<em>~Marcus and Mila in the sitting room after lunch on the second day, played over IM~</em><br/><br/>Marcus sat on the couch of the Great Room, his gaze following the movements of Mari as she strolled across the room and disappeared through a door.  The soft sway of her hips had mesmerized him momentarily but the spell was shattered with the closing of the door and he slowly came back to his senses, well aware that he had another beautiful woman with him that deserved his attention now.  Turning slowly, he gave Mila a smile that he hoped was alluring.  "I think we're alone now" he said, voice low and breathy, "and I'm rather glad for that."  Sitting on the couch with her, their first time alone together, had his heart beating a little faster and he didn't want to say or doing anything stupid.<br/><br/>She smiled at him, suddenly feeling a little bashful at being alone with him.  But she shook that off.  This was Marcus.  He was the one who'd let her hold his hand when things got tense the night before.  So she took a breath and relaxed, turning to face him on the sofa.  "I am, too.  It's nice to have a few minutes alone, isn't it?"<br/><br/>Seeing her relax a little helped him do the same and Marcus shifted on the couch to face her more, his hands resting lightly in his lap.  "Oh, most definitely" he said, letting his gaze wander over her frame discreetly.  "All of this.." he swept a hand to encompass the castle as a whole "..has been a bit overwhelming, at least for me, but I think we're handling it pretty well.<br/><br/>She smiled and nodded.  "Yeah, definitely overwhelming.  I snuck into the diary room this morning before we even had breakfast and did my video confessional thing.  It kind of helped, you know?  Just to talk about this a little?"  She laughed a little nervously, feeling silly for making such and admission.  "And this castle... I have to admit, Marcus, that I'm completely in over my head here.  I'm not even sure why they chose me for this.  Living like this is so foreign to me."<br/><br/>He listened intently as Mila spoke, letting the words slide into his mind where he could roll them over and digest them.  This was dangerous territory for him after all. He couldn't let on that he knew exactly why she'd been chosen, that she was here because he'd picked her, and he couldn't act like he wasn't just as nervous as her.  The latter was at least a little easier for him because, despite planning this experiment and pickings its members, he was nervous, more nervous than he thought was possible.  Gathering his thoughts he nodded.  "Talking definitely helps with anything stressful, at least in my opinion.  I haven't done my diary yet but I know I will later."<br/><br/>She nodded.  "Marcus, I have to thank you.  For your support last night at dinner.  It was nice to have it."  The whole debacle with Vince and Bo replayed in her head.  "Bo ... I think he has a very wrong idea of who I am, and his rebuke kind of hit me hard.  I grabbed your hand hoping it would be okay.  Thank you."<br/><br/>Her words, and the emotion behind them, drew a smile from him and he nodded.  "You don't have to thank me Mila" he said, studying her.  "I did what I would have done for any friend and, though we've only each other for less than a day, I do consider you a friend."  Reaching out, he took her hand again, dragging it into lap where his fingers played across it.  He glanced off to the side, taking in the room around then and nodded.  "Bo...well, Bo has had a hard adult life I think.  The military, it changes people, at least those that do the kinds of missions he did."  He thought back to Bo's earlier words, about the role he played in the military, and knew he wasn't giving anything away that she didn't already know.  "I don't think he meant as a rebuke, just an observation in general."<br/><br/>She nodded, drawing comfort once again from Marcus' touch.  Would it always be that way with them, she wondered?  Would he be the one she turned to in the house when she was hurting and needed to be soothed?  It felt selfish and one-sided, and she endeavored to return the friendship Marcus offered.  Her smile brightened, and she said, "I think I'll enjoy being your friend very much, Marcus."<br/><br/>Turning back to face her, he glanced down at their hands and then up to her face, and grinned.  "I already know I'm going to enjoy being your friend, Mila" he said as he curled his fingers around hers and gave it a light squeeze.  "You mentioned the castle earlier and how you weren't used to living like this. Maybe thinking of it as a fantasy would help.  When you were a little girl, I'm sure you played make believe.  Just think of this hunk of rock as you fairy castle, where you're pampered and loved."  He gave her a soft smile, already envisioning how he could pamper her.<br/><br/>She looked at his hand and how it looked against her own, getting lost in his fantasy.  Again, Marcus was proving to be her rock, putting easily into perspective what so terrified her before.  What had itimidated her was how much work it seemed like it would be, but she wasn't alone in that, was she?  She had Nicci and Mari, and they would all support each other.  And David, Bo, and Marcus, too.  They would fall into a groove together, and they would do for each other exactly what Marcus described.  Pamper and love, in a fairytale of a castle.  Looking into his eyes, she said, her voice soft, "Is that how you see this place?  A place of a boy's childhood fancies, wearing armor and fighting dragons?"  Her laughter was light when she added, "It would be my honor to pamper and love you."<br/><br/>The image her words brought to his mind caused him to drift for a moment but then he smiled and nodded.  "Oh yes, this castle makes me think exactly like that.  I'm a knight around King Arthur's round table, sworn to protect and to serve.  Dragons are just one of the many things I fight in my quest for all that is good and pleasurable."  He smiled then, considering the second thing she had said, feeling the emotions behind them.  "That...." he started to say before his mouth dried up.  Swallowing hard, he blinked a few times, then tried again.  "That..sounds rather wonderful, Mila."  His fingers curled around hers more, intertwining them.  "It would be my honor to protect and love you in return."  They sounded like marriage vows and, in a way, he guessed they were.<br/><br/>The promise in his words filled her with warmth.  She could very easily see her falling in love with Marcus; perhaps part of her already was, here, in this room.  Although the thought was a little scary, it also felt...right.  That was the point of being here, right?  Accepting and loving these people as her family?  "I'm going to try to make it so that there isn't a lot of protection needed.  I have a feeling that being here is going to toughen me up," she said, her lips curving into a little smile.<br/><br/>Marcus nodding, liking the idea that Mila might become tougher inside.  Part of her appeal to him was her fragile nature but he knew she was strong of will and spirit and he wanted her to realize that also.  "I hope that you do" he murmured as he watched her through half-lidded eyes "but I will also be here if you need me.  And..perhaps...you'll fuel an old man's dreams and let me protect you even when you don't really need it occasionally."  He knew there were so many ways to protect a person - protection of the heart, mind, or body - and he enjoyed playing that role.  It spoke to his dominant nature.<br/><br/>"Old man?" she said, bursting into laughter at his unexpected words.  Marcus was not that much older than the rest of them.  And he certainly didn't move like an old man.  He moved like a man who took care of his body and took charge of those around him.  A wide smile on her face, she added, "You're far from decrepit.  Yes, Marcus, you can protect me."<br/><br/>Her laughter filled the room and made him smile.  It was wonderful to see her at ease and even moreso to know that it was his words that did it.  "Well, maybe decrepit is going to far but I definitely creak and most definitely groan...when in the company of the right person."  He grinned when he said the last part, letting her imagination do the rest.<br/><br/>She blinked at his words, images of the things that might make him groan flooding her.  He didn't know yet, as the girls had not shared their plan with the men, but tonight, she was probably going to be finding out.  Fire in her eyes, she said, "This is very forward of me, but I'm very much looking forward to discovering... those parts of you."  She'd tried it, to be as she imagined the other women would have been and said those words, but in the end, she'd pulled back.  She couldn't make herself say them.  Besides, it wasn't like he didn't know what she meant.<br/><br/>He saw the heat in her eyes and felt his own body respond, his blood flowing a little faster and his heart pounding a little louder.  The words she spoke added fuel to the fire, bringing his already heightened state of arousal up another notch.  "I think..." he said before pausing long enough to bring one of her hands up to his mouth so he could place a kiss against her knuckles "...I like it when you're forward, Mila."  He placed another kiss against her knuckles then turned her hand over and kissed her palm, his eyes rising to gaze at her as he did it.  Darting his tongue out, he teased her skin for a moment and then pulled away.  "I..have this...overwhelming urge to show you one part right now" he said as he slowly scooted closer to her on the couch.<br/><br/>In that moment, as his words and actions seduced, she knew that had it not been for the pact that she'd made with Nicci and Mari to have their first time together, she would have happily gone to bed with Marcus now instead of waiting.  Already her skin was flushed with arousal, her nipples pebbled and needy for his touch.  She responded to everything about Marcus; the way he led with a gentle hand, how sexy and handsome he was, and how he treated her and the others in the house, with respect and caring.  That was it, more than anything else.  She loved how he treated her and Mari and Nicci.  She loved the fire in eyes when he looked at any of them, like they all belonged to him and he'd go to any length to protect and care for what was his.  "I like being forward with you," she responded, and leaned in, brushing her lips against his in yet another brash, very un-Mila move.<br/><br/>He had been the one with the idea but it was Mila that made the first move; it surprised and delighted him and he did the only thing he could...he rolled with it.  His body closed the distance between them at the same time his hand released hers and moved, winding into her hair.  The first kiss was soft and tender but then he broke it off to whisper against her lips.  "It's my turn now" he said, his voice husky and low and with those words, his fingers tightened in her hair just enough to pull her forward again, where his lips claimed hers in a more intense, heated kiss than the first.<br/><br/>The command in his words and the slight tugging at her hair made her breathing quicken.    God, it had been so long since she'd had this is her life, a man who controlled her body for his pleasure and hers.  It was a part of who she was, something she needed.  She kissed back, feeling the intensity within Marcus and responding to it in kind, her lips hungry against his.  Her hands clutched at his shoulderblades, little fingernails digging into his shirt.<br/><br/>Feeling Mila respond to kiss brought joy to Marcus's heart and he deepened it further, his tongue nudging at her lips, seeking entrance.  This moment, this thing that was occurring between them, was something that he couldn't have fought if he had wanted too and he most definitely did not want it to stop.  The hand that didn't have her hair wrapped around her waist, holding her there while he kissed her, his lips devouring hers as passion boiled over.<br/><br/>Mila's lips parted, allowing Marcus' tongue to delve into her mouth.  He tasted sweet, like the cookies they'd had at lunch.  He tightened his grip on her, holding her in place while they explored each other's mouths in a way they hadn't been ready to the evening before, in Mari's room.  She wanted him, and her body longed to break the pact with the girls, to ask him for more, but she didn't, instead only letting him guide their kiss.<br/><br/>He wanted to make it last, to give her something to remember him by, but he still had to breath at the same time so it was with great reluctance that Marcus broke the kiss.  Sucking in a lungful of air, he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, concentrating on controlling his breathing and restarting his heart.  "Holy..." he started to say before remembering his manners and stopping himself.  Taking another deep breath, he unwound his fingers from her hair and pulled away to run them over her cheeks tenderly.  The desire to do more than kiss was strong but he resisted it, not wanting to scare her away.  Instead he graced her with a small smile and blinked.  "That....that was indescribable" he finally murmured, his gaze locking with hers.<br/><br/>As their kiss finally broke, she was as breathless as he was, panting to catch her breath.  Her sex felt needy for him, damp with desire and arousal, and she had to remind herself that it was good that they'd stopped before they went too far.  As he looked into her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitched. "Yes," she said, her lips curving into a small smile, "that it was."<br/><br/>Closing his eyes for a moment, Marcus replayed the kiss in his mind for a moment before opening them and studying Mila.  This beautiful, quiet, shy woman had just kissed him in a way that had blown his mind and he was still struggling with his body's urges.  "I....can't wait....to experience the rest of that" he whispered, his voice husky.  Dropping his hand back into his lap, he curled it against his pants, fighting the urge to touch her again.<br/><br/>This time with him was something she'd remember for the rest of her life, no matter where this experiment led, or how it ended.  Marcus was going to be special to her forever.  She could feel it in every bone of her body, just like she knew that about Marisol and Nicci.  Bo, she wasn't sure about yet, and she didn't know David well yet.  But the others?  Even if this didn't work out, they'd each stolen part of her heart, making it theirs.  "Me, too, Marcus," she admitted, the shyness with him seeming to have dissipated.  She pulled away a little as she heard footsteps in the hall.  Laughing softly, she said, "But maybe not right now."<br/><br/>He heard the movement also and was reminded that they weren't alone.  Grinning softly, he nodded.  "Another time then.  I look forward to it."  He put more distance between them, glancing up at the clock and noticing the time.  "Oh wow, time has flown.  I think maybe I need to make that Diary entry...now that I have something good to tell."  He grinned as she said that last part, teasing her a little bit.