It's not until after Natalie's eighteenth birthday that she and Chuck decide to give dating a try. He says he refuses to be mushy, gushy in public and she refuses to ever hear him say the words 'mushy, gushy' again. After her flings with Carter and Dan for the past few years, she can only go up from there.

It's a month into the relationship when he discovers that she's branded her body without telling him. It's a tattoo of 'viere, ridere, amara'. He's confused at first an his mind travels back to the Italian lessons his father had paid before when he was eight. His fingers trace over it as she sleeps. When she awoke the next morning she was on her stomach and he had his laptop in front of him. "Working, already?" She asks curiously. Natalie moves to turn over but his large hand on her shoulder keeps in her place as he looks along the side of her ribcage.

"Live, laugh, love. You got three words branded into your skin and all the say is that? If you're gonna get marked at least do it in the appropriate way." He leans over and bites down on her shoulder and she cries out and slaps and waves her arms until he rolls off of her.

"What the hell was that for?" Natalie asked as she massages the spot he bit onto.

"Don't mark yourself unless it's by me. Not that it isn't tasteful but perhaps I can show you how I leave my mark."

"Ugh, go back to bed. It's only seven" This is the first and last time that Chuck is ever refused 'Wake Up Sex'. The next morning he pushes into her so suddenly that she instantly snaps awake. After he fucks her and leaves her wanting more, he rolls over onto his side and replys with

"Go back to bed..It's only sex."

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