by BWWM Club
Maria paled.
“Perfectly,” she said.
“Now we will leave. I will call you a cab, which will drop you wherever you’re staying. I’ll pay for the cab,” he added, scorn evident in his voice.
“Marco…”
“Don’t,” he warned, as he got up.
Left with no choice, Maria got up, too. He took her elbow in a firm grip and marched her out, signaling to the bouncer to get a cab immediately. It was waiting by the time they got out.
As she was getting in, she looked up at him.
“Marco… I did care about you. A lot. I still do. I’m sorry.”
Marco’s eyes didn’t warm. Maria shivered, closed the cab, and didn’t turn around as she was driven away.
Marco felt as if something was gripping his heart and squeezing it. He should’ve been used to finding out that people had just wanted to use him to get to his money. He had always stayed away from serious romantic entanglements because he had never trusted anybody. Now, apparently, the one time he had almost trusted somebody completely, he had been wrong.
He had almost made such a huge mistake. But he had genuinely cared for Maria. He would get her out of trouble.
But he would never feel guilty again. That, at least, was a positive he could take from the whole fiasco, thought Marco.
Still, he was feeling a bit bleak.
So it was no wonder that he nearly jumped out of his skin when somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He would reflect, later, that Noelle was lucky he hadn’t just turned around and thrown a punch, instinctively.
“Noelle,” said Marco, uneasily.
She was looking at him as if he were a particularly unpleasant bug that she was considering grinding under her shoes. He looked down at her feet.
Those shoes, he thought, should be registered as lethal weapons.
“I heard you were back, you rat.”
Ah, so that’s how it was going to go, thought Marco. Fine. If he had to get through Noelle to get to Janet, he would. If he had to go around her, he would do that, too. But he would much rather have Noelle on his side.
He knew that she was as close to a sister as Janet had ever had. She had been much closer to Noelle than any of her assorted cousins. So if he could win Noelle over, he would stand a good chance with Janet.
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?”
Or perhaps he had no chance at all, he swiftly reassessed. Noelle seemed much taller than she was. It was the temper that did it, he decided.
“I am not playing at anything. I deadly serious,” said Marco.
“As serious as the woman you’re here with?” spat out Noelle.
“Do you see anybody here?”
“I was in there, Marco. So was Janet, as a matter of fact. We saw you walking in, with that woman wrapped around you. So let me ask you again. What the hell is your game?”
Marco sighed. His luck, he figured, just couldn’t get any worse.
“Noelle, come for a drive,” he said.
As if by magic, Jimmy turned up with a much smaller sedan than the limo he’d been driving earlier.
Noelle was about to tell Marco that she was not in the least bit interested in any drive with him, but she wanted a conversation with him, too.
Nodding, she got in.
“If you say one word that I find inappropriate, or offensive to Janet, I will kick you in the balls.”
Marco winced. He didn’t doubt that she would try. Noelle had always been extremely forthright.
“Why have you come back, Marco? Why are you trying to weasel your way back into Janet’s life?”
Marco sighed, and decided that it was time to admit the truth. The whole truth. It was time to admit it to himself, and, apparently, to Noelle.
What could he possibly achieve by lying to himself some more?
“Because I love her, Noelle.”
That made Noelle shut up, for once. She looked at him, doubt and conflict chasing each other on her face.
“Explain.”
Marco sighed again.
“I know I hurt her, Noelle. I know I did. I know you must have been there for her when I hurt her, so you saw all of it. I don’t blame you for resenting me for that. Hell, I blame myself for it, too. I resent myself for having hurt her like that. But I never stopped loving her. I was just a boy, can’t you see? I was a boy, and I had no choice. I don’t know if I was strong enough to grow up at that moment even if I’d had a choice. But I could never forget her. I could never let her go. When I finally found myself breaking my engagement to a lovely woman who loved me – or so I thought – I finally decided that I need to come back and see Janet.”
Noelle looked at him steadily, as if weighing what he was worth.
Marco didn’t think he was scoring very high in whatever estimate she was using.
“And what did you plan to do once you’d seen Janet?”
This, Marco had to admit, was trickier ground. But he had started on this whole honesty thing, so he might as well play it out, he figured. But not all the way.
“I planned to see Janet and find out if anything was still there, or if it was all in my imagination.”
“Liar.”
He had to admit, he wished he could’ve had Noelle by his side in a few negotiations.
“Fine, I wanted to get it out of my system. I wanted to come back, talk Janet into bed, get her out of my system, and hopefully, part ways still friends. That’s what I planned to do, but plans change, Noelle. I didn’t get her out of my system. I thought I’d loved the girl she had been. I love the woman she is now. I love her more than I could ever have loved that girl. So my plan is to stay, Noelle, and you’d better get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere.”
Noelle looked at him steadily, until, much to his disbelief, her lips curved into a smile.
“You know something Marco, I trust that little outburst a whole lot more than any smooth speech you could’ve planned.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. I don’t think you expected to find yourself in love with Janet. I don’t think it particularly pleases you. But you are, and you’re determined to stay. I can respect that.”
“So…. I have you in my corner?”
Noelle waggled her fingers in front of him.
“I am in Janet’s corner. I always have been. I always will be. As long as you’re there, too, we won’t have a problem. But I’m not going to go to bat for you, Marco. I’ll do whatever will make Janet happy, and she will decide whatever will make her happy. I won’t let her be manipulated. Anyway, after that dusky brunette on your arms and that little hand-holding show, you’ll have your work cut out for you.”
Noelle settled back with a smug grin on her face. She heard Jimmy chuckle and grinned.
“Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, right? I’m Noelle, Janet’s best friend.”
As Jimmy and Noelle sang Janet’s praises, he wondered what he was going to do.
“I always told you Maria was no good for you, Marco,” said Jimmy.
“Is Maria the bombshell?”
“Oh, she’s good-looking, but there’s not much under that shell,” dismissed Jimmy.
“You looked pretty upset, Marco. I don’t think it was all me. What happened?”
There was sympathy, ever so slight, in Noelle’s voice.
As Jimmy drove them back to the club, Marco filled her in. Jimmy assured her that it was probably all true.
“Wait a few minutes and come in after me. Come and talk to Janet,” said Noelle.
Jimmy grinned. If anything amounted to a letter of endorsement from Noelle, that did.
“But mind you, Marco, I’ve got my eye on you. If you hurt her again, I’ll skin your balls and roast them.”
With that truly excellent parting shot, Noelle walked back into the club.
“Noelle! You’ve been gone for ages!”
Bess was obviously really drunk. She was a lightweight who refused to ever remember
that she was one.
“Long line at the bathroom,” fibbed Noelle.
“Noelle, dance with me!”
Janet was also pretty obviously lit. Since they had to scream at the top of their voices to be heard, anyway, Noelle was happy enough to oblige.
Soon, it became obvious that Nita, too, had overdone it a bit. Noelle was the only one who could stay on her feet well enough, and she wasn’t very sure if they were her feet, either.
She looked around for Marco, but couldn’t see him. She couldn’t blame him for that. It was a crush on the dance floor.
She tried to do a headcount. Janet was with her. Nita was beside them. Bess was… nowhere to be found.
“Janet… Where’s Bess?”
Janet stumbled around, trying to look for Bess. Finally, she found Bess talking to a rather hulking guy. She knew that Bess had a way of becoming extremely naïve when she was a bit drunk. Trying to clear her head, she went to them.
“Hey, Bess, we need you over there.”
The man, who looked like a bit of a brute, turned to Janet.
“She’s with me.”
That made Janet see red.
“Like hell she is. She’s with us and we’ve never seen you before, so bugger off, you blighter.”
Janet always got rather British when she was tipsy and mad. Nita staggered over, too, a bit wobbly. Nobody had an explanation for that, least of all Janet.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“This bloody wanker won’t let Bess go.”
Bess just stood there with a rather vacant smile on her face.
“Well, why not? Come on, Bess,” said Nita, and reached for her.
Janet felt like she would forever see that moment in slow motion. Nita’s hand brushed against the man’s drink and toppled it. He got up and rounded on her, menace in his eyes.
Before anybody could do anything, a solid fist came out of nowhere and connected firmly with the man’s chin. He toppled backwards like an uprooted tree.
Janet looked around wildly and saw that it was Marco. Noelle stood behind him.
Before she knew what was happening, Marco was ushering them all out. Jimmy, too, had turned up in his usual magical way.
The moment they were outside, Janet rounded on Marco.
“What do you think you’re doing? We’re not done. We’re going back in and partying,” she declared.
“You are going home and sleeping this off,” said Marco, grinding his teeth.
“You don’t bloody well tell me what to do.”
“Somebody should when you’re being so stupid!”
“Stupid? I’m being stupid because I went to my friend’s help when some moron had her cornered?”
Marco willed himself to calm down.
“Of course not. But it could’ve gone so many ways, Janet. I’m just… Give me a minute, okay? I just saw him looming over you like that and lost it for a minute.”
Janet watched as Marco obviously struggled to get his composure back, and something dawned inside her.
He was there, alone. He had come to her rescue. Whatever he’d been doing with that woman, he wasn’t with her now, and he had come for her. When she’d needed somebody, he’d been there. She had long since learned to take care of herself, but it was nice to have somebody who’d have her back, even if it was somebody she’d never expected to have.
In that moment, as he tried to get his temper under control, she realized something. She was in love with him.
She could deny it for as long as she could, or she could admit it and enjoy what they could have together.
Reaching out, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Marco… I could’ve taken care of it. We can take care of ourselves. But I’m glad you were there and we didn’t have to take care of it ourselves. I’m glad you were there.”
Without a word, Marco pulled Janet into his arms, right there in front of her friends, and kissed her. His lips were on hers, exploring hers, demanding that they part and give him more. She clung to him and gave him everything he demanded and more. She would give him everything he wanted, because she loved him.
Marco couldn’t breathe anything except her. He couldn’t taste anything except her. He had seen something in her eyes to give him hope that she would be his. That was all that mattered.
When they finally came up for air, they saw Jimmy ushering the girls into a cab, and paying the cabbie his fare, as well as a tip, and getting his license and registration.
Janet couldn’t quite raise her hand to wave goodbye, but she saw the dreamy look on Bess’s face as her friends drove away.
Marco and Janet didn’t say a word as they were driven to her home. They said not a word, neither did they touch each other, as they went inside. They made it all the way to the bedroom before they turned to each other.
Marco pulled Janet into his arms gently and kissed her as if he had all the time in the world. It was as if he was finally savoring Janet.
His lips were soft, sensual. They moved over hers until she lost her breath and held him close to her, giving him everything he needed. When his tongue stroked smoothly over hers, she could feel the tenderness in her heart.
“Marco…”
She needed to say the words. But they were in her eyes for him to see.
“You’re so beautiful, so sexy, Janet,” he whispered as he gently undressed her. Every move was slow, as if he wanted every second to count. She felt his hands on her skin, moving over her curves, and trembled.
“Marco…”
She felt like all she could whisper was his name. All she could feel was him. Everything in her world was focused on him.
Her fingers trembled as she undid the buttons of his shirt. She watched as her hands moved over his tanned skin, and she saw how his muscles trembled at her touch. Her fingers moved over his nipples and she felt them harden. Emboldened, she moved her hands away and kissed them, using her tongue to flick them, one after the other.
This time, he groaned her name as he pulled her closer to him. His fingers unhooked her bra. She slipped her panties down and stepped out of them, undoing his belt and letting his pants drop. Her hand found him hard as she stroked him. She felt his manhood throb as she stroked him, gently, lightly, teasingly.
When they lay down on the bed together, he touched her – he touched every inch of her body, with just his fingertips, as if he was cherishing every part of her. She felt as if he was worshiping her when his fingers grazed over her breasts. Her limbs felt like water, heavy. She was being loved, she realized. His fingers found her nipples and she stopped thinking at all.
She gasped his name, over and over again, as his fingers, his lips and his tongue found those hard peaks and teased them mercilessly.
“Marco… I can’t!” she gasped, feeling the impossible pleasure welling up inside her even before he had touched her where she was hot and wet, aching for him, aching to have him inside her again.
“You can,” he said, and his fingers found the hot wetness of her center between her legs, spreading her, slipping inside her, rubbing her, until she shot up on an arrow of pleasure that bowed her body as she climaxed, hard, against him.
“Again,” he demanded, and she felt it start again. He watched her face as he slipped his fingers in and out of her, touching her, feeling her desperate need for him. He saw the uninhibited pleasure and passion on her face as her eyes closed and she rose up, and fell, yet again.
“Marco,” she sobbed, sure that her body couldn’t stand it if she had to feel more. She couldn’t feel more without falling apart.
But more than anything she had ever needed before, she needed him inside her. That need gave her the strength to move arms that felt like water. Her hand closed over him, hot and ready for her. She stroked him, sliding her hand over the top where she felt the slick moisture that told her he was as ready and desperate as she was. With a feline smile, she rolled over, pushing him onto his back and straddling him.
“My turn
,” she said, and he knew that now she would be in control.
He almost lost all control when she sank slowly onto his hard, throbbing member. Her wet heat clenched and pulled at him in ways that he couldn’t resist.
His hands moved to her hips, urging her to move. But she would set her own pace. This time, he was the one who was being ridden.
Janet started moving, rocking on him slowly, her movements sinuous and sinful, and Marco thought that he had never seen a more glorious sight than Janet, naked and on him, determined to take her pleasure, to give him pleasure.
“Please, Janet,” he gasped, but she smiled at him and rocked back and forth. He couldn’t help it when his hands reached for her breasts and found her nipples, drawing circles around them, brushing over them. Janet kept moving, slowly and steadily, as he touched her.
Janet ran her hands down her body as she moved faster, up and down on his hard shaft. He was filling her, stretching her, and she loved how he felt. She could feel all that excitement coiling inside her, writhing inside her again as her movements got faster. She was riding him hard and fast, and his hand was touching her, finding the places where she wanted to be touched.
“Janet,” he gasped, as he felt the last ounce of his control slip away as he watched her, her hands in his hair, her body arched, her head thrown back, riding him. He felt her clench him, her pussy hot and insistent on his desperate cock, and he gave in. He watched as Janet climaxed, and he let himself fall over that edge with her, tumbling together.
They landed together in a tangled, sated, happy heap.
There would never be a more perfect moment, realized Marco when he could finally think again. Janet was wrapped around him, her arms and legs thrown around him. He raised her face to his and kissed her, gently.
Then, finally, he told her what was in his heart.
“I love you.”
Janet smiled.
“I know,” she whispered, and hugged him closer.
“I love you, too.”
