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Chapter eighteen
Mark yawned and opened his eyes, instantly looking to see if Piper was still with him. He smiled when he saw her sprawled out on her stomach next to him, one of her slim arms resting over his chest trustingly. It should have surprised him, after the way he had been with her, but for some reason it didn't. He hadn't hurt her, after all, just made her admit something she didn't want to admit. Sucking in a sharp breath, he closed his eyes and smiled again as he thought about the way they'd made love. She may not have wanted to admit she wanted him, but she had enjoyed every second of the subsequent sex...and he had made sure to draw it out until she was almost screaming with frustration.
His eyes opened slowly, glittering. He would have to make sure he did that again, and soon. Now, all he really wanted was some food, having gone without breakfast because of her little burst of temper. It would be a shame to wake her up though, he thought, looking at her and then gently moving her arm from his chest.
It didn't occur to him, even when he was downstairs in the kitchen making food, that he had told her this was her job. He was in a very good mood, and he didn't mind cooking for them both.
In short order, he scrambled some eggs and placed the pan on the table along with some toast, before sprinting up the stairs and wrapping Piper up in a sheet and carrying her back downstairs so he could sit her at the table. She blinked at him silently, looking down at the food he had prepared and frowning groggily. "You made breakfast?"
He gave her a smile that could almost be described as pleasant. "I was hungry, and I'm guessing you are too. Eat up."
She cautiously eased her arm out of the sheet and began eating, surprised to find it was good and that she was really hungry. Hardly surprising, she thought, blushing as she thought about what he had done to her in the bedroom. And she had thoroughly abandoned herself to it, much to her eternal shame.
Mark glanced across at her and a smile curled his lips. "Somethin' wrong, darlin'?"
She jumped at the sound of his voice and dropped the fork, the noise echoing around the large kitchen. "No, nothing," she mumbled, picking the fork back up and concentrating on her food again.
"Are you sure? You seem a little flushed," he continued, smirking now. Her face was so expressive that it was obvious to him what she was thinking about.
"I'm fine."
"Hmmm. You don't look it. In fact, I'd say you look a little...embarrassed?" he pushed, his smirk turning into a grin as he enjoyed her discomfort. "What's wrong baby? Didn't you like admitting how much you want this body?"
Piper gritted her teeth and slammed the fork down on the table, finally looking at him. "I don't want that stupid body! I don't want to be married to you, and I don't want to stay here!" she yelled, standing up and storming out of the room, his laughter following her.
"Don't go too far, darlin', I might have use of you again," he yelled after her, and she closed her eyes in desperation.
It was one thing fighting him, but now she was fighting herself as well, and it was proving to be a difficult task. She stood in the hallway and looked around her at the enormous house, wishing she could be free to enjoy her surroundings. But all she could think about was that he had blackmailed her into this whole affair. Her back stiffened when she heard his footsteps behind her and she turned slowly around to see what he was doing.
Mark stopped and stared down at his wife, his head cocking to one side as he studied her mutinous face. "How about you go take a shower, then we can take a ride somewhere."
She stared at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because I feel like going for a ride with my beautiful wife. Unless, of course," he murmured, his voice deepening, moving closer and lifting a hand to cup her cheek, "you'd prefer to stay here and go for a ride of a different kind?"
For one insane moment, even through her anger, the feel of his hand on her face made her want to stay at home with him, but she quickly shook off the confused emotions and jerked away from him. "I don't want to go anywhere with you."
He frowned slightly and dropped his hand. "That seems to be your constant refrain. I don't want to, I don't want to," he mimicked, his eyes narrowing. "Would you like me to give you a choice again?"
She froze and gulped, thinking of the last choice he had given her, only a few hours ago. "No," she said quietly, shaking her head.
"Then go and take a shower, and I'll wait for you down here," he ordered her, folding his arms over his chest and rocking on his heels as he watched her battle her own temper and finally move towards the stairs. With a shake of his head, he walked back into the kitchen. He had known it would be fairly hard taming her, but he had thought she'd at least be worried about incurring his displeasure again. Not so, apparently, and he was surprised to find himself smiling. However angry she made him, he couldn't deny that it livened things up, and he actually enjoyed the way she defied him. It made a pleasant change from the sycophants he was usually surrounded with. He moved around the kitchen, clearing up with ease, deciding she would probably just try to break the dishes over his head if he told her to do it. That thought made him smile even more. He would have to order her back into the kitchen later on, just to see how she reacted.
Once everything was tidied up and Piper still hadn't come back downstairs, he walked into the hall, frowning as he looked up the stairs. She'd had plenty of time to shower and dress, he thought, his frown deepening. Maybe she was defying him again. He pursed his lips and made his way up to their bedroom, opening the door and seeing she wasn't inside. The bathroom door was closed and he moved towards it, his expression hardening when he couldn't hear water running. If she'd tried to run off....he pulled the door open and froze, his eyes running down Piper's nude body as she dried herself off.
Piper's head jerked up when the door flew open and she gasped, holding the towel in front of her as Mark walked slowly into the room, a smile touching his firm lips. "Go away!"
He raised an eyebrow and grinned at her apparent anger. "This is my bathroom, you're my wife. Why do I need to go away?"
"Because...because..." she stammered, stopping when he reached her and stood towering over her slight form, his eyes holding a strange light. One of his hands lifted and cupped her face, his thumb rubbing over her flushed cheek.
"You have a beautiful body, darlin', don't try and hide it from me," he said softly, his other hand removing the towel from her nerveless fingers so he could look at her nude curves. "So beautiful."
Piper stared at him as he spoke, her heart starting to thump faster in her chest at the way he was looking at her. "Mark..." she murmured, feeling embarrassed.
Mark raised his eyes to hers again and took in her discomfort. He drew her into his arms and ran a hand down to her ass, stroking over her soft skin. "You've got to get used to my eyes on you, baby, because I'm not gonna stop looking."
She swallowed and relaxed slightly in his hold, not knowing what else to do. Once again she was tired of fighting him, and the way he held her felt really nice; like he actually felt something for her other than ownership.
Mark smiled as he felt her relax and looked down at the top of her head, feeling guilt flash through him at the way he had handled everything. And yet here she was, standing against him and resting her head trustingly on his chest. He manoeuvred them so he could pull her into the bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed, placing Piper on his lap and gripping her chin between his fingers. "How about we go for a ride afterwards?"
"After what?"
"This," he said simply, bending to brush her lips with a gentle kiss that made her melt.
She cursed her own weakness, but there was nothing she could do to stop desire from invading her body, and she responded eagerly to his kiss, his gentleness working far better than force would have done. His hands lifting to cup her breasts had her arching into his palms, moaning under his mouth as he rubbed over the hard peaks, teasing them. Even after having made love to him not that many hours ago, she could still get turned on very easily. One of his hands scrubbed down her warm body, caressing her hip gently before dipping between her thighs. In the position she was in, draped over his legs, he couldn't get enough freedom of movement and he moved her onto the bed so he could pull her thighs open. Piper didn't have the will to protest when he grinned at her and moved so he was positioned between her thighs, blowing softly over her heated flesh. His thumbs moved to open her, and she squirmed as his tongue flicked out and licked at her in one long swipe, tasting the juices that were already gathering.
Mark smiled as he watched her responses to his every touch, and a faint plan formed in his head. She thought she hated him? He would make her beg to have him in the end, and this would be the beginning. Pulling his thumbs further apart he swirled his tongue over the hard nub that awaited him, flickering back and forth over it rapidly and making her arch up under his ministrations. He wanted her to get turned on as fast as possible, and obviously that wasn't going to be a problem. Especially since he was going to concentrate on this and nothing else, he though, smiling again. He resumed his caresses, making each swipe more forceful, pushing her towards her climax. He pushed a thick finger inside her and moved it swiftly in and out, still licking at her at the same time, and he felt her muscles tightening in preparation. That was when he stopped, moving back to kneel on the bed and stare at her, waiting for her to come to her senses. It took all his willpower to resist having her again, but he wanted her out of her mind with desire before he took her, and she would be the one asking for it. Begging for it, he corrected himself with a sly smile.
Piper slowly opened her eyes when all the good feelings stopped, and she looked at him in confusion. The way he was smiling stopped her from speaking, and anger raced through her when she realised what he had just done. She moved swiftly, closing her legs and drawing herself across the bed until she judged there was a safe distance between them.
Mark chuckled. "Get dressed, Piper, and meet me downstairs. We'll go out," he said, straightening up and narrowing his eyes. "And make sure you're quick about it, or I'll be back."
Piper watched as he left the room, and she closed her eyes with a mixture of humiliation and need. He had got her incredibly excited and just stopped, and he thought it was funny. She cursed her own wayward body. If only she could resist him when he started touching her! Now the very last thing she wanted to do was be close to him, but she knew she wouldn't really have much choice. If she didn't appear downstairs he would come back again, and if she did then he'd make her go out on his bike. She had to admit she got a secret thrill from the thought of riding behind him on a motorbike, but she'd never tell him that. Sighing and hitting the bed in frustration, she pulled herself together and started getting dressed. A thought occurred to her suddenly and she froze, blinking rapidly. If he could get her that way....why couldn't she do the same? Men were easy to turn on, weren't they? A smile curved her lips as she thought more about it. She could just keep making inadvertent contact with his....she bit her lip. He'd surely pay her back if she tried teasing him. But he was the one who had started it. She nodded. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She'd make sure her hands slipped when she was riding behind him on the bike, see what happened. If he really was easy to arouse, then she'd know soon enough.
Minutes later she walked slowly down the stairs, finding Mark waiting in the hallway wearing a long leather coat that made him look dead sexy. She swallowed hard, and forced her expression not to show how attractive she found him.
He turned and looked at her as she walked towards him, and his eyes skimmed the jeans and T-shirt she was wearing. "You might want to grab a coat, darlin', it won't be that warm on the back of the bike."
"Okay," she murmured, walking off to get her coat and returning a short while later, zipping up the short jacket.
Mark nodded. "That's better. Ready?" He held his arm out for her and she slipped her hand through it, making him give her a surprised look. He didn't say anything about her sudden compliance, however.
Piper stared at the huge black motorbike he led her to, quite impressed with how good it looked. She had never taken an awful lot of notice of them before, but she guessed this must be a good one. Mark didn't look like the type to ride anything if it was less than perfect. Her breath caught again when he swung his long leg over the beast, settling himself comfortably on the seat and then glancing at her with a small smile.
"You gonna stand there all day darlin'?"
Piper shook her head and walked towards the machine, glancing at it and wondering how she was going to swing her much shorter leg over the top of it. Mark chuckled as he watched her and he gently grabbed her hand, pointing down to a peg that stuck out of the side of the bike for her to put her foot on.
"Just put one foot on there, and then throw your other leg over," he told her, still holding her hand to help balance her as she did so. She fell against him as she got on and he chuckled again. "You'll get used to it. Put your arms around me." When she did as he told her, he started the bike and then looked over his shoulder at her. "You got a good tight hold? You ready?"
She nodded twice and gripped his firm waist, taking a breath when he pulled away, finding the sensation of being this close to him and getting her first bike ride a strange combination. Mark went slow as they rode along some of the smaller roads near his home, but as soon as they hit a big road he opened it up, and she clung tightly to him, her hair streaming back from her face. The exhilaration of the speed gave her a rush and she laughed, enjoying the sensation.
Mark faintly heard her above the roar of the motor, and he smiled. He had known she would love this, he was only glad that he had been proven right. It would be good to share this with someone. His smile froze when he felt her hand slip lower and rest on his hip, and her fingers strummed against him in a leisurely fashion. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered what she was up to, and then smiled as he realised what it was. He could easily stop her, but he wanted to see how far she'd go. He had to steel himself not to swerve the bike when her fingers moved again and brushed across his crotch, skittering back towards his hip quickly as if she had slipped. The contact had been brief and light as a feather, but still he felt himself stirring inside his jeans. He suddenly became intensely aware of her curvy body pressed closely to his back, and he shifted in the seat, accelerating even more.
Piper smiled behind his back and let her hand slip downwards again, her other arm curving upwards to rub across his torso. She couldn't see his face, so she wasn't sure exactly how this was affecting him, but she felt him take a deep breath and tense up. Her fingers rested low on his abdomen now, and she drummed them against the rapidly growing bulge below, acting as if she didn't really know what she was touching. Mind you, she thought, even a terrified virgin would know what that was. One second she was brushing her fingertips over him and the next he had grasped her wrist and put her hand firmly around his waist, his hold fairly tight.
A silent laugh shook her body and Mark felt it, his eyes narrowing dangerously. So, she thought she could play did she? Fine. But she would play by his rules. If she thought he was teasing her before, she was about to learn what real teasing was all about.
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****Ah, another one with smut potential............hmm, have to think about that! After all, can't have all the chapters with smut in them. Can I? hahahahaha!****