(Many special thanks to longonenow2004 for his contributions, feedback and wonderful encouragement. Without him, this story would never have been written...)
Mark and I sat by the pool long into the night as we talked and learnt more about each other. The bottle of Cava was replaced by another and it was very late when we finally made our way up to the bedroom and cuddled up together in Mark's huge bed. We were both so tired, emotionally and physically, and sleep came quickly.
In the morning we woke and made love with an intensity that I wouldn't have thought possible. The tenderness between us was so clear and we took each other to new heights of ecstasy as we stroked, kissed and explored each other's bodies.
Mark dropped me back off at my villa after breakfast and I sat for a long while on the terrace trying to write but just staring into space and reliving the last couple of days. I knew now that what I felt for Mark was beyond physical lust and I dreaded having my heart broken all over again. Part of me was angry that I had fallen so quickly and deeply, but I wouldn't have missed out on the experience for anything.
Mark was going to be tied up at the hospital for the next couple of days and I was determined to catch up with some work. My future career depended on the work I was doing in Mallorca and I wasn't about to jeopardise that for Mark, no matter how strongly I felt about him.
I drove over to a vineyard near the large town of Inca and tasted more wines, stocking up the small Ford with bottles to have shipped home. The heat was intense in the afternoon and I adopted the Spanish habit of a siesta, snoozing underneath a shady tree in the garden for a couple of hours before resuming my writing in the cool of the evening.
On the second day, I could bear the heat no longer and retreated into the relative coolness of the villa for a lie down. I undressed and lay on the bed, the fan above my head the only sound as I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts full of Mark and the way he had taken me to such heights of pleasure.
I must have gone straight into a dream and my brain tricked me into thinking Mark was with me. He was beneath me again and I was astride him, rising up and down slowly, our eyes meeting as we enjoyed the feeling of our bodies slotted together like a well-made jigsaw. The dream was so vivid and I awoke in a state of arousal, my fingers finding their way to my damp pussy and stroking my lips. Mark's face was etched into my memory as I imagined him doing that to me. I cried out and opened my legs wider as I slowly rubbed my clit, a small moan escaping from my parted lips as the feeling of pleasure intensified. I turned over onto my front and pressed myself against the bed, the feeling of need inside me so bad that tears sprang to my eyes. Oh, how I wished Mark was with me now and how badly I wanted to feel his body next to mine. I continued to rub my swollen clitoris until I could feel the inevitable orgasm build and grow within me.
Turning back over I gasped in shock as I saw Mark standing in the doorway, a look of lust and desire making his brown eyes appear almost black.
"Don't stop, Janie," he urged as he stared at me. "You look so beautiful like that."
The surprise of seeing him standing there made me come straight away and I cried out as he came to me and took me in his arms. We held each other tightly and I just hoped that I was awake and not still in my dream.
"How long have you been here?" I eventually asked, as he pulled away to look at me.
"Since you were grinding yourself into the bed!" he laughed and kissed me on the tip of my nose.
"Can I do something for you?" I asked and smiled up at him. "I really missed you, you know."
"And I missed you so much, too. But I need to talk to you and I really need a clear head right now."
I felt that feeling of fear in my stomach again and got up, hastily pulling on my robe as Mark made his way through to the living room of the villa. He took a bottle of whisky from the cabinet and poured us two large measures, handing me mine with a serious look on his face.
"What's up?" I almost whispered, dreading his words and the impact they would inevitably have on me.
"Janie, things have...um..." Mark faltered and I waited, anxiously twisting the glass around and around in my hand.
He looked at me and I was surprised at his uncharacteristic reluctance to tell me what the matter was.
"Mark, please tell me," I pleaded. "It can't be that bad, surely?"
"Anna is getting better now, she's out of intensive care and can go home at the end of this week. However..." he paused again and I took a sip of whisky, feeling the fiery liquid burning its way down to my stomach which was churning with nerves.
I waited and he went on. "The doctors have asked that she is looked after all the time and at the moment her son is quite happy to be with her."
I suddenly sensed what was coming and knew without a doubt that my blossoming relationship with Mark was about to come to an abrupt end. "We had a serious talk last night Janie. She wants us to start again."
I looked at him in shock as he turned away from me and gazed at the view of the mountains. I suddenly thought back to when I met him and how easily I had fallen for him. How easily I had succumbed to his charm and his personality.
"What are you going to do?" I whispered and sat down on the sofa, tears springing to my eyes.
Mark ran his fingers through his hair and continued to stare out of the window as if the answers to his problems lay on the slopes of the distant mountains.
"What can I do? Oh Janie, don't you think I've thought about this all night? Argued with myself, tried to think of so many ways I can extricate myself from Anna, but she's an old friend, I've known her for so long. I'm Godfather to her son for heaven's sake..."
"But do you want to resume your relationship with her? Do you love her?"
I had asked the question I'd been dreading and Mark hesitated. "I love her in the sense that she's a friend, but do I love her in a sexual way? No. I don't."
I breathed out and hope flickered. "What about me?"
Mark looked at me and our eyes met. The last few days had been so important to me and I knew that my feelings for Mark would deepen to real love if we were to continue seeing each other.
"I think that it would be very easy to fall in love with you, Janie," he answered. "But this has complicated matters so much. How can I turn my back on her now?"
"What about her parents? Can't they help? And even if you started again, your feelings would eventually show and she would be in the same position all over again, but worse!"
"Janie, Janie, oh God, I know! I've thought about this, but what the hell can I do? Leave her now and really make her feel abandoned?"
I got up and went slowly into the kitchen. I needed a glass of water and some time to think. The whisky was making my head spin and my thoughts were churning. I had a sudden desire to escape and get in my car and drive, but the whisky I had drank made that option impossible.
Taking my glass of water I went to sit on the terrace and stared at the sunlight glinting on the surface of the pool. Was I destined in life to make bad choices when it came to relationships? Did I go for men who I knew would eventually hurt me?
Mark came out and sat next to me. The expression on his face was terrible to see, all the light had gone from his eyes and he looked tired and drawn. He reached out to take my hand but I pulled away and turned my head so he couldn't see the tears that were forming in my eyes.
"I thought what we had was special, Mark," I said. "I know we have only just met but I imagined us keeping up some sort of relationship after I returned to the UK."
"I did, too. In fact I was planning on it. You are special to me, Janie, you know that. But this is something I hadn't expected. The timing is so bloody awful."
We sat in silence and I suddenly realised how late it was. My appetite had disappeared but I thought some food would help alleviate the queasiness I felt. "Can you stay for something to eat?" I asked and rose from my seat.
"Let me take you out. There's a good restaurant I know in the Port and it overlooks the sea. We can talk more and see if there's a way around this problem, hey?"
I shook my head. "I don't want to go out, Mark. I'll make us some dinner and then we can sit and talk here. Do you mind?"
Mark shook his head and I made my way into the small kitchen to make a salad and put a chicken into the oven. It felt so cosy to be making him a meal, the first I had ever cooked for him, but in such sad circumstances.
We hardly spoke over the meal, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My head was still in a whirl and afterwards as we sat with a bottle of red wine on the terrace watching the sun sink over the horizon, I asked Mark about his relationship with Anna.