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Mark banged at Scott's door and kept banging till a irritated Scott appeared at the door. "Damn Mark, what the fuck do you want?"
Mark pushed past him. "Wheres Michelle?"
Scott looked at his friend and saw that he was upset. "Whats wrong?"
Mark sighed. "Colleen, things been going great between us, I was on the deck kissing her, and she just freaked out and ran in the house, locked me out, she wont answer the door."
Scott frowned, he knew Colleen was crazy about Mark, that didn't sound right.
Michelle walked in and saw Mark's face. "Whats wrong?"
"Colleen freaked out on me when I kissed, her, and before ya try kill me, I swear thats all I did, she ran in the house and locked me out."
Michelle cursed. "Fuck, I knew this was going to happen..I need to go talk to her."
Mark stepped in front of her. "Hold up just a minute here, I would love to know whats going on here, I happen to like Colleen a lot, I feel like I sacred her to death, I don't wanna fuck this thing up between me and her, I just need your key so I can go talk to her, but if you can shed some light on whats wrong with her, it would help me out."
Michelle stared at him for a minute. "I know you mean well, but we take care of each other."
"Michelle."
Michelle turned around to look at Scott. "yeah."
"Honey..maybe you should let Mark try to work this out with Colleen." Scott said realizing that she had a tough time letting anyone have control over something she considered hers.
"Michelle I'm worried sick about her, if I cant help her, I'll call you and have you come over." Mark said looking at the dark haired woman.
Michelle turned to look at Scott. "I need to talk to Mark for a few minutes, I'll be up in a little while."
Scott walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay."
Mark followed Michelle out to the deck where she sat down in one of the chairs. Mark sat in the other one. "Mark, Colleen likes you a lot, too much really, she don't think she's good enough for you."
Mark jumped up. "Why the fuck would she think that, Colleen's the sweetest girl I ever met, she's wonderful."
Michelle nodded. "You're right, she is, she doesn't know that though, that fucker Ben really messed her up, I was going through some heavy shit at the time, and Colleen was living with him, I didn't know what was going on or I would have killed him." Michelle said clenching her fist.
Mark got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Thats her ex-fiancée?"
"Yea..I didn't know what had happened until earlier when I was talking to Colleen about some shit I hadn't told her about and well, she spilled some stuff to me..." Michelle's voice cracked and Mark knew she was very upset about whatever it was, it must be bad.
Michelle swiped a tear from her cheek. "That no good bastard, raped her , more than once, he hurt her, beat on her and ran her down till, she didn't have a ounce of self confidence left, sexually she thinks she's worthless, no good in bed, stuff I'm sure Ben filled her head, with. He's the only guys she's been with, so you can see how that might screw a person up?" Michelle said getting up and pacing.
It was all Mark could do, not to put his fist through something, he wanted to track this little weasel down and stomp his face in, and he might just do it yet, how anyone could treat that sweet little girl like that was beyond him. "Give me your spare key." He said his voice deceptively calm.
Michelle turned and looked at him , she seen the anger simmering in his eyes. "Colleen don't need your anger right now, that would do her more harm than good, believe me I would love to kill that fucker myself, but Colleen is more important than killing him."
Mark nodded and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "I know..I just wanna take care of Colleen, I wouldn't do nothing to hurt her."
Michelle handed him the key out of her back pocket. "Reaper, maybe you aren't so bad after all."
Mark smiled a little. "I ain't no angel, but I wouldn't do nothing to hurt that girl."
Michelle watched Mark leave, she hoped she had done the right thing by telling Mark what was going on. She had the feeling if anyone could help Colleen ,it would be Mark, she was already half way in love with him, maybe Mark could break through the wall, that Ben had put there.
Michelle went back in the house and locked the door and made her way up to the bedroom, she smiled, Scott was sprawled on the bed watching TV. "C'mere." He said patting the spot beside him on the bed.
Michelle went and lay down beside him, Scott put his arm around her. "Want to talk about it?"
Michelle sighed and turned on her side and wrapped her arm across Scott's waist. "I'm so worried about Colleen, she deserves to be happy, but well, Ben did some really messed up stuff to her and I don't know if she can get past it."
Scott pulled her closer feather light kisses on her face. "Colleen is a strong woman, just like you..All you can do is be there for her, care to tell me whats wrong?"
Michelle leaned her face in closer to his, needing his touch. Scott made her feel like everything would be okay, he gave her a new strength, she hadn't had before. "I dunno...I mean its real personal, I know you wouldn't say anything..."
Scott hugged her, feeling how upset she was. "It's okay...I don't want you to break a confidence..I just want you to be able to talk about it if you need too."
Michelle broke down and started crying. "Scott I wasn't there for her, I've always protected Colleen, I never let no one hurt her, I was to wrapped up in my on shit to see what was going on, in fact did see hints of it, I just ignored it cause I figured Colleen was living her own life."
Scott sat up and pulled Michelle in his arms. "Michelle stop that, I know Colleen well enough to know, she would be pissed, you're even thinking this way, I seen you protect Colleen, you're like a pit bull. No way can you blame yourself for anything." He stoked her long hair and kissed her cheek.
"Scott you don't understand, that bastard hurt her, he was beating on her and he...raped her...Colleen is totally messed up from this shit, she wants Mark, but she's scared cause of what she's been through..I don't know what to do." Michelle said holding on tight to him and pressing her face against his chest.
Scott cursed under his breath, what kind of animal would hurt that sweet girl like that, he wanted to go find the jerk himself, and extract a little justice, but he knew his friend Mark well, Mark wouldn't let this go, he might stew over it a while, but if he knew his buddy, that little worm would eventually get a visit from Mark. Scott was pretty sure, Mark had deep feelings for Colleen, and if he was right, Mark wouldn't let this go. "Michelle, you just have to be there for Colleen, thats all you can do...I know Mark pretty well, let him help her, I know you think he's this big tough guy, but you must see the way he looks at her, let him help her."
Michelle nodded and snuggled deeper in Scott's arms. "I hope you're right Scott, she really needs someone to love her."
Scott silently agreed and he hoped he was right about Mark being the one she needed.
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Mark used Michelle's key to let himself in and he laid the keys on the table and made his way into the living room. He made his way upstairs to her bedroom. After she ran off from him, he supposed, the worst thing he could do was barge in her bedroom, but dammit, he wasn't going to walk away from her, especially not after what Michelle told him, Colleen was hurting and she need someone, and he was going to make sure that someone was him.
Mark eased the door open, and his heart about broke in half, the sweet little thing was burrowed under the covers, still crying her eyes out. Mark shut the door and went and sat on the edge of the bed, he felt her stiffen up and soon as he sat down. Well too bad, she wasn't chasing him off so easily. He pulled the covers from around her, and pulled her unresisting body in his lap. " Shhhh its okay sweet thing." He crooned as he wrapped his big arms around her.
Colleen was torn between wanting to die of embarrassment and snuggling deeper in his arms, it felt so good wrapped in his warm embrace. Colleen having a weak spot of the man, opted to snuggled deeper in his comforting embrace. Mark smiled when he felt her relax. Mark rubbed her back and willed him self not to notice she still had on the hot outfit from earlier, thats what had got him in trouble in the first place.
He noticed she was started to wind down, her sobbing had stopped, her breath still hitching as she tried to calm herself down.
Mark lifted her chin with his warm hand and looked at her red face. He just wanted to cart her home, and take care of her, thats what she needed someone to show her how special she was. "Colleen, ya kinda hurt my feelings, ain't never had a woman run off after I kissed her..I guess I'd run off to if some scruffy old guy practically grabbed me and kissed me with no warning." He said teasing her a little trying to ease the tension.
Colleen looked at him horrified and sat up in his lap, Mark's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the little scarp of a top she wore, damn the girl looked good.
Colleen took Mark's hand in hers. "You're not old and scruffy, you're the most handsome man , I ever seen, its not you Mark, its me..I'm just messed up inside...I'm no good for you." She said biting her bottom lip and looking away from him.
"Bullshit..You're perfect for me...You're a beautiful, wonderful woman Colleen, and I'm going to convince you of that, now..I want you to get up and go take a shower, it'll make you feel better. I'm going to make you a cup of tea, then you and me are going to have a nice long talk." Mark said brushing his finger through her silky curls.
"Mark you're wasting your time, you should have a woman, that can please you..I'm not worth your time." She said trying to get off his lap, Mark's big arms wrapped around her keeping her in place. "Colleen, I wont have you puttin' yourself down, I don't want to hear anymore of that..you are worth my time, truth is your too good for me..Now do what I said, okay." he said lifted her chin and planted a small kiss on her lips.
Colleen blushed and eased off his lap, looking back at him. He smiled encouragingly. "Go on get." he teased.
Colleen smiled and went into her bathroom closing the door.
Mark sighed and got up. Colleen was going to require a lot of patience on his part, but she was worth it.
He was going to make sure no one ever hurt her again.
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Colleen sighed as she got out of the shower, she did feel better, maybe finally having a huge crying jag after holding it in for a long time helped, but she was still convinced Mark shouldn't be wasting his time on her, he needed a woman , who wouldn't be afraid to love him, she was afraid she was going to fall short of his expectations in the bedroom. She pulled on a pair of panties and pulled a large sleeping shirt over her head, she had passed on the Undertaker shirt, the last thing she needed to portray was her stalker fan image.
She pulled a brush through unruly curls and sighed in the mirror. This was good as it got. She walked out and went over climbing in the bed, she felt a lot calmer, maybe even a little hopeful, that Mark hadn't run at the first sign of trouble.
Mark came in and cursed under his breath, he had been hoping she would put on flannel pajamas, or anything to cover those sexy legs of hers. The shirt was big, but it only hit mid thigh, and it left plenty of thigh and leg for him to salivate over. He willed his body to behave and took the tea over to her and handed it to her, then he lowered his big frame on the edge of the bed. "Thank you." She murmured.
Mark nodded, trying to focus on her pretty face, instead of those gorgeous legs. "Do you mind if I use your shower?"
Colleen's eyes got wide, but she shook her head, there was no way she could speak, Mark naked in her shower, was causing some powerful images, not unpleasant at all. Colleen knew if she could stop worrying about measuring up to Mark, she might actually enjoy his attentions, but that was easier said than done.
Mark stood. "Call Michelle, I had to get her spare keys to get in , she's worried about you."
Colleen, just sat there as he went in her bathroom and shut the door. She had a horrible feeling, what if Michelle had told him, about Ben. She grabbed her cell and dialed Michelle's number.
"Hello."
"Michelle, please tell me you didn't tell Mark about me, about Ben." She pleaded desperation in her voice.
Michelle sighed. "Colleen don't be mad, Mark cares about you and he was worried, he needs to know, so he can help you, if not what happened tonight, would keep happening and he wouldn't know why..Girl he don't care..he cares about you."
Tears pricked colleen's eyes once again and she bit her lip. "I'm not mad, its just he is probably disgusted with me."
"Stop it, if that was true why would he be there with you, why would he be so worried, Colleen, give this a chance, I been where you're at, maybe not because of the same reasons, but I closed Scott out because I was scared, don't do the same thing to Mark."
Colleen hoped that Michelle was right. "Okay Michelle , I'll try, but I still don't understand, why he even wants me."
"Because he sees what everyone else see, you're a beautiful, sweet, loving woman." Michelle said.
Colleen smiled. "Thanks Michelle."
Michelle smiled as she heard a little optimism slip in her friends voice. "Call me in the morning."
Colleen nodded. "I will."
Colleen laid her phone on the bedside table and sipped at her tea, maybe Mark did think she was worth the effort.
Colleen laid back and closed her eyes, but jumped when the bathroom door opened, her mouth went dry, he was standing there in his boxers and t-shirt and by God he looked good. Colleen tried to get her beating heart under control, and swallowed hard several times.
Mark watched her face flush as she looked at him, he knew she had reason to be scared, but he was out to prove that she could trust him, that he wouldn't hurt her, he just had to keep his raging libido under control.
Mark had done some thinking while he was taking a shower, he figured the best thing he could do, was get her out of her, take her someplace relaxing and the two of them spend some time alone, maybe breaking her routine and just relaxing with him, would help her to see that she could trust him.
Mark sat down on the other side of the bed, with his back against the headboard. "Colleen, come over here."
Colleen shivered at the sound of his voice, the thing is she wasn't scared of Mark, maybe scared of disappointing him, scared of freezing up during sex, but not scared of him. She scooted over next to him and Mark lifted her on his lap, her pulled the covers over her legs to keep himself from being distracted. "Michelle told me about Ben, I think I know why you ran of..I scared ya..I'm sorry if I pushed you to fast."
Colleen leaned against Mark, he felt so warm and strong. "Mark its not you, its me..I want to be able to let go and enjoy..well...enjoy sex, but I'm not sure if I can...and I don't want to big a big disappointment to you...I know you're probably used to women..that well know everything in the bedroom."
Mark was flabbergasted, thats what she was worried about, disappointing him. Mark wrapped both of big arms around her. "Colleen believe me when I say theres no way you could disappoint me, just looking at you turns me on, and sex is mostly about how two people feel about each other...I really like you and I'm pretty sure you like me, I'm sure it would be good between us."
Colleen persisted. "But Mark...I don't know anything..I don't want you to be bored."
Mark laughed. "Darlin' when I look at you I get hard, believe me when I say there will nothing boring when we have sex, trust me on that one okay?"
Colleen looked up at him hopefully. "You really think I can be normal?"
Mark kissed her forehead. "You are normal Colleen, you just had a horrible experience..but thats behind you...No one is ever going to hurt you like that again..most of all not me..so until you're ready we'll take it slow..as slow as you need, understand?" He asked running his fingers through her curls.
Colleen nodded, wondering how she had got so lucky that a man like Mark actually liked her. "Colleen do you want to talk about what happened?" Mark didn't want to upset her again, but he wanted her to know she could tell him whatever she needed too.
Colleen nudged closer to him, just being here with him, like this felt good. Mark smiled and rubbed her head.
Colleen finally spoke starting out slowly. "When I met Ben...I was so grateful that he noticed me...Guys never noticed me...He was the first guy I ever really seriously dated...I didn't get to know the real Ben until I moved in with him. I had been there about a week. I told him..I wanted to wait a while before we had sex..I guess I was just nervous, wanted to make sure things were right between us, before we started sleeping together."
Mark heard her voice quiver and he rubbed her back, trying to calm her and encourage her at the same time.
"He came home drunk one night and he wanted to have sex, I told him no...and...he beat me up and he raped me..I know I was a fool to stay...but he said he loved me..and he the first guy that ever paid attention to me."
Mark had to hold back a stream of curse words that wanted to leave his lips, he definitely had a date with this guy somewhere down the road.
Colleen rubbed her face against Mark's shirt, he felt and smelled so good, and his arms made her feel safe. "Things just got worse and worse, he was spending my money like there was no tomorrow and the beatings got worse, although he never hit me in the face, he was afraid Michelle would catch on, he told me how worthless I was and that no one would want me for anything but my bank account, hell even that wasn't enough to get him to marry me, he left me at the alter in spite of my money, I must really be fucked up."
Mark lifted her head up cupping her chin with his warm hand. "Collen thats bullshit, he's a idiot, and he probably would have treated any woman like that..you're special..take my word for it and from now on, no more tears for you...I'm going to make you smile from here on out, deal?
Colleen could do nothing but nod, the feel of his calloused gentle hand cupping her chin made her heart skip a little faster.
Mark leaned in the last few inches and kissed her lips gently, just brushing there lips together at first, then he pressed a little firmer. Collen melted at his touch and this time, nothing entered her mind , but the feel of his lips against hers. Mark's lips touched her gently over and over in a series of short sweet kisses, that made her heart race.
Finally he pulled back and smiled and then impulsively kissed her nose. "Come on, lets get some sleep, we got a lot to do in the morning, we're going on a trip."
Colleen lay down beside him and cuddled up to his side. "What kinda trip?"
Mark smiled, but reached over and turned out the lamp. "Just you and me, I gotta beach house, we're going to hole up there for a while and get to know each other, what do ya say?"
Colleen smiled, it sounded like heaven to her. "I say yes."
"Good..now lets get some sleep..We'll call Scott and Michelle in the morning and let them know, okay?"
Colleen nodded, exhausted after her emotional outburst. She was asleep with in minutes.
Mark smiled and pulled her closer..this trip would be great for her and him, they needed time to get to know each other better, and he hoped Colleen would come to trust him.
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The next morning was hectic and Colleen rushed around trying to pack and answer Michelle's questions and Cassidy's
"Colleen you're going to have a great time, but you have to call me every couple of days and let me know whats going on." Michelle said as she grabbed a cute bikini out of Colleen's drawer and threw it in the suitcase.
Cassidy plopped down on the bed. "Uncle Mark is so romantic taking you away for a romantic trip to the beach.
Colleen smiled. "He is isn't he." She said looking so happy that Michelle had to hug her. She knew just from the look on Colleen's face, that things were going to work out.
Finally Colleen was packed and Cassidy took her bag downstairs for her.
Michelle grabbed Colleen's hand. "You're going to be fine ya know."
Colleen grinned." I know, I feel so much better and Mark doesn't care about my past, he really likes me." She said.
Michelle nodded. 'We're both lucky girls."
The two girls hugged and Michelle followed her downstairs where Mark was waiting.
Scott and Cassidy hugged Colleen before she left and the three watch her and Mark take off in his truck.
Michelle was happy that Colleen seemed to be better, but she couldn't get Ben off her mind, she wanted to make that little shit pay, and she would if it was the last thing she done.
Colleen and Mark arrived at his beach house after dark, Colleen fixed them a lite dinner and they both sprawled out together on the bed watching TV. They lay there for a while just cuddling, but Colleen was longing for more, she watched Mark as he seemed focused on the TV, she could never get over how handsome he was.
Mark turned and caught her staring and grinned as she blushed. "What is is baby?"
Colleen took a deep breath. "Mark kiss me."