until he found her wet centre, she was dripping wet, it was practically running down her opposite thigh. He slid one long finger up and along the outside of her until he found her clit and slowly grazed it, then he ran it back down until he found her opening; he slid his finger inside her.

 

She gasped and the sound that should have escaped her mouth was stopped when he covered her mouth with his, sliding his tongue into her. He pulled his finger back out of her wetness and then placed two fingers inside her, his thumb finding her clit; he quickly slid his fingers in and out of her while circling her clit with his thumb. She moaned deep and low, low enough for him to feel it in his mouth.

 

John was even harder now, his erection was painful for him, while he was sliding his fingers in and out of her his hard cock hit her thigh or the back of his arm and he would wince each time it came in contact with him or her. He wanted her; he wanted this woman, to be inside her. It wasn’t about love and it wasn’t about feelings, it was about lust, pure unadulterated lust that they both felt for each other.

 

He quickly slid his fingers out of her and grabbed at his hard cock. She reached down and found his hand on himself and quickly replaced it with hers, he placed his now wet fingers onto her breast. She led his hardened cock to her opening and she placed the tip of him inside her, she didn’t need time to adjust to him to his large size, there was no time for it anyway, when she could feel that he was just inside her she took her hand away and quickly found his ass and pushed him into her as hard and as fast as she possibly could. His cock slammed deep inside her, filling her full. She kissed him hard. He was afraid that he had hurt her, but the forcedness of her kiss showed no signs that she was in any pain. He grabbed harder at her lifted thigh that and she swung her leg around his backside causing him to he pull on it harder, allowing him to go deeper in her.

 

He began to move back and forth, allowing his cock to move in and out of her. She closed her eyes and moaned lightly. He stopped kissing her and looked at her, placing his forehead against her allowing his breath to hit her face. He got as close to her as he possibly could and began hurriedly pumping in and out of her, faster and faster he went, filling her insides with warmth, she could feel her wetness dripping down her thigh and it turned her on even more. She dug her nails into his hips and then she moved both hands up and around to the back of his neck. He leaned in and kissed her, and then he forced his body up against hers and began to pump harder, faster.

 

His free hand grabbed at her face, the back of her ass, and her breast, as if it wanted to ravish her entire body. She closed her eyes tighter, she could feel her orgasm coming, her body quivered and clamped down on him and before she could even think, it took control of her whole body. It wasn’t slow and easing, it was fast and consuming, it ravaged her entire body, it took her to a place she had never been before, to a place she had never known existed.

 

Her nails dug deeper into his skin, she burrowed them deep into him and she scratched at his neck, never noticing that she broke the skin. He plunged deep into her when he felt her muscles cave in around his hardness, once more he pumped into her and then exploded with everything that he had. His hot seed burst deep inside her, his body writhed against hers and he had to kiss her to keep from grunting loudly. He grabbed onto her breast tightly and again she dugs her nails deep into his flesh.

 

He slowed his pumping and finally came to a rest. They were exhausted, yet they breathed normal, both afraid that if they gave into heavy breathing that it would certainly give them away.

 

“I am telling you, Dr. Evans is a total lush, I bet she leads some double life that no one even knows about,” the nurse laughed once more and went to put out her cigarette.

 

“You’re crazy, Dr. Evans is like the most normal person I have ever met in my entire life, I bet she was just having an off day,” she, too, put out her cigarette and they both laughed once more before opening the balcony doors and going back inside.

 

Marlena looked at John who was still buried deep within her; they were both now breathing hard, breathing in unison. They were spent, they were exhausted and they were satisfied. She leaned in and kissed him once more, lingering a little and licking his top lip.

 

He pulled himself back and slowly released himself from within her. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her, she smiled and almost laughed out loud, she had always wondered if that was why men really kept those things in their back pockets, yet she was grateful at that moment that he had one.

 

After re-dressing themselves and making sure that no one who happened upon them the rest of the day could have guessed at what they had just done, they briefly stared into each other’s eyes. There was no awkwardness between them, something that surprised them both. Just then John’s cell phone began to ring. He looked at her as if to tell her that he was sorry, she nodded and he answered it.

 

Marlena handed him back his handkerchief and he slid it into his pocket, she stepped back onto the other side of the balcony wall and he soon joined her. When he got off the phone she looked at him and as she was fixing to speak the balcony doors opened again and out walked Roman and Laura.

Marlena stared into John’s eyes and he stared back at her with a slight smile on his face. She started to speak up when suddenly the doors on the balcony opened and out walked Roman and Laura. Roman was the first to notice Marlena, she saw him look at her and then look at John. It didn’t take long for Laura to notice them either and she spoke up first, “Marlena, here you are and I see you found John, I was just helping Roman try to find you.”

 

“I wasn’t aware that you were looking for me, Roman, why are you here today, police business I assume.” She replied looking at them both, she was suddenly very conscious of the look on her face, making sure it showed no signs of what she and John had been doing moments earlier.

 

“No. Doc, actually I needed to talk to you about something and when I saw you weren’t in your office I found Laura and she said that sometimes you came out here,” he noticed she was acting a little strange but brushed it off quickly figuring it probably had something to do with how sick she had been this morning, “John, how are you today, fully recovered from last nights episode I hope. Hey, listen man, I am really sorry about what happened, Doc usually doesn’t drink and I told her to slow down, but you know how women can be,” he said it with no humor in his voice, he was very serious after all. He reached out and shook John’s hand.

 

Marlena dropped her head and stared at the floor, god she hated how Roman embarrassed her sometimes.

“Roman, nice to see you again as well, I am doing okay” John disliked him from the moment he opened his mouth in the restaurant last night, the guy was a dick and that is all there was to it, “I have to say, Roman, actually I am more than okay, you see, Marlena and I were just laughing about how when I forget to eat and have a little too much to drink, well, I can’t remember the times I have gotten sick so easily, and well, to be quite honest with you” he wanted to prove to Roman that his wife was human and that everyone makes mistakes, “I was just concerned with making sure that she was feeling okay about everything today, I wouldn’t want her to be embarassed or anything about what had happened.” He let go of Roman’s hand and smiled, thinking to himself ‘yeah, and maybe if you were a little more concerned about your wife she wouldn’t have just screwed me out here on the balcony, but thank you very much for your lack of concern.’ He smiled wider.

 

John’s comment put Roman in his place, even if Roman didn’t notice that it had. Laura and Marlena, however, were quite aware of it and it showed on their smiling faces.

 

“Well, Doc, listen I was hoping we might grab a bite to eat and talk a little, if you’re not too busy that is,” he looked over at John as if he was wondering what the hell he was still standing there for.

 

Laura, noticing the uncomfortable lapse of the moment, spoke up, “John, I was wondering if you were heading to the same meeting I am, the one about the new children’s burn unit that the hospital is trying to fund,” she smiled brightly hoping he was going to say yes.

 

“Yes, Laura, I am,” he looked at his watch, the meeting started in ten minutes.

 

“Good,” said Laura, “I will just walk with you,” she turned to walk away and paused and turned back around to make sure he was coming on with her.

 

John looked at her, ‘damn that woman is relentless,’ he thought to himself, and while he would rather have stayed and finished talking to Marlena he knew it was going to be impossible since Roman was there. He looked over at Marlena who by now had raised her head and was looking back and forth between him, Laura, and Roman, he noticed a small look of desperation in her eyes, but he could do nothing about it.

 

“Roman, nice to see you again and Marlena, always a pleasure, I am glad we were able to get everything out in the open and talk today,” and he shook Roman’s hand once more, then nodded at Marlena and smiled at her before joining Laura.

 

As he walked over to Laura’s side, Marlena heard Laura say to John, “Oh no John, look at your neck, you’ve scratched it and its bleeding,” she went to touch it but he back from her a little and placed his hand over it and rubbed it and looked back toward Marlena briefly and then back at Laura.

 

“Oh that, its nothing, I was trying to move a small tree this morning in my yard is all, I kept trying to get it to move just the way I wanted it too, but I guess it had a mind of its own and it put up a pretty good fight. You know trees, they won’t budge an inch unless you’ve got something good to offer them,” he smiled and Marlena bore the same grin that he did, though no one seemed to notice hers.

 

“Well, by the looks of it the tree must have won,” Laura replied with concern in her voice.

 

“Oh, that it did Laura, that it did,” he replied to her and they headed into the hospital and the doors shut behind them.

 

Marlena glanced down at her nails on her hands and noticed the small remnants of blood under her nails; she quickly placed her hands in her skirt pockets.

 

“So, Doc, where would you like to grab lunch at, your choice,” he started walking to the door but noticed she wasn’t at his side, he turned and looked back to see that she was still standing in the exact same spot.

 

“Roman, I can’t believe you just did that,” she remembered what he had said to John about last night and she was angry, she knew it showed on her face and she hoped he could see it.

 

“What, what did I do exactly,” he questioned her; he was lost as to what she was speaking of.

 

“You embarrassed me in front of John and Laura, talking about me drinking too much, I already explained to you what had happened, why do you choose to make me look a fool in front of everyone,” it wasn’t a question because she already knew the answer to it, it was more of a statement, a direct statement.

 

He stared at her blankly, unsure of what to say, how dare she accuse him of such a thing. But he quickly dismissed it; it was the alcohol, he was sure of it, it was still in her blood and she was speaking foolish things. He started to laugh. Marlena looked at him in disbelief, ‘what in the hell is he laughing at now,’ she thought as she considered slapping him across the face.

 

“Oh, Doc, you crack me up sometimes, that look on your face was priceless, there for a minute I really thought you were mad at me,” he kept laughing, “really, Marlena, I don’t think you need to drink anymore, all that alcohol is affecting your brain cells,” and with that he walked through the doors and back into the hospital. This time not waiting to see if she was coming along, he was too busy still laughing to notice anything.

 

Marlena stood there, not sure if she should cry or scream. She opted for neither, deciding that it was not worth it. She walked through the door and told Roman that eating in the hospital cafeteria was all she had time for today because she had too many patients to see today. It was a total lie, but she didn’t care, she didn’t want to be around him for very long for fear of what she might say or do to him. They found the elevator and down to the cafeteria in complete silence, except for the sound of Roman’s chuckles at odd moments.

 

John walked into the boardroom with Laura and looked for a seat that was available between two people so that Laura could not sit beside him. No such luck, he would spend the next two hours sitting next to her. He sat down and Laura took the seat beside him. John reached for a muffin that was in the middle of the table, un-wrapping it he thought back to Marlena, them on the balcony and he smiled.

 

Laura looked over at John and saw a huge smile come across his face, ‘and just who is he thinking about,’ she wondered to herself. She knew that the only two things that could elicit a smile like that from a man were sex or a woman he was thinking about having sex with.

 

Marlena sat across the table from Roman, she picked at her salad, she wasn’t very hungry. Roman on the other hand was too busy devouring his food to notice.

 

“Roman, what did you want to talk to me about,” Marlena asked him, still playing with her tomato’s that now pointed in every direction on her plate.

 

“Oh, mmm, Doc, listen, mmm, I need your help,” he continued to chew his food while he talked, god she hated that, it was so neanderthal of him, “I am having some guys from work over tonight and I need you to whip something up for them.” He almost chocked on his food, “Actually, let me rephrase that, I need you to order something and have it all laid out nice and pretty by the time we all get to the house.” He went back to devouring more of his food.

 

“Me, you want me to do that, and exactly how long have you known about this get together,” she stared at him with her mouth open, half disgusted by the way he was eating and half disgusted by him ordering her to do something instead of asking her, not that she was very surprised that he had.

 

“A week or so, I just forgot to tell you about it until today when one of the guys asked if he should bring something and I told him no, that my lovely wife had it all taken care of. So, be a doll and take care of that for me, okay,” he looked up and smiled at her and then went right back to his food.

 

“What kind of get together is this exactly, Roman,” Marlena was hoping that her presence would not be required and that she could spend the evening do something that she enjoyed instead of standing around watching men stare at the television and eat food.

 

“ We have to host a party for the new detective coming to town, something fancy, Doc, and you are so good at throwing fancy things like that,” he told her between bites.

 

“Yeah, maybe with a little notice,” she wanted to add ‘you ass’ at the end of her statement but refrained from doing so.

 

“Oh, I know that look, don’t even think about it, Doc, you have to be there, there will be wives there, someone needs to entertain them. Hey, I know, why don’t you invite Laura to come also, that way she can keep you company in the kitchen with the other wives, maybe they can all give you tips on how not to burn dinner,” he chuckled and wiped his face with his napkin.

 

Marlena sat there, she was defeated, it was already set in stone and there would have been no way to get out of this dinner party. She was damned if she was going to spend the entire evening mingling with a bunch of police wives. She decided right there that she would take Roman’s advice and that she would track down Laura today and make her come, she didn’t care what she said, she would come, besides, she owed her and Marlena intended on collecting.

 

Roman quickly stood up.

 

“So, it’s settled, I will see you tonight, everyone will be there at seven, oh, and could you wear something a little less revealing than you did last night,” he bent down and kissed her head and then whispered in her ear, “and Doc, no drinking tonight, okay,” he stood and walked away adjusted his pants on his waist with each step he took.

Marlena sat there for quite a while longer. Fuming, raging, if she were any other woman she might have become extremely violent at that point, but she remained calm. She was beginning to despise everything about Roman, everything.

 

When the board meeting was over, John quickly rose and gathered his things and headed out the door before anyone could notice he was gone. He had a ton of things to take care of and hadn’t started on a single one of them. He headed straight for his office and started on his work.

 

Laura turned around after talking to one of the board members, intent on talking to John about the meeting, but when she turned towards his seat he was already gone. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. She made a mental note to go back his office later, but for now she had more pressing matters to attend to, like Marlena, who had left several voicemails on her phone claiming urgency; though she already had a very good feeling as to what it was about.

 

Marlena was sitting in her office chair with an ink pen in her hands, moving it back and forth between her fingers. Her back was to her door and she stared blankly ahead at her wall. This was the first time since she returned from lunch that she even had time to think. Patients kept her busy and files piled up, she felt overwhelmed and told her secretary to hold all of her calls for the next fifteen minutes. She stared blankly ahead. She thought of many things. She thought of Roman’s dinner party, of Roman’s blatant disregard for her lately, of Roman’s constant embarrassment of her that he seemed to enjoy at her expense. She thought of how lately they seemed more like two people who fought all the time, rather than two people who were deeply in love. She thought about how he warned her about drinking and her choice of outfit tonight and how he made fun of her cooking, he seemed to be making fun of her for a lot of different things lately.

 

Just then she heard a knock on her door.

 

“Come in,” Marlena shouted to the door as she turned her seat to face whomever was now interrupting her thought process.

 

The door opened slowly and there stood Laura. She closed the door behind her and she walked over to Marlena’s desk, taking the seat in front of it. She looked her dead in the eyes and Marlena stared right back at her, both waiting for the other to speak first. There were no smiles, there were no emotions displayed, they simply stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

 

“Oh come on Marlena, you can’t be that mad at me,” Laura broke first; she couldn’t stand the silence and the glaring eyes at her.

 

“Oh yes, I can,” Marlena quickly retorted.

 

“I just thought, I mean, he seemed so concerned is all,” she was almost pleading with her now.

 

“I don’t care, you could have made something up, told him you didn’t know anything, you could have said anything Laura,” Marlena was not happy.

 

“But he was so intent on talking to you, what was I supposed to do, it wasn’t a very easy situation for me you know, I don’t exactly lie well, you of all people should know that,” Laura was practically begging for her forgiveness now.

 

“I don’t care Laura, you know that when I am up on that balcony that I do not like to be bothered by anyone, especially Roman,” she snapped at her.

 

“Roman, what, I thought you were mad at me because I gave John your phone number,” Laura looked at her completely confused.

 

And then it hit Marlena. That name. That was all it took, she was brought back to the previous night and the drinking and getting sick, feeling like a fool in front of John, poor John, and then to the balcony, their naked flesh against one another, him buried deep within her, his mouth on hers on her breasts. Her skin immediately became flushed. She had been so angry at Roman and so busy with work that she hadn’t even been able to process what had happened between them earlier.

 

“Marlena, what is going with you. First you call and yell at me through voicemail, then you act like you don’t even know what I am talking about, now you are mad at me because I showed Roman where you were earlier. That’s it, what is going on here, and don’t you dare lie to me, I know you too well to know when you are lying to me,” she said it because it was true. After all the years of knowing each other she probably knew Marlena better than anyone else did, they shared everything, but Laura was starting to wonder if that were really true.

 

Marlena let out a small sigh. Not yet, she wasn’t ready to tell Laura about what happened between her and John just yet, she needed time to process what happened herself before she told anyone else about it.

 

“Laura, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, I have just been so stressed. Last night I made a complete fool out of myself and Roman just made matters worse. And now I have to throw some stupid policeman’s dinner party tonight at my house, which you are coming to by the way, and then I have all these patients to see today and, I am sorry, truly I am, I didn’t mean to snap at you or yell at you, please forgive me,” again she let out a deeper sigh and brought her hand to her face and then to her hair, running her fingers through it quickly.

 

Laura sat there, taking a moment to think about everything that Marlena had just unloaded on her. She didn’t take too long though, Marlena needed a friend, not a shrink, she needed someone to comfort her and be there for her.

 

Laura quickly got to her feet and went over to Marlena’s chair and gestured to her to get on her feet and then Laura hugged her. She held onto her and told Marlena that she loved her. And she did, she meant it, she was her best friend and they needed each other and relied on each other. She hugged her once more and then let go, Marlena wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand while Laura went back around her desk and took her seat in front of Marlena.

 

“Feel better now, sweetie,” Laura asked her.

 

“Yes, a little,” Marlena was being honest, she really was feeling better, Laura always knew what to say and do to make her feel better.

 

“Good,” said Laura, “Because you are blooming fool if you think I am going to some boring policeman’s party tonight,” she told with her a very serious look on her face.

 

“Like hell you aren’t,” Marlena snapped back at her, “besides, you so owe me and this is how I plan to collect,” she smiled as she said it, “Oh how quickly you forget when you owe me big time, but don’t worry, I will always be around to remind you when you owe me a favor,” she giggled toward Laura’s direction and Laura giggled back at her, knowing she had to go, if only for Marlena’s sake.

 

“Fine, fine, I will be there,” Laura got up to leave, opened the door and walked out it, turning to close it she looked in Marlena’s direction and said, “but I am bringing a date,” she shut door behind her as she said it, never waiting for Marlena’s response. She knew she wouldn’t have wanted her to bring a date, but she also knew that Marlena would be running around busy and Laura wasn’t about to stand around bored and have to socialize with policemen all night long. Yes, it was settled, she would bring a date, “and I know just the man to bring,’ she said aloud as she stepped onto the elevator.

 

Marlena had started to turn back around toward her desk when Laura was walking out her office door, her phone had began ringing and though she was sure that Laura had mumbled something in her direction about the party she was clueless as to what it was, instead, she concentrated on answering the phone, she picked up the receiver and after saying hello she immediately made a mental note about having food catered for the evening and that she also needed to track down John Black.

At five thirty Marlena had finally arrived at home from work. She had everything ready for the party that night, the food, the drinks, the music, she even remembered to call and have the twins go over to their grandmothers for the night.

 

Marlena walks into her bedroom and throws her purse and keys on the bed, she contemplates throwing herself on the bed as well but she no time. She is exhausted. She removes her heels and places them in her closet. She needs to shower; she needs to do that and a million other things before the guests start to arrive. She walks into the bathroom and heads over to the sink and starts to undress. She recalls the day’s events, but mostly she recalls John’s hands on her body. She unbuttons her top and pulls it off of her, then she unclasps her bra, pulls it off and tosses it in the hamper. She turns and looks at herself in the mirror and her breath catches in her throat, she lets out a small gasp of air.

 

John’s presence is made visually known all over her naked body. She bears the light bruises of his touch; there are hand prints, the outlines of fingertips, and small pink marks left from his sucking on her breasts and nipples. Marlena quickly removes her skirt, as it falls to the floor she again sees the unmistakable outlines of fingers on her thigh.

 

She stands looking at herself in the mirror and stares in disbelief, “how did this happen,” she says aloud. She doesn’t recall feeling any pain when John’s hands were on her, all over her body. She looks down at her hands and recalls Laura pointing out John’s obvious scratches on his neck, a result of her nails buried deep within his flesh and though they are now clean she can still vividly recall the specks of blood.

 

Marlena moves her fingers to her breasts and traces the outlines of the pink marks on and beside her nipples, with her soft touch they both immediately grow hard and she breathes in deeply. Her left breast bares a distinct fingerprint; she lays one finger on it seeing if she can match up her finger with his imprint, hoping to remember the exact feeling of his touch. Lingering at the spot, she recalls how it felt to have his finger there, a jolt shoots through her body; her stomach weakens with intense longing. Her right breast holds a small pink mark as well, the result of his mouth upon her nipple, the mark runs along her nipple and to the side of it; she moves her finger gently along it.

 

Marlena recalls John’s mouth upon her nipple, as she moves her finger back across her nipple it grows even harder. She closes her eyes as she slowly traces it, remembering his tongue, his wet tongue on her hard pink swollen nipple. She opens her eyes and swallows hard. She looks down at her thigh and she lowers her hand to it, leaving the other hand at her breast. Bruises resembling fingertips lined her inner and outer thigh. She brings her leg up and rests her foot atop the hamper beside the sink and looks at his marks upon her longingly; she traces the light bruises that line her outer thigh. She closes her eyes again because it makes it easier for her to see his face, to feel his body next to hers; she moves her fingers faster against her nipple. She moves the hand that was at her outer thigh over and stops it at her inner thigh; she slowly allows her fingers to move up and down her thigh while her other fingers are still quickly encircling her nipple. Marlena becomes aware of how her body is tingling, how it is wanting, and how it is needing.

 

Marlena can feel John’s mouth on her neck. She runs her fingers along the bruises on her inner thigh, tracing them all the way up until she finds her fingers at her clit. She lingers there, remembering how his thumb felt on it; she begins to rub it slowly. She opens her mouth and moans a little, recalling his mouth coming into contact with hers; she moves her fingers faster against her clit. Her nipples are now rock hard and she is lightly pulling at them with her finger tips, but she does it very gently as it is that they are already sore and swollen.

 

She glides her fingers down from her clit and slides one finger just barely into her opening, she is very wet and it goes in with ease. She grabs at her whole breast, feeling the fullness of it in her hand; she lunges her finger deeper inside herself. She imagines John’s finger slowly sliding in and out of her, she arches her back and rocks back and forth against her finger. She recalls him taking his fingers out of her and then replacing it with his cock and how she slammed him deep inside her; Marlena then slides her finger out and replaces it with two fingers, she pushes them deep inside her wetness; her body growing hungry for an orgasm. She recalls the fullness of his cock inside her as she repeatedly moves her fingers in and out of her, still squeezing at her breast.

 

Roman decided that coming home early today would be best, he had felt bad about Marlena having to prepare for the party by herself; he pulls into the driveway and smiles when he sees her car. He parks the car, grabs his stuff and heads inside. He hollers for her in the living room but she doesn’t answer, he makes his way upstairs, assuming she is probably in the shower getting ready for the party.

 

Marlena arches her back, she moves the hand that was once on her breast down and finds her clit, she begins to circle it gently and then quickly begins to rub it harder and faster as her fingers continue to work their way in and out of her body. She was in her own world and she was there at that moment with John. She craved his touch and his body against hers, she craved everything about him and the way he made her feel, the way he made her body feel. She was in that bathroom with him, she was feeling his tongue against her mouth, against her neck; she was feeling him slide in and out of her body. She cried out a little, she could feel that it was so close now.

 

Roman entered their bedroom and saw Marlena’s purse and keys thrown about the bed, ‘she must be showering,’ he thought to himself. He walked over to the closed door and knocked once but she didn’t respond, ‘that is odd,’ he thought since he didn’t hear the shower running. He knocked again more loudly and shouted her name.

 

Marlena was so close, she could feel her orgasm coming, just the beginnings of it were starting to rise deep within her; again she thought of John plunging his cock as deep into her as it would go. She threw her head back and closed her eyes tightly, readying herself, but she was suddenly brought back by the sound of Roman’s loud knocking and loud booming voice echoing behind the door, it made her stomach leap. She immediately returned her head up and opened her eyes and froze.

 

‘Fuck,’ she mouthed. She said it without really thinking about it; saying that word was not something that Marlena usually did, in fact she couldn’t recall a time that she had ever used that word. Her mother had raised her to not curse and she constantly told her that women who used that word were filthy and that they only had one thing on their mind. Years ago when Marlena had heard Roman says it she quickly recalled a memory of being eight years old and hearing it come from behind her mother’s closed bedroom door one night and she was sure that it was her mother’s voice that had said it, followed by loud moaning, it had frightened her as a child and she hadn’t realize what it was until she was years older and her and her sister had spent an hour laughing about it, but still every time she heard the word she recalled her mother telling her how the only women who used that word had but one thing and one thing only on their mind.

 

Marlena stood completely still, almost afraid to move, ‘What the hell is he doing here,’ she thought to herself which was followed by all out panic. Marlena glanced in the mirror when she heard him ask if she was okay, she immediately returned her eyes to the bruises that adorned her naked flesh. ‘Roman can not see me like this,’ she thought to herself. She quickly grabbed her robe and threw it on.

 

“Doc, you okay in there, what’s going on,” Roman hollered, becoming increasingly worried about her, he contemplated just opening the door but decided to knock again instead, there was no telling what kinds of woman things she might be doing in there. Once he had walked in on something involving a long white tube and her on the toilet and it freaked him out so bad that he swore women were being taken advantage of by the devil himself and he promised to never barge in again without knocking and asking if he could come in first.

 

“Yes, Roman I am fine, what are you doing home so early,” she shouted back at him.

 

“I came home to help you get ready for the party. Is that a problem, would you rather I left and didn’t come back until it was time for it to start,” he was being sarcastic because he thought she enjoyed his dry sense of humor, yet he was still a little concerned that she wasn’t opening the door yet.

 

“”No, Roman, it’s fine and thank you for coming home early to help with getting ready,” and with she had swung open the door, making sure first that her body was completely covered by her robe. She stood there before him with flushed skin, a blotchy neck, and little beads of sweat on her forehead. Roman stared back at her in disbelief.

“What in the hell have you been doing in there,” he asked, noticing the obvious signs of sweat and blotchiness that radiated across her face.

 

“Oh Roman, you know, I was just doing woman stuff,” she told him because she knew he wouldn’t ask anymore questions due to the fact that answers like that scared the crap out of him.

 

“Oh, ok, that’s fine, I was just worried is all,” he replied as he quietly thanked god that she didn’t explain exactly what it was that she was doing in there.

 

“Listen, Doc, I have to take a shower unless you aren’t done in there,” he questioned her quickly, he didn’t want to go in there and find remnants of woman things lying about.

 

“I still have to shower also Roman, so if you could just hurry it would be great,” she had moved to the closet, trying to find something to wear for the evening.

 

“Yah know Doc, you could just shower with me and we could save all kinds of time that way,” he was gazing at her and lifting his eyebrows up and down, trying to be sexy yet failing miserably.

 

“Thank you Roman, but I will pass, I have to much to do and while you are in there I need to be taking care of some other things,” she hoped he would accept her answer, there was no way she could get naked in front of Roman now and she wasn’t sure how long she could keep his eyes off her either.

 

He seemed to accept her answer because he went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Marlena sat down hard on the bead, she was breathing hard, and she was concerned. Roman had almost caught her and how would she have explained the bruises to him, much less what she was doing in there to begin with.

 

She heard the shower start and got up and cracked the bathroom door and looked to see that Roman was soaping himself up and singing softly. She closed the bathroom door back and returned to their bed and sat down, she sighed loudly and contemplated her next move. She was no longer in the mood to finish what she had started in the bathroom and now that Roman was home she decided to just get over the fact that she hadn’t been able to orgasm, despite the fact that she really didn’t want to just get over it. She had in fact wanted to finish what she started, but she would rather have finished it with John.

Marlena was in the pantry trying to find the extra wine glasses for the guests but was having no such luck remembering exactly where she had put them. Roman and she hardly ever drank wine and she had stored them away somewhere so that she could give them to Sami and Eric one day when they got married.

 

“Where did I put those things,” it was more of a statement than an actual question. They had enough wine glasses as it was, but she was afraid more people might show up and decided that having extra out was a good idea, that and the fact that she bored out of her mind already and was trying to escape for a few minutes.

 

She contemplated getting on all fours and looking under more shelves but finally she gave up, deciding that dust did nothing for her nice dress that she was now wearing.

 

She has chosen something very simple that practically covered her from head to toe and though she was uncomfortable and hot, she reminded herself that it was this or answering to Roman’s questions about the marks that lined her body.

 

She heard Roman holler her name and she turned off the light and went to re-join him in the living room.

 

She found Roman talking to people she didn’t know or recognize, but when he saw her he quickly excused himself and went straight to her.

 

“Doc, where have you been, I have been looking for you everywhere,” Roman looked slightly frustrated.

 

“Sorry, Roman, I was just trying to find wine glasses for the guests, what did you need,” she asked him.

 

“Oh, I was wondering if we had any of those tiny sausage things that I like so much, I was wanting the guys to try them,” he stared at her like a kid in the candy shop. ‘He wanted those now’ she thought to herself, she had ordered all this nice food for his party and he wants tiny sausages that she could have heated up in the oven, she shook her head slightly.

 

“Roman, we don’t have any of those tiny sausage things, I ordered big people food, ok,” and with that she turned to go and answer the door for whoever was knocking on the other side, leaving Roman there mulling over what she had just said to him. ‘Big people food,’ he said it over and over in his head, ‘and what the hell does big people food mean,’ he thought some more, but then  was quickly distracted when he saw a buddy of his picking up a baseball ball that Roman was very proud that he had on display on their shelf, he walked quickly over to the man so that he could tell him all about its significance.

 

In the car on the way to Marlena’s house Laura sat in the passenger’s seat and gave John directions. They made small talk every now and then and Laura, though she tried to get as much as she could out of him about his past, had pretty much given up on it and resorted to just talking about the weather and the hospital. Moments earlier when John had picked her up he had recalled trying to get out of going with her to this party, but when Laura reminded him of the fact that since technically their evening had been cut short the night before, that he owed her one full night out. He did not want that hanging over his head the rest of his time in his in Salem, and even though he knew he would not be living there for very long, he didn’t want Laura asking him to fulfill their night out every time he turned around. And so he agreed to go with her. It wasn’t until they were several minutes away that she finally told him that the party was to be at her friend Marlena’s house, but by then it was too late for him to back out, and back out was the first thing he would have done, despite the consequences of another forced night out with Laura.

 

The doorbell rang after the knock and Marlena hurried to answer it, she came to the door and opened it and saw Laura standing there with a bottle of wine in her hands.

 

“Laura, I am so glad you could make it tonight,” Marlena said aloud as she hugged her.

 

“Not like you gave me much of a choice you know,” Laura whispered into Marlena’s ear while she hugged her; she released her and came into the house leaving the door open behind her.

 

“Oh and you brought wine, how sweet of you,” Marlena again said it loud enough for most people to hear, she was doing a great job of faking her nice and polite side tonight.

 

Laura took a closer step toward Marlena, she knew Marlena was just being loud so that everyone could see how nice of a host she was. Laura leaned over to her and whispered, “Umm, yeah, no, this is my wine for later when I get so bored that the only way you will make me stay at this party is if I am laid out drunk on the sofa and I figured this would be just the thing to get me there, so hands off, okay,” Laura smiled at her.

 

“Yes, dear, of course, won’t you let me help you take off your coat,” Marlena said it aloud again to her and then, helping Laura take her coat off whispered back to her, “you better share that damn wine you hussy, cause you know damn well I wouldn’t be here either if I didn’t live here,” she smiled back at her.

 

Marlena went back to close the front door.

 

“Oh no, dear, my date is just parking the car and should be in shortly, you can just leave the door open for him,” Laura said it as she took a step back, trying to avoid Marlena’s wrath and swing, because she knew very well that Marlena had not heard her tell her that she was bringing a date to the party earlier in her office.

 

“Excuse me, Laura, I do not believe I heard you correctly, did you say a date,” she had in fact heard her, she was just trying to make the point that she was not happy at all with and here Laura was taking steps away from her as if she were going to take a swing at her, though Laura should have known better, Marlena would never do anything to hurt her best friend, not in front of witness that is.

 

“And just who is your date,” Marlena asked as she stepped closer to Laura, wondering in the back of her mind who it could be, since possibilities were endless.

 

“Well, why don’t you see for yourself,” and she motioned back towards the door.

 

There stood John Black with a half cocked smiled on his face, looking extremely uncomfortable standing in the door way. He had flowers in one hand and wine in the other. Marlena stared back at him in disbelief. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe, she wanted out of that room so badly she could taste it; she did not want to be in the same room with John Black for fear of what might happen again, she wasn’t ready to handle this.

 

“Oh Marlena, I hope you don’t mind, I sort of coerced John into coming with me, you know he doesn’t know a lot of people in Salem right now and I figured you would be busy with your hosting duties tonight and wouldn’t have much time to even talk to me, so I made John come with me, if only for entertainment purposes of course,” she hoped Marlena wouldn’t be too upset with her, she was already in the dog house with her, she didn’t need one more thing for her to be mad at her for.

 

Marlena quickly looked around the room and noticed Roman staring in her direction and at John, Marlena quickly regained her composure.

 

“Yes, of course it is fine, Laura, just great in fact, the more the merrier. Hello John, nice to see you again, how are you this evening,” she asked him or she thought she had asked him, she was pretty sure the room was in fact spinning out of control at that moment.

 

“Marlena, hello. I brought flowers for your party, and wine, Laura brought some as well but she told me it was just for her and that she wasn’t sharing so I decided that another bottle for the house would be a good idea,” John gave them both to her, careful not to brush his skin up against hers or to look her in the eyes.

 

Marlena reached out and took them from him, noticing how he went out of his way to not touch her or look her in her eyes; she half smiled and also did her best to not look him in the eyes. Marlena turned to face Laura, “Laura, could you please help me with these flowers in the kitchen, and John please make yourself at home and enjoy the party,” she said it to him or at him, she still wasn’t sure which, not that she thought it mattered, he hadn’t once looked her in the eyes since he walked in the door and she was starting to get a little upset about it. Was this the same man that only hours before couldn’t keep his eyes, much less his hands, off of her.

 

Marlena pushed on the swinging door going into the kitchen and walked through it, she didn’t stop to hold it for Laura and if she hadn’t been paying attention and caught it when it swung back towards her it would have hit her square in the face. Laura shook her head in disbelief as she quickly held out her hands to stop the swinging door. She pushed forward on the door and walked into the kitchen. She stood there and watched Marlena throw the flowers into the sink, find a wine bottle opener, pop out the cork from it, lift it to her mouth and start to chug on the bottle of wine like there was no tomorrow.

 

“You do realize that in modern times we have something called glasses,” Laura stared at her. Marlena, however, continued to chug down the wine and then finally, when she felt like she would burst from all the liquid now in her stomach, pulled the bottle back from her mouth and wiped the small bit that had dribbled down the corner of her mouth.

 

Marlena glared at Laura, “What were you thinking bringing that man here to my house, to my party, to a party that you knew I wouldn’t want you to bring a date to,” it was not a question and Laura knew it. Again, Marlena tipped up the wine bottle to her mouth and sucked at it hungrily.

 

“Okay, I am sorry, but I am pretty sure you already know that. Listen, what is the big deal with me bringing a date to your party and what do you all of the sudden have against that man. I thought that you and John had talked and that everything was fine between the two of you,” Laura wondered if Marlena had finally gone off of her rocker, though it wouldn’t have surprised her if she had, as weird as she had been acting lately it would have certainly explained a lot.

 

“What, no, Laura, I just don’t appreciate you assuming that it is okay to bring a complete stranger into my house is all,” Marlena stared at her while trying to have a shocked look of expression on her face, but the alcohol that was now absorbing into her body was making it difficult.

 

“Are you high, you are high aren’t you,” Laura stared back at her.

 

“I do not know what you are speaking of,” Marlena said it with a displeased tone in her voice.

 

“You know exactly what I am talking about. You have completely lost your mind Marlena, you have lost your mind and you are high, half of those people in there are complete strangers and have never even been to your house before, you do realize that don’t you,” Laura asked her with a completely astonished look on her face.

 

Marlena hadn’t thought of that one, ‘kudos to Laura’ she thought, though Marlena was pretty sure that Laura was too smart for her own damn good sometimes.

 

Marlena had to think and think fast. She looked at Laura and smiled.

 

“So, you want some of my wine,” Marlena asked her with what could have been the stupidest smile ever gleaming across her face.

 

“I knew you were high,” Laura snapped back at her as she grabbed a glass and got ready for Marlena to pour.

 

Marlena and Laura had finished off the entire bottle of wine and Marlena was furiously working on opening the second bottle when Roman came into the kitchen looking for her.

 

“Marlena, there you are,” he stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw his wife and her best friend standing there looking like they were molesting a bottle of wine.

 

“What in the hell is going on in here, we have guests in the living room and you two are in here getting sauced,” he was being very serious, and was growing quite mad.

 

Marlena and Laura laughed quite loudly when they heard the word sauce, trying to determine if he were talking about dipping sauce.

 

“Oh, Roman, I told you we don’t have any of those small sausage thingys tonight and we certainly don’t have any sauce to dip them in, I told you we only got BIG PEOPLE FOOD TOOONIGHT, ROOOMMAAAANNN,” it was everything she could do to not tip over while she laughed, both her and Laura were practically leaning on each other and holding each other straight up, they both snorted as the continued to laugh loudly.

 

“Are you drunk, you are drunk aren’t you,” Roman grew more furious.

 

Marlena stood up straight and looked offended.

 

“Who’s drunk, I’m not drunk, are you drunk,” Marlena pointed at Laura asking her the question.

 

“I’m not drunk, are you drunk,” Laura then pointed at Roman.

 

“I am certainly not drunk, I haven’t had anything to drink tonight, and I told you not to drink anything either, didn’t I Marlena,” Roman stared at them both, wobbling on their feet they could barely stand, and if they hadn’t been leaning against each other he was sure they both would have been in the floor.

 

“Roman, calm down, I told you I am fine. Laura and I just, well, we just wanted to loosen up is all, this party is sooooo booooring,” she stretched out the last word and laughed loudly, throwing her arm over Laura and hugging her closely.

 

“Yeah, Roman, loosen up. Go out there and have a tiny sausage thingy with your saucey things or some saucey with your tiny saus…or whatever it is that’s tiny…just go play with whatever is tiny, I am sure from what I have heard that you will have no trouble finding something that is very tiny,” Laura busted out laughing as she held out her finger and thumb a small distance apart so that she could demonstrate the actual size as to which she was referring to, which was immediately followed by Marlena’s loud laughter. They hung all over each other, each relying on the other for support.

 

And then Marlena finally managed to pop the cork out of the wine bottle and let out a loud “A HA,” when she finally freed it. She held it up in her hand and smiled and showed it to Laura as if she had just defeated the wine bottle, “I told you I would get that sucker out of there, didn’t I,” Marlena smiled widely at her as she stared at the cork like it was something shiny and new as she twisted it around and around, marveling at it.

 

“Yes, you showed it, yes you sure did, now give me some more wine woman,” Laura held out her glass.

 

“No, give me that wine bottle right now,” Roman almost shouted at Marlena, he reached forward and grabbed it out of her hand and pulled it back with him and sat it on the counter. Both Marlena and Laura frowned as they said “heeeyyy, give that back,” in unison.

 

“Marlena,” Roman said it sternly so that hopefully despite her drunken state that she would still understand the seriousness of his tone, “I asked you to not drink tonight, and here you are, in here with Laura, and no doubt this was her idea. I can not believe you, embarrassing me like this and when a party is going on outside in our living room. How could you. Have you no shame, why must you constantly embarrass me in front of my friends. When are you going to stop acting so childish and just get over yourself already,” he stared at Marlena with heavy breathing come from him, he was tired of it all, but he was especially tired of the way she had been acting lately, he felt like she was a two year old that he was constantly having to baby-sit.

 

Both Marlena and Laura stared at Roman, Laura was beyond shocked and she was very embarrassed, not only for Marlena but for herself as well, whatever drunk state that they may have moments ago existed in had now started to slowly wear off.

 

Marlena was equally shocked as well, and though at first she had just laughed off what Roman was saying she realized now just how angry he was at her, but when he began to say those things in front of her and especially with her best friend standing there, she decided that it was finally the last straw.

 

“Marlena, I want you to get some coffee into you and Laura right now and sober up and then I want you out there and mingling with our guests like a good wife should have been doing from the beginning. Because a good wife would never have done what you did tonight,” he said it matter of factly.

 

Marlena stood and stared at him briefly, and then she looked at Laura who looked like she had seen a ghost and her expression shown exactly what Marlena was feeling. She looked at Roman once more and then she looked back at Laura, and then she smiled a little, grabbed Laura’s hand and the wine bottle and started to walk back into the living room.

 

“And just where in the sam hell do you think you are going, I told you that you are not going out there drunk,” he stood in front of her and blocked hers and Laura’s way.

 

“Roman,” Marlena said it very calmly and very slowly, she had quickly sobered up, but despite Roman’s tongue lashing, she still felt pretty good and still had to hold to Laura to keep from falling over. “if you do not get out of Laura’s and my way I will move you myself,” she said it with as much seriousness as she could considering her current semi-drunken state.

 

Roman though was very aware of the fact that they were both still drunk due to the fact they both were still relying on the other for help in standing up, plus they both reeked of alcohol and so he refused to budge.

 

“I said that you both needed coffee, and a couple of half stupid drunk women will not go out there to my party and make fools of themselves or me,” Roman told her, standing his ground.

 

Marlena fumed and then she clenched Laura’s hand harder and the wine bottle tighter. Marlena looked him straight in the eyes and as loud as she could she shouted, “Oh just shut up Roman, just shut the hell up before I slap the stupid right off of your face,” and with that Marlena and Laura went to rejoin the guests in the living room, leaving Roman standing there in the kitchen by himself.

 

In the living stood John Black who was slowly sipping on his cocktail and talking to a man about the new hospital wing when suddenly John heard the distinct sound of people yelling coming from the kitchen, and he wasn’t the only one who heard it, he noticed other people also looking towards the direction of the kitchen. He was sure it was Roman and he assumed it involved Marlena and Laura since he had never actually seen either one of them exit from the kitchen. He listened closely as he heard Roman scolding both Marlena and Laura, though he was still trying to pretend that he was listening to the man he was talking to, but finally the yelling became so loud that both him and the man were listening to Roman’s yelling and then he heard it, they all heard it, Marlena shouting back at Roman. After John heard her he brought his glass back to his mouth and sipped it a bit, trying to hide his smile.

When Marlena and Laura stepped into the living they noticed that all eyes were on them and they laughed loudly; most of the guests laughed along with them, some rolled their eyes at them, and some went straight back to their conversations, as if nothing had ever happened.

 

Marlena let go of Laura’s hand when she was sure that she could stand without needing further assistance. She went over to the couch, laid the wine bottle on the coffee table, and sat down hard. Laura joined her, and they both sat and sulked. John, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Marlena since she returned to the living room, saw them sitting down and excused himself from the gentleman he was speaking to, he went over to the couch sat down beside Marlena and Laura on the couch. The three of them sat there, Marlena, with her hands under chin which were propped up on her knees, Laura, who leaned back against the couch, with her hands covering her face, and John, sipping on his drink. He leaned up a little and stared at them both, and then spoke up, “Some party you know how to throw,” John chuckled to himself, he was not trying to be sarcastic, he was just trying to lighten the mood a little.

 

Marlena and Laura both looked over at him and glared at him as if they both could have slapped him and felt much better.

 

“Why thank you Mr. Black, I am so glad that someone here is enjoying themselves,” Marlena told him and then rolled her eyes at him, “if you will excuse me I think I should probably go and do some damage control now.” Marlena stood, she was amazed at how quickly she had sobered up, but she assumed that having Roman yell at her and then her feelings of guilt for yelling back had a little something to do with that.

 

Marlena slowly swung open the door to the kitchen. She stood there and stared at Roman who was leaning against the cabinets with his head down staring at his own feet, he never looked up to see who had come in, he didn’t have to, he knew it was Marlena, he always knew when she was in a room with him. He used to think it had to do with her perfume or the fact that her heels made loud noises and gave her away, but as the years went on he realized that it was just the fact that she was there, the fact that he so deeply loved her and cared for, he had a connection to her and he just always knew when she entered a room and this was not any different from the previous times, except this time he was not as happy to see her. He stood there and never moved, he kept looking down as his feet, his hands in his pockets, he lifted his left foot and surveyed it, and then he did the same with his right foot.

 

Marlena did not want to be the first one to talk, doing so would be admitting defeat and she did not want to admit defeat, she hated Roman for the things he had said to her in front of Laura, she was still angry at him, but she knew that there were a room full of people out there and that Roman needed to get out there and start socializing before people started talking about what had happened. Marlena knew it had to be her that admitted the wrong doing. And so she took a step closer to him, put her hand on his shoulder, took in a deep quiet breath and began,

“Roman, I am very sorry. I did not mean to shout at you. I had just had a bit too much to drink and wasn’t thinking clearly, you know I would never yell at you out of anger. Please forgive me.” She said it all without stopping, she had let it all out, she wanted Roman to look at her, her eyes were pleading with him to look at her.

 

“Roman, please, won’t you just look at me,” she begged him.

 

Finally he moved a little, took his hands out his pocket and moved one hand up to hers and laid it on top of it, and squeezed it gently, Marlena smiled a little. And then he took his hand and pushed hers off of his shoulder, almost angrily, and took a step away from her.

 

Still looking at the floor he told her, “I have been in here trying to figure out what in the hell has gotten into you these past few days, but I have no idea what is,” he was full of contempt, “tell me Marlena, please just tell me what I am supposed to say now,” he finally looked up at her, the anger in his eyes flashed before her.

 

Marlena stood there and tears came to her eyes, she had never seen that look before, in all of their years of marriage she had never seen her husband look at her with such anger; tears began to slowly fall down her face. She shook her head from side to side at him, signaling that she had no response, and she didn’t. She brought her fingers to mouth as if to quiet herself from sobbing out loud. She did not know any better than he did what it was that was going on with her. She was confused, she was hurt, she was lonely, she was mad, and she knew that she was feeling guilty yet she had no idea how to even begin to tell Roman how she had been feeling these past few days, let alone the past few months.

 

“I don’t know what to say either. I am disappointed in you Marlena, I thought you were better than this, this is not the woman I married and fell in love with years ago, this is not the mother of my children, this is not the loving friend that so many people rely on,” he was pointing at her, as if it would have made his point any more real. She took a deep breath in deep when his finger pointed towards her, hers tears coming down faster.

 

“All I know is that tonight is not the time to talk about this because I have guests over and a party going on and I have to go out there and make things right now. I do know, however, that I do not want you back out there right now,” he was as serious as he had ever been, “and I do not need you by my side anymore tonight,” he turned and walked out of the kitchen, pushing it hard against the swinging door.

 

Marlena stood there; she was sobbing and she could not catch her breath. She hurried over to the refrigerator and swung open both the top and bottom doors and stuck her head slightly in the freezer, letting the rest of her body lean in towards the open bottom part, she sucked in the cold air through her nose and hoped it would help her regain her ability to breathe.

 

John had long since left Laura who was still sitting in her sullen state on the couch and began to mingle around the room. He had seen Marlena return to the kitchen. He slowly made his way over to a table near the kitchen door and began to survey the food laid out amongst it. He heard the door swing open and looked up to see Roman walking out of it, he looked angry, when he saw John notice him he simply half smiled and nodded, John nodded back towards him and then Roman continued over to some guests standing in a circle and began chatting with them.

 

John looked towards the kitchen door and then back towards the living room to make sure that no one was looking over at him, he saw Laura still sitting on the couch but she had since been joined by a slightly balding man and she seemed to be involved in deep conversation with him. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves in conversation and the mood in the room had picked up, music was playing and everyone could be heard laughing at some point or another.

 

John slowly pushed on the kitchen door and walked into the kitchen, letting the door slowly swing shut behind him, careful not to make too much noise or to let anyone in the living room notice a swinging door opening and closing. He stood there and stared at her, her body leaned up against a now opened refrigerator, her head inside the opened freezer resting on something that resembled a bag of peas with her hands resting on the edge that separated the freezer from the refrigerator. He heard her crying, almost sobbing. John let out a small sigh, he had immediate thoughts of  ‘even with her body in an opened refrigerator and her head stuck in a freezer she is still so beautiful,’ but then he continued his thoughts on to the fact that she was crying, and that he felt for her. Despite the fact that he didn’t know her that well except for what little time they had spent together dancing the night before and their time together on the balcony that day, he found himself worrying about her at that moment. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but something had drawn him into Marlena and into her world, he had never cared for a woman so quickly, he wasn’t sure what it was about her, but he knew that he wanted to know more about her, but more importantly, he knew that he wanted to comfort her at that moment.

 

John took a step closer to her, listening to her crying. He debated saying something to her, not sure if he should, he didn’t want her to become embarrassed or think that he was being intrusive. He just wanted her to know that he was there and if that she wanted to talk about it that he would certainly listen, other than that, it would be up to her, and that he wouldn’t pressure her.

 

John slowly placed his hand on her back, he didn’t want to frighten her, he gently lingered it there for a moment and her crying subsided.

 

Marlena knew the touch of his hand; it had been on her so many times in the past two days that she could have recognized it at any moment. Though his touch had not caused her to jump, it had made her become more aware of her crying and she immediately quieted down. She lifted her now cold head up and she slowly turned around to face him. Her eyes quickly met his. Her face was red and splotchy and she had obvious signs of tears running down her face. She stared back into his eyes. He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears.

Marlena knew the touch of his hand; it had been on her so many times in the past two days that she could have recognized it at any moment. Though his touch had not caused her to jump, it had made her become more aware of her crying and she immediately quieted down. She lifted her now cold head up and she slowly turned around to face him. Her eyes quickly met his. Her face was red and splotchy and she had obvious signs of tears running down her face. She stared back into his eyes. He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears.

 

“Marlena, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay, that you were okay.” He meant it, he was sincere and he hoped she realized it.

 

Marlena stood there, not sure what to say. John said no more, offered no more, he only looked at her and waited for her speak, but she did not and he assumed he had been in the wrong to bother her. He lowered his hand from her cheek and returned it to his side.

 

Marlena had seen it in his eyes, he had meant what he said, he truly was sorry and he truly seemed concerned for her, but she felt herself frozen and unable to speak.

 

“Well, I didn’t mean to bother you. If you need anything I will be happy to help you,” John started to turn and leave her by herself.

 

“John,” Marlena spoke up against her tears, his name slightly sticking in her throat as she said it.

 

“Yes,” he asked her as he turned back toward and gazed at her.

 

“Thank you,” she told him and the tears began to flow again from her.

 

“Marlena, please don’t cry,” again he brought his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears, “I meant it Marlena, if you need anything I am here, if you want to talk or just cry, I have a pretty good shoulder you know,” he smiled at her a little, never taking his eyes from her’s.

 

Marlena studied his face, the outlines of his lips and his eyes, the way his mouth curled slightly when he smiled. He was becoming familiar to her, and she liked the comfort he brought her.

 

“Just let me know anytime you’re ready, okay,” John smiled at her one last time and again turned to leave, but Marlena grabbed his arm and turned him back to her quickly. She hurriedly put her hands on his face, pulling it to her’s she slipped her tongue inside his mouth. She kissed him hard and fast, her tongue hitting and missing at his. She tasted him; she burned with desire for him. John placed his arms around her back and at once brought his hands down to her ass and squeezed it hard, pulling her into him, pushing her tightly against his already hard cock. He leaned against her and into her, causing her to lean back further into the fridge, the coldness from it swiftly escaping onto their bodies, yet they were oblivious to it, their own heat making them pay it no attention. John brought his hands forward and quickly lifted her dress while she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. She pulled down the front of his pants and pushed her hand deep inside his boxers to find him, she quickly pulled his hard cock free. John lifted her skirt further above her thighs and grabbed onto her right thigh, lifting her leg up and around his back, she gripped his backside tightly with it, her heel almost burying itself into his ass. He reached down and slid her panties to the side, there was no time to take them off of her now, Marlena gasped into his John’s mouth when she felt his fingers graze her opening and pull her panties to the side with hurriedness. She pumped his cock a few times and pulled it to her opening, she quickly pulled him closer toward her, arched her back, she was ready, she was more than ready, her wet centre throbbed for him, she needed him and wanted him, and her whole body ached for him to be inside of her.

 

She placed one of her hands on his ass and with the other that still held his hard cock in her hand, she guided him to her wet opening, when she felt the tip of him at her opening she thrust his ass with her hand and her leg quickly toward her and buried him deep within her, John quickly tightened his grip on her as well. Her hands went up and to his face and grabbed at it and kissed him hard again and then she threw her arms around the back of his neck and held onto him.

 

John held one hand on her thigh and with the other hand he reached down and grabbed her other thigh and pulled it up on him as well. With both of Marlena’s legs now wrapped firmly around him, he moved his hands to her ass and left them there, holding to her, making sure he never let her go.

 

John thrust against her hard again, burying himself inside her until there was nowhere else left to go, Marlena closed her eyes tightly, enjoying the feeling of his fullness inside her. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and saw him staring back at her and she began to look at him, deep into his eyes, her eyes pleading with his to satisfy her with his body and it was then that he realized that he needed her just as badly as she needed him.

 

They stared at each other, they didn’t move, they were both enjoying how it felt for him to linger deep inside her with no movements, how Marlena felt intenseness deep within her walls, and how John felt a longing desire to cum inside her at that very moment but holding it off brought an even stronger feeling of need to be inside her. He leaned in and kissed her on the mouth, slowly he released his tongue from his mouth and brought it to her lower lip, licking it seductively, he wanted to enjoy her, yet he knew they lacked the time required for it. Marlena slowly opened her mouth and allowed him to slide her tongue inside her mouth. She began to gently rock back and forth on his cock, she realized how much she enjoyed being in control.

 

John began to grip her ass tighter with his fingers using his hands to help move her body back and forth against him, thrusting his hips as well. She released her mouth from his and quickly turned her head towards the kitchen door, she was suddenly aware of the noise from the other room, she looked back at John, she wanted to take her time with him, she wanted this to last all night, but she knew they had to hurry before someone walked in. She leaned in and laid her cheek against his, “fuck me,” she whispered to him.

 

He needed no further assertions from her as to what she wanted or needed. He grabbed to her tighter and slammed her back against the refrigerator, she cried out, not from the pain of it, but rather from the pleasure of it. Marlena grabbed at anything she could as he began to pound into her, she grabbed at his shirt and his hair, reaching one hand up she grabbed to the top of the fridge, it allowed her to lift herself up and down on him more easily. She arched her back and threw back her head, when she arched back it allowed him go deeper inside her, her walls pulsed around him and her orgasm crept out beneath her. Her eyes closed and she squeezed down on him, causing ‘oh god,’ to escape from John’s lips, he pumped faster into her until she let go of the fridge and wrapped both arms back around him, leaning her body closer into him when she felt the beginnings of her orgasm, she allowed him to pump harder into her and with each thrust she maneuvered her clit to hit up against him. With no warning her orgasm hit her hard, it caused her fingers to clench up and she felt like she couldn’t move, her body was writhing against his and he knew she had gone over the edge. Her body tensed around his, her pleasure level had gone through the roof; she had never experienced such an intense feeling before, deep within herself. John pumped harder until he shot his hot seed deep inside her, he allowed her to ride him until her orgasm had subsided. They were breathless, they were joined together tightly and strongly, they were a part of each other bodies.

 

Marlena was the first to notice the chill that hit her. She looked back and laughed a little, just noticing the fact that she was leaning against an opened refrigerator and that her head was inside still near the freezer. John laughed along with her and then slowly removed himself from her as she brought her legs down to the ground; he steadied her as her legs were a bit shaky.

 

Marlena closed the refrigerator and freezer doors and turned to look back at john, who was leaned against the cabinets opposite from her.

 

“Why didn’t you look me in the eyes when you first came in,” Marlena asked, looking for complete honesty from him.

 

“Because I wasn’t sure if you would be comfortable with me being here tonight, I didn’t want you think that I came because I was seeking answers about what happened on the balcony today,” he looked her in the eyes. “Why didn’t you look me in the eyes,” he asked her back.

 

Marlena laughed a bit at his question.

 

“Because I thought you weren’t looking at me on purpose and so I wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of looking at you either,” she laughed some more.

 

“Just so you know, I had no idea that Laura was bringing me here tonight,” he wanted her know the truth for some reason, he wanted her to know that he wasn’t there to mess with her head.

 

“It’s okay, I sort of figured you had no idea, Laura has a way of getting what she wants by leaving out important details,” Marlena smiled at him, she appreciated his honesty.

 

They stood there for a bit longer; neither saying very much. John noticed the glow she held in her face, she was completely beautiful to him when it was only the two of them and she could be the real her, the one that wasn’t angry or hurt. John stood up straight and moved over towards Marlena. He walked behind her and puts his arms around her waist and placed his hands on her stomach. She leaned back into him, closing her eyes; she was starting to crave his touch and his nearness to her. She placed her hands up and behind his neck and ran her fingers through his hair.

 

He slowly ran his hands up and to her breasts, cupping them with his hands, squeezing them lightly. He left one hand remaining on her breast, still squeezing it, enjoying the hardness of her nipple against his hand, while his other hand moved down slowly from her breast, he ran down along her stomach and to her centre, he used his fingers to rub her clit through her dress. She leaned back further into him, she grasped her fingers in his hair and pulled on it, she turned her head and looked up at him and she brought his face down to meet his mouth with hers.

 

They kissed slowly, their tongues dancing together, they had yet to share a deep passionate kiss and they both melted into each others mouths. He moved his hand about her breast more, finding her hard nipple with his fingers while hiis fingers gently worked at her clit still and she began to slowly thrust her body against it. She kept one of her hands entwined in his hair and she brought her other hand down and placed it atop his hand and fingers and began to guide him along her clit; she wanted him again, and she wanted him intensely.

 

Her tongue slid in and out of his mouth, his lips enjoyed the taste of her tongue on his. He took his hand from her breast and moved it down to her leg and slowly began to draw up her dress in his hand, her leg exposed little by little until he had drawn up enough of her dress that her leg and panties were exposed. He pulled his hand back up to her breast with her dress still in it exposing her, he slid the hand that still contained Marlena’s atop of his hand down and into the front of her panties, deeper he slid until his fingers found her wet opening. She moved along with him, showing him what she wanted and how she wanted it. He broke free from their kiss and moved his mouth to her neck, slowly running his tongue up and down the flesh of her neck.

 

After Marlena could take no more of him at her clit due to her hunger and wanting of him, she moved his hand further down, gently he separated her, she spread her legs wider, lifting one leg slightly against his leg. John easily slid his fingers deep inside her and Marlena pulled tighter against his hair and returned her once free hand back up into his hair to join with her other hand. He slowly eased his fingers in and out of her while he moved his mouth to her ear; taking her ear into his mouth he gently sucked it. His hand  began to move faster drawing his fingers in and out of her over and over; as he went in and out of her the base of his hand was hitting against her clit. She pulled tighter to him and pulled on his hair with both hands so that he would face her, ‘kiss me,’ she mouthed to him and he returned his lips to her mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth and her orgasm rocked hard against his hand and throughout her body, her juices sliding down his hand, and he continued to kiss her harder as she rode it out.

 

Laura looked around the room and noticed that both John and Marlena were nowhere to be seen. She considered asking Roman if he knew where she was but decided against it, instead she excused herself from the man she was speaking with and walked over to the door of the kitchen and slowly began to open it.

Laura stood at the kitchen door and slowly began to open it with her hand, just then the gentleman she had been speaking to came up beside her and told her that she had forgotten her purse on the couch, Laura took her hand off of the door and allowed it to close back what little she had opened it. The man handed her the purse and Laura thanked him and smiled at him, she excused herself from him, telling him that she needed to find Marlena and that she had enjoyed talking to him.

 

Laura pushed back open the door and went in, she saw Marlena standing at one side of the kitchen looking inside a cabinet as if she were trying desperately to locate something, and she saw John standing at the opposite side of the kitchen with the water in the sink running, and she wasn’t sure but it looked as if he were washing dishes.

Laura noticed that except for the water running at the sink that there was an odd silence between the two of them, as if they were purposefully not noticing Laura or each other. Despite the fact that both John and Marlena had obviously known that Laura had walked into the kitchen, neither one of them acknowledged her presence. Laura arched her eyebrow and studied their body movements in silence.

 

Moments before, John had stood behind Marlena as she rode out her orgasm, with her mouth upon his and theirs tongues dancing together, her body had stopped thrusting against his hand and she was breathing deeply in and out of her nose. Then, suddenly they both had looked up when they saw the kitchen door begin to open and they froze, their hearts racing and their stomachs dropping. John gripped Marlena’s body tightly as if to protect her from whatever lie behind the door. And then as suddenly as the door began to open, it closed just the same. John quickly released Marlena from his body and allowed the hem of her dress to return to the floor, then they both parted ways, each to an opposite side, neither one saying a word to the other or looking the other in the eyes.

 

Laura had stood there a bit longer and then took a few steps further into the kitchen towards John. He finally turned his face towards her, smiled and then nodded at her, Laura looked over at him and grinned slightly, she cocked her face to the side a little and stared harder, John then quickly turned his back to his task at hand. He hadn’t been sure how he would cover being in the kitchen with Marlena, but when he saw the dishes in the sink, he immediately thought that washing them could be his only excuse for being in there alone with her and had quickly turned on the water and began to wash them.

 

Laura then walked over to Marlena and stared at her. Laura looked at her intently; she realized that Marlena was acting as if she had something to hide and even though Laura had since realized exactly what it was, she had decided to remain quiet about it for the moment.

 

Marlena, who was growing more and more panicked that Laura wasn’t saying anything but merely staring at her, realized that she had better speak up before Laura was able to put two and two together.

 

Marlena finally turned away from the cabinet she was looking into and faced Laura, “Laura, is there something that you needed,” Marlena chose hers words carefully.

 

“No, is there something that you are trying to hide,” Laura could play this game along with her, because as soon as Marlena looked at her she knew exactly what was going on.

 

Marlena purposefully looked back at Laura with shock in her face, as if she had been insulted by Laura’s question, and she knew that her response had to match her expression. With John in the room Marlena knew she had to be careful about what she said because she knew that Laura knew her well enough to know that she would never discuss anything like that in front of a perfect stranger, even though to Marlena he was no longer a perfect stranger. Marlena moved closer to Laura, she looked her in the eyes and lowered her voice to almost a whisper, “What are you talking about, are you still drunk,” Marlena thought that if she insulted Laura a little that she may change the subject, she knew perfectly well that Laura wasn’t drunk, but she couldn’t let her know that she was aware of that fact.

 

“You know perfectly well that I am not drunk, Marlena,” she whispered back to her, “and I would be truly insulted if I were not already aware that you, my dear, are trying to change the subject.” Laura had become aware that her statement had been heard by John as well when she saw him turn his head and then quickly turn it back to the sink.

 

“I haven’t the slightest clue what you are speaking of Laura, I am not trying to hide anything,” Marlena snapped at her.

 

“Fine, if you don’t want to tell me what is going on then I will not force you to, but, whenever you are ready, just know that by then it may already be too late,” Laura told her matter of factly, waiting for no response from Marlena, she quickly turned and started to walk out the kitchen door but then she stopped and turned around and faced them both.

 

“Just so you know,” both John and Marlena had turned and were staring straight at her, “John, your lipstick is a little smudged, you might want to fix it before you return to the party,” and then she turned and walked out the door leaving it swinging in her wake.

 

John and Marlena both turned toward each and stared in shock. Marlena quickly rushed over to John and looked him over once to see if Laura had in fact been correct in her statement. There, on his cheek, held a very visible outline of lipstick that bore the exact mark of a woman’s mouth, left behind from where she had been moments before. She reached her hand up and wiped at it, erasing her from him. Marlena started to turn away from him but John grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently as if asking her not to turn away.

 

“John,” she whispered, “please let me go.”

 

“I can’t,” he said it softly, “please Marlena, we need to talk about this.” He wanted to talk about everything that had between them, not only the balcony earlier in the day but about them being together in the kitchen earlier and about what Laura had said as well.

 

“What do you want me to do,” it was the only thing he knew to say, he knew she didn’t want to talk about the things he had, and he wouldn’t pressure her to until he thought she was ready, “just tell me and I will do it.”

 

“I, I don’t know,” it was honest, she hadn’t a clue what to do next, “I do not think that Laura will tell Roman, I am not worried about that.”

 

“Then what are you worried about,” he knew it was something, it was all across her face.

 

“I don’t know. I am not sure; I just know that I can’t think, and that I need out of this place, but that I can’t leave. I feel stuck and trapped and I want to breathe John, I want to be breathe.” Marlena began to cry and John pulled her to him, he puts his around her and held her, placing one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back. Marlena let go momentarily, she cried hard into his chest, her fists clenched tight by her sides, but then she quickly recovered, half due to embarrassment and half due to the fact that she knew that crying would not solve her problems.

 

“Come to my house,” he pulled her back a little and looked into her tear soaked eyes, “come to my house and stay.”

 

“I can’t do that John,” she shook her head and looked at him as if he were crazy.

 

“Why can’t you, you obviously are not happy here, you said yourself that you can’t breathe in this place. You can stay at my place for as long as you like,” He meant it, he meant it and he hoped that she believed him.

 

She stared back at him, at the honesty in his eyes, she could not believe that for that moment she was actually considering it, but then she quickly dismissed it.

 

“No, I am sorry, but I could never do that, I could never do something so cruel to Roman,” she knew she that couldn’t do it, it would have been mean and heartless to do such a thing, “and really John, I mean, I barley know you.” It was the most obvious reason, she hadn’t really known him, she had only spoken to him a few times and each time they had been interrupted, except for the brief interludes they experienced she knew nothing about him.

 

He looked back at her and smiled and laughed a little.

 

“I hardly think that this is the time to be laughing, do you find this situation funny,” Marlena questioned him, as she looked in his eyes, at that moment she realized how captivating his eyes were, that they were so intense and inviting.

 

“I am sorry, Marlena, I am not laughing at you or the situation, not at all. I guess I should have been a bit clearer is all. I meant that I would let you stay at my place and that I would find somewhere else to stay. I know that you do not know me at all and I respect your decision to not stay with a perfect stranger, as harmless and as handsome as I may be,” he flashed her a big smile and she couldn’t help but smile back at him, “I just want you to know that if you need a place to stay that I will be more than willing to let you stay at mine.”

 

Marlena let out a deep sigh; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing from him.

 

“You would just let me stay your house. Why, what is in it for you,” Marlena thought it was the next obvious question.

 

“Nothing at all. Marlena, while I may not know you very well and I may not know much about you, the time I have spent with you and around you the past two days I have come to realize that you are a woman who needs, and a woman who wants and feels and believes with true passion. I believe that you are hurt and that someone has hurt you deeply and I want to help you, that is all, no strings attached, I promise,” he looked her deep in the eyes as he said it, he needed her to believe him.

 

Marlena took a step back from him and turned away, she couldn’t process what he had said, she didn’t know what would happen tonight between her and Roman but she knew that if she left she would be admitting that her marriage was over and she wasn’t ready for that. She also knew that she had nowhere else to go if Roman had kicked her out, something that she was aware of in the back of her mind, but until that time came she knew that she could not just walk out on him. She also knew that there was no way she could have stayed at John’s house; even if he weren’t there, she wasn’t ready to handle the repercussions of something like that.

 

“Thank you John, really, that is very sweet of you, but I just can’t do that. I need to stay here and I need to fix whatever it is that is wrong between Roman and I,” she turned back to face him, she hoped that he would understand and that he would realize that she really was appreciative of his offer.

 

When Marlena turned and faced him John slowly held out his hand, in it there was a key and he offered it to her.

“I want you to take this key, it is the key to my house, when I leave tonight and get home I will call your cell phone and leave you directions, it is not an obligation and you do not have to stay there if you do not wish to. But just the same, it is there if you need it.” He held it out further and though she contemplated not taking it, something inside her told her to. She reached out and took it from him, her fingers grazing his strong hand as she did. She held it in her hands and tightened her grip upon it.

 

“I will pack a few of my things when I get home and the place will be yours, you will be welcome to stay there as long as you need it,” he saw the look in her eyes the one that told him she was quite certain that she would not his place, “don’t worry, even if you don’t need it at least you will know it is there for you. I will take a place at the Salem Inn,” he offered her the information before she had a chance to ask because he knew that she would undoubtedly ask.

 

“Why are you being so nice to me, John” she didn’t understand it, he was like something that had swept in and confused her and though it had, she found herself dancing in it, enjoying it.

 

“I guess I am just a nice kind of guy, Marlena,” he wiped the last remaining tear from her cheek.

 

“I should probably go, I imagine that Laura has probably ditched me by now, but just the same, I really should be leaving,” he smiled at her once more and brought his face close to hers and kissed her softly on the lips, then he turned and walked out the door.

 

Marlena stood there, holding his key in her fists tightly, then she walked to the refrigerator placed the key on top of it and turned to walk into the living room.

 

John had walked into the living room and surveyed the room, he saw Laura nowhere, but he hadn’t thought that he would. He thought back briefly to his conversation with Marlena, how he had told her that he was just a nice guy. He knew it wasn’t true, he knew it was a complete lie, he hadn’t known exactly why he was helping her; it confused him. The only thing that John Black knew was that he wanted to make up for all the things he had ever done wrong in his past, that he wanted to start anew, he was ready to move on to his final destination, a place where no one knew him and no one knew of his past. He wished it could be simpler, but he knew there was no other way. He also knew that his time in Salem was to be short but that things kept getting in his way. Marlena wasn’t part of his plan, he had never anticipated meeting her, and he hadn’t anticipated the way he was feeling about her. He needed a plan, and he needed it fast. John quickly walked over to the door, opened it, and hurried home in his car.

After all the guests had left the party, Marlena stood in her living room, picking up empty wine glasses and remnants of trash scattered on table tops. Her thoughts were of Roman, who was in the kitchen and had yet to speak to her. She thought back to their argument, to Laura leaving without speaking to her, and to John. She kept putting off calling John.  She didn’t want to put him out of his house tonight, and before he had a chance to leave she needed to call him and tell him that that there was no need for him to get a room at the Salem Inn. She walked over to the phone and picked it up, turning back to face the kitchen door to make sure that she could cover if Roman came out; she began to dial and put the phone to her ear. After four rings his voicemail came on and she was forced to leave him a message saying how she had appreciated him giving her his key but that she would not be using it and that he needn’t find a room at the Salem Inn because she would not be coming to his place. Marlena hung up the phone, as she walked away from it she turned and looked back at the phone, she hoped that she hadn’t sounded too cold, but she needed her point to come across, she needed for John to realize the seriousness of her staying at his house and how something like that, she suddenly took a deep breath in and said softly to herself, “can not and will not ever happen.”

 

She picked up the last of the remaining trash and walked into the kitchen where Roman was cleaning up the last of the dishes. He didn’t turn to look at her when she entered, as if he was purposefully ignoring her, and she was in fact sure that he was.

 

“Roman, we need to talk,” she took in a deep breath after she said it, it was now or never. He continued to look down at what he was doing.

 

“Roman, did you hear me, I said we need to talk,” she placed her hand on his shoulder and he moved to the side so that her hand fell from him.

 

She would not give up that easily.

 

“Roman, you can choose to try to ignore me, but I will not let you, we need to talk about what happened tonight between you and I. We need to talk about what has been going on for months between us and we need to get some things straightened out.”

 

Roman turned off the water in the sink, dried off his hands, and turned to face her.

 

“Marlena, I am tired, its been a very long night and I don’t think that I have the strength or want to talk to you right now. I may say something that I don’t mean and I don’t want to say it in the heat of the moment. I think this is a conversation that is best left for another day. I am going to bed.”

 

He turned and walked out the kitchen door leaving Marlena standing there, never giving her a chance to stop him or to reply to what he had said. ‘He called me Marlena,’ she thought to herself, ‘he only calls me that when he is hurt or angry with me,’ she realized the magnitude of the situation but she also realized that she had to make it right; she would not give up so easily on him talking to her.

 

She turned off all the lights living room, looking at the clock to see that it was well past midnight when she walked up the stairs. She turned to walk into the bedroom but Roman stood there blocking her way, he held out his hand and in it was her nightgown.

 

“I thought you might be needing this,” he placed it in her hand, “I am sorry Marlena, I just can’t sleep in the same bed as you tonight, I think it would be best if you slept in the guest room tonight,” he looked her in the eyes with a blank expression on his face.

 

“Roman, I will not sleep in the guest room tonight, how could you even imply that that is what I should do. This is my bedroom, too, I have as much right to sleep in here as you do,” she would not back down and she told herself that she would not cry, she tried desperately to hold on to what little composure she had left.

 

“Marlena, I do not want fight with you. If that’s the way you want it then that is fine, I will sleep in the guestroom.” He started to walk by her but she stopped him with her hand on his shoulder.

 

“No, Roman, I will sleep in the guestroom.” She hadn’t wanted it to turn out this way, but she could see that it was a losing battle and because she felt somewhat responsible for the whole situation of the evening, she decided it would be best if she were the one to sleep in another room. She squeezed her nightgown tighter, then turned and walked toward the guestroom, as she did she heard her bedroom door slam behind her, making her jump.

 

Marlena walked into the guestroom, she hated that room, there were few times she had ever slept in it, but when she did she had learned to despise it. She laid her nightgown on the bed and walked over to the bathroom door, opened it and went inside to take a shower.

 

John opened his bathroom door and walked over to his desk, he picked up his cell phone after he had heard it ringing while he was showering. He looked and saw that Marlena had called him, after checking his voicemail he gently laid the phone back down. She had sounded cold to him, lacking the emotion he had seen come out of her the past few days. He wanted to call her and make sure that everything was okay, but he knew that it would be wrong and that he had no right to do such a thing. He walked to his dresser and pulled out his boxer shorts, slipped them on and walked into his living room. He sat down on his couch and opened the top of a box that he had pulled out when he first came home which was now sitting atop his coffee table. As he lifted the top he saw photographs of smiling faces staring back at him, his stomach immediately feeling nauseous at the sight of them. He picked up the first of the photographs and ran his finger along the cheek of the woman whose smiling face stared back at him. She was standing in the picture, but it wasn’t the first thing a stranger would have noticed, it was in fact her long dark hair and glowing complexion which whispered a delicate beauty that would have first been noticed. The woman was happy and her smile showed it. Beside her stood John, his face gleamed with happiness; in the picture one of his hands rested on her hand and the other rested on her visibly pregnant stomach. He laid the photograph down on his coffee table; he picked up the next photo that was lying under the previous one. In it were signs of a young family, a young baby cradled in its mother arms, her long dark hair pulled up, John could be seen beside them, leaning over and kissing the baby. He laid that photo down as well and on top of the other one, he came to the next photo, a young child was seated in John’s lap, both smiling, the same dark haired woman stood beside them both and again she was visibly pregnant, their face showed happiness and laughter radiated from the picture.

 

John swallowed hard, fighting back his emotion and anger. He quickly picked up all of the pictures and placed them back inside the box with the other items that he did not take out, he never took them out, and he never cared to look at the contents that rested below the pictures. He gently placed the lid back on top of the box and returned the box to its original home, a place he knew that no one would ever find it; once it was tucked safely he returned to his bedroom, crawled in his bed and fell asleep to the glow of the television as he tried desperately to displace his thoughts of the box and Marlena.

 

Marlena emerged from the bathroom after her shower; she dropped her towel and replaced it with her silk long nightgown. She looked at herself in the mirror that hung on the wall; she was no longer sure who she was staring back at. She knew she was no longer herself, she felt lost and alone. She turned her face quickly as if she had long ago become disgusted with what her reflection showed her.

 

She walked to the bed, pulled back her covers and eased in. She turned the light off beside the bed and closed her eyes, darkness peered back at her. She had long ago grown accustomed to hearing the sleeping sounds of Roman, even when he returned home late at night after she had fallen asleep she was still comforted by the fact that he would be coming home and her warm bed and Roman’s pillow was all she ever needed to feel comfort and safety. Now she laid in a bed that bore her no safety and no comfort, to her it was cold and lacked the warmth she needed and desired. She looked at the clock, it flashed back two in the morning, she closed her eyes tightly, praying for sleep to come, wishing for something to comfort her and hold her and tell her that everything would work itself out, she longed for sleep to envelop her and carry her to a place where she wasn’t required to think or feel or care about anything or anyone.

 

Marlena woke suddenly to a noise that startled her, she opened her eyes yet the only thing that peered back at her was complete darkness. She fumbled in the dark for the light and turned it on, outside her window she could see a branch that the wind kept slamming against it. Lightning began to light up the sky and the rain began to pour freely. Marlena stood from the bed. She read the time on the clock and was seemingly frustrated to see that she had only been asleep for thirty minutes. The wind and rain slammed against the house harder, she grabbed her robe and went downstairs to get something to drink. She quietly walked past their bedroom door. She leaned in against it, placing her hand on it, she wondered if Roman was asleep or he was still awake, but despite the loud wind and rain she could still hear his sleeping noises coming from the other side of the door. She hung her head from the disappointment and continued to her destination.

 

Marlena walked into the kitchen, flipping the light on. She needed something cold to drink; she opened a soda can that lay on the counter top and poured it into a glass, then she went to the freezer for ice. She pulled at the door and a small key fell quickly from the top and hit the floor, the noise echoing in her ears. She bent down and picked it up; slowly she stood as she stared back at it in her fingers. She held it up to her mouth and thought for a moment, recalling the time that her and John had spent together at that very same spot earlier in the evening. She closed the freezer door back and placed the key in her robe pocket and walked back to the counter and her glass. She picked it up but quickly sat it back down when she realized that she had forgotten her ice. She turned and looked toward the freezer, immediately her thoughts went back to john and his body being between her naked thighs, him being buried deep inside her, his hands squeezing into her ass. Marlena closed her eyes tightly; she felt her body begin to yearn for him. Quickly she re-opened her eyes, placed her hand in her robe pocket and fumbled with the key. She then quickly walked to the kitchen door and pushed it open. She continued through the living room, as she passed the table in the room she silently grabbed her keys and cell phone.  She put her coat on over her robe and slowly and quietly opened the front door, she took one last look up the stairs to make sure that Roman was no where to be seen and then she gently closed the front door behind her.

John had fallen asleep but was awoken when the thunder became too loud to keep him in a deep sleep. He lay in bed flipping through the channels, cursing it that nothing good was on this late at night. Thunder echoed throughout his house and it felt as if the whole house was shaking. Suddenly John sat up in bed; he was sure that he had heard a noise at his door and went to investigate. He got up and out of bed and walked into the living room and stood there, he saw the lock on his door slowly turn and he readied himself for whatever stand at the other side, not knowing who it could be, he looked around for something to arm himself with when the door slowly swung open. John stood there and looked back at Marlena; she stood there soaking wet, her wet curly hair clung against her head and face, she was dripping wet from the rain. Marlena looked back at him and froze, he had almost frightened her, she wasn’t expecting him to be up, let alone standing there looking as if he was fixing to hit her with something.

 

He quickly let his guard down and walked to her.

 

She walked through the door and closed it behind her, as she did the water dripped from her arm onto the floor. She looked back at John, she wasn’t sure what she should say, if anything. She knew she had no good explanation for being there; it was if something had drawn her there that night.

 

John helped her take her wet coat off and hung it up on the rack where it made a small wet puddle under it.  John stood in front of her and he looked into her eyes. He brought his hand up and gently wiped the rain from her forehead, removing her wet curls from it as well. He brought his hand down and caressed her cheek; she closed her eyes and leaned her face into his hand. He placed his other hand on her other cheek and slowly brought her lips to meet his. Their lips first met closed and then began to open, he slowly pushed his tongue past her lips and into her mouth, their tongues melting together as one. Marlena brought her arms up and placed them on John’s waist, he slightly jumped at the feeling of her cold and wet hands. She laughed gently in his mouth and he pulled away from her.

 

“This just will not do,” John told her as he gazed into her hazel eyes. Marlena, taken aback by his statement lowered her head.

 

“Oh, I am sorry John, I shouldn’t have just showed up like this and here I am getting your floor wet and I guess I just didn’t know what to do. I just wante…” John brought his hand to her chin and lifted her face to look at him and he placed his finger on her lips to silence her.

 

“I was talking about you being in those wet clothes, Marlena,” and he smiled at her and she smiled back at him, half embarrassed and half happy that it wasn’t what she thought he had meant.

 

John placed his hands on her robe, untied it and dropped it to the floor. He placed his hands on her hips and slowly moved them down her legs. Gathering her nightgown in his hands, he slowly pulled up and lifted her nightgown over her head leaving her, except for her lacy panties, completely naked. She stood there and watched him; his chest moved up and down against the light, she found him incredibly desirable; everything about him radiated sex appeal to her.

 

John was overwhelmingly attentive to her, something she long desired and needed, she loved how he took his time on her body. Marlena reached her hand out and placed it on his naked chest; she moved her hand over his muscles and rested her fingertips on his nipples. John took in her half naked body with his eyes, her round full breasts, her flat stomach, her delicate skin. He placed his hand atop hers that now rested on his chest and he began to back up and pull her with him.

 

When they reached the bedroom he laid her down on the bed and reached down and gently removed her panties from her, tossing them to the floor, he then removed his boxers and let his hard erection spring free.

 

She laid her head on his soft warm pillow and he climbed on top of her pulling covers onto both of them, covering their lower bodies. John pressed his body down onto hers and she moaned softly aloud. His naked flesh against her cold skin was soothing and inviting to him. Her breasts pushed into his chest, her hard nipples against him, he could feel the hardness of them against him as he brought his mouth to hers.

 

John kissed her mouth; her soft lips felt gentle and kind on his. Marlena sucked gently on his tongue while she brought her arms to his back and gently scraped her nails up and down the length of it. He pushed his body further down onto her, when he felt her nails begin to dig up and down the length of his back he moved his body up and his hard cock pressed into her, she arched her back to let him know that she was ready and that she wanted him inside her. John released his mouth from hers, and looked into her eyes, “you are so beautiful Marlena,” he kissed her lightly on the lips.

 

She wanted to smile and to cry, he made her feel beautiful and no one had ever done that before. She wanted to feel him inside her, but mostly she realized that she wanted him to complete her, to fill her full with his body, and she needed him.

 

John moved his mouth down and began kissing her chin, her neck, and her chest, he brought his mouth to her breast and placed the tip of his tongue to her hard nipple and licked it. He brought his mouth down and around her whole nipple; he squeezed it with one hand as he engulfed her breast into his mouth. Marlena arched her back; she wanted him to take all of her, slowly, one inch at a time.  She ran her hands up and into his hair; she pulled tightly against his hair, pushing his mouth harder onto her breast.

 

He released her breast from his mouth and continued to the other one, lingering on her hard nipple, craving its feel against his tongue. She tasted sweet and he couldn’t get enough of her. He released his tongue from her nipple and continued further down, her hands still wrapped in his hair. He grazed her flat soft stomach with his tongue, never letting it up as he continued further down. She spread her legs further apart when he rested his head between her legs and met his mouth on her hot centre. He breathed lightly near her clit, letting his breath seemingly curl up inside of her.

 

She pulled his hair tighter as she arched her back more, pushing him down onto her. His mouth coming into contact with her clit, he slid his tongue out and placed it gently on her clit as he used his fingers to spread her apart. His mouth latched onto her clit and sucked hard as he slowly slid his two fingers inside her, her wetness pouring from her as he did. She moaned his name loudly and pushed his head harder onto her. His mouth sucked up and down on her clit as his fingers worked in and out of her, building her orgasm deep within her. He pulled his fingers from her and replaced them with his tongue. Plunging his tongue deep within her he placed his thumb on her clit and rocked it back and forth. He wanted her to cum in his mouth, he wanted to taste her and drink her.

 

Her hands clench against his head, and she rocked back and forth against his tongue and thumb, harder and harder she rocked until her orgasm came against her with a powerful force, her walls encasing his wet tongue and her juices flowed from her.

 

Her body seemingly betrayed her, she knew not how to control her desire for him and she finally let go as tears flowed from her eyes. When her body stopped rocking against him he released his tongue from her and slowly crept back up to her. He reached his hand up and gently wiped away her tears. She looked longingly into his eyes as he stared back into hers. She pulled him down to her mouth and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips and tongue. She pushed her tongue deep into his mouth. She reached her hand down and placed it between her legs and to her centre, allowing her juices to wet her fingers and then she reached up and stroked his hard cock, he moaned loudly into her mouth, his cock becoming rock hard against her wet hand. He leaned his body down and into her centre and she guided him into her, he slid his hard cock easily into her wetness, and she thrusted her body hard into him.

 

Her mouth trembled against his. He pulled out slightly from within her and she arched her back, letting him know that she wanted him desperately. He slid back into her over and over as she continued to lift herself onto him; again she could feel an orgasm coming inside her. He allowed his body to fall further onto hers, his pelvis grinding into her clit as he moved in and out of her. He kissed her hard again as he began to thrust faster and faster into her, her juices and walls encasing his hard cock. She dug her nails into his back, marking him as he sucked hard on her tongue. His body began to shake and she knew he was going to cum inside her, faster she moved her body under his until her orgasm released within her. Her walls tightened down on his cock and it instantly caused him to go as deep inside her as he could, releasing his hot seed within her, his body and hands grabbing at her, pulling her tighter against him as she dug her nails deep within his flesh, she pulled against him, she wanted and needed him inside her, as deep inside her as he could go.

 

They slowly rocked back and forth against each other, their bodies entwined as one. He kissed her softly on the lips and fell gently onto her body, smelling her wet hair as it fell into his face. He slowly released himself from her and laid beside her in bed, she turned to face him and he turned and faced her as well. Bringing her hand up and cupping his face, Marlena felt his skin; it was the first time she recalled really feeling his face in her hands and against her fingers. His skin was soft against hers; he smiled at her and kissed her fingers as she brought them to his lips. She traced the outline of his soft pink lips and felt the stubble on his upper lip; she leaned in and kissed him softly, allowing her bottom lip to linger against his. She breathed him in, she was starting to crave his deep smell, it was inviting and touching, it seemingly reached out and encircled her and pulled her to him, he had an effect on her that she had never known before.

 

“Stay with me,” he asked her as he continued to look into her eyes. She removed her finger from his lips. She let out a sigh, at that moment she wished she could have stayed, she wanted to stay with him, but she knew it wasn’t possible.

 

“I can’t, I am sorry, it just isn’t possible,” Marlena didn’t want him to ask her to stay, she didn’t want him to feel hurt or used, she didn’t want to have to be put into a situation where she had to make anymore choices.

 

John could tell that she was deep in thought; he placed his hand on her cheek again and caressed it lightly,

“I understand, it’s okay if you can’t stay, I really do understand. Can you at least stay a couple hours,” he was being honest with her, he hoped she realized it, he wanted her to stay, but he wanted it to be her choice. She looked back into his eyes and smiled.

 

“I can stay an hour,” she leaned in and kissed him once more. Bringing her hand to the back of his head she pulled him back on top her; she kissed him hard on the mouth and their tongues and lips became one yet again.

 

Roman was lying in bed, the thunder was becoming too loud for anyone to sleep through it, though he hadn’t slept much to begin with. He had been lying there for hours thinking about what had happened between him and Marlena, he was confused and hurt, but he knew in his heart that he loved Marlena. He made a choice that night to work harder to make her happy, to make them happy, he never wanted them to get to this point and he decided then and there that things would be different. He knew he had to make things better between them, and he knew he had to do it right then. Roman got out of bed and made his way down to the guestroom, he opened the door and walked in, but she wasn’t in her bed. After searching the house he found that she wasn’t in any room in the house, finally, he took a seat in the living room and that is where he decided he would wait. He would wait until she walked through the front door and he made sure that he would be the first thing she saw when she finally did walk in.

Marlena freed John from their kiss, and she returned to lie on her back beside him while he rested on his hand, propped up beside her. She was looking into his eyes as he traced the outlines of her neck.

 

“John, tell me something about you,” she looked into his eyes deeply, searching for something about his past, she wanted to know more than just the man who pleased her, she wanted to know him.

 

John took in a deep breath and smiled; he moved his fingers to her shoulder and began to trace each freckle that adorned it.

 

“I love nights like this, the rain and the thunder. When I was a little kid I used to be afraid of the lightning, I would cower under my bed until the storm has passed, but as I got older I learned to appreciate the beauty of it; the colors of the lightning, the sounds of the thunder,” he brought his fingers to her hand, which rested on his thigh, and traced the outlines of each finger, one at a time.

 

“Tell me something about you, Marlena,” he wanted to ask her about why she had come to his house, but he knew that she would tell him in her own time, and so he decided to wait.

 

Marlena looked at him, she wasn’t sure why but she wanted to tell him all kinds of things about her past and her future and about her life and about her, but instead she let out a small sigh and told him the first thing that came to her mind, “I can not cook, it’s true, I burn everything, I nev…,” John placed his finger on top of her lips to silence her, she closed her eyes gently and then slowly re-opened them and looked at him.

 

“I don’t want to know things that other people know about you, or what you think they know about you, Marlena, I want you to tell me something about you that no one else knows, something that you want me to know about you,” he traced the outline of her lips once more and again he slowly brought his fingers down her neck. He traced the outlines of her neck and her ear, he barely grazed her skin, just enough to come in contact with the softness of her.

 

Marlena closed her eyes, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked her a questions like that, in fact, she couldn’t recall anyone ever asking her a question like that. She didn’t know what to say, she had no immediate answers to his question. She looked over and into his eyes, he smiled slightly at her, his blue eyes gleaming back at her; they made her feel safe and she felt warmth and comfort being in his bed next to him like this. She felt as if she could tell him anything and that he would not judge her, she inhaled deeply and decided she would trust him,

“I can’t remember the last time that I was happy, in fact, I can not remember, except for the exception of being drunk, that I actually laughed out loud. You know, that throw your head back and laugh so hard it bring tears to your eyes kind of laugh,” she looked over at him to see if he was paying attention to her, he was; in fact, he had yet to takes his eyes or fingers off of her. As she talked about happiness and lack there of, he continued to lightly trace her skin with his finger until he came to the tops of her breasts which were covered by the bed sheet. “My life is work, kids, home, work, kids, home, throw in fighting, ignoring, and resentment and I finally realized that I haven’t been satisfied with my life for a long time,” she continued to talk, never stopping, it was if someone finally laid a map of her life out in front of her and she had finally figured out the right direction to go.

 

John slowly pulled the covers down from her breasts, exposing them one at a time, yet he still never took his eyes from her, he listened to her bare her soul, and even though he had told himself that he would never be like this with another woman, he was drawn to her unmistakable beauty, her charm, her body. He moved his fingers to her nipple and lightly traced the outline of it; Marlena continued to talk to him, occasionally biting down on her lip in-between sentences, as her nipple grew hard from his touch.

 

“I guess I just need to realize what is important in my life and do what is best for me, but it is so damn hard, and I don’t know why I am telling you all of this,” she looked over at him, his eyes still fixed upon her.

 

“Because I asked you to telling me something about yourself,” he smiled back at her. God she was beautiful, she was like a warm spring day that made you feel like running through the grass naked and then jumping into a pond just to cool your body off. She smiled back at him as he placed his hand over her breast and rested it there, allowing her hard nipple to come between his long fingers. She looked down at his hand on her breast and a smile came across her face. He was becoming more familiar with her body and he enjoyed that she was so comfortable with him being so attentive towards it.

“John, were you ever married before you came to Salem,” and then just as suddenly as he smiled at her it was gone, he knew it would come from her lips, he just hadn’t realized that he would be faced with her asking him like this. He hadn’t wanted to lie to her, he hadn’t wanted to look at her while they lie in bed together naked, it was too close for him, it would have been different if they were out somewhere talking or chatting over lunch, but this was too intimate.

 

Before Marlena had a chance to look back at him and ask him again, he moved his hand from her breast and under the covers sliding it immediately down to between her legs, cupping her softly. He then placed his hand on her thigh and pulled it towards him, opening her to him. He slowly leaned down and kissed her mouth as he ran his fingers back up her thigh and found her opening. He caressed her lightly, his fingers going just into her opening and then coming back out to find her clit, she would arch her back each time her returned to her opening wanting to feel him inside of her, longing for him to please her, but each time he would take his finger away and place her wetness on her clit.

 

“John,” she whispered into his mouth, “I want you,” her body trembled against his touch.

 

“What do you want me to do,” he asked her as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

 

“I want you to mmm,” she arched her back more and brought her hips forward when she felt his finger again return to her opening, “please, John.”

 

“Tell me what you want, all you have to do is tell me, all you have to do is say it,” he kissed her soft full lips again, he was beginning to enjoy her mouth more and more, she knew how to kiss him with intense passion, her body burned for him.

 

“John,” she looked deep into his eyes, she really saw him in that moment and it scared her and it make her feel things that scared her, she didn’t know what these feelings were that she felt for him in that moment, she couldn’t think, she didn’t want to think.

 

She felt his finger return to her clit and began to rub it gently and it caused her body sensations that made her want him even more. He looked further into her eyes, she wanted him, she knew she did, but it was not just her body that wanted him, she wanted him. She realized in that moment that it was more about the two of them than anything outside that room, she wanted him, it wasn’t just her body that wanted him, she wanted him, “John, please make love to me again,” and with that he removed his finger from her now swollen clit and climbed on top of her and positioned himself between her legs, he kissed her mouth as he slid his hard erection deep inside her, she cried out in his mouth as he slid deeper and deeper very gently and very slowly. Fully encased with her, he held her closely, tightly within his arms, he felt an overwhelming desire to never let her go and she held onto him as tightly as he did to her. John began to move slowly inside her, in and out of her, her tight wetness allowing him little room to move which cause his hardness to grow fuller within her, he would not last long and he knew it.

 

“Marlena,” he whispered in her ear, “I want you to cum for me again,” and he looked into her eyes as if to let her know he needed her as much as she needed him. She felt too good against him, his body longed to cum too badly whenever he was inside of her, and this time was no different.

 

Marlena looked into his eyes and whispered, “kiss me, John,” to him. He placed his lips on top of hers; sliding his tongue into her mouth, he took her tongue into his. She began to thrust her hips at a more steady pace against him, she could feel her orgasm coming fast, she felt her body shudder beneath his, she wanted it and she wanted him. She needed him to fill her full before she had to leave; she wanted to be able to return home and lie in bed and still be able to feel him between her legs, inside of her.

 

John began to thrust faster into her; she gripped him tighter and kissed him more sensuously, her tongue enjoying the feel of his. He removed his mouth from hers and he gently bit down on her bottom lip and her orgasm exploded throughout her body, she screamed John’s name loudly and thrust her hips hard against him as he shot his seed deep within her.

 

Roman sat in the living room of his house, he fumed, his anger grew with each passing minute. He stood and paced the floor, seemingly burning a hole in the carpet from his back and forth strides. He looked at his watch once more; it had been almost an hour since he woke to find her gone. He quickly walked to the phone and dialed a number.

 

Marlena rose from the bed and put her panties back on, as John lie in the bed and watched her, he enjoyed seeing her naked, she was beautiful and he could never get enough of the site of her.

 

“I have to go, John,” she looked at him as if waiting for him to tell her that it was okay if she left. John rose from the bed and put his boxers on; he took her hand in his and walked with her into the living room.

 

He smiled at her as he helped tie her robe, then he put his hands around her back and pulled her closely to him, he placed his lips on hers and kissed her softly. She turned to open the door and saw that the hard rain had turned into a light drizzle.

 

“Marlena,” she turned back toward him, she didn’t want him to do this, she needed to leave and she wasn’t ready to be forced to make a decision that even she wasn’t ready to make. She stepped back towards him and placed her hands on his chest, moving her hands through his chest hair.

 

“John, please,” she sighed gently, “I have to go, please don’t make this harder than it already is, I want to stay but I just can’t, but I had such a wonderful time tonight,” she looked up at him and he placed his hand on her cheek.

 

“Marlena, you forgot your coat,” he smiled at her and pulled her to him, hugging her gently as she began to laugh loudly in his arms. She was slightly embarrassed, but not the kind of embarrassment that made her hold her head down, it was the kind of embarrassment where she could laugh at herself and not care if anyone else laughed with her.

 

John laughed lightly in her hair, he couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed; he pulled her back gently and looked into her laughing face.

 

Marlena’s hair was almost dry and it had curled up and fell against her face. Her skin was glowing and she looked happy, she wore no makeup and her natural beauty showed through. In that moment, John wanted to breathe her in, and he was suddenly aware of how that feeling scared the hell out of him.

 

John pulled her coat down and helped her put it on. She stepped back toward him and kissed him one last time; she could spend days kissing his soft lips, his wet tongue. He pulled her tightly into him, allowing their tongues to move against one another. She pulled back from him and walked out the door. After John made sure that she was in her car and had driven off, he closed the door behind him and went and picked up the phone and began dialing.

 

Roman laid the phone down, and took his seat back on the chair. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard on the phone. He began to think about all things that had happened over the past few weeks between Marlena and him, how it had come to this. His feelings grew inside him; he knew what had to be done.

 

Marlena walked up to her front door slowly, the rain had stopped when she was driving home from John’s and now the air smelled calm and cool. She held up her key and began to place it in the lock. Roman heard her key in the door and he quickly jumped up from the couch and turned the doorknob and flung the door opened as hard as he could. There Marlena stood staring back at him with a shocked look on her face, as if she had just been caught in her very own home.

Marlena stood there staring back at Roman. She was frozen and she felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach as hard as they could. Roman stared back at her, his face showing little emotion. She was afraid to speak, but knew she had to come up with something quick, yet nothing came to mind.

 

The phone rang and when Roman turned to look at it she let out a small sigh and closed her eyes, quickly reopening them when he turned back and looked at her once more. Marlena looked towards the phone and then at Roman and again back towards the phone, she was praying for something to save her, hoping Roman would answer it. Again the phone rang; three times, then four, then five rings, finally Roman turned and quickly answered it.

 

“Hello,” it was quick and hurried, his emotion was still not apparent, “yes, hold on,” he took the phone from his ear and pushed it towards Marlena, hurrying her to answer it. She quickly walked toward him and took the phone from his hand, she put the phone to her ear as she watched Roman sit back down on the sofa and stare blankly ahead.

“Hello,” she continued to stare at Roman, her stomach turning in knots.

 

“Marlena, thank god, I’ve been trying to call you non-stop for the past ten minutes, why don’t you have your cell phone on,” Laura’s voice was quick and fast, she hardly took time to breathe between her sentences, “Roman called here earlier looking for you; he said you were nowhere in the house and that your car was not at home,” Laura took a deep breath in and continued quickly, “I told him that you had come to my house because you were so upset about what had happened tonight and that you had just left when he called,” Marlena took in a deep breath, she felt saved, she felt relief, but was still confused as to why Roman was showing little emotion, “Marlena,” she could Laura’s voice crack when she said her name, guilt hit Marlena tremendously as she listened to her best friend try to hold back her emotions, “I have no idea where you were tonight, but what you do is none of my business, I just wanted to let you know before you had a chance to speak to Roman.” Marlena closed her eyes tightly, and continued her deep breaths; she felt tears come to her eyes but quickly dismissed them.

 

“Yes, Laura, thank you for letting me know that I left my cell phone at your house, I will be sure to pick it up from you in the morning,” it was the only thing she could think to say that might dismiss Roman’s questions about why Laura was calling so late, “and Laura, thank you,” she hoped Laura realized exactly what she was thanking her for, “Yes, I will talk to you soon,” Marlena quietly replaced the phone on the base and walked over and sat on the couch beside Roman’s chair. He turned his head and looked at her and then placed his face in his hands. Marlena’s thoughts went immediately to Laura, though she knew they should have been about Roman, she couldn’t help but recall the hurt that she had heard in her voice. Her overwhelming guilt began to eat at her, but it was guilt towards her friend and not her husband.

 

“Doc, I was worried about you tonight, I thought you had left me, I felt alone and empty and I realized that things between us need to change. I am sorry, Doc. I guess I hadn’t realized how bad things had gotten between us, I am sorry that I couldn’t be there for you tonight and that you felt like you had to turn to Laura instead of me,” he took his hands from his face and tears came to his eyes, “Doc, I am so sorry. I love you more than I could ever tell you, you are everything to me. I never want things to get so bad between us that we can’t talk things out.” He rose from his chair and walked toward her and sat down on the couch beside her. “Doc, can you ever forgive me,” he stared into her eyes, desperate for her forgiveness, “I need you to understand that I love you more than life itself and that I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I promise that from now on things will be different, I will be different. I will come home early from work every night, help with the kids more, and we can go out more, just the two of us. I promise you that I will be a more attentive husband, I promise to be there for you when you need me to be.” The tears continued to fall from his face as Marlena blankly stared back at him, she couldn’t believe what was coming from his mouth, she couldn’t believe that he was crying and that he seemed so genuine about the things he was saying. She had no words, so much was happening so fast, and she couldn’t think, she could not think. She closed her eyes, confusion had officially set in, and her mind was a blank. She knew better than to speak hastily, yet she yearned for retribution. She let out a deep sigh and words came from her mouth that she knew were a lie, “Roman, I think it’s been a long day and we both said some things that we didn’t mean tonight, maybe we should just talk about it after we’ve both gotten some sleep.”

Roman wiped the tears from his eyes, he didn’t want to pressure her, he had decided he would be a different man, a new man, someone she could rely on and love again, the way she used to.

 

“You’re probably right, Doc, we should get some rest,” He stood and took her hand to help her up, he smiled at her and she smiled back at him. He turned the lights off in the living room and waited for her and they walked up the stairs, one following the other.

 

 

John laid the phone down, after several attempts at calling he finally gave up and decided that he had acted in haste anyway. He was glad the person on the other end of the phone had not answered, he wasn’t sure if he really knew what he was going to say if they had. He walked into his bedroom and stared at his bed; the covers pulled back, the sheets messed up, he could still see the imprint of Marlena’s head in his pillow. It was late now and he would have to up in a few hours, he decided to skip sleeping and laid down and found a book beside his bed instead, he picked it up and leaned back on his pillow and began to flip through the book. He breathed in deeply and her scent hit him hard, she was everywhere in his bed, suddenly he could feel her bedside him, her hand on his thigh. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, her scent was overpowering, her tiny strands of blonde hair that still adorned his pillow, the imprint of her body in his bed. He laid his hand over to where her body had laid just moments earlier; he still felt the heat from her. John quickly moved his hand away and stood up. He walked into the living room and sat hard on the couch, he couldn’t think, he didn’t want to think, he didn’t want to think about her. He had promised himself that he would never feel this way about someone again.

 

John closed his eyes tightly and he saw Marlena smiling back at him, he heard her laugh, that infectious laugh that made him smile; he felt his mouth smile instinctively. He re-opened his eyes quickly and shook his head, “She is a married woman for crying out loud,” he shouted to himself in his living room.

 

John stood from his couch and walked into his kitchen, he knew what he had to do, he was just unsure if he could do it. He stood before the cabinet and placed his hands against the door; he felt his soul torn in two, his life torn in two, and he was now desperate. He opened the cabinet door, reached to the top shelf and behind a brown dish he found the box, he slowly pulled it down and placed it on the cabinet. He looked down at it. It was a medium sized box, very plain looking, yet it held the keys to his past and his future. He slowly ran his hand along the top of it as if he could feel its contents without opening it; he closed his eyes and recalled a time when he was happy.

 

He recalled in his past walking beside the same long dark haired woman that was in his pictures, he had turned toward her and smiled and she had smiled back at him. They stood there on a sidewalk and stared into each other’s eyes as people continually walked by them, never paying them any attention, but to them they were the only two people there. John had leaned in and kissed her lightly and she smiled into his lips. He reached down and ran his hands on her stomach, the baby inside kicking against his hands and he laughed loudly. He put his arm around her and they continued on their walk.

 

John re-opened his eyes; he looked down at the box once more, and quickly took the top off. The same dark haired woman stared up at him from the pictures and his anger grew deep within him. He took the pictures out one by one, and he stared at the contents below them. His anger festered within him, he reached in and his hand grazed what lie deep within the box, his hand began to shake and react violently, he squeezed his eyes closed and his fist clenched tightly. He quickly took his hand out of the box and took a step back, grabbed a glass on the counter and threw it against the wall causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

 

Breathing deeply, John quietly said to himself, “I can not do this. I will not do this,” he quickly walked back to the box and replaced the pictures and lid and returned it to the cabinet. He slammed the cabinet door shut and walked into his bedroom and began to strip the covers from his bed, removing Marlena and her scent from it.

 

Roman walked into the bedroom and went over to the bed and pulled back the covers, he looked over at Marlena, who still stood in the doorway looking back at him, “Roman, I am going to sleep in the guestroom,” she lowered her eyes to the floor.

 

Roman walked over to her and took her hands in his, he didn’t want to push her, but he wanted her stay with him in their bed tonight, he wanted to show her how much he loved her. He squeezed her hands tight and leaned in to kiss her lips, but she turned her head slightly and he kissed her cheek instead. He stepped back and looked at her,

“Okay Doc, I understand that things might take a little while to get back to the way they used to be. I won’t push you, when you are ready I will be here waiting for you,” he smiled at her, hoping she knew he was at least trying. She smiled back at him and he squeezed her hands gently in his and then let them fall from his.

 

Marlena turned and walked down the hallway and tears began to flow down her face.

Marlena sat in her car outside of John’s house, the same place she had been sitting for the last ten minutes. She took a deep breath, reached out to grab the handle, pulled slightly, but then let her hand fall down. This had been the same routine she had gone through since she pulled in front of John’s house. Nothing worked, she tried playing the radio to calm her nerves, and she tried telling herself aloud that she could do this, but nothing seemed to work. She closed her eyes and allowed her head to hit the back of the seat cushion, she could do this she told herself, it was simple, all she had to do was explain to him that she just couldn’t see him anymore. But it wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be, she knew that deep inside her there was something willing her to not leave that car, she just wasn’t sure what it was.

 

Once again she opened her eyes, sat up straight, and reached for the handle, pulled slightly, and watched the door open. She slowly got out of the car and closed the door behind her. She looked back at John’s house, took in a deep breath and walked toward the door.

 

John stood at his window looking at Marlena’s car; she had been sitting there for quite some time, though he wasn’t sure why she hadn’t gotten out yet. Part of him just wanted her to come in so he could get it over with, he couldn’t see her anymore, and he needed a clean break. Yet part of him wanted her to stay in that car so he wouldn’t be faced with having to tell her. He had been rehearsing it in his mind since he got off the phone with her, but the more times he rehearsed it the less and less he actually wanted to go through with it.

 

Then he watched as her car door opened and she emerged from within it, he took a deep breath in and it caught in his throat as she got closer to the door, her beauty caused him the sudden realization that despite the fact that he had told him he felt nothing for her, he knew it was a lie. He held his head down and waited for her knock.

 

 

 

Marlena stood at John’s door, she held her head high and her emotions low, she told herself one last time that she could do this as she knocked on the door. John opened the door slowly and stood there as they both watched each other, studying the other’s expressions, as if they were looking for some sign as to why the other was there, but there was nothing. If there was anything that they both knew how to do well, it was being able to hide how they really felt inside from others.

 

John swallowed hard, “Marlena, good morning, please come in,”

 

“John, thank you,”

 

He opened the door wider for her and stepped aside as she moved in past him, her perfume intoxicating him the moment she walked by. He had to stop himself from staring at her, her legs, her hair, and her overwhelming beauty. She stood at the doorway and began to remove her coat and John walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and began to move it down from her body. When she felt the warmth of his hands on her body her knees grew weak. She was glad he was behind her and that he couldn’t see the look on her face, her lips pursed together, her eyes closed at the feelings she got from him closeness, she hurriedly removed her coat and took a step away from him.

 

“Thank you, John.” He smiled at her and nodded his head slightly. He motioned her into the living room as he lead the way. Marlena took a step and followed him, her head immediately turning to the direction of his bedroom, the images dancing in her mind.

 

“Marlena is everything okay,” he stood in his living room and stared back at her, noticing that she hadn’t followed him in.

 

“Oh yes, sorry.” She smiled an uncomfortable smile and looked down slightly as if to remove the embarrassment from her face before he could realize what she was thinking, but he knew exactly what she was thinking, because every time he had walked by or into his bedroom he had the exact same thoughts that she had.

 

Marlena took a slow deep breath in, careful not to be too obvious of her feelings of being uncomfortable in front of John; she continued in the living room. John was standing in front of the couch waiting for her, she had wished he would sit because she wanted to make sure that wherever he had sat that it was nowhere near her, it was the last thing she could handle right now.

 

John saw the look on her face as soon as she rounded the corner, it was a look he had seen before, he recalled it from the night he had joined them for dinner, it was a look of being uncomfortable and he wondered what it meant. He quickly took a seat on the couch, and motioned for her to sit on the chair that faced it, he didn’t want to be anywhere near her or her body heat; especially her scent.

 

 

 

 

Roman still stood at the window; again and again he went over it in his mind. He knew exactly what she had said, she had forgot her cell phone, the words echoed in his ears. He had not been mistaken. He quickly walked over to the phone and began to dial and waited for the answer.

 

“Hello,” Laura answered the phone; Roman held back the urge to show his anger through his voice.

 

“Laura, it’s Roman, listen Doc left in a hurry this morning and I was hoping maybe she was still at your house,” he waited for the lies to begin.

 

“Oh, no, sorry Roman she isn’t here, I haven’t seen her this morning.”

 

“Oh, sorry Laura, I didn’t mean to bother you. Oh by the way, is she still planning on stopping by to pick up her cell phone.”

 

“Oh, yes, in fact it is still sitting right here beside my lamp,” he closed his eyes tightly and gripped the phone until it almost broke in two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marlena watched John as she sat in the chair, she noticed the slowed pace the morning seemed to be bringing, how everything seemed so planned out and how it seemed as if neither one of them wanted to be the first to speak up.

 

“John, why did you need to see me,” Marlena decided it was best if she spoke up first, she was curious as to why he needed to see her. She knew what she had come for could wait, and her curiosity took the stage at the moment.

 

John looked at her and smiled.

 

“Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing, I recalled you telling me on the phone that you needed to see me as well,” he watched her face, seeking some type of answer, but got nothing in return.

 

Marlena felt her stomach plummet; he was turning the tables on her. She searched her mind, but there was nothing, there was only this overshadowing of emotions that burned into her flesh and made it more real. But then she also realized that before she even walked into his house that she couldn’t do this, that she wouldn’t do this.

 

Marlena would not come to his house and feel like she was a teenage who was breaking up with her love sick boyfriend, she wasn’t John’s girlfriend, she wasn’t John’s anything, she thought about how foolish she suddenly felt and how uncomfortable she was, she thought back to the feelings of being a teenager and how she always dreaded breaking up with boyfriends, she thought about it until the situation suddenly became less about teenage hormones and more about her and what she was really trying to avoid. She was trying to avoid everything at all costs, she trying to avoid Roman, she was trying to avoid her marriage, she was trying to avoid John, but mostly she trying to avoid herself.  She finally realized what life was trying to do to her, it was trying to make her make a choice and all she was doing was avoiding it head on. She laughed lightly, she was amazed at herself, in herself, she found it foolish that it took sitting in her car and driving over here and feeling like some teenager to realize the choices she had to make. Again she laughed, this time a little louder, and she continued to laugh until it began to escape her lips.

 

John turned his head slightly and lowered his brow, she was laughing, but he wasn’t sure why, but he realized that he was enjoying it. She had an infectious laugh, and her smile was beautiful.

 

Marlena looked over at John, he was laughing along with her and she found it extremely attractive the way he laughed, it was quiet, yet you could tell that he did it because he wanted to, not because he had to. She stopped laughing and smiled at him, she slowly rose from her chair and walked over and sat beside him on the couch, her closeness was enough that she could breathe him in. She looked up at him and placed her hand on his knee. She smiled a little at him and she knew that it was time to tell him, but before she could speak any words to him his hand found her cheek, lightly it grazed it, and he moved his thumb from her cheek to the edge of her lips. He smiled at her as he then moved his thumb from her mouth and back to her cheek, “You are so beautiful, Marlena,” she closed her eyes at his words, no one besides him had told her that in a way that made her believe it, and she did believe him. She reopened her eyes and looked into his, his haunting blue eyes, they were full of emotion and she realized at that moment that she wanted to get to know him more, she wanted to know this man, everything about him, all of his secrets, in and out, she wanted to know who he was and where he came from, she wanted him deeply.

 

“Marlena,” he smiled at her again and he took his hand away from her cheek and placed it on top of her hand which still rested on his knee.

 

Marlena looked up at him, she swallowed hard, and she felt his fingers slowly move along hers. She closed her eyes as  she drank up his heat, his scent, the feel of his skin on hers, until she could take no more, she need to stop him before he said anymore. She opened her eyes and looked at John who was now looking at her hand in his, he was incredibly gentle with her, but she needed more than that right now, she needed to stop him from whatever it was he was about to tell her, she needed her mouth on his, his skin against hers, she needed him between her legs, and she needed him more than she ever realized before. She took her hand from his and placed it on his eyebrow and slowly traced the outline of it until it came down to his cheek.

 

John never even began to say what he had wanted to, as soon as he said her name he locked eyes with her, her scent enrapturing itself around him, the flesh of her hand against his was too much, everything he had wanted to say was seemingly lost to him now, the only thing he was aware of was that she was touching his face, tracing it slowly and as he looked into her eyes he saw what she saw in his, this hunger that was undeniable, he wanted her and she wanted him, they longed for each other in a way that was new and exciting, a way that made them both crazy with lust and passionate for something they both needed and wanted in their lives.

 

Marlena moved her hand down from John’s face, her eyes never leaving his; she placed her hand on top of his and breathed in deeply. In that moment they both released their hands from the other and drew each other closer, their mouths meeting hurriedly, Marlena wasted no time sliding her tongue into John’s mouth, she wanted to taste him with intensity. John allowed her immediate access to him, his tongue sliding against her as his hands explored her breasts, they grabbed at them and squeezed, he slid his hand under the front of her shirt and found the clasp of her bra and quickly undid it, his hands finding her hard nipples, as they slid over them and tweaked them she kept her tongue deep inside his mouth. She kissed him with passion, a passion that had risen inside her and consumed her body, she moved her hand to his shirt and ripped it open, causing buttons to fly wildly about; her hands moved down his chest with ease. She found his nipples and caressed them gently and then her hands found the front of his pants and quickly unzipped and unbuttoned them. John placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back from him and pulled at her to make her stand, she stood directly before him and he quickly unzipped her skirt and watched it fall to the ground, she raised her shirt above her head and let it fall on top of her skirt along with her bra. He moved forward and allowed his breath to fall on her stomach. Her body quivered under the warmth and wetness of his breath, he moved his hands to her hips and peeled her panties quickly from her body, one by one he removed her heels from her feet, kissing the front of each thigh as he did. She reached her hand out to him and pulled him up from the couch her hands pushing his pants free from his hips; she slid her hand into his boxers and slid them down his legs. As he stepped free from the constraints of his pants and boxers he pulled her closer to him, his arms went around her waist, slowly he moved back down to the couch, pulling her with him, as he sat he pulled her on top of him. She looked into his eyes and moved her face to his, sliding her cheek against his she whispered into his ear, “I want you to make me forget everything, everything John,” she looked into his eyes and placed her lips on his as he moved his hands slowly back to her breasts. He was gentler this time, he wanted to feel every inch of her, and he wanted to make love to every inch of her. He breathed her in, her scent hitting him hard. He continued to kiss her while he felt her hand move down to his hard cock, pre-cum oozing from the tip of it. She moved her hand around it until the wetness enveloped her hand, then she easily glided her hand up and down the shaft of his cock. She kiss him more hungrily as his hands grasped to her breasts, he released his grip from her right breast and his finger found her wet opening, he was pleasantly surprised to find that she was already dripping wet, he slid one finger inside her and she moaned into his mouth, arching herself deeper onto his finger as her grip tightened on his cock, faster she moved her hand up and down on it. He slid his finger out of her and released his hold on her mouth, she looked down at her hand moving hurriedly on his cock and then she saw his glistening finger, he brought it up to her mouth and slowly traced the outline of her lips with her own juices. He then brought his mouth back to hers and slowly licked her juices off of them. She tightened her grip on his cock and her speed increased even more, causing him to tighten his grip on her breast, he could feel his cock throbbing against her hand, his urgency to to cum was quickly unfolding. He was going to cum right then if she didn’t stop and he wanted to cum inside her, he wanted to feel the tightness of her walls around him, he wanted the pleasure of being inside her. He placed his hand over hers and stopped her motions and released her hand from him. He pulled back from her and pushed the hair from her and smiled at her; she swallowed hard, she loved the way he looked at her. He pulled her closer to him and lifted her slightly and slowly eased her wet centre down and onto his cock, slowly he slid inside her, deeper and deeper, the sensations radiating throughout her body. She moved her hands to his chest and dug her nails deep into his flesh. He pulled her further down onto him, as deep as he could go inside her and she began to rock back and forth on him. He thrusted his hips forward and pulled her tighter, his hands sliding around her back pulling her closer, the feeling of her breasts and nipples against his bare chest nearly sending him over the edge. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as she pumped her body up and down on him. His mouth was now on her neck, his hot breaths coming faster and faster, he placed his tongue against her bare flesh and began to suck lightly, the taste of her driving him crazy. She could feel her orgasm coming forward, it clutched on to her body and radiated deep within her, screaming to come out. She threw her body deeper against his, the hardness of his cock fully encased within her. He grew tighter inside her as her walls clamped around him, again she bounced harder on him as her orgasm exploded inside her, her walls clamping down hard against his cock, she rocked her body harder against his, she wanted to feel him flood her body, she needed to feel him, all of him, inside her. He latched his mouth onto her neck and exploded deep within her as her body reacted passionately against his.

 

 

 

Roman slammed the phone down, his anger seethed, his need to hurt festered. He had never know such a day in his life that he had been so angry, angry at his wife, angry at whomever she was with, he was angry and he wanted and needed revenge. He walked to the dresser and looked at pictures of him and Marlena, the face of a woman he no longer knew, the face of a stranger. He picked up the first picture and his lips quivered at the thought of the happiness they once shared. He glared at the way she looked up at him in the picture and then he threw the picture against the wall as hard as he could and listened to the glass smash against the wall. He picked up the next picture, Marlena in her wedding dress so many years ago; again he smashed it into the wall as well. He threw his arms on top of the dresser and slid all of the pictures off the top of it, they came crashing down, glass falling everywhere. He stood and looked at himself in the mirror and quickly turned and went back to the phone, picking it up he dialed quickly and waited for the voice on the other end to answer.

Roman stood and looked at himself in the mirror and quickly turned and went to the phone, picking it up he dialed and waited for the voice on the other end to answer. He continued to listen to it ring as he surveyed the room, the broken glass strewn along the floor, Marlena’s voice mail came on and he slammed the phone down, not that he had expected her to answer but still he was hopeful. He continued to stare at the phone as he replayed the night in his head, he searched his mind for clues wondering if her body had held the answers. He realized what a fool he had been, how he had wanted her to go to bed with him that night, it sickened him immediately. He picked up another picture frame and smashed it beside the phone, glass falling everywhere.

 

 

John walked to the couch with a blanket, returning to Marlena’s side he situated himself behind her, and covered both of them with it, they lie there in the silence and comfort of the moment. He slid his arm around her and pulled her backside closer to him, resting his hand on her naked breast. Marlena breathed deeply at his touch, the comfort of it, and the familiarity of it. He looked at her from behind as he took in her beauty, her quietness; it was only an hour ago that he was going to tell her that he couldn’t see her again and here he was, moments after making love to her, holding her in his arms. Marlena placed her hand atop his that rested on her breast, and her other hand rested under the side of her face on her pillow. John moved his face closer into her hair and breathed her in, she smelled like nothing he had ever experienced before, she was intoxicating and she made him smile, she made him forget things that he longed to forget. He hadn’t smiled like that in a long time, the kind of smile that made a man forget about his past and only think about the here and now, she was powerful to him, she had a powerful hold over him and he though didn’t want to let her go, he knew he had to. He had to be honest with her, or at least as honest as he could be.

 

Marlena began to stir softly, she turned her body so that she was facing him, his hand moving from her breast towards her back, she looked him in the eyes and smiled as she slid her leg in-between his, resting it comfortably in the constraints of them.  Her hand went back under her face, while the other rested on his arm. She loved looking into his eyes, the realness of him, the quietness of him; she could lie there all day with him.

 

“John, last night, why didn’t you answer me when I asked you about being married before you came to Salem,” she asked him with a calm serenity in her voice, her eyes never leaving his, she wanted to search within him for the answers, or the avoidance, whichever came first.

 

John looked back at her. He had been preparing himself for her questions, and he knew that if he stayed there in that moment with her like this that it was bound to happen. He also knew that there were a lot of things she wouldn’t understand, things that no one would understand, things that even he didn’t understand. He was very careful to keep hold of his emotions at that moment, his eyes moved down to her lips and watched them part as her wet tongue licked her lips delicately. His eyes then moved back to hers, they held a sparkle that wasn’t there when she had first walk into the room, “I don’t usually talk about my past Marlena, I hope you understand,” it wasn’t the answer she was expecting, she was expecting a straight yes or no, yet she didn’t get it, and now she wasn’t sure what to say. What was he hiding and was it even right for her to ask him more questions; she wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to cross the line with him this soon. Slowly Marlena sat up, gripping the blanket to her breasts so that it didn’t expose them. John immediately sat up behind her and placed his arm around her chest, it just falling to above her breasts; he squeezed her tightly into his chest as if to tell her that he was sorry, that he didn’t want her to leave just yet, and that he needed her to understand. Her hand went to his arm and followed the outlines of the dark hairs that adorned it, she smiled softly and turned her head and looked at him.

“What can you tell me then,” He smiled back at her and leaned in and kissed her, his top lip hitting her bottom lip, he breathed deeply in, inhaling her breaths, her scent, inhaling her. Slowly he pulled her back down to the couch with him, she adjusted her body so that she rested in his arms, her face burrowed into his neck, she enjoyed the comfort and protection she felt there, as if they were a perfect fit.

 

“I can tell you that every time I am near you I can not keep my hands off of you, that when I get a glimpse of you I want to take you in every way possible, that every time I see you I smile, and that when I am not with you I am thinking about you, and that you, Marlena, are never far from my thoughts.”

 

Marlena raised her head from the confines of his neck and kissed him gently on the lips, her hand resting on his jaw, she pulled him closer her tongue sliding just into his mouth as his came into contact with hers. But then she felt John’s hand on her shoulder gently pushing her back from him, she immediately noticed the worried look on his face, “But, Marlena, there is something that I have to tell you, something that you should know.”

 

“What is it John, I hope you know that you can tell me anything,” she smiled at him, not because she hoped that he knew she meant it, but that for the first time she realized that she wanted to know everything and anything that he had to tell her.

 

“I need you to know that I won’t be in Salem for very long, in fact, I won’t be here past the end of the month. I would have told you sooner but there just wasn’t an opportunity too, but I knew that I had to tell you before things changed anymore between us,” he leaned in and kissed her forehead, his breaths moving her hair gently. He closed his eyes tightly, knowing that it would just be easier to tell her that his time in Salem would be short, rather than telling her that he couldn’t see her anymore, not that it seemed to be any easier for him, but perhaps it would be easier on her.

 

Marlena lay her head back down on his chest, nuzzling her head back into his neck. She let out a small sigh, she didn’t know what to think or what to say; an hour earlier she was faced with telling him that she wouldn’t be able to see him again and now here she was being told that the one thing that she knew she wanted was the one thing she would not be able to have.

 

“But John, you came on as a new board member, I assumed that meant a permanent stay, and I guess I just assumed that since you had a house that you were in Salem permanently,” she was grasping for straws, she needed answers, she wanted him to just tell her what it was about rather than her having to ask him all kinds of questions, but he didn’t seem to want to share anything about himself with her, she felt a tear fall from the corner of her eye and she hurriedly blinked to push the tears from falling.

 

“I came on as a temporary member, the children’s burn unit holds a special place in my heart and I wanted to make sure that it happens, and I knew that I would have a good chance of seeing that happen if I were here in Salem. I am just renting this house until I leave, the idea of having to stay in a hotel just doesn’t set well with me and I wanted to feel more comfortable being here,” he could feel her tears hitting his bare skin, but he said nothing, he only pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. “Marlena, I am sorry, I never meant to hurt you,” the word escaped his lips and hit her hard, he said it as if he were talking to someone he had been with for years, someone who was his lover, someone who was his soul mate. He realized what he had said and the way he had said it and Marlena realized it as well, and though they weren’t two people who shared very much, whatever it was that was happening between the two of them seemed more real to them than anyone else could have imagined.

 

“Marlena, why did you need to see me this morning,” he held to her tighter, his arm squeezing her back, pulling her closer into him, not wanting to let her go just yet. She let out a small sigh, she didn’t want to tell him why she had come to see him this morning she didn’t see the point of it, especially now.

 

Marlena lifted her face to his as she pressed her naked body closer into him, her hand finding his shoulder, it grazed it lightly causing his breath to catch in his throat, the look in her eyes told him that she wanted him and he swallowed hard. She brought her arm down to his hand which rested on her hip and she picked it up and placed it on her breast; she pulled his hand tighter to her as her nipples hardened against his hand. She knew she needed to distract him.

 

“John, tell me about your past,” she kissed his lips, taking his bottom lip in her teeth, biting down gently, she could feel his hardness against her leg, his hand tightening against her breast he pulled her closer to him. “John, tell me about your past,” again she tried.

 

“Mmm, why do you need to know that now,” his mouth latched on to hers and his tongue invaded her mouth. She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, she stared deeply into them as she arched her back into him causing her leg to push harder into his cock, making him shudder beneath it, his hardness immediately growing harder.

 

“John were you married before you came to Salem, are you married now,” she said it realizing that it was very much a possibility, though Laura had told her that he was single it didn’t mean that he wasn’t separated. Again she kissed him, lingering her tongue on his lips, “tell me, John.”

 

He took a deep breath, he wanted her, but not like this, he didn’t want this to come between them, he needed her to not ask him questions about his past, but she seemed relentless and she wasn’t going to drop it until he gave her an answer.

 

He looked into her eyes and kissed her gently on the lips, inhaling her taste before pulling back quickly, “No, Marlena, I am not married and I am not divorced, now will you just shut up and kiss me,” they smiled at one another, Marlena came forward and kissed his cheek and continued down to his neck, sucking lightly, allowing her tongue to wet his skin.

 

John closed his eyes and felt her lips and tongue on his skin, the warmth of her breath on his flesh. He breathed deeply, his guilt welling up in him, while he hadn’t exactly lied to her, he hadn’t exactly been completely honest either, but she had left him no choice and he gave her the best answer he could, the one that would draw no more questions from her.

 

He placed each hand on either side of her face and pulled her to his lips, he tasted her mouth immediately, his wet warm tongue swallowing her whole. As he continued to kiss her he suddenly recalled her avoiding his question, he pulled back from her kiss and looked at her, she had just blatantly tried to seduce him when he asked her why she had come over this morning and she changed the subject. He smiled as he thought back to the same techniques that he had used the night before to avoid her questions.

 

“Marlena, why did you come see me this morning, as I recall, you never answered my question.” He peered into her eyes, searching for the truth. She placed her hand behind his neck and tried to pull him to her mouth but he resisted, shaking his head from side to side. She stared back at him, pursed her lips together and then smiled,

“Oh just shut up and kiss me, John,” he laughed loudly and she quickly silenced him with her lips, fully engulfing her mouth onto his, hungry for him to satisfy her yet again.

 

 

Roman walked over to the bedroom closet, he quickly opened it, almost tearing it from the hinges; he pulled out a large suitcase and quickly threw it on the bed. Unzipping it he threw the top back and walked to the dresser, he pulled out various necessities and threw them in the suitcase, not taking the time to fold anything; it was the least of his worries right now. He walked to the closet and gathered more clothes, ripping them down and causing coat hangers to fly everywhere; he threw the clothes inside the suitcase and continued on to the bathroom. He picked up things that he knew were needed and probably some things that weren’t; he gathered what he could in his hands and quickly moved back into the bedroom, throwing them inside the suitcase as well. He flipped the top back up and zipped it up, pulled on the handle and walked out of the bedroom, never once looking back.

 

 

John pulled Marlena closer to him, shifting her body to underneath his; he comfortably rested himself between her legs. He looked down at her; her smile, her lips, the softness that peered back at him. He always wanted her, whether she was smiling or frowning, he always wanted her. He rested his elbows beside her and brought his hands to her face, slowly moving his fingers along her cheeks, she stared back at him, drinking him in with her eyes. She moved her fingers up and down the softness of his side and then to his back, she laid her hands on his back and pulled him closer to her, allowing his mouth to rest on hers. He enjoyed the way his lips felt between hers, the way her bottom lip quivered against his, he kissed her delicately again.

 

 

Roman walked angrily down the stairs, throwing the suitcase on the floor beside the door. He picked up the phone once again and dialed Marlena’s cell phone, it rang and rang but still no answer, he slammed the phone down, his hand never leaving it, then he picked it back up and threw it hard against the wall, breaking it in two.

 

 

Marlena pulled John closer to her, she needed to feel his tongue in her mouth, she needed to feel the closeness of him against her, and she needed him to make her feel safe and warm. He removed his lips from hers and brought his face to her neck where he sucked and licked and enjoyed her flesh and then he brought his mouth to her jaw and kissed it, biting it gently. He returned his mouth once again to her lips where she parted them tenderly and allowed his tongue to slip inside her, meeting her tongue against his.

 

 

Roman stood and stared at the phone, his anger seething, he searched his mind as to where she could be, but he knew of no one that she could be with. Laura came to mind as to who to interrogate about his wife’s whereabouts’ but he knew better than to ask her, he knew she would never betray Marlena. He needed information and he needed it fast. The only next logical step was to put out an A.P.B. on her car, he would let the police find her car , then he would find her with her lover and he would have his revenge.

 

 

John kissed her, kissed her fast and kissed her slow, his hardness hitting against her each time her tongued slipped gently into his mouth. She wanted to drink him up, suck him dry, she had never wanted a man more intensely than she had wanted him. He moved his hand down to her thigh, caressing it gently as he moved it to her inner thigh, tracing her flesh, causing her to loose her breath and arch herself towards him. He released his mouth from hers and stared into her eyes, watching her squeeze her eyes closed at the intensity of his touch; he enjoyed her expressions of passions. He moved his finger to her clit and began to rub it; her mouth opening, gasps of pleasure escaping from it. He moved his finger to her wet opening and slid it deep inside her, her wetness enveloping him, her walls encasing him, more loudly she moaned, arching her back further into him.

 

 

Roman picked up the suitcase and looked into the house once more, he saw busted remnants of their life together strewn across the floor; glass and plastic were all that was left of their once happy life. He leaned against the door and recalled their past together, the happiness, the laughter, but then images of her with another man danced before him. He felt tears come to his eyes and he quickly dismissed them as the images of her nakedness against another man became more and more real. He slammed his fist into the door causing his knuckles to break open and blood to trace the door, there was no time to feel the pain from it, he quickly grabbed at the handle and slammed the door shut behind him. He grasped to the suitcase handle once more and hurried to his car.

 

 

John slid his fingers in and out of Marlena, she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of him, his lower lip being bitten down on, he was enjoying her, all of her. More quickly he slid his finger in and out of her wet centre, John quickly inserted another finger, filling her full.  It was too much for her and she began to moan more loudly, her orgasm coming out from within her, she stared back at him, her mouth parting more, she wanted to feel him inside her, all of him. “John, kiss me,” he placed his mouth on hers and quickly pushed his tongue into her wet mouth, he brought his body down onto her and pulled his fingers from her, he quickly grabbed at his throbbing cock and slid it deep within her, causing her to scream out with pleasure into his mouth. He rested himself inside her, waiting for her to adjust to his size and he continued to feel his tongue inside her mouth, feeling her start to suck on his tongue.

 

 

Roman got into his car and started it quickly; he picked up his police radio and put out a call to be on the look out for Marlena’s car, reporting it stolen. He slammed the radio back into the dash, picked up his cell phone and again tried to call her, but there was no answer. He threw the phone into the seat behind him, glancing at the suitcase once more; he looked back at the house one last time, looked at the blood that now stained his hand and then quickly sped away, causing the tires to squeal against the pavement.

 

 

Marlena pulled at John’s back, she arched herself into him; she wanted him to move within her, to make her feel what she longed for. She wrapped her legs around his backside and began to thrust her hips against him. He kissed her harder, taking her tongue into his mouth, feeling the wetness of her mouth; he quickly began to move his cock in and out of her, her tightness making him want her more. Her walls tightened more around him, his throbbing cock wanting to release his seed within her, harder he pounded into her. John released his mouth from hers and pressed his cheek against hers, biting against her. He wrapped his arms behind her and pulled her closer into him, his body’s weight causing pressure against her clit; he pushed himself into her more. The force of his weight on her clit and his cock moving within her sent her over the edge, she screamed out when her orgasm released within her, her body going numb, waves of passion seeping from within her, she felt light headed and alive. She moved hungrily against his body, her orgasm never stopping, it was taking control of her whole body. She dug her nails deep into his back causing him to pound into her harder, again and again until his shot his hot seed deep inside her. As the last bits of intense passion faded from within them, their bodies lie together moving slowly. They enjoyed the last bits of their passion as they moved as one; they moved as two people who never wanted to let go, and they held to each other as they brought their lips together once more.

 

 

Roman sped down the streets, not caring about his speed; he had to find her car, it was all he was thinking about; it consumed him. He rounded the corner, barely missing a car that was turning; he wasn’t thinking clearly, nor was he being logical. He sped faster down the street and then something caught his eye, he quickly slowed his car and looked back as he past it, and there it was, staring back at him, Marlena’s car.

Roman sat in his car; he stared back at Marlena’s car which was parked across the street from his. He studied the houses that lined the street, there were too many of them to know which one she was in. He slumped down in his seat and contemplated his next move; he could wait for her to come out and confront her or he could confront her at home later. He looked down at his knuckles on his hand, the blood had dried and the pain had started to set in. The large knot on his knuckle made him think that he had broken his hand but he shook his hand and decided to forget about it for now. He surveyed the other cars on the street, there were not many because at this time of day most people were gone to work. Four cars lined the streets with his wife’s. He picked up the radio and slowly began to move his car from his spot, when dispatch picked up he began to call in license plates one at a time, thinking his clue would come that way.

 

 

 

 

John held tightly to Marlena, his body lying on top of hers, he kissed her neck gently and breathed her in. She emitted a passionate scent, one that smelled of sex and sweat and sweetness. He raised his head and looked at her, smiling at her natural glow and beauty; he smiled at the way she gently bit on her bottom lip. He loved it when she did that, it made him want her even more. She smiled back at him and moved to the side to allow him to lie beside her; she looked longingly into his eyes as her fingers gently touched his face. She traced the outlines of his cheek and his chin as he closed his eyes and breathed her in more deeply, enjoying her touch; he opened his eyes and took in more of her beauty.  She leaned in and kissed his lips, tasting him, and then she pulled back and looked him in the eyes again.

 

“I would love to stay with you all day John, but I do have to go to work and I am supposed to meet Laura for lunch, and, oh my gosh, what time is it,” she grabbed his wrist and turned his watch toward her, realizing that she no idea how long she had been there, it was if time didn’t exist when she was with him. Looking at the watch she mouthed something inaudible and quickly sat up. “I have to go, I can’t believe I stayed this long, I should call the hospital to let them know I won’t be there,” she quickly sat up, reached for her purse and found her cell phone, John silently chuckled at her mild panic and breathless sentences. She stared back at her phone as she saw the several phones calls from Roman that she had missed, she dismissed it as she dialed the hospital and let her secretary know that she would be in by lunch and had had an emergency.

 

She hung up her phone and laid it on the coffee table and turned back toward John who was sitting up behind her.

 

“John, can I please use your shower,” she said as she cocked her head to the side and smiled at him the way a school girl would smile at her first crush.

 

“Of course you can, it’s just through the bedroom and to the right,” he let out a small sigh; he was beginning to love the way she looked at him.

 

Marlena stood and allowed the blanket to drop from her, she realized how comfortable she felt being naked in front of him, even when he was staring at her body. She walked just into the bedroom and then stopped at the door facing, allowing her breast and hand to rest on the edge of it; she looked back at John and smiled, “Care to join me,” she winked at him and then continued into the bedroom.

 

John watched her walk the rest of the way into the bedroom, his eyes never leaving her flesh; he burned every inch of her into his mind until she disappeared around the corner. He was aware of the silly grin he had on his face, she was so damn sexy. He quickly stood from the couch and dropped the blanket back to it, as he got closer to the bedroom he heard the distinct sound of water and his smile got even bigger.

 

 

 

Roman called in every license plate until the name John Black came across the radio. He closed his eyes, he new the name, but he just didn’t understand why she would be there with him. To his knowledge she had only just met the man. Roman continued to think of clues that would give away her being with him; he was at the party, but he was with Laura, he was at dinner, but again he was there with Laura, the only other place was the balcony, but she had just met him the day before. He knew he couldn’t barge into John’s house without more evidence, and besides that, he wasn’t even sure which one was in fact John’s house. And with that he decided to wait, because with waiting came answers, his years as a police officer had taught him that. He needed to catch them red-handed, then, and only then could he confront the both of them.

 

 

 

Marlena stepped into the shower careful not to let her hair, which was now pinned up, get wet. The hot water felt soothing against her skin and the steam began to fill the entire room. John opened the shower door and stepped in behind her, closing the door behind him; he place his hands gently on her shoulders and she tipped her head back and met it on his chest. He followed the softness of her skin down to her arms and moved them to her flat stomach, the hot water rushing down her and flowing across his hands. Marlena closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, her breasts rising and falling with each deep breath. She wanted to stay with him just like that, with his arms around her, with him seemingly holding her, protecting her. She quickly opened her eyes as his words from earlier came back into her head; he was leaving Salem, never coming back.

 

Marlena turned to face him, her hands moving to his chest, she moved her hands along the muscles that adorned him, through his black hair, around his hard nipples. She took in every last bit of him, she savored him, enjoyed him, memorized him, she realized how much she cared more about just being with him physically, it was more about how she cared for him, about how he made her feel inside and out. She closed her eyes as she felt his hands move back to her shoulders; his touch was mesmerizing, almost intoxicating. It wasn’t ten minutes earlier that they were together and yet she already longed for him to be inside her again. The feelings of intensity and passion that she had longed to have for years she now felt each time she was with John, and every time she had to walk away from him she realized just how much it tore her in two. She opened her eyes and looked at him; nothing about his expression gave what he was feeling away.

 

John touched Marlena with ease, his hands seemed to belong on her; it was as if he couldn’t control himself whenever he was around her, his body naturally needed to be against hers, near hers. And now here she was looking back at him, this beautiful appealing woman, yet this time there was something different. He looked at her as he realized that he wanted her to be more than just someone who could be his lover, he wanted her to be more than someone he could just hop into bed with, but the realization that he had to leave soon was heavy on his mind and he that knew he had to leave her behind. Yet part of him wanted to stay right there with her in that moment for forever.

 

Marlena placed her hands on the sides of his face and pulled him towards hers, she parted her lips and kissed him deeply, her tongue meeting his immediately. John wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tighter into him, feeling her hard nipples against his bare skin. He moved his hands down to her ass and squeezed it gently; he then moved them down further to her hips and lifted her quickly. As she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, she quickly wrapped her legs around him and he pushed her into the shower wall as the water continued to rush down onto them. He held her up easily as she continued to kiss him, her soft lips devouring his mouth with each kiss, his fingers holding tight to the flesh of her bare ass. His breaths hitting her flesh, turning her on even more, she removed one of her hands from behind his neck and placed it on his face, pushing him gently back from her mouth. Their eyes met and they connected in that moment, their bodies were together, their eyes both longing to tell the other what they felt, what they needed, and what they wanted. She moved her thumb to his lips and slowly moved it across the wetness of them; she swallowed hard as she felt his hands grip into her harder. His eyes took her in more, he now longed for her, he needed her to make him forget everything about his past; he wanted to be with her constantly, he yearned for her, not just her body, but her.

 

“I want you, Marlena,” it meant so much more than what had come out. He wanted her, he wanted her body and he wanted to be inside her, but it was much more than that, he wanted to be with her everyday since the day he laid eyes on her, he wanted to spend every evening with her, he wanted to hold her as she slept and he wanted her face to be the first thing he saw in the morning when he woke. He wanted to make her happily daily; he wanted life to hold new beginnings and new endings, but not just for her, but for him as well.

He placed his lips back onto hers and slowly kissed her, his lips parting to allow his tongue to escape and graze the edge of her bottom lip. She moved her free hand down between him and found his hard cock and slowly slid it inside her opening, allowing her hand to move back to his neck after he was filled inside her. She pulled him closer to her as she tightened her grip on him with her legs. His tongue immediately gained access to inside her mouth and their tongues danced upon each other’s. There was nothing quick about their being together, it was slow and intense and powerful. He moved within her as if time had stopped, slowly and agonizingly building her orgasm from deep within her; her nails burrowing deeper and deeper into his wet flesh.

 

His throbbing hardness moved slowly within her, feeling her tight walls continuously gripping down on him harder and harder. He moved his mouth to her breast and licked and sucked at her nipple as the rushing water filled his mouth every time he let go to bury his face into her breast more. She gripped the back of his head, her fingers moving through his wet hair as she pulled him harder onto her breast, she loved the feel of his wet tongue on her hard nipple and despite the constant flow of water from the shower she could easily distinguish between John’s wet tongue and the wetness of the rushing water.

 

She loved the feel of him inside her, his hard cock filling her full, the feel of his body upon her body. Every inch of their glistening wetness was reflected by the light. He removed his mouth from her breast and quickly moved to the next one, he continued his long slow strokes in and out of her, his wet tongue escaped his mouth and found her nipple, its pink hardness was tight and felt intense sensations against his tongue, he slowly traced along the outside of her nipple, driving her to arch her back toward him, she wanted his mouth on her breast yet he continued to tease her. He traced her nipple more, flicking it quickly with his tongue and placing his lips on the hardness of it. He quickly opened his lips and sucked her nipple into his mouth causing her to moan out loudly, her moans causing him to begin to thrust his cock harder into her. She arched her hips against him. The rushing water pounded down upon their bodies, their glistening skin moving hurriedly against one another. John relinquished his hold on her breast and she quickly kissed his mouth and then allowed her forehead to rest against his, she tightened her grip around his neck and moved her head to allow their cheeks to rest against one another, their hard deep breaths echoing in each other’s ear.

 

“Marlena, I want you,” he whispered it over and over into her ear. “I want you like I have never wanted anyone in my life,” his honesty hit her hard; she closed her eyes tightly as a single tear fell down her cheek. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, in every way possible and every way imaginable,

 

“Take me John, please take me,” she whispered back to him as she tightened her grip on him more, she didn’t want to let him go and she didn’t want him to let her go. He moved deeper inside her, digging his fingers harder into her ass, causing moans to escape her mouth and fill his ear, he moved closer into her body, his pelvis rocking against her, against her clit, their movements becoming quick and powerful against one another.

 

Marlena returned her lips to John’s but before she touched his lips with hers she looked into his eyes and whispered to him, “make me yours,” and then she kissed him hard and long, passion filling their mouths, each of them trying to find something inside the other that they both longed for.

 

John rocked into her harder as her orgasm built stronger within her. Suddenly bursting from within her, her walls clamped down on his hard cock and he immediately shot himself deep within her filling her full, they both cried out into each others mouth, yet their lips never parted from the other’s. Marlena slowed her hips back and forth to a steady rhythm; he made her feel things she had never felt before, things that amazed her, things that scared her, things she longed to feel more of. It was an intensity she longed for from him, something she didn’t want to relinquish.

John moved within her as if she was his life line, his part that was missing, he longed for more of her, as if he could never get enough, as if there could never be enough of her. They kissed slowly, drinking in each other, savoring every last bit of each other. He slowly withdrew himself from her and lowered her shaky legs to the shower as he released his lips from hers; her face showed her pleasure and her smile was infectious. He smiled back at her as he took in her beauty; she was glowing, and she was intoxicating to say the least. The hot water beat down upon them, yet it was unnoticed by them both, they were there as two people connected in their own space, and in their own time.

 

Marlena felt almost silly, she was so happy, she couldn’t find the words to express to John how he made her feel, she lifted her hand and placed it on his cheek. Not thinking, she opened her lips and said to him, “I,” but then she quickly stopped herself, she closed her eyes, and her fingers found her lips pushing against them. She turned away from John, yet he still saw the frightened look upon her face before she had turned from him, he quickly placed his arms around her and held her to him.

 

“What is wrong Marlena, please tell me,” he could feel her chest rise and fall with urgency, her heart beating quickly inside her. She laid her head back and allowed it to rest against his chest as soft tears fell from her eyes.

 

Marlena swallowed hard, shook her head from side to side, she couldn’t tell him what she was thinking, it wasn’t fair to him and it wasn’t fair to her, she had almost told him that she loved him and now here she was in his arms feeling like a fool for almost saying it. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to think of something to cover it with, “I was just going to say that I am most happy when I am with you,” she closed her eyes hoping he would believe her.

 

John closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, he didn’t believe her, but he wouldn’t press her either, he pulled his arms tighter around her and kissed her necked gently. She was beginning to feel more real to him, like someone he had known forever, and someone he wanted to know for the rest of his life. He wanted to be beside her always, to tell her she could come to him, to tell her to look into her heart and to ask her if there was room inside it to make a new start with him, a new beginning. But he remained silent and continued to kiss the softness of her shoulder, his hands feeling the wet smoothness of her stomach. Marlena moved her hand up and found his neck, wrapping her fingers around the back of it; she tilted her head to the side as he continued to kiss her neck, his tongue tasting her between kisses.

 

 

 

Roman tapped his steering wheel hard as he continued to wait for Marlena and John to emerge from his house, or what he assumed was his house. He had called in every house number but nothing came back as being in John’s name. He shifted several times in his seat, letting out long agonizing breaths, he picked up his newspaper that he had paid a kid walking by for. He had already read it front to back three times; he quickly wadded it up and threw it on the floor of his car. He sat back up, and threw his head back against the headrest, he had tried not to think about what was taking so long, every time he thought about it his anger grew deeper within him and his stomach couldn’t handle it. His anger was seeping into his veins and he could feel his blood pressure rise, he looked down at his more swollen hand, it had turned a deep black and blue color and he could no longer bend his fingers, but again he dismissed it. He slouched down and looked back at the houses, and began to think about what he what do and say when he finally saw them.

Roman had become tired of waiting; he had been sitting in his car for almost an hour and had fallen asleep when a passing trucks loud honking had startled him from his sleep causing him to spill his coffee all over his lap, which caused lots of cuss words to spill from his mouth as well. He quickly reached into his glove box and retrieved napkins and began to clean the coffee from his lap, he looked up and put his half empty coffee cup on his dash board. He opened his door and stepped out, cuss words still flying from his mouth, two women walking with their babies along the sidewalk quickly gave him a disgusted look and they continued on their walk, he tried to apologize by pointing at his pants so they could see the obvious spills, but when he looked down at his pants he realized that it looked as if he had in fact pissed on himself and he decided it didn’t help matters by pointing at it. He quickly got back into the car and slammed the door behind him as he grabbed his coffee and continued sipping on it.

 

 

 

Marlena stood in John’s bathroom. Wrapped in just a towel she looked back at herself in the mirror, she saw someone she hadn’t seen in a long time and it made her smile. John came up behind her with a towel wrapped around his waist; he looked at her reflection and smiled, causing her to smile shyly. He put his hands under her arms and around her waist and moved them to her stomach, interlocking his fingers, he placed his chin on her shoulder and breathed her in, “Marlena, you smell wonderful”

 

“Thank you, I keep it in my purse just in case,”

 

“Oh, just in case huh, so should I change my name to just in case,”

 

Marlena spun around and hit it on the arm, laughing loudly.

 

“Ouch, what was that for,” he smiled at her giggling face.

 

“Because you’re being a goof,”

 

“Mmm, so you will settle for John Black then. Good, I like my name better anyway”

 

“And I like you better anyway”

 

“Oh, is that right, well I like your lips on mine better,” John leaned down and kissed her, causing her to lean into the sink behind her.

 

“I think your sink is trying to get fresh with me John,” Marlena smiled into his lips as he continued to kiss her. He pulled back from her.

 

“Well, you know, my sink and I do have lots in common”

 

“Oh, and what exactly do you have in common with your sink”

 

“Well, we are both sturdy,” he kissed her lips once more, “We both are reliable,” he kissed her check lightly, “we both can go from cold to hot in mere moments” he moved his mouth to her neck and kissed her gently, his tongue grazing her, “And we both are trying to get fresh with you,” he kissed the tops of her breasts which peeked through her towel as she laughed loudly at him. He moved his hands to the front of her towel and quickly undid it, causing it to fall from her.

 

“John, I have to go, I am sorry, but as much as I would love to stay I just can’t”

 

He moved his hands to her hips, his fingers gently rubbing the outlines of them.

 

“I know you can’t stay, I can’t either, I have to work too you know,” he continued to kiss the tops of her full breasts as he traced the outsides of them with his tongue and soft lips.

 

“You have to stop, I…” she breathed in deeply at his touch, his fingers moving along her stomach and back to her hip, he sent intense shots of passion throughout her body, “John, I, I, have to,” he moved his fingers to her thigh, grazing the inside of it as he slowly made his way to her centre, while his other hand found her breast and squeezed it.

 

“Yes, Marlena, you have to what,” John looked up at her as his tongue slid out of his mouth slowly and came into contact with her hard nipple, she looked down at him and swallowed hard as she searched her mind for what she was trying to say. All she could think about was how John’s wet tongue felt on her now achingly hard nipple and how his fingers kept getting closer and closer to her now throbbing centre. “You have to what, you have to go, do you want me to stop” he moved his fingers to her centre and slowly traced the outside of it, from top to bottom, just light enough for her to feel his presence. He licked her hard nipple; his tongue enjoyed the feel of her, the taste of her. “If you want me to stop, all you have to do is say so,” his fingers quickly found her clit, he brushed against it, causing her wetness to increase from within her, she now ached for him. John slid his tongue back inside his mouth as he brought her full breast into his mouth, his hand squeezed at her breast as well; he enjoyed her breasts, the fullness of them and the softness of them. He slowly let go of her breast and made his way to her mouth and kissed her as his hand grasped her cheek and his fingers went around the back of her neck, he stared deep into her eyes, he enjoyed her as much as he could whenever he was with her, his fingers continued to rub against her clit, he pulled back from her mouth, “All you have to do, Marlena, is tell me to stop and I will.”

 

Marlena looked back at him, the look in his eyes scared her, no one had ever looked at her like that before, like someone who wanted her wholly, intensely, impassionedly, fervently, it was new and exciting and it made her want him even more. She brought her hands up and placed them on the sides of his faced, “I don’t want you to stop, I do not ever want you to stop, John” she closed her eyes as he brought his lips to hers; he kissed her with tenderness and warmth. He quickly found her hips and lifted her onto the sink and sat her down with ease, he kissed her lips once more as he slowly made his way down her body; he kissed her nipples as he passed them, licking them with his wet tongue, the cold air causing them to grow harder as his mouth left each one. He kissed her stomach, dragging his tongue down, leaving his mark for the air to dry. He knelt down on his knees and placed his fingers on her wet center; opening her he placed his tongue on her now sensitive clit, as a soft moan escaped her lips. John tasted her sweetness, inhaled her intoxicating scent as he felt his cock grow hard. He moved his free hand up to her breast and squeezed at it. With his other fingers still at her wet centre he placed one finger at her wet opening and slowly slid it inside her, he slid it in with ease, her wetness overtaking him.

 

Marlena found Johns hand and removed it from her breast; she placed his finger inside her mouth and slowly sucked on it, her wet mouth enveloping his finger. John felt his cock grow harder; her wet warm mouth was driving him crazy, making it hard to concentrate. He placed his mouth on her clit and began to suck gently, causing her to thrust her hips against his mouth. He removed his finger and quickly replaced it with two fingers, his mouth never leaving her clit, in and out he moved, her wetness glistening on his fingers. She placed two of his fingers in her mouth and sucked hard, biting down gently, as she continued to move her hips back and forth against his fingers. She could feel her orgasm building within her, her clit burning with desire for him. He sucked harder on her clit and curled his fingers up within her, causing a loud moan to escape within from her lips, she clenched to his wrist with both hands and buried her nails deep in his skin. He moaned into her clit and sucked even harder, he loved the way she tasted, craved her in his mouth, he wanted her like no other, and he wanted her to be his, he wanted all of her to be his. He plunged his fingers deeper within her as she released his fingers from her mouth and wrapped her fingers in his hair; entwining her fingers in his hair she pulled his mouth closer into her. She placed his wet fingers on her nipples as she arched her back more, allowing the back of her head to hit against the mirror, she spread her legs wider; anticipation burned between her legs as her orgasm begged to be let free. She began to whisper his name over and over, telling how much she wanted him and needed him to make her cum. She bit down on her bottom lip and tasted tiny bits of blood, her orgasm coming to the surface more. John quickly removed his fingers from her and plunged his long wet tongue deep inside her, her walls encasing him; he moved his fingers to her clit and covered it with her juices, he then moved to his thumb to her clit and began to move it quickly against her warm throbbing wetness. It was too much for Marlena, it sent her over the edge, her orgasm exploded within her, her head hit the glass in the mirror causing it to crack, her legs squeezed together tightly, trapping John’s head between them, her body convulsed against his tongue and she lost her breath completely as her fingers pulled tight into his hair. Passion burned and burst throughout her, her clit throbbed against his thumb, her walls clamped down along his tongue, she was lost with him inside her and she knew that she never wanted to be found.

 

Slowly she released her legs and the grip on his hair, she raised her head up and looked down at him, she pursed her lips together and let out a deep long hot breath. She slowly pulled him up and kissed his lips, her tongue sliding out and tasting her on him. He placed his hands along her back and felt her body shake against his touch. He kissed her harder as she placed her hands along his back and pulled him closer into her, his hardness hitting against her flesh. She removed her hands from his back and brought them to his front, encasing his hard cock with her hands, she reached down with one hand and placed it on her clit, her juices surrounding her fingers, she moved her fingers back to his hardness and enwrapped her juices around his cock, she easily slid her hand up and down his cock. He moaned loudly and kissed her harder, biting at her tongue when it slipped into her mouth, he removed his mouth from hers and placed his lips on her neck, biting at her gently, he moved his mouth to her jaw line and kissed and bit everywhere he could on her, he wanted her with every part of himself, he needed her with every part of himself. He felt her pull back from his kiss and she pushed him back as she stood from the sink, her hands never leaving his wet cock, she pushed him into the wall of the bathroom and quickly dropped to her knees, her tongue meeting the tip of his cock, she licked the pre-cum from him and then brought her mouth onto him, encasing him in her mouth. The warmth, wetness, and tightness of her mouth was almost too much for John, he had to put his hands on her head and stop her for a moment as he took a few deep breaths and then let her go, keeping his hands on her beautiful blonde hair, the softness of it encircling his fingers.

 

He threw his head back against the wall as he felt her suction increase on his cock, back and forth she moved, tightening her suction on him even more every time she moved toward him. She took all of him in her mouth at moments, the released him, her hand moved along the shaft of his cock, gripping him tighter and tighter, her tongue explored every inch of his cock as she moved along it. His legs began to shake as he could feel his orgasm deep in him come forward, he knew it wouldn’t be long, she could make him cum faster than he realized sometimes, she had a powerful affect on him in more ways than he realized. He tightened his grip on her head and moved his fingers deeper into her hair, she loved the way he tasted, she craved more of him, more of his hard cock in her mouth, faster she began to move, she wanted to please him as he had pleased her.

 

But then she felt his hands stop her from moving, she looked up at him and he began to pull her up and she met eyes with him, “but John, I want to, I don’t want you to stop me,” she started to move back down but he stopped her.

 

“I want to stop you because as wonderful as that feels, it feels even more wonderful to be inside you,” she smiled at him, half embarrassed that he had said it; she loved to feel him inside her as well. He leaned down, picked her up, and quickly carried her into the bedroom, laid her on the bed and crawled on top of her. His hand quickly finding his hard throbbing cock, he slid it deep inside her, causing her to cry out, he stopped and looked at her, afraid he had hurt her but he heard her tell him to not stop. He quickly moved within her, her wetness engulfing him completely, he slid in and out of her with ease, his hard cock filled her full, the intensity of him pounding within her was too much for her and she quickly came again, her clit being hit every time he plunged with her, they both cried out in passion as he filled her full with his hot seed, his cock become fuller within her. His sweat dripped down on her and she arched her back as she rode out the last of her orgasm with him buried fully inside her.

 

His body finally gave out and he fell on top of her, resting himself on her, her nakedness, her softness, her beauty. Their deep breathing in synch with the others, John raised his head and looked at her, “I think we might need another shower,” he laughed as she began to laugh at him loudly.

 

“Only this time, we might want to do it alone, otherwise we will never get out of your house,” Marlena told him as she tried to stop laughing, and finally gave up, enjoying the way laughing made her body feel, they way it made her felt happy and alive, and the way she finally felt like she was in love, for the first time in a very long time. She stopped laughing and looked up at him, his smiling face staring back her, she brought her fingers to his lips and traced the outlines of them, his skin felt so soft against hers, he was so amazingly handsome, and she wanted to tell him how she felt.

 

John looked back at her, he had seen the very same expression on her face earlier, it scared him then and it scared him now, he knew what eyes like that held behind them and he knew what she was thinking.

 

“Marlena, I will let you go first in the shower,” he gently removed himself from her and rolled to the side and lifted himself from the bed, he held out his hand for her to help her from the bed. Marlena lie there for a moment more, almost thankful that John had stopped her; she sat up and lifted her hand and allowed him to help her from the bed. He watched her as she disappeared into the bathroom.

 

 

 

A call came over the radio; it was Abe, looking for Roman, asking him if he was ever going to make an appearance at work that day. He mumbled back something about taking care of some unfinished business and then slammed his radio back into the dash. He couldn’t take much more of this waiting; he looked over at the suitcase in the floorboard again and placed his hand on it. He couldn’t believe after all these years that it had come to this; this was going to be how it ended between the two of them. He hated her for doing this to their family, but mostly he hated himself for not realizing what had been going on right under his nose. He felt the tears come and he quickly squeezed shut his eyes; he wouldn’t let her do this to him, not like this, not without answers. He deserved at least that. His life was spiraling out of control and someone would pay for it, he clenched his jaw closed, his teeth gritted angrily against one another. John Black was the man who would pay for all of this and one way or another he would make that man pay for all of this.

 

 

 

John stood at his front door, “Are you ready,” he hollered to Marlena who was still in the bathroom.

 

“Ready,” she quickly emerged from the bedroom door.

 

John smiled as she came towards him, her beauty causing him to be speechless; he took in a deep breath as he placed his arms around her and brought his mouth to hers. He placed his lips between hers and slid his tongue slowly into her mouth. Marlena moaned slightly into his mouth, anytime he kissed her it was an immediate sensation of wetness between her legs and even though they had spent the entire morning making love, she wanted him just as much now as when she had first walked in the front door.

 

John pulled her tighter and tighter as she wrapped her arms around him, her leg coming up and wrapping around his thigh, he quickly placed his hand on her thigh and pulled it tighter around him. His tongue tasted hers and moved slowly and seductively around hers as she moaned again into his mouth. She quickly dropped her purse onto the floor and moved her hand to the back of his head, encircling her fingers throughout his hair, pulling his mouth harder onto hers.

 

He loved the way she kissed him, she had this subtle way about her; something about her emitted a desire within him to have her anytime he could. He quickly pushed her back against the door, causing her to loose her breath; she tightened her grip on him harder. He pulled tighter on her thigh, his fingers leaving their mark in her flesh; he quickly pushed her skirt up and over her hips and moved his hand to her hot throbbing centre, her panties revealing her wetness to his hand. He pushed her panties to the side and quickly slid his fingers deep inside her, causing her to bite down on his lip and moan loudly against his lips, her hot breath and wetness causing his erection to grow harder against his pants. He moved his free hand to under her shirt and quickly unfastened her bra, finding the flesh of her breast, her hard nipple against his palm; he squeezed her breast feeling the fullness of it in his hand.

 

Marlena quickly found the front of his pants and undid his belt and then his zipper which came down with one fast motion; she pushed down the front of his boxers and freed his hard cock, pumping it quickly in her hand. John removed his wet fingers from inside her and rubbed them against her clit, causing her body to feel the intenseness of his fingers against her. She kissed him harder, breaking free momentarily to tell him how much she needed him inside her right then, right there. He quickly removed his fingers from her clit and pulled her closer to him as she slid his cock deep within her, her wetness enveloping him immediately. He grabbed to her thigh and ass and pulled her onto him, into him as deep as he could, the sensations surmounting deep within her as he held her there, not moving, but just looking deep into her eyes.

 

John removed his hand from her ass and brought it between them and began to rub her clit with his thumb, slow at first and then faster and faster, she began to move against him, but he stopped her, holding her still. With each movement of his thumb on her clit he grew fuller, harder within her, he pulled her closer to him, and yet closer still with each motion on her clit. Her orgasm coming faster and faster, she kissed his lips and did her best to tell him that she needed him to move inside her, that she wanted them to cum together, her breaths coming faster and faster with each word she spoke.

 

He kissed her gently, his tongue tasting her top lip. He removed his hand from her clit and squeezed her breast and then he removed his hand from her thigh and squeezed her other breast, he quickly found both her hands and lifted them above her head and pushed them into the door above her, intertwining their fingers together as she gripped his back tighter with her leg. He began to move in and out of her, her wetness making it an urgency to move faster and faster within her. His lips found her once again and their kissing was long and passionate and powerful, as they tasted each other as if it were their last time together. John gripped his fingers tighter into hers as he pushed his body deeper into hers, moments later her orgasm exploded within her and she screamed out his name into his mouth, as she pushed her body harder against his, faster and faster she slammed her hips against his until he shot his hot seed deep inside her body. He let go of her hands and she threw her arms around his neck as she continued to force him in and out of her, as if she couldn’t get enough of what he gave her, the sensation still coming from deep within her.

 

“Please don’t stop, John, don’t ever stop,” she cried real tears as she kissed him, his hands holding to her tighter and tighter. He pushed deeper into her, over and over; he rode against her as much and with as much as he could give her, he wanted to give all of him to her.

 

He moved his hands to her ass and squeezed his fingers into her flesh, arching her back more so that her clit rubbed harder against him every time he thrusted himself into her, she held to him tightly, as if their bodies could be one, she wanted to crawl inside him and breathe his air, feel his passion, experience his soul. Suddenly she gripped harder to him, dug her nails deep into his flesh as he pulled at her faster and faster as another orgasm exploded deep within her, this one coming harder and faster than the first, it burned deep within her body and overtook her. She slid her tongue deep into his mouth and kissed him with such intensity that her tears poured from her more; her lips began to tremble and she cried out into his mouth.

 

John slowed his rhythms as she began to release her hold on him, her fingers relaxing against his neck, until their movements stopped all together. She pulled her lips from him and looked into his eyes; he gently wiped her tears with his fingers and kissed her lips softly and then he kissed her cheeks, tasting her sweetness. He looked back at her, her tear stained face was an awakening to him, he wanted to hold her and tell her that he knew exactly how she felt, that he wanted to stay like that the rest of the day, that he wanted to go back to bed with her and hold her, make love to her all night and for the rest of his life, he wanted to tell her that he had fallen in love with her.

 

Their lips met once more, as each wondered what the other was thinking, yet neither of them wanting to bare their souls. John easily and slowly removed himself from within her. She lowered her leg and fixed her skirt as he refastened his pants and belts. They stood there for what like seemed like forever, both enjoying the comfort of the other, until he took her face in his hands pulled her ear close to his lips and whispered “I do not ever want to let you go,” and then he kissed her cheek and moved her face back to his, he watched as the tears came again and he kissed her once more, their lips never wanting to part. He pulled back from her and smiled as she smiled back at him, he reached down and retrieved her purse and handed it to her, he slowly opened the door and watched as the sun invaded his house, the light seemingly blinding them as to what lie ahead. John reached down and took her hand in his and squeezed it one last time as she stepped out the front door.

 

 

 

Roman stretched his arms and glanced at the clock, an hour more has passed; he hit the steering wheel and let out a loud “shit” as he winced in pain, forgetting that his hand was so sore. He shook of his hand as he opened the car door to step out and stretch his legs; he stepped out and looked down at his pants and at the obvious stain he now had from the coffee he spilled earlier. He walked around to the side of the car and placed his hands on it and stretched out his legs. He bent down and tied his shoe and then rose back up and put his hands on his back and stretched it out. He went to walk around to the other side of the car and get in when he suddenly saw very blonde hair peek out from a door in one of the houses he had been watching, he glanced back again and saw it was in fact Marlena who had emerged, followed directly by John. He stared closer and saw Marlena turn and put her arms around John and kiss him deeply. Roman tightened his fists, ignoring the pain in his hand and the now fresh blood that it had caused when he tightened it. He took a step closer, his anger growing as she made no signs to hide her kissing him. He quickly increased his pace across the street to where they were, careful that they couldn’t see him. He didn’t want to give them a chance to run back inside, he didn’t care who saw him confront his wife and her lover, he would make sure the whole world would know what she was doing behind closed doors by the time he finished with her.

 

 

Marlena placed her arms around the back of John’s neck, she pulled him in, closed her eyes and kissed him once more, though she knew should use better caution when kissing him on the street like that, something in her didn’t care. Suddenly, she felt his lips pull back from her and she opened her eyes to see why he had pulled back; something had stopped him, and his expression showed it. She quickly turned around and saw Roman coming at them, she felt John grab at her arm and he quickly pulled her behind him as Roman continued to come closer and closer. Marlena could see the anger in his face, it scared her, her stomach dropped beneath her, and just as Roman came within feet of them she felt John’s hand reach for hers.

 

The anger inside Roman burned throughout his body; his hands held fists, his lips pursed together, his jaw clinched. The closer he came to John and Marlena the angrier he became.

John hurried down the steps at that the front of the house to meet Roman head on, leaving Marlena standing there, feeling as if her whole life was falling apart in front of her. Her fingers quickly traveling to her mouth, covering her trembling lips with her fingers, holding back whatever words she wasn’t sure would come out.

John’s hands immediately went up and held Roman back, stooping him in his tracks, “Get your hands off of me you son of a bitch,” Roman pushed back at John’s hands, but John immediately returned his hands to roman’s chest, preventing him from moving.

Marlena cowered back against the door of John’s house, she was shaking, her fingers still resting against her lips, were shaking uncontrollably. She felt as if her legs would give out from under her, she knew she needed to go to Roman, that it wasn’t John’s place to save her, it was her doing, and she needed to be the one to talk to Roman about it. She took a step and placed her hand on the rail trailing it with tips of her nails as she moved down the steps, each one seeming further down from the other, her steps were slow, rigid, her feet felt full of stones, her lip began to tremble yet there were no tears, her hands became tight fists and her breath erratic. She could hear muffled shouting coming from Roman and John yet the noise inside her head drowned them out, the constant loud ringing of hurt and betrayal and angst resonated louder and louder in her ears.

Marlena stood before John and Roman; they looked like two school boys fighting over a prize. She could see Romans bleeding knuckles which held John’s shirt in his hands, the anger that consumed in his face, and the vein that protruded from his forehead when he became infuriated. Her eyes quickly darted to John; she saw his hands gripping Roman’s shirt, the intensity in his eyes, and the strength in his arms. She quickly shifted her eyes back to Roman and saw his fist rise, she wanted to scream and hit at him, and step between the two of them. She wanted nothing more than to turn and run as the realness of the situation befell her. She wanted this day to have never happened, she wanted to start over, she wanted to go back in time, to go back to that car ride to the restaurant with Roman earlier in the week and tell him how she really felt. She wanted a life where she had no worrying, no uncertainty, no fear, no hurt, and no confusion.

Marlena knew that she couldn’t let this go on; as she felt herself come back to the present, she focused her eyes back to Roman and his fist coming rising higher. Marlena let out a loud no causing both Roman and John to stop in their tracks, Marlena grabbed to Romans hand and pulled it down.

“No, not here and not like this, John is not here to fight to my battle, this is between you and I Roman and you and I only,” she threw his had from hers as her chest rose and fall with deep heavy breaths.

Roman glared back at John as he watched him walk over to the nearby steps of a house and sit down. He moved closer to Marlena as he felt the pain in his hand set in once again.

“How dare you, Roman,” she shouted in his face, her breath hot on his face.

“How dare I,” his eyes glared into hers, neither of them backing down from the anger and rage that filled within them.

“How dare you, Marlena,” he took a step closer toward her, he realized in that moment that if she had been a man he would have taken great pleasure in hitting her.

“How dare you come here and make a scene, Roman, how dare you act like that to John, and how dare you speak to me this way,” Marlena’s lips quivered, the passion of earlier in the afternoon now resonated into hatred and anger directed toward Roman.

Roman took a step back and looked at John and then looked at Marlena, the disgust in his eyes shining through, he shook his head from side to side.

“You’re nothing but a whore Marlena,” the words eased from his lips, it was something he had never called any woman, especially her, the words were meant to hurt her, rock her to the core, for him to feel some type of retribution, some type of victory. Yet he felt no victory and no pride, and as he lowered his head and closed his eyes he knew that the only thing he had accomplished was ending his marriage at the very moment. He raised his eyes and looked at her; he saw the hurt look in her eyes, the color drain from her face, her trembling hands on her mouth. Yet he knew he wasn’t done with her, not by a long shot, he knew that he wanted to hurt her just as much as she had hurt him. He quickly raised his voice once again, his eyes darting from her to John and then toward her again.

“You think that sleeping around with him was something I wouldn’t find out, that you could go from my bed to his, that you could break our marriage vows and that I would ever look you in the eyes again, that I could ever look at you again, you both disgust me. I can not believe you would do something like this, something so hurtful, something so intentional, something so damning.”

“You arrogant son of a bitch,” Marlena had had enough, she wasn’t going to allow him to speak to her like this any longer, she felt the blood begin to rise inside her, she was tired of everything Roman had put her through over the past several months, the past several years, and she knew that if she didn’t say it now that she would never get the chance to.

“You can’t believe, I can’t believe you Roman Brady, standing before me, judging me. After the months of hell you put me through, the months of agony. You have no problems telling me how much a disgusting whore I am, well, I have no problems telling you how much of a disgusting son of a bitch you are.”

She stepped closer to him, her fists tightening, her nails digging into her palms.

“You have treated me like I am nothing for the past year, like I am some trophy wife who should bow down to you, like someone who doesn’t deserve respect or affection or consideration. No, you treat me like I am shit and you know it Roman, you treat me as if I am stupid and filthy and someone you can walk all over, well I am tired of it and I am tired of you.”

Marlena let out a small breath, it trembling from her, as if it didn’t want to escape her body, and though she had finally said what she had been wanting to for months she was still frightened, but she stood her ground.

The noises of Roman and Marlena’s yelling had drawn the attention of neighbors, people began to gather on the street and watch them. John watched as people stood from their houses and on the sidewalks and stared, whispering to each other, though he didn’t have to guess what they were saying.

“How dare you speak to me like that Marlena.” The beads of sweat began to form on Roman’s upper lip, he felt his hand reach out and grab Marlena’s wrist.

“You will never speak to me like that again,” his grasp on her wrist tightening each time she tried to pull her wrist free.

“Let go of me Roman, let go of me now,” Marlena screamed at him as she tried to pull her wrist free from him.

John watched as Marlena tried to pull free, though he had tried to be respectful and not interfere with what was going on, he wasn’t about to abandon her for fear of what Roman might say or do. When he saw Roman grab Marlena, he quickly stood from the steps and rushed to her side,

“Let her go. Roman,” John’s hand immediately grasped to Roman’s shoulder, his fingers digging into his skin. “I said let her go now.” John gripped his hand and fingers tighter into his shoulder causing Roman to release his grip on Marlena and she pulled her wrist free.

Roman immediately turned toward John and shoved his arm from his shoulder,

“Don’t you ever lay your hands on me again you bastard or I will throw your ass in jail so fast that you won’t know what hit you.” Roman was yelling so loud that spit and sweat dripped from his lips.

“Don’t you ever lay your hands on Marlena again or I will hit you so hard that you won’t know which way is up after I am done with you, you son of a bitch.”

The words came from John’s mouth with ease, there was no anger or hatred, it was if he was having a conversation with some random person on the street.

Marlena stared at John and watched as he smiled at Roman and then her eyes quickly found Roman’s expression to be the exact opposite. Rage filled within Roman, and it was quickly coming to the surface, she knew that if she didn’t do something quick that Roman would retaliate against John.

“Roman,” Marlena stepped closer toward them her hand going to Roman’s shoulder.

“I think you should leave, now,” she let out a deep sigh, she knew that nothing would be solved between them on the street and she knew that the longer they stood there the angrier Roman would become.

“Please Roman, just go, this isn’t solving anything,” she tightened her grip a little on his shoulder, as if it would be of some sort of reassurance to him.

Roman looked at her hand on his shoulder and quickly brought his hand to hers and wrapped his fingers around hers, tightening them between his, his grip hurting her.

“Don’t you ever, ever, touch me again Marlena, I don’t want your whore hands anywhere near me, do you understand me.” He quickly threw her hand from him and stepped back.

“I don’t want you anywhere near me or near my children again, and I will be damned if you will ever come into my house again.” He meant it with every bone in his body, she would never be near anyone he loved again, he knew what to say to hurt her like she had hurt him, his words were irrational, they were words of anger and hurt and words to make her feel just as betrayed as he had felt.

“Roman, you can say whatever you like to me, but don’t you dare tell me that I will never see my children again, don’t you dare.” Marlena was done with him, with his vengeance, with his attitude, she knew that he was trying to hurt her and she wasn’t going to allow it.

“You heard me. Marlena, you will never see my children again, you or your bastard lover,” Roman flew back at her, his words stinging her.

“Stop it, okay, just stop it. I will not allow you to talk me like that and I certainly will not allow you to talk about John like that,” Marlena looked toward John, she was impressed with the fact that he had remained so calm, yet part of her wished that he would just walk away, she knew his presence was only enraging Roman even more and though he stood back from them, his being there was not helping the situation.

“Taking up for your lover already, the sign of a true whore I suppose,” Roman didn’t care, his abandonment of that stayed at the car when he walked away from it and saw her in John’s arms.

“That’s enough, Roman,” John was tired of the scene, it was obvious to him that Roman was only trying to hurt Marlena with words and he had had enough, it was becoming ridiculous and he was causing a scene and more and more people were gathering on the sidewalk.

“I think it’s about time that you just walked away and got in your car and left.”

“Don’t you tell me what its about time I did, in fact don’t you speak to me at all, I don’t need my wife’s lover telling me jack shit about what I need to do.” Roman got in John’s face as if he were daring him to make the first move.

“Roman, stop it, stop being such an asshole,” Marlena was drained of every ounce of energy that remained inside her. She was tired, she was hurt, and she was empty. She turned to walk away and Roman turned toward her, he grabbed at her arm again and swung her back toward him.

“Don’t you walk away from me, I am the one that’s going to walk away from you, do you hear me. I don’t want you ever walking away from me; I don’t want you, I don’t need you, and I certainly don’t want anything to do with you again. You are nothing to me, nothing, you are lower than nothing, you are beneath me and you’re a filthy whore.”

Marlena stared back at him, she didn’t have the strength to yell back at him, her hand went to her mouth and covered the sobs that tried to escape her lips, the tears poured from her eyes and her breathing became erratic. She turned to walk away from him again and he pulled her back toward him, both hands gripping her arms, Roman squeezed tightly as he looked her in the eyes. The eyes of a stranger stared back at her, someone she no longer knew, he wasn’t the man she married, the man who danced with her at their wedding, was beside her as she welcome her children into the world, was there at night when they made love, was there to hold her when she felt down, was there to make her laugh during hard times, was there to hold her hand when they walked in the park. No, he was a man who held anger deep inside him; he was a man who beheld contempt and hatred in his soul. She dropped her head and cried out as his fingers burrowed into her skin.

John watched Marlena, her face held little expression, her eyes flowed tears from them freely, and he felt helpless as he watched a woman who moments earlier had been bright, joyful, and glowing become someone who was now desolate and weak. John took a step toward Roman and pulled his hand free from Marlena, he gripped Roman’s wrist tightly into his but Roman pulled back from him and quickly reattached his hand back to Marlena’s arm. She sobbed heavier as his fingers gripped her tightly her cries telling Roman to let her go because he was hurting her.

John yelled loudly at Roman and told him to let her go, John’s hand quickly gripping Roman’s hand again and removing it from Marlena. With his free hand Roman swung at John’s face, narrowly missing it, with his other hand he still gripped tighter to Marlena as she fought to free herself from Roman. John stepped back and swung his fist at Roman and caught the side of his mouth, knocking his face downward, blood spooling from his bottom lip. As Roman’s hand reached to feel the blood on his lip he released his hold on Marlena and she stumbled toward a parked car, the heel of her shoe breaking off as she caught herself on the car. She quickly turned back to see Roman wiping the blood from his mouth. Roman pulled back his fist and caught John’s eye, sending John’s face flying to the side. John quickly regained his stance as he glared back at Roman, the distant sound of people gasping and yelling could be heard as well as the sound of police sirens. Marlena looked on as she realized that something needed to be done to stop the two of them before someone got seriously hurt, she walked as best she could toward the two of them, limping as her heelless shoe hit the ground with each step.

John swung at Roman again, his fist catching his cheek, Roman’s groans escaping his mouth along with bits of blood and spit. Roman quickly regained his composure and came at John with all his force, his hands wrapping around him as they both hit the concrete with force, Marlena yelling at them to stop acting like children. John quickly got the upper hand and pinned Roman to the ground, his fist hitting his face over and over causing his skin to break and blood to soak John’s knuckles.

Marlena suddenly grabbed at John’s elbow, stopping him from hitting Roman anymore, he looked up at her tear soaked face, the desperation in her eyes and then he looked back at Roman, the blood and sweat and dirt covering his face.

He sighed deeply as Marlena pulled him up from Roman and walked him to the side. Roman lie on the ground, his hand coming up to his face, he could feel the warm blood trickling from the corners of his eye and mouth, exhaustion had set in and he could barely move, his ribs ached and he was sure that his hand was broken.

Marlena looked over at Roman but then quickly turned her attention back to John, her fingers outlining the cuts on his face as she wiped the blood from his mouth and cheek.

“What were you thinking John,” she stared into his blue eyes, half of her wanting to slap him for being childish and half of her wanting to kiss him for standing up for her. He cocked his head to the side and smiled at her, trying to not notice the pain he was feeling, “Just trying to protect a lady in distress was all,” he laughed but quickly stopped as the pain intensified in his ribs with each movement. Marlena held to him and steadied him.

Roman stumbled to his feet, unnoticed by Marlena and John, as he steadied himself against a railing he watched their evident closeness, the looks that they exchanged, the intimacy in their eyes. He watched as John’s hands came up and touched Marlena’s face, brushing the hair from her eyes and wiping the tears from her face.

“You son of a bitch, you get your hands off of my wife right now.” Roman’s voice was loud and reverberating.

John and Marlena quickly turned their faces towards him. Marlena stepped in front of John and walked over to Roman.

“No, Roman, you lost the right to call me your wife the moment you called me a whore.” Marlena turned from him and walked back to John, her arm going around his back as she lead him to the side.

The sound of police sirens coming closer, Roman realized that he would be the joke of the whole department; Roman Brady the man who lost his wife and got beat up by her lover in the process. Roman seethed in his anger, his blood boiled, his fists gripping tightly.

“I said don’t you walk ever walk away from me again.” It was low and filled with hate, his voice sounded hollow and muffled as it went unnoticed by John and Marlena as they made their way up John’s steps.

“I said don’t you ever walk away from me again.” Closer he came up behind them and louder his voice got.

Marlena walked half way up the steps and then turned to help John up the steps. But her focus shifted as her eyes quickly met Roman’s, her stomach dropped as she realized what was happening and what he was saying, her eyes became full and scared and her stomach dropped beneath her. John, who hadn’t noticed Roman, had reached out his hand and laced his fingers between hers, when he looked up at her as he walked up the steps he suddenly saw the fear in her eyes.

As Marlena screams of no could be heard down the street, Roman’s fist came sailing through the air, but before John could react Roman’s fist met his face with power and extreme force. Marlena instinctively tightened her grip on John’s hand trying to pull him out of the way of Roman’s fists, but the weight of Roman’s fist was too much, John’s body fell beneath the force and Marlena couldn’t undo her hand fast enough. John lost his balance and fell back onto the steps causing his hand to fall heavy from Marlena’s and in her attempts to help him she lost her footing and began to fall down the steps, her hand grasping at the railing, but missing. Roman and John watched in horror as they saw her seemingly lifeless body flail from the steps and onto the ground, her arms and legs falling as if she were a doll, her face coming into contact with the hard pavement, blood filling the sidewalk beneath her.

 

The emergency room waiting area was filled with an eerie silence; it was a deep, deafening, over-powering silence. John stood by the window and stared at the cars outside, the way they all seemed to be going everywhere yet nowhere.

He placed his forehead against the window, the cold causing his eyes to shut tightly. His hands finding their way into his pockets, his breathing becoming deeper; it had been forty-five minutes since he arrived, his car swerving in and out of traffic as it followed the ambulance. He opened his eyes slowly, the lights rushing in; he lifted his forehead and took in the cold impersonal room.

The odd mismatched chairs, the television that played the news yet it was on mute, the tacky wallpaper and floor that looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. John shook his head and the impersonal nature of the room, these types of places were supposed to make families feel comfort, yet the only thing he felt was cold and unease.

On the other side of the room sat Roman, John hadn’t spoken to him since he came. Nurses and doctors had come in, trying to get Roman and John to let them look at their bloodied faces, yet they constantly brushed them away. John had yet to make eye contact with Roman, and he found it best to not even try to.

John looked up at the clock, and then at his watch, as if one or both was lying to him. John took a step forward and walked from the waiting area and into the main opening of the emergency room. Their were people everywhere, rushing to and fro, noises loud and echoing, yet only silence dripped into John’s ears. He needed someone to come out and talk to him, anyone to tell him what was happening, yet there was no one who came. He had tried asking several nurses and doctors who had passed by for answers, yet there was no word. He looked at his watch again, another fifteen minutes had passed. Laura had come and gone earlier, promising to return as soon as she found something out, yet it seemed like even she had disappeared. John walked to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee, he put it to his lips and slowly sipped it; it tasted of two day old flatness, stale and slightly bitter, and it offered no comfort to him whatsoever, yet he continued to drink it.

“Mr. Black,” a voice came from behind him, causing John to spill the tepid coffee. He quickly turned to see a man twice his age in a doctor’s coat, holding a clip board.

“Yes, doctor, I am Mr. Black,” John offered his hand and shook the doctor’s hand, a quick unfriendly shake that neither paid attention to. “Please, doctor, is there any information you can give me about Marlena.”

John watched as the doctor lowered his brow, as if he were readying himself to tell John bad news. John wondered to himself how many other people that same doctor had delivered bad news to in the hospital, if they had also noted the doctor’s simple face, unrealistic stature, his aloof personality. He watched as the doctor flipped through the chart he held, as if the man had no clue who or what he was speaking of, his uneasiness and unorganized persona made John nearly lose his patience.

“Yes, Mr. Black, I am doctor Stevens, I was in charge of Marlena’s care when they brought her into the emergency room. I am just going to be up front and honest with you, sir, what happened today was very serious. Marlena has suffered a deep laceration to her temple and it required several stitches. The impact caused her to lose consciousness and we are keeping her sedated until we can run more tests. We aren’t sure if she has suffered any type of brain damage, but we hope to learn more once we finish the tests and when she wakes.”

“Can I see her now, please,” there was a profound desperation in John’s voice; he desperately needed to see Marlena, to be with her.

“Please follow me, Mr. Black, I will take you to see her now,” John watched as the doctor turned and walked quickly from him, as if he could care less if John kept up or not. John increased his stride, turning his head momentarily to see Roman sitting in the waiting room, his body hunched over, his face burrowed in his hands.

John quickly turned his head and saw that the doctor was almost out of sight and again he increased his speed. They walked down a long corridor; John would later recall the sound the fluorescent lights made, the flickering and buzzing as some looked as if they had reached the end of their usage, how the floor squeaked beneath his shoes, how the smell in some places was overwhelming and stale and how in others it was of cafeteria food, how it smelled pleasant yet after a week of eating there he knew better.

He watched as the doctor came to double doors and swiped a badge and the doors opened in front of him, he walked through them and John quickly followed. As he stepped inside, the doors closed behind him. John stood and took in his surroundings; the rooms, the tall windows that adorned patient’s rooms, the noises of beeping monitors and the rising and falling of machines that helped people breathe. He watched as the doctor walked to a middle counter and asked for a chart and told John to follow him once more, they walked past walls of windows of patients rooms and John glanced into each room, though he tried not to, but the faces of the patients were something he couldn’t look away from as he realized that the looks on their faces was something he realized that he would never forget. John took in the faces of those that sat vigil beside patient’s beds, some sitting in silence as they held their hands, some watching television, some crying and weeping, and yet some who held just as blank a stare as the patient.

Just then the doctor’s pager began to beep loudly and he turned to John and asked him to wait there as he made a phone call, John watched as the doctor returned to the counter and picked up the phone. John stood and took in more of his surroundings; a janitor who nodded in his direction, a waiting room that was eerily empty, and several more rooms that held little privacy; John would later learn that this was because it was easier for the passing nurses to keep a check on their patients as they walked the halls.

John took in a deep breath and slowly released it; his stomach felt heavy and weak, his mind racing. He allowed his body to hit the wall behind him as he recalled what had happened earlier that day. He recalled Marlena’s lifeless body lying on the concrete, how her arms and legs seemed to lie in a position that was inhumanly possible, the noises from the police cars, people yelling and screaming, the bright red blood, the blackness of everything around him except Marlena’s body lying on the ground. John closed his eyes trying to shut out the images. Quickly, he took a deep breath in, the air stinging his lungs, the frigidity of the hospital causing him to shudder. He opened his eyes and glanced over to see the doctor still on the phone.

Patience was never something John was good at; he needed something to occupy his mind, something other than his thoughts. John surveyed his surroundings yet again, a large window catching his eye and he began to walk toward it. As he took a few steps he heard the muffled sounds of crying and instinctively turned his head to see what was going on. Inside a patients room sat a woman, she looked young and frail, as if she hadn’t eaten in days, the woman sat beside a little girl who lay in the bed. John noted how sick the little girl looked, her eyes sunken in, her skin so pale it was almost transparent. The little girl’s hair was thin and patches were missing. The child was hooked to so many tubes that it was hard to tell which one went to which machine. John tried to look away but his eyes immediately turned back, the young woman’s sobbing was full of sorrow. John watched as the woman cupped her hand atop of the young girls hand, she then stroked the side of her face and brushed her thin hair from her eyes. The older woman held a sense of beauty about her, her eyes full of pain, her emotions showing clearly through, yet it didn’t mask her big brown eyes and distinguishing features. John watched as the woman stood from her chair, bent down, and kissed the girls forehead. The woman began to weep hard as she tried desperately to fight against her tears, to tell the little girl how much she loved her, how much she needed her to come back to her, and how she felt lost without her. John closed his eyes tight as he heard the words “no parent should ever have to lose a child” go into his ears and swallow him whole. He quickly opened his eyes and took a step back as visions began to fill his head, he saw ambulances and police, he saw darkness and water, there were visions of screaming and crying, blood stained clothing, smoke and heat and he felt an overwhelming urge to breathe.

John hurried to the window as he couldn’t escape the images that continued to fill his thoughts; his mind raced and danced as he felt as if he couldn’t escape it. The harder he tried to block out the images the more and more he began to see a woman’s face; her smile, her beauty, her innocence. He closed his eyes once more and he felt his heart begin to race; the woman’s image was then quickly overshadowed by images of blood, images of a night so black it was haunting. John was seeing the woman from his pictures, her long dark hair, her smile so innocent and beautiful. He began to remember her laughter; trying to recall the images of her hands on her burgeoning stomach, the way she always rubbing it, waiting for kicks and then her smile showing the answers. John then saw an image of a little boy running and playing, waving back at him, smiling back, and then in an instant it was all gone, replaced only with flashes of black and red, the screaming, the chaos, the blackness. He heard the woman from the pictures crying and yet it was the boy’s silence that was deafening to John. He quickly recalled lifeless fingers and skin that felt cold to the touch, the way the flesh was stiff and how the eyes held nothing.

“Mr. Black, are you ready,” the doctor said to John, but he didn’t answer him back, his mind still racing against the images. “Mr. Black, I said are you ready?” Again the doctor asked with no response. The doctor took a step forward and placed his hand on John’s shoulder and John jumped against it.

“What, oh, sorry Dr. Stevens I didn’t realize you were there. ” There was a panic in his voice, the sweat on his brow and upper lip giving him away, the look in his eyes was enough to cause concern.

“Mr. Black are you feeling alright, maybe you should sit down and let a nurse check you out,” the doctor motioning him toward the chair.

“No, Dr. Stevens, I am fine, I just don’t do very well in hospitals is all,”

John laughed it off, it was a lie, he worked there for christ’s sake, but fortunately the doctor didn’t seem to realize who John was.

“Well, if you’re sure you are going to be okay. Mr. Black, the chart I just retrieved is from Marlena’s CT scan that they ran when she first came into the emergency room. It looks as if Marlena has some slight swelling on her brain.”

“Please, tell me, how serious is it. Is she going to be okay,” John looked the doctor straight in the eyes, he needed for him to be completely honest with him, he needed answers and he was tired of waiting for them. John let out a deep heavy sigh so that the doctor would know how frustrated he was with him, yet the doctor only looked up at John and shook his head,

“We just won’t be able to tell anything without more tests, and until she wakes up, well, it will just be more of a wait and see thing. But, Mr. Black, I think it would be best if you went ahead and prepared yourself for any possibilities that may arise.”

John quickly found his hand on the accompanying wall, as if he needed to hold himself up. The air grew musky and his stomach dropped beneath him, he couldn’t exist in this situation. “Not again, I can’t do this again,” he mumbled beneath his breath.

“Mr. Black, you don’t look very well, let me get you a nurse,” the doctor placed his hand on John’s shoulder but he quickly pushed it away.

“I said I am fine. I want to see Marlena, now. Please take me to her,” John looked into his eyes with desperation, he needed to see her, it was obvious to him he wasn’t going to get the kind of answers he wanted; he needed to see it for himself with his own two eyes.

“Yes, Mr. Black, this way please,” the doctor pointed down an adjacent hallway, John followed him, preparing himself for whatever lie ahead.

They came to a wooden door and the doctor stopped and turned toward John, “I need you to understand that Dr. Evans has been through a very traumatic day. We have given her medicine to ease her pain, but we have taken her off of the medication we were using to sedate her, but she still hasn’t woken up. Mr. Black, your visit needs to be short, do you understand,” John quickly shook his head yes.

“I have to check on a patient and then I will be back, by that time I will need you to have left, but you are welcome to return tomorrow during visiting hours,” John shook his head yes, not really paying attention to anything the doctor said, instead his attention was on the door and what lie behind it.

John stood in front of Marlena’s hospital door and watched as the doctor disappeared down the corridor. He turned his attention back toward the door, the thickness of it, the deep brown color, the silver metal door handle. He slowly reached his hand out and touched the handle; the coldness of it quenched his hand, his stiff fingers gripping it hard. He pushed it in and the door opened silently, the weight of it making his arm strain against it. He walked just inside the room and closed the door silently behind him, standing against it, as if he were afraid to look around the corner and into her room, afraid of what he might see. He took a deep breath and then took a step forward, he peeked his head around the corner, feeling like a small child who was afraid of something that was lying on the other side. He immediately saw her laying there, on her side, her back toward him. He stepped closer; John could see the signs of a hospital gown, the covers practically up to her neck, her blonde hair once shiny and luxurious, now dirty and matted with dried blood. He walked around to the other side of the bed, he saw her clothes in a bag in the floor in a corner, blood splattered all over them, he saw an iv running into her hand, her fists clinched, her hands scrapped, small pieces of the concrete still embedded into her flesh. Her matted hair had fallen into her face, masking it completely.

John leaned down and moved the hair from her face; despite everything she had been through that day, he thought to himself how stunningly beautiful she was even then. He had looked past the scrapes and the bruises, past the bandage that adorned her forehead and half of her face, he looked past the blood matted in her hair, and her swollen black eye; he saw only her, the woman who had laughed in his arms hours earlier, the woman he had made love too. He leaned down and kissed her cheek softly, careful not to touch any of the cuts of bruises that visibly adorned her face. He lingered there only momentarily and then found a chair and quietly placed it beside her bed.

John sat there and watched for hours, disregarding the doctor’s orders, the nurses that came and went, Laura telling him he needed sleep. He listened to no one except the sounds coming from Marlena, the sounds of her sleeping, the beating of her heart, and the movements of her body as she slept. He would occasionally get up and stretch his legs, readjusting her covers, tucking her foot back under them, careful not to wake her.

Occasionally he would reach out and take her hand in his, whisper things to her about how he felt about her, how she had changed his life for the better in the few days since he had met her. He told her about how he never imagined he would ever meet anyone again that would make him laugh and feel happy. At one point he leaned down and placed his fingers on her lips, outlining them, longing for her to wake up and kiss him again.

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

Morning had come and John awoke to the bright sun in his eyes; it had been four days since they brought Marlena to the hospital, four long days. She had yet to wake, she had yet to stir, yet to move an inch, she still lie on her side in the same position as when John had first entered her room.

John stood from the chair that had become his bed but he hadn’t slept much since he had been there, his back ached and his head throbbed, his muscles felt rigid and weak. He rubbed his face with his hands, the stubble feeling coarse under his fingers; he imagined that he looked just as rough as he felt. In the four days there had been no change, though everyday he hoped there would be, but nothing. The doctors had run every test and though they all seemed to be coming back fine now, there was only one explanation as to why she hadn’t woken up; a coma, the doctors thought she had slipped into a coma from the trauma of her fall. It was the only feasible explanation anyone could seem to come up with. Yet no one could tell him when she would wake up, “prepare yourself for the worst,” the doctor had told him, but he refused to believe that.

John stretched his legs once more and walked over to Marlena, the nurses had come in daily and given her a sponge bath, trying to wash the blood from her body and hair, but there were still remnants of it. Some of her bruising had gone down, but she still bore the force of the trauma on her face. John sat down on the bed beside her and placed his hand on her cheek, stroking it lightly, “Marlena, its John, baby please wake up,” it seemed natural for him to call her baby, he had started calling her that three days ago, he had said it before he realized it and it felt so natural that he started using it more and more often. John let out a sigh, stroked her face once more, he leaned toward her and kissed her lips lightly, he could feel the warmth of her breath on his face, “you’re so beautiful, you take my breath away, please come back to me,” John then kissed her cheek, lingering there momentarily, he leaned in closer and brought his mouth to her ear and whispered as softly as he could, “I love you Marlena,” it was the first time he had said it out loud to her, but he knew it was the truth, he had fallen in love her. He lingered at her ear longer, his emotions overtaking him. He had admitted to himself days earlier that he was in love with Marlena, and it scared the hell out of him, he didn’t know what to think about it, what to do about it, all he knew was that he needed her more than anything else right now and yet she was so far away that he couldn’t reach her.

John breathed her in, he placed his face against the softness of her cheek and he closed his eyes quickly fighting back the tears that were coming to his eyes. He pulled back from her cheek and looked into her face, he leaned down and kissed her lips again, he opened his mouth slightly and placed his tongue on her top lip, tasting her, feeling her. He opened his mouth more and moved into her a little closer, taking her face gently in his hands, he was careful not to touch her bandage and careful to be extra gentle with her. He brought his lips back to hers kissing her a little more, hoping for any kind of response, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, but then he at once let it go, he placed her head back on her pillow and quickly walked to the window.

“What are you thinking John,” he asked himself loudly, “what in the hell are you thinking.” He knew he needed fresh air and coffee, something to eat and a change of clothes, if she did wake up he didn’t want her seeing him like this and as bad as he hated to leave her, he knew he would be no use to her for very much longer. He walked over to the phone and dialed Laura’s cell phone and asked her to come and sit with Marlena, she agreed and told him she was at the nurse’s station down from her room and would be there shortly. After he made her promise to call him if anything changed with Marlena he placed the phone back down and walked over to her, sitting beside her on the bed.

“Laura said she would come and sit with you while I run to the house and freshen up a bit, but I promise I will be back very soon,” he kissed her lips once more and gathered his things and walked slowly out her door.

Laura watched from the nurse’s station as John emerged from Marlena’s room, she saw him lean his head back against the door and close his eyes. His hand went through his hair, then to his face and lingered at his eyes. Anyone who looked at him could tell he was tired, but to Laura there was something more. For the last four days she had watched John, the way he had barked back at her when she suggested he go home and get sleep, the way he refused to leave Marlena’s side. But something else in him had changed as well, she saw it in the way he touched Marlena’s face and the way he spoke to her, it was the look in his eyes as he watched her sleep. Laura was surprised when John had called and asked her to sit with Marlena, she was surprised that he was going to leave her side, surprised yet relieved, he needed to get away before he drove himself crazy, but she would never admit that to him.

Laura watched as John walked down the hallway, she then left the nurses station and walked to Marlena’s room.  She opened the door and walked over to her bed and looked down at her, despite the bruises and cuts on her she looked peaceful and not in pain. Laura sat in the chair that was beside Marlena’s bed, reaching out to touch her she noticed how her own hands shook, she was scared, scared of the possibilities of what could happen to Marlena. She placed her atop of hers and began to talk to her in a soft whisper, “I have come in here everyday since they brought you here and everyday I keep hoping that something will change and yet nothing has. I’ve wanted desperately to tell you this, but it always seems like someone else is in the room and maybe it would be better if I said nothing, but I just can’t do this anymore, I’m going crazy, Marlena. I can’t function without my best friend; I can’t function knowing that you may never wake up again. I need you to wake up, I need you to talk to me, I need us to laugh about this whole mess,” tears came to Laura’s eyes, “don’t you dare leave me here to face this by myself, I will never forgive you if you do,” Laura’s voice became louder and she gripped Marlena’s hand tighter, “Do you hear me, don’t you dare leave me. I need you Marlena, I miss you, I miss my friend. I am sorry I left the party the way I did and I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk about it. I’m not mad at you, do you hear me dammit, I need you to wake up and tell me that you’re not mad at me. Please just wake up, if not for me then do it for your kids, do it for John. I see the way he looks at you, the way he watches you, he hasn’t left your side since he came into your room, he refuses to let anyone take care of you except him.” Laura looked at the floor, took in a deep breath and lowered her voice once more to barely a whisper, “John cares about you so much, I can see it in his eyes. I think he has fallen in love with you, Marlena.” Laura took her hand off of Marlena’s and stood from the chair, her emotions over-taking her suddenly, she quickly walked to the window and placed her hands against the cold dampness of it, her head falling as tears came quickly from her eyes, her sobbing making it difficult to speak, “Please…just…wake…up,” she whispered to herself over and over as her cries caught in her throat, burning it. She bit on her bottom lip as she felt her face get hot and swollen.

Marlena listened as Laura’s cries got louder, she breathed silently, taking it in. She had awoken to her cries, but Laura’s voice was muffled and she couldn’t make out what she was saying. Marlena tried to swallow but her throat was dry, she felt shaky, and the side of her faced burned and throbbed, she closed her eyes and opened them over and over, trying to get them to focus.

When Laura finally came into view, she swallowed hard and searched for her voice, “Laura,” Marlena spoke softly, her throat straining against the pain in it.

Laura quickly turned, placing her hand over her mouth in shock at the sight before her; Marlena was sitting up in bed, her hand to her throat. Laura quickly moved over to her and took her in her arms, squeezing her tightly, a slight groan from Marlena causing her to release her grip from her with Laura apologizing over and over,

“It’s okay Laura, don’t apologize,” Marlena smiled back at her as Laura poured her a small glass of water, Marlena took it from her and slowly sipped it, then Laura placed it back on the table beside her bed.

“I missed you so much,” Laura told her as she took Marlena’s hands in hers and held them tight, “you had me worried you know, you had all of us worried. Sami and Eric have been by and even Roman, I came every chance I could,” Marlena sat in silence and listened to Laura go on and on about her family visiting and what they had been doing and how often they came to see her, but then her breath caught in her throat as she waited for John’s name, she needed to know that he had been there too, “we have all been just worried sick to death about you,” Laura watched as Marlena’s smile went from bright to blank, “What’s wrong Marlena, do you need the nurse.”

“Oh, no, I guess I am just tired,” it was a lie, but she didn’t want to tell Laura what she was really thinking.

Laura watched Marlena’s face, it was full of sadness, disparity, she knew what she thinking, why she looked that way. She was hoping that John would have been back by now, she wanted her to see him with her own two eyes, to know that he had been there every day and night by her side. But Laura realized that it might be some time before John returned, she felt bad, he hadn’t left her side the whole time and when she needs him most he wasn’t there,

“Marlena,” she took her hands in hers once again, “John hasn’t left your side the whole time you’ve been here,” she watched as tears began to fill her eyes, “he has sit here beside you the whole time, watching you, holding your hand, talking to you, touching your face.”

“Where is he now, why did he leave,” She felt ashamed as soon as she said it; it had come out wrong, not the way she had intended it to sound. She said it out of desperation, she needed to see him more than anything.

“He was completely exhausted, he went home to freshen up and get a change of clothes, but he should be back soon. Marlena, I need to tell you something before he gets back, but promise me that you will not mention this to him or anyone.”

“Please tell me, Laura, I promise I won’t say a word.” Marlena shifted herself to a more comfortable position in the bed as she watched Laura fidget with her hands.

“It’s just, the way John acted after your accident, the way he never left your side, the look in his eyes. I had talked to your doctor after you were first brought in and he said that John was acting very strange too, but he said that he was so worried about you, yet something about him was so distant. Marlena, I’m not sure what’s going on between you and John or if you’ve even talked to him about this.” Laura trailed off, her words rambling together, she looked at everything except Marlena.

“Laura, just say it, whatever it is, you can tell me,” Marlena squeezed Laura’s hands trying to get her to focus.

“The doctor said that the ambulance driver told him that when they first brought you into the ambulance and John was riding with you that he wouldn’t let go of your hand, that a couple times he called you someone else’s name, a woman’s name.”

Marlena stared back at Laura, a blank expression across her face, she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“There’s more Marlena, when Roman came to see you he asked John to leave because he wanted to be alone with you, but John refused to let him. When Roman and John went into the hallway they got into a small argument, and when Roman told John that he loved you and that he had every right to see you, well, John got in Roman’s face,” Laura looked up and into Marlena’s eyes, “He told Roman that he loved you, too, and that Roman had no right to be alone with you after the way he treated you.”

Marlena’s fingers quickly found her lips, covering them, their quivering state. She tried to fight back the tears, but it was useless, it was hopeless. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, what Laura was saying, she wondered if it could be true, if John really was in love with her.

“Laura, maybe you heard wrong, maybe it was something else he said, maybe he just said he cared for me.” Marlena felt the need to makes excuses, to defend John for some reason.

“No, Marlena, I heard them perfectly, I heard every word John and Roman said to each other, and I saw the look on Roman’s face when John told him he was in love with you. I watched Roman walk away, his heart broken. I also watched John tend to you, I watched him caress your fingers and your face, I watched him hold you, I watched him whisper things to you, I watched him kiss your forehead and your lips. I saw the concern in his eyes, the look of terror in his face when they first brought you in.”

Marlena absorbed it all in, her breathing had become quick and shallow. She wasn’t sure what to make of all of it, as she wondered if John really was in love with her, though her thoughts also trailed to why John was acting how he had been, why he had called her some other woman’s name.

“Marlena,” Laura looked into eyes again, “are you in love with John.”

Marlena stared back at her, not sure of what to say, “What, Laura, don’t be ridiculous. I mean, I just met him, I barely know John. I don’t know anything about him really. I mean, I just, it’s just that,” she was stumbling, her words running together, her eyes darting to everything except Laura’s, no breaths being taken in between sentences.

“Marlena, don’t lie to me, you know how you feel, you know it better than anyone. Do you love John, or not.”

Marlena took in a deep breath and let it out, a slight smile coming over her, she closed her eyes, John’s face flashing before her, she then opened her eyes as soft tears came from them, “Yes, Laura, I do love him.”

Laura smiled back at her, she knew what the answer would be before she even asked Marlena, she just needed Marlena to realize what the answer was also.

“That’s ridiculous, right, Laura, I mean, I can’t be in love with John, I just can’t. I just met him.”

“That’s the least ridiculous thing I have ever heard Marlena, you can’t help who you fall in love with and you certainly can’t help falling in love with that ridiculously handsome man, I mean, have you seen him.

What am I saying, of course you have seen him, you’ve seen him naked. I hate you by the way,” Laura laughed along with Marlena, “Now dear friend of mine, spill it, I need details, I need to know what is going on between the two of you, and do not leave out any important details, like exactly what he looks like naked.”

Marlena threw her head back and laughed loudly, it felt so good to laugh, even though it hurt too. Laughing with Laura was a nice change, though her body was sore and she had yet to see what she looked liked, but she knew it wasn’t good, her body told her that. She could feel the bandage on her face, yet the memories of what happened were fresh in her mind; the arguing, the fight, the fall from the steps. She could see her hands and arm which held scrapes and bruises. She could feel that her hair was matted, and she could only imagine that it was filled with blood.

“Laura, I look a mess don’t I.”

“Well, lets just say you’ve had better days,” Laura smirked at her, “but if you want my honest opinion, you do look like a hot mess.”

Marlena laughed at her, “Thanks Laura, I can always depend on you to be truly honest with me.”

“You know I am there for you,” Laura laughed back at her.

“Now, lets work on getting me into a shower before John gets back and see me as a hot mess,” Marlena threw her legs over the side of the bed, her hospital gown opening in back.

“Marlena, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean, you just had a major accident and you need your doctor’s approval to even get out of bed, not that I am arguing with you, you definitely need a shower,” Laura tried unsuccessfully to get Marlena’s legs back into the bed.

“No, I don’t care, you will help me get into the shower or I will spread a rumor about you in the hospital that you had sex with the janitor.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Laura shot her a go to hell look as she tried to cover her smirk

“Try me.” Marlena returned the same look her friend gave her, followed by the biggest grin.

“It’s nice to see that that bump on your head didn’t affect your sarcasm,” Laura then helped Marlena stand from the bed, her legs shaky under her, she placed her arm around her shoulder and lead her to the shower.

John gathered his belonging from his bedroom, he had showered and changed into fresh clothes, he had wanted to shave but there wasn’t time, he didn’t want to miss any chances of Marlena waking up. He looked at his bed, the crumpled sheets where they had laid together just days before. He closed his eyes tightly, the events unfolding in his mind, her laughter, her skin, the way she moved underneath him, the feel of her lips on his.

John opened his eyes and grabbed his keys and turned to walk out of his bedroom. Once to the door and with everything he needed in his hands he opened the door and walked out, he walked down his steps and as he took the last step he looked to the ground. His neighbor had washed the blood from the concrete, but the events were still fresh in his mind. He quickly shook his head and tried to release it from his mind; he quickly made his way to his car and headed back to the hospital.

Laura had helped Marlena shower, brush her teeth and hair, she had no clothing there so she was forced to wear a hospital gown until Laura could retrieve some clothes for her. Laura had also redressed the bandage on her head, something smaller that covered her stitches only.

“You know Marlena, hospital clothes are all the rage now, and if anyone can pull this off it has got to be you.”

“Thanks Laura, I won’t take that as a compliment, now will you kindly remove this iv from me so I can walk around more freely.” Laura’s years in the medical field had taught her enough experience so that she knew how to remove one, yet it still wasn’t her specialty and the thought of it did nothing for her stomach, “just do it you big baby.”

Laura laughed at her, “You keep ordering me around and I will make sure they feed you a liquid diet the rest of the time you are in here, I might even make them throw in a an enema,” Laura laughed as she removed Marlena’s iv from her. She quickly bandaged her and cleaned up the mess she had made.

“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten you and the janitor, Laura,” Marlena threw her back gently and laughed loudly as Luara helped her from the bathroom.

Laura lead Marlena into her room, as they got to the front of the bed they heard the sound of the door slowly opening behind them, they both turned and saw John with a cup of coffee in his hand, almost spilling it on the floor as he took in the sight before him. Marlena stared back at him, a smile coming across her face, she quickly released her arm from Laura as John placed his coffee on the sink and took a step closer to her, their eyes never leaving each others. Marlena began to cry, quick tears that stained her face as John swallowed hard, searching for the right words in his mind. They moved closer to each other; John reached out his shaking hand, Marlena’s lips trembling, he needed to touch her, to feel her, to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Closer his hand moved as her tears fell harder, until he was within inches of her face.

John reached his trembling hand out, his fingers gently caressed Marlena’s face, he held his hand to her cheek as a tears came to his eyes. John stared deeply into her eyes, drank her in, relished the sight of her standing before him, he whispered over and how beautiful she was.

Marlena began to cry louder, her head falling down as deep sobbing tears fell from her face. John quickly pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her as Marlena threw her arms up and around his neck, holding to him tightly, she knew right then that she never wanted to let him go.

Marlena’s tears fell fast against John’s face; he closed his eyes and breathed her in, holding her, caressing her back, thanking god that she was awake. Laura stood back and watched them, trying her best not to cry, but it was a lost cause, she quickly wiped her tears from her eyes, mumbled something about giving them their privacy and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

John held onto Marlena, whispering over and over into her ear about how happy he was that she was awake, how he was worried about her, how he had missed her. He gently pulled her back from him, looked into her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheek, he leaned in and placed their foreheads together, each of them closing their eyes, breathing each other in, lingering in the moment.

“Marlena, you shouldn’t be out of bed,” John quickly came back to the present, the seriousness of the moment outweighing the excitement of it.

“I am fine, John, I just needed Laura to help me take a shower, I looked a mess, I was sure of it, and Laura agreed with me because she is such a good friend like that,” Marlena chuckled to herself.

“I understand wanting to take a shower, but you shouldn’t be out of bed, not until the doctor checks you out and says it okay,” John placed his arm around her and lead her to the bed, “Besides,” he looked into her eyes, “you looked beautiful to me.”

Marlena swallowed as more tears fell from her eyes, she said nothing, she didn’t need to, and she realized that now. She walked with his help back to the bed, he then adjusted the bed for her so that she was sitting up, and he carefully tucked her legs under the covers and pulled them up for her. John then sat on the bed beside her and looked into her eyes as she smiled at him.

“You keep pampering me likes this and I could get used to it,” she said as she took his hand, sliding her fingers against his, feeling the warmth of his skin.

His skin was hypnotic, she felt like it had been ages since she had him next to her, the thought of it causing her skin to become flushed.

“I think you had better get used to it then.” John smiled back at her, brushed his fingers against her forehead, leaned toward her and kissed her cheek, his eyes closing as her scent him hard.

Marlena placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face toward her, she ran her fingers through the stubble that had grown out, feeling the hardness of the hairs against her skin. She pulled him toward her, closed her eyes and touched her lips lightly against his, her body tingling instantly against his touch.

“I’ve missed you, Marlena,” John whispered to her, his hot breath hitting her lips, her fingers beginning to curl against his face in anticipation of feeling his wet tongue in her mouth. John moved his hands to atop hers which still rested against his cheeks, wrapping his fingers into hers, taking in a deep breath as if he were memorizing her scent, the sweet warmth of it inside his lungs was intoxicating.

“”I’ve missed you, John,” Marlena brushed her lips against his quickly, “I’ve missed your lips on mine,” she placed her lips against his, parting them, allowing their lips to rest between each others and then releasing them slowly.

“I’ve missed your hands on me,” Marlena pulled her covers off and placed them to the side of the bed, she then pulled her gown slowly up to reveal her thighs. She reached for John’s hands and placed them on her thighs. John swallowed hard, his cock growing hard against his pants, his eyes following every inch of her creamy white thighs as her hands slowly moved his up her.

“I’ve missed your hands, John. I’ve missed your hands everywhere on me,” she whispered to him.

John moved in closer to her as she pulled his hands further up her thighs, closer and closer he got as Marlena leaned back into the bed, her lips parted and she licked them slowly with her tongue, the wetness glistening against the light. John brought his mouth closer to hers, sliding his tongue out he tasted her wet lips and quickly enveloped his mouth around hers, his hands sliding up higher. She began to part her legs, the anticipation building deep within her, the burning desire of his touch flooding her. She released her hands from his and brought them to his face, holding him tightly to her, their tongues sliding easily against one another’s. John reached one hand over and pushed the button on her bed, she smiled against his lips as her bed moved slowly back. When it reached an angle he was happy with he quickly placed his hand back on her thigh, caressing the softness of her skin, the delicateness of it. He was memorizing every last smooth inch of her thighs, the way his hands and fingers moved effortlessly against her skin. He kissed her softly once more as his fingers moved to the insides of her thighs; John pulled gently and spread her legs further apart, and slowly made his way to her centre. When he reached her hot wet throbbing centre she moaned into his mouth as he drew his long fingers up and down her, cupping her, his palm rubbing against her clit as she slowly thrusted against it.

Marlena pulled harder against John, sliding her tongue further into his mouth, stopping only to tell him how much she needed him, wanted him, how much she desired him. John kissed her harder, his finger immediately finding her wetness; he slowly slid one finger into her as she gasped against his mouth.

The intensity of it shooting throughout her body, her body aching with passion against his touch, he quickly slid his finger in and out of her, his mouth devouring hers.

Marlena quickly grabbed at John’s wrist stopping him from sliding in and out of her, releasing her mouth from him she looked into his eyes.

“John you have to stop,” she was breathless, the words struggling to get out.

“Marlena, did I hurt you, I am sorry, I just, I don’t know what came over me, I should have never even started this I….”

Marlena placed her fingers over his mouth to silence him, as a smile crossed her mouth,

“No, John, you didn’t hurt me, and as I recall I am the one who wanted you to touch me.”

“I don’t understand then, why did you want me to stop.”

“Because I wasn’t going to last much longer.” She told him, almost shyly.

John smiled at her confession, “And that’s a problem because?” John asked her with a smirk on his face.

“Because,” Marlena released her grasp from John’s wrist, his fingers still encased deep inside her, she slowly kissed him and then moved her mouth to his ear and whispered, “I want you to cum inside me,” she entrapped her mouth around his earlobe, sucking and biting gently, her wetness leaving a trail from his ear to his cheek and to his neck. John found it difficult to concentrate, his fingers felt her tightness and wetness increasing, her walls encasing him, her mouth on him was driving him crazy, but as much he wanted to be inside her, something was telling him differently. He began to pull back from her mouth and Marlena could sense his hesitancy, and she knew why, she knew it was because of her fall, but she needed him at that moment, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and kissed him harder her tongue floating in his mouth, her fingers pulling against his hair, pushing him harder into her mouth, she pulled his body harder into hers. He knew that the truth was that he needed her as much she needed him, there was no denying it.

John began to slide his fingers in and out of her quicker, Marlena kissed him harder, thrusting against his fingers, she could feel her orgasm coming to the surface, “John, please, I need you inside me,” she whispered to him, he opened his eyes and saw the desperation, it was the same look that his eyes held.

John removed his fingers from her and quickly pulled her gown from her shoulders, watching the thin material fall from her, her full breasts exposed to him. His fingers quickly found her breast, tracing her nipple, the hardness of it straining against his fingers. He leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth, flicking it gently against his tongue, as he squeezed at her breast.

John opened his mouth wider, taking more of her breast in his mouth, sucking and tasting her flesh, as Marlena’s fingers entrapped themselves in his hair.

He was seemingly torturing her, his mouth was sending sensations throughout her body and she realized that she was going to cum soon and he was nowhere near where she needed him to be.

Marlena pulled at John’s hair causing him to release his hold from her breast, he looked up at her, “John, please,” she spoke to him, her voice sounding delicate yet intense,.

“Please make love to me,” she watched his eyes become soft, intense, her point was made and he quickly rose from her bed. He quickly shed his clothing as she pulled her gown from her and threw it to the floor.

She watched as he removed his underwear, his hard cock springing free, she bit her bottom lip in anticipation of having him inside her. Marlena laid the bed back further as John climbed into the bed on top of her. John reached down and placed the covers on top of them, covering their lower halves.

Marlena placed her hands on John’s lower back, moving them up and down, feeling his soft skin, the hardness of the muscles in his back. John steadied himself on his elbows as he looked into her eyes, they were beautiful, glowing, he leaned into her and kissed her lips softly and then pulled back.

“You are so beautiful, Marlena,” he leaned back in and kissed her, his tongue tasting her immediately. Marlena reached her hand down and found his hard cock and placed it at her opening, John thrust forward, his cock slowly sliding inside her wetness, he moved in with ease, her wetness and tight walls encasing him, both gasping into each others mouths. Once deep inside her they began to move as one, thrusting into each other slowly. John moved in and out of her, careful not to hurt her, as Marlena arched her back into him, her mouth opened as she told John how good he felt, how good he made her feel. John laid his body into her body more, feeling her breasts against him, her hard nipples against his flesh; deeper he moved into her, his cock growing harder with each thrust, covered by her juices.

Marlena’s juices flowed from her as John moved harder, his pelvis rocking against her clit with each intense motion; Marlena grabbed at his ass and pushed him harder into her as her mouth found his once again. The sensations of his hard cock sliding in and out of her and him hitting against her clit was too much, her orgasm came fast and strong, enrapturing her body. John thrust harder into her, she moaned out loudly as her head arched back, her toes shot forward, her nails dug into his. Marlena pushed him harder, faster as waves upon waves of her orgasm enthralled her whole body. John moved faster and deeper into her as she thrusted over and over until he shot his hot burning seed deep inside her. John pushed his forehead into her pillow and pulled her tight against him as he emptied himself deep into her, his pelvis rocking slowly against her clit; he was so deep inside her that the slight sensations of her recent orgasm were still felt each time she moved against him.

John rocked slowly against her, his hands gripping the bed as her hands gripped into his ass, John moved his mouth to hers and kissed her softly, slowly, his tongue moving inside her mouth as her own mouth accepted him freely. Marlena continued to rock against his cock, now softer from his recent cuming inside her, every move making the sensations more and more intense inside her; it was if she could not get enough, she could never get enough of him. John eased up and started to release himself from her, but Marlena stopped him, whispering “not yet” in his ear, she grabbed at his ass again and pushed him back deeper inside her from what little he had come out, his cock moving against her sensitive spot as she rocked her clit against his pelvis.

John was drained of every bit of energy he had, but he was enjoying feeling her move beneath him, he slowly rocked his pelvis harder into her clit, allowing her to use his body for the pleasure she now sought for herself. His mouth kissed her neck, his tongue tasting the sweat on her sweet skin; he listened to her soft moans as she moved faster beneath him, her motions becoming harder, faster. John held to her tighter,.

“I want you to cum for me,” he whispered in her ear.

Marlena rocked harder and faster against him, her clit was throbbing, her cunt dripping wet with her juices, she could feel her juices running down her thighs, the sounds of his cock moving inside her were turning her on more. John began to move with her more, his cock becoming increasingly harder, hitting against her spot, Marlena dug her nails deep into his ass, another orgasm coming forward, deep within her it built, as it started to come to the surface. She bit down hard on her lip as she thrusted harder, faster; finally it burst forth as she pushed John as hard as she could against her clit, he held tight to her as he thrust his now hard cock in and out of her tight wet cunt. She moaned loud into his ear, as her orgasm shot throughout her body, John pumping his cock in and out of her as she whispered yes over and over into his ear. Moments later John came again inside her, he buried himself deep within her and came hard, fast, his orgasm overtaking his body, everything was dark, non-existent, except for the two of them in that room, in that bed at that very moment.

John looked into Marlena’s eyes and kissed her, tasting her trembling lips. John moved his lips to her ear as he rocked slowly within her, he took in a deep slow breath and as he let it out he whispered to her, “I love you, Marlena.”

 

It had been a week since Marlena woke inexplicably from her coma; the doctors were still baffled as to why she had quickly fallen into it and just as suddenly come out of it. For this reason they were hesitant to release her from the hospital and despite Marlena’s persistently telling her doctor’s that she was fine, he still wouldn’t discharge her.

“I am going crazy in here” Marlena turned off the television and threw the remote down on her bed.

“I know, but do you have to take it out on me, I was enjoying that program, I wanted to see if they were gonna bust that guy for picking up that hooker.” Laura replied to her as she continued to flip through a magazine.

“Oh, please, you weren’t even watching it, you’ve had your face buried in that magazine since you sat down,” Marlena’s voice bared her obvious annoyance at Laura.

“Listen, it’s not exactly my idea of fun to sit here with you and your constant state of harassing me,” Laura finally looked up from her magazine and into Marlena’s eyes, she noted how much better she looked since she had first been admitted. Her face wasn’t swollen anymore, her black eye was almost healed. Her bandage was merely a small butterfly tape now, her stitches would come out soon, and overall she looked like she felt much better. Laura smiled at her and Marlena smiled back.

“Laura,” Marlena said it low and drew out her name as long as her breath would allow it.

“No,” Laura looked back down at her magazine and began flipping through it, trying to ignore Marlena.

“Laura,” she said it quicker this time, but with a bit of disdain behind her voice.

“No.” Laura didn’t bother looking at her, she wasn’t about to cave for Marlena.

“Laura, you’re not being fair, you know if it were you in this bed I would do it for you.”

“You damn liar, no you wouldn’t, you would be telling me to shut up.” Laura finally looked up at her and glared into her eyes.

“That hurts Laura, it really hurts,” Marlena placed her hand to her heart, “that you could even suggest such a thing breaks my heart and here I thought we were friends.”

“Over-actor, the answer is still no.”

“Laura Horton I swear if you don’t go to the snack machine and get me some chocolate right now then I swear I will never speak to you again,” Marlena threw herself back on the bed.

“Promise,” Laura smiled wryly at her.

“You are such a bitch,” Marlena picked up her pillow and threw it toward her joining in Laura’s laughter.

“Who do you think I learned it from,” Laura picked up Marlena’s pillow and tossed it back to her.

“I want to go home Laura,” Marlena suddenly stopped laughing her voice taking a sharp turn.

“I know you do, sweetie,” Laura reached out her hand and placed it on top of Marlena’s, “but have you stopped to think about where home is exactly, Marlena.”

Marlena lowered her eyes and took in a deep breath, she knew Laura was right, she didn’t exactly have a home anymore. A few days earlier Roman had come by and she asked John to leave the two of them alone and though John didn’t like the idea, he finally agreed. Marlena listened as Roman profusely apologized for what happened, how he explained that he had acted out of anger, betrayal, and hurt. They talked about everything that had gone wrong in their marriage and how Roman finally realized how he wasn’t the kind of husband she needed anymore. They agreed that it was over between them and how there would not be any hard feelings. She agreed that until she got back on her feet that the twins would live in the house with Roman and that she could spend as much time with them as she wanted.

All of that rang in her ears as she realized that she now had nowhere to call home, she needed a place to stay and she needed one fast. Marlena wasn’t going to stay at the hospital any longer; she decided that this morning as she woke to find John still sleeping in the chair beside her. He looked so uncomfortable; she knew his back had to be killing him after the days he had spent trying to sleep in it. She had stared into his face, recalling the way they had made love in her bed days before, how he had told her that he loved her but that the phone had rang immediately after that and she never got the chance to tell him how she felt. In fact, he hadn’t mentioned it in the time since, even though they had been alone together in the room several times since.

She had tried to bring it up but someone was always calling or visiting and interrupting their conversations.

Suddenly a knock at the door brought Marlena back to the present, Laura put her magazine down and yelled at them to come in,

“Yes, please come in.”

Laura and Marlena smiled back as her doctor walked in,

“Good morning Marlena, Laura, how are you feeling this morning,” He asked as he walked over to Marlena’s bed.

“Wonderful, doctor. Can I leave today.”

“Well, you don’t waste much time do you,” the doctor smiled back at her.

“No, she doesn’t,” Laura replied to him, “I’ve been trying to help her work on her bedside manner these past few days, but I think she is a lost cause doctor.”

The doctor merely chuckled to himself as he began to examine Marlena, checking her breathing, heart rate, her eyes, and her reflexes. Marlena watched as he seemed to be in a hurry, scribbling down information in her chart. Finally he finished and closed her chart and looked at her.

“You seem to have made a remarkable recovery, Marlena, I am very pleased with how you are healing and your mobility is wonderful from what the nurses have told me. Are you experiencing any pain.”

“No, none at all, I haven’t had any pain medication in several days. I can walk without assistance, plus my sense of humor is at its all time high, so I think its about time you released me from here.”

The doctor looked at her and took in a deep breath, Marlena lowered her eyebrows, it was the exact same look he had given her every time he told her no.

“Come on, doctor you have absolutely no reason to continue to keep me here. I am sure there are other patients who could make better use of this room than I could.” Marlena was desperate, she wouldn’t let up until he released her.

Just then a knock on the door and Marlena and Laura, along with doctor looked over to see John standing at the door. Marlena immediately smiled at him as he smiled at her.

“I’m sorry, am I interrupting, I can come back.” John’s question seemed general as he felt all eyes on him as he wasn’t sure who he should direct the question toward.

“No, you are fine, John,” Marlena told him, “the doctor was just about to tell me that I was being released today. Weren’t you, doctor,” it wasn’t a question and she hoped the doctor realized it.

“Actually, Marlena, I was about to ask about your accommodations at home. If I release you today will you have adequate supervision at your house because I will need to be assured, at least for the first two weeks that someone will be looking after you. With the coma there could be any number of side affects that you could experience. I will need to know that whoever is going to be watching after you will be there constantly to be able to help you if you need it. Also, while you may feel fine lying here, once you get up and start becoming more active you will see that you will become weaker with the smallest things and until you are fully recovered, you will need some help.”

Marlena listened as the doctor told her about supervision and constant care, mostly though she knew in the back of her mind that she had nowhere to go, nowhere to call home, no one to take on that responsibility and that if there was anything she hated it was feeling like a charity case. She would not rely on Roman to help her, it wasn’t his responsibility anymore and asking Laura was out of the question since she held down her job as a psychiatrist five days a week, not to mention the fact that she was on call most of the time. She let out a deep breath as she realized that she in fact had nowhere to go and that after being so excited to go home moments earlier she was now suddenly faced with staying in the hospital for another two weeks.

“Marlena,” the doctor spoke more sternly to her as he realized she was in another place and not listening to him, “I need you to realize the seriousness of the situation. If I can not get a guarantee that someone is going to be there to take care of you around the clock then I just can not release you right now.”

John quickly took a step forward, “She will be staying with me at my house,” everyone’s attention turned immediately toward him, Laura’s mouth hung open.

Marlena’s eyes got big. “You have no need to worry about Marlena doctor, I will take good care of her. I can take the next two weeks off from work and look after her. If that’s okay with her that is.” John swallowed hard as he realized that his heart was beating fast, his upper lip sweating, his breath catching in his throat as he waited for her answer.

Marlena continued to stare, the thought had never entered her mind that she would stay with John and now here he was, standing in front of her, offering to take her in. Laura quickly nudged Marlena’s arm.

“What, oh no, I mean, John, I can’t put you out like that it wouldn’t be fair to you. I couldn’t possibly expect you to take off work the next two weeks just to take care of me. I can just stay here at the hospital, its really not that bad of a place.”

“Are you mad, woman,” Laura finally spoke up, “do you seriously want to spend the next two weeks cooped inside this stuffy hospital room, in a bed you can’t possibly be getting any rest in?” Laura leaned in toward Marlena and smiled the kind of smile only a serial killer could master, she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Not to mention going without chocolate for two whole weeks.”

“Laura,” Marlena mumbled with a serious tone, if anyone could embarrass her she could always count on Laura to be the one to do it, “I think it would be too much trouble to ask John…”

“It’s no trouble at all,” John quickly spoke up, “I would love for you to come and stay with me until you get back on your feet again.” John smiled at Marlena, speaking to her as if they were the only two in the room; her face lit up as she smiled and shook her head yes at him.

“Good then it’s settled, doctor, if you could please get Marlena’s discharge papers ready I am sure she would appreciate it.”

John and Marlena rode from the hospital in his car in silence, she wasn’t sure what to say to him, how to thank him properly. It had taken longer than expected to get her discharge papers ready and by the time they left night had already fallen. Marlena glanced over at John, he looked tired and his eyes showed it most, yet despite that she noted how he looked just as handsome as ever as she breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent, the strong affects of it overtaking her.  John turned his head toward Marlena and smiled at her.

“Anything special you would like to listen to on the radio,” John asked her as he quickly flipped the radio on and searched the channels.

“It doesn’t really matter, besides it’s your car, you can listen to whatever you like, I am sure there is probably some kind of ballgame on.”

John looked back toward her and smiled again, saying nothing. He flipped it to a local station he knew played uninterrupted music, a slow song came over the radio and he leaned back into seat as he reached over and took Marlena’s hand in his. Marlena looked down at her hand in his and then looked at the radio, listening to the slow melody fill the car, she looked back at John and then she quickly turned her head and stared out the window and into the dark. She blinked quickly as she fought back the tears, John’s hand squeezing at hers; he then enfolded his fingers between hers and rubbed his thumb against her fingers. Marlena bit against her bottom lip as she filled with emotions, while part of her wanted to cry, the other part was filled with a sense of belonging right where she knew she needed to be, right where she wanted to be.

“Here we are, home sweet home,” John opened the front door of his house and followed Marlena inside and began turning on lights.

“Laura went and packed some things for you already, I went put your suitcases in the bedroom and on the bed. I went ahead and made room for you in the drawers and moved my clothes to the guest bedroom at the other end of the house.”

Marlena turned quickly and looked at John. “You moved your clothes to the guest bedroom?” Marlena asked, unsure as to why he had done such a thing.

“Yes, I wanted you to be comfortable so I am giving you my bedroom, it has the bathroom accessed on to it and I knew it would be more convenient for you, plus there is a television and it’s close to kitchen in case you get hungry in the middle of the night.”

Marlena listened as John spoke and she slowly lowered her head.

“Is there something wrong?” John walked closer to her. Marlena looked up at him, “Oh no, nothing is wrong. Thank you, John for everything that you have done, offering to let me stay here and allowing me use of your bedroom, but really that won’t be necessary, I can stay in the guest bedroom.”

Marlena swallowed hard, she had just assumed that John and she would be sharing the bedroom, his bedroom, his bed, the same bed where they had made love weeks before. She didn’t understand why it was that now he didn’t want to share that very same bed with her any longer.

“I won’t hear anymore of it, Marlena, my bedroom is yours for the next two weeks. I am just across the way, not far from you in case you should need anything. And you don’t have to thank me for anything, it is my pleasure.” John smiled at her, he felt the heat from her skin radiate onto his, he wanted nothing more than wrap his arms around her right there and kiss her, hold her, take her into the bedroom and make love to her. But he knew how fragile she was, and he had kicked himself constantly since telling her his true feelings, and when she hadn’t said anything about it since he realized what a fool he had been, he knew it was too soon and that he had probably scared her. He wanted to give her space and yet take care of her at the same time, he knew that he had to be there for her when she needed it, and part of him felt as though he was responsible for what had happened to her, and he would spend the next two weeks making up for it.

“The sheets are fresh and I stocked the fridge with your favorites, with Laura’s help of course. I will have my cell phone beside my bed all night in case you need anything. I bought you magazines and Laura brought you favorite pillows.”

“Well, it sounds as if you and Laura have thought of everything.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable and that you have everything you need for the next two weeks.”

Marlena pursed her lips together and lowered her brow, she slowly turned from John and walked into the bedroom, she continually noted how many times John had said ‘the next two weeks,’ as if he was counting it down, as if he needed her to realize that it was only two weeks and not another day more. Marlena turned back around and stopped when she got to the bedroom door, John quickly stopping as he was instinctively following her.

“John, thank you again. I am pretty tired so I am just going to put my things away and take a nap if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, of course not, I will just get some things from work done and I will start on dinner soon, anything special you would like?”

“I’m not really that hungry so don’t go to any trouble just for me, I can just have a sandwich or something like that is fine.”

“I will just make something small then, enjoy your nap and if you need anything, please let me know.”

“Yes, John, thank you.” Marlena turned from him and walked into the bedroom, slowly closing the door behind her. She walked into the bedroom and sat gently on the bed, she had no idea what had just happened and why. She questioned how was it that they had went from where they were earlier in the week in the hospital, to him holding her hand in the car, to him acting as if she was some stranger in his house just now not even wanting to touch her.

Marlena looked at the suitcase beside her on the bed and quickly stood, she unzipped it and began to take out the things that Laura had packed for her and put them away in the now empty drawers. She had put almost everything away when she noted how tired she was, she shook her head as she hated how the fall had made her weak and feel useless. She zipped the lid closed on her suitcase and placed it in the closet and then she walked to the side of the bed and saw a small bag lying on the floor. She picked it up and placed it on the bed and looked inside it and found a small card, she smiled as she saw her name written across, she could recognize Laura’s handwriting anywhere, not only could Laura bear the smile of a serial killer she also bore the penmanship of one.

Marlena opened the card and read the note, ‘I thought you might be needing something to perk up your night. Love, Laura.’ Marlena placed the card on the bed and returned to the bag, she opened it wider and saw a sea of black. She reached in and felt the softness of lace and silk caress her fingers, she knew exactly what it was she was feeling. She quickly pulled it from the bag and watched as the fabric flowed freely, it was long and black, a beautiful nightgown that she was sure would hug and reveal all the right places. Marlena held up to her as she noted the plunging neckline, the lace at the top that she questioned whether or not would hide anything, she ran her hand along the silk blackness of the bottom of the gown, imagining John’s hands moving against it, along her thigh.

Marlena bit at her bottom lip and smiled but then quickly lost her smile; the exact opposite of what Laura had hoped to accomplish with her gift had happened, it hadn’t perked her up, it had only reminded her that the John she walked into this house with was not the one she had walked out of it with weeks earlier. Marlena quickly folded the gown and placed it in the bottom drawer along with Laura’s note; she then changed into some comfortable grey sweats pulled her hair on top of her head and crawled into bed.

Marlena turned the light beside the bed out and flipped on the television, mostly she did it for background noise in hopes that it would distract her racing mind from what it was centered on. John Black was merely feet from where she lie and she hadn’t a clue why he was acting the way he was. She burrowed her head deeper into the pillow as she recalled the last time her head was on his pillow with John lying beside her, touching her naked body, making love to her; she thought of his hands upon her full breasts, his mouth licking and sucking her hard nipples. Marlena squirmed as she recalled the way his body felt as it laid atop hers, the way he was attentive to every inch of her flesh, the way he felt as he moved in and out of her, the way his mouth felt upon hers, she thought of his tongue and the way it overtook her body.

Marlena quickly rolled over to her side and looked toward the closed door, lit only by the glow of the television, she wanted nothing more than for John to throw it open and come inside and take her right then and there. Marlena took a deep breath in and heavily released it; she then closed her eyes and welcomed the sleep that quickly overtook her tired body.

 

Marlena suddenly woke to loud noises, the dim light of the television cast upon the room, more banging noises coming from the other side of the door immediately made her sit up, wondering what was going on past her closed door. She looked over at the clock beside the bed and saw that it read nine pm, she silently questioned how she had slept for nearly three hours.

Slowly she put her hand to her head and traced the outlines of the small healing scar that was on her forehead which were aching dully. Again a loud bang startled her, her hand flying to her mouth to cover any scream that she was afraid might come out, she stood quickly and walked to the closed door, but as she got closer to the door the appealing aroma of food caught her nose and she realized that John was cooking, and whatever he was cooking smelled wonderful, she placed her hand on her stomach as she realized she hadn’t eaten since they left the hospital and she was in fact now starving.

Marlena placed her hand on the door knob, started to turn it and pull it open and then stopped. The memory of earlier in the evening came flooding back to her, how John had acted so cold towards her when they came into his house, the way he acted as if they had never shared a bed, never told her that he loved her, never wanted her the same way again. Again the wafting smell of dinner hit her hard. Marlena took in a depth breath, “you can do this,” she told herself. She turned the door knob and opened the door; she stepped out into the living and quickly took in the sight before her.

John had been working hard trying to not wake Marlena from her nap, but he had gotten distracted and accidentally dropped a few pans while trying to find the right one to cook his sauce in. He was rummaging through the cupboards under the sink trying to find a pan when he heard the distinct sound of his bedroom door opening. He closed his eyes but just as quickly reopened them, he wanted to stand and see Marlena, ask her about her nap, hell, he had wanted nothing more than to lie down with her and hold her as she napped. He had been thinking non-stop about it since she closed the door behind her, but he was faced with the fact that she needed her rest, that the doctor had told him in private to make sure that nothing excited her too much, and every time he was near her all he had wanted to do was grab her and make love to her. John thought about making love to her in the hospital, about how foolish it was and how he could have hurt her, how felt even more stupid when he had told her that he loved her and she never mentioned it again after that.

“John,” Marlena whispered in the direction of the kitchen as she took a step closer, she had yet to see him yet she knew he was there.

“Yes,” John stood slowly and took in the sight before him, he had never seen her more beautiful, her hair pulled back with loose hairs falling down, no makeup, her face glowing, she wore grey sweatpants, and she was stunning. John had to force himself to not stare at her.

“I’m sorry if I woke you I didn’t mean to, I was just cooking us some dinner. I hope you are hungry.” He turned with saucepan in tow and placed it on the burner, mostly so that he would stop himself from staring at her.

“Its fine, I was awake anyway. John, I told you that you needn’t go to any trouble to cook dinner for me, I can just make myself something small.”

She wondered just how transparent she seemed to him, the fact was that she was starving combined with whatever he was cooking smelled wonderful and she knew her stomach must be growling, yet she knew that with dinner meant conversation and with conversation meant having to sit across from John and she wasn’t ready for that.

“Suit yourself, but I am making enough for both of us, so if you decide you want to eat then you are more than welcome to.”

“Thank you, John.” It was more than about the food, she was thankful to John and for John, thankful for everything he had done for her and she was thankful that he had saved her, from so many things. Mostly she was thankful that he gave her a new purpose in life, and while part of her felt renewed and refreshed, a small part of her was still fighting an internal struggle of what to do, what to say, and how to feel, particularly about John.

“You’re welcome, Marlena.” John whispered aloud, his back still to her as he stirred his sauce continually. John closed his eyes and breathed Marlena’s scent in, despite the fact that his sauce was cooking beneath his nose he always recognized the scent she bore, the way it filled any room and empowered him, the way it drifted inside him and took hold of him. It was the same scent he had recognized the first time he sat beside her, the first time he put his hands on her, and the first time his mouth tasted her flesh. John slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his sauce and continued to stir it, wishing more than anything that she would walk up behind and put her arms around him. John took in a deep breath and slowly let it, squinting against the heat that raised into his eyes from his cooking.

Marlena walked into the living room and toward John’s couch, slowly she placed her hand against the cold leather, as her hand began following the long curve of its back, flashes of them making love on it invaded her mind. She swallowed hard as she remembered John’s mouth on hers, his tongue invading her, the way he tasted. Marlena continued her hand down the curve of the couch as she saw of John’s mouth on her full breast, his tongue exploring every last inch of her hard nipple.

Marlena gasped slightly, catching it in her throat before she allowed any sound to escape her lips. She quickly looked back toward John to see if he had noticed her but when she saw that he was still cooking and his back was to her she turned away and back toward the couch. She slowly moved to the front of the couch and stared down at it, longingly, she wasn’t sure if she could handle being there in the same house as John, with so many memories of the two of them in such intimate moments. Slowly Marlena’s hand traveled down and touched the soft leather of the couch, she closed her eyes tightly as she recalled the way it felt to have John be inside her, and then just as quickly she opened her eyes to the reality that it now just seemed to be slipping into a fading memory.

Marlena sat down on the couch, immediately noticing the wetness that was increasing between her legs. She leaned back and laid her head against the coolness of the couch, crossing her legs, her breath catching in her throat at the intensity she felt as she squeezed her legs closer together. Marlena closed her eyes and envisioned John thrusting himself against her clit, the memory of it causing her to squeeze her thighs tighter together, instinctively her hands traveled toward her legs but then she stopped herself, she knew she had to stop thinking about John and about what had happened on that couch, but she couldn’t stop her thoughts or her feelings, it had been over a week since she and John were intimate and she increasingly longed for him, for his body, for his naked flesh against hers.

Marlena felt her nipples grow hard; she squeezed her eyes closed tighter as she felt herself conflicted with feelings of pain and pleasure. Her thoughts quickly returning to John pinning her arms above her as he made love to her, the way he moved in and out of her, her walls encasing him, the feelings of pleasure it built, the feelings that were building inside her now as she was sure she was going to cum right there on the couch with him in the other room.

Marlena though of the way John smelled, her neck burrowed in his his, her tongue sliding against his skin. She thought of John’s hands flush around her breasts, they way they seemed to belong there, to know every last inch of her swollen nipples. Marlena’s breaths increased as tighter she squeezed her legs closer together, her clit was on fire from the memories of John sliding his hard cock in and out her tight wet cunt. Marlena licked her lips slowly and swallowed hard, she thought about John’s naked flesh moving against hers, the building of their orgasms, the way he could never seem to get enough of her body or of her.

“Marlena,” John stared at her, he had said her name twice already and she had yet to say anything or open her eyes. At first he thought she was sleeping but then he saw her mouth part and he had watched as she slowly licked her lips, he found that he couldn’t help but stare, he had tried to look away as her nipples became visible through her sweater. He stood with a glass of wine in his hand, unsure of what to do, he wanted nothing more than to lean down and place his mouth on hers, slide his tongue over her wet lips and inside her mouth, to move his hand under her shirt, pull her bra down and squeeze her full breast, to feel her hard nipple against his hand. He wanted to kneel before her and hold her tightly as he thrust his body between her legs, to pull her close to him, kiss her harder, thrust his cock up against her, to make her wet and please her over and over. John shook his head quickly as if to bring himself back to reality, he knew better than to even think such things as he felt a rush of disappointment overcome his body.

Marlena was close, she could feel her orgasm coming on, biting on her bottom lip slightly as she continued to envision John thrusting in and out of her. John bent down and placed his hand out and toward Marlena’s thigh; gently he placed his hand on it and squeezed lightly as he said her name.

“Oh my god, John, you scared the shit out of me,” Marlena blurted out as her eyes sprung opened wide and she quickly stood from the couch nearly knocking the wine glass from John’s hand.

“I am sorry, I was just going to offer you some wine, Marlena.” John was confused, he knew that she was aware he was in the kitchen he just didn’t understand why she would be so taken aback when he touched her.

“Its fine, just don’t startle me like that again.” She was short with him for a reason; she didn’t need him to stand there long enough to realize what she was doing, what she was thinking. She pulled at her shirt as if to mask her hard nipples, thankful that her pants were baggy as she was sure her panties were soaked through. Marlena quickly grabbed the glass from his hand and pulled it from him, bits of wine trickling down the side and falling through her fingers, she swallowed hard as she saw John look at her fingers and slowly lick his lips. Marlena’s heart beat faster, she was sure John could hear it as she stared at his eyes still locked on her fingers, Marlena bit on her bottom lip, her mouth longing to plunge her tongue forward and straight into his.

Slowly John reached his hand out and wiped the few dripping bits of wine from her long slender cupped fingers, the heat from his fingers causing her nipples to tingle and become instantly hard again, the wetness between her legs increasing more. John’s eyes glanced up at her, catching her eyes in his, his fingers traveled closer up hers, it was now no longer about the wine, it was now about feeling her soft creamy flesh under his skin and finally having an excuse to be able to touch her again. Marlena gripped the wine glass tighter, her breaths becoming erratic, her body naturally gravitating towards John’s.

John slowly began to part his lips and Marlena’s tongued darted forth and licked her soft full lips in anticipation as John’s fingers interlaced hers. Closer their bodies moved into the other’s, John’s eyes never leaving hers as his fingers moved seductively against Marlena’s, his mouth came within inches of hers and Marlena struggled to breathe against the heat of his breath on her mouth.

Suddenly though, Marlena furrowed her brow and John looked at her oddly.

“Do you smell something burning?” she asked as they both quickly turned their heads toward the kitchen.

“Oh, shit.” John immediately ran into the kitchen as black smoke poured from the stovetop. He grabbed a dishtowel and swatted against the small flames that started to rise from the pan, he shook his head and laughed silently at the mess before him as he extinguished the flames.

“Should I call the fire department,” Marlena came toward him in the kitchen, her hand covering her smirking mouth.

John turned toward her and glared. “That won’t be necessary, I think I have it under control,” he quickly turned back around and smirked as he said aloud. “Though from what I hear, you should know the number by heart.”

“Excuse me, I don’t think I heard what you said exactly,” but she had heard him, she just didn’t want him to know it, it was no secret that she didn’t know how to cook, and though normally it bothered her when people made jokes about it, she found it endearing whenever John did it.

“Oh. nothing, I will just clean this up and see what I can salvage from it for us to eat.”

“That won’t be necessary, besides, I know the number to a great pizza place that delivers, and they are pretty fast, plus they have this deliver it in so many minutes or its free thing.”

John turned towards her and stared, ‘god. she is beautiful,’ he thought to himself, “that will be fine,” he told her as he watched her turn and retreat to the living room and grab the phone and dial. John took a deep breath in and then slowly let it out, he listened to Marlena order pizza on the phone and thought about what had happened moments earlier, how he had gotten caught up in the moment, caught up in her. He turned back to the stove and began gathering up the charred rags. “You can’t let that happen again, John, you just can’t.” he whispered to himself.

“They said it would be here in about thirty minutes,” Marlena told John as she walked into the kitchen. “Here let me help you clean up.”

“That isn’t necessary, I can clean it up.”

“I want to help, John.”

John looked up at Marlena, she smiled shyly at him and he nodded his head as he smiled back at her and handed her a clean wet rag. He moved to the sink and began to wash the dishes as Marlena began to throw away blackened bits of food.

“So John, do you often promise women food and then not deliver it?” Marlena looked over at John and smiled, throwing her rag at him playfully.

“I do believe a pizza is being delivered for you, ma’am,” John laughed as water splashed up at him from the sink, a direct result of Marlena throwing more rags into his water, “you keep that up…and I will have to retaliate.”

“Why, whatever do you mean kind sir,” Marlena asked him in a gentle southern accent.

“I mean that if you keep getting me wet, then I am going to have to return the favor.”

John turned his head from the sink and looked over at Marlena, winking quickly at her.

“You mean to tell me that you would wet an innocent bystander who was merely trying to help you clean up a mess that you made all by yourself,” Marlena took a step closer to John as she discreetly rolled up two rags in her hands.

“I mean that I would naturally have to thank you for helping me clean this mess I made all by myself.”

John turned his head from Marlena and looked back to the sink, he then turned the sink water on and began to rinse his hands off.

“Oh, John, really, you don’t have to thank me at all. It was my pleasure to help you clean up, I mean, it’s the least I could do after you promised me a wonderful meal and then burnt it.”

Marlena took a step closer to John smiling more the closer she got, “and it looks to me like you could use a lot more help cleaning up.”

Marlena tossed her hands forward and threw the wet rags in the sink causing water to splash up and soak John’s shirt and she quickly took a step back and began to laugh loudly, throwing her head back.

“Oh…John…I am…so sorry…I guess you…could use a lot more…cleaning up…yourself.” She fought between laughs to get out the words as she finally looked him in the eyes when he turned toward her, bearing a smile himself.

“Wow, John, you sure are taking this awfully well.”

John smiled at Marlena more, cocked his head a little to the side and said, “Yes, because I know you are going to take this just as well.” But before Marlena could ask what John had reached over to the sink and pulled out the spray nozzle and squeezed the sprayer, sending a flood of water up the front of her shirt, stopping only when he was satisfied that she was just as wet as he was. He stood there laughing, staring at her and the look she bore on her face that told him she could kill him at that very moment.

“Oh my, really you should see your face, it’s just, just, priceless, Marlena.”

“I don’t think this is funny one bit, John Black.” Marlena tried her best to keep a serious face while she quickly searched all the objects near her vicinity that she could use to pay him back.

“You sure thought it was funny moments ago when you were soaking me, Marlena Evans,” John told her, still laughing, yet still armed with the sprayer from the sink, he wasn’t totally oblivious to the fact that she was hunting for ammunition.

Finally Marlena spotted a large glass of water on the sink beside John, she quickly looked him in the eyes and smirked.

“Well, that was different of course,” she told him as she took a step closer towards him.

John immediately took a step back from her. “Different how exactly?”

Closer Marlena stepped again towards John, “well, you see, John,” she titled her head back and forth slightly as she stepped even closer toward him, “this is all about dynamics.”

John backed up again, finally coming into contact with the kitchen wall behind him, she had him cornered and he couldn’t back away from her any further, he tightened his grip on the spray nozzle, but then lowered it to his side as she came even closer, “dynamics, I’m not sure I know what you mean exactly.”

Marlena came as close as she could to John, she looked down and saw the nozzle in his hand and quickly darted her eyes to the full cup of water on the sink directly beside them and then looked into John’s eyes.

“Well, you see, John, dynamics is pretty simple in the grand scheme of things,” Marlena smiled at him as she pressed her breasts against his chest, her mouth coming within inches of his, “dynamics is like the law of nature.” Marlena exhaled, her hot breath hitting against John’s skin.

John parted his lips and breathed Marlena in, his tongue coming forward and licking his lips, he knew exactly what she was doing yet he was going to play along with her. “The law of nature huh,” John asked her as he brought his mouth closer to her, licking his lips even more as he leaned closer to her, feeling her breasts press into his chest more.

Marlena’s breaths became shaky, though she had started out with a purpose she was beginning to lose thought of what it was as she felt the heat from John’s body against hers but as she looked down at his chest her eye caught the sprayer still in his hand, ready for aim. Marlena looked up at John.

“Yes, the law of nature is exactly what its about,” she breathed in deeply causing her breasts to rise against John’s chest, she slowly licked her lips until they were wet and reflected in the light.

John slowly leaned in towards Marlena’s ear and opened his mouth and whispered, “and could you remind me again what the law of nature is exactly?” Making sure his hot breath hit against her flesh, dragging his lips across her cheek as he leaned back and looked into her eyes.

Marlena stared into John’s eyes and then leaned forward, her mouth catching his cheek momentarily and then she brought her lips closer to his ear; her hand rose to his arm and delicately grazed the muscles on his chest. Marlena slowly parted her lips while her other hand found the full glass of water that was on the sink, gripping it tightly she slowly and carefully brought it to her side.

“You see, John, the law of nature states that what goes up,” Marlena slowly raised her arm with the glass in it, “must come down,” and with the word down she quickly backed her head away and dumped the glass of water on top of John’s head, her hand gripping her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably.

“So, I guess that settles that then.” Marlena backed away from John and turned to leave when she felt John’s hand grab her hand and pull her back toward him. Marlena turned and looked at him with wide eyes.

“But you seem to be forgetting one very important factor, Marlena,” John’s breathing was increasing heavy as bits of water trickled down his face.

“And what’s that, John?”

Marlena asked as she looked at John’s hand on hers, she felt the intensity coming from his eyes as if they burning into her, and she wasn’t sure if he was going to soak her or hit her.

“That what goes in,” John’s mouth turned upward at the corners, revealing a large smile, “must come out.”

“What?” Marlena asked as John lifted his hand and sprayed her dead in the face with the water nozzle causing her to shriek loudly as a water fight erupted between the two of them. Marlena fought against John to get the nozzle from his hands as he continued to spray her, drenching her from top to bottom. Squeals of laughter radiated from the both of them as Marlena still attempted to get the nozzle from John’s hands. John had tried to keep it from her but she was stronger than she looked, and he was having a hard time keeping his balance on the wet slick floor. Marlena’s laughter was joyous and uninterrupted as she reached for more water from the sink with a cup and threw it at John, soaking him even more, leaving them both looking like drowned rats from head to toe.

Marlena again tried to grab the nozzle from John as he held it behind his back, she quickly reached around him with both arms as they both continued to laugh against each other, their cheeks pressing together, their bodies pressing closer together. Marlena reached further behind him, her body falling further into John’s as their cheeks parted and their faces met, their eyes finally locking onto one another. Both stared into the other’s eyes as their breathing was hard and labored, John stared into her eyes and ceased spraying the nozzle as he dropped it from his grip to the floor and placed his hands on Marlena’s hips, her hands then moving to his chest. Their noses pressed together as their smiles slowly fell from their faces, their eyes still locked onto the others, their hearts beating loudly, their bodies dripping wet. John placed his hand on Marlena’s cheek and wiped the water from it, moving the matted hair from her skin. Marlena leaned in closer, her lips coming within inches of John’s as they both closed their eyes and waited for the other’s lips to touch theirs. John moved his hands behind Marlena’s back and felt the heat from her skin, he watched as she closed her eyes and moved closer to him, her hands moving up and around the back of his neck, she pulled him closer to her. John closed his eyes and parted his lips, his mouth slowly taking her lips between his, a tear slowly fell from Marlena’s eye as emotions flooded her from the intensity of that exact moment of feeling John’s lips against hers.

Suddenly a doorbell echoed throughout the house and they both opened their eyes, unsure of what to do, again a doorbell echoed followed by knocking and noises of a pizza being delivered within so many minutes. John released his lips from Marlena’s and let go of her and slowly backed up.

“I should get that.” Marlena shook her head at John and stepped to the side to allow him to pass by her. John picked up a dishtowel and handed it to her, as he walked into the hall to answer the door. Marlena lowered her head and leaned against the wall, breathing against the towel as her mind wandered about what might have happened if the doorbell hadn’t rang.

“The pizza guy seems to think I could use some dry clothes.”

John joked to Marlena as he brought the pizza into the kitchen and sat it on the sink. He looked at Marlena who seemed to be deep in thought.

“Marlena.”

Marlena’s chin was still buried in the dish towel and she lifted her head and looked toward John and asked.

“Huh,” oblivious as to what he had said.

“Is everything okay, are you feeling okay?” John paused momentarily as a warm wave of fear overtook his body. “Do I need to call the doctor.? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

John placed the pizza on the counter and walked to her, his hands cupping her cheeks.

“Oh I am so sorry, Marlena, I am really sorry, I just got carried away with the water is all.” He was checking everything inch of her face that he could visually to see if she was hurt, to see if her forehead was okay.

“John, its okay, I am fine, and I seem to recall that I was the one who started it.”

Marlena smiled at him, his hands still cupped against her cheeks, he had a terrified look on his face and she needed him to relax, to realize that she wasn’t going to break apart at every turn. Marlena placed her hands against his and looked into his eyes. “I am fine, okay.”

“Okay,” he finally smiled at her and stopped turning her face from side to side and peered into her eyes.

“I will clean things up in here, so why don’t you go get some dry clothes on.” He told her as he released his hold from her face, her hands falling from his.

“Okay, John.” Marlena walked past him and into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned back against the door and brought her fingertips to her mouth, her lips still tingling from the anticipation of wanting John’s lips against hers again. Marlena smiled against her fingers and then dropped her hand from them; she then walked to the dresser to find something dry to wear, her smile still lingering on her face.

John hurried to clean the water from the floor and then rushed into the guest bedroom to find some dry warmer clothes. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he passed his dresser and stopped and laughed at the site before him. ‘She did a number on you,’ he thought to himself. John quickly pulled his wet clothes from himself and threw them in the hamper, replacing dry clothes on his body. He ran his fingers quickly through his short wet hair, grabbing a towel to run against it as well. He then sat on the bed and put socks on his feet as he thought about how Marlena felt against his body, the way his hands seemed to naturally fall against her hips and then to her back, the way she felt against his chest, the feeling of her breath against his skin. John thought about his lips against hers, he thought about how easily he could close his eyes and recall exactly the way her lips felt, how they were full and soft, the way her lips lightly trembled against his. John realized that his fingers were against his lips, his mouth tingling, he smiled amid thoughts of wanting to kiss Marlena again. John lowered his hand and continued to think about her as he put his socks on his feet, his smile still lingering on his face.

Marlena looked herself over in the mirror, she wore a pair of dark sweatpants, and a sweater from the college she graduated from, her hair was unruly and with it wet and the smell of pizza making her more hungry she threw her mess of curls up and clipped them to the top of her head. She loved wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt; she always loved feeling warm and cozy. Marlena sat on the bed and put warm socks on her feet, her stomach growled and she laughed to herself, the pizza was calling her name and she knew it. Marlena stood from the bed and walked to the bedroom door and opened it, and as she walked into the living room she couldn’t believe her eyes.

John sat on the living room floor in front of the fireplace which contained a roaring fire behind him, he had moved the coffee table out of the way and placed a large blanket on the floor; the pizza box lie in the middle of the blanket along with paper plates and cold bottles of beer. Marlena was speechless, she took a step forward when John noticed her.

“I hope this is okay, I thought you might be a little cold so I started up the fire and since the kitchen is pretty much a lost cause, well, I figured this would be the next practical step.”

“It’s great, John, it’s actually a perfect way to have pizza.” Marlena sat on the floor and John handed a pillow to her for her to rest against. She picked up a slice of hot pizza and began to eat it as John opened a beer for her and handed it to her.

They sat in silence and ate and watched the fire, filling themselves with beer and pizza, chatting idly about things like the weather and things on the television, never mentioning the kiss, yet both longing too. When they were full, they both leaned back and watched the roar of the fire, the crackling noises it made, enjoying the smells it emitted.

“John, thank you.” Marlena looked over at him, the glow of the fire upon his face; she noticed the masculine features it held and his long dark eyelashes, the way his eyes seemed like midnight in the light, almost haunting.

“For what? The pizza? You are the one who thought of it, remember?”

John was being humble, he had a feeling he knew what she meant but all the same, it wasn’t in his manner to accept thanks for things he wanted to do, and  he wanted to do things for her, that and so much more.

Marlena looked away from him and back to the fire, “well, all the same, thank you.” Marlena lifted the beer bottle to her lips as drank the last of it, then, putting it to her side, she pulled her pillow out from under her and propped it against the floor and laid back so that she could still watch the fire, she stretched her legs out against the floor and placed her hands on her stomach, folded atop each other.

John looked down at Marlena from where he sat, she was beautiful in the light of the fire, gorgeous, almost breath taking. Her skin danced against the light of the flames as her beauty shone through, he was quick to notice the way her lips looked pink and full, the way her skin looked delicate, porcelain like.

John cleared the pizza box and their trash from the floor and placed it out of the way, he then laid his pillow close to Marlena’s and he lied down near her on the floor, near her, yet not too close. He watched with her as the flames danced in the fireplace, it was almost hypnotizing the way it cast shadows upon the walls, dancing upon the frame of the fireplace and falling against the walls, filling the room with a peaceful warm feeling.

Marlena lie there, her hands revealing her nervousness as she looked at them, almost uncertain of where she should put them, she looked over at John who had his head propped up on his pillow, his arms folded back, his head resting on his hands, a very masculine pose to take. She recalled how Roman used to lie in the floor much the same way, how most of the men she had ever dated had taken the same stance on the floor, the psychiatrist in her saw it as a defense mechanism, a way to keep distance between the male and whoever they were near. However, the woman in her only wanted to lie her head on John’s chest, to have him put his arms around her, to pull her close to him, to feel his body close to hers, his scent drifting inside her. Marlena quickly focused her attention back to the fire and the noises it was making, trying to think of anything except John beside her, his body so close. Finally she rolled to her side and propped her hand under head and looked at John who then turned his head and looked at her and smiled.

“John, are you still planning on leaving Salem soon?”

She had been thinking it for quite some time, though was never sure how to bring it up, it just seemed like the next logical question to ask him though. She looked at him intently as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and then slowly opened his eyes as he exhaled; he stared into her eyes as if he was looking for his answer inside them.

“I never had any real intentions of staying for a long period in Salem, so to answer your question, yes, Marlena, I am still planning on leaving.”

John had thought long and hard about staying in Salem while he was in the emergency room of the hospital, he had wanted nothing more than to stay there and make a life with Marlena, but after everything that had happened, he realized that her plans weren’t seeming to include him and he finally realized that his life didn’t belong in Salem after all and as much as it pained him, he knew that he would soon have to say goodbye to her. He also realized that his past made it too difficult for him to stay and his mind and his heart had been fighting against each other the past few days, but he knew that the further he pushed her away, the easier it would be for her to walk away from him.

“When do you think you will be leaving?” Marlena asked him as she swallowed hard, fighting to hold back her tears at his brutal honesty, she was hurt to see that he seemed to lack all emotion, and, that after everything they had been through, that he still was going to leave.

“I suppose I will leave after your feeling better and are back on your feet again, I also have to finish up my business at the hospital, but things seem to be moving along very well and fairly quickly there. I would guess within the next three weeks or so.”

John paused for a moment, choosing his next words very carefully.

“Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Marlena blinked quickly, fighting back her tears, yet she perked up when he talked about wanting to speak to her about it, she seemingly held her emotions back as she waited for some glimmer of hope that he would want to stay, or that he would ask her to go with him.

“Yes, John, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I was thinking that when you get back on your feet that you would need a place to stay, well, this house is pretty much furnished, the neighborhood is great and it would be the perfect size for you and your kids and if you like I can call the guy I rented it from and get you a good deal on it.”

Marlena bit hard on her bottom lip as she listened to John, she had to remind herself to breathe at one point as the reality of the situation set in. This was it and it was real, he was leaving without so much as an explanation, he would just leave and act as if nothing had ever happened between the two of them.

“That’s very nice of you John, thank you, I will think about it and let you know.”

John shook his head at her as she stared back at him, her eyes locking onto his, he wanted to reach out and stroke her face, to feel his hands against her soft skin.

“John, why did you never marry?”

Marlena almost bit her tongue when she asked it, she hadn’t meant it to seem so forward, yet part of her wandered it from the moment she met John, after all he seemed to have everything, good looks, charm, money, she was surprised someone hadn’t at least tried to claim him years ago. She watched him turn uncomfortable at her question, he finally lie back down and return to his position of guarded with his hands behind his head.

She watched as he stared up at the ceiling, as if he was contemplating his words before he spoke them. “I’m sorry John. If that was too personal you don’t have to answer it, I suppose I was just curious is all, your such a, well, you’re a very attractive man and any woman would be very lucky to have you as a husband.” She stopped there, she could feel her face become flushed, embarrassed almost, she felt transparent, as if John could sense that she was speaking about what she was feeling. She quickly darted her eyes toward the floor as she felt more and more embarrassed.

“It’s okay, Marlena, its an honest question really, one I have been asked before several times probably. I guess I hear it a lot because of my age, I mean most men my age are married, or at least divorced I suppose.”

John thought to himself as the words came out of his mouth, so many times before he had wanted to be honest about his past, to tell her every deep and dark secret that he held inside himself, but now it seemed hopeless and almost a waste of time to tell her, “but I suppose I don’t really have an answer for you Marlena, I am sorry.”

He tried to count in his head how many times he had lied to Marlena, it seemed almost a silly thing to imagine to him at that moment, but even now, after everything that happened, it still hurt him to know that he was lying to her.

“It’s okay, like I said, I am sorry I even asked. I was just interested in your past, you don’t really talk much about it.”

For once she was being honest with John, she really had no clue about his past, it was almost like he was a stranger, a stranger who seemed not at all interested in revealing anything about himself in the present and certainly nothing about himself in the past.

“I think I told you once that I just don’t talk about my past much, people tend to ask too many questions when you start talking about the past.”

John felt horrible at that moment, it was as if he had told her she asked too many questions and was being nosey, but he had simply meant it as people in general, he didn’t turn to look at her expression, he already knew what it held, one of hurt, and he was immediately sorry for it.

“Marlena, I am glad you allowed me to take care of you for the next couple of weeks, that you trusted in me enough to take care of you.”

Marlena had been hurt at his previous statement, and she felt as though he was trying now to make up for it, she wasn’t sure if she really believed him or not, so she said nothing. She turned from him and finally lay on her back, her wrist tingling from where she had laid on it with her weight for so long.

Marlena wasn’t done though, she had more questions and even though John didn’t seem interested in answering any of them, she decided that wouldn’t stop her from asking them.

“John,” again he turned his head away from the fire and gazed upon her, interested in what she had to say, he knew her well enough that she was going to ask it, he knew she would.

“You have no children, is that right? I know I have asked you about being married, but it never occurred to me to ask you about children.”

Marlena stared him dead in the eye, watched his eyes turn dark, she had crossed the line and she knew it.

“Why are you asking me all of these questions, has something happened?”

John sat up and crossed his legs and stared deep into her eyes, his frustration with her was brimming, and he wasn’t sure where she was going with it. “because if you have something to say then just say it, don’t beat around the bush with me, Marlena, I don’t appreciate you continually asking me questions when I just told you that I didn’t want to talk about my past.”

“But why do you not want to talk about your past?” Marlena quickly sat up, she couldn’t believe that she had never noticed it before, but John was completely defensive about his past, the psychiatrist in her quickly came forward.

“John, did something happen in your past that you are ashamed of?”

“You know, lady, you have a lot of nerve asking me that, for one thing, you don’t even know me, I open my home to you, I try my best to take care of you, I have tried to lo..” John stopped himself before he said it, quickly changing his course, “just because I don’t like to talk about my past, does not mean that I ashamed of it, okay? And I am certainly not one of your patients that you can shrink.”

John was breathing deeply, he was infuriated, he couldn’t believe she was doing this, he eyes strained against the heat of the fire, he felt a wave of sadness come over him because he could believe she was doing this, he was certain she would in fact.

Marlena stared back at him, it was a classic case, he was using his defense mechanisms to blame her, just to avoid talking about it, she thought back over the years, at every patient that done the exact same thing with her.

“You never answered my question, John.”

John cocked his head to the side, “and what question is that Dr. Evans?”

Marlena reached her hand out and placed it atop John’s.

“Do you have any children, John?”

John looked down at her hand, flashes of his son danced in his head, his wife, his unborn child in her growing stomach, flashes of them running in the park, pushing his son in the swing, he could hear her voice, smell her perfume, feel his sons soft skin, his tiny arms around him. John quickly flashed back to the present and looked back at Marlena, his face showing no emotion, it was something he had perfected over the years. He slid his hand from under hers very coldly, he came closer to her, his face within inches of hers.

“No, Dr. Evans, I do not have any children are you happy now?”

John quickly stood up and started to move away from her, his anger seething inside him, yet he felt as if he had betrayed her trust in him, not only had he lied to her, but he also had yet to answer her question about being married, she had just failed to realize it.

Marlena quickly rose behind him, trailing him closely, the look in his eye had told her he was upset with her, but she knew she had to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering him. She saw it in his eyes when he touched her hand, he had gone to a different place, and she needed to help him with that place.

“John, don’t walk away from me.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder and he stopped dead in his tracks.

John took in a deep breath, “Please take your hand off of me.” But Marlena kept her hand there.

John gritted his teeth, tears welling up in his eyes, he blinked quickly, fighting them back. He took in another deep breath and let it out, regaining his stance, one that showed no emotion, he slowly turned and faced Marlena. He walked to her and peered deep into her hazel eyes, frightening her a little with his piercing stare.

“I will tell you this one time, and one time only, just because someone says they do not want to talk about their past doesn’t mean that they harbor deep dark secrets. And I expect you to remember that you are in my house and that I would appreciate it if you treated me with a little more respect. I don’t ask you question about your past, I expect the same in return. Now, if you will excuse me I am going to take a shower, unless there is something else you would like to use your shrink powers to harass me about.”

Marlena shook her head back and forth slowly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Okay then. Now, if you need anything tonight please call my cell phone or come and get me and I will do it for you, now if you will excuse me I am going to my room, is that okay with you.”

Marlena shook her head up and down slowly. John quickly walked past her and into his room, slamming the door behind him, he quickly undressed and sought the escape of a hot shower.

Marlena’s body shook against the slam of John’s bedroom door, tears pouring down her cheeks she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. She finally breathed, slight sobbing escaping from her mouth as her hand quickly covered it. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, she searched her mind for clues, what had he said, what had he done, something wasn’t right, the doctor in her told her that, but more so the woman who loved him told her that something was very off, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Marlena walked into her room and closed the door behind her, she lay on the bed on her side, pulling a pillow to her. ‘What in the hell just happened,’ she said aloud to herself. She had never seen and she certainly never thought John could act like that. Marlena cried into the pillow, she could feel her eyes growing weak and tired, she was sure they were red and swollen.

Just then Marlena quickly sat up as the phone began to ring beside her bed; she stood from the bed, walked over to the phone and picked it up, looking at the caller id she read unknown number, and she wondered to herself who could be calling at such a late hour. Hesitant to answer it she recalled John saying he was going to take a shower and so she quickly hit the answer button.

“Hello?” but there was silence on the other end.

“Hello, is anyone there?” but again there was only silence and then she heard the line click dead. Marlena turned the phone off and sat on the bed with the phone still in her hand, tears still running down her cheeks. Her mind was racing, yet as she looked down at the phone, she only thought about John’s words again, the anger in his voice, how was almost cruel. Marlena looked down at the phone again as it began to ring, again the same unknown name, she quickly answered it.

“Hello?” yet again no one was saying anything.

“Are you looking for someone?” Marlena listened, she could hear breathing, and she knew someone was there, but then the line suddenly went dead again. She furrowed her brow as she wondered again who could be calling, yet still in the back of her mind she thought only of John. Again the phone rang, she looked down at it as she gripped it in her hand, twice it rang, then four times, she held it slowly to her ear and pushed the talk button, but this time Marlena said nothing, this time she only listened, and then after a few moments she was sure that she could hear a woman crying on the other end.

 

Marlena listened intently to the woman’s crying on the other end of the phone, its was barely recognizable, muffled almost.

“Are you okay?” Marlena whispered into the phone, but then the line quickly went dead again. She pulled the phone back and looked at it, held it tightly in her hands, waiting for it to ring again, but nothing. Again she waited, looked at the phone as if she was willing it to ring, but there was only silence.

Worried, Marlena stood from the bed and went to the bedroom door and opened it.

Her feet moved quickly and she found herself at John’s door, she knocked but he didn’t answer her.

“John,” she said loudly and knocked again, but he didn’t answer. She turned the door knob and slowly opened it, peering into the darkness she searched for him, saying his name again, but she was only met with silence. She opened his door wider and walked into his room, from the corner of her eye she could see a light under the door. Marlena walked over to the door and put her head close to it, she could hear his shower running, she bit gently on her bottom lip, unsure of what to do, she was worried about the calls and thought John might need to know about them.

Marlena reached up and placed her hand against the door and it opened slowly against it, she backed up suddenly, the door had not been shut tight and her weight against it caused it to open. Marlena turned to leave but her eye caught John’s reflection in the mirror and she could see his back through the haze, she turned back toward the door and took a step closer her eyes lingering at his reflection in the mirror. Marlena watched as he washed his hair, she watched every movement of his body, then as he turned and rinsed his hair she could see his muscles, the lines they took, the way his skin looked soft and rough at the same time. She closed her eyes and envisioned her hands and mouth upon him, but when she heard the water shut off, her eyes popped open and she could see that John was already out of the shower and had his towel wrapped around his waist and that he was headed straight for the door. There was no time to escape the room, no time to explain anything. She quickly backed up and sat on his bed as he opened the door.

“Marlena,” John stared at her, questioning her name, wondering what she could be doing in his room, he was almost startled by her presence.

Marlena looked down at the phone in her hand, trying not to stare at his wet naked chest, “someone called while you were in the shower but when I answered it they hung up.”

John stared back at her, wondering if this was some strange attempt to grill him about his past. “Was there a number on the id?”

“No, it said unknown name, and then they called back and I could hear breathing but then they hung up again.” Her eyes never rose from the phone, she felt child-like as her fingers toyed at the phone.

“It must have been a wrong number is all,” John walked over to the dresser, his back to her and he began to look through his clothes, searching for something to wear.

“But then they called back again….only that time…it sounded like they were crying.”

John stopped looking through his things and he closed his eyes tightly desperately trying to remember to breathe. John slowly opened his eyes, closed the drawer, turned around and looked at Marlena, her head still down, he moved over to the bed and sat beside her.

“I’m sure it was just a wrong number is all, I am sorry I wasn’t able to answer it but I was in the shower and I didn’t hear it ring.”

He looked over at her, her head still in the same downward position, he could tell that she had been crying and she looked lost to him. The moment that he had gotten into the shower he had felt horrible for talking to her like he had and now, looking back at her, he felt even worse.

John placed his hand on her knee and squeezed it gently, “Marlena,” but she still looked down at the phone. John took his hand from her knee and turned his body toward her slightly, he placed his fingers on her chin and turned her face toward him so that she had to look at him, cautiously she turned her eyes up and looked into his, locking onto his, it was everything she could do not to cry.

“Marlena, I am sorry for the way I acted earlier, I had no right to talk to you the way I did. It’s just that I am not used to anyone asking me a lot of questions and over the years I’ve sort of adapted to being defensive about it because to me the people that do ask, well, they just ask because they are nosey. You know the age old story of the new guy comes into town and everyone wants to know what his deep dark secrets are because everyone thinks you have them, but no one ever stops to think that he could just be some normal boring guy. And then as soon as someone finds out that you are boring, well, they just turn the other way. I suppose its because of that that over the years I have become accustom to not being used to anyone caring enough to ask questions about the real me.”

John took his fingers from Marlena’s chin and paused to see if she would say anything, but she didn’t, her head solemnly falling back to its position her eyes returning to the phone in her hand.

“Marlena, I don’t expect you to understand, I don’t expect you to forgive me for the way I acted earlier, and I don’t expect that you will ever be willing to forget the way I acted, but I want you to know that I am truly sorry for it.”

Marlena felt the tears come from her eyes, drift down her nose, and land upon her hand which still gripped tightly to the phone, she felt badly for the way she treated John earlier, how she just couldn’t let it go and how she kept after him and after him for him to reveal his past to her, she knew had no right to do that to him and after hearing why he had been so defensive it made her feel even worse about it.

“I am the one who should be sorry John, I should have known better than to keep at you like that, I should have stopped when you asked me to.”

More tears fell gently down her face, her fingers still stroking against the telephone, she watched from the corner of her eye as John shifted back from her, turned and put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands; his turning from her revealing to her just how hurt he was.

“I am sorry that I couldn’t just leave it alone and that you thought I was being too nosey.”

Marlena took in a deep breath and let it out, “but John I need you to realize that I ask, not because I am being nosey, and not because I think you have some deep dark secrets in your past, hell, I could care less if you did. ”

John squeezed his eyes shut tightly and burrowed his face deeper in his hands as he continued to listen to her, “but I do need you to realize that I ask because I am interested in you, in getting to know the real you, I ask because I care about you John, I ask because I care about the real you, I want to know everything about you, including your boring past. I am sorry if you confused it with me shrinking you, because that wasn’t my intentions at all. My intentions were and always have been to do everything I can to show you that I am not taking this for granted, that I am not taking you for granted, and that I am not taking us for granted. I ask because,” Marlena closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, “I ask because I love you, John.”

John opened his eyes and quickly lifted his head from his hands and turned and looked at her, her head still down, her hands still gripping the phone.

“What did you say?” he asked as his hands cupped her face and lifted it to look at him.

Marlena’s eyes quickly locked onto John’s.

“I said that I love you. I love you very much, John Black.”  Marlena told him, her red swollen eyes and tear stained face smiling back at him.

John closed his eyes and breathed deeply over and over, his hands cupping her face, he opened his eyes and stared back at her, he then brought his forehead to hers and rested it against it, he breathed her in and smiled as, “I love you,” fell from his mouth with ease. He felt the warmth of her skin against his forehead, the softness of her cheeks against his hands, he wanted to make love to her, but he knew before he did that he had to be completely honest with her.

“But Marlena, there is something I have to tell you.”

Marlena lifted her forehead from against his, and stared back into his blue eyes, she lifted her fingers and placed it against his lips, “shhh, you don’t have to tell me anything John, not tonight.” Marlena lowered her fingers from his mouth and quickly brought her lips to his and connected with him slowly, her hands running to the back of his neck, tears falling from her eyes as she realized how much she had missed the close contact with his skin. John kissed her back, breathed her in more, experienced her tongue as if it were the first time he had tasted her as it slid into his mouth, his hands felt her cheeks, and then he stopped her and pulled her back. Marlena looked back at him, questioning him with her eyes.

John looked down and took the phone from her hands and placed it on the table beside the bed, then he stood in front of her and knelt down. His hands ran up her thighs as he slowly spread her legs apart and moved closer into her, his mouth returning to hers as his hands gripped her thighs loosely. Marlena’s hands went to John’s face and cupped his cheeks, her tongue running against his as if she couldn’t kiss him deep enough or long enough. John ran his hands up her thighs against her sweatpants, he pulled back from her lips and whispered to her, “lie back.”

He looked upon her as she lie back and stared into his soft eyes, slowly he pulled at her bottoms and freed her from them, revealing her black silk panties, he tossed her sweatpants to the floor and returned his hands to the soft flesh of her smooth thighs, slowly moving up the length of them, enjoying every inch of her skin, he slowly pushed her thighs apart further and brought his fingers to the front of her panties, tracing the outlines of them, across and up and down, enjoying the feel and coolness of them against her skin. John looked at Marlena as she still lie back against the bed, her bottom near the edge, her face revealing her enjoyment of his hands upon her.

Marlena bit gently on her bottom lip as she raised her hips each time his fingers came close to her centre, he looked into her eyes and smiled at her, then, returning his eyes back to her panties. His fingers traveled to her centre, brushing against her clit as he leaned down and brought his mouth to her inner thigh, he open his mouth and kissed her flesh, his tongue tasting her creamy thigh. Marlena moaned gently, her hand finding his head, her fingers intertwining in his hair, her other hand rising to her face, as if it could steady her against him. John continued to move his fingers against her panties, against her clit, quicker he moved as his mouth kissed higher upon her thigh, he tasted every inch of her thigh until he reached her panties, quickly replacing his fingers with his mouth. His mouth lingered against her silk panties, his hot moist breath hitting against her clit. John slid his tongue from his mouth and licked against the cool fabric of her panties, causing Marlena to grip his hair tighter as she thrusted against his mouth, moans escaping her lips.

John’s hands gripped Marlena’s thighs as he breathed her sweet scent in, her juices soaking through her panties. His tongue darted forth against the cool fabric as he tasted her, his hands moving up her thighs. Marlena’s hand grasped against his hair more as one of John’s hands raised and she quickly brought her hand down from her hair and gripped his hand, her fingers intertwining within his. John’s free hand moved to below his mouth and he gently pushed her panties to the side slowly sliding his fingers easily inside her, causing her to moan loudly as her hand gripped his tighter. John sucked against the silk fabric that glistened against her, his suction easily finding her clit, his tongue moving back and forth against it as his fingers began to move in and out of her tight wetness.

John quickly brought his thumb up and pushed her panties more to the side so his mouth and tongue could taste her flesh, her clit burning and throbbing for his close contact, he quickly attached his mouth to her clit causing her to moan out his name, her hand gripping his hair tighter as she pulled him closer against her clit. Marlena thrusted continually as John sucked against her clit, his tongue darting forward over and over to taste her, feel her, bring her to an orgasm. John worked his fingers deep inside her, her tight walls encasing him, her moans becoming louder until she finally cried out his name and her body stiffened beneath his mouth, tongue, and fingers, tears coming from the corners of her eyes as she whispered over and over how much she loved him as John drank her juices, his tongue tasting every last bit that poured from her, his hand never leaving hers.

As Marlena’s body finally relaxed beneath his touch, John slipped his fingers from within her and tenderly removed her panties from her. Marlena sat up and he slipped her sweatshirt from her head and stared back at her, still knelt before her, his eyes took in her flesh, her bra holding in her full breasts as they plunged from beneath it, the creamy whiteness that they were. His hand instinctively traveled to her shoulder, outlining her skin as he traveled to the top of her bra his fingers traveling across the tops of her full breasts.

Marlena reached her hands forward and placed them on John’s shoulders, she looked down at his naked chest and her hands moved as he moved his, over the tops, down the sides, across the front as they stared at each other, into each other, they enjoyed each moment as if it had been too long.

John leaned into Marlena and kissed her cheek. He then slid his cheek against hers and placed his mouth near her ear and whispered, “I love you,” as he moved back he felt Marlena’s hands on his back, pulling him back toward her. Her lips parted gently as her hand moved to his chin, turning his face towards her, her mouth parted more and her tongue came forward and she licked his lips lightly.

She tasted his bottom lip as her hand lowered to his chest, feeling his muscles against her hand, she continued to lower it across his stomach and then she quickly removed his towel and it fell to the floor. Her tongue released from his lip and she brought her mouth to his ear. Marlena’s tongue came forward and she pulled his earlobe into her mouth, sucking it gently, as she released it she whispered into his ear to stand up.

John rose from the floor and stood naked before her, he looked down at Marlena who raised her hands to his thigh, raking her nails up them, causing his already hard cock to become harder. Her mouth came forward and she licked thetip of his cock, John’s eyes closing tightly, his breath catching in his throat, Marlena then took him full in her mouth, her hands coming up and stroking his cock as her mouth sucked and tightened on him. John’s hands traveled into her hair, his head falling back as Marlena gripped tighter on him, sucked tighter on him; her hands reached around and grabbed his ass, her nails sinking in his flesh. John moaned as his hips began to work toward her mouth, his hands leading her faster on his hard cock, it throbbed inside her mouth aching to release.

“Marlena, I want to be inside you,” but Marlena sucked harder on his cock, then John pulled at Marlena’s hair trying to stop her, he was so close to coming.

“Please, I want to cum inside you,” he told her again. Marlena looked up at him and pulled her mouth from John.

“But John, you are inside me,” she didn’t wait for his reaction, her mouth quickly returning to his cock her hands following suit, she brought as much of him as she could into his mouth, her tongue tasting him, her hands moving and working with her mouth as she sucked on him back and forth. John’s plunged forward one last time into her mouth and his hands tightened against her hair as he shot his hot cum inside her mouth, Marlena slowly sucking as he emptied himself inside her mouth. John’s body shook at the powerful release he felt as he moaned her name over and over.

Marlena released her mouth from John and she looked up him, he smiled at her and leaned down and kissed her lips gently, pulled back and stared into her hazel eyes, “you are so beautiful,” and he kissed her softly once more and pulled her up from the bed.

“Marlena, will you sleep here with me tonight?”

Marlena looked back at him, the smile falling from her lips, she took a deep breath inside her lungs and looked deep into his blue eyes.

“I’m sorry John, but I can’t do that.”

 

John stared into Marlena eyes questioning her with them because when he had asked her to sleep with him she had told him no. He was shocked and hurt; he didn’t and couldn’t understand, after everything that had just happened between them it seemed to him that she still wasn’t willing to forgive him for the way he had acted earlier.

“I understand.”  John lowered his head and backed away from her, his hands falling from hers.

Marlena reached her hand out quickly and grabbed John’s, pulling him back towards her.

“No, I don’t think you do,” she told him as she took John’s hands in hers and pulled him with her as she backed up, he followed her as they moved from the guest bedroom, across the living room, and then into the bedroom, Marlena closed the bedroom door behind them and looked into his eyes. “Now do you understand?”

John looked at her perplexed, afraid to admit to her that he didn’t, she smiled at him and squeezed her hands against his.

“I want to sleep with you John, but I want it to be in your bed, not in the guest bedroom. I want to sleep with you in the bed where we made love all night, in the place where you held me and talked to me. I want to sleep in this bed with you, beside you all night, and I don’t want you to let me go.”

She took a slight breath in and took a step toward him; she looked longingly into his eyes and whispered to him, “I don’t want you to ever let me go, John.”

Finally John understood, he was taken aback by her honesty, yet he was so grateful for it. John quickly put his arms around Marlena and pulled her close to him, her arms wrapping around him as she burrowed her face against the soft curls on his chest, she was immediately intoxicated by his warm scent. They stood and held each other tight, their hearts beating against the others, their skin becoming flushed at the feelings they were experiencing.

John slowly moved his hands up Marlena’s back, his fingertips grazing her soft dewy skin, and he delicately unfastened her bra. She smiled softly against his chest and then stepped back as his hands moved to her shoulders, John methodically pulled each strap down her arms until her bra fell from her breasts and to the floor.

Moving against Marlena’s skin, John’s fingers traveled easily back up to her bare shoulders; he enjoyed each lingering moment he could with her skin, the softness of it, the feel of it, the intensity of each moment that he experienced whenever he was near her, beside her, against her. John’s eyes followed his fingertips as they traveled slowly up her neck and to her cheeks, his hands held to her face as he leaned in and kissed her lips, stopping to feel the softness of them, the warmth of them against his own.

John pulled back from Marlena’s lips, took her hands in his, and led them both to the bed. John pulled the covers back and they both eased in beside each other as he lie back on the bed and pulled her to him, her head lying on his chest, her arm draped over him. John placed both arms around her, one of his hands moving up and down her arm while the other was securely under her.

Marlena snuggled in closer to John, placing small kisses along his chest. Marlena raised her head and propped it on top her hand on John’s chest, her other hand also resting against his chest as her fingers drew small circles in his chest hair, looping the curls under her fingertips. She stared into his eyes and smiled at him as his chest rose and fell with each breath.

“What are you thinking about?” Marlena asked him as she continued to run her fingertips along his chest hair.

“About you.” John replied as his hand moved to her back, moving up and down it, gently caressing her skin, he watched as her expression changed, her smiled got brighter, her skin glowed at his reply, causing him to smile at her in return.

“John, really, I am serious, what are you thinking about?”

John moved his hand up and placed it on her shoulder, his touch infectiously causing Marlena to tighten up against it.

“Marlena, I am being serious, I was…I am…thinking about you…about us.” John placed his fingers in her hair and brushed it back from her face, tucking the long blonde strands behind her ear. He watched as she instinctively closed her eyes whenever his skin came into contact with hers.

“You believe me, don’t you Marlena?”

Marlena shook her head yes at him, opening her eyes and locking hers onto his blue eyes, the glow from the television still lit the room and cast reflections upon his face, it was the kind of thing that was made her want to fall in love with the him all over again.

“Of course I believe you,” she paused for a moment, she had wanted to ask him more, but didn’t want to seem intrusive, she smile at him again, watching him return her smile as he continued to run his fingers along the length of her hair.

“Ask me.” he said as he looked her straight in the eyes, honesty blaring through his and into hers.

“Ask you what?” she replied as she bit on her lip, she knew exactly what he meant, she was just playing her shy self at the moment.

John moved his fingers from her hair and to her cheek, running his long thick fingers up the side of her cheek, he breathed in deeply and let it out.

“Ask me what I what I was thinking about you.” he smiled so she would know he wasn’t thinking she was being nosey, because in the back of his mind he had made a mental note to never make her feel that way again. He rose is eyebrows and shook his head yes as she raised hers, as if asking if it were okay if she asked, something he found cute and welcoming.

“Okay, what was it that you were thinking about me, about us?”

Marlena waited, trying not to hold her breath in anticipation of what he would he would say, while she was happy he was finally opening up to her, deep in her stomach she was nervous at what he might say, or might not say.

John returned to rubbing her back up and down with one hand while his other continued to play with her hair, his eyes never leaving hers and if they did it was to take in the beauty of her face.

“I was thinking about what you asked me earlier, about how long I was going to stay in Salem and how I told you that as soon as you were feeling better that I would be leaving.”

Marlena’s stomach grew more nervous, but she said nothing, only listened, biting her lip occasionally, her fingers finally settling against his chest, rising and falling with it with each breath his took.

“You see, before I came here I wasn’t really anywhere for very long, I came and I went, mostly because of work. I never became close to anyone, for years in fact I would move into a town and take care of business, but as soon it was done, and sometimes before it was ever done, I would leave just as quickly as I came. I never made relationships with the people in those towns, because for me it’s easier to walk from nothing than it is to walk away from something.”

John flashed quickly into his memory of suitcase unpacking and packing, of living in hotels and rented houses, much like this one, of faces and no names, but then he quickly focused back on Marlena and he watched her eyes upon him, studying him, but not as psychiatrist, it was more than that, so much more, he pulled her against him closer, enjoying the feel of her flesh against his.

“You see, in the past some odd years, I can not remember a single town that I have come to that I have wanted to stay in, and when I came here to Salem, it was no different.”

Marlena swiftly closed her eyes and re-opened them, she wasn’t sure why he was telling her all of this again, she wondered if he enjoyed torturing her, crushing her more and more, and yet she still said nothing, her eyes fixed upon his, upon his mouth, upon his face.

“Its funny because my first day in Salem wasn’t your typical first day. Most towns I surfaced in I was in meetings and I never had time for much else, but my very first day in Salem, Laura Horton invited me to dinner.”

Marlena laughed along with John, his chest rising continually as he did, Marlena’s head bobbing against his chest.

“She is definitely up front, but she is definitely a keeper, that’s for sure.”

Marlena told him between her giggling.

“Yes, that is for sure, because if I hadn’t accepted, I would have never met you.” John smiled at her.

“Yeah and I never would have thrown up all over you that night either,” Marlena giggled, still embarrassed at the thought.

John quickly placed his hand on her cheek and steadied her, his eyes locking onto hers, “If I had never met you that night, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of being able to see the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. I never would have been able to have the pleasure of talking to the most beautiful woman I have ever spoken with, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to dance with the most beautiful woman I have ever danced with.”

John moved his thumb against Marlena’s cheek, wiping the tear that had fallen, “and because I was too stupid to realize just how lucky I was…just how lucky I am, I almost let you slip away. I won’t make that same mistake twice Marlena.”

Marlena stared back at him through tears in her eyes, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing coming from his mouth, such tenderness in his voice, such caring, such honesty, yet there was still a part of her that needed reassurance, she needed to hear him say it, all of it.

“What exactly are you trying to say John?”

His hand still on her cheek, he brought his lips to hers and brushed them against the softness that folded between them and then he eased back and looked into her eyes.

“I am saying that in two weeks, when you are back to your charming self again, that I would like to stay right here in Salem, right here with you, right here getting to know more about you and your life. I am saying that I could never walk away from you, not even if I tried, I realize that now, maybe I always had realized it, I guess I was just too wrapped up in other things to see what was right in front of my face. So, what I am exactly trying to say is that I love you and I want to stay here with you.”

John paused momentarily, dropping his eyes from hers, “if that’s okay with you that is.”

Marlena smiled widely, tears falling onto and down John’s fingers, her smile beaming against his palm.

“If that’s okay? If that’s okay, John? That is more than okay, that is wonderful, I couldn’t think of anything that would make me happier than for you to stay here in Salem with me.”

John’s smile reflected hers, he closed his eyes and breathed in an air of relief, relief that she wanted the same things he did, sought out the same reassurances he did, he brought his eyes to hers.

“Well you know, Marlena,” he leaned in and kissed her softly once more, “I can think of something that might just put a smile on your face and make you happier.” He winked at her as she smirked at him. Marlena leaned upward and towards John’s mouth, kissing him, moaning in anticipation, letting him know she was willing and ready for whatever he had in mind.

John rolled Marlena to her back and moved his body gently atop hers, his mouth greeting hers slowly with anticipation and want. His kissed her slowly, tasting her lips, her tongue, her mouth. Marlena’s hands moved against his back in long fluid strokes, pulling him closer against her, the urgency in her body swelling in want and need, her desire for him unending. John moved his mouth to her cheek and he placed light kisses upon her skin, he then kissed her neck and her chin, his tongue moistening her skin. He kissed her forehead and eyelids, and finally he kissed the tip of her nose. Returning his lips to hers, taking her lips against his, kissing her hard on the mouth John’s hand traveled to her breast, his fingers grazing her nipple lightly as it became hard, his hand then grasping gently against her full breast.

Marlena quickly wrapped her legs around his, feeling the muscles in his legs contract against hers as she gripped them tightly, thrusting her hot wet centre against him. John parted his lips as Marlena’s tongue darted forth and inside John’s mouth, taking his tongue against hers, she kissed him deeply as her hands grabbed to his face and pulled him tighter against her mouth.

Marlena moaned against John’s mouth, her fingers running into his hair, pulling against it, she quickly moved one hand between them and grabbed to his hard throbbing cock and thrust her hips up and slid him inside her wet cunt. Her wetness encasing him immediately, he thrust deeply, hurriedly inside her, her tightness enrapturing his cock as they both bit against each others lips in hunger. Marlena’s breaths increased faster and faster against his mouth as John thrust himself deeper inside Marlena as she moved her hands to his back and pulled against him. John’s mouth quickly returned to Marlena’s, their tongues fighting against the other’s in desperation.

John began to slowly thrust deeper himself inside Marlena, over and over he moved inside her, as she met him with thrust after thrust. Marlena sank her nails into John’s back and he increased his speed, Marlena matching his speed equally, she removed her mouth from his and John brought his face against her neck, sucking lightly as moans escaped louder from her lips, her teeth biting against his shoulder. Marlena gasped loudly when John lie his body further into hers, his pelvis sinking against her clit, he moved faster and harder within her as she gripped tighter against him, her mouth quickly removed from his shoulder and she cried out loudly as her orgasm rocked throughout her body, her legs gripping against his with force as she thrust her hips high allowing John to rock against her clit her body seemingly betraying her against the emotions and intensity that she was experiencing. Her body told her fight against it, yet she let go and allowed John to give her more pleasure, over and over he rocked against her, inside her, within her, her orgasm radiating from her toes to her head. John quickly thrust several times more and then shot his cum deep inside Marlena, releasing himself, giving everything to her, his tongue tasting her sweet salty neck as he loved her completely.

They breathed deeply against each other, fighting to regain their composure as they smiled and laughed against the other’s skin. Theirs was a pure happiness, one of enjoyment, passion, fulfilling pleasure. John gently removed himself from inside Marlena and rolled to his back, pulling her to him, her head returning to his chest. There they laid and listened to each other’s breathing, each others hearts beating, until Marlena fell asleep in his arms. Occasionally John looked down into her face, her sleeping eyes, her beauty; he would run his fingers against her blonde hair and he would kiss the top of her head as mostly he just enjoyed the comfort and familiarity of her in his arms. Finally, John laid his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes, welcoming the peaceful sleep that quickly overtook his body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moments later, on the other side of the house, behind closed doors and through the quietness of the house, the telephone left behind on the guest bedroom table began to ring over and over until the answering machine in the living room came on. A woman’s voice left a message, a woman’s voice that was not heard by a sleeping John and Marlena, a woman’s voice that quietly cried into the phone, a woman’s voice who whispered things like husband and children, a woman’s voice who begged and pleaded, and a woman’s voice that finally stated that she would be at that very house in four days time and then she quickly hung up. Her voice would be a haunting reminder of what was to come, and the flashing red light on the answering machine would be the only indication that she was ever in that room.

Early morning came and John woke with Marlena still in his arms, the light barely shining through the windows and into his eyes, he smiled at the thoughts of the evening and of waking with her in his arms. John pulled her close to him, enjoying her hair in his face, the smell of it, her breasts pushed into his side, he felt her leg raise and move atop his and he felt himself get hard immediately. His lips turning upward at the fact that she only needed to move against him to turn him on, he smiled more at the thought that she was asleep and didn’t even have a clue what she did to him in his sleep. He lightly chuckled but then stopped, afraid he would wake her as he continued to hold her, to enjoy her, to enjoy these moments with her.

Marlena was awake though, she had been awake off and on for some time as she listened to him breathe, and now she enjoyed his fingers in her hair and his lips on her head. She enjoyed the sound of his laugh and smiled as she knew what it came from, and then she enjoyed the comfort as he allowed her to sleep, because she knew he thought she was asleep and that mattered to her, she enjoyed his comfort, his gentleness, his gentle care for her. Marlena felt him pull her closer to him and she snuggled closer to him, her leg rising more and pushing against his hard cock, she felt his hand come to her thigh and began to stroke it easily. Marlena bit gently against her bottom lip as her hand moved across his chest feeling his soft hairs and hard nipples under her hand she slightly thrusted her centre against his thigh. She had a desire for him that burned deep within her.

Marlena lifted her head and looked up at John and she smiled at him and he smiled back at her, then she lie her hand open against his still hard cock and she brought her lips forward and towards his, she opened her mouth more and kissed him until she felt John’s arms come up and around her, until she felt his tongue come free from his mouth and into hers, her heart increasing as he reacted to her. His cock became rock hard against her hand as she encased her fingers around it, pre-cum ravishing her soft glistening fingers.

John moved his hand to her chest and gripped her large breasts, her nipples

like a prize to his fingertips as he tweaked them gently. He quickly and

hungrily rolled Marlena to her back and climbed atop of her, his mouth finding

her soft full breasts, his tongue darting forth and tasting her hard pink

nipples. He sucked and bit at them until they were swollen as she pushed and

pulled at his head, wanting more, as he sent waves of pleasure throughout her

body. His soft wet tongue explored each nipple, nothing being rushed about it

as he lingered and tasted and craved the flesh of their hard pinkness,

squeezing each breast, taking it in his mouth as if he could not get enough. He

lie between her legs and she thrust her already wet centre against his upper

body, her wetness increasing with each thrust, she was sure she would cum with

him never coming near her dripping wet cunt.

Marlena whispered John’s name over and over as she increasingly craved him more

and more, John’s attention to her breasts causing them both to grow more

veracious. His hands explored her breasts more and more, as if they had

forgotten every last inch and wanted to become familiar once again, John took

her breast full into his mouth once again as he rolled to the side of her, his

hand easily and gently sliding down to her cunt. Marlena gripped John’s hair

tighter as she thrust her pelvis up against his hand as if leading him exactly

where she wanted him to be. John’s hand quickly moved to her clit, across it,

and down to feel her juices flowing freely from her, he easily slid his finger

inside her as he continued to suck at her breast marking her lightly along the

outside of her nipple.

John quickly slid his finger out and rubbed her juices on her clit, and then

quickly moved two fingers back inside her, deep inside her, as he moved in and

out, his palm moving against her clit as he did. Marlena thrusted against his

hand as he moved quickly, she pulled against his hair pushing his mouth further

onto her breast. Faster John plunged his fingers in and out of her, causing her

to moan loudly, her orgasm starting come forward fast and hard, Marlena quickly

let go of John’s hair and grabbed his hand and stopped him.

John broke free from her breast and looked up at her, he knew what she

wanted, he remembered the look well, John smiled at her, he knew she wanted him

inside her. He quickly crawled more atop her, kissed her lips, and looked at

her as her eyes begged him, and his hard cock pressed against her dripping wet

cunt, she quickly lifted her hips and he slid his cock just inside her and

stopped. Then John released himself from her and slid back inside her once

again, but this time he slide deep inside her, filling her full as she gasped,

her mouth sinking against his shoulder, burying her teeth in his flesh to keep

from crying out. She wanted to move, to feel him move in and out of her, but he

brought his hands to her face and stared into her eyes, he whispered to her to

not move, to let him feel her, for her to feel him. Marlena’s lips trembled, as

John brought his lips to hers and kissed her lightly. John lingered momentarily

and then thrusted deeper within her and then stopped, Marlena again began to

move, but again he told her not to. Again he kissed her gently on the lips, her

tongue coming forth and licking his bottom lip, sucking on it gently. The

sensations Marlena was feeling was too much, with John’s weight against her

clit and his hard cock deep within her, her trembling voice finally begged him

to make her cum.

John thrust deeper inside Marlena as he kissed her long and hard; gently he

rocked against her, his pelvis hitting her clit with each sinuous motion. Then

John stopped and removed his cock from her, and quickly moved down her body,

“John, please,” she begged him with an urgency deep within her voice, she

needed and longed to have him inside her, to allow her the release she

desperately sought.

John raised her thighs and buried his face deep in her cunt, as Marlena grabbed

his hair and forced him deep inside her. John plunged his tongue deeper in her

tight wet cunt and then back out, immediately his mouth seeking out her clit,

sucking over and over as his fingers then plunged deep into her, Marlena began

to thrust against his fingers but John stopped her, “let me do all the work,”

and she nodded quickly, biting her lower lip. John again sucked hard on her

clit, his tongue flicking against it quickly, as he sucked repeatedly, his

fingers plunging deep inside her over and over, Marlena couldn’t stand it any

longer and as John removed his fingers and plunged his tongue deep inside her

and his fingers rubbed quickly against her clit she grabbed at his hair and thrust

her cunt hard against his mouth, her orgasm exploding as she screamed out his

name. Over and over she thrust as it exploded throughout her body, she couldn’t

get enough as her walls encased John’s tongue, her juices flowing from her as

he sucked and licked her dry, his hand squeezing at her thighs as his fingers

moved gently against her swollen clit.

Finally she calmed as John moved back up to her mouth, “your amazing,” she

whispered against his mouth, her tongue going into his mouth, tasting herself

on him. She kissed him intensely as she felt his hard cock hit against her

thigh, she brought her hand down and grabbed his cock and slid it easily inside

her, immediately thrusting her hips, grabbing his ass and plunging him deep

within her. John closed his eyes and moaned against her mouth, “just let me do

all the work,” she whispered to him, smiling. Marlena pulled his hips back

sliding him out, and plunged him deeper inside her, hitting her swollen

sensitive clit over and over. She moved him hard, slow, and then fast as John’s

cock grew harder filling her full, her tight walls throbbing against his full

cock. John reached his hand up and squeezed her breast, and then his hand moved

to her ass and he squeezed at it as he began to move within her faster, but

then she stopped moving, “I said let me do all the work John,” Marlena

immediately flipped John over and onto his back as she sat atop of him, leaned

forward, and kissed his mouth, she rocked her cunt against his cock slowly as

she felt another orgasm building within her.

John reached up and put his hands in her soft blonde hair, and pushed it back

and pulled her ear to his mouth, “I want you to cum for me again,” and he

returned her lips to his as she rocked harder against his cock, her clit moving

forcefully against him as John squeezed at her full tight breasts, she thrust

him deeper inside her over and over, his cock plunging deep within her. Marlena

moaned into his mouth, threw her legs back atop his, and lie on him as she

continued to plunge him inside her, her breasts pushing against his chest. She

bit gently on his lower lip as she rocked as hard as she could, her clit

swollen and her body yearning for him to not only make her cum but to make him

cum as well. John quickly flipped her back over and grabbed to her ass and

plunged his hard cock deep inside her, his body falling atop hers, he moved

deep and he moved with ease, her nails digging in his back as she screamed yes

over and over. Her orgasm burst from within her as it consumed her body, took her

raw and ragged, it enveloped her, her body afire as she bit her lip and tears

poured from her eyes. Again John plunged deep inside her and with one last

thrust he exploded deep inside her, he came over and over inside her, emptying

until he had nothing left to give.

They breathed deeply, sweat pouring from their bodies, their hearts beating

quickly in sink; John looked down at Marlena and kissed her quickly, his tongue

moving inside her mouth and as he pulled back he looked deep into her eyes, “I

have missed you so much, so very much.” He lifted his hand and his fingers

moved to her lips, shaking slightly he traced the outlines of them, “never in

my life have I ever experienced what I experience with you, and I can not let

you go,” Marlena blinked against the tears that came to her eyes, “I love you

Marlena, I love you and I want you to be here every morning when I wake up and

I want you to be here every night when I go to bed. I want to take care of you

and I want to build a life with you,” John stopped short of saying anything

more, he felt that maybe he already said too much and it was too overwhelming

for her. He moved gently from atop her and lay on his side as she turned and

laid on hers, both of them propping their head on their elbow as they looked

into each others eyes; Marlena immediately sensed John’s uneasiness.

“John, is something bothering you, you’re not reconsidering what you told me

last night about wanting to stay here are you, because you stopped so suddenly

with your sentence. I mean, if you’re reconsidering I wish you would just tell

me now.” Marlena stared back at him, her eyes never leaving his, she didn’t

want to give him the chance to look away, to think twice, she needed him to say

what was in his heart, to be there with her in that moment.

John looked into her eyes, into her, he swallowed hard as he realized that he

needed to be honest with her he reached out and took her hand in his and

caressed her fingers lightly, “Marlena, I know that we haven’t know each other

for very long, but I know that not a single moment goes by that I don’t think

about you and when I am not with you I am wishing I was. I can’t imagine

leaving Salem and leaving you behind. I haven’t changed my mind, I just want

you to know that I am in this for the long haul, or at least as long as you can

stand me.” John smiled at her, the moment he tried to be honest with her, she

took it completely wrong, though he couldn’t blame her, he knew the time would

come when he had to be honest with her and the fact that she may be the one to

walk away from him weighed heavily on his mind.

Marlena smiled and hit him playfully, “gosh John don’t do that to me, you

scared me there for a moment.”

John just stared into her eyes and smiled softly, thinking to himself about how

scared she really would be if she knew the truth about his past, about his

life, “I love you, Marlena.”

Marlena smiled, she was still getting used to hearing John say that he loved

her, it had been so long and she had all but given up hope that he would say it

again. “I love you too John.”

John’s hand cupped Marlena’s face as he leaned in toward her and kissed her

lips, then backed away.

“Marlena,” John whispered and when he looked into her eyes he smiled gently,

his fingers running along her face causing a smile to emit from her lips.

“Mmmhmm,” she muttered, closing her eyes against John’s touch.

“You are so beautiful,” he watched her become shy, her eyes do this little

roll, suggesting he was crazy, but he knew that she realized he had meant it,

and he had.

“John.”

“Yes Marlena.”

“I’m starving.” She smiled widely and John laughed at her statement.

“Well then beautiful let me take you out for breakfast, what do you say, is it

a date.”

Marlena smiled again, she couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled so

much, “it’s a date.”

“Wonderful, so, I will pick you up in an hour, what do you say.”

“Pick me up…in an hour…but…”

“That’s right, I will pick you up in an hour, so be ready, okay. And when I

bring you home I would love to surprise you with something special for dinner.”

“Are you going to burn it again,” Marlena laughed loudly, her head throwing

back.

John reached under the covers and swatted lightly at Marlena’s ass, causing her

to bite down on her bottom lip, “mmm, that sounds wonderful John.” John moved

his hand from her ass to her thigh, moving it in slow long strokes up and down

her thigh, “I would love to go out for breakfast and I would love to have

dinner with you as well.”

John moved his hand up past her hip and to her breast where he slowly, gently

outlined her nipple as it grew hard against his fingers.

“And after dinner,” John removed his fingers from her nipple and quickly moved

his hand down to her clit “I am going to make love to you…” He began to rub

her clit harder, his body coming closer to her causing her to lie on her back,

he gripped her thigh and pulled it toward him, spreading her legs apart, “…all

night,” his fingers slowly moved up her thigh and found her clit again, and he

gently rubbed its swollen flesh.

Marlena gasped against his touch, despite her being sensitive she wanted him

desperately again. She swallowed hard, “yes…I…would love that…John,” she bit

her bottom lip and gasped slightly as John slid his finger inside her, “John,”

she whispered his name as he brought his mouth to her nipple, his tongue coming

out and drawing her nipple into his mouth, he sucked lightly against it and

then released it.

John released his mouth from her nipple and looked up at her, “And so a

breakfast date is okay as well,” he asked as he felt her juices continue to

pour from her, her walls continuing to get tighter against his finger, he

slowly slid another finger inside her and worked them in and out as her hips

started to thrust against his fingers.

“yes, oh god yes,” she moaned as his tongue returned to lick her nipple.

“And you can be ready in…fifty minutes,” he smiled against her nipple.

“what,” she looked over at him and his devious smile.

“well, about ten minutes ago I asked you if you could go to breakfast in an hour

and you said yes, so, I assumed you were still up for it,”

“John Black you have got to be kidding me,”

“well, you’re the one who said you were hungry and I really wanted to take you

out for breakfast, somewhere nice, like a real date.”

“Well that’s great but aren’t we kind of in the middle of something here…can’t

we leave …a little later,”

“Unfortunately the place I want to take you stops serving breakfast early and I

really wanted to take you there,” John looked at her with a devious smile on

his face, “it would really mean a lot to me if you would let me take you.” He

again started to move his fingers inside her, Marlena’s mouth coming slightly

open when he did it with a low deep moan escaping her mouth, “would that be

okay, can you be ready to go in…45 minutes.”

Marlena smiled at John, she raised her hands to her breasts and squeezed them

gently, her fingertips circling her nipples, she moaned against it, her hips

continuing to thrust against John’s fingers, she looked over at him and slowly

licked her upper lip, “I think I can manage forty five minutes John,” she

lowered one hand from her breast and placed it atop John’s hand between her

legs, she helped him move within her; she pushed his palm against her clit and

thrust her hips harder. “The question is…,” Marlena removed her other hand from

her breast and grabbed John’s cock, “…can you manage.” She began to quickly

stroke his cock as it became harder against her hand.

Marlena stopped his hand and pulled his fingers from with her, she then slid her

hand down and plunged her fingers inside her wet cunt and quickly removed them,

she brought her wet fingers to his mouth and encircled his lips until they were

fully wet causing his mouth to drop open and moan loudly. Marlena’s tongue came

forward and licked John’s lips slowly, “so, do you think you can manage, oh,

forty minutes John,” she brought her wet fingers to his cock and stroked him

continuously, her juices covering him.

John’s tongue darted forth and captured Marlena’s lips, sliding past them and

into her mouth, he grabbed her hands from his cock and climbed on top of her,

lifting her hands over her head and pushing them into the bed. His cock slid

deeply inside her, her eyes closing against the pleasure and the intensity of

it as she cried out. John thrust inside her over and over as he kissed her

mouth, her tongue longing to taste every inch of his, he slid his fingers up

and into hers and held tightly to her hands as she wrapped her legs around his

thighs. Marlena thrust up and down as John plunged his cock in and out of her,

rocking faster against her clit she exploded against him her orgasm screaming

throughout her body as she bit down on his lip, John thrust once more into her

and he burst his hot cum deep inside her, filling her deep and full.

John lie his body gently atop hers, feeling her breasts against his chest,

enjoying the rapid pace of Marlena’s heart mixed with his. “Yes,” john replied.

“Yes what,” Marlena questioned him.

“Yes I think I can handle forty minutes,” John laughed against her as he

felt her laugh with him.

<p>Chapter</p> 36

“John” Marlena called out as she emerged from the

bathroom. “John are you ready,” again she called out. She picked up her

lightweight jacket and slipped it on as she stepped into the living room. She

peered around the room but still he was nowhere in sight, causing her to furrow

her brow as she wondered where he was. “You are going to cause me to miss

breakfast and then all hell may break loose,” she spoke softly and chuckled to

herself as she crossed the living room and stepped into the guest bedroom and

noticed he wasn’t there either. A soft knock on the door caused her to turn and

walk through the doorway, but then suddenly she stopped and grabbed hold of the

frame, steadying herself quickly as the room began to spin. Her fingers

immediately traveled to her forehead and pressed against the small scar that

had begun to form, a result that was left over from her fall. She took a few

deep breaths as she realized she had probably been doing too much the last

couple of days and it had finally caught up with her. Again she heard a soft

knock on the door, she steadied herself once more, and then walked to the front

door.

She opened the door and smiled as she saw John

standing there with a bouquet of lilies. “John, what are you doing” she asked

him as she cocked her head innocently.

“I am here to pick you up, if I recall correctly we

had a date planned for this morning”

“But John you live here and…”

John held out the flowers toward her, “for you, I

hope you like them, I would have gotten chocolate as well but Laura informed me

that you aren’t allowed to eat them.”

“Oh is that what she told you.” Marlena took the

flowers from him, immediately intoxicated by their beauty and the vivid smells

of spring time that were fast approaching, “they are beautiful John.”

“No, they are lovely, you, Marlena, are beautiful.”

Marlena closed her eyes to hold back the tears as she continued to smell the

flowers and then quickly blinked them back. “Are you ready for our date, I tried

to show up at the correct time, but traffic can be so heavy at this time of

day.” John smirked at Marlena as he held his hand out to take hers.

Marlena quickly took his hand, relishing in the

softness of his hand against hers, “let me just put these in some water and

then we will go,” she turned and walked into the kitchen and sat the flowers on

the counter, smiling once again, she loved flowers and it had been quite some

time since anyone had bought her any.

“I don’t want to rush you but they will stop serving

breakfast soon, I would hate to have promised you breakfast on our first date

and then not deliver it, I mean, what would you tell your friends about the

kind of guy I am if I did something like that.” John spoke loudly from the

front door so she could hear him.

Marlena smiled and turned from the counter, “John,

why don’t you come in while I put the flowers in some water,” she peered around

the corner and smiled at him and how he seemed to be taking the prospect of a

first date so seriously.

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that, I mean, this is our

first date after all. I have to keep up that whole gentleman thing you know.

So, are you ready to go, you could always just put the flowers in water later.”

“But they might wilt before we get back.”

“Then I will buy you more,” John spoke very

seriously to her, “it would be my pleasure to buy you flowers everyday from

here on out,” he said to her as he held his hand out to her, “however, if we

don’t go now then I can’t promise you breakfast until tomorrow morning.”

Marlena smiled widely as she bit down on her bottom

lip, “what did I ever do to deserve you,” she whispered to herself as she took

his hand and walked out the front door, closing it behind her.

John held to Marlena’s hand as they walked down his

steps, she immediately pulled to the right to go to his car but he stopped her,

“aren’t we taking your car,” she asked.

“No, we are going to walk if that’s okay with you”

Marlena immediately thought of earlier when she had

gotten dizzy but she just smiled at him and shook her head yes. “Is it very

far,” she asked him.

“No, its not very far, and its so beautiful out that

I thought some fresh air would be nice,” John told her as he turned and faced

her, he brought his hands to the front of her jacket, and pulled it tighter

around her as he looked into her eyes, “what do you say, will you walk with

me.”

Marlena smiled, “I would love to.”

John turned and walked with her down the sidewalk.

They passed several people right away who were coming out their front doors,

and she appreciated how John said hello to each one. She had always found Roman

quite rude and crass since he always seemed to avoid everyone. She was lost in

her thoughts as she felt John slide his fingers against hers and take her hand

in his, the simple act took her by surprise and she stopped walking.

“Is everything okay Marlena, are you feeling

alright,” John asked her with concern, “should we not have walked.”

“No its not that, its just,” Marlena broke her eyes

from his and looked down at her hand in his, she thought of all the times she

had wished Roman would hold her hand in public and even in private, she was

lost in her thoughts as more people continued to pass by them on the sidewalk.

John followed her eyes to their destination, looking

at their hands intertwined. “Is this not okay with you?”

“Its more than okay, John, its perfect actually,”

Before he could ask anymore questions she interrupted the chance, “now about

this breakfast you promised me.” She smiled at him as she squeezed his hand

more.

“Ahh yes, breakfast coming right up Dr. Evans.” John

spoke to her as they turned back to their destination and continued down the

sidewalk, passing a few more people.

“Marlena, earlier, why did you stop”

She hadn’t wanted to tell him, but she didn’t want

to wind up in the same place she had with Roman, which she was almost sure was

why they had grown so far apart, she wanted to tell John everything, even if

that meant talking about things that might be uncomfortable. “I stopped because

you took my hand, its just not something I am used too.”

“Would you rather I didn’t do things like that in

public”

“Oh its not that John, its just, well,” She paused

in her words, careful to search for the right one’s.

“It has something to do with Roman” John asked.

“yes it does” she replied hesitantly.

“I want you to be able to feel like you can tell me

anything Marlena. I am not oblivious to the fact that you two shared a past, a

very deep past that involves a good part of your life. I want you to know that

I am not bitter about that, I have no right to be, that was long before I came

along. Besides, you are with me now, not him, and that’s what matters.”

Tears came to Marlena’s eyes, she felt a little

relieved, mostly touched, she quickly wiped her tears away as they continued

down the sidewalk turning the corner and onto main street where more people

littered the sidewalks. “He never held my hand in public, or in private for

that matter. So when you took my hand earlier, and a few times before that, it

just surprised me is all, but a very good surprise I must say.”

“Tell me more” John looked over at Marlena, quizzing

her with his eyes, he wanted to know everything, even if it included her life

with Roman.

“We will need more than just breakfast for all the

stuff I could tell you,” she smiled, feeling shy and a little uncomfortable

telling him about Roman, but since he wanted to know and she knew it would be

brought up sooner or later, she decided now was as good a time as any, “Roman

was just the kind of guy who saw affection as a weakness. I can’t remember,

before I met you, the last time he had told me that he loved me, the last time

he held my hand, the last time he bought me flowers, or remembered my birthday,

or laughed with me, or even made…” but she stopped short of saying it.

“Or even made love to you.” John finished the

sentence for her, “I told you, you can tell me anything.”

Marlena took a deep breath, “it will just take a

little getting used to is all, I mean, I can’t imagine hearing things about

your past with someone, especially if you had ever been married before.”

John squeezed his eyes closed tightly, the wind

knocked out of him, but he just continued to listen and walk with her hand

tucked inside his, his thumb slowly moving against her finger. “I suppose I can

understand that,” he whispered.

“He just saw little things as a sign of weakness,

things like affection were for private and definitely not something you did

around other people. So, it was no holding hands, no saying I love you, no

kissing, I suppose after a while I just got used to it,” Marlena told him as

they walked, mingling in with other people on the sidewalk.

John suddenly stopped and turned to face Marlena, “I

know its our first date Marlena,” he slowly moved his hands to her face and ran

his fingers against her pink cheeks and up into her hair, bringing his lips

close to her ear, “but may I kiss you,” he asked her as she closed her eyes and

nodded her head yes. He pulled back and softly placed his lips against hers,

breathing in, his fingers moving through her soft blonde hair, his mouth opened

slightly against hers and his tongue lightly pressed into her mouth, meeting

against the wet warmth that it invited. Marlena’s hands moved around his waist

and pulled him closer as Johns tongue explored hers. A soft tear came from the

corner of her eye and John gently wiped it away with his thumb, his mouth

collapsing upon hers, swallowing her inside him, their tongues searching for

something new and exciting and warm.

“Get a room,” someone muttered as they passed by

them, Marlena opening her eyes with John as they both began to laugh and break

from their kiss.

“Not on a first date buddy!” John hollered at the

crowd as he brought his eyes back to Marlena and smiled at her glowing face.

Marlena turned and started to walk but John stopped

her, “as much as I love kissing you John I am starving and would really like to

eat something,” Marlena chuckled again.

“And I have every intention of making that happen,”

“Well then let’s go already.”

John smiled and looked up and darted his eyes and

eyebrows to the side, pointing out the restaurant behind him. “This is it.”

Marlena looked up at the sign that read Muskys, she

knew it well and her and Laura had eaten there several times and she knew they

did in fact have a wonderful breakfast.

“Have you ever eaten here before.” John asked her as

they walked to the door.

“Just a couple times with Laura is all, they do have

a divine breakfast.”

John opened the door for her and let her walk in

ahead of him, the smell of food immediately filling Marlena’s stomach. John

came in behind her and stood beside her, sliding his arm around her waist and

leading them to the hostess who seated them at a corner table by the large

picture window in the front.

“What do you feel like having this morning Marlena,”

John asked her as he studied her more than he did the menu.

“Hmmm I am not sure, it all looks good. Maybe eggs

and toast, or maybe pancakes, oh, or maybe waffles, or maybe…” Marlena giggled

loudly as she looked up from her menu, “I told you I was hungry.”

“Well it’s a good thing I brought you here then,

does that mean our date is going well,”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed as she nodded at him.

“Oh good, I wouldn’t want to do anything to mess it

up,” John leaned over and put his mouth close to her ear, “I was kind of hoping

that if things go really well that I might get another one of those kisses

after our date,” he leaned back a little and smiled at her.

Marlena leaned closer to John and brought her lips

to his ear, placing her hand on his thigh, “You keep surprising me with

wonderful things,” she slid her hand higher up his thigh until it rested on his

cock, “and I will give you more than just a kiss,” she squeezed gently against

his semi-hard cock and licked his earlobe gently as he closed his eyes and

moaned low.

“I definitely have a few more surprises up my

sleeve,” John placed his hand under the table and atop of Marlena’s and rubbed

it slow and hard.

“I can’t wait to see what you have in store.”

Marlena whispered to him as she squeezed his cock harder, her clit was on fire

and she shifted in her seat as her juices began to slide from within her.

Suddenly they both heard a small cough and looked up

to see a waitress, “sorry to interrupt you but I was going to see if you were

ready to order,” the waitress was obviously embarrassed, trying unsuccessfully

to hide it.

Marlena and John sat upright in their seats, their

obvious smirks revealing they had just been caught.

“Have you decided what you will be having Marlena,”

John looked over at her as she quickly studied the menu again, “maybe we could

just order something to drink first.”

“Oh yes, that sounds good, I haven’t been able to

make up my mind yet anyway. Just some orange juice for me please.”

“And for you sir,”

“The same please.”

“Two OJ’s coming up, I will be back in a few to take

your order.”

John nodded at the waitress and she quickly

retreated to get their drinks. John opened his menu back up and studied it

again, he already knew what he wanted, but he wasn’t going to rush Marlena in her

decision, besides that, it gave him more time to look at her every few moments.

Finally Marlena laid the menu back down, “I am going

to have the pancakes,”

“That sounds like a wonderful choice.” He smiled at

her enthusiasm.

Marlena smiled at him and shook her head yes, “John,

could you please order for me, I am going to run to the restroom real quick.”

“Of course I will.”

Marlena stood and walked toward the back of the

restroom, noticing the other people in the restaurant along her way. The cute

younger couple who couldn’t keep their eyes or hands off each other, the lady

with a little girl who was making noises and pounding on a tray. Marlena smiled

and waved at the little girl then she walked past her as she found the restroom

and walked in.

John looked out the window and stared at the blue

sky, he smiled at how much his life had changed since he had come to Salem. He

then turned his head and watched the people inside the restaurant, he darted

his eyes from person to person until he came to the little girl. John watched

the mother who seemed so happy, he thought how perfect they looked, how happy

the mother looked. He looked away as memories flooded his mind, memories of

himself sitting at a table with a young boy, picking cheerios out of his hair

and the boys laughter filling the restaurant. John quickly blinked his eyes and

focused his attention back outside the window as he waited for Marlena to join

him, trying to remind himself to live in the present and not in his past.

Marlena stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom

and washed her hands, the warm water rushing over her soft hands. She dried her

hands and tossed the paper towel in the trash, she turned to open the door and

was immediately stopped by a rush of blackness, she quickly held to the wall

and steadied herself. Again she held to her forehead as it throbbed ever so

harshly, she took deep breaths as she tried to regain her composure and quickly

sat on the small chair in the restroom and put her hands across her face. And

then just as quickly as it came, it was gone. ‘What is the matter with you

Marlena.’ She questioned herself silently; ‘too much walking combined with no

food apparently has taken its toll on you.” She stood and looked into the

mirror, noticing her flushed face, she took a deep breath and then she turned

and opened the door and walked toward John, pausing as she noticed the waitress

bring their drinks as she was blocking Marlena’s chair.

“Here you are sir, two orange juices. Are you ready

to order or would you like to wait until your wife returns from the restroom.”

Marlena stopped suddenly and stared and watched in

silence.

“No, its okay, I know what she will be having so I

will just go ahead order for her. She will have the pancakes and some fresh

fruit. I will have eggs over easy and a side of toast please, and could I get a

cup of coffee as well.”

Marlena wasn’t oblivious to the fact that the

waitress had called her his wife, and she was even more aware that John hadn’t

corrected her. She took a step forward after the waitress turned to put their

order in, she walked by John and sat in her chair.

John smiled at Marlena as she sat down, “Your juice

arrived just in time.”

Marlena nodded at him and took a small sip of her

juice, her mind still on what she had heard the waitress say.

“Is everything okay.”

“Hmm, oh yeah, everything is fine, just hungry is

all.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am sure.”

“Marlena, I meant to tell you that this morning that

while you were showering your doctor’s office called to remind you that you

have a follow-up appointment this afternoon.” John watched her as he told her,

she wasn’t paying much attention and it was very clear she was somewhere else

entirely.

Marlena fidgeted with her hands on top of the table,

picking up her straw paper and crushing it in her fingers, she looked at

everything except John. John watched her and noticed as she averted her eyes to

everyone and everything except him, he wasn’t sure what was bothering her but

he knew it was something. He lifted his hand from the table and placed it atop

of hers.

“Tell me what is bothering you, please.”

Marlena took a deep breath and finally looked at

John, his blue eyes were as bright as the sky, he was as good looking as any

man she had ever know or been with, she watched the corners of his mouth turn

up and smile at her, yet his eyes showed his concern. “I was just thinking

about us is all.”

“And thinking about us makes you upset.”

“I never said I was upset John.”

“You didn’t have to Marlena, it’s all over your face

and your body language.” He continued to keep his eyes on her as he ran his

fingers over her hands.

“Am I that transparent. No, don’t answer that, I

probably am. It’s just that sometimes I wonder about us, where we are going,

what the future holds for us. I wonder if you’re going to resent me for making

you stay in Salem or if you might find someone else, someone younger, prettier.

I wonder if you are going to like my kids or if they will like you, and if you

even wanna have kids and I wonder what’s going to happen when Roman and I divorce,

and if you and I are, well…I just wonder too much is all.”

“Can I ask what brought all this up now.”

“I was coming back from the restroom and the

waitress, I heard her, well, she called me your wife and you didn’t correct

her.” Marlena finally looked up at him, her eyes locking on his.

John stared into her eyes, he was shocked to say the

least, it wasn’t exactly what he thought she was going to say, but then again

it wasn’t the worst thing that could have come out of her mouth either,

“Listen, you don’t have to worry about me finding someone else, because as far

as I am concerned, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the

pleasure to lay my eyes on, let alone my hands on. I feel like one lucky son of

a bitch that you want to be with me, so if anyone should be concerned it should

be me. I am not sure what the future holds for us, but as long as it holds you

and I together, then that sounds like a mighty fine future to me. As for your

kids, if they are anything like you, and I am sure they are, then I will love

them. And if they hate me well, they are teenagers, so maybe I can just buy

them with money and movie tickets,” John laughed low and watched Marlena

finally smile “We really haven’t talked about anything else that involves kids,

we haven’t really had the opportunity, but we do I don’t want it to be over

orange juice and pancakes, I want it to be somewhere we can be uninterrupted so

that we can lay all our cards on the table and decide what we want together as

a couple.” John lifted his hand from Marlena’s and gently wiped the tear from

her cheek with his thumb, “and Marlena I didn’t correct the waitress because

honestly its none of her business, and is it all that bad if I don’t correct

someone for saying you are my wife, I would be honored if someone thought such

a thing.”

“You’re the best, you know that John.”

“Nah, really I have just got you brainwashed into

thinking I am this handsome stud, when in reality you are sitting with a 90

year old shriveled up man and that is why everyone is staring, just so you

know.”

Marlena laughed loudly at John, throwing her head

back a little, she had to quickly cover her mouth as she looked around the room

and noticed that all eyes were in fact on her. She hit at John’s arm who

pretended to have no teeth and use a walker to fend her off. Just then the

waitress came to the table and placed their food in front of them.

“Can I get you anything else” the waitress asked.

“No I am good. Marlena, do you need anything.”

“Marlena surveyed her food and then said that she

might need a little more syrup.”

“My wife would like a little more syrup please.” He

told the waitress as she turned to get it.

Marlena looked up from her food at John, she smiled

at him as he winked at her and squeezed her hand once more.

“Do you mind if I go with you this afternoon” John

asked her between bites.

“Go where John,”

“I knew you weren’t listening to me earlier,” he

laughed when she rolled her eyes and tried to act offended, “to your doctors

appointment, remember they called when you were in the shower.”

“Oh that, of course I knew that’s what you were

talking about, I would love if you would go with me John.”

“You haven’t had any problems have you, I mean,

you’ve been feeling okay since you’ve been at the house right.” John looked up from

his plate of food and into her eyes, waiting for her answer.

Marlena looked up from her plate and into John’s

soft eyes, she smiled softly and started to tell him about how she hadn’t felt

very well earlier, she smiled wider and placed her hand atop his, “No, no

problems at all.”

“That’s good, if you weren’t feeling well I would

want to know about it as soon as possible okay.” John squeezed her hand and

smiled back at her.

“Of course John…no secrets between us, okay.” He

nodded at her and she returned his nod.

They both returned their eyes to their plates,

suddenly becoming a little less hungry than they had first thought they were.

<p>Chapter</p> 37

As John and Marlena emerged from the restaurant the

bright sun took them both by surprise, Marlena squinted against the light as

she held her hand to block the sun from her eyes. John came up behind her and

put his arms around her waist and held her close, as she laid her head back

against him.

“Did you get enough to eat” he whispered in her ear.

“Mmmm I did, did you.” She asked, her warm face

enjoying the feel of his soft skin against hers, her eyes lingered closed

against the warmth of the sun.

“I did, but I am worried about you, you claimed

starvation but yet you hardly touched your pancakes Marlena.”

“I guess I just wasn’t as hungry as I thought I was

is all.”

“If you get hungry just let me know and I will get

you whatever you want, okay.”

“Okay.”

John turned his head toward her and kissed her

lightly on the cheek, “ready beautiful.” He asked her.

“Mmhmm” she moaned deeply from the pit of her

stomach, as John brought his hands up and down her arms and rubbed them easily,

his skin gliding across her soft arms.

He took her hand and led her down the sidewalk,

stopping in front of various shops to point out different things they liked or

didn’t like. They passed by a small shop that sold jewelry and John stopped as

he watched Marlena gaze in at the different necklaces they had in the display

window.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it John,” she asked him as she

pointed to a diamond necklace in the middle.

“breath taking” he replied

She shook her head yes and looked over at him,

noticing he only had his eyes on her. “I was talking about the necklace John.”

“And I was talking about you” he smiled at her and

finally looked at what it was that had caught her eye. “Yes it is quite

stunning” he put his arm around her and pulled her close to him and she laid

her head on his chest, breathing him in. “shall I buy it for you.”

Marlena lifted her head up and looked him in the

eyes and smirked gingerly, “John, no, it’s beautiful but I am sure it costs way

too much. Besides, I have nowhere to wear something like that.”

“Oh don’t be silly, it’s elegant yet simple, and

it’s very tasteful. It seems only right that a woman like you should wear it,

someone who is beautiful, breath-taking, and takes my breath away, you two

would be perfect for each other.” He told her as he winked at her.

“Stop John, you’re embarrassing me. Come on, lets

go.” She took his hand and led him away even as he protested, yet easily gave

up as she wrapped her fingers against his.

“Are you ready to head back, we don’t want to miss

your doctor’s appointment,”

“I suppose you’re right”

They turned and walked slowly back to the car, ever

so often John would put his arm around Marlena and pull her close and kiss her

forehead, breathing in the smell of her shampoo, allowing his lips to rest

momentarily against her soft skin. Finally they came to the car and John walked

her to her side of the car and paused in front of it.

“Thank you for the wonderful breakfast date,” he

whispered as he slid his hands against her hips and moved closer to her,

Marlena’s backside rested against the car as her hands rested against his

chest, he leaned in and pressed his cheek against hers “I know it’s a little

sudden, but would it be okay if I took you out tonight as well,” he pulled back

and looked her in the eyes as she smiled and shook her head yes.

“I am looking forward to it John,” she leaned in a

kissed him softly on the lips, her hands going up and around the back of his

neck, she pulled him in closer to her as his hands wrapped around to her back,

his large hands gripping her tightly as he kissed her harder, his tongue

sliding into her mouth and against hers. Marlena’s breasts pushed against

John’s chest, causing her to moan into his mouth, John pressed his body against

hers, his cock tightening against her shorts. He moved his hand to her ass and

squeezed it gently as she raked her nails against his neck and brought her leg

up against his, his hand instinctively grabbing at it and pulling it up,

pressing his body and cock harder against her. He shifted himself so that his

cock pressed against her clit, causing her to moan loudly and kiss him harder.

He removed his mouth from hers and kissed at her neck, licking and sucking and

nipping at every inch of it. Again John pushed his cock against her clit,

Marlena thrusting against it, her cunt dripping wet against him. He could feel

the heat radiate from her cunt and onto his cock, causing him to become rock

hard.

Marlena slid her hands into his hair and pulled hard

against it causing John to open his mouth and bite lightly against her neck,

she pulled his head back and forced his mouth against hers. He shifted his

weight harder against her, sliding his hand higher up her thigh, her shorts

rising with each motion until he was able to position his fingers inside her

shorts. Sliding his fingers inside her panties he felt her juices soaking

though her panties, he gently slid the tip of his finger inside her as she

moaned into his mouth.

“John” Marlena whispered against his lips.

John slid his finger deeper inside her, “yes” he

said, breathlessly, pushing his cock against her clit again.

“Take me inside, now”

John opened his eyes, smirking at the fact that they

were practically fucking out in the open, he looked around to see if anyone had

been witness to their little show, but he saw no one. He quickly returned his

mouth to hers and kissed her once again, his tongue fighting against hers as he

slid his finger deeper inside her dripping wet cunt.

“John, please, take me inside, I want you inside me

now.”

John removed his lips from hers once again, smiled

against her lips and slid his finger as deep inside her as he could, causing

her to gasp loudly.

“John someone might see us, we can’t…”

This time he eased another finger inside her,

sliding both of his fingers deep inside causing her to moan again, “I don’t

think we have time Marlena,” he whispered in her ear as he pumped his fingers

in and out of her, “I don’t want you to be late for your appointment.”

“God John, just take me inside right now, who cares

if we are late, I can always reschedule.” She was pulling against him, causing

his fingers to slide deeper inside her, her juices pouring from her, her clit on

fire, “I want you to take me inside and fuck me right now”

John pulled back from her mouth and smiled “well,

well, Dr. Evans knows exactly what she wants huh.”

“Yes, so what are you waiting for.” She stared him

down as if she couldn’t believe he didn’t want her as much as she wanted him.

“Not a damn thing.” He kissed her hard once more and

slid his fingers out from her, lowering her leg to the ground he pulled her

away from the car and stood her firmly beside him, reached down, and opened the

backseat door to the car. “Get in.”

Marlena smirked and quickly looked around to see if

anyone was around even though John’s dark tinted windows would have made it

impossible for anyone to see them unless they were right beside the car. She

decided no one was watching them and quickly got into the backseat followed by

John.

John closed the door behind him and leaned into the

front seat and turned the car on, along with the air conditioner and radio. As

he searched quickly for a station Marlena quickly removed her shoes, shorts,

and panties then slid her hand up John’s thigh and grabbed his hard cock

causing him to jump slightly. She reached around and quickly unbuckled his

pants and unzipped his zipper; finally John found the perfect station and

returned to the seat and kissed Marlena, who had accomplished her task at hand

of ridding him of his belt and unzipping his shorts. John slid his hand against

her cheek and pulled her to him, kissing her full on the mouth, his tongue

easily sliding against the wetness of hers.

John raised slightly and pulled down his shorts and

boxers and sat back in the seat as Marlena sat in his lap, facing him. He

placed both hands on her creamy white thighs and slowly eased them up as she

pressed her breasts against his chest, her fingers sliding through his hair as

she pulled him hard against her. John quickly found her clit and gently rubbed

it, her juices helping slide his finger easily across her swollen clit, she

moaned into John’s mouth, he knew exactly what she liked and how she liked it.

Faster he rubbed her clit as Marlena reach down between them and pumped his

cock a few times and then lowered herself onto his cock, sliding down easily,

with contempt and control as John continued to rub her clit. They moaned into

the other’s mouth as their passion sparked a frenzy. John thrust his cock up as

moved his arms around her waist and pulled her hard down onto his cock, Marlena

pulled faster against him, she thrust herself forward and broke from his kiss,

moving her mouth to his ear, licking and sucking at it. Marlena began to move

back but John stopped her, holding tighter around her waist, he pulled her

closer against him, his cock burying deeper within her. He scooted closer to

the edge of the seat and leaned back, thrusting his hips forward as he pulled

Marlena tighter to him, her clit forced tight against him.

“Oh god john,” she barely whispered out into his

ear, her muffled gasps radiated everytime he gently thrust forward and pulled

her tighter against him. He was hitting every nerve inside her, her orgasm

coming fast and strong. John quickly grabbed to her ass and forced her further

on his cock, he began pumping in and out of her as fast as and as hard as he

could, she began to rub her clit against him as he slammed his cock in and out of

her, deep within her her orgasm came breaking through. John grabbed to her and

pulled her closer to him, barely moving his cock in and out of her he focused

on fucking her clit instead, he moved his body harder against her and her clit,

more and more until she exploded and screamed out his name, pushing at him she

tried to stop him, but he pushed against her clit harder, as she screamed out

more, her orgasm ravishing her whole body, never had she experienced such an

intensity before. A few more times John pumped into her until he buried his hot

cum deep inside her as she still felt the affects of her orgasm, sweat and

tears staining her cheeks as they came to a rest. She searched for composure,

unsure if she could even walk, much less speak.

“You are amazing” John whispered in her ear.

“No, you are the amazing one. Never in my life have

I ever, god John that was amazing”

John reached up and pushed the hair out of Marlena’s

face and stared into her eyes, “you are so beautiful, I love you so much.” He lowered

her to his lips and kissed her, tasting the salty sweat on her lip. He hugged

her gently, squeezing her as she let her body rest upon his, wishing to herself

that this feeling would never end.

John sat in the waiting room for what seemed like

forever. He paced back and forth, he had wanted to go in with Marlena for her

appointment but the nurse said the testing room wasn’t large enough and that it

was limited to family members. Marlena looked as if she was ready to yell at

the nurse but John told her it was fine and that he had some phone calls to

make anyway. Now, as the time ticked by he was growing antsier, he despised

waiting rooms for more reasons than he cared to think about. John flipped

through every magazine he could find entailing sports and cars and home repair,

until finally he picked up a cosmopolitan and began to flip through it. He

chuckled as he saw things about pleasing your man and how to plan the perfect

evening out,

“Mr. Black”

John looked up and saw the same nurse standing

before him. “Yes”

“If you could please follow me.”

He quickly closed the magazine and sat it on the

table before him, as he looked up he saw the nurse roll her eyes at him. John

proceeded to follow the nurse, a large lady who looked like she weathered many

years, her personality seemed to match her stature, very unkind and

anti-social, someone he decided at that point nicknamed nurse nazi. When John

tried to make a joke about the waiting room and the magazine he was reading she

merely rolled her eyes and told him which room Marlena was in. He watched her

walk away and felt sorry for anyone that she gave a shot in the ass or anywhere

else too.

John knocked and waited for Marlena to say come in,

he opened the door and saw her sitting there on an examining table, he smiled

at her in her cute gown that obviously opened in the back.

“Fancy meeting you in here…did someone call for a

doctor, because I would be more then willing to examine you…free of charge of

course.” He said as walked over to her giving her a look that was half cute and

half coy.

Marlena chuckled and swatted at him with her hand,

“you’re such a goof John Black.”

“That’s Dr. Black” John kissed her lips quickly as

he slid his hand down the opening of her gown, across her back and toward her

bare ass.

“John…stop it, the doctor might come in.”

“Well then he will just have to come back after I

have given you a full examination. Let’s start with…” John slid his hand across

her hip and to her stomach, sliding straight up to her bare breast.

“John!”

“Ahh yes, the breast exam, it’s a very intricate

examination you see.”

Marlena smiled at him, “oh is it, and exactly why is

it so intricate Dr. Black.”

John slowly pulled Marlena’s gown down to one side,

exposing her breast, “because with the breast you must be very detailed with

your examination.” John slid his fingers slowly up and down her breast,

watching her nipple become hard and contract against his fingers.

Marlena closed her eyes and moaned low, “John, you

have to stop, someone might come in and…”

John quickly lowered his mouth and slowly licked her

nipple with his tongue, the dampness hitting the air, her nipple becoming

harder as Marlena arched her back and lost all train of thought. Her hands went

to the back of his head and rested gently as she urged him to explore her

breast more. John slowly brought the other side of her gown down and his

fingers worked lovingly on the soft skin around her nipple, his fingers toying

at her nipple as his mouth continued to suck at her other breast. His touch was

gentle and loving, taking his time, causing Marlena to become less and less

aware of where she was and more in tune with the sensations she was feeling

from John’s touch.

John released Marlena’s nipple from his mouth and

brought his mouth to hers, his tongue caressing her soft pink gentle lips. She

pulled him to her, her hand finding his cock already hard, he groaned against

her grasp. John laid her back gently as he continued to kiss her soft mouth,

the wetness of her tongue soothing him, increasing his need to be inside her,

to feel her and make her feel good. John slid his hand down beneath her gown

and across her stomach, yet he paused and smiled against her mouth and started

to pull back.

“John what are you doing, why did you stop,” Marlena

asked him with great perplexion across her face, her eyes showed hunger, her

red swollen lips and messy hair turning him on even more. She didn’t release

her grip on him, not letting him back very far away from her mouth.

“Because I think you’re forgetting where we are”

“I don’t care where we are.” She kissed him hard on

the mouth again but John pulled back and smiled.

“Well I do and we are at your doctor’s office, do

you really want him walking in on this,” he spoke between kisses, her hunger

not seeming to let up.

“Of course I care, but I also am sure he has seen

this type of thing before,” Marlena replied, sliding her tongue deep inside

John’s mouth, “besides, the nurse told me he was running behind and it might be

a few minutes.”

“A few minutes huh, no pressure or anything,” still

John kissed her slowly, his lips ravishing hers, “but nevertheless, I don’t

think it’s a good idea Marlena.” John began to raise his hand from her stomach

but Marlena stopped him and placed her hand against his wrist and slowly

lowered it as she slid her tongue inside John’s mouth deeper. She thrust her

hips up until John’s fingers slid against her clit, her juices covering his

long thick fingers, John moaned deeply inside her mouth. He was done fighting

it, she had a power over him, and undeniable force that he loved and always

wanted. John quickly slid his fingers deep inside her as Marlena gasped, her

nails digging into his shoulder she pulled him closer to her.

“John I want you inside me” she gasped out and into

his ear but John’s attentions were elsewhere, he smiled against her mouth, and

continued to slide his fingers in and out of her, her juices everywhere, he

quickly pumped two fingers deeply in and out of her as his mouth returned to

her breast. He quickly licked her nipple as his thumb began to move against her

clit, and his mouth traveled lower. “oh yes John,” Marlena gasped as she pulled

against his shirt and hair, his mouth quickly resting against her clit. His

tongue darted forth and his fingers plunged deep within her, his mouth suctioning

against her clit he delved deep inside her, his fingers withdrawing as his

tongue slide deep inside her wet pussy, his fingers moving hurriedly against

her clit. Her thighs quickly clamped against his head as she began to thrust

her hips against his mouth, John brought his tongue back to her clit and

plunged his fingers deep inside her, his tongue fucking her clit slow and hard

as Marlena grabbed at his hair with one hand and covered her mouth with the

other as her screams from her orgasm shook her core. Her thighs shook and lips

quivered as john was relentless in his pursuit, his tongue moving slower over

her clit as his fingers stayed still inside her, tears pouring from her eyes as

she couldn’t take it any longer. Quickly she pulled back against his hair and

shook her head, concerned John stopped and quickly rose up, wiping her juices

from his mouth.

“Are you okay, did I hurt you” he asked as he

attended to her as she tried to speak but could only shake her head no. John

kissed her lips gently and placed his hand on the side of her face, wiping away

her tears, his concern overwhelming but then quickly dissipating as he felt

Marlena’s fingers quickly unzip his pants. John chuckled and smiled against her

lips, he looked at her as she raised her eyebrows and did a quick half smile.

A quick knock at the door caused them both to laugh,

Marlena told whoever it was to wait just a moment. She and John quickly

adjusted themselves and she whispered to John that she wasn’t done with him.

Marlena then told whoever it was that they could come in.

John stood beside Marlena, his hand in hers as the

doctor came in and nodded at both of them, saying his hello’s and asking how

they are. The doctor sat on his chair in front of Marlena and asked how she had

been feeling and if she had any concerns or if anything had been bothering her

since leaving the hospital after her fall.

“No, I have felt wonderful.” Though she had felt

wonderful, she had in the back of her mind the fact that she had gotten dizzy

twice, but since that morning she had felt fine after she got a little food in

her, and she attributed it to her needing to eat and didn’t see the point in

worrying anyone and she hated when anyone fussed over her.

The doctor stood and asked her to lie back and

checked her forehead and arms, her eyes and finally her mobility. He checked

her scar closely and her thigh to see if it was healing well. He then stood

told her that he wanted her back in a week and that before she left he needed

her to go to the lab for a blood test to make sure everything was on track with

her since it was noted in her chart in the hospital that she had had low iron

and wrote a prescription and told her that she could get dressed, he noted for

her to go ahead and make another appointment for three weeks and that

everything looked great and on track so far. After the doctor stepped outside

John told Marlena that he wanted to speak to the doctor and that he would back

inside in a moment.

John quickly walked out into the hall and shook the

doctor’s hand and asked him directly,

“How is she doctor, really”

“She seems to be recovering quite well, I would

still like her to take it easy the next week or so, but I don’t see any reason

why she shouldn’t make a complete recovery. But John, has she complained at all

about being dizzy or had any blackouts.”

“None at all. I am around her almost constantly and

I haven’t noticed any of those things. Why do you ask”

“We finally received the last of her test results

and it would seem that she had a slight bruising on her skull. Often times

injuries like these can show up weeks later with just those symptoms that I

asked about. Don’t worry about it John, just keep an eye on her, no driving, no

stress, just take it easy, I wouldn’t want her to pass out and have an accident

which could lead to worse things.”

“Of course, though she is quite stubborn, but I will

make sure she doesn’t do anything she isn’t supposed to.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marlena stood from the table and walked over to the

door and put her ear to it, yet it was pointless, she couldn’t hear anything.

She then walked over and bent down to pick up her clothes, when she stood back

up she felt the room spinning and grabbed to the table and steadied herself.

She quickly sat down and tried to catch her breath, her head pounded as the

room went dark. She took a deep breath in and let it out and put her head in

her hands on her lap, she felt like the room was spinning out of control and

she was sure she was sweating. Finally the room returned back to normal and she

sat up easily, she patted her forehead and wiped the sweat from it and slowly

stood. ‘I just need to eat a little something is all,’ she said to herself as

she waited for John to come back in the room. She smiled to herself at the

events that transpired moments before the doctor came in, how he had almost

caught them. John seemed to bring out a new side of her, a more daring side.

She leaned back against the table as she thought more about the way he made her

feel, the way he satisfied her sexually and emotionally. Marlena bit against

her lip as she thought about the way John kissed and touched her with such

intensity.

She heard a knock at the door and said come in and

watched as John peered his head around the corner and walked in and closed the

door behind him. “I figured you would be dressed and ready to go by now,” he

said as he walked toward her, “listen the doctor mentioned something and I was

wondering,” but Marlena quickly walked toward him and silenced him with her

mouth upon his, her hands immediately going to his shorts and unzipping them,

she quickly unbuttoned them and dropped them to the floor. John grabbed to her

and lifted her from the floor. His strong hands holding to her ass as he pushed

her against the back of the door, his mouth exploring hers with his tongue. He

freed one hand and squeezed her breast against his bare hand, her nipple

curving against it, she reached down and freed his hard cock from his underwear

and then she slid her fingers deep inside herself quickly, pulling them from

within her she rubbed her juices along the head of his cock causing it to become

rock hard against her fingers. John quickly pushed her back against the door

harder and thrust his cock deep inside her, her tight walls squeezing against

his cock. Her hips thrust forward and she leaned into him, her tongue slipping

against his ear, she brought his earlobe into her mouth and sucked gently. John

began to thrust deeper inside her, squeezing her ass forward her clit hitting

against him, immediately she knew she wouldn’t last long. Marlena sucked harder

against John’s ear as he plunged deeper inside her, making sure to pull her as

tight against him as he could so that he would hit her throbbing clit with each

movement. Faster Marlena moved against him and deeper John plunged inside her,

harder his cock grew and faster and deeper he moved within her, filing her full

with his hard. Marlena bit against his ear and John fucked her hard as he

slammed inside her, quickly releasing his hot cum deep within her cunt. He

grunted and moaned beside her ear as he pulled her back from the door and quickly

sat her on the table, still buried deep within her, he lay her on the table and

crawled atop with her, her legs going to the side squeezing against him, the

weight of his body atop her. He kissed her lips and slowly began to move within

her again, her orgasm on the very brink of exploding. His weight moved harder

against her, his cock moving slow and deep inside her, faster he moved as she

tried to hold off her orgasm, thrusting her hips against him, she could never

get enough of the way he made her feel. She grabbed to his ass and began to

push him against her harder and he complied, burrowing his cock as deep as it

would go inside her he barely allowed it to escape from within her, instead he

moved his pelvic bone against her clit over and over, harder and harder as she

thrust, his hands squeezing her tits as his tongue invaded her mouth. She lie

still allowing him to move against her, the way she liked it, the way he knew

exactly what she liked. He thrust against her, his cock becoming harder and

fuller as he continued his quest to fuck her long and hard until finally she

exploded with a deep orgasm. She bit against his shoulder to keep from

screaming out as he moved within her faster and faster until again he exploded

his cum deep inside her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moments later they both emerged from the room, a certain glow about them both, both smiling at each other, John leaned over, smiled and kissed her cheek. “ready to go give some blood.”

“I suppose as ready as I will ever be.”

“You better hope its not nurse nazi that takes your blood,” John chuckled and led her down the hallway, his hand in hers.