The Eyes Have It

Chapter Seventeen – A little Chinese

John & Marlena never stopped touching all the way back to Marlena's penthouse. They walked with their arms around each other, they held hands in the car, they held each other tightly while riding in the elevator. They simply had to be connected physically to each other. They had been apart for two long, lonely months and they had both been absolutely miserable. Now that they were back together, neither one wanted to let the other one go, not even for a moment.

When they walked into the penthouse, John led Marlena upstairs, through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He started the water in the bathtub and added some bath crystals that were sitting next to the tub. Marlena just watched him curiously.

"I would like you to relax in the tub, while I make you something to eat," John explained. "I'm worried about you, you did just pass out on me you know," John continued as he kissed her on the nose.

Marlena wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed the side of her face against his. "I love you so."

"I love you too, Baby. And I'm going to take care of you now." He gently removed her jacket and began to unbutton her blouse.

Marlena reached for the buttons on John's shirt. "I'll get into the bath on one condition...you have to join me."

"But then who will get the food?" John asked, teasing her.

"We'll order Chinese later," Marlena replied, as she pulled his shirt down his arms.

"Mmmmm...I love Chinese."

They continued to slowly undress each other until they had removed every last stitch of clothing. John climbed into the tub and offered his hand to Marlena to help her in. He sat with his back resting against the tub and had Marlena sit in front of him with her back leaning against him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. Marlena rested her head against his chest and hugged his arms. She felt wonderful...so content, so happy. She just wanted to stay in John's arms forever.

Marlena was so content and so relaxed that she actually dozed off for a few minutes. When her head began to fall, she jerked awake. "Oh my gosh, did I actually fall asleep?" she asked John, embarrassed.

John just chuckled, "Only for a few minutes Baby. It's okay. I could hold you like this forever…..well, at least until the water gets cold."

John grabbed the soap and began to wash Marlena's back and arms, massaging her as he lathered her up. Marlena leaned forward so he could get lower on her back. His hands felt so wonderful. He turned her around so she was facing him and continued to wash her. He lifted up one of her legs and began to lather and massage her foot, working his way up to her thigh. Then he did it again with her other leg. He reached around to her lower back and pulled her up onto his lap so she was straddling him. He lathered and massaged her lower back and her tummy and worked his way up to her breasts. Marlena closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she just enjoyed John's touch on her body. Every muscle in her body felt warm and relaxed. Her arms and legs felt like noodles and she felt like she was literally melting into John.

John rinsed her off and then held her tight, her head resting on his shoulder. "I think we should get out of here now," he suggested. "It's a little difficult to maneuver in here."

"Umm-humm," Marlena sighed happily, not having a care in the world.

John helped her out of the tub and wrapped a big fluffy towel around her. "While you finish up in here, I'm going to go order us some dinner," he told her. "Anything special that you want?"

"Whatever you order is fine," she smiled at him.

While John was on the phone placing the order, Marlena peeked her head out of the bathroom, "John don't forget those crispy dumpling things."

"Okay," John added them to the order.

"Oh, and some egg rolls," she shouted from the bathroom.

John laughed and added the egg rolls. "Anything else?" he asked.

Marlena peeked out of the bathroom again, "Nope, whatever you order is fine," she smiled at him from under her lashes.

When Marlena came out of the bathroom, she was wearing a white, satin nightgown that clung to all the right places. John was wearing a robe and pajama bottoms from the suitcase that he had brought in from his car. Marlena was pleased when she saw his suitcase. "Are you moving in?" she asked as she walked into his arms.

"I sure hope so since I no longer have an apartment here in Salem."

"Oh, that's right." Marlena remembered that John was actually leaving town tonight. Her face turned sad as she realized what she had done to him. "Were you leaving Salem because of me?"

John held her face and looked into her eyes. "There was no way that I could stay here and not have you, Marlena."

"John, I'm so sorry. I disrupted your whole life..."

"Shhh...," he interrupted her, "It doesn't matter now. I can live and work anywhere, that's the benefit of being the boss, but I'd give it all up, everything, just to be with you, Marlena. You're my life now and where ever you are that's where I'll be."

Marlena stared into John's face with tears in the corners of her eyes. She was completely overwhelmed by the love she saw in John's eyes. Never in her life had Marlena felt so adored, so protected, so loved as she did right now. She reached her hands up and held the sides of John's face.

"I love you John Black. I love you with all of my heart." She closed her eyes and placed a soft kiss on his mouth, slowly deepening the kiss until her arms wrapped around his neck and held him tight.

John's arms wrapped around her waist as he joined her in the kiss. God, he loved her mouth. The way she nibbled and sucked on his lower lip, the way her tongue played with his, the way her lips felt when he caught them between his own. He could kiss her forever and never get tired of it.

"Marlena," he whispered as he pulled away to catch his breath.

"Hmmm?" she answered dreamily.

"Should I get your robe?"

Marlena opened her eyes, "My robe?...why?" she asked surprised.

"Because our dinner will be here any minute and I'm going to see to it that you eat something."

"But I don't want dinner right now," she complained as she pressed herself tighter against him.

"But I promised that I was going to take care of you and I don't want you passing out on me again...besides I have some plans for the rest of this evening and you need to build up some energy."

"Plans, huh?...I think I like the sound of that," she purred as she began to suck on his neck.

She was driving John crazy. He wanted nothing more than to throw her on the bed right now and make mad, passionate love to her, but he wanted it to be perfect and romantic. Luckily for him, the doorbell rang and gave him the excuse that he needed to push her away and gather her robe for her. She whined as he pulled her robe around her and began to lead her downstairs.

As they sat down and began eating their Chinese food, Marlena realized that she really was hungry. For the last few weeks, she hadn't cared enough to eat well and it probably had made her run down. She was happily digging into the little cardboard boxes when John started laughing at her.

"What?" she asked, with her mouth full of eggroll.

"I think someone was hungry," John commented with a big smile on his face.

Marlena finished chewing her bite and daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm just doing what I was told." She grabbed some chicken with her chopsticks and reached over to feed John.

"Here, you need to eat too." As she placed it in his mouth, he reached up and grabbed her hand. They stopped playing and stared at each other.

"Marlena, I need to ask you something..." John began, sounding very serious. "Earlier today in your office, you said that now you know the truth. What does that mean? And what stopped you from joining me in Paris?"

Marlena placed her hands in her lap and looked down at them. She had been avoiding this conversation. She didn't want to tell John what had happened, that she had thought he was with Kate, that she had doubted him. But she knew that they had to tell each other the truth, otherwise they couldn't move on with their life together.

"I called you," she said quietly.

"You called me?...when?"

"The night before I was leaving for Paris. I wanted to call you as you were going to sleep...to say good night."

"But I didn't get a phone call..."

"I know. When I called, a woman answered the phone. I thought I had the wrong room, but then she said that you were in the shower and asked if I wanted to leave a message."

"What?..." John was confused.

"I recognized her voice John. It was Kate."

John sat up straighter and took in a deep breath, realization coming over his face.

"I didn't know what to do John. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I thought you were there...with her." Marlena was trying not to cry now.

"Son of a bitch!" John yelled as he practically leaped off the couch. He knew Kate was a devious business woman, but he didn't know that she could be so cruel. He began pacing back and forth. He wanted to hit something, he was so angry.

Marlena began to panic. She thought that John was upset with her. "I'm so sorry John. I should have trusted you. I should have known that you weren't with her, but it all came rushing back at me...how it felt when I discovered that Don was cheating on me. I couldn't go through that again so I just panicked and ran away. It hurt so much." Tears began to fall down Marlena's cheeks.

John heard the panic in Marlena's voice and immediately softened. He rushed back to her side and held her in his arms. "Shhh...it's okay, Baby. I'm not mad at you. I understand what happened now. That was the night I found Kate in my room going through my papers. She tried to cover it up, by pretending she was just there to be with me. I told her I still wasn't interested and I was tired of her games and asked her how long she had been spying for Kiriakis. She didn't take it well and I ended up firing her on the spot. I never heard the phone ring Marlena. I had no idea that she spoke to you. I'm so sorry, Baby."

Marlena buried her face into John's neck and held tightly to the collar on his robe. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you John. I was just so hurt and I felt so alone."

"You're never going to be alone again, Marlena. I can promise you that," he placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to his. "But you have to promise me something."

"Anything," she replied, gazing into his eyes.

"Promise me that you'll never doubt my love for you and that you will always tell me if you're worried or afraid of anything."

"I promise..." she placed a soft kiss on his mouth... "I promise.." she kissed him again, longer this time.

John's arms wrapped around her as their kiss became more passionate. Their breathing became heavy as their mouths and tongues began to devour each other.

"John...," Marlena panted against his lips, barely able to speak, "Take me upstairs...and make me yours."

John placed his arm under her knees and scooped her up like she didn't weigh a thing. He quickly carried her upstairs and set her on the edge of the bed. "Wait right here," he whispered with a twinkle in his eye. Then he went over to his suitcase and dug something out of a side pocket.

"What are you up too?" Marlena asked impatiently.

John walked over to Marlena with one hand behind his back. He took her hand in his and kneeled down on one knee in front of her. Marlena sucked in her breath and held it in anticipation.

"I know I already asked you this in your office, but that wasn't really how I intended to ask you. Marlena, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else on this Earth. My life began on the day that I met you and I know that I could never go back to a life without you. You fill my heart and my soul and you make me complete. And there's nothing that I want more than to be your husband and take care of you for the rest of your life."

John brought his hand out from behind his back and opened the small box that he was holding. Inside was the most beautiful ring Marlena had ever seen. There was a large diamond in the middle, surrounded by several smaller sapphires. John pulled the ring out of the box and held it near Marlena's finger.

"Marlena, will you please marry me?"

Marlena was finding it very difficult to speak. She was completely surprised and overwhelmed. "John, that ring is absolutely exquisite, but how did you...?"

John interrupted her. "I've had it for awhile. I couldn't bring myself to return it. You see, I was going to give it to you in Paris."

"Oh, John..." Marlena's eyes filled with tears.

"Now I don't mean to be pushy, but could you give me an answer please?" John asked her with that teasing look in his eyes.

Marlena smiled through her tears. "I would love to marry you ,John Black."

John slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed it. "Now it's official," he declared as he sat up on the bed next to her. "Now, you are mine."

"And you are mine," she added as she grabbed him around the neck and pulled his mouth towards hers, "...forever and always." She began placing kisses on his lips, licking and sucking gently.

John grabbed her tightly and took possession of her mouth. He had to have her right now…every part of her. "I need you Marlena," he whispered into her mouth.

"You've got me John….all of me." John began kissing and sucking on her neck and shoulders as he slowly slid the straps of her nightgown down her arms. Marlena moaned as he slid her nightgown all the way down her body. As he sat back to admire her, he quickly shed his own clothes and returned to lie against her body. He loved the feeling of her bare skin against his and he was still amazed at how perfect her body was...her soft skin, her flat tummy, her round breasts...she was like a work of art. And he wanted to possess her… body, heart & soul. They ended up making love for hours... occasionally dozing off in each other's arms, only to wake up an hour later and make love again. It was a glorious night.