“Why can’t I?” Marcus asked, looking a little hurt at her question. He wanted to confess to her that this wasn’t about the work, it was just that he couldn’t stay away from her, he couldn’t sleep without her, he couldn’t live without her. The last two days, despite being annoyed with her, he had climbed into the bed with her when she was in deep sleep. She was like a drug he was addicted to.
Cara searched his eyes and saw the emotional upheaval reflected in them. “I just want you to be with you, mia Cara. Let’s go together, please.” Cara sighed and nodded, making his eyes brighten with happiness. He leaned in and claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss, a kiss that he had been dying for in the last two days. He sighed into the kiss, thankful they could patch up after their first fight!
Cara instinctively knew where the kiss would lead them to and true to her thoughts, the kiss turned lingering and intense in no time. She grabbed hold of his head and kissed him back like a wild tigress, making him groan with need. Soon, they were tangled in each other’s arms on the giant sofa in the living room. Lost in his intense passion, Cara had no idea when they had taken off their clothes in a hurry. All she could feel was his feverishly hot body, wrapped around hers, his hard ere*tion waiting for a release, his burning kisses leaving a mark on her creamy soft skin.
“I missed you, mia Cara,” he rasped, his mouth releasing her brea*ts and trailing downwards. Cara was lost in the pleasures his touch was invoking. Just like always, she melted perfectly into him. Soon he ripped off the packet of protection and pulled it over his throbbing shaft. Plunging into her, he made love to her with back-to-back two earth-shattering climaxes. Cara was totally drained. Marcus gave her time to regain her energy and then ushered her to the bedroom.
“Get ready. We’ll leave in a few minutes.” He strode out of the room to give her some time to get ready. Cara quickly packed up their necessities for two nights and was ready in half an hour. Marcus was ready in five minutes and they locked the house up and climbed into Marcus’s car, ready for their first visit home, together as a couple. Only Cara knew the truth that they weren’t anything close.
“Don’t say a word about the art project we’re doing.” Cara nodded, she knew it already.
“I know.” Cara looked out of the window, wondering how she would ward off Vera and aunt Maggie’s curiosity. They were bound to ask embarrassing questions seeing the two of them together. There was no point in telling Marcus to avoid giving them false hopes as he would do what he pleased.
“I’ve ordered their gifts. They will be delivered tomorrow.” Cara nodded again, a sense of dejection coursing through her. She just didn’t want to raise their hopes at home about Marcus and herself. In another six months, Marcus would move on to another project and he wouldn’t need her services anymore. She would have to find work again.
“Please don’t go overboard with gifts, Marcus. I wouldn’t be able to maintain it every year. They are used to getting a book or a tee-shirt so let’s just keep it to that, please,” she told him. Marcus stared ahead with a grim expression on his face, silently driving towards her home. He understood perfectly what she was trying to say. She was already thinking of her life without him in it. His heart constricted at the thought and he felt like an outsider to her and her family.
“I’ve already paid for everything. It cannot be undone.”
They reached her house and he parked the car. The door flew open and her siblings ran out to greet them. “We knew you were planning something to surprise us, Cara. We knew you would surely come,” said an excited Adam.
“Will you stay, Cara?” asked Vera, eyeing the luggage in Marcus’s hand.
“Yes, till Sunday,” said Cara with a happy smile on her face. The children all hugged her with excitement.
“It’s the best birthday gift ever!” said Liam. Marcus stood watching them interact with Cara and realized just how much they might have missed her. He could relate to their feelings since he missed her even when she left for college! Vera released her sister and walked up to Marcus.
“Hi, Marcus! I thought you forgot about our friendship,” she said shyly. Marcus smiled and leaned down to her level.
“I don’t have any friends apart from you three here. So it’s impossible for me to forget you.”
“You don’t come to see us at all!” complained Vera, making Marcus feel a little guilty.
“I’m sorry, cupcake. I’ll try to come often.” Vera seemed pleased with his reply and caught hold of his hand, pulling him inside.
“Will you stay tonight, Marcus?” asked Adam, staring at him expectantly as they all went inside.
“I can stay till Sunday if you want me to,” said Marcus with a twinkle in his eye. The children started chattering excitedly all at once. Of course, they wanted him to stay. Joe Smithfield and his wife came forward to welcome them. Aunt Maggie looked ecstatic after knowing that Cara and Marcus would finally spend some time with them. One look at her and Cara knew that she was bursting with curiosity to know about the status of their relationship. Maybe she already considered them to be a couple!
“Why don’t you occupy your old room, Cara? I’ll clean the guest room for Mr. Donnelly,” she said eagerly.
“No need, Mrs. Smithfield. I can share with Cara,” said Marcus, making Vera’s eyes pop out and connect to aunt Maggie’s. Cara noted the look they shared and blushed knowing that she can never evade their questions now.
“Right. Cara, you can deposit your luggage in your room and join us for dinner,” said Aunt Maggie with an excited gleam in her eyes. Cara nodded shyly and asked Marcus for the bag but he shook his head, refusing to hand it over to her.
“It’s heavy. Just lead the way to your room,” he said, making aunt Maggie and Vera share another look between them. Cara walked into her room and Marcus followed her inside and closed the door.
“Why are you closing the door? What will they think of us?” she scolded him. Marcus shrugged and kept the bag down.
“Let them think what they want to. I want a kiss first, before dinner.” Cara gasped at his impossible demand.
“No, Marcus. They can hear us outside.” But he wasn’t in the mood to listen and just leaned forward and claimed her lips in a smoldering kiss. Satisfied, at last, he opened the door and walked out to the dining room with Cara trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She rushed to the washroom to splash some water on her face not wanting to face her family looking thoroughly kissed.
Later at the dinner table, she could feel the curiosity bubbling inside each and every one of them but she preferred to ignore it. They discussed the birthday celebrations as Liam and Adam hated surprise parties. It would be a simple celebration in the sprawling backyard of their house with a few close friends of the twins who have been invited.
“We can go out to dinner, you know, like an extended celebration,” suggested Marcus, making the boys jump with excitement.
“Wow! That would be fantastic!” said Liam.
“What’s the need, Marcus?” scolded Cara.
“It’s my treat to my friends. So don’t interfere, mia Cara,” he murmured softly, leaning towards her. Her eyes flew towards aunt Maggie who was left awestruck by their interaction.
“Wow! That’s such a beautiful name! What does it mean?” asked Vera before Cara could say a word.
“Why don’t you find out and tell me?” asked Marcus. So after dinner, they watched a short movie and Marcus treated them to ice cream. In fact, even uncle Joe and aunt Maggie enjoyed the movie and ice cream with them. Cara was stunned to see the way her family warmed up to him, although he hardly ever visited them. It was late when they fell asleep, cuddled with each other. Thankfully, he didn’t try anything with the children in the next room.
The next day was the most enjoyable one for the twins. Since morning, the gifts started pouring in. It seemed Marcus had again gone overboard with gifts as, after every few hours, something or the other was being delivered for the children. Not only did Adam and Liam receive gifts, Vera too was surprised to find gifts for herself amongst theirs. They thanked Marcus again and again and it seemed he had already become a hot favorite with them.
In the evening, he treated them to a cozy dinner and they returned to complete the movie from the previous night. More ice creams followed. Finally the next day, it was time to take leave and the children looked dejected.
“When will you come again?” they asked Cara, clinging to her.
“Soon, I’ll come soon.”
“Will you bring Marcus too?” asked Vera. Cara sighed knowing that Marcus wouldn’t be there in her life for long.
“I’ll try.”
For the next seven months, Cara was too busy to go home. At last, her final semester at college was over and she completed her course and bade goodbye to Suffolk forever. Marcus was also busy as his art series was complete and he was just giving finishing touches to the entire collection. Despite everything Marcus never left her in her free time and the physical intimacy they shared became more overwhelming and intense than ever before. It was as if they were trying to get the most out of each other within the limited time they had left with one another. Cara dreaded the day he would terminate her work as his art model and set her free.