Chapter 21
Throughout the night, they had countless injuries to treat and Grace was exhausted by the time they were finished. Though that was quickly denied when both Mark and Glen stumbled in, Glen looking like he wanted to kill his brother. Grace decided not to get involved, glad Larry was taking over Mark's injury, and grabbed Glen's hand, seeing blood on his arm. It was a nasty gash.
"Come on." She whispered, gently guiding him down, smiling as she snapped on a pair of gloves, and treated him. He was done in no time flat and Grace knew these were the last two Superstars. "I'll meet you in the parking lot." She quietly told him, knowing she still had to clean her area up, and sighed when he stood still at the door. "Glen..." She groaned and went to do her cleanup, shaking her head. All these overprotective men were going to DRIVE HER MAD.
"Glen...what the hell did you do to this?"
"Opened it up a bit. He bled good."
'Taker snorted, eyes on Grace as Larry stitched him up.
"You have blood all over your-" Larry looked grossed up when 'Taker licked his lips. "Face."
"Yeah because he's a moron who should've listened when we told him to get stitched up when Ken Shamrock attacked him earlier." Grace snorted right back, raising an eyebrow when Mark glared at her. "Being a 'wanna-be' doctor, I know what I'm talking about. You're going to need staples." She smirked when Larry confirmed it. "So it looks like you'll be leaving here with more than you bargained for Mark, congratulations."
"Until you know more about the business, Gracie, I'd shut the hell up if I were you."
"Did the photographers get some good shots?" Larry asked, quick to break up a fight.
"They had better of, I'm not slicing myself for them."
Glen just sighed.
"Yeah, I'm really scared. Mark, honestly, grow up. Let's go Glen. Happy stapling!" She walked out, looking disgusted, refusing to back down from him. "Glen don't okay?"
She was not in the mood for overprotective men and it showed. She was thoroughly annoyed and wanted a hot bath and bed. That sounded like heaven on earth and she was getting tired of Mark not leaving her alone, always taunting her with something or another. She made a mistake by rekindling his memories, but enough was enough.
"Actually...I was going to tell you he had a point." Glen said wearily. "He had something that'd make the fight even better and used it." One thing he would give his brother credit for was he knew how to sell a match and took every advantage he had. "I'll meet you back at the hotel, Grace." He said softly, walking in the other direction.
Once back at the hotel, Grace walked inside her room and immediately shed her clothes before jumping in the bathtub, the door closed. She leaned her head back against the tub and felt the tears slide down her cheeks. Grace was considering giving her resignation to the WWF, not knowing how much more she could take. It tore her apart every time she looked at Mark. Sniffling, Grace wiped her tears away and took a sip of her wine, having gotten a bottle on the way to the hotel. She loved him. She loved him more than Glen because they'd been closer as kids. Sighing, her eyes closed as she soaked in the hot water, trying to wash away everything that had happened.
As usual, he had followed her, pleased to find for once her loyal dog Kane hadn't gone with her. He let himself into the hotel room with the key card he had charmingly convinced the desk clerk to hand over, looking around the room, his eyes narrowing when he heard water splashing in the bathroom. Smirking, he pulled off his shirt.
Grace turned the water back on, having let some out to warm it back up, and shut it off again as she sipped more of her wine, sighing. She already washed her hair and body, letting out a loud yawn before standing up and stepping out. She wrapped a towel around her body, her glass empty, and stared in the mirror, seeing her eyes were red rimmed and swollen. Raking a hand through her hair, Grace ran the water in the sink and brushed her teeth before doing her hair, splashing cold water on her face, and dried her face off. She stepped out into the dark room, having forgotten to turn the light on, and sat on the bed, putting her head in her hands. Glen wasn't back yet, lord knew what that man was doing, maybe giving her the privacy he knew she needed. She didn't know, hoping he was alright.
He was already on the bed, surprised she hadn't noticed him. Given how Grace was usually a very observant person he had been waiting for her to start screaming at him. In a matter of seconds, he was sitting behind her, his legs on either side of hers, arms wrapped around her midsection, her own arms trapped, as usual. He still wasn't letting her paralyze him.
"You smell delicious." He purred in her ear.
"Let go of me right now." She ordered gravely, trying to break free, only for him to tighten his hold. His hot breath on her ear sent a tingle down her spine as Grace tried ignoring it, tears swelling in her eyes. "Mark I mean it, I said let go of me. Glen will be back soon." She heard him chuckle darkly and knew he had done something to him, biting her bottom lip, and closed her eyes as the tears trickled down her cheeks. He wasn't going to let her go, he was going to torment her to the point where she would break completely down.
"Not soon enough." 'Taker murmured, kissing her shoulder gently, his goatee tickling her bare skin. "I want you, Grace." He whispered, his tongue flicking out to taste her, inhaling her fresh, clean, entirely too wholesome scent and groaned. "God, do I want you." His thumbs massaged circles on her arms, tightening his hold on her.
"I don't want you, Mark." She whispered, shuddering against him as both fear and desire coursed through body. "I'm not having sex with you." Her tone was final as she tried getting away from him, wincing when he tightened his hold even more. Damned if his tongue didn't feel like heaven against her though. He was lighting her body on fire, forcing her into submission. That's what he did. He took what he wanted regardless. "Whatever you decide to do tonight, just know that my body might want you, but my brain and heart don't." She stated through gritted teeth, clenching her fists tightly, shrugging her shoulder away from him. The body could only deal with so much before it finally gave in, Grace knew that.
"I'll have it all, Grace." He murmured, kissing his way up to her ear. "I've loved you since we were kids." He confessed, his voice a silk caress rolling over her. "I loved you then and I love you now." As much as he could anyway. "Tell me you don't love me." He demanded, his voice almost angry, daring her to deny it.
More tears spilled down her cheeks as she closed her eyes tightly shut, knowing she couldn't deny it even if her life depended on it. "You have a funny way of showing you love me with all you've done." She said softly, feeling his lips and tongue caress the spot just beneath her earlobe, sending a shiver throughout her body. "And you already know I do. I can't stop, no matter what you've done." She lowered her head in shame only for him to pull her back, her head resting on his shoulder while he continued the assault on her neck. She prayed this wasn't another mind game and that just caused more tears to fall, her stomach twisting violently, though she wasn't fighting against him anymore.
He heard and felt her tears, looking down at her in the darkness. "Why are you crying, Grace?" 'Taker murmured, bending down to kiss them away, his tongue darting out to catch the fresh ones that spilled from her beautiful eyes, amber orbs that haunted his dreams on a nightly basis. "I haven't hurt you now have I?"
"Not physically, but mentally you have. How do I know you're not saying all of this just to get me into bed, Mark? I should hate you for what you've done, but I can't. I missed you so much, I thought you were gone and mourned over you for years. I never...I never thought I'd see you again. I thought my best friend was dead and he is to an extent, but it's still you. You're here and no matter what has happened, I can't stop being grateful. I can't stop." She whispered almost painfully, feeling him turn her around to where she was now straddling his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent, closing her eyes as the tears slowly subsided.
He was more then aware she could very easily paralyze him, but risked it anyway. "If I just wanted you Grace, I would have taken you without telling you I love you." 'Taker said evenly, his voice low and calm. "This isn't a game, Grace. It never was. I want you." He repeated. "What do I do to prove that to you? To prove this isn't me playing you for a fool?"
She slowly pulled back to stare into his green eyes, seeing them glowing in the darkness and searched them, somehow seeing her Mark through the acid pools. No matter what he'd done to both her and Glen, Grace couldn't stop loving the man before her. "I love you too, Mark." She murmured softly and cupped his face in her hands, passionately kissing him, pouring every feeling she felt for him into it. His lips felt wonderful against hers, soft, and Grace felt her heart begin to beat rapidly inside her chest, still not believing this was really happening. He could use this against her and she knew it, but she also couldn't run from the truth or from him any longer.
Groaning, he pulled his lips away from her, knowing he would regret it later when he was standing in a cold shower jerking himself off. "Grace...I want you." He whispered, his voice pained. "But I also want to prove to you this isn't a game or me trying to just have sex with you." Not to mention Kane was due back soon he'd imagine and that wouldn't go down well.
That was all the proof she needed, hearing those words come from his mouth, but nodded, her lips swollen from the kiss. "Alright." She whispered, pressing her forehead against his, her hands resting gently on his shoulders and had to learn how to breathe again. "You came here just to tell me that?" She asked once her breathing was somewhat normal, running the pad of her thumb over his soft red lips when he nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Thank you." She kissed him again and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close, her eyes closing, never wanting to let him go again.
At first he was very uncomfortable with her hugging him, it seemed she was a hugging person and he could remember Grace always being like that. It was so weird, trying to adjust with all these memories that conflicted with what he had known for a fact. But then he relaxed, returning the hug before pulling away, getting out of the bed. He retrieved his shirt, smirking when she arched an eyebrow. "Behave."
Her eyes couldn't stop from raking over him, watching every muscle strain and contract, flex with every movement. Grace knew the body and Mark had muscle in places she didn't think were possible. He was chiseled to stone, just like Glen, they were truly brothers. "Always." She softly replied, grabbing his hand before he could walk out, those amber eyes pleading with him to tell her the truth "What did you do to Glen?" She took a deep breath. "I'm not interfering, I just want to know, Mark." She knew he hated that she defended Glen, but that's how it had always been and always would be, no matter what happened between them.
His eyes instantly became guarded, not entirely sure if he understood her. "What do you mean?" He asked gruffly. "When we fought tonight or the fire?" She needed to be a bit more specific. He had harmed Glen several times during the past few years.
"Tonight, before you came here." She answered, refusing to even talk about the fire with him. Grace didn't want to know anything about that, though she couldn't imagine Mark setting the fire either. Sighing, she stood up, pressing her hand against his chest, her amber eyes showing him she was just concerned. "Whatever happened in the past is the past. We can't change it. I just want to know about the here and now, alright?"
"Fair enough. And we had a match tonight. I injured him accordingly." He said it like it wasn't a big deal and to him it wasn't. All his opponents knew when they got in the ring with the Undertaker there was nothing fake about him or the way he wrestled. Someone was going home with a headache, plain fact of life. "He was scripted to lose and he lost."
"No, not that." Grace sighed and raked a hand through her hair in frustration, walking away from him. "I meant AFTER that. When I left the arena, Glen told me he'd meet me here." She knew very well the matches were scripted, for the most part, though that didn't make the moves they did any less dangerous. "You told me he wouldn't be here soon enough, did you attack him or anything after I left the arena after Larry patched you up?" She seen the bandage on his eyebrow, having pressed a soft kiss to it in their tender moment. "Just please tell me so I know what to expect when he comes here."
"Ohhh...No, I didn't touch him. I did however ask a favor from Ryan." He looked pleased with himself, green eyes glittering. "To the best of my knowledge, Kane has yet to experience a woman's touch because he's ashamed of his body. Ryan is playing decoy for me. I would imagine he'll be returning shortly, unharmed and still probably with his virgin status."
"He shouldn't be. He should wear those scars like badges of honor." She replied softly, sighing with relief as she sank down on the bed, confusion coming over her face.
What had come over Mark? He was being...civil to her, but how long would it last? Would he only act this way toward her when they were alone? He would have to prove himself, he'd been right. So much had happened, Grace couldn't fully trust him, no matter how much she loved him. She closed her eyes briefly and prayed this wasn't another mind game, not sure if she'd be able to take it.
"Have you even seen him without the mask?" He asked incredulously. "He looks like..." 'Taker trailed off, seeing the expression on her face. "He'll be returning to you shortly. I'm leaving before he comes back. He wouldn't be happy to find me here, with you, alone." He had to smirk evilly, just imagining the expression on his brother's face.
"Okay." She whispered, putting her head in her hands, the tears falling down her face again.
She didn't care what Glen looked like, she loved him regardless and any woman would be lucky to have him. This whole turn around was throwing her for a loop though and Grace didn't know how to lose it. Maybe this was a dream, something she could only hope to happen. He had said he would prove himself, how was that possible when he made cracks like that? She sighed heavily and stood up from the bed, grabbing a pale blue nightgown out of her bag. It was her last one, laundry was definitely on her list of priorities tomorrow.
"Grace..." He sighed when those piercing amber eyes met his. "Do not expect me to revert to the Mark you know, he is gone. I love you, but I am not that boy you once knew. Understand that." He walked out of the room, leaving her with that thought. His own mind was swirling. He knew he could have taken her and she would have given herself willingly to him, but he wanted it all...and he would have it.
That was the truth in every way and she knew it, wiping her tears away. Hell, she only knew him as the little boy. People changed, her included. Taking a deep breath, Grace slipped the pale blue nightgown on with her garments and slid into bed, closing her eyes. She inhaled the pillow and smiled, smelling his scent and instantly drifted off to sleep.