by Cherry Kay
“Good, I can’t wait for your return then, it’s felt like ages since I’ve seen you last.” Mark wondered if Roselyn actually had any feelings for him or if it was just a front so she could have a comfortable lifestyle with a notable husband and the added bonus of making her father happy and expanding his business.
“I’ll talk to you soon,” Mark told her just before he hung up, not waiting for a reply.
Compared to Clarissa, Roselyn was nothing. It would be a sin to marry Roselyn, not when Mark felt what he did for Ari. Mark groaned and rubbed his face before pushing his fingers through his hair. Mark just wouldn’t think about this. Ari was waiting for him upstairs and soon he would have her naked and in his arms. Mark needed that with her, hell, he needed her. Mark couldn’t stand being away from her today and he had this growing fear that his addiction to her would only intensify and affect him even worse the more he indulged himself with her. Fuck if he could stop this now anyway, he couldn’t give Ari up now even if he wanted to.
Mark got out of the car and headed up to Ari’s door. He knocked and then she was there, holding open the door, she looked marvelous in nothing but a robe, her hair was wet from a shower and dripped onto the thin material of her robe.
“I thought you were on your way?” she asked playfully, smirking at him while she stepped aside for Mark to walk inside.
“I had to take a phone call in the car. Were you waiting on me long?” Mark asked and she shrugged before walking back to her bedroom. Mark undid his tie and slipped off his jacket. He draped both on the couch and noticed Ari’s phone was vibrating away with a call. The name Darrel was bright on her screen. Mark snatched up her phone from the couch and answered it.
“Hello?” Mark said tersely and there was a pause on the other line as Darrel took in the fact that a man was answering Ari’s phone.
“Who’s this, and why are you answering my fiancée’s phone?” Darrel nearly barked into the phone and Mark chuckled darkly.
“Your ex-fiancée who, if I recall correctly from the night I pushed you away from her and into the street, made it clear she doesn’t want to hear from you, doesn’t want to see you, and wants you to leave her the fuck alone,” Mark growled into the phone and Darrel fell silent once more.
“Shit, Ari is with you? Whatever man, you don’t know nothing about her like I do and when she agrees to hear me out she’ll leave you in a hot second. How about you just let her know I called and stay out of my way?” Darrel replied and then promptly hung up. Mark gritted his teeth and then took a few calming breaths. His chest was hot with the instinct to track that guy down and let him know exactly whom Ari belonged to now.
“Mark?” Ari called out to him from her bedroom and he was forced to school his emotions and his expression.
Mark put her phone down on the couch before walking back to her. Fuck, she was already naked and waiting patiently on the bed for him. Mark tore off his clothes like a man on a mission and he all but launched himself at Ari. Ari squealed as he jumped on her, but soon her giggling turned to pleasured moans as Mark used his mouth and hands on her skin.
His earlier anger quickly evaporated as he forgot about Darrel altogether and was consumed in nothing but Ari.
***
Ari was clearly looking forward to their dinner at the swing bar. Mark gave in and ruined the surprise early when she asked, because really, who could say no to those dimples?
“So do you dance?” she asked Mark and he smiled bashfully while at the wheel of his rented BMW. They were on the way to Miami and Ari was practically bouncing in her seat.
“I can, I was actually forced to take lessons when I was younger, though I never really danced outside of those as a form of defiance to my mother for making me take what I thought was a ‘girly’ class.”
Ari laughed and clasped her hands together, a devious little grin on her face.
“Oh that’s fantastic, you shouldn’t have resented your mother, she was looking out for you. Every woman loves a man who can dance.” Ari smiled at him sweetly and while at a red light Mark leaned over and gave her a kiss.
“Well, if you haven’t already, you’ll fall in love with me tonight, baby.” Mark winked at her before turning his attention back to the road.
“It’s funny that I love swing music and have never thought to visit a swing bar or what have you,” Ari mused out loud and Mark smiled, loving that she seemed to be less reserved with him now and her full self. He was falling for her even more now that he’d seen her natural vibrant side.
“I’m glad I’m the one to take you to your first then, and you’ll actually be my first dance partner outside of my junior high and early high school dance class years.”
“Really? You were that shy about dancing?” Ari asked, her eyes alight with humor and open curiosity.
“I was, my mother was lucky if she could get me to dance with her even.”
Ari erupted into a fit of giggles.
“That just doesn’t seem like you. I’d have never thought you would be shy about anything,” Ari said while giving him a teasing smile.
“Yeah, well, that is about the only thing I think. Otherwise I’m your everyday, handsome-as-sin billionaire.” Mark grinned wolfishly at Ari and she burst into laughter.
“Yeah, okay. Every day billionaire. That’s like an oxymoron.” Ari scoffed and Mark chuckled. Not for him it wasn’t, under all his wealth and status he really was a normal guy. He went to work, went to the gym, and went home. He even cooked a little every now and again.
Mark pulled up to the swing bar’s valet stand and the valets opened his and Ari’s doors for them. Mark received a ticket and handed the valet his keys. Mark took Ari’s hand as they breezed into the bar where the band was truly in full swing. Ari’s eyes lit up and she glanced up at Mark, smiled excitedly and started pulling him out onto the dance floor.
“How about we eat first and then dance?” Mark asked her almost nervously and Ali laughed at him, but gave in and they found a table just off the dance floor.
“So what did you want to ask me about your hotel?” Ari asked Mark, curiosity practically coming off of her in waves. Mark chuckled and then motioned to a passing waitress for drink and dinner menus. “Seriously, I’ve been wondering all day, tell me already,” Ari demanded and Mark grinned at her eager expression.
“Well, I’ll have extra space next to the restaurant we’ll have in the hotel and I was wondering if you’d be open to the idea of starting another lounge there, should me continue to do well,” Mark asked and he watched Ari as she digested this and tested the idea out in her mind.
“You know my manager Brooklyn and I were kind of dreaming up possibilities if me continues to do really well. I’d be open to the idea, yeah,” Ari replied and Mark smiled, pleased.
“Excellent, well, I’ll just continue to hope for great things concerning me. Really, I’m not worried at all, you seem to be doing great with it already, your managers are well equipped for the job.”
Ari nodded thoughtfully, a fond expression crossing her features.
“Yeah, I chose well, I wouldn’t trade those guys for the world.” The waitress returned with the menus and waited to take Ari and Mark’s drink orders. He wondered if Ari wouldn’t trade him for the world, did she feel even a fraction of what he was feeling for her? Mark didn’t think he could bear it if she didn’t. Then again, he pretty much got everything else he wanted in life so it would only make sense as the rules of life balanced out.
“Hey, where did you go?” Ari called his attention back to her and the present.
“My thoughts have been increasingly wrapped up in you,” he told her honestly and Ari fell silent for a moment. The waitress came back with their drinks and they ordered their entrées.
“How about a dance while we wait for our food to get here?” Ari asked Mark and he nodded, as much as he was shy about dancing, he was actually looking forward to holding Ari close and swaying to the music with her. On the plus side, a slower, muc
h easier song to dance to was being played by the big band on stage.
Mark took Ari’s hand and led her into the dance floor spread with couples wrapped up in their own private worlds, much like Mark and Ari were in their own world. The movements came naturally to him as he let the music dictate his steps and he soon found that Ari was an excellent dance partner; following his lead as they swung around the floor, they were perfect counterparts. In that moment, Mark thought for the first time that Ari completed him and his heart felt whole and unbelievably full.
“It looks like our food might be getting cold,” Ari said in Mark’s ear after their third song and dance. Mark noticed the food sitting on their table and he led Ari off the dance floor so they could eat.
“So tell me about your family. Do you have siblings?” Mark asked Ari and she nodded while chewing a forkful of her conch salad.
“I have two sisters, one is older than me, the other younger. My mom raised us by herself after our dad died when I was six. He was a doctor and did a lot of travel to work in underdeveloped countries. He caught West Nile and didn’t get any care until it was too late,” Ari said, her eyes shadowed with melancholy as she thought of her dad.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Your mother must be a strong woman.”
Ari nodded, her mood picking up as she smiled fondly while thinking of her mother.
“Yeah, my mom is the best. She wants the best for us and can be trying sometimes, but we love her to pieces,” Ari said with a smile and Mark found that he was immensely pleased Ari had a loving family even without her father in her life.
“Reminds me of my mother. She can’t wait for me to settle down, all she ever talks about is how I need a good wife.” Mark rolled his eyes and Ari tilted her head to the side, her eyes seeming as if she remembered something.
“Didn’t… are—do you ever intend to get married?” she asked, tripping over her words, as she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to ask the question. Mark realized that she must have seen or heard something about Rose. Shit, he didn’t want to discuss that part of his life, especially with Ari and especially now when they were supposed to be having a good time with each other and not a potentially upsetting time.
“I do want to get married one day,” was his simple reply and he tried to think of something else to talk about, to change the subject.
“Well, hopefully it’s for the right reasons… and to the right person,” Ari said nonchalantly while she paid particular attention to her next forkful of conch salad.
“Did you think Darrel was the right reason?” The question jumped out of Mark’s mouth before he even knew he wanted to ask it. He hoped to God it didn’t come out all wrong as he studied her carefully blank expression while she formed a response.
“I did at one point… but I guess people can hide their true natures and sometimes you don’t see it until it’s almost too late… or too late,” Ari said.
Mark didn’t want to end up on such a morbid topic of conversation, but he had to know. His earlier discussion with the Darrel ass hole came jumping to the forefront of his mind.
“What happened with him Ari?” Mark asked, looking at her in all seriousness. She sighed and set her fork down to take a drink of her martini.
“We had been arguing a lot about me, we were getting ready to move forward with the idea and I had just told him the cost to start it up. He had a large trust fund and it would have taken a bit off the top… Darrel just blew up. He called me despicable things and when I got over the shock of him just… going off on me out of nowhere, I started yelling back. I just wanted him to calm down, I was getting scared and he saw that, it was almost like he fed off of it, he just got louder and more aggressive, until—until he hit me. Then he kept hitting me and thank goodness my best friend Brooklyn was coming over to talk about me…”
Ari trailed off, shaking her head and Mark pushed away his burger and fries, unable to eat just as she was.
“Shit that’s… horrible Ari. Why didn’t you file against him after that?” Mark asked and she shrugged.
“I just wanted to be rid of him and never have to deal with him ever again. I moved away, I broke off the engagement, and he never contacted me again. Not until that night at me,” she said and Mark’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. So why the hell was Darrel trying so hard to get her attention now?
“How long have you two been split up?” Mark asked, his curiosity way ahead of his brain to mouth filter as it was propelled by his irrational urge to protect her.
“About… I don’t know close to a year?”
Mark didn’t get it; if a guy were going to try and win his fiancée back, he would do it immediately after she left him.
“I’m sorry, I so didn’t intend on talking about him right now.” Mark apologized for pressing her for so much information about her past, which was painful for her to do and for Mark to hear as it ruined both their appetites.
“How about another dance and then we get out of here?” Mark asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ari perked up some and nodded, a small smile returning to her lips.
“That was amazing Mark, thank you for taking me. You really are a great dancer.” Ari smiled at Mark happily as they settled into Mark’s car and started the drive from one stretch of the Florida coastline to another.
“So are you, I’m glad you were my first official dance partner. You should be honored, I don’t have many firsts left.” Ari laughed at Mark's comment and he smiled, pleased with himself for a night well enjoyed. For as long as he lived, nothing would top this week he was spending with Ari.
Chapter5
Clarissa
Mark drove them back to his hotel rather than Ari’s place and they stayed up watching movies and talked about everything and nothing just the same. Ari felt as if she could spend fifty years with this man and never get bored of him. She was pretty damn sure that he felt the same way about her, too.
When there was nothing but infomercials on TV, Ari took the lead with Mark this time, making love to him tenderly, saying all the things she was afraid to with touch rather than her words. They fell asleep wrapped up in each other and were perfectly content.
Morning came around and Ari woke to a bed without Mark. She listened out for him and heard his voice distantly; he was probably on the phone while in the kitchen making coffee or something. Ari stood up and tiptoed out to the living room wrapped up in a sheet, she spotted Mark in the kitchen, facing the closed refrigerator while speaking into the phone, his tone was obviously annoyed and borderline angry.
Ari stopped walking toward the kitchen and backed up to stand in the doorway of the bedroom and out of the sightline of the kitchen and Mark.
“No, Roselyn, you don’t have a right to say anything. We’ve been on two dates, it’s not like we're exclusive yet. Just do what you’ve always done and ignore the pictures and gossip surrounding my love life,” Mark said in exasperation. Who was Roselyn anyway and “do what you’ve always done”? What was all of that supposed to mean?
“Look, I refuse to discuss Clarissa with you, stop calling me. I’ll get in contact with you once I’ve returned to New York,” Mark said tersely and so dispassionately Ari actually winced, feeling sorry for the woman on the other line.
“I don’t care what you do, I won’t fall to your manipulations Roselyn, goodbye.” Mark ended the call with Roselyn coldly and Ari waited a minute before walking out to the kitchen. She went up behind Mark who had his hand on the refrigerator door handle and his head bowed as if he were collecting himself. He was wearing nothing but boxers and a white t-shirt.
Keen to Ari’s presence, Mark looked up and turned around, his frown turning into a relieved smile.
“You have no idea how good you look right now.” Mark sighed in relief as he took Ari into his arms and drew her close. She wanted to ask him about his phone call but decided it was better she not know. “How did you sleep?” Mark asked, his arms still tight around Ari.
“I always sleep well whe
n I’m with you. What about you?” Ari asked him in return after answering his question truthfully.
“Same,” he said simply and warmth spread through Ari’s chest at the easy reply.
“What do you have to do today?” Mark asked Ari and she thought about it briefly.
“I don’t know actually… what about you?” Ari looked up at him curiously and Mark grumbled a bit before actually answering her.
“There are some problems with the work site, I have to sign off on a few changes with the architect so the builders can move forward, depending on how serious the issue is, I might have to consider some major design changes and I’m not too happy about that.” Ari stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips and then moved away from him to get coffee started.
“Well, you aren’t going to get any work done without caffeine in your system.” Ari said, attempting to sound relatively perky in her current decaffeinated state. Mark laughed and he helped her get the coffee pot going before they went into his room to shower and get dressed.
Ari walked out into the kitchen and saw she had three missed calls from Darrel. Darrel? Why was he calling her and what was his sudden obsession with her? Nearly a year with absolute radio silence and now he’s decided to pop back into her life. She wouldn’t lead him on. It was probably just best that she continue to ignore him and maybe he would get the message.
Other than her three missed calls from Darrel, Ari saw a text message from Lisa; she wanted to hang out again, this time having lunch with her and Brooklyn. That blabbermouth, he must have told her. Ari sighed and texted Lisa that she would meet up with them for lunch.
“What’s wrong?” Mark asked as he walked up to Ari, taking the cup of coffee she had sitting out for him.
“Nothing, I’m going to have lunch with my older sister Lisa and Brooklyn today… I told Brooklyn about you yesterday and he flipped, I think he might have told Lisa, which is exactly what I told him not to do.”
