Mark Brent #1 - Marked

Interlude 2: Erin.

She had been looking forward to seeing him again. Their first encounter at the party just a week ago had been wonderfully weird. It was magical. That one extraordinary moment tugged at her whole being every time she thought about it: The household staff had just gone out to the dining room to set up the buffet table with platters and bowls of food, and she was standing in the middle of the kitchen when the tingling sensation came back, stronger than ever. At that precise moment, the door swung open and she almost fainted when she saw the man walking in carrying a box of pastries. He wasn't alone; following him closely was an androgynous woman who had a striking resemblance to him — his twin, perhaps? — except that the woman had green eyes and he had... Those eyes! She gasped as those eyes locked on hers. He looked just as stunned to see her there.

Erin didn't realize one could feel a variety of conflicting emotions at the same time. As the shock of seeing this handsome stranger started to wear off, she found her tongue and started talking to him. Everything else — the party, food, everything - didn't matter to her anymore. What mattered was finding out who this hot guy was, standing in the kitchen with her.

She asked if they had met already. He said No. Before she knew it, she was walking towards him, being pulled towards him by a powerful unseen force. Oh, my God... I know him, but it's not possible!. She was drawn to him and she heard the calling of Home that spanned over countless centuries, drawing to a close at this particular moment.

Later on, she learned that his name was Mark, and that he seemed to be good friends with Francesca whom she had met at the Mat Zone. She stole glances at him even as she sat with her friends, and him with his, admiring his face that was both strangely handsome and beautiful if that was even possible. She caught him glancing at her, too, on several occasions, oh, but he played it cool, casually averting his eyes when he saw that he'd been caught looking. She felt like a young girl experiencing her first full blown crush.

They talked a few times that night, and each time, it was like the missing parts of her, of who she could still possibly be, were being pulled out from out of nowhere and gently placed where they ought to be. All because of him.

She was pleased at how easily they became comfortable with each other though she sensed, too, that he could sometimes be awkward around her. Like he was... controlling himself. She was certain, though, that there was no need to hurry to know each other better because eventually they would... eventually. She found herself admitting to him that she and her ex-husband had a weird arrangement for their daughter's sake, and was relieved that he didn't push it. Talking about the arrangement would have ruined her time with Mark.

Art snapped away on his camera and showed them their photo. It was uncanny to see the knight in her dreams on the screen. Even if her dreams had never shown her, she knew that she and her knight had an intimate relationship. She hoped he didn't see her blush.

They almost kissed that night as if they were both under some hypnotic spell that was hard to shake off. And for the first time in a long time, she wanted to be taken completely. She wanted him to ravage her. She wanted his large hands to explore her in ways that she never allowed anyone else to do with her. She wanted him. Then someone said something out loud from somewhere in the house. She didn't understand what it meant but the loud voice and the raucous laughter that followed brought her back to reality.

While she shared her excitement with Robin and Art, she couldn't fully show how much she was interested in Mark. Not when there were other people around who all thought that she and her ex-husband were still together. One step at a time.

She was thrilled when she saw a Facebook friend request from him when she had gone home. She immediately accepted with high hopes that he would get in touch with her soon, perhaps to ask her out and get to know her better. But he didn't. Or maybe she didn't have the patience to wait for him to ask her out. The following Monday, she approached Art during a lull at work when there was still no word from Mark. She learned quite a few things about him.

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A/N: Thank you for reading this far into the story! Like it?