Tag to how 2x7 should have been
This was probably a mistake. Mark's hands were cupping Riley's face, and he was breathing her in.
It was probably a mistake, but he knew he would regret nothing.
He leaned down and kissed her, and she clutched at him, her leg coming up. His hand swept down to grab it, wrapping her legs around his waist. His hands were on her ass. He could feel every taut curve.
Her face was above his now, and she pulled back a little, staring at him. "Take me inside," she whispered, and he just nodded.
He slammed the door behind them, and started to go upstairs, but Riley shook her head. "Isn't your study closer?" She whispered, her legs tight around his waist. His erection throbbed, and again, he could only nod in reply.
They made it to the study, and he lay her on the couch. She was pulling at his shirt, laughing in frustration. "The person who made these with tiny buttons was cruel," she said.
"Just let me," he said, and pulled the shirt over his head. His undershirt came with it, and she made a noise of appreciation.
"For a doctor, you spend a lot of time working out," she whispered, standing up and placing her hands on his chest.
"You aren't so bad yourself," he said, and leaned to kiss her again.
Her hands were roaming his body as they kissed, finding his waistband and jerking his pants down. She stepped back, a dazed look on her face, as he stepped out of them. He was just in his boxers now, and she licked her lips. Her hands were at the hem of her shirt, and he watched as she slowly, painstakingly pulled it over her head.
She was wearing a black bra, lace. He stepped forward, his hands landing on her waist. "I want to do the rest," he said, his voice a growl, and she nodded.
He sat on the couch, pulling her onto his lap so that she was straddling him, and then they just kissed.
He tasted her lips, relished the scent of her. His lips moved to her neck, nuzzling the soft skin. He nipped at her collarbone, tugged on her ears. She was squirming, rubbing herself against his erection, trying to make him crazy.
He was crazy. But he was going to do this right.
His hands landed on her hips, stilling her. "There's no rush, Riley," he said, and she pouted.
"I can't wait," she said, reaching her hands around to her bra clasp, and undoing it before he could stop her. Her breasts spilled out, and he made a noise that would have been embarrassing in any other context.
In this context, it made Riley moan in return. His hands slowly traveled up, gently moving his thumb over her nipple once his hands reached her rib cage. "I want you," he said, and met her gaze. His hands were on her breasts, holding her in place. "Riley, I want this. But I need to know you won't regret this. I can't let you do this if your heart isn't in the right place."
"You said no strings," she said, halting.
"I know what I said," he whispered. "And I want it to be true. I'm not going to chase you down after you leave here, I'm not going to act like this means you've chosen me. I'm okay if this is just sex, since I want to be that person for you no matter the situation. But are you?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, pulling away, and grabbing at her shirt. She was holding it to her chest, and Mark hated himself for making her doubt this, but he couldn't do it for the wrong reasons. He couldn't do something she'd regret.
"You're rushing through this," he said. "That's not the Riley I know. She doesn't do meaningless sex."
She yanked her shirt over her head, struggling off of his lap, and he gave her a hand that he could tell she resented.
"It wasn't meaningless," she said. "At least not for me."
He reached to take her hand, before she could try to leave. "Then why were you acting like it was?"
She froze. He could see the wheels spinning in her head, he could tell how hard it was for her to answer the question.
"We can't do this if you're going to regret it," he said. "I have feelings for you, Riley Parks. And I will serve whatever role you need me to, but I'm afraid that you're going to think you're using me if we do this. And that's just not true."
She sank down on the ottoman, placing her head in her hands. "I don't know," she finally said. "I don't know what this means for us. I don't know what this means for...Kyle and I."
"You don't have to," he said. "I'm not asking you to define our relationship. I'm not asking you for anything."
She raised her eyes to meet his. "What if I want you to?" She asked. "What if the scariest part of this is that you expect nothing in return?"
He placed a hand on her knee. "I don't expect it, and I don't ask for it," he said. "But I will take whatever you want to give." He met her eyes, trying to emphasize his words. "Anything. I want you, Riley. You know that."
"I need a minute," she whispered, and he nodded.
"I'm going to run upstairs to grab something," he said.
He had a feeling she'd be gone by the time he got back to the study, and he forced himself to not rush when he left. He needed to give her a moment.
He walked up the front stairs, to the bedroom, and his nightstand. He reached inside, took out the box of condoms, even though he doubted they'd end up using them. And he just stood there, giving it a minute. Counting one, two, three. Before he went back downstairs, and found her gone.
He turned around, and his jaw worked.
Riley was in the doorway, wearing nothing but his dress shirt he'd left in the study. Her legs were bare, and the few buttons done on his shirt assured him that she was naked underneath.
He felt his erection renew itself, pounding to life.
She walked forward. "I really appreciate what you said, and I have something to say myself," she said. "I really have no idea what this will mean for us. But I really want to give you this, to give me this. I really want to do this with you, because of the way that I feel right now. I can't promise no regrets, but I do promise that I'll remember this forever."
He reached to take her hands, and kissed them gently.
"Here I am," she whispered. "A mess."
"A beautiful mess," he said.
Riley stood there, just staring at the man in front of her. How could he just accept whatever she threw at him?
"Why does a guy like you want to sleep with me?" She asked Mark, voice ragged. "I can't offer you anything, I can't even offer you simple."
"I'm okay with complicated," he said, meeting her gaze. "And I want to be with you and I can't explain why. I'm just as messy as you are."
"Look at us," she whispered, moving forward. "Two beautiful messes."
Mark touched her, and it was like her walls finally came down. He could feel the difference from earlier. The air was charged, and he sank onto the bed, pulling her between his legs.
And he finally kissed her, his hand on the back of her head, cradling her, cherishing this moment. His mouth trailed down her neck, and Riley gasped, making him run back up her neck, letting his stubble scrape the soft skin as she shivered at the touch.
His hands slid beneath the white shirt, unbuttoned it, and she was nude under his hands, but he didn't pull back to admire her. Not yet. He just closed his eyes, kissed her harder, and felt.
Her skin was so soft. Her ass was calling to him, and he didn't resist the urge to cup it, squeeze it, and even give her a spank. When she gasped, he spanked her again, feeling her melt against it. "I like that," she murmured, and he moved them, til she was lying on the bed, and he was over her.
His knee parted her thighs, and she hugged his leg tight between hers as he kissed her. He could have come, then and there, from how it felt to have his leg between hers. Her thighs were taut, warm, and he could feel the heat from between her legs.
He wanted to touch her there, but he was going to take his time.
He kissed down her neck again, and down to her breasts. She stilled as his mouth neared them, and whimpered when he paused. "You okay?" He asked.
"Yes," she breathed. "Please."
"Please what?" He asked, his mouth near enough to her nipples to warm them, and she looked down at him.
"Touch me there," she said. He wanted to keep teasing her, but he didn't. His hands came up to cup her breasts, and he lowered his head to one perfect peak. He swirled his tongue around her nipple, and then sucked, keeping his eyes on her face to see her reaction. "Harder," she whimpered, and he adjusted.
They spent a long time there, and Mark made sure to keep a close eye on how she felt. She was melting, finally. She was letting him in.
By the time he reached her thighs, he knew she was wet. He pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, gently spreading her legs, and Riley's hand clutched at his hair. She moaned loud when his mouth reached the apex, and even louder when his tongue swirled in to taste her.
He hadn't gone down on a woman in too long, but his wife had always said he did a better job than most.
Riley seemed to agree, from the way her back was arching, from the way she was panting, and he could feel her shatter into his mouth after a few more minutes of work.
"Mark," she cried, and he moved back up to kiss her. She stared up at him as he pulled away, and her hand came to cup his face.
"I want you inside me," she said, and he nodded, standing up to slide his boxers off. He was reaching for the box of condoms when Riley sat up, reaching to place her hand on his member.
"Riley, that feels good," he gasped, almost dropping the box. "But if you want me inside you, I can't handle much of that."
"Mmhmm," she whispered, sliding off the bed and dropping to her knees before him. He couldn't handle this view. Her mouth was wet and warm, and he almost came when she slid his erection into her mouth. She sucked lightly, and Mark had to grab at the bedside table.
"Riley, I meant that," he gasped again, and she pulled away.
"I know," she said. "I wanted to return the favor."
He reached down, gently helping her to her feet. "Anything we do in here," he said. "You just have to enjoy. I just want you to feel good."
She licked her lips, and he had to concentrate hard on opening the box of condoms. She reached to take a foil packet, neatly tearing it open, and again dropping to her knees to slide it on.
"Riley, I don't need you to serve me," he whispered, crouching down with her as best he could with how hard his erection was throbbing. "Your mouth on me felt amazing, but please, let me pleasure you."
Her eyes were wide, and she moved back onto the bed. He moved between her thighs, nudging them open. He traced his fingers over her thighs, and she moaned. He took his time, sliding his fingers into her wet heat, and pumping in and out. "I want you to be ready," he said.
"I am," she said. "I want this."
He felt like there was more to say. He felt like the moment was missing something, but he just smiled down at her, and pushed inside.
She gasped, and shifted her hips, letting his erection slide more deeply inside, and Mark moaned at the feeling. In, out. Wet, warm, cold outside, wet, warm.
He just wanted to stay inside her. He rocked back and forth, and she moved her hips so that every movement made him slam into her. "Harder," she pleaded, and he picked up his pace, pounding in and out.
"Come for me," she begged. "Mark. Come for me."
He shattered.
Riley lay there as Mark fell over her, bracing himself so he didn't place too much weight on her. "Oh my god, Riley," he panted.
She kissed him, hard. She wanted to stay in this moment as long as possible. This moment was intimate, safe. There were no outside thoughts. There was just the two of them.
He carefully rolled off of her, laying on his side to face her. "I think that went well," he joked, and she felt a genuine smile spread across her face.
"I think it did too," she whispered, moving closer into his arms.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Riley could tell that Mark was getting sleepy. She carefully moved from his arms as he started to doze, but his eyes opened as she got out of the bed.
"Not staying?" He asked, and she wondered if she imagined how vulnerable he looked.
"Shower with me," she said, holding out her hand.
By the time they'd finished showering, and round two, Riley was feeling thoroughly fucked. She hadn't felt like this in a very long time.
Mark had gone downstairs and grabbed her clothes. She carefully put them on, feeling his eyes on her. He was back on the bed, wearing just his boxers. "I have to get home," she said. "Babysitter has already texted twice."
"I get it," he said, and held a hand out. She stepped forward, feeling how intimate, and terrifying this moment was. "I'm glad you came over," he whispered. "Remember, no strings. You don't have to decide anything, you aren't obligated to me in any way." He kissed her hands, and she swallowed.
Somehow, that made it a lot harder to leave.
She paid for Travis's tutoring sessions, prepaying to save ten percent. It was still a number that would have made her flinch previously.
She paid the lawyer another $1000, and she sighed as her life slowly came back down to normal.
It was just another Saturday night. Her time at Mark's felt like a dream.
She'd have to go and see Kyle this week, figure out if he'd finally testify against his partner. They had to get this finished.
She reached for her phone, and her heart leaped in her chest when she saw there was a new text message. It came crashing back down when she saw it was just from Dale. He was probably asking her to make up with Lacey.
She didn't even open it, sliding the phone back onto her nightstand, and spending the rest of the night wishing that she was back at Mark's, safe in his arms.