Then with a pointless knock at the door Mark's father walked in, followed by the rest of the walking party…
"Oh, sorry." Mark's father turned to leave again and Joe walked straight into him. Then Joe saw Mark and Susan, suddenly a reasonable distance apart but both blushing up to their eyeballs and speechless.
"Oh, sorry." Joe turned away.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked from behind them.
Several ums later Chloe had pushed past to see nothing vaguely suspicious.
"So, is desert ready?" Rachel entered hand-in-hand with Suzie.
Susan smiled at the pair of them and nodded, heading to the kitchen.
"Perhaps we should be more specific about what we meant by dessert." Mark's father winked at him. Mark only glared in reply and followed them all back to the dinner table.
"So what happened?" was the far from subtle question Mark's father decided as the best technique for bringing up the elephant in the room.
"Nothing." Mark lied, grinning ridiculously.
"Sure."
"Seems to warm for Christmas." Susan stepped outside with Mark, waiting for Rachel to finish her goodbyes to Suzie and Mark's dad to finish his thank yous to Joe and Chloe.
Mark held James, asleep on his shoulder. "It does." He smiled at her, clearly with something else on his mind.
She held his lingering eye contact as the others appeared at the door.
"Okay, we'll see you all before you head back to Chicago." Joe said cordially.
"Thanks for coming! Bye." Chloe had Suzie on her hip and waved the child's hand instead of her own.
"Bye. Thanks." Susan smiled and got into the car with the others.
They were at Susan's all too soon. She wanted to talk to him, or at least kiss him again… she smiled at the prospect. James was staying with Mark tonight and she didn't particularly want to spend Christmas night alone but thanks to a few stolen moments with Mark earlier that afternoon she could handle just about anything right now.
"Why don't you come for supper?" Mark's father saved the day.
"Oh, I…" Susan played polite
"If you want." Mark turned to her bashfully hopeful.
"Oh, it's your night with James, I don't want to intrude."
"Susan, you're not intruding. It's Christmas." Mark forgot his bashfulness.
At Mark's Rachel unloaded her loot with her grandfather's help then they themselves up infront of the tv with hot chocolates and generous slices of Christmas cake.
James woke up as Susan took him to his room. She was breast feeding him when Mark came in.
"Oh, sorry." He turned to go.
"Mark, it's okay, really – nothing you haven't seen before."
He turned back timidly and smiled at her, no words to describe the beauty of the scene before him.
"So, not a bad day as far as Christmases go?" Susan put James on the floor and got a clean nappy.
"I'll do that." Mark knelt down and took the nappy from her. "It was a good day. In fact it was a great day." He grinned at her.
She knelt down on the floor beside him, letting James hold her finger, smiling at her child while Mark finished up.
"Bed time eh?" Mark picked James up and put him down again in his cot. He stopped to just look at him for a moment as his tiny eyes fluttered shut.
Susan put her hand on Mark's shoulder. "He's amazing eh." She whispered.
"Yeah." Mark took a deep breath then turned to her. "gets it fromhis mother."
"and his father – take's two to tango." She ran her hand from his shoulder to the side of his face adoringly.
Mark smiled, "As I recall," he kissed her hand feverishly, "You're an incredible dancer."
Susan laughed, leaning into him, so close she could feel his heart beating, his warm breath on her face.
"I'm so lost." He breathed in, overwhelmed by her, "I'm in real trouble with you."
She smiled. "You're not the only one." The intensity in his eyes took her breath away. "I'll be careful. Promise." She muttered before her voice disappeared
He kissed her a little roughly in his desperation. He'd been craving this for a year. By some cruel design he'd had a taste of her and he could never be satisfied till he could taste her again. Somehow she tasted even better than he remembered – so soft and warm and by some absolute miracle she stillneeded him like oxygen. He was clearly not the only one totally intoxicated by the encounter.
She pulled back for a moment, for a breath, and caught that disarming hopeless adoration than was sure to undo her. "I should go." Her voice was barely audible.
Mark understood and stepped back. He couldn't get enough of her but now, with his father and daughter in the next room, was hardly the time to make any attempt at quenching that thirst.
"If I don't go now I never will." She smiled at him and headed to the living room, quickly saying goodbye to the others.
"Bye." They called in unison, barely moving their eyes from the tv.
Mark smiled at her, his hand hovering at the small of her back.
She turned to face him en route to the front door, only waiting till they were out of sight before she kissed him again. Desperation mounting he pushed her back against the wall of the hallway.
Thethud shocked them out of it for a moment.
"You okay?" Mark's dad called out.
"Yeah, it's nothing." Mark replied, laughing silently and opening the front door.
Susan went through and he followed her outside.
"It got a bit cooler." She commented as they got into Mark's car.
"I'm pretty warm." He smiled.
"Yeah, maybe it just feels cold in comparison."
"Oh. Wait I forgot something." Mark got out of the car and dashed back inside.
She watched him go with a little curiosity then turned on the radio.
I saw mommy kissing santa claus… Susan laughed as Mark ran back to the car putting an unmarked gift bag at Susan's feet. Then Susan remembered she hadn't gotten his gift yet.
She forgot the song in her curiosity, until Mark mentioned it.
"Nice choice."
"Oh… yeah." She smiled at him and looked at the road trying to ignore the bag at her feet while the Jackson five just kept singing.
I saw mommy tickle santa claus…
At Susan's Mark stopped the car but left the motor running. Susan undid her belt and turned to him. "So…"
"So."
"Would you like to come in?"
He smiled, "I would. But I think we've aroused enough suspicion for one day."
"Yes." She nodded, not quite sure how to leave.
"But I'll change my mind if you stick around any longer." She suddenly seemed very close.
"Oh. We can't have that happening." She leaned closer for a moment then pulled away and opened her door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"You forgot something." He picked up the bag and she leant back into the car, expecting another kiss that took her breath and will to leave away. "Merry Christmas." He whispered, his lips only inches from hers.
She took his hand – the one holding the gift bag – and with one knee on the passenger seat to steady herself she kissed him, herfree hand finding the side of his neck.
"That's not fair." He muttered as they broke away.
"What?" a smile flitted across her swollen lips.
"How am I supposed to turn you down?"
"You're not. It's okay – tonight isn't the best time but…" he kissed her again, pulling her further into the car, his hand on her waist running up her side, his thumb finding a nostalgic softness.
He realised he was getting carried away and pulled away again. "Okay."
She exhaled then smiled at him.
"Come for breakfast tomorrow." He let go of her hand so she was left holding her gift.
She nodded silently not sure if she'd find her voice before breakfast.
"Thank you." She mouthed, got out of the car properly and shut the door.
He watched her walk inside then drove away, still trying to catch his breath. But even when his breathing was back to normal the grin wasn't about to go anywhere.