Thursday
Jessica woke up to the sound of someone snoring lightly. As she slowly came around, she noticed something heavy preventing her from turning. She opened her eyes to investigate. Marcus had draped one leg over hers and kept her pulled tightly against her chest. It reeked of possessiveness. To add to her horror, sometime during the night she had turned around, facing him. His nose was practically touching hers and he was still sleeping soundly.
She was not entirely uncomfortable. Since he was still asleep, she could imagine waking up next to a boyfriend and that was a pleasant image. Jessica sighed dreamily, allowing herself to live in the fantasy for a moment. Snuggling closer to his chest, she was startled when his eyes suddenly snapped open. His soft expression was quickly replaced by an unreadable one.
"Hi," she greeted him shyly.
Marcus smiled. "Hi." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then stretched, letting go of her. "Mmm. Haven't slept like this in ages."
Jessica rolled away from him and sat up. "Good for you."
Marcus noticed her change in demeanor. He had caught her staring at him when he woke up, obviously thinking happy thoughts, and now she was virtually sulking. "Judging from the snoring, I'd say you've had a good night's rest as well," he smirked.
"I do not snore!" Jessica whipped her head around to face him. He had the nerve to laugh out loud at her disgruntled expression. Just like a boyfriend... Stop it.
"Someone's not a morning person," he continued his teasing. "What's the matter? Didn't want the cuddling to end?"
She blushed. So he noticed me snuggling up to him. "Shut up."
"Not a chance. Which part did you like best? Facing or spooning?" Marcus could barely suppress his laughter upon seeing her eyes narrow at him. The girl does not like to be teased. "I myself especially liked the part where you--" He was cut off by a pillow flung at his head. "Oh you'll pay for that!"
Briefly it occurred to her that maybe Marcus was more serious than his light-hearted tone of voice might indicate, but she dismissed that thought as she saw him lunging for the pillow she had retrieved from his side of the bed. In one swift move he disarmed her, pinning her to the mattress with his body. She struggled in vain to gain the upper hand and couldn't help bursting into a fit of nervous giggles. "Stop it!"
"Make me," Marcus dared her. "Let's see what you got."
His playful tone made it difficult for Jessica to completely abandon her boyfriend fantasy. She was still too wrapped up in it to be aware that she was about to cross a dangerous line. She fell silent and gazed up in his eyes.
Damn! Did he really expect himself to resist this opportunity? Marcus cursed under his breath. She looked extremely inviting with those hooded eyes and luscious mouth. Not to mention the pretty bruises from last night. Centuries of self-control slipped through his hands like grains of sand. Aw hell! Just one kiss. He leaned down and captured her lips with his. She responded by putting her arms around him and pulling him closer. Unexpected... but nice. He deepened the kiss, thrilled by her reaction. Propping himself up on one elbow, he allowed his other hand to roam free over her body languorously.
Mmm. Best kiss ever. Jessica threaded one of her hands through his hair and used the other to hold on to his muscled forearm. Whoa. Kissing the kidnapper! She came crashing down to reality. Pulling back slightly, she tried to push him off. He didn't budge, instead using his tongue to explore her mouth and caressing her through the thin material of her nightie with his hand. Jessica finally decided to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the moment. Maybe it would make her forced stay here somewhat more agreeable. Lord knows it was easier on her mental health if she just pretended he was her boyfriend.
Marcus noted her internal conflict and had to forcibly keep himself from persuading her by using brutal strength. She ceased her attempts at pushing him off and her body started to mold to his. That was his cue to pull back. He reluctantly broke the kiss and took in her flustered face.
"Better get ready for work." Glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand Marcus sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to arrive at his office on time for his early meeting with the senator. On his way to the bathroom he couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. This is gonna be even more fun than I imagined.
Jessica stuffed the pillow behind her and let her head fall back on it. Okay, what just happened? That was... awesome. Had she really just given in to her sick and perverted attraction to her kidnapper and returned his kiss passionately? Yup. She hadn't been the one breaking the kiss either. So what was up with that? Why did he suddenly act all distant when this had to be what he was after? Or was it? Jessica turned to lie on her stomach abruptly and hugged her pillow. One thing was for sure; she had felt better kissing him than fearing him. It occurred to her that this might just be what she needed to get through this alive. He didn't seem to mind kissing her, and he seemed to enjoy their playful banter. If she was totally and completely honest with herself, she had enjoyed it too. She had almost felt... at ease with him.
She reached a decision. She'd keep herself relatively sane by pretending she was in a relationship with Marcus and that she was living with him. If his earlier behavior was any indication, it might be the only thing that could keep her safe while he held her captive. Ever since she had changed her manner from submissive to relatively normal, he hadn't gotten mad or hit her. That was progress. Exactly the kind of progress she desperately needed. And besides, who was going to berate her on her twisted way of coping with this? There was nobody here who could help her, she only had to consider her own opinion and that opinion definitely gave her the go-ahead. If it turned out that Marcus didn't approve of her new approach, she could always try and find another way. She had to believe he wouldn't kill her after he was done with whatever he had in mind for her. Hadn't he said something like that last night after she'd had that nightmare? "Don't worry about that. I like having you here." So he wasn't planning on killing her, and if she was able to convince him that she had actually liked her stay with him, he wouldn't have to take drastic measures to keep her from calling the cops. The only thing wrong with her plan was that she felt guilty and ashamed for being attracted to him. That was something she had to work on, hence the pretending to be in a relationship. If she could fool herself into thinking that, she could fool him too. She had to.
Marcus donned his boxers and walked back into the bedroom, where he got dressed in silence. Jessica had buried her head in her pillow and he thought it best to let her dangle in uncertainty for a while. Don't make it too easy on her. He had no doubt his reticence would serve to confuse her further. Aside from that, he grudgingly admitted that he needed some time to figure out why he hadn't been able to resist kissing her. The best, least distracting way to do that was to keep a certain distance until he got his priorities straight. It would be a damn shame if he'd have to let go of her prematurely.
Looking at his reflection in the man-sized mirror Marcus tightened his tie. Jessica couldn't decide if she should hurry to the kitchen to make him some coffee, if she should take a shower now the bathroom was available or if she should stay put. What would you do if he was your boyfriend? Probably stay in bed. She was a little discouraged by his taciturn mood however. Had she done something wrong? She figured that that probably wasn't the case, since he hadn't been hesitant about chiding her before. So why start now? Maybe he regretted their kiss... but then again, why would he? He had been the one initiating it, so he must have felt something. Unless this was all part of some elaborate scheme to make her go completely insane. In which case it was working.
Finally Jessica decided not to read too much into his stoic behavior. After all, hadn't her friends regaled her with stories about their boyfriends and the strange way they behaved sometimes? Granted, no college-induced boyfriend strangeness could even begin to match the utter insanity she had been chucked into, but on some basic level men were men. All men could act totally weird sometimes and there was no reason an evil superhuman being should be any different. Right?
His deep voice startled her out of her thoughts. "I gotta go now, I'm late for work. Why don't you sleep in today? Don't bother cooking, I'll bring some takeout." Before she could reply, he was out of the room. Seconds later, she heard the sound of the front door closing. She was alone again.
Marcus leaned back at his desk and crossed his legs, half-heartedly listening to the senator ranting on about her opposing candidate. He fiddled around with his silver pen and toyed with the idea of jamming it through the woman's eye, just for the heck of it. She truly was annoying. Turns out that evil isn't as much of a bonding factor as one might imagine. Too bad the Senior Partners needed her. For now at least. The thought reminded him of Jessica, not for the first time that morning. Rather abruptly, he stood and ambled over to face the window.
"Mr. Hamilton, you seem rather distracted. I hope I can count on Wolfram and Hart's services in this matter?" The woman could not take a hint. Marcus sighed. It would be so much fun to put her in her place, but now was not the time. She'd get hers.
Still facing the window, he addressed the impatiently waiting woman. "Of course, senator Brucker. I'll introduce you to Angel. He'll take care of it."
The woman slowly nodded. "Good. Can you make him a pedophile?"
"We'll see. Now if you don't mind, senator..." Marcus gestured at the door. Frankly, he couldn't care less about the senator's opposing candidate, but she was an integral part of the Black Thorn, which in turn played an important role in the Senior Partners' upcoming project. He couldn't very well antagonize her at this moment, but god, did he want to.
Senator Brucker glared at him, more than a little insulted by the fact that Marcus had been the one to end their meeting. Reluctantly she stood and gestured for her assistant Ernesto to follow her out, shooting Marcus one last dirty look before the door closed.
Out in the hallway the senator addressed her assistant. "Find out everything you can about Hamilton. I'm not about to let him ruin the Senior Partners' plans by his erratic behavior. He should know his place; I think this job is starting to go to his head. Report on my desk tomorrow."
Ernesto nodded silently and stalked off. The senator walked over to the elevator and took out her cell phone, dialling a number. "Sebassis. We might have a problem."
It was way past noon when Jessica finally woke up. She had been exhausted but felt invigorated after all those hours of restful sleep. Stretching she caught a whiff of Marcus' scent, causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach. She had been kissed before, but never like that, not like... that.
Having slept for over fifteen hours had had its effect on her mind too. Her thoughts weren't as jumbled and she felt more coherent; less torn between what she felt and what she ought to feel. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't feel repulsed by Marcus. Uncomfortable -- yes. Scared -- God yes. But repulsion wasn't among the multitude of feelings tripping over each other in her mind. Her mind drifted to the nightmare she'd had that night and the way Marcus had held her and comforted her. She'd trusted him then, enough so to fall asleep while he was holding her. That has to mean something. She got up and took a shower. Getting dressed she wondered what she should do to keep herself busy until Marcus came back.
Wandering restlessly through the apartment Jessica tried to think of things to keep her occupied. She plopped down on the sofa and flicked through all the channels on TV but nothing could hold her attention for longer than a few minutes. Deciding that she should try and clean up the apartment she searched for cleaning supplies but found none. Finally she settled on starting a journal on the laptop that was still sitting on the dining table. After an hour she was done sorting out her thoughts on the screen and she closed the program, protecting it with a password to be on the safe side. She'd have to talk to Marcus about her lack of activities; another day like this and she would die of boredom, and that was probably not the entertainment he had in mind.
She was relieved to hear the elevator ding, indicating Marcus' arrival. A glance at the oven clock told her he was early. After a few seconds she heard the front door open. He appeared in the kitchen doorway, holding a white plastic bag.
"Chinese," Marcus announced. "Hope you like Kung Pao chicken."
"Kung Pao chicken is great," she assured him. "God, am I glad you're back."
"Why?" Marcus inquired incredulously. Strange girl.
"I was so bored!" Jessica burst out. "I even wanted to clean the apartment but I couldn't find any supplies!"
Marcus sized her up thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. We should find you something to do. Any preferences?"
Jessica thought about it for a moment. Law firm... what do people do in a law firm? "I can do typing and everything," she ventured. "Something environmental would be cool... you know, put my education to work. But anything is okay, really, as long as I have something to do."
"I'll see what I can do. Now, would you mind setting the table?"
The rest of the evening went by rather uneventful. They made small talk about almost everything, ranging from the weather to politics. Marcus surprised her more than once by joking light-heartedly, but his manner was still distant. He hadn't even casually touched her, perching himself on the loveseat across the room instead of snuggling up with her on the sofa. He was friendly enough, but in a more superficial way, like they barely even knew each other.
Actually, that was not far from the truth, except for the small fact that normal rules of civilization didn't apply in their particular circumstances. It made her kind of huffy. This morning he had kissed her, and now he acted like nothing happened. Okay, scratch that. It made her all kinds of huffy with a side order of crabby. She was careful not to let it show though. Her plan still applied; she figured his standoffish manner was just temporary. For now, she'd just mimic his behavior and act friendly but aloof. He couldn't very well keep it up for longer than a couple of hours anyway, they'd have to go to bed and although the bed was quite large, it was virtually impossible to sleep in it together and not be touching at one point or another. Why am I looking forward to the touching? Shut up. She dismissed the vague sense of concern that settled in the back of her mind.
After a few hours Jessica had to admit to herself that she enjoyed their conversation. She found that fact quite disturbing because it meant she was actually starting to like Marcus. On one hand, liking Marcus lent a certain respectability to her body's response to him. On the other hand however... how perverted was it to like your kidnapper? Of course she knew about Stockholm syndrome but she couldn't help but feel this was different. She liked his sense of humor and his quick mind. She liked listening to his deep voice and the way he laughed. Oh no. No no no. I'm not falling in love with him. I'm not!
Freaking out, she rose abruptly. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
Marcus raised one eyebrow in surprise but didn't comment on her hasty departure. "I have to make some calls before I turn in. Sleep tight."
Jessica turned on her heels and all but ran into the bedroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Damn! She had been so sure her boyfriend fantasy would keep her safe throughout the coming days, but all it had done was get her into a heap of trouble. It had all become just a tad too real. She cursed under her breath. A psychiatrist would have a field day with her. She shed her clothes quickly and crawled into bed. Okay, now think. Analyze the situation.
She was starting to have a crush on the man that held her captive. Correction: the some sort of non-human super being that looked like a man that held her captive. She didn't know what he wanted from her, nor did she know if she was ever going to get out of there. Were her feelings for him her brain's logical response to those facts? Fall in love so her captivity wouldn't seem like such a bad thing? That had to be it. She couldn't bear the thought that she would be so twisted as to be in love with the... thing that kidnapped her. Pretending he was her boyfriend was taking it far enough.
Then again... her brain could have a point. Her stay here would be far more agreeable if she had feelings for Marcus. Provided that he didn't mind. Well, he didn't have to find out, did he? She sighed. And here I was thinking that my life couldn't get more complicated.
In the living room, Marcus dialed a number on his cell phone. Almost instantly someone answered the call. "Mr. Parker. This is Marcus Hamilton." Parker wasn't amused by the fact that Marcus was calling him at that hour and made sure to communicate his discontent.
"Mr. Parker," Marcus interrupted him. "The Senior Partners have a message for you." The man stopped talking immediately. "They need you to send all the research material for the Henderson's case to me." Parker sputtered a little, complaining about the delays his case would suffer. Marcus cut him off brusquely. "Do you really want to go against the Senior Partners' wishes? Then have the files on my desk by tomorrow. Goodnight Mr. Parker."
Propping his feet up on the glass table in front of him, Marcus tried not to think about why he had gone through the trouble of calling Parker, the head of Wolfram & Hart's environmental legislation department, when he could have just as easily provided Jessica with some documents that needed typing out. Not to mention the trail he had just left; Parker was liable to ask around and raise suspicions. Well, he'd deal with that when the time came. He reasoned with himself that the quickest way to make her trust him was to make her as comfortable as possible, and that included supplying her with work that she actually liked.
He glanced at the clock on the wall -- 11 pm -- and contemplated turning in. He was getting domesticated in his advanced age; bedtime used to be sometime around 3 or 4 am, since he didn't really need the sleep. Right now however he couldn't wait... probably something to do with the scantily clad girl lying in his bed. Although he had vowed to keep his distance the coming couple of days, he refused to give up sleeping with her in his arms. Telling himself he had no ulterior motives for that and that he just liked the feeling of her back against his chest, he stood and made his way to the bedroom.
He hesitated before opening the door, a sudden thought hitting him. The emergency back entrance. He'd never locked it before, reasoning that in the odd case he would need it -- when something bigger and badder than himself was after him -- he wouldn't want to be slowed down by having to unlock it. It was hidden well; chances were Jessica would never find it even if she'd have a lifetime to search for it. Which she didn't. Better safe than sorry, Marcus decided and set course towards his study.
He removed a book from the top shelf of his bookcase, revealing a security panel. He punched in a short numeric code, and a part of the wall retreated, giving way to a narrow corridor leading to a steel door. Marcus stepped into the passage and walked up to the door, trying the handle. The door opened with a loud drawn-out creak. Damn. Try again Marcus, don't think they heard you on the top floor. He closed it again abruptly and activated the electronic lock pressing the red button next to the door. Making his way back towards the study hurriedly, he quietly shut the wall panel behind him and headed for the study door.
He'd barely made it out into the hallway when Jessica opened the bedroom door. She looked relieved and scared to see him at the same time. Marcus smiled at her reassuringly. "Did I wake you?" No way she can find that door or unlock it. She's staying right here. With me.
"Was that you? I heard a noise and I couldn't place it, so..." Her voice trailed off as she reassessed the situation and came to the conclusion that she shouldn't pry if she wanted to maintain the fragile balance they had established. What's in that room? Marcus looked decidedly skittish -- if a man that size could look skittish. There had to be a better word. Edgy. Nervous. "I'm going back to bed. You coming?"
"Yes. I'm done here." Marcus followed her into the bedroom and entered the walk-in closet, reprimanding himself on his lack of stealth while shedding his clothes and picking out what to wear the next day. That was close. He re-emerged from the closet in his boxers and climbed into the bed behind Jessica. Tucking his arms around her, he pulled her flush against his chest and closed his eyes in contentment. She immediately relaxed in his grip, instead of tensing up as she'd done the night before. It wasn't long before both of them were asleep.
Friday
When Jessica woke up, Marcus had already left. Must've slept through the morning ritual. She yawned and got out of bed, not bothering to put on some clothes first. Who's gonna see me? Nobody. She sauntered over to the kitchen in her nightie to have some breakfast and found a note sitting on the kitchen counter.
Have some work for you. Will be dropping it off later today.
M.
Well, that was good news. What day was it anyway? Friday. She wondered what the weekend would be like, provided that Marcus' job was a regular one and he had those days off like a normal person. Jessica realized she didn't know anything about his role in Wolfram & Hart, let alone whether his employers knew about him being not exactly human. Then again, he lived in a secret luxurious apartment in the basement of said law firm. Odds were they knew and they used him for specific purposes. Not wanting to think about what those purposes entailed, she focused on the fact that within hours she would have something to keep herself occupied. Just when she poured some milk over her cereal the front door opened. She went into the living room to greet Marcus.
Marcus entered his apartment carrying a pile of files, reports and other documents. He deposited them on the living room table and looked around to find Jessica. She was standing in the kitchen doorway dressed only in her tiny blue nightgown. Good thing I decided to deliver those files myself. He gulped, not able to stand the thought of someone else seeing her like that. Had she lost her mind? Why was she traipsing around barely dressed? Marcus felt his anger rising and tried to suppress it, succeeding only partially.
"What do you think you're doing?" Marcus snapped.
"Having breakfast?" Jessica's voice wavered a little, surprised by his irritation. "Did I do something wrong? What is it?" Why is he so mad all of a sudden? She mentally checked if she'd done something that would irk him. His cold expression sent shivers down her spine. She'd managed to piss him off again, without actually knowing how. Say something before he goes all homicidal again. In a defensive gesture, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Marcus was still scowling at her as if she'd spilled pizza over his favorite suit. "What?" Jessica repeated, worry evident in her voice.
"What!" Marcus blustered, moving to stand toe to toe with her. The bruises on her chin and her black eye were already fading a little and he considered adding another token of his wrath to them. Maybe something more permanent this time. "What are you thinking walking around dressed like that? What if I hadn't dropped those files off myself? Did you think about that?" Another thought filtered through, fanning his anger. "Or was that the idea? Bribe someone with your body to let you out of here?"
His threatening posture made her back up into the kitchen, but he didn't relent. Finally Jessica's retreat was halted by the refrigerator. "Well?" Marcus demanded in a low growl.
Was he out of his mind? Despite her fear, Jessica was beginning to get a little riled as well. How dare he storm in and accuse her of something she didn't do? "Now you listen to me." She poked her finger at his chest for emphasis. "First of all your note said you were dropping them off so I had no reason to expect anyone else than you. Secondly, you've kidnapped me and you force me to live with you and then you have the nerve to tell me what I can and cannot wear when I'm completely alone? And third: you don't get to be mad at me for trying to get out of here. I'm a freakin' captive for crying out loud. It's what we do!"
Her eyes were blazing with fire by the time she'd finished ranting. Marcus was impressed by her audacity. Forgetting all about his anger and his resolve not to touch her he leaned down and kissed her passionately. She molded into his body and responded in kind. One of his hands hitched up her nightie so it could roam free over soft skin; the other went to the back of her neck, thumb caressing the sensitive spot just below her ear. When his hand reached the side of her breast she came to her senses and pressed against his chest weakly in a futile attempt to push him away. He used his knee to separate her legs forcefully and shoved her into the refrigerator door, at the same time softening his kiss, coaxing her into giving up her resistance. Jessica moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around him.
The last shred of Jessica's sanity disappeared without a trace. At this moment she couldn't care less who or what he was. He hadn't responded with violence to her tirade as she'd feared, and that was all that mattered. That and the fact that he was kissing her again. Time seemed to either fly by or stand still; she couldn't tell.
It took Marcus a while to register the fact that his cell phone was ringing. Not breaking the kiss, he retrieved the damn thing from his jacket pocket and pushed the button that would stop the annoying sound. Even before he could slide it back into his pocket the ringing resumed. "Crap," he muttered, pulling back reluctantly to glance at the display. Without letting go of Jessica with his other arm he answered the call impatiently. "What?"
In an apprehensive voice his assistant reminded him that he had an 11 am appointment for which he was almost half an hour late. Marcus cursed. "I'll be up in five minutes. Stall him." A look at Jessica's face told him all he needed to know. She'd still be available later. He turned to leave.
"I didn't, you know," Jessica whispered to his retreating back. He threw her a quizzical look over his shoulder. "Try to escape I mean," she clarified, a little louder. "I didn't."
Her admission mollified Marcus somewhat. He knew he'd overreacted but he wasn't displeased with the way things had turned out. That kiss had been amazing and it begged for a repeat performance. So apologizing clearly was the way to go. "I know. I'm sorry." With that, he left for his office again.
After taking a shower and putting on some clothes Jessica sat down on the sofa curiously to leaf through the files Marcus had brought. She was pleased to find documentation on several aspects of environmental issues, and soon she was engrossed in the specifics of the Henderson's case. She spent the entire afternoon submerged in reports, only taking a break to eat a sandwich.
The elevator ding startled her. Dinner! She'd completely forgotten to prepare dinner! Jessica bit her lip nervously. A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was almost seven, so she couldn't blame Marcus for being early. She briefly closed her eyes to compose her thoughts. Okay. You messed up. Apologize. Act normal. What would you do if he was your boyfriend?
Marcus entered the room looking particularly annoyed. Apparently he was in a bad mood and she was about to make it even worse. The one thing he'd asked her to do in the last couple of days and she'd gone and messed it up. The thought confused her. Just this morning she had called him on the fact that he'd kidnapped her and now she was feeling guilty for not living up to his expectations? Her attention was drawn back to Marcus when he sighed heartily and shed his jacket. He slumped down in the seat across from her, loosening his tie with a forceful gesture.
"Rough day?" Jessica inquired softly.
Marcus looked up in surprise. "Yeah. How was yours? I can see you've made yourself useful." A hint of a smile tugged at his lips as he motioned towards the disorderly heap of paper next to her on the sofa.
Jessica studied her nails for a moment before looking up to meet his eyes. She swallowed. "About that... I kind of forgot to cook." She scanned his handsome face for traces of rising anger.
Marcus sat up. She'd forgotten to cook dinner and she was clearly expecting him to berate her for it. If the negotiations with the Fell Brethren hadn't taken their toll on him, he might have considered playing with her a little. As it was, he was too fed up with playing mind games to do anything more demanding than indulge in the twisted family life he'd created for himself. His mind had been preoccupied with thinking about Jessica and kissing her the entire afternoon, much to the demon clan's dismay. They had questioned his position as liaison to the Senior Partners, and he was pretty sure the Black Thorn would have another one of their emergency meetings that night. He couldn't care less though; he had more important matters to tend to. Like the girl sitting on his sofa... he couldn't wait to kiss her again.
Jessica fidgeted apprehensively. Although silence in itself meant that he wasn't yelling at her or hitting her, it could also mean that he was planning horrible torture or plotting her death. "Marcus?" Her voice wavered a little.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not that hungry. We can just make a sandwich." As to underline his indifference, he stretched and yawned. He let his head fall back against the chair and closed his eyes.
"You look tired," Jessica observed. "Do you get the weekend off?"
"Affirmative," Marcus smiled, eyes still closed. "Just like a normal person. Come here."
Jessica could think of a ton of reasons not to walk over to him, but her feet had a mind of their own. The fact of the matter was, she wanted to kiss him again, preferably sometime soon. She stood next to him uncertainly, trying to decide on the right course of action, when Marcus' arm snaked around her waist and tugged her down onto his lap. His arms encircled her waist and pulled her to him.
Marcus sighed in satisfaction. The stress that had built up in him during the day ebbed away and left him feeling pleasantly languid. Her body was rigid in his lap but began to relax against him as his hand started drawing circles on her side. Although he was quite content just holding her like that, the need to kiss her senseless started gnawing at him. He ignored it, preferring their intimate cuddle to a kiss that could only lead to other things that wouldn't do at this moment. It was too early. He would ruin all his fun if he gave in to his urges.
Jessica leaned against Marcus' broad chest and silently wished for him to kiss her. She closed her eyes and waited for the feel of his lips on his. When it didn't come, she peered at his face through her eyelashes. He looked so peaceful, eyes closed and a serene smile playing on his lips. He almost looked like he was snoozing. She sighed in frustration and gently poked his ribs to establish whether he really had fallen asleep.
Marcus groaned in protest. "Can't you let an old man get some rest?" A giggle escaped her, causing him to open his eyes and look at her mock-indignantly. "Sit still. Giggling is not proper lap-etiquette."
"Sorry," Jessica grinned. "Old people are no fun."
Marcus laughed out loud, the sound sending butterflies to her belly. "Watch who you're calling old, little girl."
She pouted, drawing his attention to her lips. It took all of his self-control not to claim them with his own; instead he locked his gaze with hers and waited to see what she would do. When she broke the eye contact and placed her head on his shoulder he was slightly disappointed, until he felt her small hand start to wander up his chest, feeling out the muscles under his shirt. Making an appreciative sound he tightened his hold on her, encouraging her on. She traced patterns over his upper body with her finger, causing him to shiver. When he felt her soft lips touch his neck he was lost. His hand threaded in her hair and he pulled her head up for a kiss.
Jessica's hormones were rejoicing. At this moment she didn't even bother to try and rationalize her feelings anymore. Apparently she had gone and fallen in love with Marcus, even though she knew he wasn't human and was in all likelihood evil. What did that make her? She didn't know and didn't care at this point. How she had conjured up the nerve to touch him like that was beyond her, but she was glad she had. Suddenly it occurred to her where kissing Marcus could and probably would lead. He'd had plenty of experience in that area, judging from... well, everything. She broke the contact reluctantly and buried her face in his neck, not wanting him to notice her flaming cheeks.
His thumb stroked her neck, while his other hand traveled down her waist to slide under her top and caress her bare skin. Jessica shivered. If she was totally and completely honest with herself, she wanted to sleep with Marcus. Definitely. She felt stupid and naïve for not being aware about where things were heading. It was a consolation however that sex wasn't Marcus' primary goal. She still didn't know what he wanted from her but if it had been sex he could have just forced her to comply. He certainly wouldn't have refrained from touching her yesterday. Besides, what if it was what he was after? Did she really have a choice? She felt a brief flash of worry when she realized she had accepted her fate. She could very well be here for the rest of her probably pretty short life. Was it really that bad to want to spend the remainder of her days relatively happy? In her mind she'd already started to disconnect Marcus from her captive state; a mechanism that allowed her to do just that. Raising her head she reached a decision. Marcus arched a brow at her and smiled lopsidedly. Before he could make a comment, she dipped her head down to capture his lips.
Whoa... unexpected. Marcus returned her kiss enthusiastically, pulling her tight against him with his hand splayed on her back. He deepened the kiss, his tongue finding hers. One of her hands traveled up to cup his cheek while the other raked his chest. Marcus could only think about one thing. Bed. Right now.
In one fluent motion he scooped her up in his arms and stood. She moaned softly at the loss of his hands' caresses and tugged at his shirt to indicate her displeasure. Her complete surrender brought Marcus back to reality. Not now. Instead of carrying Jessica to his bedroom, he walked over to the sofa and deposited her on it unceremoniously, smirking at her surprised squeal. Puzzled, she looked up at him.
"Not going to happen," he stated firmly and wished he felt only half the resolve that he'd just expressed. Insecurity was written all over her face. Marcus almost felt compelled to assure her that he'd wanted to as much as she had. Almost. He didn't have to explain himself to her or to anyone else for that matter. As it was, he had a hard enough time to rationalize his actions to himself. His complete lack of reason when it came to her annoyed him. Still, despite himself, he smiled down at her. He had to be careful not to push her away again after all.
Not sure what to think about the sudden change in his manner, Jessica turned away from him, brow creased. "Don't sulk," Marcus admonished, a hint of amusement in his voice. He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him in a childish gesture. "I'm gonna make a sandwich. Want one?"