“Doc, I know that it’s only going to be for 3 days, but I’m going to miss you” John wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her to him. Her hair smelled so good, he loved the new shampoo she’s been using and the smell reminded him of their joint shower, the memory formed goosebumps on his skin.

“ I am going to miss you too... I do wish I could go away with you, you know, to keep you company” her sly smile made him giggle “ oh, that would have been so good baby, but if I would to take you with me, we won’t be leaving the hotel room… and I do need to finish all of the physical examinations” his hands caressed the small of her back, descending to her behind every few strokes.

“ I understand and I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors! Did Shane say when he’s picking you up?” Marlena passed her long fingers in his hair, it was damp still. God, he smells so good, the thought passed her mind when a cool night breeze blew through the window and enveloped her with his fresh scent.

“Yep, he would be here in an hour. I better finish packing. I wish I could join you for dinner though.. I promise to make it up to you when I’m back, honey” his soft lips brushed her smile but she caught his mouth with a scorching kiss.

 

He sat at his car, the engine was off, he didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself, especially at this time of night, when Salem’s good people were still wondering the busy streets. Closing his eyes, he let the cool breeze soothe him. It also made him remember the night he saw her making love to John, yes, despite the power and control, it was love.

He did not know such love. Not in his past and probably not in his future, he did not pity himself, not at all. He was just aware of his desires and he desired her more than anything. He was aware of what he really wanted. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her. Sometimes she straddled him,  moaning and screaming into his open mouth, sometimes he was on top of her, biting her long white neck and sometimes, oh yes, sometimes she was on her pretty little knees in front of him, taking him whole into her mouth. The last thought made him shiver. A knock on his car window jerked him back to reality as he saw a very large man, standing outside of his vehicle. The guy was sketchy, the kind of guys you don’t want to meet on the street in the middle of the night but then again, was he the guy you’ll want to meet?

“Hola, you got the money?” His voice was low and dark.

Kit lowered his car window but just enough to make the switch.

"First of all, the drug"

The big guy looked at him with a grim look filled with dissatisfaction, a group of people passed by and they both fell silent for a few minutes. Kit glared at him a serious look in his eyes, he watched as his stubby fingers drew into his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag.

"More than 10 milligrams would kill a man." His words were cold, almost mechanical as if he had said them many times before.

Kit snatched the little bag from between his fingers and looked at it, examining it from all sides, his other hand reached into his pocket and the guy reached out to collect his money. After quickly counting the money, he left, leaving Kit alone, staring at the bag, mumbling "Devil's breath. Finally" he remembered Dr Ford’s lecture about this drug, it was exactly what he needed the thought excited him like never before, he was so close now. Nothing or anyone could interfere with his plan.

 

She woke up alone, for a moment, her mind seemed to forget that John wasn't there because her hand searched for his warm body but couldn't find it under the covers. Opening her eyes she sigh, he wasn't there. Marlena blinked at the clock, amazed that she could lay in bed for so long without realizing it. The time was passing by so quickly; one moment she felt as though she had just closed her eyes when John was next to her, the next minute, a couple of hours had passed in a single, restless blink and she was alone. She wasn't sure if she was losing time or simply slipping in and out of sleep. Marlena sighed deeply and covered her eyes with her palm.

The phone ringing forced her to wake up and face the day

“Hello”

“Dr. Evans? Good morning it’s Synthia. I’m sorry for calling you so early”

Was it early? She couldn't tell, for the shutters were still shut.

“Is everything alright? Are you ok?”  true concern in her voice, she sat straight, leaning against the headboard of the big bed.

“Yes, everything is alright, well, almost. You see, there was a fracture in one of the pipelines and it exploded, most of the hospital's eastern wing was flooded. Don't’ worry your office was not harmed but the waiting room is flooded I’m sorry Dr. Evans” the girl sounded very upset like she was to blame for all of this somehow.

“Synthia, it’s ok” she reassured her, trying to think of what to do next

“Dr. Wazly wanted me to ask you if it is ok by you to be working from home for a few days until this whole mess is cleaned. I could push all your sessions to a few days ahead”

Marlena nodded to herself “Yes, you do that and tell Dr. Wazly it’s fine. If you need anything, give me a call”

Placing the phone back to its place on the side bed vanity, her mind was racing and she grabbed it again, pushing its buttons with her long fingers.

“Kit, Good morning it’s Marlena” he could hear the smile in her voice

“Hi Marlena, how you've been?” hearing her voice first thing in the morning made him hot.

“Just great, well’ I do have some news, you see, apparently there was an-”

“An explosion at the hospital's pipelines? Yes, I know, sorry for cutting you though, a colleague called and broke me the news” If only she could see the expression on his face at that moment. He looked at his bathroom floor. Between all the clothes and towels, laid a Swedish key it was all twisted and broken like it was used to hit something hard.

Taking a deep breath and waited for her to speak.

"Oh, I see. Anyway, I'm planning to work from home in the next few days. All of my sessions were postponed and I thought I could use the time to transcribe sessions to their patient's files. Would you like to join me?” she lowered herself onto the bed again.

“Sounds like a plan. But only if I could get us some bagels and cream cheese” is giggle and offer made her smile for the first time today.

“Perfect. I’ll see you in an hour”

Placing the device back to its place, she got out of bed, heading towards the shower.

 

She has decided on wearing her new yellow buttons dress, it was nice and she felt good wearing it, John has bought it for her when they first got back together, he liked seeing her wearing it, the dress had buttons all the way from top to buttons and he used to open each and every single one of them with his skilled fingers, she had missed him so much and wearing it made her feel closer to him.

Kit has arrived exactly on time, entering her penthouse reminded him of the last time he was there when he was watching her at the tub, touching her body, bringing herself to new heights, he didn't let it show though, he was cool and reserved.

“Bagels!” his hand swang up in the air, presenting her the brown bag, closing the door behind him, she smiled “let’s eat! I’ll get the tea”

 

Breakfast was nice, they spoke of some of their latest sessions, making notes, asking questions. Kit has tried not to talk about her and John, he didn't even ask of him, but he knew how much she’s missing him, it showed in her eyes, she was longing for him.

It didn't take long for Kit to surmise that something was wrong. Well, more wrong than usual.

"Is everything alright, Marlena?" Kit asked. He was standing in front of her big vanity, pouring them some tea. The sound of Kit's voice caused Marlena's skin to crawl with discomfort, he was a colleague, nothing more.

Marlena forced a smile and nodded "do you remember that I’ve told you I'm having problems sleeping? Well, happily, I've been sleeping really well lately," Marlena said honestly, intentionally dodging the question. "Being well-rested has really been helping me focus on everything else."

"I know," Kit countered, sticking his hands in his pockets and watching Marlena closely from across the sofa. "I can see you look much more rested. Which is why I am asking; you appear physically well, but you seem on edge. Care to tell me what's on your mind."

Marlena laughed dryly, feeling her face grow hot. Kit had caught on entirely too quickly, and Marlena felt she was in imminent danger of confiding in him, even at the risk of humiliation. "Nothing really, it's just-" Marlena paused, groping around for the correct phrasing, "- I miss John. He’s been out of town for a few days and he called yesterday. Apparently, something came up and he would get home by next week." she sipped the tea, the warm beverage calming her down.

 

"Are there any side-effects of his absence?" he asked. Kit gave her a steady gaze, openly probing Marlena's expression. "Side-effects? It is not a medication, Kit. The only side-effects I can imagine would be me being upset and missing him. What kinds of side-effects are you referring to?" Marlena looked away, fixing her hair awkwardly.

"It's just that, we had been talking before with Mrs. Gibson and her husband was away a lot, business trips and she was talking of how lonely she felt and how she would use to calm herself down -"

"Learning to love yourself is something that needs to be used continuously over a substantial amount of time to have any effect, it’s not a drug you take," Marlena said, causing Kit to fall uncomfortably silent.

"I know, I know... I didn't mean to imply that you- -I'm sorry," Kit said, as he watched Marlena with a stony expression.

She was feeling extremely faint, lightheaded, this conversation was making her feel very uncomfortable, although she tried to not let him show it. Placing her hand on her head she closed her eyes for a second, she stood up, trying to regain some composer, focus.

“Well, Marlena, I’m sorry” he stood up right after her, making a mental note of her state

“What I meant to say was…. take off your dress”

Although her head was pounding and her ears were ringing in a very high pitch she knew what she has heard.

“What?” was all she could utter, still shocked.

“Well you see, “Doc” “ he smirked, his voice changed.

What the hell is going on?

“Maybe love is not a drug but I’m sure you’ve heard on Scopolamine” he got closer to her, she wanted to move but she was shocked, her eyes were open with disbelieving “Devil's breath..” she muttered.

“Good girl!” Kit grabbed her chin with a strong grip “I’m glad you enjoyed your tea because   within minutes you will expectedly lose all power of free will”

She shoved him as hard as she could but he was quicker, grabbing both her arms from behind he whispered in her ear “take.of.your.dress”

Marlena couldn't move, she wasn't sure if it was shock, fear or the drug “No” she whispered and he swung her around forcefully, his fingers starting to work on the buttons of her dress.

Her hands started to get numbed and she could only raise them to her waist, but it didn't help. She could see him unbuttoning each and every button, tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

“Stop”

He didn't listen, this is what he wanted and she had no say in the matter.

Looking at her, she was a vision, her full breasts were covered with a white lace bra that matched her lacy underwear. Placing his big hands on her shoulders he sat her on the couch, looking deeply into her eye he spoke, his voice low and dark “Get on your knees.”