Marissa woke to pain in her chest. She opened her eyes and realized that Ryan was the cause of her pain. She quickly rolled out of bed and surveyed all that was happening. Ryan was grunting and straining rolling around swing him arms hitting himself, the bed, and he had obviously hit her.

Marissa looked down at her chest and saw a bruise start to appear below her clavicle bone and above the swell of her breast. But she wasn't worried for herself, she was worried for him. She quickly got back into bed and straddled Ryan's chest using her knee's on his biceps to pin his arms down. She thought the pressure of her body weight might result in a bruise but she had to still his body.

"Ryan sweetie wake up." Marissa whispered into his ear. Using her hands against his neck to still his thrashing head.

"Please baby" She whispered before kissing his ear lightly. She began kissing his ear and neck intermittently for a few seconds as Ryan pulled himself from sleep.

Ryan had heard Marissa, felt her kisses and they seemed a welcomed comfort in the horrific images that his mind had presented him with. He used that comfort to pull himself back to reality.

Ryan opened his eyes and immediately became aware of the pain Marissa was causing him.

"'Rissa your legs." Ryan moaned trying to move them to get some reprieve

Marissa quickly slid he legs off of his arms but continued her assault on his neck and ear. Ryan tilted his head and opened up his neck to her even more. She felt so good to him. He wrapped his arms around her brining is one hand gently up her neck to the nape. He massaged and tickled her hairline, encouraging her to continue.

And she did continue. She kissed his neck lightly alternating kisses with little nibbles then ran her tongue around the shell of his ear. She blew lightly on the trail she had just left up his neck and around his ear and sparks of arousal shot through him.

He launched forward with the momentum the pleasure shooting through him created and flipped Marissa onto her back. The two of them instantly got caught up in the passion they had between them. Soon Ryan was pressing her into the mattress with his full weight. Not realizing how heavy he was in comparison.

But it didn't bother Marissa that she could hardly move to breathe or that the developing bruise on her chest was being aggravated and starting to make its presence known. She was enjoying Ryan's passion too much.

He was so lost in her; she could tell he wasn't thinking and she liked it that way. He was natural, Luke had always seemed to be planning his next move. Ryan started to kiss down her neck and over the top of her chest. Her tank top, which was cut very low, had been pushed up and he began to push it down trying to kiss more of her, see more of her.

Usually Marissa stopped him at this point. He looked up briefly giving her a chance to say no, but Marissa was in her own world. Her eyes were closed lightly and her chest was heaving with anticipation. Ryan didn't pause long enough to make her wonder where he had gone so she probably didn't even know he was looking at her

Ryan always thought she was at her most beautiful at these times. When passion flushed her skin giving a pink tint to her flawless tan. Her hair was mussed her lips parted her eyes closed; she was natural and beautiful.

Ryan pushed her top down and began to kiss the top of her chest; it was when he moved down slightly that he saw an angry looking bruise. A fresh bruise. He paused, the realization dawning on him that she hadn't had that bruise yesterday evening when he had said goodbye to her.

"Marissa." He said straitening up but starring at the bruise. She could hear the change in his demeanor through his tone. So she opened her eyes and found confirmation the passion was gone and he was concerned and angry.

"What Ryan?" Marissa inquired sincerely confused having forgot the bruise. She followed his eyes and was greeted by the slight of his fixation. She remembered the bruise, remembered how she got it and decided it best that she get out of there. Ryan was to protective and to tentative already in their relationship to tell him he had done that. Accidental or purposely wasn't an issue with Ryan, it was done he had done it and he would freak on her.

"It's nothing." Marissa flatly said rolling out from beneath him leaving him alone in the disheveled bed looking for more of a response. She grabbed one of Ryan's hoodies draped over the couch and put it on, hiding the offensive object.

"Is that why you came over? Who did that to you? Julie? Jimmy? Luke?" his anger raising with the final thought. He had only just gotten to see another side of Luke and was angry for letting his guard down around Luke if this was what Luke was capable of.

"My parents would never hurt me!" Marissa screamed back at him, getting caught up in an argument that was blowing way out proportion. "And Luke? You know Luke would never hit me?"

"Then what! Who could have done that to you?" Ryan believed her, they had had to many arguments over her lying for her to do it again he prayed. He just wasn't sure who else could have done it! Who else was there!

Marissa saw the 'deer in headlights' look come across Ryan and she knew he knew exactly who had done it. She went to him, embraced him and he didn't push her away but he didn't embrace her either. She pressed herself against him and stroked his hair.

"It was an accident, baby." Became Marissa's mantra and she tried to sooth the obviously upset Ryan.

Ryan was having a hard time breathing. He had done something so despicable to him, he had hit a woman. A woman he loved he struck. He had seen women get beat for most of his life. Men that were angry and powerless hit women, alcohol was helpful but never a deciding factor. At least in his head a man who was drunk and beating his mother would do the same thing sober.

Ryan had never thought he was even capable of hitting a woman but obviously he was.

"NO!" Marissa shouted letting him go pushing him back a little and storming out of the pool house.

Confusion immediately took over his mind and he raced out of the pool house after her. He got to her just in time to stop her from getting into her car.

He put a hand on the door shutting it the little bit she had been able to get it open and looked at her. He didn't have anything to say. He was upset with himself, had no idea what she was angry about because he knew it couldn't be the bruise. If the bruise had upset her she would of left long ago. He was lost.

"I'm not gonna be here for this." She yelled in his face. Her uncharacteristic anger spooked him a little and he dropped his hand from her door. Allowing her the freedom to leave, but his eyes told her he wasn't ready for her to go yet.

"What?" Was all he said. All he knew to say.

"You are not listening to a word I was saying back there! You are standing there blaming yourself for this stupid bruise that was an accident. You weren't even fucking awake when it happened but it's your fault. That's bull shit and I'm not gonna stand there trying to explain all this away when your to thick headed to even listen." She quieted her self and after a few breaths looked at him again. Speaking again but this time in a quite gentle tone that was full of something he had never heard come from Marissa before; seduction. "So either take me to bed, or loose me forever." She smiled slightly when she finished and took his hand.

He recognized the line from the Tom Cruise movie she had made him watch. She had cried hysterically when the doctor from ER duck . . .gizzard . . . goose maybe had died. He smiled and led her back to the pool house. He was still upset with himself he always would be but he didn't want to hurt Marissa any further.