Chapter 37

If tension could be solid, they would have had to cut through it with a chainsaw. Sighing, Mark let them into the hotel room and waited until she was inside before closing the door. Usually, in hotels, he never bothered with the secondary latch, knowing the doors automatically locked and the deadbolts were usually just… for paranoid people. Since getting with Alice, he had started using them. He was now one of the paranoid people. He crossed the room to the bar he insisted they have whenever they stayed at a hotel that offered them and fixed himself a whiskey on the rocks, raising the bottle at her.

"Want one, darlin'?" He knew he needed one, they were about to have a chit-chat.

"Sure." Alice kicked off her boots after unzipping them and padded over to stand next to him at the bar, taking the tumbler full of whiskey he handed her. She noticed Mark did drink frequently, every night after a show, and figured it was his way of mellowing out. "To your victory tonight and becoming the new WCW Tag Team champions with Glenn." She toasted, holding her tumbler up and clinked them together gently before downing the shot, the liquid burning down her throat.

It was a welcoming sensation considering what happened at the arena and the information she found out tonight. Mark poured her another one along with his, this one being sipped since it was a lot fuller than the previous shot. WCW, gross, but whatever, it did feel good to hold a championship again. Surprisingly, those had been few and far between in his career, which was just wrong in his opinion, but… he and McMahon were always on iffy terms it seemed. Right now, McMahon needed him, Austin had defected, and Mark was considered one of the locker room leaders, though… a lot of the boys had stopped coming to him for advice and helping with situations. He had a feeling that was because of Alice's constant presence, eventually, things would return to normal.

"All right, what's wrong?" He already knew, he wanted her to say it, or scream it at him if it worked for her.

"I'm not mad. I have no right or reason to be. It's your past and…there's no changing it."

Shrugging, Alice took a sip of her whiskey and walked over to stare out the window, seeing the lightning flashing in the distance as the rain began to fall. She felt him join her, standing directly behind her and looked down at her tumbler, furrowing her brows thoughtfully. The moment he touched her, Alice tried in vain not to tense up and failed, feeling his hands leave her instantly. He hadn't judged her with her past, so why was she doing the same thing to him? It was more of her judging herself, comparing her and Stephanie, than the actual judgment of him.

"When we watched the video together at the ranch…the Black Wedding…why didn't you tell me then? Or did it not cross your mind she may use this information against you by telling me?"

"Never crossed my mind to tell you because I don't think about it." Mark said honestly, shrugging even though she couldn't see it. "And Stephanie, all this time, had never mentioned it until now… so, I guess I just figured she was going to keep on being quiet about it." Weird that she hadn't said anything until recently; she must've really hated Alice and he snorted into his tumbler. "We did the storyline, and I kidnapped her, that part was real. Taking her the way I did, not scripted, and… it went from there." Miss McMahon had been innocent enough, not a virgin, but no expert in the bedroom. He had fixed that for her.

"Judging by the way she dug her nails into your chest earlier…I'm going to safely assume that was something that happened frequently between you two." It wasn't just a onetime deal between them. That made her gag and she had to swallow down the rest of her whiskey to get the rotten taste out of her mouth. "Sorry, that was out of line. I don't know what to think about this." Walking away from the window, she poured another tumbler full and handed the bottle to him since he needed a refill as well. "I just…have one question and I won't be able to sleep unless I ask it." Alice finally looked up at him, searching his eyes for something she didn't even know she was looking for. "If Stephanie is your type…if that's what you like…besides blondes, then what the hell are you doing with me? I'm nothing like her and I'm definitely not blonde, so what is it about me that you like? I mean besides the sex, which is fantastic and if that's all you like about me is sex, then I would really like to know, so we're on the same wavelength."

He listened to her intently, his mind rapidly catching up and he took another drink. She was having security issues and assuming way too much about him and his taste in women. "Alice, you are really overthinking this one." He said gently, not going to touch her again because she had made it quite clear she didn't want to be touched by him right now. "It's true, I've looked more at blondes, but… I've never been one to say no to a beautiful woman, regardless of her hair color, flat ass or not…" Well, he wasn't a fan of fake tits, but decided to keep that information to himself. "I'm with you, Red, for more than the sex. I wouldn't have been taking regular beatdowns or tryin' to help you out so much if it was just sex." He was not that desperate where he had to go to extraordinary lengths for pussy. "What's this really about, Alice?"

"I don't know. I'm having doubts, I guess. That bitch…"

Stephanie had done her job well tonight and Alice wanted to wrap her hair around her throat and strangle her with it. Now that her secret of being an ex-stripper was out, she had no idea what was going to happen. It was a lot to take in and she could not get the image of Stephanie clawing Mark out of her mind.

"I just want to make sure I'm what you want. Because you're what I want, Mark. And it's not because you saved me countless times from those assholes and it's not because of your wrestling persona either or the mind-blowing sex. When you hold me, I feel safe and you're the only man who can get me to laugh, even when I'm feeling at my worst. I feel completely comfortable with you, naked or not, which is a big deal to me." Nothing said complete trust and comfort than sharing a bowl of popcorn on a couch stark naked. "I haven't…I don't have a lot of experience in this department, because of my past, with relationships or flings or whatever this is. I'm out of my depth here…and I wanted to kill Stephanie for touching you tonight. I still do…"

He had been right, she was insecure and the thought of her being jealous… well, that kind of tickled him a bit. "Darlin', you have nothing to be jealous over, or concerned with, bank on that." Mark drained his last glass and grit his teeth, shaking his head. "Stephanie today is not the Stephanie of several years ago, she's… changed." A lot.

He was not taking the blame for that. Mark was going to assume she had always been a harpy in waiting and he had… just coaxed it forth a bit with a lot of help from Vince. He wrapped his arms around Alice, knowing this time she'd allow it.

"I'm with you because I want to be with you, Alice, don't doubt that."

Being enveloped in his arms, his strength and warmth, once again sent her heart racing rapidly, but it also relaxed her. It was a weird combination that surprisingly felt amazing. She couldn't help being jealous of Stephanie, not after finding out she'd been with Mark. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Mark enjoyed sex with the Princess more than her…a lowly stripper.

"Can I ask you something else?" She had set her empty tumbler down and looked up into his eyes, her arms remaining around him. He nodded, squeezing her to let her know she could ask him anything. "Does it bother you that I used to be a stripper?" She had dropped the bombshell on him and he didn't seem to mind, but then again maybe he did. Maybe it did bother him deep down and he hadn't said anything to spare her feelings.

He felt like Glenn, about to laugh at something that was completely inappropriate, and she looked so serious. Mark managed to swallow it down, knowing she was feeling insecure, vulnerable and he felt so… sad for her, wondering just what the hell. Where had his confident, fiery woman gone? Alice had thrown everything back in Stephanie's face, been so proud of her beautiful body when it was just them, and now… now it was like all that confidence had been stripped away. It was just a glimpse, he realized, of the damage she still carried around from her upbringing, the insecurities, the struggle to accept herself and her past warring with the mental abuse as well as physical she had likely suffered.

"Alice, I'm going to let you in on the worst kept secret in the business, all right?" When she nodded, he sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her with him. "Most of the women in the business have dabbled in being a stripper, or even porn, posing nude, whatever. It's not uncommon and no," He brushed his nose against her cheek. "It doesn't bother me." Kind of a turn-on, actually. Mark had toyed with the idea of installing a pole and some mirrors to see if she'd do some private dances for him, but… definitely not a good idea anytime soon.

She recalled Glenn saying something to that effect, but he hadn't elaborated on it and Alice hadn't thought much of it either. Mark was right; Torrie had dabbled in modeling and did some porn, though that was a secret she would take the grave regarding her friend. Torrie had been young, naïve and stupid, much like Alice with the stripping. Hearing Mark say her past didn't bother him made a wave of relief wash over her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, pulling back enough to look into his eyes and rested her forehead against his, cupping his face with her hand. "I let Stephanie get in my head and…I'll try not to let it happen again." Mark was with her because he wanted to be and had made that perfectly clear. "And here I thought you were with me just for my flexibility." Now the playfulness was back in her tone, her greys sparkling impishly as her hand glided up his t-shirt covered chest. He hadn't removed any clothing yet, not even his boots.

"Oh, don't get me wrong darlin', I love your flexibility." Mark rumbled, stifling down laughter as he gripped her by the waist and bent her backward, watching as she automatically moved into some messed up variation of a bridge. Flexible indeed. He bent down kissing his way up her abdomen before pulling Alice back up. "But that's not the reason why I'm with you. It's more… like a perk."

A very nice perk that he enjoyed immensely. He wouldn't doubt that Stephanie would be a big enough bitch to somehow throw the stripper thing out there for the world to know, just because she did hate Alice that much. However, that was not a problem for tonight.

"A perk, huh?"

Alice sat straddled on his lap now, knowing he was being completely truthful with her and it was one of the things she loved about him. His blunt honesty. Mark never pulled any punches or sugarcoated anything he felt or thought. If he didn't like something, he let that person know it. If he enjoyed something…well, he was a more of an action type of man, not that she minded. It was nice to hear him say he wanted to be with her, to voice it, because sometimes actions got lost in the shuffle.

"Maybe I'll give you a private show then and show you just how flexible I can be." The way his eyes clouded over and darkened took her breath away, her words having a major effect on him. "Would you like that, Deadman?"

It was like his current biggest wet dream on the verge of coming true and Mark felt like he needed to tread lightly, even though her eyes were sparkling, he knew he didn't need to. "Eventually, darlin'," He drawled, pleased with the tightness of his jeans right now because it was helping keep the blood flowing to his brain and not his cock. Evil, evil woman. Standing up, he took her with him, feeling her legs -those beautiful legs that had taken out the Dudley's- encircle his waist. "We're getting a very long shower." He informed her, a hand dropping down to squeeze her ass.

Stephanie, Shane, that fuckwit Page… all of it could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he had plans to erase all doubt and insecurities from his woman's mind. Mark planned on reassuring her with both actions and words just how much he wanted to be with her and only her.

This high, this addictive high she only experienced whenever Mark made love to her…nothing compared to it. Not even the adrenaline rush she felt in the ring in front of all the roaring fans. Mark was her drug; a delicious drug and she was completely hooked on him. Collapsing on top of him in a drenched heap, Mark had taken them out of the shower to finish the bout in bed. They'd already had a session in the shower, but Mark was determined to have more than one with her. She laughed breathlessly, the sound low and seductive while nuzzling his neck, trying to regain her breathing.

"I'm so proud of you." She whispered in his ear, snuggling against him and felt him shift them to where they lay side by side with her leg and thigh draped over his.

"I'm pretty proud of m'self," He mumbled, his palm running up and down her thigh, enjoying her weight on him, not that it was all that much. "Made you scream my name so many times, I lost count." Mark chuckled tiredly when she mockingly hit his chest, pretty sure he had bellowed hers out just as many, or gasped, not that he would ever admit to gasping. She had done him good. "Okay, why are you proud of me, Red?" Now curiosity tinged his tone as he stared down into her rosy face, smiling at the sight of her.

She looked beautiful, and she was beaming, though he could tell he had worn her out as well. Good. They'd both be sleeping well tonight.

"You won the tag team titles tonight with Glenn, even if they are WCW. You destroyed my former partners, which was very sexy to watch, by the way."

Chuck and Sean would never live that beating down as long as they lived. Knowing the nimrods, they would demand a rematch for the titles when they returned to the road on Monday. Mark didn't do many house shows these days, only sticking to televised shows and pay-per-views. It would work in her favor because Lita had gotten permission to train her during the weekends in Tampa, Florida, where she currently lived. However, her training wouldn't start for another few weeks, even though she was chomping at the bit to start it.

"My man is holding gold; how could I not be proud?"

"Ahh… I see… you're a gold digger." He had been teasing, but the fist that came down dangerously close to his relatively empty balls had him sitting upright and rolling her, so he was hovering over her, green eyes wide. "It was a joke, woman, don't go castratin' me!" Mark would never make that joke again, though he was grinning, dropping his head to kiss her soft lips. "I'm sorry, bad joke." He whispered, nuzzling her cheek with his nose before returning to his original position, arranging her body back over him and then adjusted a bit, protecting his boys. "Thank you, by the way. Glenn and I owe those titles to you." Truth.

"Why do you say that? I didn't do anything in the match besides cheer you guys on."

Literally, she stood at ringside and watched the systematic destruction of Chuck and Sean. They didn't have a chance in hell against the Brothers of Destruction. Mark and Glenn had played with those boys and snatched the gold for themselves, cheap as they were. It was still gold and property of WCW in the WWF encampment. Nobody would be able to take those titles away from Mark and Glenn either, not unless they were screwed out of them. That was where she'd come in, refusing to let any of the Alliance steal from her man and Glenn.

"You don't owe me anything, Mark. If anything, I owe you. It's because of you I'm where I am now and I'm no longer in the Alliance. You protected me, and you didn't have to." She'd never be able to repay him for all he'd done for her.

"Beating the Dudley's helped put us in that spot legitimately, to have that chance to get those titles. Regal couldn't just hand over a shot, even if he had wanted to. Because you did most of the work and we got the win, we were considered legit contenders and not just a spite match." That was how he preferred it, liking having that credibility to back them up. "That's what I'm thankin' you for, Alice." Mark also bet it had felt good to her, being able to stick it to the Alliance, as well as show she wasn't just another pretty face, who was going to stand there and be the day-long victim. She had that coming after everything those bastards had put her through.

Actually, Mark was only partially right. Sean and Chuck had run their mouths to William Regal, demanding real competition from the WWF tag teams. They put their gold on the line in an open challenge and the Commissioner had run with it. However, she didn't point that out to him, not wanting to ruin the moment and pushed him down on his back to hover over him, the bruising on her face completely gone. There wasn't a single trace of the assault Page inflicted on her, not even on her side, but Mark still wanted her to take a little more time before her training began.

"Mmm, my pleasure…" She purred against his lips, straddling him and laced their fingers together as he sat upright, both gasping as he filled her capacity again. "Mark…"