Chapter 11
Just as Luciana stepped inside her bedroom, her cell phone rang as she sat down on the bed to answer it, closing her eyes at the sound of Mark's voice filling her ear. "Hi big guy, I didn't expect to hear from you tonight." She could already feel her body responding to him and chewed her bottom lip, knowing he was at the shop currently working on a vehicle. He stayed late, which is why she'd invited Thea over for some sister time with dinner.
"I'm bored, want to go out?" Mark asked, hearing her huff and chuckled. "I know, I'm a jerk. How're you darlin'?"
"You're bored, so you want to go out with me? You do realize I'm the most boring person on the planet, right?" Luciana remarked cheekily, leaning back against the headboard and stared at the wall in front of her. "And I'm…frazzled, honestly. Thea told me about Jon asking her to move in with him and…I just think it's too soon. It's not my relationship though, so I wished her well and they're currently moving shit over to his place, I guess." She sounded a little disappointed and resigned, sighing heavily. "Where do you wanna go?"
"Wait, tonight?" Mark echoed dumbly, a hint of frustration seeping into his tone. "I thought they were talking about it, not doing it so damn soon." When she murmured the same thing, he snorted. "Out, anywhere, I'll come pick you up. Be there in 15, that okay?"
"Okay, I'll be ready to go."
Mark sounded just as agitated about Jon and Thea moving in together as she did. What was that about? Jon wasn't his brother; as far as she knew, they were friends…sort of and Mark was Jon's boss, like her, at the repair shop. Something didn't fit there, their friendship was…interesting, to put it mildly.
"See you soon."
Hanging up, Luciana tried pushing all the questions out of her mind and looked down at what she wore, which was simple black cotton shorts and a matching tank top, deciding that was good enough. There was no reason to change since she didn't have that many clothes to begin with. Slipping her white tennis shoes on, she tied them and could hear the front door shut, knowing Thea and Jon were on their way to his – their – place.
When people asked, Mark tended to say he felt like Jon's older brother. Jon had a rough childhood and life, and it had been Mark to straighten the little punk out, take him under his wing so to speak. So, for Jon to be pulling these antics, against his wishes, was not alright. Groaning, he tugged on his boots before dropping his head in his hands and sighed.
When a knock sounded at her door exactly 10 minutes later, after Jon and Thea left, Luciana answered it after looking through the peephole. She still didn't trust someone wasn't after them and smiled at the sight of Mark. Opening it, she looked into his eyes, his shades pushed up on top of his head and reached up to caress his face with the back of her hand. He took hers and laced their fingers together, pulling her out of the house into the night, not an ounce of fear in her eyes. There used to be, but not when it came to Mark, not anymore. He had gained her trust and she felt deep in her heart he would never hurt her, hoping it wasn't an illusion on her part.
Mark pulled her down the steps and gestured out to the street, where his pristine Harley was waiting. "Brought my bike." He rumbled, informing her of the obvious. "Hope you can ride."
Luciana wasn't exactly dressed to ride on a Harley, but went with him nevertheless and wrapped her arms around his waist. She had confessed to never riding before and he promised to go slow, not wanting to scare her. So thoughtful and attentive this man was toward her and had been from the beginning, ever since her cart smashed into his at the grocery store. Her black hair whipped around her while they cruised the streets of Houston, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his and Luciana felt the warmth course through her body, her veins. Only Mark made her feel this way, no other man had before and it both excited and terrified her.
He knew Luciana didn't get out that much. So Mark drove around showing her the sites, in the dark, but it was enough. She seemed to be enjoying herself and he would admit to himself that this was… nice. Wind in his hair and face, a beautiful woman wrapped around him. If things were different, he could've gotten used to this.
"That was amazing!" Luciana crowed as soon as Mark pulled up in front of her house an hour or so later, feeling a twinge of sadness that it truly was just her house now. Thea was moving out to be with Jon. She didn't want to think about that, pushing it aside and slowly unwound her arms from Mark's waist, breathing in the cool night air. "Thanks for the ride and getting my mind off of things." She murmured, pressing her forehead against his back briefly before dismounting, using his shoulders as leverage and looked down into his hypnotic eyes.
"Anytime, darlin." Mark rumbled, gesturing her back so he could dismount as well, towering over her. He reached out to smooth down her flyaway hair, green eyes practically glowing as he took her in. "You do look a lot more relaxed." He remarked thoughtfully, letting a finger stray down her cheek and across her bottom lip. "Anything you want to talk about?"
There were moments, like this one, where he treated her as if they were in a relationship, caressing her lovingly and making her heart thunder in her ears. However, there were other moments where he treated her like a friend and nothing more, which really confused Luciana. She wanted to ask him what was the deal and beg him to stop the confusion. Something held her back though; maybe she was the reason he hadn't made a move or even attempted to kiss her.
"No there isn't." Taking a slow step back, Luciana could tell their time had come to an end and felt more restless than ever.
"Mmm…" He considered her, eyebrows drawing together at the confusion in those beautiful eyes of hers. "What's wrong? You look… puzzled." That was a good choice of words because she did, relaxed yet confused and maybe sad.
Sighing, he bent down to press his forehead against hers, wondering why he was doing this and not for the first time. Being around her… bothered him and Mark knew he came across hot and cold sometimes. He was blaming her for bewitching him.
"You going to invite me in, darlin'?" He asked quietly, his lips near grazing hers.
So close, she could feel his lips against hers, even though he hadn't closed the gap completely and his hot breath made her head spin. Luciana wanted to ask him for what reason would she invite him in for. What would happen between them? Would it be more games on his part? Luciana felt like she was being toyed with and it wasn't a good feeling, especially with how fragile she was.
"Would you like to come inside, Mark?" She asked softly, taking his hand and began pulling him backwards toward the house, their eyes not leaving each other.
His answer was to bend and grab her about the waist, lifting her up guiding her legs around his waist so they were eyelevel. His eyes took in her face, lit by the night sky and a dim street lamp. Mark smiled, bending down slowly, not wanting to startle her. It was easy, sometimes, to forget his job, forget she was the job, and now was one of those moments. Giving her plenty of time to stop him, Mark moved in until he could gently but firmly brush his lips against hers, waiting for her hand to collide with the side of his face.
It did, but not the way Mark presumed. Her hand gently touched the side of his face as Luciana returned the kiss, his lips as soft and pliant as she thought they'd be. Being lifted from the ground had somewhat startled her, but the moment Mark's mouth met hers, all trepidation and fear vanished, want and need taking over. It'd been a long time since Luciana was kissed, so she took her time, not rushing anything and slowly increased the pressure, her hand sliding from his face to his hair, pressing herself as close to him as she possibly could. His touch, taste and smell…everything about Mark lit her blood on fire and she could feel it coursing through every vein of her body. Slowly pulling back, Luciana needed oxygen to breathe and had gripped his shoulder with her free hand since she was quite a-ways from the ground.
"I was starting…to wonder if you didn't…see me that way." She joked breathlessly, pausing in between gulps of breaths, resting her forehead against his and felt his arms tighten around her.
Her words elicited a low growl from him as he wondered just how she thought he did see her. She was all woman, even he knew that, and he was definitely reminded by the way those thin cotton shorts clung to her every curve and crevice, the heat of her against him…If he moved her just a little lower, she'd feel the proof and he smirked, carrying her up the steps to the front door. Reluctantly, he set her down, so she could unlock the door, pretty sure she had slid down on purpose and another growl escaped him, eyes darkening with desire.
"Trust me, darlin', I see you for the woman you are."
The moment the front door was kicked shut by Mark's boot, Luciana barely had time to drop the keys on the floor before she was swept up in his strong arms again, clinging to him. Their mouths crashed together, this time with urgency and once again her feet left the floor, her legs encircling his waist. He carried her to her bedroom, not bothering flipping the light on and Luciana felt her back hit the soft bedding with Mark hovering over her. The kiss never broke, her mouth opening as soon as his tongue slid across her soft lips and immediately granted him access, a soft moan escaping her at the first taste of him. Her fingers delved in his hair as Luciana took the band out to let it fall over his shoulders and tossed it aside, desire flooding every spectrum of her body.
Now, Mark knew better.
He knew better than to have sex with Luciana, that was just a bad idea all the way around for the both of them. But that didn't mean there weren't other things they could do, because there were… many other things… Outside of that one thing and he highly doubted she was on birth control because from his understanding, the woman didn't have a social life outside of them. She wasn't the kind to get her kicks from a random stranger and, if he had thought to carry a condom tonight… there'd be sex. He pushed all that out of mind, focusing on the woman beneath him and what they could give each other.
Luciana would've made that decision for him regardless, refusing to sleep with him when they'd just started kissing. It was stupid; she knew it was, but Luciana had morals and enough self-respect for herself not to jump into bed with him on a whim. Caressing and kissing for hours on end was all Luciana wanted from him right now. It was enough for her, just feeling his bodyweight on top of her, pressing her into the mattress and his large strong, warm hands sliding up and down her sides. They were getting familiar with each other the old-fashioned way, something she did not see a problem with.
"Mark…" She breathed out his name, feeling his mouth seal to her neck and gently but firmly pushed him back enough to lock eyes with him. Dark forest green on smoldering turquoise. "T-This is all I can give you right now. I-I don't have a lot of…experience with this kind of thing and…" Her eyes closed briefly, her body trembling because it was on the verge of going on strike against her. "It's been a while…a long time, actually…and I'm nervous…" That was nothing new. "Please tell me you understand and you're not…angry with me…"
"Does it count if you're telling me to tell you?" He teased, nuzzling her neck again before pulling away, bracing his weight on his elbows as he regarded her thoughtfully. Mark nodded, he did understand and was glad she was making that call because, while he knew it was the right thing to do, he wasn't sure about his restraint right now, not with her. "I'm not angry with you, darlin'."
"Believe me, I want you. I want this. Don't think for a second that's not the case." Luciana wanted to assure Mark it wasn't him, it was all on her.
She'd be crazy not to want this man; Mark had the kindest heart and had helped her and Thea out more times than she cared to admit. However, in the back of her mind, she kept playing the 'what if' game and it annoyed her. Luciana didn't want to be away from Mark or leave Houston. She'd gotten used to being here, even the heat didn't bother her anymore and this man had made her stay all the more enjoyable. Going slow built the anticipation and Luciana still didn't fully trust him, not yet, and she would not sleep with him until it was complete.
There she went, doing one of her long-winded, crazy explanations and Mark sat back, moving until he was sitting Indian style and pulled Luciana up onto his lap, pressing a finger to her lips to shut her up. "Darlin', you don't have to explain yourself to me." He assured her, letting his hands drop to rest on her waist, squeezing gently. "As much as I want to ravage you right here and now, I don't want that kind of relationship with you." Not a find them, fuck them, forget them deal; that wasn't his style, usually.
"I feel the same way."
Luciana nuzzled his chest briefly, glad they were on the same page and felt contentment flood over him. Eventually, they would take the next step and have sex, but both were fine with going slow. Where had this man been all her life? He was patient with her, even with her craziness and decided he was either a little insane himself or he genuinely liked her. Either way, she wouldn't question it anymore and decided to let the chips fall where they may between them. She was done fighting her feelings for him and wouldn't let fear dictate her life. However, in the far recesses of her mind, Luciana couldn't help wondering if this was too good to be true between them and if the bubble would burst sooner rather than later. Mark kissed the crown of her head, gently laying her back down and moved so he was laying beside her on his side, his head propped up by the palm of his hand, elbow on her bed. He simply stared down at her, tracing a finger up and down her stomach lazily.
