Chapter 11
Eleven
Mark
I glance at my watch as I enter the stairwell and begin the six-story climb to my apartment.
Sean called me fifteen minutes ago, while I was mid-workout, to tell me that the clients we have been trying to get to sign a policy with us wanted to meet to discuss a few of the finer points of the contract over a couple of drinks in just over an hour.
That leaves me just enough time to shower and change into something a little more presentable than my gray sweats and black tank top.
I am not thrilled with having to cut my workout short, and the only reason I agreed to it was because it was for a client.
For the last couple of days, I have been burying myself in work and the gym to stay busy and keep myself distracted.
That also means I’ve been going harder than usual, because otherwise, I would have called or texted Maria by now to check on her.
I told her to take all the time that she needed, and I don’t want her to feel like I’m pressuring her.
Even if the wait is killing me, because I miss her so much.
I am ashamed to admit that I did go to The Brew today just to see if I could catch a glimpse of her, but she wasn’t there.
She hadn’t been for the last three days.
Darius was though, and I ended up asking him if she was okay.
To his credit, he told me he wasn’t going to tell me how she’s doing, won’t give her a message for me, and won’t try to get her to contact me.
He said that she will reach out if and when she’s ready, and that he will let her know that I asked about her.
Honestly, that was more than I could have asked for, so I was grateful. Though I will admit, I was a bit surprised and curious as to why he asked me for my address. However, when I step out of the stairwell and onto my floor, his reason becomes clear.
The figure sitting on the ground by my door is a welcome sight, even with her knees pulled to her chest and her forehead resting on her arms. Her hair is draped around her shoulders, currently hiding her face, and her light purple dress sits high on her thighs.
I suddenly feel the urge to sink my teeth into the creamy flesh of her inner thigh.
It takes a lot of willpower not to race down the hall, to keep my steps steady and even. I have no idea how long she’s been sitting here, and I can’t help but wonder why she didn’t call me when she learned I wasn’t home yet.
She doesn’t stir, even when I reach her, and I realize then that her breathing is deep and even. Shit. She’s been here long enough to doze off.
Crouching down, I gently brush a bit of her hair back over her shoulder, being extra careful not to startle her. “Maria.”
“Hmm?” she mutters sleepily, lifting her head. She blinks a few times before she fully notices me, and the sleepy smile I get in return breaks my heart. “You’re home.”
“I am,” I say softly, returning her smile.
She takes me by surprise when she reaches up and cups my cheek in her hand. “Hi.”
“Hey, beautiful,” I murmur. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
When I hold out my hand, she takes it and allows me to pull her to her feet. Somehow, I manage to get the door unlocked and then motion for her to head inside.
“Sorry to just show up like this,” she says as she begins looking around my place.
It’s not much because I don’t need much. I don’t usually spend a lot of time here, between work and the gym.
Currently, we are standing in an open hallway between the kitchen and the living room.
Directly to the right is the laundry closet with a stackable washer and dryer, and next to that is the bathroom, which I, thankfully, keep clean.
To the left is my coat closet, where I keep all my shoes and jackets, and the entry table.
I drop my keys, wallet, and phone into the little glass bowl I have sitting on top.
Next to that are the stairs that go up to the loft bedroom.
There is not much to the bedroom. A king-sized bed sits in the middle of the wall with gray sheets and a black comforter. It has a black headboard to match the nightstands and dresser, and there’s a decent-sized walk-in closet. It’s half empty, though, because I don’t really have many clothes.
The kitchen is not very big, but it’s never been an issue. Black appliances sit atop granite countertops, and even the basin and faucet of the sink are black chrome. Instead of a table, there’s an island, with the sink and dishwasher on one side and a breakfast bar with three stools on the other.
The living room sits under the loft bedroom and is rather sparse. It holds a single, leather brown couch, a scuffed brown coffee table, a large flatscreen, and a single bookshelf.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, finally responding to her earlier statement. “I don’t mind. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water?”
With a nod, I head to the kitchen, where I pull a bottle of water out of the fridge.
As she takes a seat at the breakfast bar, I pass her the water and then lean my ass against the counter, purposely keeping the island in between us.
I have never wanted to touch someone as much as I do now.
So, instead, I grip the granite behind me, my eyes trained on her throat as she drinks.
“How long were you waiting out there?” I ask curiously.
She laughs softly. “A while.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
Her face turns red at my question. “Because I forgot my cell phone at home. Darius had already driven away and—” she sighs and picks at the label on the bottle. “It’s been a bit of a day.”
“I can tell. I’m sorry,” I say honestly.
She shakes her head, her focus still on the damn label. I wish she would look at me, but she doesn’t seem to be able to yet. “No, I’m sorry, Mark. For all of it. Everything. You were honest with me about your feelings, and I… I didn’t react very well.”
“You don’t need to apologize for that.”
“Except I do,” she retorts. “I freaked out, got scared, and disappeared. You didn’t deserve that.”
I scratch the back of my head and cross one leg over the other while I formulate my response.
She finally seems to be opening up, so I don’t want to push her, but she did come here to talk, right?
“You’ve been hurt before, Maria. I’m not going to fault you for trying to protect yourself.
But, if you don’t mind my asking, why did you freak out and disappear?
Did…did you think I was trying to pressure you? ”
“Oh no!” she exclaims quickly, her eyes snapping up to mine. “God. Mark, no. Not at all. It was me. I was, am, scared, but not because of anything you did.”
I tilt my head to the side in curiosity. “What’s got you so afraid?”
“I’m afraid that you are going to wake up one day and regret picking me. That you are going to end up resenting me for everything you missed out on because you were with me. I’m worried that you would just be settling with me, and that you are going to miss out on someone amazing.”
“You are amazing, Maria,” I tell her firmly.
I push myself off the counter and move around the island.
I knew that she had low self-esteem, but I didn’t expect it to actually threaten to come between us.
When I reach her, I tilt her chin up with my fingers.
“You are everything I could ever possibly want. Need I remind you who’s been pursuing whom? ”
She smiles shyly. “Technically, I was the one who started all this with the whole status thing.”
“And I’m the one who took it offline and into real life,” I correct, letting my hands drift over her shoulders and down her arms. “I am in this, Maria. I wouldn’t be pursuing you so hard if I weren’t sure about my decision, and my decision is you.
I could never regret being with you, because you are perfect in my eyes.
And if you let me, I am willing to spend however long it takes to help you see what I see when I look at you.
Time is suspended. The only sound is that of my pounding heart.
I knew I wanted this. I have known that for a while; I just didn’t fully understand how much until now.
Now that there is a chance that I might actually lose her.
Of course, I would let her go if that’s what she decides, but there is a real possibility that it will kill me in the process.
With her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, she rises from the stool in front of me. I take a step back so that she has enough room, but she follows me and puts her hands against my chest. I cover them with my own.
“I do want this, Mark,” she whispers. “I want us. I want to give this a real shot if that’s what you still want.”
The relief I feel is instantaneous, and it feels like my whole body relaxes. I let my hands go around her waist, pulling her flush against me. “You are what I want. You are all I want, Maria.”
“Good.” She grins. “Then you have me for as long as you want me.”
“So, forever then?” I tease, lowering my mouth toward hers. I am only partially joking, too. I can absolutely see a forever with her.
Her nose does that adorable little scrunching thing before she pulls me down the rest of the way. Her lips crash against mine, hungry and desperate, mirroring everything I’ve felt for the last three days. My cock stiffens immediately, and the basketball shorts do very little to hide it.
She grinds her hips against mine, her core rubbing against me in all the right places.
Gripping her thigh, I hike her leg up over my hip, allowing my cock to brush along her clit.
She groans in response, and the kiss becomes frantic with need, with desire and lust, and everything else that words cannot describe.
As amazing as this is, it’s not enough. I haven’t seen or spoken to her in three days, let alone touched her. I need more. Grabbing her ass, I lift her onto the breakfast bar and gently nip along her jaw. My fingers dig into her thighs, loving the feel of having my hands on her skin again.
Maria, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas as her hands go to the waistband of my shorts and shove them down over the curve of my ass.
When she grips my cock in her hand, I moan into her mouth.
One would have to be stupid not to see where this is going, and she’s the one leading the charge, so I don’t question it.
Tugging her panties off to the side, I break the kiss to meet her eyes.
I want her to see how much I want her and what she does to me.
I want there to be no question that I am absolutely crazy about her.
When her heated eyes meet mine, I thrust into her in a single move.
She gasps, her head falling back against her shoulders, and my fingers dive into her hair so that I can bring her mouth back to mine.
Every muscle in my body is tense and coiled, wanting more than anything to move, to thrust in and out of her over and over again until neither one of us knows where we start and the other begins. But as this is only our second time together, I don’t want to risk hurting her.
I don’t know how much time passes with me kissing her like she’s the oxygen my body needs and my dick throbbing inside of her.
I could die right now, and still die a happy man without moving an inch.
She’s so tight and is clenching me in all the right places that I almost came just from being inside of her again.
Truth be told, I need this minute just as much as she does.
Her nails dig into my ass, and she bites my bottom lip. “Move, Mark,” she moans. “I need you to move.”
Smiling slyly, I pull out until only the tip of my dick remains inside of her, and then I slam back into her so hard her ass slides back on the breakfast bar a bit. “Oh my god,” she moans.
“Like that, baby?”
“Yes. Just like that.”
I pull the delicate skin of her neck into my mouth and suck hard as I set a punishing and brutal pace.
The tips of my fingers dig into her ass hard enough to bruise, and I can feel the sharp sting of her nails raking across my skin.
It’s obvious that we need this, but at this rate, neither one of us is going to last.
“Fuck, I missed you,” I groan, kissing her hard.
Her pussy clenches around me, and I nearly see stars.
She’s close, and so am I. My pace quickens, a thin sheen of sweat accumulating on my lower back, as I chase the feeling.
Her moans get louder, and her heels dig into my ass.
A few moments later, she’s cumming with my name on her lips, and that’s all it takes to send me over the edge myself.
I slam into her hard, one last time, as I empty myself inside of her, and then rest my forehead in the crook of her neck. It was quick, dirty, and not nearly enough. Already, I want to fuck her again, and I have every intention of doing so now that she’s here.
I’m still buried inside of her when I kiss her again, gentler this time.
I am going to spend the rest of the night worshiping every inch of her delicious body, and I’m going to do it on my fucking bed.
We’ve had sex twice now, and both times have been somewhere other than my bed.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t regret either time, but she deserves to be worshiped.
My cell phone starts ringing on the entry table, and I’m reminded of the clients I was supposed to meet with.
“Do you need to get that?” Maria asks against my mouth.
I shake my head. “Nope. Sean can handle it. I know where my priorities are, and my priorities are with making you scream my name.”
She giggles as I lift her off the breakfast bar and make my way toward the stairs.