Chapter 22

Distancing herself from Mark was the only way for Nalani to cope with what happened.

It was selfish on her part and Nalani knew she should've told Mark everything, but knew how dangerous Scott was. She had somewhat of an idea what the man was capable of and it was absolutely anything. So Nalani did what she had to do to protect Mark, even if it meant pushing him away for the rest of her life. She loved Mark with everything inside of her and wished she could accept his proposal, but deep down Nalani knew it would never last. Somehow, someway everything good in her life had to come to an end at some point and Nalani wasn't sure how much more loss she could take.

Countless days were spent either at the diner or at home, Nalani always making excuses to leave the house whenever Mark was there. She just wanted to put as much distance between them as possible, knowing it would make things easier when she had to leave within the next month or so. Scott told her three months and Nalani knew she had to abide by that or there would be serious hell to pay.

It was a typical Friday night and Nalani was busying herself getting ready to go out, finishing applying her eyeliner, jumping when a throat cleared behind her. Nalani screamed and dropped the eyeliner, her heart lunging in her throat, jumping about a foot in the air as startled blue eyes locked with indecipherable green. Nalani swallowed hard and shakily picked her eyeliner up, trying to slow her racing heart.

"What are you doing home?" She asked quietly, slowly going back to applying her makeup, not even look at him through the mirror.

"I live here, remember?" Mark grunted, folding his arms in front of his chest, wearing a simple black sleeveless jean vest with skintight black jeans, his eyes narrowed watching her. "Where are ya goin' all dolled up?" He asked in a deceptive voice, raising an eyebrow when she simply shrugged.

"On the town with a few friends." Nalani answered casually, wearing a black skirt that went one and a half inch above the knee with a long sleeved dark red top that had a V shaped neckline and hugged her curves, leaving plenty to the imagination though. "I'll be out late."

"Right." Mark couldn't believe she was actually leaving the house again and wanted to demand why, but also didn't want to sound like an overbearing jerk. "I was hopin' me and you could spend time together tonight since I got off early…" Truth be told, Mark had actually threatened Steve bodily harm if couldn't get home early, wanting to stop Nalani from going out again.

"Oh." Nalani bit her bottom lip, suddenly growing really nervous and waved it off dismissively, continuing what she was doing while fluffing her hair out over her shoulders. "Well I promised my friends I'd go with them tonight, I can't let them down."

Mark snorted and shook his head, stepping inside the bathroom, kicking the door shut with authority. "Well yer gonna because we gotta talk." He demanded, refusing to let her walk away from him again, watching the amount of fear that entered her eyes. "Nalani…"

"I-I just wanna go out with my friends…" She stammered, trying to collect herself because this was Mark, a man she loved more than anything and would never hurt her. "Mark…"

"No damn it, not tonight!" He growled, suddenly gripping her upper arms, forcing her blue eyes to meet his. Sucking in a sharp breath upon seeing all that pain and anguish swirling through those blue orbs, Mark just wanted to take it all away. "I love you, darlin' and I've missed ya so much…"

This was killing Nalani, but she had to stay strong and tried extracting herself from his arms. "Mark, I can't…" She whispered, trembling against him from both fear and desire mixed, more fear than anything because Scott suddenly entered her mind. "No."

"Nalani, talk to me." Mark pleaded, running his nose against her hair, inhaling the scent as a groan escaped him. "Talk to me, darlin', tell me what's goin' on…"

"N-Nothing…I'm just not in the mood for sex." She stated calmly, even though panic rose in her voice and caused Mark to pull back, once again staring down into her black rimmed eyes. "I need to finish getting ready…"

"No." Mark suddenly lifted her up over his shoulder, causing Nalani to squeal out and began pounding her tiny fists against his back, crying out when he slapped her ass.

"Mark, stop it!" She yelled, knowing he wasn't listening to her and felt the bedroom door being kicked open and shut all in one fluid motion, her back suddenly hitting the bed. "W-What are you doing?"

"I'm not lettin' ya outta this house until ya tell me what the fuck is goin' on. I don't care how long it takes or how much persuadin' I have to do." Mark stated, already removing his sleeveless shirt, Nalani trying hard not to notice how chiseled his body was.

She immediately backed up on the bed, biting her bottom lip, trembling from head to toe while he slowly stalked her. "Mark, please don't…" She whispered, gasping in fright when he grabbed her ankle, yanking her down the bed with his huge body hovering over her.

Not listening, Mark flicked his tongue out to lick away her tears lovingly, the salty flavor causing him to grow hard in his jeans, which currently pressed against her thigh. "Why not?" He whispered, moving his mouth to hover over her ear, beginning to play with it as another groan escaped him. "Goddamn I've missed ya..."

Nalani squirmed beneath him, trying to push her off of him, but it was like moving a semi truck. "Please..." She couldn't say anything else, more tears sliding down her cheeks while he continued teasing her ear with his tongue and lips, sending shivers throughout her betraying body. "No…"

"Yes, yer gonna talk to me." Mark said in a husky voice, ignoring her squirming because he knew she didn't want to tell him what was wrong.

When Nalani tried getting away from him while Mark reached down to unsnap the button of his jeans, he immediately pulled her back down, wrapping her legs forcefully around his waist as the skirt bunched up around her hips instantly. He loved her in this position, holding both of her wrists in one strong hand and captured her lips before she could scream out. Mark began grinding against her, coaxing her to begin kissing him back, his mouth methodic and persuasive on its own, which definitely worked in his favor.

She was going to talk to him or Mark was going to screw the truth out of her.

Nalani couldn't help returning his addicting kiss, knowing she shouldn't be surprised by any of this because Mark loved being the dominant one in the bedroom. She had absolutely no problem with it, but after being raped, Nalani couldn't go through with it. With as much strength as she could muster up, Nalani ripped her lips from his, breathing heavily.

Mark growled at the vision and slid his hand up her shirt, his lips instantly attaching to the nape of her throat. Nalani squirmed even more and ended up arching her neck into his lips and tongue, more tears falling because she didn't want this going any further. Scared to death, Nalani shook her head, trying to pull away from him and gasped when Mark's hand suddenly slid up her thigh beneath the skirt, his finger brushing against her panty covered sex.

"No…NO!" She began to panic and shoved his hand away from her lower area, shaking her head because all Nalani could see was Scott's face in her mind, Mark's head snapping up. "P-Please…Please no!"

Even through the passion haze, Mark could clearly tell Nalani wasn't playing hard to get, she was legitimately scared. "Nalani, darlin', what's wrong?" He asked gruffly, trying to clear his throat because the huskiness was still there, trying to reach out for her.

"NO!" She suddenly bounded off of the bed, breathing heavily, her eyes wide and honestly Nalani looked like a crazy person. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Mark blinked when she began screaming at him when he took even a step toward her, tilting his head slightly. "What the hell is your deal woman?" He demanded somewhat irritably, just wanting to pull her into his arms to calm her down. "Damn it, Nalani, talk to me…"

"NO! Stay away from me!" She shouted, her eyes never leaving his as her entire body quavered from head to toe, wrapping her arms around herself, crying harder. "I-I don't want this…"

Holding his hands up and backing away, Mark wondered what the hell had gotten into his girlfriend. "Okay, alright we don't have to do anythin' ya don't wanna do." He couldn't believe how she was acting, seriously wondering if she'd lost her mind. "I'm backin' up slowly, alright? Just calm down, calm down darlin'…"

Swallowing hard, Nalani took ragged deep breaths, trying to slow her pounding heart and racing pulse, the tears never stopping. "Oh god…" When she finally realized what happened, Nalani slid down the wall, covering her face with her hands, knowing she'd probably just sent all kind of alarms toward Mark reacting the way she had.

Mark could tell Nalani realized what just happened and knew it was safe to go toward her, worry clearly in his green eyes. "Darlin'…" He whispered, bending down right beside her, watching her bury her face in her knees, which were drawn up to her chest tightly. "Jesus, what did I do? God I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya like that…" Mark knew his frustration had gotten the better of him and wanted to pull her into his arms, but knew Nalani would probably freak out again.

Nalani couldn't even speak and began sobbing her heart out, not pushing Mark away when he pulled her into his arms, burying her face in his chest, clinging to him for dear life. She couldn't help it, she had to feel his warmth and comfort one last time, knowing her time was ticking down until she had to leave him behind for good. It shattered her heart every time she thought about leaving this man, knowing he just wanted to make her happy, but Nalani was more concerned with Mark being alive.

"I-I'm sorry…" She stammered out through sobs, her voice muffled though Mark could understand what she said, tears soaking his bare chest.

"No, don't ya apologize. It's my fault, darlin'." Mark said in a soothing baritone, running his hand up and down her back while rocking her, trying everything he could to calm her down. "I love ya, goddamn I'm sorry I scared ya like that…I'm such a fuckin' prick…"

"No!" She suddenly snapped her head up, staring into those green eyes and moved to straddle his lap, shaking her head frantically. "No you're not! Don't ever say that! You're the greatest man in the world and you better realize that and believe it!" Nalani grabbed his face in her small hands, forcing his eyes to lock with hers as more tears fell, sniffling. "Please, don't ever think that because you're far from it, Mark Calaway."

What the hell had gotten into her?

This made Mark believe even further she was pregnant, though he wasn't going to say anything. Nalani would come out with the truth eventually, Mark believed that she wouldn't keep something that important from him. All thoughts vanished when her lips suddenly descended on his, blinking in shock and couldn't help kissing her back. Mark growled when she melted against him completely and lifted both from the floor, but Nalani pushed him back down as she wrapped her arms around his neck, refusing to have sex on the same bed Scott raped her on.

"We don't have to, darlin'…" He grunted, running his hands up and down her sides, dying to just tear her clothes off of her beautiful body so he could see every inch of her.

"Yes we do." Nalani whispered breathlessly, knowing this was probably going to be the last time they had sex and she wasn't about to walk away without at least one final session with the man she loved.

Scott took a lot from her, but one thing he wouldn't take away was her feelings for Mark. Pulling back slightly, Nalani removed her shirt before unclasping her bra, her hands trembling from head to toe. Mark didn't miss it and grabbed her hands, pressing them against his strong chest, a frown marring his face.

"Nalani, what's wrong?" He asked for the umpteenth time, groaning when she simply kissed him again, knowing she was trying to distract him. "Darlin'…" He groaned when her lips and tongue began running her sweet tongue over his neck and Adam's apple, nibbling gently. "Fuckin' Christ, yer killin' me woman…"

"Are you going to just sit here and try talking me out of this or get those jeans off so you can fuck me senseless?" Nalani demanded, pressing her bare chest against his, knowing the skin on skin contact was nearly his undoing as well as hers. "Mark please, no more talking…" She began grinding against him, losing herself and pushing Scott out of her mind, the tears having subsided. "God fuck me harder than you ever have before…"

Growling, Mark couldn't deny his beautiful girlfriend anything and lifted her off of him to pull his jeans off, sitting right back down. Nalani had shed her skirt and panties, standing before him with her dripping wet sex in his vision, licking his lips. He had a feeling she wasn't into foreplay on this night and respected it, pulling her down to straddle his lap as he captured her lips with his, burying his fingers in her hair. Everything about her Mark had been looking for in a woman and he planned on making her his forever, not realizing what she was about to do.

As Nalani lowered herself on Mark, feeling his throbbing shaft fill her to capacity, all she could do was lose herself in the moment. She tried memorizing every single thing about it, the way his hands felt against her heated skin, how rough and calloused yet gentle and loving they caressed her. Her moans and his groans echoed throughout the room, making a beautiful symphony with their mixed passion. Every thought flew out of Mark's head except making this beautiful woman release harder than she ever had in her life, moving her to where she was on her hands and knees, her beautiful ass in his vision, taking her every way he could with her consent.

Afterwards, Nalani and Mark laid on the floor of the bedroom, both of them staring up at the ceiling, Mark's fingers lazily running up and down her back. "I love ya. Ya know that right darlin'?" He said out of nowhere, Nalani looking up at him from resting her head on his shoulder, nodding her head.

"I know, I love you too." Nalani whispered and kissed him soundly, not wanting him to think about anything else except making love to her for the remainder of the night.

Only Mark didn't know that this was the beginning of the end, the second session between them commencing.