DECEPTION - A Family Affair (16 page)

“Well I have some soup for you, let me just heat it up and after you eat I would like to rub witch hazel over your bruises to help heal them.  I looked it up on the internet and had Angelo pick some up for us.”

“Marco, you don’t have to do all this I’m grateful but I’m okay now so if you need to leave please feel free to do so.  I could take care of myself.”

Seeing hurt flash from his eyes he responded with disappointment in his tone.  “I’m not going anywhere so weather you can take care of yourself is not the question but the answer is I’m here and I want to take care of you and I want to be here for you.  So you can either enjoy my company or you can sulk about me fussing over you but I’m not leaving.  The only question you need to answer is do you want orange or apple cranberry juice?”

“I’m sorry, I sound like an ungrateful bitch and that is not me at all.  I appreciate everything I’m just not use to this.  Besides Nate, I’m pretty much on my own so thank you again.  I’ll have apple cranberry.” 

After eating soup and toast she felt so much better and of course the Advil was a great help.  While they ate dinner together Marisol shared the details of her humiliating day at school with him.  He is definitely a good listener and he didn’t judge or criticize her on her actions.  He thinks she cares too much but it defines who she is as a person.  It made her feel better about herself.  He was so gracious; he also took care of Mace and cleaned up the kitchen.  Dragging her to bed he brought the bottle of witch hazel and the bag of cotton balls. 

“Okay you ready for Dr. Marco?”  She began to giggle like a high school virgin.  She scolded herself -
Please get a grip Marisol
.  He lifted her pajama top and started with her legs massaging the bruises using the cotton balls as he worked his way up he noticed the pink scare again and applied the cotton ball to there as well.  “What happened here?”

When he looked up into her eyes he saw fear again.  She has secrets and she doesn’t trust him yet causing his heart to feel the rush of disappointment flowing through his blood stream.  She shrugged her shoulders trying to find the right words but no spoken words followed.  “I guess you don’t fully trust me yet to share your past, I hope you will come to trust me one day and when you do I’ll be here waiting for you.”  She casted her eyes away from him to avoid what they may divulge on their own while he continued his mission.  He then did her back and she was falling asleep again.  He was so consumed with her beauty but he couldn’t avoid this feeling of doom in him and his inklings never failed him.  There was a part of her that was alive and strong but there was a whole other side that was vulnerable almost fragile and partially broken and he couldn’t figure out how to fix it.  He was missing so many pieces of her life and it made him more determined.  He wasn’t giving up he loved her and today made him want to pack her up and take her with him to Texas away from all this pain; away from this house he felt no peacefulness in it.  The owner left a trail of evilness he could feel the hatred seeping from the walls; the only tranquil room was Marisol’s misty blue room.  He wondered why she hasn’t made any changes to the house to make it more of her own.  He felt sad for her she deserved so much more than this lonely life.

He stripped down to his briefs to lie down next to her and gently adjusted her to his chest where he could hold her in his arms to make her feel safe and loved.  Sleep didn’t come right away for him he had so many things to think about and by morning he still didn’t have the answers he was seeking.  She woke up twice in the middle of the night and held him tighter and would fall asleep again.  She must have had nightmares again but not to the point of her talking in her sleep.  It still upset him listening to her speak during her night mare the other night of him leaving her again.  She was worried of him hurting her and it pained him to be the reason behind her distress. 

Waking up feeling confused she was alone in her bed and school already started.  Then everything came back to her.  Ugh she had to face another day but she admitted to herself how she felt so secure in his arms last night.  She knows she had a couple of bad dreams of finding Marissa dead in her cradle but she would feel his arms around her and she tightened her hold on him helping the night mare to end.  The tightened embrace felt like a blanket of warmth to her soul taking away all the darkness in her dreams.  She could easily get use to this.  Her phone started to buzz and looking at the display it was Nate.

“Hey Nate” she greeted him as Marco walked in her bedroom wearing only his briefs with two mugs of coffee one in each hand.  Oh God how she really could get use to this vision as well.  He could do a Starbucks commercial and even women who hate coffee will convert.  She smiled at him and he gave her that devilish grin as if he read her thoughts then handing over her mug and walked over to her window.

“I thought you were going to call me last night?  Things okay with you?”

“Yes, everything is fine.  I fell asleep early, I’m sorry.  The stress with work took a lot out of me, but today is a new day so all is good.  Are you on your way to the airport?”

“Yeah, Lucas is meeting me there.  We agreed to avoid each other until we get inside the plane.”

“Oh Nate, that makes me sad.  Promise me you will take my advice loving someone is sharing everything.  Call me when you arrive so I know you got there okay.  A simple text will do.  Have fun and relax you need it more than anyone I know.”

“Thanks for being a true friend anyone could ever hope to have.” He said it with such sadness you can hear the feelings of hopelessness and uncertainty in his voice and it upset her.

“I love you too bud…I’ll be thinking about you so make sure you send me updates.”  Ending the call she looked over at Marco.  He was standing by her window drinking his coffee and his face lines hardened.  He looked almost angry.  Not knowing what to say she dug deep in heart and said what she felt.  “Marco, thank you for yesterday and for last night; you really helped me feel better and I was able to sleep.”  If he only knew how much he did help by chasing her nightmares away.

“It was my pleasure.  Why didn’t you share your incident with Nate?”  He turned his head to look at her wanting to see her eyes as she responded.

She quickly put her head down and stared at her coffee. “He has a lot to deal with right now and he is going on vacation and I want him to enjoy himself and not waste his time worrying about me.”

“How come you aren’t going with him?”  He asked before he could stop himself.

She raised her eyes and stared at him trying to understand why he felt the need to ask.  “Well thank God I’m not can you imagine me with a bikini with all these marks on me.  What a site that would be.”

“You wearing a bikini will be quite a sight with or without those marks.  I don’t think you realize how beautiful you are.”  Turning pink she just sipped her coffee knowing he saw every inch of her last night.  “Marisol can I ask you a question?”

She looked up from her cup and feeling nervous again she answered him.  “Sure.”

“Do you trust me?”

“I do even though part of me feels I shouldn’t.”  She wanted to be honest with him.

“That’s fair, but I want you to trust me and I hope I can gain that trust.  I feel you hold so much of yourself back from me.”

“It’s just so much has happened to me since you left, some good some not so good and I can’t open up those doors without feeling pain.”

He nodded his head and didn’t want to push too much too fast.  “Fair… for now.  On another note, what would you like to do today?  Your choice my goal today is to make you feel happy and safe so it’s all about you today.”

She smiled, “Well if you insist to spend the day with me I would love to visit your stables.  I had so much fun on my last visit there.”

“Okay, but I don’t know if I want you to ride and over do it.  Your back is pretty bruised up.”

“Well I guess you will have to ride me in front of you.  There is nothing more refreshing to a person’s spirit than to ride a horse and borrow that moment of freedom of pure abandonment.”

“Well, I did promise it was your choice.  Boy, are you easy to please.”

“Yeah I get that a lot from the guys I date.”  She laughed at herself and at him since he choked on his coffee.  He pointed his finger at her with a warning look and she just laughed out loud and set her mug on her night stand.  He put his coffee cup down and came over to put a pillow over her head at the same time trying to be gentle.  He winded up on top of her with his arms resting on both sides of her head holding himself up and she became serious as she looked into his rare colored eyes as they casted a spell on her. 

“I have another request.” She whispered.

“And what will that request be Mi Preciosa Joya?”

“To kiss me.”  She said with pure lust and desire in her eyes.  She needed to feel him to be completely one with him.  She craved his warmth, his affection and was just plain needy of every inch of him.  She was truly drowning and only he could revive her.

“Anything you wish for is my command.  Trust me nothing would make me happier” He bent over and kissed her lightly at first then the overwhelming desire created spasms throughout his body.  Keeping what little control he had left he kissed her tenderly all over as he worshipped every inch of her.  Tasting her was like indulging in forbidden fruit so ripe with sweet juices ready to be devoured. It was a taste that was immediately addicting to his soul.  She instantly pleaded for more showing no shame as her body screamed for fulfillment. He took his time before making sweet passionate love to her delicately but with pure compassion.  Their bodies became in sync as one until they reach their peak together screaming out each other’s name.  What a heartwarming moment both bodies entangled as one, each holding on to each other for dear life while lost in their own thoughts.

He has embedded himself into her heart, her mind and her soul.  She was spiraling fast and she feared she was going to crash and burn.....then what would be left of her besides scattered ashes lost to the wind…

Chapter Twelve

They spent the day at the stables and Marco had the vet examine Mace while he was making his rounds with the other animals.  He said he’ll be just fine a little sore but he needs to rest his leg so the bruises can heal.  Marisol was so grateful for Marco’s thoughtfulness.  He hauled Marisol away for a ride on Diablo, who became his personal preference.  They seem to make a connection one alpha male to another. They rode through the back trails having her sit in front of him where he could gather her in his arms and savor this memorable moment.  Life couldn’t get better than this, she has never felt this cherished and it felt so damn good.  Enjoying the ride and scenery he kissed the top of her head and tightened his embrace in a form of a hug.  “You smell so good.  I could hold you in my arms forever.”

“Hmm, I could probably let you but we’ll starve and shrivel away to nothing.” She said and started to giggle.

He joined in with a chuckle as he shook his head.   “Only you Marisol.  You are so crazy and amazing; I have to ask why someone hasn’t already snatched you away.”

“Maybe because I haven’t met someone I found worthy of letting them snatch me away.”  She answered with a defensive tone.

“Hey, trust me I’m happy no one has come along.  I just sometimes wonder why since I find you so beautiful and captivating and I can’t stop thinking about you.  I think about you every minute of my day.  Its like I’m addicted to you like some form of crack.”

Leaning her head back on against his chest to look up at him as she replied, “Well, I can ask the same about you.  You already know how handsome you are and I know Texas is filled with beautiful women; why are you still available?” 

“Touché, well the best way I can answer that is; I never fell in love with anyone
in Texas
.”  He said stressing the word
in Texas
.  This brought a secret smile to Marisol. 

“Well I could kind of say the same; if I’m to be honest with you I really don’t date much or put myself out there often.  First, there was school I worked really hard at my grades at the University since I was there on a full scholarship and didn’t want to jeopardize losing it.  That scholarship was my safety net my ticket of survival.  I was quite fortunate, one of my high school teachers put in a recommendation to their scholarship diversity program along with my grades and SAT scores.  I had a couple of schools to choose from that offered me full scholarships as well but at the last moment I chose William and Mary College since they had a great education and counseling degree program.  Then I concentrated on getting my career going in Virginia and getting my life finally together.  It was really great there I met a lot of nice people and I loved my job. Then my father got really sick and I had to come back home.  Thank God for Nate he has always been there for me every step of the way.  He would come out to Virginia for long weekends and when I had to move back home he spread the word and that’s how I got the job at the middle school.  His family definitely has pull in this town.  So there I spilled my life to you.”

“Did you ever think about me?”  He asked.

“I won’t lie, I did but you really hurt me and the only way I could get by was turning my love for you into extreme dislike.”   She wanted to be honest with him even though she knew deep down she never stopped loving him and it terrified her.

“I know I can’t blame you; I’m just grateful right now to have you here in my arms and hope I can take that
extreme dislike
into something more on the positive side.”   He squeezed her again and just held her tight as he reared the horse through the open trail.  They rode in silence wondering what the other was thinking which became a habit of theirs and his phone rang breaking the tranquil moment.  He looked to see who it was and he let out a groan.   “Marco here.”  Marisol stood quiet trying to hear the other side of the conversation but was unable to.  He spoke again sounding agitated.  “Look Charley I’m at the stables and have a bad connection I will call you later.”  He put his phone back in his pocket but didn’t tighten his embrace again he seemed lost in his thoughts as he began to distant himself.  Marisol gave him his space to think and not ask questions for she knew she was keeping him from his work and felt guilty for it.