Kintsugi

Chapter 14

John locked eyes with Marlena as soon as he entered the loft. Coming home was such a pleasant experience in the last two months. His home smelled of Marlena, and he wanted his home to always smell like her. They both gazed on each other for a moment before speaking simultaneously.

"I'm not a priest."

"Kristen came by."

Both were silent for a moment while they processed what the other said, and again spoke at the same time.

"Why was Kristen here?"

"You're not a priest?"

"I am not a priest," he said walking towards her like he was stalking prey. "I never was, and I never will be," he said reaching for her, and pulling her body into his so hard that she gasped out loud. His fingers traced over her lips, and he was looking at her as if he would consume her.

"Huh. Not a priest," she said smiling up at him.

"...and I've got plans for us, Doc. Big plans. Go pack a bag for a few days, we're going out to Smith Island," John told her, kissing the tip of her nose quickly, before stepping back, to prevent himself from taking her right there on the couch.

"Don't you need to pack a bag?" she asked.

"I'm a step ahead of you, baby. It's in the car," he told her with a sassy smirk. Grabbing her shoulders, and turning her towards the stairs, John smacked her ass, and said, "Now go."

Marlena threw her head back laughing, and said over her shoulder, "Stop teasing me!"

"Teasing? Doc, I'll smack your ass as much as you want. There's more where that came from. Now, hurry up," he said, turning to walk into the kitchen, and get himself a glass of water.

John noticed the leather bound book out of the corner of his eye, and immediately knew what it was. Marlena had said that Kristen came by, now he knew why. He looked at it, tempted to start reading, but decided to wait. He and Marlena, they were going to do this together. He instinctively knew she had waited for him.

John knew it was going to be hard to deal with. Gabe had warned Marlena that he would struggle to accept it as the truth. It was almost kismet that Kristen brought it by today, when he planned to whisk Marlena away for three days to an uninhabited island. Whatever was in it, processing that, and digesting the truths that lay inside, were best done with the woman he loved, in private. Snatching up the journal, John ran up the stairs to make sure that Marlena put it in her bag, because he wanted to make sure they brought it along.

The sound of water hit his ears when he reached the top of the stairs, drawing him closer to the bedroom they shared. Placing the journal on top of Marlena's things in her bag, John treaded softly towards the bathroom. Even with steam filling the air, John could still see the blurry outline of Marlena's naked body through the glass door. Water streamed down over her breasts and curvy hips, causing John's cock to begin hardening with merely the thought of burying himself in her heat. He was hit again with the fantasy he used to have about Marlena in his shower, and he moaned out loud. Marlena looked up at him, not completely surprised to find him watching her.

"Doc, you are so absolutely gorgeous," he said roughly.

"I just wanted to wash up, before we left," she said over her shoulder. Pausing for a moment, and thinking about John's fantasy of her in the shower, she finally whispered, "I might need help washing my back..."

"Do you? I could probably help with that," he rasped, barely able to speak, because his throat was so thick with arousal.

"Your clothes will get wet, so you'll have to take them off, I think," she said with a smile.