Healed by His Touch (5 page)

her cheek.

Tentatively, Jessica reached out and

stroked his chest, her pale hand a sharp

contrast to Marco’s bronzed skin. She

explored every inch of his torso, letting

her hands roam freely across his chest and

shoulders. He watched her face as she

discovered the texture of his skin and the

shape of his chiseled arms.

“You look beautiful, too,” Jessica said.

She couldn’t help but compare his strong

physique to her ex-husband’s slight frame.

Daniel’s fit and trim upper body had

belonged to a pampered businessman who

spent hours in the gym but had never

worked a day of labor in his life. Marco’s

strength was built naturally from years of

hard work on his family’s farm.

Marco groaned and pushed Jessica

gently to the floor. It took all of his

restraint not to take her swiftly, but he

sensed that it was important for them to go

slow this first time. He started by kissing

her lips before leaving a wet trail of

caresses down her throat until he reached

her small, round breasts. He could feel her

trembling as he took one nipple into his

mouth and then the other, teasing and

tasting and tugging until she was writhing

in delight.

He moved his lips lower now, past the

curve of her waist and the slight flare of

her hips. When he reached the junction at

the top of her thighs, she parted her legs,

inviting him to taste her there, too.

Jessica felt like she had been waiting

forever to feel Marco’s mouth on her wet

core. When his tongue finally made

contact, skimming over her slick folds, she

cried out. No longer hesitant, she lifted

her hips to meet him, driving him harder

against her center. Her whole body was

tense with sexual energy as she fucked his

mouth, her hands clenched around the

edges of the blanket.

Marco reached up and grabbed her

hips so he could delve deeper into her

womanhood. He used his tongue to probe

her wet opening before sucking her clit

into her mouth. Her climax came hard and

quick, drenching his face with her juices.

He felt her pulses of pleasure clear to his

soul. In that moment, he had never wanted

a woman as much as he wanted her.

Jessica’s powerful orgasm surged

through her entire body in wave after

wave of intense pleasure. She had never

let herself feel with such intensity before

and she was overcome with unexpected

emotion. Yet, she wasn’t fully satisfied.

“I need to feel you inside of me,

Marco. Please,” she begged, her yearning

borne out of the tenderness he had shown

while tending to her womanly needs. She

gasped in surprise when the bulging head

of his huge cock nudged her opening.

“Am I hurting you?” Marco asked,

concerned by her sudden intake of breath.

“No,” she laughed softly, “you’re

amazing me. Your size is impressive.”

Marco smiled at her compliment,

bracing himself on his forearms as he

buried his manhood in Jessica. She

wrapped her legs around him, urging him

deeper and be began thrusting slowly in

and out.

“Take me harder!” Jessica cried,

which was all the encouragement Marco

needed to unleash the passion that had

been building in his loins. Ever since that

first day in the salon, he had wanted

Jessica like this, meeting his thrusts with

her own, giving and taking pleasure as his

equal.

She called his name when her body

erupted once again, her orgasm

contracting around his pounding member

with a force that pushed him over the edge

toward his own release. Marco’s

throbbing cock came inside of Jessica in

pulse after pulse, filling her with his

warm, milky seed. He continued thrusting

until there was nothing left to spill forth

and both of their bodies were complete.

He held her then, while they gazed at

the fire, waiting for their hearts to stop

racing and for the sheen of sweat that

covered their bodies to dry.

“Daniel was my first and only lover

before you,” Jessica whispered into the

quiet of the night, tears spilling from the

corners of her eyes. “With him, sex was

always about control. I didn’t know . . .”

“Know what?”

“That it could be so tender and yet, still

so passionate.”

“That is why they call it making love,”

Marco said. “Sex is an expression of the

feelings you have for another person.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For showing me that pleasure doesn’t

need to be dominating.”

Marco kissed away Jessica’s tears,

pulling her close to give her comfort.

Later, they retired to her bedroom and

made love again. As she fell asleep in

Marco’s strong arms, Jessica had one last

thought before her eyes fluttered closed.

Tonight, she felt healed by his touch.

***

Someone was pounding on the door.

“I’m coming!” Jessica called in an

effort to stop the beating before the door’s

custom stained glass panels were

shattered into a million pieces.

The door-pounder was Angela.

“Something’s happened to Marco!” she

cried.

“What happened? Is Marco okay?”

Jessica grabbed Angela’s arm and

dragged her inside, her cherry red

fingernails digging into the other woman’s

flesh. She had just seen him that morning,

when he left her bed to go to the salon.

“I’d say he’s better than okay,” Angela

replied in huff, pulling her arm away and

absent mindedly rubbing the area that

Jessica had gripped. “I went to see Marco

today and he told me that his Hot Oil

Massage was no longer available.
No

longer available!
”

Angela was clearly distressed as she

marched into the living room and

collapsed on the sofa. Jessica wasn’t sure

how to respond. She wasn’t quite ready to

tell her friends about her budding

relationship with Marco, but Angela’s

distress had her heart bursting with joy.

“Did he say why?” Jessica asked

innocently.

“He said that he
met someone
and was

no longer comfortable offering his special

massage services,” Angela responded

indignantly.

Jessica perched on the edge of the sofa

and patted Angela’s hand in comfort. “I

think that’s sweet,” she said.

“Maybe so. But what are Russ and I

going to
do
?”

“I think Russell should try and get your

motor started by himself for a change,”

Jessica replied while trying not to roll her

eyes.

Angela clenched Jessica’s hand, a look

of alarm on her face. “What if he doesn’t

want to?”

Angela was a knockout who exuded

confidence, so Jessica was surprised by

her friend’s hint of insecurity. “Then he

doesn’t deserve you,” she said.

“You’re right,” Angela sniffed, sitting

up and regaining her composure. “I’m

going to go right home and tell him so!”

When Angela left, Jessica curled up on

the sofa to think about the information her

friend has just shared. Jessica’s first night

with Marco had been magical. So

magical, in fact, that he ended up staying

the entire weekend, only leaving on

Monday morning because he had clients to

see and she had auction work to do.

Marco had introduced her to a whole

new way of making love and she couldn’t

wait to discover what else he had to teach

her. He was coming back that evening and,

if Jessica had her way, every evening after

that!

***

As the weeks passed, Marco and

Jessica spent their daylight hours focusing

on work and leading separate lives. Yet

each night they came together as lovers,

exploring each others’ bodies and sharing

the most intimate details of their lives.

For the time being, they had decided to

keep their relationship private. Neither

one was sure whether their friends and

family would understand or accept the

bond that the unlikely paid had built and

neither one wanted anything - or anyone -

to come between them.

But two weeks before the Children’s

Hospital benefit auction, Jessica got a

frantic call from Rebecca Dorn. Her

husband had fallen ill and she needed to

step down as chairwoman of the event.

She wanted Jessica to take her place.

“Please Jessica,” Rebecca pleaded. “I

know this is a lot to dump on you at the

last minute, but there’s nobody else I

trust.”

Jessica thought before responding. A

few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have had the

confidence to say yes. But spending time

with Marco had renewed her faith in

herself. “I’ll do it!” she exclaimed.

“Thank you, Jessica. I owe you one.”

The women made plans to meet the

next day so Rebecca could get Jessica up-

to-speed on the remaining to-do list.

Marco could see the worry etched on

Jessica’s face when she told him that she

had agreed to become the interim

chairwoman of the benefit auction. But his

faith in her abilities was absolute. “You

can do this, Jessica, I know you can.”

“The hours will be long, Marco. In

addition to my daytime duties, I’ll need to

spend my nights making sure that everyone

else is doing what they are supposed to.”

She didn’t have to tell him that her new

commitment would put a crimp in their

burgeoning relationship.

“We can take a break between now and

the auction so you can focus all of your

attention on event planning,” he offered.

“It will only be for two weeks. What is it

that they say . . . absence makes the heart

grow fonder?”

Jessica didn’t like the idea of spending

two weeks away from him, but Marco was

right. She needed to give the auction her

undivided attention.

“Two weeks and then we’ll pick up

where we left off, right?” She needed

reassurance.

“Yes,” Marco said, sweeping her up in

his arms and carrying her up the stairs to

the bedroom. “But tonight, you’re all

mine.”

***

The morning after the auction, Jessica

forced herself out of bed at 9:00am,

exhausted but pleased. Her hard work and

time away from Marco had paid off: the

event raised a record amount of money for

the Children’s Hospital.

While she would have preferred to

sleep longer, she had a massage

appointment with Marco that she didn’t

want to miss. She was looking forward to

being back on his table today - and having

him back in her bed that night.

Pulling into The Neighborhood Salon,

Jessica reflected on the auction and how

Marco’s encouragement gave her the

confidence to succeed. She got out of the

car quickly, anxious to get inside.

“Hi Becky,” Jessica greeted the

receptionist with a warm smile. “I’m here

for my ten o’clock.”

“Oh, hi Jessica.” Becky smiled back,

chomping her gum and twirling a strand of

hair. “I moved you over to Lisa’s schedule

today, I hope that’s okay.”

“Did Marco get double-booked or

something?”

“No, he’s gone. Family emergency or

something like that.”

“When is he coming back?” The

conversation with the receptionist was

surreal.

“Doesn’t look like he is. He packed up

his stuff and left a note asking that all of

his appointments be moved over Lisa.”

How could he leave without telling

her?

“Oh yeah,” Becky said, almost as an

afterthought. “He left a note asking me to

give you this.” She handed Jessica a

sealed envelope. Inside, was a

handwritten letter:

Dearest Jessica:

We both knew the day would come

when I would be called back to my

family. Sadly, that day has arrived much

sooner than expected and without

warning. My father suffered a heart

attack and may not survive the night, so I

am leaving on the next available flight.

I am sorry for not telling you in

person. But I did not want to burden you

on the night of your big event. I know

how hard you worked to ensure that the

auction was a success.

Our time together has made me a very

happy man and I am not quite ready to

say good-bye. I love you, Jessica, and I

know you love me, too. If you are ready

to trust me with your heart, as you have

trusted me with your body, I will see you

soon.

If not, know that I carry the memory

of you always.

With Love,

Marco

Jessica’s hands were shaking as she