Make Me Believe
A/N: I just wanna give a quick shout out to bkerbunny for being my awesome beta on this story. Were it not for her, this chapter would be about a page and a half. I also wanted to take a quick minute to encourage you all to head over to her page and check out her Taker stories - hers are the stories I read when seeking inspiration on writing this hulk of a man in the first place. And if you have a myspace page, check hers out - there's some awesome graphics, and soon, there will be a phenomenal story that will turn your every thought of the average "love story" on its ear.
And now I'm done whoring for my friend. Enjoy the chapter and thanks for your enduring support. It's amazing.
Warning: This chapter contains strong sexual content. (You knew that whole "one night" thing wasn't gonna happen, right?)
With a moan and an exaggerated stretch, Cameron arched her back from the bed and licked her tongue over her sleep-dried lips. The tingling in her belly was a foreign concept first thing in the morning. Struggling to sit, she found herself abruptly awakened by the sight that greeted her.
Mark's arms were wrapped around her thighs, holding her legs apart as he licked gently at her warm folds. Before Cameron could protest, he increased his speed, flicking furiously at her swollen bud until her legs began to shake. When she tossed her head back against the pillows, he smiled. "Morning," he grumbled before returning to his breakfast, his eyes tilted to watch her body writhe.
For a moment, Cameron wondered if she were the only woman in the world who had never felt a man's tongue pressed against her sensitive groin. While Ryan was a huge fan of her oral attention, he wasn't much for returning the favor. In fact, after a decade of sexual activity, this was her first "eating out."
She needed to stop him. It felt too good. One night. That had been the agreement. He couldn't keep lavishing attention on her body like he had for the past eight hours. "Mark," she gasped, gripping the pillows beside her head until her knuckles turned white. "Don't," she breathed, though the tone of her voice was as less than convincing.
Smirking against her heat, Mark paused for a moment, resuming his actions when her fingers found the back of his hair. He pulled back just enough to move his lips. "You mean it?" he whispered.
The whisper of his breath against her opening caused Cameron to groan again. Though she knew that she should stop him, she could feel her release approaching, and she was afraid she might implode if he didn't finish. "Don't stop," she hissed through clenched teeth.
Mark was nothing if not obedient. At least to the demands of a beautiful woman in heat. Extending his long tongue, he laved at her slit before returning a fury of attention to her nub. Her thighs began to constrict and he used his strong hands to pry them further apart, allowing himself unlimited access to her most intimate places. When she orgasmed, shoving his head away, he delivered small kisses to the inside of her thigh before running a hand over his beard and flopping onto the pillows beside her.
Cameron fought to catch her breath as Mark pulled her against his chest. When the tremors had subsided, she pushed away, covering herself quickly with the sheets. "I said one time," she reminded, smiling in spite of herself when he shrugged, unabashedly lounging naked beside her.
"You said one night," he corrected.
Shovelling her dark hair from her face, Cameron rolled her eyes at him, making no move to stand. She wasn't sure she could have if she tried. "Well, I thought that meant one time," she defended.
The rumbling laughter that escaped his chest echoed through the room as Mark raised a massive hand to scratch his stomach. "You're a 'one and done' girl, aren'tcha? You really didn't know how many orgasms you could have in one night."
"Apparently," Cameron moaned as she tried to wiggle her toes, "four is a pretty accurate number."
With one hand trailing slowly over her toned thigh, Mark licked his lips and lazily turned his head from side to side. "I was just gettin' warmed up, baby," he teased, his fingers dancing closer to her core once again. "You really are an innocent girl, aren't ya?" When she blushed, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Ain't nothin' wrong with it, ya know? It's a noble choice."
Closing her eyes, she revelled in the feeling of his warm mouth on her neck. "Mark," she sighed, trying to pull away when he captured her ear between his teeth, an action that he seemed to enjoy more with each passing moment. "What are you doing?"
A deep growl vibrated against her skin as Mark turned her chin with his index finger, capturing her lips in a heated kiss. "What do you think?"
With all of her strength, Cameron pushed him slightly and backed away, looking a little like a wounded puppy. "I mean this. Us," she motioned from herself to him and back. "What is this? What do you want it to be?"
"Does it have to be anything?" Mark challenged, drawing slow circles on her knee cap, his eyes fixated on the way her tigh muscles jumped beneath her taut flesh. "Does it mean something if you give it a name?"
Cameron stared at him, unsure of what to say. In the darkness of the room, basking in the moonlit glow over their bodies, she had convinced herself that giving in to him was necessary. She truly believed that she had to give herself some closure, that sleeping with him was the way to find that. "I have a husband," she spoke, uncertain as to whether she was reminding him or herself. "I could have my dream career in a matter of hours," she added, casting her eyes to the bedside clock.
"Tell me how all of those things fit together," Mark challenged. "Because the way I see it, the career, the marriage, and this," he mimicked her gesture between them, "are all separate entities. You can't make a decision on any of them based on the others."
She knew the logic was fucked up. They all tied together, a big tangled mess of a situation. "I have to get ready," she mumbled, rolling to her side. "I wanna leave by six thirty," she informed him.
Standing with a nod, Mark waited until Cameron had reached the end of the bed before snaking an arm out and scooping her against his body. "Let's save some time," he suggested, moving toward the bathroom.
"Mark," she warned for what felt like the hundredth time since waking. He made no apologies for what had happened between them, and Cameron couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't going to back down just because she told him she wasn't interested. She would have to show him.
She just wasn't sure she could do that if he kept touching her.
---
"I'll be looking forward to hearing from you, Cameron," Dr. Tom Prichard said as he ushered Cameron and Del from the offices of the Deep South training facility.
After a grueling five-hour work out, Cameron had found herself exhausted as she eased herself into the chair beside Del for their meeting. Listening to what the men around her had to say, she could feel herself growing more and more excited at the prospect of joining the WWE family. All of the other challenges seemed to fade from her mind as she got caught up in the whirlwind.
Until Del had asked about relocation expenses. Why had he asked if the company would be willing to pay for Cameron and her husband to move from Tyler to McDonough? She understood that he was only trying to broker the best deal for his trainee, and she appreciated it. But it was the first time anyone in the room had spoken of Ryan, and she was trying her best to forget him. At least for the next twenty four hours.
When she was forced to leave Georgia, when she had no choice but to return to the life from which she had been hiding, then she would think about his part in this entire life-changing ordeal. But for now, she just wanted to focus on the job at hand, and on becoming the best wrestler she could possibly be.
"We'll be in touch, Tom," Del assured his old friend, shaking his hand as he slid a dark pair of sunglasses over his eyes and surveyed the old parking lot. Withdrawing his cell phone from the clip at his side, he made a call while Cameron said her good-byes.
Shaking the older man's hand firmly, Cameron smiled and then stepped into the hug he was offering. "Thank you so much for this opportunity," she managed to whisper, pleading with herself not to let the tears fall from her eyes. "It means the world to me."
With a nod, Dr. Prichard took a step back and rubbed her shoulder. "You've got a lot of talent, Kid. But you're only gonna make it if you want it."
Their conversation was interrupted by the roar of an engine. Cameron didn't even have to turn to know who had arrived. As Tom waved toward the driver and then retreated the building, Cameron closed her eyes and gathered her breath. She wasn't sure if she was more angry at Mark, or herself, for the fact that he had managed to make her climax two more times before leaving for her work out that morning.
She was there to work. This was important. She didn't need to add anymore drama to her life. And she didn't want to see a decent friendship ruined because they had given in to some sexual urges for one night. It was all bull shit as far as Cameron was concerned and if she didn't have to talk to Mark again before she left for Texas, she would be more than happy.
Making her way toward the truck, she caught the tail end of the conversation at Mark's window.
"So, I figure, since I'm in town," Del was saying as he noticed Cameron and motioned her closer to the truck, "I might as well try dinner with her and see where it goes from there." Nodding to the woman at his side, he asked his friend, "You think you can give Cameron a lift back to the hotel?"
She wanted to kick him in the shins and throw a temper tantrum. He had promised to show her his favorite Mexican restaurant in Atlanta, and then take her on a tour of the city. He had promised to spend the afternoon with her. He wasn't supposed to hand her over to Mr. Wandering Fingers.
"Sure," Mark agreed easily, reaching across the seat to pop the door of the rental open.
Turning to Del, Cameron put her hands on her hips. "What about my tour?" she pouted like a child.
Del just rolled his eyes and patted her on the head. "Mark's been here as many times as I have. I'm sure he'll show you a good time." And with that, he was gone.
I'm sure he'll try, Cameron though as she slid into the car and rested her elbow against the open window. "I'm hungry," she said, her tone curt and low.
Without so much as a word, Mark put the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot.
---
"Ya know, I made a decision on the plane out here," Cameron announced, chewing the final bit of her cornbread muffin and swallowing it in satisfaction, "that if they didn't have one great barbecue place in this town, I wasn't going to move." Wiping her hands on the paper towel in her lap, Cameron took her plastic fork and stabbed a massive chunk of saturated pork. "It's like, what's that thing called? Divine something or other."
Mark smiled as he swigged from his beer bottle, casting a sideways glance at the young woman beside him. She had all but devoured the barbecue he had ordered for dinner, and the way the sauce gathered in the corners of her mouth seemed like the cutest thing he had ever seen. "Providence," he filled in the blank she was searching for with a warm grin.
Snapping her fingers, Cameron smacked his shoulder, giggling a little bit when the sheet around her naked chest began to slip. "That's it!" she acknowledged, licking the sweet pork glaze from her thumb. "God, I love barbecue."
After wiping a wet nap over his mouth and beard, Mark tossed his take-out container to the floor of the hotel room, barely noticing when it landed amongst the afternoon's condom wrappers. Though he hadn't intended on sleeping with her again, the tension in the car had been more than he could bare. They had talked about their previous evening, or he had listened as she talked about how fucked up it was, and how they should both just forget it and move on. And before either realized what they were doing, clothing was strewn around the room and promises were broken once again.
She knew it was wrong. Cameron knew that the thought "It's already happened. . . a few more times doesn't make me any MORE unfaithful" was completely twisted. But somehow she managed to convince herself that the weekend in Georgia was her escape. It was her chance to live the life she might never again have the chance to experience. It was everything she hadn't been able to do in her twenty-six years on earth. She would deal with the consequences later.
Pulling her sheet away slowly, Mark smirked as inch by delicious inch of Cameron's alabaster skin was exposed to him. Goosebumps were left in the wake of his touch, causing him to dip his head and press his lips to her shoulder. "I'm glad you're enjoying your dinner," he whispered, noting the way her body shivered in response to him.
"Okay," she stated, dropping her fork and setting her styrofoam container on the bedside table. Yanking the sheet back over her chest, she twisted her body and crossed her arms defiantly. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but I am trying to enjoy my favorite food in the whole world," she informed. "I know that I am not so sexy that you can't keep your damn hands to yourself for thirty minutes."
Mark's lips curled, his eyes glimmering in amusement. Shaking his head, he took one of her hands in his and lifted it to his lips. Kissing the palm, he trailed his fingers over her forearm again. "You really have no idea, do you?"
"What?"
"I don't act like this, Cameron," he confessed, as though the words were hard to speak. "Nobody makes me lose control." Moving his lips to her wrist, he nipped at her pulse, sucking a little more when she stifled a groan. "Ya know what? You don't make me lose control," he said, as though the thought had just occured to him.
Cameron turned her head slowly, one eyebrow raising in question. "Ya know, you were so close to an actual romantic moment," she teased.
Shrugging, Mark pulled her arm until she fell against his chest. "I'm gettin' there," he defended as her laughter echoed through the room. "Jesus, woman," he laughed in response, placing his large hand over her mouth. "I actually had something real romantic to say, but you had to go open your mouth," he said, tickling her side until she squirmed into his lap.
With a shake of her dark hair, Cameron pulled back from Mark, straddling his legs with her fingers over his lips. "You realize that I know you're full of shit, right?" Slinging her hair over her shoulder, she scooted back, her ass bumping his knees as she leaned forward to rest her hands on his massive thighs. Looking at him through thick lashes, she blushed in spite of herself. "Is this sexy, Mark? The way I'm sitting right now? Is this appealing to you?"
He wanted to shake her until she realized that everything she did was appealing to him, but he feared that she still wouldn't get it. With his index finger, he pushed her hair back from her face and bit his lip to keep from voicing all of the thoughts in his mind. Nodding slowly, he studied her face as her mocha eyes rolled.
"I feel retarded," she admitted, rocking her body back until she was sitting upright again. Shaking her hair, she pulled it up and twisted it until it stayed loosely on the top of her head. "You've been with women who are totally comfortable doin' shit like that, right?" He nodded, his lips pursed as if he had no idea where her question was coming from, or where it was headed. "I don't get it," she sighed and shrugged.
"What's to get?" Mark asked, grabbing her arms and pulling her back into his chest.
Cameron fell against him with an exaggerated "oomph." Kicking her legs back, she laid against him, wondering for a moment why she was even talking to him about her insecurities. What did it matter? A few more hours, and she would never have to worry about what he thought of her bedroom skills anyway. But the compulsive need to know that he was enjoying their time together as much as she had took over.
"When Ryan and I watch porn together, I just can't imagine just knowing how to do half the shit those chicks are doin', ya know?" she began unburdening her soul. "It just makes me laugh."
Mark's hands moved up and down Cameron's bare back as he considered what she was telling him. "The confidence comes with experience," he spoke softly, evenly, into the stillness that had enveloped them. "You haven't had much," he acknowledged, chuckling slightly. "Luckily for you, I have some to spare."
Cameron struggled to sit again, smacking his bicep as she rolled off of his body. "Trust me, you've shared more than enough."
Licking his lips, Mark rose to his knees on the bed and grabbed Cameron's ankles. He lifted one of her legs into the air, and then the other. With a wink, he sucked one of her toes into his mouth and then released it as she gasped. "Oh, I've got plenty more to teach you."
