Chapter 23
Steve never knew a child could talk as much as Alyssa did and about so many things. The kid covered everything from the war, wrestling, video games, music, animals...He was wowed to put it mildly. He pulled into the underground parking lot of the arena and glanced down at Alyssa, who was sitting in between him and Nicoya. Since he always drove a truck and shook his head. "Honey, I'm surprise yer not hoarse." He commented, putting the truck in park.
"I can go all night." Alyssa declared, smiling up at him, having took a definite shine to her uncle already.
"And she's not kidding either." Nicoya chimed in, grinning back at an exasperated Steve, and shook her head as she tried not to laugh. Alyssa was a chatterbox, that was for sure and a bundle of energy, but that was her little girl. She wouldn't have her any other way either as Steve cut the ignition of his truck. They got out, Steve helping his niece out and grinned, glad Alyssa had taken so well to Steve already. Then again, she liked anyone who didn't rub her the wrong way.
"Hey Mark's here!" Alyssa pointed at Mark's Harley with a grin on her adorable face. "1984, custom chopped with custom designed EVERYTHING." She informed her uncle, having spent some time with Mark learning about motorcycles, having taken a liking to them. Even though her mother said they were dangerous and killed.
"Well…he's a big man. Needs a big bike." Steve said, tousling her hair before glancing up at his sister. "Now what's yer normal routine, honey? Just find yer office for the night and hibernate? What bout my honey bear here?" The questions just flew out of his mouth one by one.
"Lord, you're as bad as her with the questions." She started laughing at the look on Steve's face and had to hold her daughter close so she wouldn't fall over. She shook her head and kissed the top of Alyssa's before swinging her black bag over her shoulder. "Yes, I'm going to my office to hibernate as you like to put it. Alyssa, you can do whatever you want, sweetheart. Do you want to go with your Uncle or do you want to go see Mark?" She asked, staring down at her little girl, deciding to give her the choice for once.
Alyssa looked completely torn in half. She had just started getting to know her uncle and didn't really want to end this just yet. However, Mark was one of her favorite people in the world to hang out with. She bobbed her head from side to side obviously debating on it. "How bout you and I go fer a walk then on the way back we'll pop in on Marky boy?" Steve offered, seeing her dilemma, and smiled when a relieved expression came over his niece's features.
Nicoya smiled at her brother's suggestion and bent down to be eye level with her, winking. "You be a good girl and listen to your Uncle. Don't drive him too batty." She laughed when Alyssa scoffed playfully and kissed her forehead before hugging her tightly. "Love you, baby girl." She then hugged her brother and stared into his blue eyes. "Take care of my angel or you'll answer to me." She stated sweetly before walking away, waving at them, and headed to her office for the night.
"She means it too." Alyssa said in a sweet voice, almost identical to her mother's except for the childish tinge to it. "Can we go get something to eat?"
"Child, yer a bottomless pit!" Steve exclaimed, chuckling though he took her hand and led the way to the cafeteria. He'd seen her pack away her lunch and wondered where the Hell she kept it all. Guessing she just had a seriously fast metabolism.
"My legs are still hollow." She informed him with a giggle, pulling him down the hallway, her stomach demanding attention.
Nicoya walked inside her office, ready to get started on her work for the night. She knew Alyssa would be with either Steve or Mark and she was in good hands, so she wasn't worried about it. She stopped when she seen Mark sitting at her desk, his feet propped up. Black shades over his eyes, his tattooed sleeved arms crossed in front of his chest. Okay, so maybe Alyssa would be with her uncle for most of the night.
"We had a slight misunderstandin' earlier, Nico." He said gravely, his face not revealing anything. "I wasn't tryin' to tell ya how to raise Alyssa, so if it came out that way, I'm sorry." He was waiting to gauge her mood before letting anything show on his features.
"No, you were right, Mark." Nicoya said softly, lowering her head, and sighed as she walked over, setting her things on her desk in front of him. "I know you love her and what I did was wrong. You're right. It's not her fault that she has that bastard's blood running through her veins and I'm going to try my damnest to remember that every time I start getting angry with her. We had a long talk after you left and I explained to her about everything. I didn't go into detail about what John did to me, but she got the point that he basically treated her mother like shit. I explained to her about Steve too." She explained, raking a hand through her black hair, and sighed heavily before taking out her laptop, plugging it into the wall.
Mark slowly stood up, rising to his full height before walking around to pull her into his arms. Pushing his sunglasses back over his head so they rested on top of his bandana, staring down at her out of intense green eyes. "How'd she take all that?" He asked softly, holding her close.
"She was overwhelmed, but she finally understands why I've been trying to protect her all this time from everyone. She just said wow and had this look of disbelief on her face. She's only eight years old, but she's smart as a whip, like her mother." She grinned, wrapping her arms around Mark's waist, and buried her face in his chest, sighing and inhaling his intoxicating scent. "I'm sorry about…earlier. It was a lot to handle at one time, Mark, but that's still no excuse. I'm sorry." She apologized in a whisper, trying to keep the tears in her eyes.
"I understand, darlin'. I understood then, but thought it'd be best to give you some space." He told her gently, one arm resting around her waist, the other hand running up and down her back soothingly. Mark bent down to rest his head on top of hers, hugging her against him tightly. "Speakin' of Steve, how are he and Alyssa gettin' on?"
"Alyssa was her normal self, chattering away about everything and anything. Steve was stunned. You should've seen the look on his face." Nicoya started giggling as she stepped away from Mark, raking a hand through her hair, and sat on her desk, her feet dangling. She smiled when Mark walked over to stand between her legs as she stared up at him. "She was so conflicted when we got here because I asked her if she wanted to stay with her Uncle or go see you. You should've seen how troubled she looked. It was too adorable." She smiled, her midnight blue eyes twinkling. "So Steve said he'd take her for a walk and then come see you and she got a really relieved look on her face."
"Well Hell, hope they take their time on that walk, I'm not gonna be there." Mark replied, winking down at her before bending down to kiss her, smiling against her lips when she draped her arms around his neck. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before she pushed him away to get to her work. The woman was a workaholic, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least make the attempt to change her mind.
Nicoya moaned softly in his mouth, already feeling her body light on fire for him, but knew they couldn't do this now. "Mark, we can't…" She whispered out breathlessly after breaking the kiss and moaned when his lips trailed down her throat, causing her entire body to tremble. She ran her fingers through his silky tresses that were in a loose ponytail. Damned if this didn't feel great though.
Mark moved his kisses to the other side of her throat, then down onto her bare shoulders, adoring the purple top she wore. It provided great access. Finally, making a great show of it, he pulled away from her. "Yer right, we can't…" He murmured, his green eyes twinkling mischievously back at her.
Nicoya was boiling over by now as she growled at him, pulling him back to her, and grabbed his goatee, forcing him to bend down to be eye level with her. "If you don't fuck me right here and now, I'm going to make you regret it." She threatened, her midnight blue eyes darkened over with passion and she was breathing erratically. This man drove her crazy! Absolutely insanely crazy!
"How's that, darlin'?" Mark replied teasingly, already guiding her down onto the desk, moving everything off of it in one sweep. Minus anything breakable or irreplaceable, like her laptop. "Mmm…" He bent down to kiss just over where her shirt started, running his hands down her sides.
"You don't want to know. Just please, don't stop, Mark…" She moaned out, her eyes drifting shut, and ran her hands up and down his shirt covered chest. She leaned her head back, giving him even more access, and began unbuttoning his sleeveless black jean shirt he was wearing, sliding it off his shoulders, and to the floor. "I love your chest…" She purred, sitting up on the desk on her knees, and began pressing open mouthed kisses down his chest. Moaning softly at how delicious he tasted against her tongue. She ran her nails ever so gently down his sides, smirking when she felt goose bumps erupt.
"I noticed, darlin'." Mark replied, busy working off her shirt. He bent down to kiss the top of her breasts, groaning when he felt her hands move down to the waistband of his jeans.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Came both Steve and Alyssa's voices as they gawked at the scene before them, not believing it, and blinked rapidly. Steve immediately covered his niece's eyes with his hand, not wanting her to see her own mother getting ravaged by the man she admired so much.
Nicoya literally jumped away from Mark and did a somersault over her desk, groaning when she landed on the floor, thankful she still had her bra on. She quickly began pulling her shirt back on, her midnight blue eyes widened in shock, and swallowed hard, already turning redder than a strawberry. Her head was killing her from hitting the ledge of her chair, lucky she hadn't cracked it on the wall, and slowly peeked over her desk. She became absolutely mortified when she seen her daughter and Steve still gawking, even though Alyssa's eyes were covered, and felt like dying at that moment. "Back so soon?" She managed to ask, laughing nervously.
"Uncle Steve…WHAT were they doing?" Alyssa demanded, looking up at him, his hand still over her eyes, and pushed it away.
"Don't ask me honey, I ain't that sure myself." Steve replied, looking red himself, his bald head looking like a giant tomato. He knew EXACTLY what was going to happen between his sister and Mark, but wasn't about to tell that to an eight year old.
Mark was pulling back on his vest, his back to them, hiding his own red face. "You alright, darlin'?" He asked, glancing down at Nicoya, knowing she'd taken a bump.
"Christ…" Nicoya mumbled, biting her bottom lip, wondering how she was going to explain this to her daughter. "Don't you ever knock?!" She finally snapped on her brother, planting her hands on her hips, her face growing redder and redder by the minute. She couldn't believe they actually walked in on her and Mark. She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough not to lock the door before they started!
"No offense intended, honey, but ya should lock the door if yer…busy with a client." Steve replied seriously, though his blue eyes were twinkling with obvious amusement. Mark slowly turned around, rolling his eyes when Steve winked at him. He smiled down at Alyssa, who was still trying to understand what she just seen.
"I know." Nicoya grumbled, sighing heavily, and raked a hand through her hair, knowing her daughter was more confused than ever. "Alyssa, come here please." She said, ignoring her brother and Mark for the time being, and walked over to bend down before her. "Honey, I'm sorry you had to see that. I promise, it WON'T happen again, alright?" She stroked her daughter's hair, still clearly embarrassed, and wished her face would stop turning red.
Alyssa arched an eyebrow, still looking confused. "Okay, but WHAT were you doing? Kissing?" She made a face. "Mom that is SO gross!"
"Since when does kissin' come without clothes?" Steve whispered, nudging Mark in the ribs.
"All depends on where yer kissin'." Mark replied just as quietly so Alyssa couldn't overhear them.
"Honey, what Mark and I were doing is no business of yours. You'll find out about it when you're older. It's for adults only." Nicoya explained patiently, staring down at her daughter, and glared up at her brother and Mark when she overheard them, elbowing Mark hard in the ribs. "Do you two MIND not talking about that while in the presence of my eight year old?" She scolded, not believing they found this situation amusing.
"How bout we uh…vacate while you have the um…talk." Steve offered, trying not to smirk anymore, but it was close to impossible at this point. Mark nodded, agree with that wholeheartedly. He loved Alyssa to death, but he wasn't ready to be around for the TALK. In other words, he wasn't ready to discuss sex with an eight year old who he thought of as his own daughter.
"What's the talk?" Alyssa asked curiously, looking shocked when Mark and Steve hauled ass out of the office. "Mom, why're they acting like skunks?"
"Those bastards." Nicoya growled under her breath, not about to have THAT talk with her eight year old, and felt like clocking Mark in the face along with her brother. "Never mind, Alyssa. You are too young to have the type of talk that Mark and your Uncle were talking about. Just go play with your toys and let momma get to work." She then sat behind her desk and opened up her laptop, still as red as a strawberry.
"Yer in trouble." Steve said conversationally, him and Mark just outside the door leaning against the hallway wall, watching as people came and went.
"Screw you, yer in trouble. Yer her brother." Mark shot back, his sunglasses back over his eyes, nudging Steve when he started sniggering. "Knock that shit off before I kick yer damned teeth in."
"Come on Calaway, you were makin' out with her in the damned office!" Steve exclaimed, still not believing his sister would do something that scandalous. "You KNOW people are gonna be in there all night, what the Hell were ya thinkin'?"
"Nothin' obviously." Mark muttered in response, still not believing Alyssa and this moron had walked in on him, and sighed heavily. He'd hear it later from Nicoya, but in the meantime, he was wondering how their talk was going.