Mark lay in the dark, his mind whirring; trying to process everything that had happened. He tried to comprehend how with all the warnings from Derek he had received; he had still slept with Lexie Grey. Lexie Grey, who was currently draped over him, their legs intertwined as she breathed evenly. Not that he really regretted sleeping with her. Any sane man would not regret the pure act of sex with her, but the repercussions of the act for Mark were daunting, and he didn't want to hurt her. He already knew he was on thin ice with Derek, and had been since he slept with Addison, but this, this was bad. Lexie was good, she was young, and she was innocent. Not a childlike innocent, not a naïve innocent, but just the innocence that came with not being let down multiple times or corrupted. She was just as soft on the outside as she was on the inside, and that was new to him. But what surprised him most was that even now, while they weren't in the throws, he could not shake the tightening in his chest as he thought about her. As she snuggled into his chest even further he could feel the constraint of his chest. It was not a bad feeling, but a weird gooey feeling that Mark Sloan definitely didn't feel. And the sex they had last night? It definitely wasn't Mark Sloan's normal sex. She didn't even remove her bra and there was no violence. It was soft, and heartfelt, and if it was with any other person, Mark wouldn't have been interested. Mark couldn't shake the expression 'making love'. He had laughed at people when they used that expression, but now it was what kept repeating itself in his head. Was that what he and Lexie had done last night? He couldn't shake the question, so he softly rubbed Lexie on the arm.

"Lex."

She groaned something inaudible and further burrowed herself into his arms. He couldn't hold back his chuckle as he tried it again.

"Lexie."

She finally opened her eyes and stared up at him groggily, trying to get aware of her surroundings. He pressed a soft kiss on her lips. Although she was still trying to wake up, her body immediately responded, and she kissed him back softly. He rolled her over so then he was on top of her and kept pressing soft repetitive kisses on her lips.

"I want to try something, okay?" He asked her softly, caressing the skin of her stomach. "Just don't break eye contact."

She gave him a confused look, but then he was kissing her again, so she just went along with whatever he was planning. She kept her eyes locked on his as he positioned himself in between her legs, and the only time she shut her eyes is when he entered into her and she let out a whine. He then brought his lips to her ear and requested, "open."

What they were doing was not rushed; it was in fact, painfully slow. He kept his forehead rested against hers as he slowly thrust in and out of her. She was mewing and trying to keep her fluttering eyelids open, but he remained stoic. She tried to bring herself to whine to him, beg him to go faster, but with their eyes focused on each other a feeling settled in her body and although what they were doing was painful, it was deliciously painful. He kept the same tempo until both of them were groaning and screaming in ecstasy, never breaking eye contact. He finally collapsed on top of her, all feeling from her body gone completely. She tried to say something, but what came out could not be comprehended. He rolled to the side and crushed her to his side, pressing kisses into her neck. She fell asleep almost immediately and he followed suit, their bodies intertwined and their even breath in harmony.

What they were doing was definitely making love.