Nothing Compares
A/N: So I know I just posted another chapter this morning, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get another chance to post, and I'm hella excited about this chapter. So, I have to warn you: This chapter contains "adult" content. Enjoy!
"Are you sure you turned left at the tree farm?" Mark asked, pacing his front porch nervously, on hand running through his dark hair as his eyes searched the old dirt road for some sign of Winter.
It had been nearly a month since their first date, and though he had been desparate to consummate the relationship that night, something had stopped him when they returned to the hotel. It was too soon. He didn't want to rush things with this one. They had heat, he was sure of that much. Ten years ago, that would have been enough. But now he wanted more, and he wanted to make sure that she did, too, before he went too far.
"Jesus Christ!" Winter sighed in exasperation. "I know my right from my left!" she insisted. Searching for the landmarks he had described, she swallowed the nerves that had been plaguing her for the last three days.
When Mark called to tell her that he was going to be home for a week to take care of some personal business, she had been excited. They'd barely been able to find three days together since that first date, and she was aching for something more. Even if he cut her off again, even if there was no sex, she would jump at the chance to spend an entire lazy Saturday with him.
And then he had suggested she just pack a bag and stay with him for the weekend. There was more than enough room at his ranch, and he had a guest bedroom, if that made her more comfortable. It took every ounce of her self-control not to shout, "No, I wanna sleep in your bed! With you! Naked!" Instead, she just told him that it sounded great and that she would see him Friday night.
If she could ever find the house. "I just passed a house with a pink cow in the yard," she said, her nose scrunching up at the offensive sculpture.
Heaving a sigh of relief, he sank to the swing on the front porch and extended his legs to rest his feet on the railing. "You're about a half mile away," he answered. "Straight shot."
"Okay," Winter responded. She didn't even have time to hang up the phone before the house came into view.
Secluded from modern life, Mark's ranch sprawled across five acres. The house itself covered at least five thousand square feet. She had always imagined him a simple man with humble taste, but his home defied that stereotype. Though rustic, and lacking in the trappings of contemporary architecture, it was extravagent in it's simplicity.
But it wasn't the home that impressed her the most. It was the sight of her man, reclining in the porch swing, long neck bottle between his fingers as he slowly lowered his legs to the ground and stood to greet her. Walking to the edge of the porch, he leaned against one of the posts and crossed his right ankle over his left. "You need help with anything?"
Winter hoisted her overnight bag over her shoulder and shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "I got it," she assured him, smoothing her hand over the long, white tulle skirt pooling around her calves. The white tank top that she wore rode up slightly when she walked, giving Mark an unobstructed view of her smooth abdomen. The sun shone off of her hair, creating a halo effect, and he was sure that his heart had stopped in that moment.
When she reached the porch, he took her bag and bent to greet her with a soft kiss. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Sweetheart," he complimented.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his face to hers and gripped his bottom lip between her teeth. Emitting a small growl, she released the flesh and stepped back. "I missed you," she whispered.
There was no way to hide the pink blush that crept from the back of his neck up into his cheeks when she said, or did, anything remotely sexy. And he was sure that it was on full display after that little gesture. "Come on in," he said, clearing his throat as he pushed the front door open.
She stepped over the threshold and noted the natural decor of the house. It had high, vaulted ceilings and an open floor plan that felt like it went on forever. "This is beautiful," she complimented. "Really beautiful."
His pride welled up in his chest as he dropped her bag by the stairs and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you," he replied, rubbing her soft skin beneath his calloused hand.
Winter sighed happily and leaned back against his tee-shirt clad chest. If they did nothing else the entire weekend, she could be content with just knowing his broad body was so close, that his hand was on her. Of course, if he wanted to do more than just stand there, she wasn't going to deny him.
A loud rumbling interrupted the silence of the moment and Winter dropped her face into her hands. "Oh god," she groaned, refusing to turn when she heard Mark's laughter behind her. "I didn't eat lunch today," she admitted, biting her lip and pushing her hair out of her face.
"I was thinkin' we could run out and get somethin' later," Mark said, dropping his hand from her shoulder to wrap it around her waist, gently rubbing her growling tummy. "But we can go now if you want," he whispered into her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder.
Turning in his arms, she hid her face in his chest and inhaled the musky scent that was uniquely his. "Let's just stay here," she mumbled against him as she reached around to slip her hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
"Fine by me," Mark admitted, embracing her tightly and lifting her feet from the floor. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he rested his forehead against hers. "You wanna see the rest of the house?"
Raising an eyebrow, Winter shook her head and licked her lips. "Just one room," she gasped when he attached his lips to the side of her neck. She locked her ankles around his middle, barely hearing the faint 'thump' that her flip flops made when they fell to the floor. Burying her fingers in his dark hair, she leaned back slightly and prayed that he was as strong as appeared to be. She really wasn't in the mood to be dropped against the hardwood floor.
Without words, he carried her toward the stairs, stopping when her stomach grumbled loudly once again. "Alright," he shook his head, lowering her feet to the floor. "Let's get you some food," he insisted, taking her hand and leading her back down the stairs.
"It's fine, Mark," she protested, resisting him slightly. She could care less about the hunger in her stomach. It was the hunger lower that she wanted to take care of at the moment.
But he wasn't listening. He had an entire weekend to show her how much he wanted her. And he intended to use every minute of it.
---
After dinner, the couple returned to the house and settled into an evening of watching Smackdown in relative silence. Each lost in their own thoughts, they sat at opposite ends of the couch, Winter's feet in Mark's lap, as they each nursed a longneck beer bottle.
Suddenly, Mark stood and stretched his arms out to his sides, popping his neck before turning back to her. "Be right back. You need anything while I'm up, Sweetheart?" Winter just shook her bottle to show him she was still okay. Turning his head to one side, he considered her. "You're bein' awful quiet," he said.
Raising an eyebrow, she slowly turned her head toward him. "So are you," she shot back with a slight smirk.
"True," Mark agreed. "But it's not out of the ordinary for me," he smiled cheekily when she tossed one of his throw pillows in his general direction. "Damn, you throw like a girl!" he laughed, the deep sound echoing behind him as he headed toward the bathroom.
Winter sighed in frustration as she fell back against the couch. She had grown quiet, he was right. Seeing him on the television, dropping to the mat after his victory, rolling his eyes back in his head and sticking his tongue out, had driven her deep into her own thoughts. Filthy thoughts that she would be embarrassed to voice to her closest girlfriends, let alone the man sitting just a few feet away.
Mark shook his head as he shut the door quietly behind him. It had been an all-around great night, as far as he was concerned. Winter had taken to his home as if she'd been there for years, and he was quickly growing accustomed to having her there. Though he told himself that, at twenty-eight, she was still just a kid, everything he had seen was telling him differently.
When he explained that there was no food in his house because he was rarely home, Winter had insisted they go the grocery store. Even if it was only for the weekend, he needed some home-cooked meals. And when they returned home, she had asked him to put the groceries away while she sorted his dirty laundry from the road. She claimed that his old system of buying new socks and underwear just because the ones he already had were dirty was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.
She may have sported all of the trappings of a punk rock prom queen, but Winter Kipley was a domestic goddess deep down. And Mark was finding that she provided a woman's touch to his home that he hadn't realized it was missing. For that alone, he wanted to make sure she stuck around for quite awhile. Well that, and the fact that he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra.
When he returned to the living room, Mark slowly lowered himself onto the floor in front of her. Winter immediately began run her thin fingers lazily through his hair. "What's on your mind, Sweetness?" he asked, his eyelids growing heavy at the easy rhythm of her nails against his scalp.
"Just thinkin'," she answered softly, her eyes never leaving the television screen.
"About?"
Oh, what the hell? Winter thought, stopping her hand on the back of his head. "Your tongue," she admitted honestly. Risking a glance in his direction, she saw the pink tint crawling up his neck and into his cheeks. "How 'bout you?" she asked, suddenly feeling empowered by his reaction.
Taking a long swig of his beer, Mark barely turned his head and allowed her to catch a glimpse of the smirk on his lips. "How you're gonna look naked."
She was fully aware that she had been the one to lead the conversation in a sexual direction, he answer still suprised her. They'd had some pretty steamy phone sex on a couple of occasions, but knowing that the real thing was about to happen made her pulse race. Whether it was the alcohol, the adrenaline racing through her veins, or just an animalistic need to feel him pressed against her, Winter sat up on the couch and peeled her tank top over her head.
When Mark turned, she had pushed her skirt over her hips, allowing it to fall in a lacy pool at her feet. She kicked it to the side and hooked her fingers inside the band of her blush-colored boy shorts. Shaking his head, Mark stood and reached out a hand, stopping her from stripping completely. "Leave 'em on," he instructed, grabbing her bottle from the end table. "You want another one?"
Winter nodded shyly and lowered herself to the couch, raising her knees to cover her bare chest. It had seemed like a good idea a few seconds earlier. But now, she felt exposed and strange. And how had he dropped a bomb like "I wanna see you naked" and then just walked out of the room? What kind of asshole pulled that shit?
Returning with another beer, Mark sat in the recliner next to the couch, his eyes dragging slowly over Winter's nearly-bare form. She squirmed under his scrutiny, wrapping her arms around her knees as though trying to envelope her body from his gaze. "Relax," he smiled easily.
"Relax?" Winter huffed, rolling her eyes. "You get naked and fuckin' relax," she shot back.
Setting his beer on the table, Mark stood and pulled his shirt over his head. He popped the button on his jeans and pushed them off before returning to his chair and crossing his right ankle over his left knee. With a shrug, he returned his hand to the bottle and tilted it to his lips. "I don't know what the big deal is," he said flippantly.
Winter shook her head incredulously, refusing to expose herself any further. "It's not a big deal to you," she scoffed, moving one arm to gesture at his finely chiseled chest. "Your body's perfect."
Mark rolled his eyes. "And your's isn't?" he challenged. When she rolled her eyes again, he put his bottle down on the table rested his elbow on the arm of the chair. "Okay, so tell me what's wrong with it," he said.
Winter merely lowered her eyes and stared at her knee cap, a tiny scar from a nasty fall in junior high staring back at her. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"Okay then," he said, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Come here." She didn't move. "Winter, come here," he repeated.
She did as she was told, standing slowly and continuing to cover herself from his eyes. When she was standing in front of him, he reached out and rested his warm hands against her arms. Pulling them back, he looked her over, a bright grin forming at the view. "Nothin' wrong with what I'm seein', Sweetness," he said in a low voice that made Winter tremble. Raising his eyes, he slid his hands from her arms to her stomach, smoothing his rough palms over her satiny midsection.
When he moved his touch to her hips, Winter's breath hitched in her throat. When he spread his thighs and forcefully pulled her closer, she tilted her head back and let out a hiss. When she felt his breath through the thin fabric of her panties, she nearly lost her mind.
It took every bit of discipline he could muster not to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his bed. Slowly flicking his tongue over the soft mesh covering her most intimate parts, he breathed deeply, inhaling her feminine aroma as her abdomen danced beneath his attentive tongue. When she began to whimper, he stood and lifted her into his arms.
Wordlessly, he stood her in front of the couch and pulled her panties down her thighs, smiling to himself when he found her completely bare below the belt. Looking up, he felt his heart jump into his throat when her iced stare met his. "Sit down, baby," he instructed. She did, without hesitation. Grasping both of her ankles, he rested them on his shoulders and leaned forward, his touch travelling up her calves, over her knees and across her thighs.
Winter leaned back as he touched her, but bolted upright when his warm tongue made contact with her swollen nub. Resting her weight on one elbow, she reached down and pulled Mark's long locks away from his face, inebriated by the sight of his tongue gliding slowly over her. She'd been licked before. She'd been licked well. But she had never felt anything like the sensations he was sending through every part of her prone body.
The sheer length of his tongue was impressive, but the skill with which he used it was beyond Winter's description. She thought he would never stop, and as she thrashed around on the couch, gasping for air and calling him name, she hoped that he didn't. She was so close. Close to him. Close to the edge. Close to a release. "Oh god!" she gasped, knowing that she was about to explode.
But Mark was far from ready for her to be finished. Standing, he laughed when she growled at him, and then pushed his boxer shorts to the floor. He pulled her into his lap, and was sheathed inside her, before she could protest any further. There would be time for slow and methodical later, but now was the time for expressing everything that had been building between them for the last two months.
The tears that formed in Winter's eyes were a mixture of intense joy and pain. As she began to rock her hips, she couldn't stop the torrent of emotions racing through her. Mark was holding her back, his lips alternating between her breasts as she groaned and begged him for more. More of the pleasure. More of his body. More of his heart. She wanted everything that he had to give her.
"More," she managed to say as he gripped her hips and laid her back against the floor. The sudden shift in position barely registered in her mind as he stretched his lithe body over hers and crushed her mouth in a seering kiss, as though he were trying to brand her as his while he continued to move inside her.
Burying his head in her neck, Mark felt as though his entire being was on fire. It wasn't just the insane sensation of being deep with her tight confines, or the sounds of her desparate pleading in his ear. He was overcome with the need to be just a little bit closer, to know just a little bit more. And it was that thought that brought him to his release, just moments after hers.
"Damn," Winter sighed as he rolled to her side and pulled her onto his chest. "That's some tongue you got there."
Chuckling, he kissed the top of her head. "Ya know," he sighed, "I made my bed this morning."
Winter ran nimble fingers over his body, savoring the hard planes of his pectoral muscles. When her thumb grazed his nipple, she smiled at the deep breath that hissed from the back of his throat. "Is that unusual for you?"
He nodded and trailed his hands down her back. "I was tryin' to impress you."
Winter rolled onto her side and pressed her lips against his neck. "Well, then, I'd say we just preserved all your hard work." When he laughed once again, she captured his lips, taking a long moment to suck the bottom one between hers, running her tongue over it slowly. When she released him, she began to giggle.
"What are you laughin' at?"
Winter rested her head on the soft rug beneath her. "Tasha owes me twenty bucks?" He rolled his head to face her and raised an eyebrow. "She bet me that you would say "Rest in Peace" after you came."
Mark groaned and raised his hand to the back of her head, pulling her back on top of him. When she looked up, resting her chin on his chest, he tilted his head back and let out a long sigh. "That's fucked up. You know that, right?" When she giggled again, he kissed the top of her head. "I don't know why the hell you're here, Sweetness," he said, returning his eyes to her. "But I'm glad you are."
"So does this mean you're not going to pretend we're just friends anymore?" she asked hopefully.
Shaking his head, he rolled out from under her and stood slowly to his feet. Lifting Winter into his arms, he kissed her soft lips and pulled back with a smile. "Baby, we've never been just friends," he assured her.
Though she'd always suspected it, hearing him say the words made her tummy flutter. Resting her head against his neck as he climbed the stairs toward his bedroom, she let a giggle escape her lips. "I'm glad you finally realized that," she teased.
"Oh yeah?" Mark asked, moving toward the large platform bed in the center of his room. "And you were so quick, Little Miss?"
Winter rolled her blue eyes and propped herself up on her elbows, trying her best to stare him down. In the ring, nobody could dream of succeeding in such a feat, but they weren't in the squared circle. "Dude, I knew I wanted you from the minute I saw you."
With his hands on his hips, he narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out, watching her eyes twinkle at the sight. "I'm wantin' you again right now," he shot back.
"I'm not goin' anywhere," Winter promised. "You want me? Take me."
