Chapter 10

"So... darlin', ya also think Trish is good lookin'?" He teased in a low purr, wondering what Steve would say to that or what Steve would do if he knew Mark had a very fleeting visual of the two women together.

"Not in THAT way, you pervert!" She threw a pan handle at him, feeling her cheeks flush slightly and decided since he wanted to screw with her, she would screw with him. "She is a beautiful woman and if I wasn't strictly dickly, I would go after her in a heartbeat. Now Steve on the other hand..." Jasina began fanning herself for added effect and had to take a long swig of beer, sighing wistfully. "That man can wear a pair of blue jeans unlike any other. He just has one of those snatchable asses and don't even get me started on his chest and arms, not to mention his blue eyes. He could get away with murder with those damn baby blues and he knows it. He doesn't realize it, but he has Trish wrapped around his damn finger and I don't blame the woman. I'd be wrapped too and baldness is hot on certain men, he is definitely one of them. Oh and his voice..."

Steve sounded like he constantly had a cock down his throat, his voice was growly constantly. Huffing, Mark turned his attention to the diced onions, green peppers and tomatoes he had already cut before getting to work on the meat. "So if you find that hot, then what the hell were ya doin' with me? I'm the complete opposite of that." Granted, he didn't have a fat ass like Steve's, but...Getting the feeling she was enjoying this a bit too much, Mark whirled around and crossed over to gently take her arms, bending down so their lips were inches apart. "You havin' fun getting me worked up, Jas?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." The hilarity shined in her teal eyes, but being this close to him sent her heart suddenly racing, his hot breath on her face very welcoming. "Almost as much as you were blatantly checking me out and trying to get me riled up." Jasina smiled and reached a hand up, tapping his nose gently with her finger. "I was with you because you have an even lower voice than Steve's, which I found incredibly sexy and your ass is better than his in anything you wear, even those baggy overalls when you're working on the roof."

"You know darlin'...I think you should give them baggy overalls a try yourself..." Mark teased, catching her finger between his teeth when she went to tap his nose again, biting down gently before letting go and returning to the stove. He had to put a bit of space between them before he sat her on that kitchen island and had his way with her right there, smirking slightly as he recalled a few times they had been together in the kitchen. "And if you weren't so damn provocative, I wouldn't check you out. Keep them legs covered up or I'll be eyeballin' them constantly."

"Provocative?" Jasina giggled, not able to stop, wondering if he was serious. "I don't have a sexy bone in my body. I'm accident prone like Arielle, poor girl gets it from her momma." Jasina slid from the chair as she finished her beer off, tossing the can in the trash, her finger still tingling from Mark nibbling on it. She walked past him and ran her hand across his ass, smirking when he jumped slightly. "Still the same as I remember. I'll be right back, gonna change into something more...provocative." Jasina laughed all the way out of the kitchen, shaking her head, deciding maybe she should cover up...as much as she could since it was hot as hell in the ranch.

"Tease!" He shouted after her, wondering if he was going to make it through the night.

He sincerely hoped her idea of provocative consisted of wearing a gunny sack...then regretted thinking that because Jasina would make a burlap sack look sexy. After giving the skillet a shake to flip everything, he went to retrieve himself a beer. It was going to be a long night, he could already tell.

After quickly showering, Jasina contemplated what to wear and decided she deserved a little payback on Mark, whistling innocently. It wasn't provocative...exactly, but he definitely would notice a few things. She giggled as she slipped into the blood red tank dress that went two inches above the knee, leaving her shoulders bare and clipped her hair up because it was simply too hot to leave down. She left her face devoid of makeup since this was her sleep attire for the evening and padded out of her room, heading down to the kitchen, grabbing another beer on the way.

Mark had his back to her though he heard her coming in and cracking open another beer, busy finishing up dinner, a loaf of French bread sitting on the counter for dipping into the broth and juices from supper. "Hey, you want to grab the plates and start-" He trailed off as he turned around.

Mark immediately wished he hadn't and could not, for the life of him, keep himself from thoroughly checking her out. If he snapped and attacked her, it was going to be her own damn fault. He was THRILLED he was wearing his tight jeans because the erection he suddenly felt being choked to death by the constraining denim was sent straight from hell, courtesy of Satan herself.

"And start what? You have to finish your sentence, Mark." Jasina chastised playfully, already knowing what he wanted and set her beer down on the counter. She walked over to reach up pulling the plates down from the cupboard, the dress rising just a fraction before lowering again. Jasina could feel Mark's eyes boring into her and smirked before heading to the table, setting it up for just the two of them. "Whatever you made smells amazing." She complimented, finishing up with the silverware and then went back to her beer, quite enjoying being a little evil.

Fuck dinner, they were going to wind up skipping right to dessert.

She knew what she was doing, torturing him and the way he figured it, if she was enjoying teasing the hell out of him, then she probably realized where this was going to eventually lead. Going along with it for now, he just grunted and poured the contents of the skillet into a rectangular, shallow bowl and then grabbed the loaf of French bread, carrying them over to the table. He then grabbed his own beer and sat that down at his plate, walking around to pull out the chair for her.

"Tell me darlin', that a night dress or a party dress?" Because it looked like it could go either way.

"I would never wear this out of the house, you should know me better than that."

Jasina immediately reached for the food and began making her plate while Mark sliced the bread, handing her two. She was starving and took a drink of beer, the sun having set so there was a warm breeze through the patio screen door. Then Jasina realized that Mark had taken his shirt off and had to stop herself from running her eyes over every inch of his chest, having every part of it mesmerized, keeping her eyes on her food as she blew on the first bite. It was still pretty hot, though the temperature was nothing compared to how high hers currently was. Mark preferred being shirtless since most shirts were...constricting on his muscular large form and, if she wasn't aware of that by now, then the woman was thick in the head.

"I don't know...I could see you out in it, with a pair of spiked heels and your hair done up." Mark drawled, dunking a slice of the bread into the broth, winking across the table at her. "How is, darlin'? Your face is flushed, didn't burn yourself, did ya?"

"Vivid imagination you have." Jasina commented, dipping her own bread in the broth. "It's delicious and I'm flushed because it's hot in here." He could take that however he wanted, but she was too busy trying not to let her eyes linger on him for long. She wiped away a drizzle of broth off the corner of her mouth before going back to the main course. "And no, I don't wear spiked heels, I'm not the hooker type." She smiled sweetly at him, owning some stilettos, but Jasina knew exactly what kind of heels he was referring to, rolling her eyes.

"Who the hell said you had to be a hooker to wear spiked heels? Clear heels maybe, but not necessarily spiked. Besides... you don't even have to wear them outta the house, if you ever felt the...urge...to wear some spiked heels, you could wear 'em around here. Maybe vacuum or do some dishes in them." Now he was just outright teasing her, grinning as he took a bite of his food.

Jasina raised an eyebrow and chewed her food thoughtfully, contemplating what he said. "Really?" When he nodded, the amusement in his green eyes very clear, Jasina decided she would give him what he wanted as she took another drink from her beer. "What else would you like seeing me do around here, Mark?" She asked curiously, her tone sweet as honey.

Mark knew he was being baited, he KNEW it, and like the idiotic typical male he was, he walked right into it. "Well darlin', wouldn't say no to seeing you prancin' around in them spiked heels in nothing but an apron." He leered at her, snorting when her eyebrow arched. She had asked and he wasn't going to lie or shy away, he could play the game. Actually, he was being played most likely, but it would be worth it. "And you could start sun bathin' in the nude, that'd eliminate any...tan lines..."

"So basically walking around nude is what you'd like." Jasina summed up, looking very interested and decided if that's what Mark wanted, that's exactly what he was going to get. Of course she would make sure they were completely alone when it happened, but being out in the middle of nowhere definitely had its perks. "Heels, naked, apron..." She took another bite of food, still keeping the smile on her face. "You should skip the boxers next time you go swimming so your balls don't chafe." She said while standing up, having finished her dinner and walked the plate to the sink, trying not to start laughing.

Growling, he pushed away from the table and went after her, taking the plate and setting it down a bit harshly on the sink before whipping her around, feeling her hands instantly landing on his chest. Not even thinking twice, he bent down and brushed his lips against hers, his hands running down her sides and then back to cup her pert ass, pulling her against him tightly. After a moment, he pulled away, his eyes darkened with lust.

"I'll take that under advisement, darlin'." He murmured huskily before heading outside, deciding a dunk in the pool right about now would be in his best interest, otherwise he was going to maul her.

Jasina stood there in complete shock and slowly brought her hand up to touch her lips with her fingertips, swallowing hard. The last man that kissed her was Randy...Jasina knew it was pointless to start crying, but she couldn't help it, every part of her body trembling from head to toe. She was just having a little fun with Mark and he took it too far, too fast. She didn't even know he still felt anything for her and was sadly mistaken.

Managing to get a hold of herself, Jasina walked out of the kitchen slowly, wiping the tears away that fell. She couldn't go through the pain of Mark again, remembering why they broke up in the first place. Hell, they got along better apart than they ever did together, which was cruelly ironic in itself. Jasina decided against going to her room and simply decided to go for a drive, slipping her pumps on that were by the door, grabbed her purse, keys and cell phone, just needing some space to clear her mind.

He had stripped down, following her advice, diving into the pool and resurfaced in time to hear her car starting. Groaning, Mark swam over to bang his head against the tiled ledge. He shouldn't have done that...She had only been messing with him, not inviting him to kiss her! Mark rubbed his head and stared down at the water, contemplating drowning himself. He just hoped he hadn't set her back in her recovery or something, knowing she hadn't just forgotten about Randy overnight.

Jasina ended up back at her old apartment and looked up at the door, knowing Randy's apartment had been cleared out by a few people Trish hired. She'd left everything to Jasina, including his money, which was in a private account. Four months...Jasina unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, closing the door as she made her way toward the stairs, taking one step at a time slowly.

So many memories flooded her and it was almost overwhelming at first, but Jasina somehow pushed through the pain and heartache, walking toward her door. Trish had piled all of Randy's things inside with Jasina's permission, refusing to let it be destroyed by being tossed away. Taking a deep breath, Jasina shakily unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping inside as the musty smell instantly entered her nostrils, the door closing behind her as she tossed her keys on the counter.

Randy's things were numerous, all neatly placed in piles about the apartment. The various cameras he had used over the years, stacks of photo albums containing personal pictures and professional images, the souvenirs he had brought back from the numerous places he had been. His entire life had been placed in Jasina's old apartment, parts of it he had kept from her because of how dark those times had been, such as his time in Iraq and trips to Libya, places that had been filled with despair that he hadn't wanted to bring her down with.

Set away from everything else was a large scrapbook, a sky blue with silver gilt edges on the four corners. All the pictures he had taken of Jasina, all their articles they had done together. It was the 'shrine' she had joked about him having, only it was real.

That was the first thing Jasina noticed, something drawing her to it, and cried with every page she turned. They were absolutely breathtaking, Randy's shots flawless, even ones she didn't know he had. There was one with her sitting on the beach with Arielle sitting with her, her arms wrapped around her, both of them laughing with big smiles on their faces. He truly did love them and Jasina had accused him he didn't. She felt terrible and clutched the album against her, crying her heart out, but didn't dare get any tears on the shrine.

"Randy, I'm so sorry..." Jasina choked out, covering her eyes as she doubled over, the pain consuming her all over again. "I'm so sorry...please forgive me..." She ended up lying on the dusty couch clutching the album to her chest, crying herself to sleep.