The moment Marlena stepped inside Tuscany, the pulsing bass of the loud music assaulted her. It seemed to be a hip-hop music night, and it surprised her. (50 Cent - Candy Shop ft. Olivia ) Maggie wasn’t normally a fan of this kind of music, but she guessed Maggie was trying to draw a younger audience for Christmas Eve. After spending the evening with her family and loved ones, she needed to get away, to sort things out. Marlena slowly moved away from the door, looking around at the other people in the restaurant, her eyes scanned the room, she was supposed to meet Laura.

Caroline took the kids for the night, and Marlena really needed to talk to Laura of all that had happened at DC. She needed to drink something and forget everything for a while, forget John, her nightmares and what happened in DC.

She couldn’t get the vision out of her mind...

 

...After dinner, Sawyer had suggested they walk through the park on the way back to their hotel. It was a nice cool evening, and she happily agreed and by the time the ceremony had ended she was feeling cooped up and needed some air .

As they walked along the path, Marlena was feeling good about her decision to join the ISA and felt that she could really make a difference. For once her troubles with John were not at the forefront of her thoughts. She was just enjoying the walk and pleasant conversation with Sawyer. He had asked how John was doing and she told him that she had asked him to leave the apartment for the time being. Sawyer didn’t push, and she didn’t offer up any more information. They continued to walk mostly in silence, every once in awhile Sawyer would look over at Marlena, taking in her beautiful profile. He thought, if she were in his life there was no way He’d let her get away. John was a fool if he didn’t do everything possible to keep her happy and with him.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Marlena tripped over something and stumbled forward, Sawyer quickly sent his arms out to catch her fall, pulling her back up on her feet. They looked down at the same time to see what she had tripped on. There sticking out from the bushes was an arm. Marlena’s hand went to her mouth stifling a scream. Their eyes followed the arm to see a lady laying on her stomach, one arm stretched out in front of her the other tucked underneath. Marlena reached down brushing the girl's blonde hair from her face, her eyes were wide open, and Marlena knew she must be dead. Reaching down, she placed two fingers against the girl’s neck in search of a pulse, there was none. Looking up she said, “My god Sawyer, this girl is dead, call the cops.”

Marlena stayed beside the girl on bent knee, looking at her beautiful, youthful face. She gently stroked her hair away from her face, saddened that a mother was home tonight, possibly waiting for her daughter’s return, having no idea that the next time she sees her will be on a slab in the morgue. Marlena felt a tear running down her cheek for the unknown woman’s lose...

 

Shaking her head to clear the memory from her mind, she summoned the bartender over. Ordering her second drink at the bar, she turned to see attractive men and women seated close together, obviously flirting with each other, it reminded her of her and John, of how they used to be and it made her heart flinch. On the dance floor, couples moved together in synchronized rhythms to the hip beat. Almost no one seemed to be alone, as she was, and she was feeling totally out of place. This wasn’t her scene, she better call Laura, ask her to change location for tonight. Even back in med-school, she rarely went out unless Laura dragged her.

 

Marlena closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tried to psych herself up. After all, this was what she wanted — to forget about everything for one night. Looking down at her short, tight black dress, admiring how the silver sequins seemed to flicker under the lights. From up above, her cleavage looked amazing in the wrap-style top.

Marlena found small open space near the bar and leaned against it, watching the other woman, dance with their partners.

Looking at her phone as it beeped, she noticed a text message from Laura. Dammit, She was not coming, something about an emergency at the hospital.

Great.

She needed to leave, this was definitely not the right place for her. She would just go home, fix herself a hot cup of tea and relax.

Turning on her heels to leave, she noticed the song changed to a slow, sensual beat.

Marlena stopped, the song was familiar closing her eyes, she let herself just feel the music, remembering the last time she heard it. It was right after Stefano raped her and they took off to that dusty side road hostel. John touched her with such tenderness, it made her heart scream. Her mind got caught up in memories. She was startled when something hard touched her back.

"Don't stop on my account," a velvet voice whispered in her ear, as a pair of very male arms encircled her waist.

“John.”

One of his hands moved to her hip, moving her slowly in sync with his hips behind her. She could feel the heat from his hard, muscular chest against her back. And he smelled absolutely amazing.

“Don’t do this..” she moved her head to the side whispering her concerns.  

“Don’t make a scene, princess, people are watching…” he whispered with a smile, looking around him. actually, no one was looking at them, but he needed her to let him touch her body, he had missed her.

 

Marlena's heart was racing, but her mind kept screaming 'no.' Needing to feel her even more tightly, he moved his left arm, reaching in front of her until he touched right beneath her breasts. Her fingers moved to scratch the hands on her body. Or was she squeezing him harder against her? She wasn't sure. His hot breath on her neck as they sway together drove her mad. She needed to make him stop.

Pulling herself together, she quickly turned to face him, protesting “John, stop this at once” her palms pushed at his chest.

Holding her wrists to stop her, John merely smiled, "You are so fucking sexy," he said in her ear, completely ignoring her words.

"Look at those tits in that dress." Something inside her smile to herself, but something else was furious. Who the hell did he think he was? No, this wasn't the man she fell in love with, he only looked like him, but the resemblance stopped there.

Without saying a word, she turned to leave. The song changed again (Mariah Carey - We Belong Together ), he grabbed her once more, tighter this time, pressing her to his body

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

She was smoking hot.

 

John towered over her, scanning her from head to toe. "Why in such a hurry, baby? c'mon, stay, I promise not to bite" he winked and leaned over to the bar. She stared at him, not speaking. The music was too loud to get into deep conversations. His black button-down shirt looked so good on his body, she remembering buying it for him a few years back for Christmas, when he was still married to Isabella. Her mind wandered to what else was hiding under his shirt.

 

Marlena’s eyes finally traveled above his neck to meet his, and he smirked at her. "Like what you see, baby?" She didn’t have a chance to answer before he was pulling her closer. Her arms instinctually fold against his chest, wanting to push back and free herself as she stared into a pair of twinkling blue eyes. The alcohol took over her mind, and his smell was driving her crazy, but she needed to stop this, this was wrong.

"hey... hey... dance with me...if after that dance you'll still wanna leave, I won't stop you."

The blond beauty was somewhat buzzed and paid attention to nothing but his words. Surely he must be the hottest man there tonight. Besides those beautiful eyes, he has perfect cheekbones, a jawline to die for, even covered in a two-day growth of beard. But it was the eyes. The eyes that were staring into hers. Well, mostly — they also flicker down to her cleavage on a regular basis. He was eyeing her the way a predator would eye their prey, and for some reason, she could not utter, Marlena wanted to be his prey tonight, only she would never admit it to herself.

His large hands rubbed up and down her back as they danced together. After another song or two, he got more bold, dropping them lower and lower on each pass until he was squeezing and massaging her ass cheeks. Marlena was embarrassed that he was doing this on a crowded dance floor, but when she looked around, she could see the other couples dancing as close as they were.

 

Suddenly, he pulled her even closer, grinding his pelvis into her. Oh my God, he was so hard it made her gasp. Trying to take a step back, he shook his head, not letting her get away.

"Nooo...wait...Feel what you do to me, baby? You make me so fucking hard."

Marlena bit her lower lip, feeling flushed at his bluntness.

He raised one of his arms, brushing her blonde hair to the back, then buried his face in her neck, where his stubble scraped against her creamy skin. She shuddered when he placed a soft kiss beneath her ear. The entire time, he was grinding his hard cock into her, just where she wanted to feel him.

"Turn back around," he whispered, his lips just brushing her ear. "I want to feel that sexy ass."

He turned her immediately, not waiting for her reply. She cried out as she felt his hard length nestle between her cheeks. His hands rubbed along her abdomen, his thumbs just brushing the bottom of her breasts, the way he did before, while his lips continued their assault on her neck.

 

She had no idea how long they danced like that. All she knew was by the time he took her hand and lead her off the dance floor, beads of sweat were trickling down her cleavage. Like under a spell, she followed him. Everything about her ached for him. She has never wanted a man this much.

He led her toward the bar, finding them two seats together along one end.

"What are you drinking?" he asked her.

"Oh, Ummm,  I’ve had enough already....just some water." Marlena smiled toward the bartender, needing something cold to cool her down.

He narrowed his eyes, waving the bartender over. "She'll have a 'Slippery Nipple.' And get me a shot of tequila."

The bartender nodded. "With salt and lime?" he asked.

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

As the bartender walked away to get their drinks, she turned to him, shocked "John, I don't do shots...this is not right...I need to leave" standing up, he quickly grabbed her forearm, sitting her back down,

"Shhhh...baby, just one drink...You'll like it...I promise," he replied, leaving no room for doubt, "Trust me." and completely ignoring her resistance.

 

Marlena bit her lip, wondering if she should decline the alcohol and try to keep a clear head tonight, hating herself for not leaving the crowded restaurant. She startled when he reached out and pulled her lip from between her teeth. "Do that again, and I'm going to take you right here on the bar in front of everyone."

She remembered how he kissed her the last time she did the exact same thing. Her eyes widened as the expression on his face left no doubt that he was a man of his word. She should have been angry, but her body was so turned on right now that she just might let him.

When the bartender returned with their drinks, she picked up her glass, sniffing the liquid inside it before taking a tentative sip.

"It's a shot," he said, these blue eyes of his laughing. "Bottoms up, baby!"

Marlena took a deep breath, tilted her head back and drank it up. "Fuck!" she sputtered as the liquid slid down her throat. Warming her up.

 

He laughed out loud. "My God, you’re even cute when you’re trying to do shots."

She felt her face redden in embarrassment, but as she licked her lips, she realized it was actually pretty good.

"Come here, baby," he smirked, crooking his finger. Marlena's head was swimming, and she didn’t even hesitate before he scooted his stool closer to hers.

 

John reached out, brushing her hair back to expose her neck, then grabbing the locks on her head and pulling her head to the back. Staring into her eyes, he leaned forward, licking her neck right along her pulse point before picking up the salt shaker and shaking salt over the spot he just licked. Setting down the salt, he picked up the glass of tequila, licked the salt off of her, then downed the tequila in one gulp before sucking the lime into his mouth.

Slowly, Marlena straightened her neck, trying to control her breathing. Sending her fingers to the place he just licked. His hand reached out to the back of her head, pulling her in close. "You taste fucking delicious," he whispered in her ear. "Before the night is over, I'm going to taste every part of you."

She swallowed hard, staring at him as he pulled back. And then she felt his warm hand on her knee. His fingers made small circles as he slowly moved his hand up her thigh, underneath her dress, still maintaining eye contact with her.

"what are you doing?" her voice was low but her eyes were screaming

"I love what you’re wearing, baby," he said when his fingers reached the top of her thigh. He finally looked away from her eyes, looking down to stare at her exposed thigh. "Goddamn, I want to feel these legs wrapped around me while I pound my big, thick cock into you."

She stared at him, her brain was not sure whether it was more shocking or aroused by what he wanted to do to her. However, the rush of wetness she felt between her legs said her body knew exactly what it was feeling.

"you'll be screaming my name every time I’ll make you come tonight."

Marlena was shocked, she couldn’t decide what she was still doing there, letting him talk to her the way that he just did. But she couldn’t move. Was it the alcohol? Perhaps, or maybe she desired to feel his hands on her body. Sitting there, her mind was someplace else, she knew it because she noticed that she didn't reply, so he spoke again; "...I think you are only pretending to be innocent, princess. I think you're actually a vixen, a lioness" she thought he has got that backward.

 

John smiled as she continued to stare at him, letting his fingers move onto her bare thigh. Marlena felt her breathing picked up as they moved closer and closer to her lacy panties.

"Do you want me to touch you, Beautiful?"

Fuck. Yes.

She nodded.

"Say it. Out loud. Do you want me to touch you? Do you want to feel my fingers?" his husky voice and piercing gaze drove her to the edge.

"God, yes," she moaned like a wanton whore, too overcome by lust to remember they were in a restaurant filled with people.

 

"John, can I get you anything else?" the bartender asked, his interruption knocking her back to reality.

"Nah, thank you, Jim, I'm good, and my lady here is about to be..."

Her eyes widen; she couldn’t believe he just told the bartender that. John looked over at her, one hand back on her thigh while the other trailed down her chest between her breasts, leaving goosebumps on his way. "Mmm… I love the way your blush goes all the way down under that stunning dress. I want to see exactly how far it goes."

"You..started coming over here often?" She asked. "He knows your name."

"I come here every night, looking for you," he said, his fingers caressing her cheek. "But I've never found you or someone who was as beautiful as you.” His words could be sweet as well as dirty — a heady mixture. She was putty in his hands. She leaned closer, needing to feel those pouty lips on hers, but he pulled back, picking up her unfinished glass and handing it to her.

"Drink up."

She held it carefully before downing the drink in one swallow. Squeezing her eyes closed, shaking her head as the alcohol moved through her system.

John smirked. "That ought to relax you."

Suddenly his arm was around her, pulling her bar stool right up against his.

Marlena tried to think of a proper — or any kind of — response, but then he reached out, grabbing the back of her head, pulling her toward him. "let me taste it," he whispered, before licking her lips and sucking them into his mouth, his eyes darken in response,

and then he was finally kissing her — hard, insistently. She instinctively opened for him, moaning as his tongue touched hers, she could taste the burn of the tequila in his mouth. As they shared a passionate kiss, he took her right hand in his left, pulling it toward his groin. Marlena tried to pull back in shock when she felt his very hard erection underneath her palm. "Feel how hard you make me" he groaned.

John kissed her again, and she kept her hand on him, rubbing back and forth over the bulge in his pants. "Fuck," he cursed, shoving her hand away.

She had no idea what he meant by that until his fingers started creeping up her thigh again. He was not really going to...finger her... in public? Was he? She was happy he at least turned the stool to face his direction, and no one would be able to watch.

Marlena nearly jumped out of her seat when John's fingers brushed along her panties. The normally reserved— Marlena would never let a man do this in public, but a shadow cast her mind, and she let the alcohol in her blood take the wheel.

"Mmmmm...baby,you're so wet; your panties are soaked. That's so fucking hot. Is that all for me?" She didn't respond, helpless to his touch, stifling a moan as his fingers rubbed up and down the crotch of her panties. "Well, you like it, don't you, Marlena? Getting off on a guy fingering you in front of hundreds of people."

"I'm not—"

Her protests were cut off by his lips attacking hers. His long fingers slipped underneath the lace, stroking her, probing at her entrance. She winded her arms around his neck, kissing him back just as urgently.

She wanted him — badly, she missed him.

And then just as suddenly his hand and lips were gone. She was panting as she stared at him, watching as he brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking on them while his eyes rolled back in his head. "Just as I remembered, you're fucking delicious, everywhere.”

 

He stood up, adjusting himself and smiled at her.

What was going on? He left her like a cat in heat, all hot and ready to explode, to what?

“John…” she hissed and rubbed her fingers to her right Temple.

"Oh, You want me to carry on, baby, I know...I knew it. I knew you won’t be able to resist me. You want me too much," his smirk made her dizzy.  Holding the bar, she managed to stand up, fixing up her dress as she did.

“You bastard” her somewhat drunk voice mumbled. He tried to grab her arm, but she pushed him away with her hand, ”get away from me...I can’t believe I let you touch me..leave me alone and don't touch me, not ever again” she shook her head, getting her composure back, striding to the entrance of the restaurant, leaving John behind.

She knew Laura would be at the hospital and she needed to talk.

 

 

******

 

Storming into 'University' hospital, Marlena was completely unaware she was still wearing her revealing mini dress, causing the staff to stare at her, especially the men. Talking to Laura was the number one priority at the moment. John, his actions tonight were too much, he played her, like a fool, and she just fell right into his trap. She felt dirty and ashamed.

Crossing the nurse’s station, she stopped a nurse with a question, “Good evening Silvia, is Dr. Laura Horton available?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor Evans, but Dr. Horton is still busy with a patient. Can I leave her a message?” the nurse smiled and took a notepad from behind the counter.

"Oh no, no, I’ll just try her a little bit later, thank you, Merry Christmas”.

 

She would have to deal with things by herself for the time being, not that it was hard, she was used to doing so. In fact, that was all she was doing for the past months. Dealing. She never thought she’d have to deal with John that way. He was treating her like….like Kit in a way...taking her as he will, not caring if she was a willing participant or not, and what was she doing?

She’d let him. Why? Once a victim, always a victim? She refused to believe that, but the sad truth was that she was still had horrible nightmares, ones that used to keep her awake at night.

She slept like the dead.

When she woke up, the sun was always gone, her room was dark, and she knew immediately that she was not alone. She could feel a draft against her cheek, the muted hush of an intruder’s shuffling footstep. Then, from just outside her open bedroom door. A shadow, dark and menacing. She was opening her mouth to say, who’s there? Except, of course, she already knew. He was always there at the back of her mind, not leaving her alone. He was a monster, and the world was filled with them. She needed to move, leap out of bed, assume the defensive. Instead, she made the mistake of inhaling.

Then, all she heard was the distant sound of laughter, right before the world went dark again.

She was still taking long showers a few times a day, never filling entirely clean.

 

And now this. John’s behavior was not helping, in fact, it made it worst because somehow, deep inside, something about the way he was treating her, was getting to her, was making her hot. As a psychiatrist, she was intrigued by why was it happening. Why after all she had been through under Kit’s hands, she would find this kind of treatment, arousing.

Her mind was filled with thoughts, and she took a deep breath, holding the knob to her office door, she turned it and got inside, flicking the light on, Marlena turned and then, she saw her.

 

“Jade?”

The young girl was lying on her couch, her cheek was against the creamy pillow, she was on her stomach, and it appeared she was in a deep sleep. She must have been waiting for her for a while now. Marlena was happy she came to her on Christmas Eve. She knew how messed up she was last time they met, hell, she was still a mess herself.

“Jade..honey wake up...” Marlena got closer to the girl, placing her hand on her shoulder, when the girl’s hand dropped to the floor, heavy as a stone.

Touching her fingers, they were cold as ice, shifting a stray hair from Jade’s face, she could see her lips were blue, Marlena covered her mouth with her hands and shrieked, “Oh.My.God!”

Placing her fingers to the girls' neck, trying to get a pulse. Nothing.

She was dead. No evidence of violence.

But Jade was dead. She had to tell herself this. Taking a few steps backward, she bumped into the coffee table and fell to the floor, huddling herself in a corner, her arms looped tight around her knees. Jade was dead, and she knew Jade was dead because she felt her stone cold hands, she pressed her fingers to her neck and couldn’t get a pulse.

Quickly Marlena gathered herself and left that room, she needed to call Sawyer and the police. Marlena had tears streaming down her cheeks.

She was dead. She was dead.  Oh my god...She was dead.

Marlena just wanted out of this goddamn office. She just wanted to return to her penthouse and resume normal life again. Except, of course, she had never figured out how to do normally since she came back from Maison Blanche. How to settle for everyday routine.
 

She was not okay. She was not okay, She was not okay, She was not okay.

“Why?” she was asking herself. The sound of her voice, so unexpected.

“Why?” she whispered again. “Why, why, why?” Marlena was wondering if what she meant to ask was, why her, why Jade? She massaged her temples and closed her eyes,  as she took her receptionist phone a called Sawyer.

 

*******

 

“Are you ok?” Sawyer asked, entering the office. She nodded, not quite meeting his eyes. Nervous, he thought. Because he knew she wasn't. Then again, so were many people after finding a body. She was wearing a black mini dress he has never seen before, looking as beautiful as ever. She was not working tonight and he was wondering what was the reason for her outfit and her being in that office so late at night.

Sawyer followed Marlena into the room, closing the door behind them. The room wasn’t that big; Marlena and Sawyer took a seat at the table, across from their object of interest, and there was just enough space left over to breathe. Sawyer set down his mug of coffee. Marlena saw the man’s gaze flicker toward her, a reflexive inhale of air, but he didn’t say a word.

 

“Do you know her name?”

“Jade. She was a rape victim I treated over a year ago. She came to see me a few weeks ago.”

“She thought you were here I assume, although, you don’t do night shifts and” he looked at her choice of clothing, “it doesn't look like you were planning on getting to work tonight either.”

“I had to talk to Dr. Horton” a flicker of emotion on her face: annoyance. “Even then,” he said “She was at your office. She’d have to call in to get an appointment before she could enter." she shook her head. “There are emergencies...”

“Did you let her in?”

“No. she came here before I arrived….” she hesitated.

“What?” Sawyer prodded her. “What?”

“Sawyer, you saw the body..there was no evidence of violence...what happened to her? Why was she here?” Marlena's eyes were wild as she looked at the dead girl on her couch.

“Did she say something about someone who was after her?”

“No, why are you asking?” She shook her head.

“While you were outside, we examined the body. You are right, there were no signs of struggle or blood, but she did have a small mark up her thigh, like a tattoo and from the look of it, it was done not too long ago” Sawyer scratched his head and looked at her, she was stunned, “what kind of a tattoo?”

“It was a small tribal tattoo. Have you seen it, maybe in one of your sessions?”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here. Yeah, I treated her. Yeah, I talked to her for a few times. But that was it. She didn’t let me in too much, I didn’t push it. I did my job, nothing more. I don’t know what happened to her, or who’s behind it.”

Sawyer’s cell phone rang, and he took the call, still seated on her desk. She glanced at the dead body from time to time, couldn’t wait for the police to remove it from her office.

 

“She was missing,” he said when he hanged up the call

“What? I just saw her two weeks ago.”

“She’s gone missing. Was possibly kidnapped. Most likely by someone who had done this to her.” Marlena’s face went pale.

He looked at her, he could tell what was going on in his mind. Guilt? Denial? Placing tentative fingered on her knee, he wanted to comfort her, but she moved from under his touch, Sawyer sat up straight. “Where were you tonight Marlena?”

“Hold on, are you accusing me of something?” her eyes lit up
“No, but I need to ask it for the protocol. So, where were you?”

“I had a date with Laura, only she had an emergency and couldn't make it.” Marlena sat up straighter, voice picking up.

“And you came over here because?....”

“What difference does it make?”

“Marlena.”

“I had an argument with John, and I had to see Laura” Sawyer nodded now. He saw his way out, and he was taking it.

“Are you ok?” but Marlena didn't reply.

She wanted to cry her eyes out when the hospital crew came to take Jade’s body. They stood there, quietly, not making a sound, Sawyer wrapped his arm around Marlena’s shoulders, she stayed in his embrace for a second before she moved to the back of her desk, stifling a sob. Placing her hand to her mouth in horror, she watched how the two-man placed the body inside the bag and zipped it up, Marlena would never forget that sound.

When the door was closed behind them, she strode into her office restroom.

“Marlena..” he leaned over the closed door, “I know… and I’m sorry for your loss. I will get to the bottom of this, I will find out what happened to Jade.”

There was quiet from the other side of the door, he could only hear her sniffles.

Suddenly, she opened the door “WE will get to the bottom of this. WE will make that person pay” her eyes were on fire but hollow at the same time.

He wasn’t used of seeing her like that, wearing something so alluring. She was sobbing, and all he could think about was bringing her comfort.

Sawyer leaned closer to her. He moved slowly, giving her every opportunity to say no, or push him away. Carefully, He braced himself against her door with one hand. He didn’t want his weight against her, not yet.

She was numbed, as numbed as a person can be after witnessing this kind of visions. Yes, she was a doctor, but she wasn’t used of seeing dead bodies, especially not a dead body of a person she knew, that had been through too much already. When he got closer to her, she couldn’t move, there was something in his eyes, something she used to see in John’s eyes and it frightened her. What was happening?

 

He brushed the end of her nose with his, it was wet from tears, urging her head to tilt upward. He felt her breath against his mouth, faster and heavier than before. And at last, He watched her eyes close as she leaned backward with a whimper, he followed. Sawyer let the tip of his tongue trace her bottom lip, coaxing her mouth open. He didn’t want to rush things. Well, He did want to, but he knew when he shouldn’t. He wanted to push her up against the door, rip off her panties, and ram himself into her, but he suspected she wouldn’t appreciate it as much as he would. It was enough at the moment to feel her lips opening for him. He came a little closer, and she let out a soft whimper into his mouth.

 

He kissed her for a long time. He couldn’t get enough of her moans. He liked to threaten to pull away and let her lean forward, chasing after his mouth. He was pretty sure if he used his skills in the right way, he could get Marlena into his bed. He could see every glorious inch of her. Taste her pussy in his mouth before he wrapped her legs around him and fucked her until there was no come left inside him. He heard himself moan, but he didn’t give a fuck. He hadn’t had sex in months and the sex he’d had since Erica wasn’t worth mentioning or even thinking about. Sawyer took a chance and removed his hand from the door. He let himself caress her shoulder to gauge her reaction to his touch. “Sawyer,” she protested quietly, the alcohol was still very present in her bloodstream. She gripped the edges of her office bathroom door and pushed her chest out slightly, trying to push him away in a way. But it made her tongue to be pushed harder and deeper into his mouth.

 

He reached for her breast, and his cock throbbed when he felt how hard her nipple was against his palm. He could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath her dress and the thin fabric let him feel every contour of her. As quickly as he could, he pushed on the harness and released the strap. He pulled the fabric aside, and Marlena’s beautiful breast came into view.

“Brad!” It wasn’t a sigh this time. She was a little panicked. He didn’t let it stop him. He could still hear the lust in her voice. He palmed her breast and put his mouth around her puckered nipple. He sucked on her greedily. He moaned loud and gripped her harder when her cry hit the air, and her hands ultimately held on to his head. Somewhere in his mind, he knew the situation wasn’t ideal. It took every ounce of self-control he didn’t possess to pull himself away from Marlena’s delicious nipple. It was harder not to go back to it when he got a good look at Marlena upon pulling away. Her body was tilted at an angle, her head against the door, and her dress pushed to the side to expose one of her breasts. Her nipple was hard and wet from his mouth.

 

“Let me take you home, Marlena. Please...” he put himself out there. He let her know exactly what his intentions were. She was slow to catch her breath. Her hazel eyes looked on him with a puzzled look, but also what seemed to be a myriad of other emotions.  “What’s wrong?” he tried not to sound annoyed, but it’s next to impossible not to sound like an asshole when his dick was hard enough to pound nails, and he was expected to have higher brain function. Marlena eyed him warily, Sadly, it was an expression he’d come to know very well in their time together.

Then she slapped him. Hard. He thought his head vibrated. He was holding his cheek “How could you?” she asked. He could hear the pain in her voice, and it gutted him. Not waiting for an answer she placed her fingers to her quivering lips, "Sawyer...that was...don't let this ever happen again..." bringing the thin strap of her dress back on, she gave him another look, whipping her lips from his taste and her cheek from her tears, she left her office, closing the door behind her.  

 

****

 

A Fool, that’s how he felt. She was mourning, she was upset, and he took advantage of that. How could he? She was about to be his partner, and now, now he wasn’t sure what she’ll do.

He sat on the couch, not leaving her office, not yet. He wanted to examine more, to collect fingerprints, to ask the nurse some questions, his job there was far from over, but all he could do was to sit on the couch and think.

He wronged her, and he needed to apologize. When the door to her office opened up again, he was sure it’ll be the cleaning crew but, no.

It was her. She came back.

 

​