Mr. Dark 1 (Tamed #1)(17)

By Tuesday, the mystery had gotten deeper, leaving the entire ER buzzing with rumor. Claiming a personal matter, Dr. Green took a sudden leave of absence with the hospital and got out of town, not telling anyone where. As I waited inside my apartment for Mark to pick me up for our date, I just set aside the whole thing, and thought about Mark.

Even though I hadn't seen him since the previous Thursday afternoon, we talked every day over the phone, or sent text messages to each other. We'd spent an hour on Sunday morning just talking, most of the time on speakerphone as we both went about our breakfast routines, just talking about the best places to get pizza in town. It was great, and the more we talked, the more I realized that not only did I like Mark, I was starting to fall for him. It scared me, honestly, but thrilled me at the same time.

I was tapping my foot on the carpet, dressed in my second best dress, a blue sleeveless one piece that stopped just above my knees. I could make it double as a cocktail dress if I wanted to by adding some accessories, but tonight I wanted it more casual, so I left them off. I was just checking my earrings for the fourth time when the doorbell rang. I checked my peephole and saw Mark standing out on the narrow concrete walkway. He was dressed up just a bit, in black chinos paired with a red long sleeved shirt that hid his impressive physique. Still, he looked devastatingly masculine, and my heart sped up just a bit.

"Just a second," I called through the door, turning to the small mirror next to my coat rack to check my appearance. I couldn't tell if I looked good or not, but at least my makeup didn't make me look like a clown in my opinion, so I opened the door. "Hey."

Mark's immediate response was both funny and touching. He said nothing, just looking at me with his funny little smile, his eyes going up and down my body while I stood there, fidgeting just a bit. "What?"

"You look beautiful," he answered, "and I wanted to take a moment to remind myself of that. Seriously, you look amazing in that dress. Shall we?"

We had decided on a classic date, going out to a movie. In our phone calls and text messages, we found that we both enjoyed the classic movie theater experience, and agreed to go to a recent blockbuster neither of us had seen yet.

"We'll probably throw out half of this," I said as I took a handful to munch on, "but it's just part of the tradition. Big popcorn, big drinks."

"And both of us doing extra cardio tomorrow," Mark whispered. "But you're right, it's a huge part of tradition. When I was a kid, I sometimes replaced the popcorn with candy though. Two big movie theater sized Reese's Cups, or maybe the Reese's Pieces."

"Me too," I giggled, taking a sip of my soda. "Except mine was Junior Mints, or Mounds. Now though, no way. Maybe I'm just growing up, but all that sugar just doesn't do it for me any more though."

The movie started, and we both were soon engaged in the action on screen, enjoying the pretty mindless plot. You knew within twenty minutes who the love interest was, the problem and the solution. Still, it was an enjoyable movie, made even better when Mark put his arm around my shoulder and lifted the arm rest between us. Snuggling against his strong chest, we balanced touches and bodily contact with watching the movie, until by the time the end credits rolled, my body was humming.

"Great movie," Mark said, his hand still resting on my shoulder, rubbing in slow, soft circles. "You ready to go?"

"Not really," I said, reaching up and kissing him. Our tongues met, a moan coming from deep in my chest as his hand brushed against my breast. His fingers molded against the curve, and we soon found ourselves making out like a pair of high school students, until a polite cough behind us interrupted us.

"Sorry guys, but I need to clean up," the staff member said, holding up his trash bag and broom. I felt myself blushing, but Mark just nodded calmly and helped me to my feet, his hand resting casually on my lower back. He handed the staff our half eaten tub of popcorn and led me out of the movie theater, acting for all the world like he owned the entire cinema complex.

Outside, we chatted about the movie for a bit as we walked across the parking lot, and Mark held the door of his Mercedes open for me. Coming around to the driver's side, he settled in before looking at me. "Back to my place?"

I could hear the question in his voice. If I said no, he'd accept it, while at the same time if I said yes, I'd be in for another experience I'd never forget. The decision was an easy one. "Your place it is."

* * *

Mark

It took a while for Sophie to adjust to my condominium overlooking the Park. After going and putting away my wallet and keys, I found her still standing in the living room, looking around. "This place is amazing."

"Thanks," I said honestly. "It took a lot of work and even more luck to get it. But I'm not thinking of stopping here."

"Oh?" Sophie said, breaking her temporary paralysis. "You plan on buying the penthouse or something?"

I laughed and went over to the glass door that led out to my balcony. Opening it, I let the night air in, enjoying the light chill. "Take a look," I said, waving Sophie over. "What do you see?"

"The Park, mostly," Sophie said, stepping outside and putting her hands on the railing. Her body was slightly bent over at the waist, giving me a wonderful view of her ass as she started swaying hypnotically back and forth, and I missed part of her next words. "...and of course the lights. Why do you ask?"