Chapter 23
The tattoo altogether took three hours and when it was done, Grace was more than ecstatic over it. The dragon's tails were entwined together, one had a black heart and the other had a black rose. One had amber eyes and the other had emerald, the colors blending perfectly.
"It's gorgeous, thank you so much, Kevin." She pulled her wallet out, ready to pay for it. "How much do I owe you?"
Kevin arched an eyebrow, looking at her like she was crazy. "Woman, just come here." He guided her out front, picking up a camera. "I want a picture of it. Mark, one with you too."
"You want a picture of me with her tattoo?"
"You're the UNDERTAKER, duh. I need the attention."
Grace posed with Mark as Kevin snapped his few pictures, showing her new ink off before they were finished and headed back inside. "So...that's it? I don't owe you anything for this spectacular piece?" She blinked when Kevin held up the camera and shrugged before letting him place some A&D ointment on it so it didn't dry up along with a covering. "I know, no shirts for two weeks, I'll just wear halter tops and if it's cold, I'll be sure to wear a light jacket after having the tattoo covered up." She smiled when Kevin grinned, shaking his head and went over to admire it in the mirror, her smile lighting up the room. It was perfect, aligned correctly and everything.
Mark watched with an amused smirk. "You're really not going to charge her?" He murmured in a low voice so Grace couldn't overhear him.
"I figured I'd send you the bill." Kevin replied just as softly.
"Good man. I'll be in sometime within the next month or so for the shading."
Grace didn't ink herself for the hell of it. When a person inked themselves, it had to mean something. Mark was the dragon with emerald eyes and the black heart while hers was with the black rose. The black rose had signified the death of Mark and now the black heart stood for him. She knew his heart was black, but it still had feeling in it. Black was a beautiful color in her eyes, always had been. Kevin had done a fantastic job and Grace was very glad she decided to go out shopping and ran into Mark. She would never forget this day and sighed in contentment.
After saying goodbye to Kevin and listening to the man's parting banter, Mark ushered her out of the shop. "Good thing we only have to go to Tampa tonight or we'd be screwed." He said, hearing Kevin on the phone already, shaking his head. "You hungry or do you need to get back to Kane?" He asked, glancing down at her.
"No, I left him a note saying I think it would be best if we had separate hotel rooms from now on and that I'd see him later." She softly replied her hair over her right shoulder now so her tattoo could not only be shown off, but allowed air to get to it, even though it was covered. She'd put the A&D ointment in one of her bags prior to leaving, another gift from Kevin. "So if you're hungry, I'll join you. That experience kind of made me hungry anyway." Grace smiled up at him, grabbing his hand and leaned her head against his arm.
"Tattoos are almost orgasmic if you have a high tolerance for pain." He said seriously, his green eyes giving away his amusement though. Chuckling, he caught Grace's hand before she could slap him, raising it to his mouth and planted a kiss over her knuckles, his lips lingering for a moment, never breaking eye contact.
Her stomach had butterflies as his green eyes bored into her, piercing her soul, and felt his arm wrap around her waist, pulling her against him. She moaned softly when his head dipped, accepting his soft kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck, moaning softly at the contact. No, he was wrong. THIS was orgasmic. Grace melted completely against him, burying her fingers in his black tresses, not caring who was watching them at the moment. Mark had been incredibly sweet to her today, holding her hand while she got her tattoo done. Everything about today was perfect.
Reluctantly, he pulled away from her, smiling when he seen her eyes were still closed and her lips still pursed. This was a Kodiak moment and he didn't even have a camera. "Grace?" He murmured, smirking when her eyes popped open, chuckling softly. "We're, uh, here." He gestured behind her. It was a small bar/restaurant, something much nicer than the usual places he would go, not that she needed to know that, ever.
She smacked him on the arm and shook her head, her cheeks flaming again as she let him guide her inside. They had a nice dinner, her chicken strips and him a huge burger he could barely fit in his mouth. She giggled at him, only to get pinched, just having a good time with each other. She was sad it had to end as they walked out an hour later, both full to the brim, and the hotel was only a block away.
"What a day!" She exclaimed, laughing softly, and crossed the street, her white Skechers clomping on the ground, seeing Mark was going her pace and she was grateful for that. "Thank you Mark." She looked at the clock and knew they only had a little bit of time to get to the arena before the show started. "I know this is a lot to ask, but do you mind if I ride to the arena with you? Glen kind of had the rental..." She bit her bottom lip, not even thinking about that until now, sighing. "Forget it, I can get a rental, I think."
"No, it's too late for that, it'll be quicker if you just ride with me." He hesitated. "Though I have to warn you...Paul is also riding with me." He knew that wouldn't set well with her, seeing her eyes narrow and her lips compress into a grim line. "Sorry Grace." Mark murmured, raking a hand through his long black hair, glancing up at the hotel.
"No that's fine. I suppose if we're...going to do this..." She gestured back and forth between them. "Whatever this is, a relationship or something..." She needed to shut up and cleared her throat when he raised his eyebrow up at her. "I'm not expecting anything Mark. Really, I'm not. That was out of line. Sorry." She turned her head when her father came out the doors, amber eyes narrowing slightly, and felt Mark's hand on her shoulder. "I'll be fine, but I get shotgun."
"Um..." Mark coughed, smirking when Paul just arched an eyebrow. "You heard her, you're in the back."
Sighing, Paul headed for the rental.
"Here, give me your bags and go get the rest of your things, my stuff is already loaded." He said, taking her shopping bags away and patted her ass, ushering her forward. "Hurry up, woman."
"I don't need anything, but I'll take these up. Thanks Mark." She smiled at him before rushing inside and up to her room, dropping her bags off, and pulled her hair up in a clip, keeping it away from her neck and back completely.
She admired her tattoo again, a grin on her face, and couldn't wait to see the look on her father's face when he saw it. Everyone was going to see it now that she wasn't wearing her normal t-shirt and jeans. Deciding it might be better to change, Grace slipped out of her denim skirt and into jeans before rushing out, having her keycard in hand, and seen Mark was waiting for her. She slipped in the passenger seat and buckled up, staring out the window.
Mark had placed a small pillow in the seat for her to lean back on without actually touching her shoulder on anything, smiling at her. "Got everything?" He asked, adjusting the mirror, catching Paul's eyes and scowled, his own green orbs darkening instantly.
"What's that on your shoulder, Grace?" He asked curiously.
"A tattoo. Actually, it's two. I got one my first year of med school and decided to add to it today." She replied nonchalantly, rolling her eyes heavenward.
He knew nothing about her, absolutely nothing, besides lying. Gritting her teeth, Grace closed her eyes and mentally counted backwards from ten, opening them when she was on five to stare at Mark, feeling him grab her hand. She smiled at him, entwining their fingers together, and stared out the window again as the sun set on the horizon. It was simply breathtaking.
Besides the old country music playing softly on the radio, it was virtually silent. He was focused on the road, occasionally squeezing Grace's hand to let her know he hadn't forgotten her. How could he? All his thoughts were about her, she had virtually become the center of his universe the moment his eyes had landed on her. Whether that was for better or worse yet, he hadn't fully decided.
When they arrived at the arena, Grace stepped out and stopped her father by planting her hand on his shoulder. "I have one thing to say to you." When his eyebrow rose, her eyes suddenly narrowed to slits. "If you so much as TRY to ruin what we have, I will hurt you. Do I make myself clear? You took him away from me once and I'll be DAMNED if it happens again. I'm not your little girl anymore and I don't need to be protected. I love him and you're going to have to get over it. Shouldn't be too hard considering all you know how to do is lie and manipulate people." She then walked away from him, needing to wash her hand from touching him.
Paul stared after her, feeling his heart plummeting, wondering why he had been so foolish as to think she might forgive him. Just because she apparently had overlooked 'Taker's flaws didn't excuse his. He was the dad.
"Don't worry, Paul." Mark said, gripping the man's shoulder, smirking coldly. "I'll make sure she's well taken care of." Snorting, he walked off after her.
Grace sighed when Mark stopped her, staring up into his green eyes. "I'm fine." She assured him softly. "I just had to tell him that." She smiled when he ran his finger down her cheek and tilted her head up, softly kissing her lips. Grace slowly pulled back and pressed her forehead against his. "Go on, go kick some ass." She winked at him before heading off to find Larry's office, rolling her shoulder a little since it was aching. She smiled though, it was a good ache, and she didn't regret getting it done.
"Hey Grace." Larry greeted, busy with a stretcher. "We're going ringside tonight." He explained at her curious look. "'Taker against Austin, Steve's going to take a few chair shots to the head." He tossed a collar brace on top of the gurney before pushing it aside. "He needs a little time off so he's being set up for it. How was your day? You look bright and perky."
"It was wonderful. I got a new tattoo." She grinned when he asked her where and turned around, hearing him whistle before turning back around. "I got the first one done my first year in med school." She explained. "Decided to get the other side done. Did you say Steve and Mark were fighting tonight?" She frowned, not liking that, and sighed heavily before preparing herself for another emotionally unstable night, helping Larry get the supplies prepared and whatnot.
"Yeah, I did. 'Taker should be getting told about it now and make sure you have the Vicodin ready for Steve beforehand. 'Taker swings a chair pretty damn hard." He sighed, wondering if the man could be talked into faking the chair shot, probably not. He liked his stuff to look absolutely real, which meant it WAS absolutely real. "Steve knows about it so he's ready."
"Alright." She said quietly, suddenly worried about Steve, but knew it was apart of the job.
They got everything ready and she had the Vicodin ready as the show kicked off. Grace was nervous when it came time to go out to the ring, knowing the last time she did she'd been sandwiched between Mark and Glen. Taking a deep breath, Grace just stood there and waited for the signal, chewing on her thumbnail nervously.
Steve watched out of the corner of his eye as 'Taker retrieved a chair, preparing himself. Though there was no amount of mental preparation that helped when 'Taker bashed a chair into your skull. He was down on the first blow.
"Wait..." Larry said, wincing when 'Taker brought down the chair a second time. "Go!" They joined security and flew out to the ring. "Shit, he's bleeding."
'Taker allowed security to pull him away, a small smile on his face.
Grace immediately rushed to Steve's side, seeing the gash in his head, and swallowed hard as she pressed gauze over it, having gloves on already. "Steve, we got you come on." She helped roll him on the gurney along with Larry and a few others, feeling him grab her hand, and she smiled tearfully back at him. He was one of her best friends on the road who had been kind to her when she first arrived. She would be there for him as they got to the back and immediately took him to the trainer's room. Grace nodded at Larry when asked if she could handle it, telling him to go take care of what he needed too before focusing on Steve. "Jesus you have a concussion." She whispered, checking to see his pupils were dilated and took the gauze away before beginning to clean the wound. "Steve, stay with me okay? You can't fall asleep, so talk to me about anything." She instructed softly.
"Purple elephants scare me." He said, sounding completely out of his mind, his blue eyes unfocused. "Especially when they're wearing them ballerina shoes..."
'Taker appeared in the doorway, looking amused, his green eyes cold.
"Damn, my head...I wanna sleep, Gracie...damn yer beautiful darlin', ya know that?" He drawled. "Too bad we fumbled when we tried having sex...too damn awkward but yer ti-"
"Tell us more about the elephants."
She sighed heavily, not wanting to hear that, and held onto his hand as she squeezed it tightly. "You're one of my best friends, Steve. I couldn't have made it through half the shit I've been through without you. Now focus on my voice. Focus on me. Don't fall asleep. Tell me anything, I don't care what it is." She seen his blue eyes were incredibly dilated, feeling him squeeze her hand back and smiled. "You'll make a woman lucky someday." She let Larry take over, knowing she had to keep Steve up, not seeing Mark standing in the doorway. "Stay with me Steve. Stay with me." She looked at Larry worriedly, only for him to assure her this was normal. "Hey, if you fall asleep I'm going to have to wake your ass up and you're not going to like it. Now keep those blue eyes open and focus on me."
"Don't encourage him, Grace, this man's mouth is dirty as hell when he's out of it." Larry cautioned, sighing when Steve began rambling again, knowing the man was going to be beating the shit out of himself when he was back in his right mind for this.
"You know somethin'? I think I wanna go try again." Steve groaned, going to touch his head only to get his hand slapped away. "Maybe this time we'll just skip the fumblin' an get straight to the fuck-"
"'TAKER PUT HIM DOWN!"
"Mark!" Grace shouted as she seen the rage in his green eyes, having been shoved back against the wall, seeing the security was already coming in. "Mark stop it! He doesn't know what he's saying!" She rushed over to him, grabbing his hand, trying to get him to loosen the grip. "Mark, he needs to breathe or he could pass out with a CONCUSSION! Let him go!" Somehow security broke his grip as Grace rushed to Steve's side, trembling slightly and seen he was gasping for air, though he was still up, not believing what came over Mark. She hadn't even seen him in the doorway!
"Get him out of here!" Larry ordered, leaving Grace to tend to Steve as he ran over to shut the door as security literally dragged 'Taker away, hearing the man's snarls and felt a shiver run down his spine. He closed the door and locked it, knowing it would have to stay that way until they had to move Steve. "He's going to need to go to the hospital, Grace. Call for the bus."
She nodded and did as she was told, raking a hand through her hair, hanging up a minute later. "They're on their way." She informed him softly, going back over to hold Steve's hand, still shaken up from Mark's temper. Honestly, the man had no idea what he was saying. That's probably how he felt, but would never admit that to her. "Steve, stay with me." She pleaded, looking into his blue eyes and nodded.
The EMT's arrived a few minutes later and Steve was taken away to the hospital, Larry and Grace watching on before trudging back into the arena. Grace winced slightly, her tattoo had been burning and throbbing, which was to be expected the first few days.