Chapter 5

When Marlize finally came back from her jog, he ALMOST felt bad for her because she was soaked in sweat and looked miserable. He hated working out as much as the next person, but his job required it, so…he suffered. Mark also had cheat days and, currently, he was in 'fuck it' mode outside of boxing against trees, which she either was ignoring or hadn't noticed yet, and he mentally toasted himself before taking a long pull from the beer he had gotten himself. He was very comfortable helping himself to whatever and had made sure to restock Marlize's beer, with the good stuff, not that low-calorie crap she had been sipping on. No, some things were meant to be full of calories and beer was one of them.

Mark also had a candy bar, aware it was weird to enjoy beer and chocolate, but…they were a surprisingly good combo. "Want one?" He offered, gesturing to the second, untouched, cold beer sitting alongside another chocolate bar. Marlize eyed them both like they were her mortal enemies. "Some junk food is good for you." He slowly licked his fingers clean from where the chocolate had melted just a bit.

"No, I'm fine." YES I FUCKING DO! Marlize ignored her inner monologue going on, wiping sweat from her forehead and knew she was a hot mess from the run she'd just done.

It was hotter than blazes today, in the 90s, and she had actually contemplated diving into the small pond that had a waterfall cascading into it a few miles away from the cabin. They could see the waterfall from here, though it was very small, like a blip. Instead, she had endured the heat because it meant she was sweating more, burning more calories and whatnot.

"Mark, don't." She ordered when he waved the chocolate bar in her face, having stood up to stand in front of her and turned away from him. "Look fucker, I'm on a diet and I don't need you tempting me with that shit!" Fuck! "I need a shower, please move out of my way."

"One bite, and one swallow." Mark held the beer in one hand, the chocolate bar in the other.

He knew he had been a jackass in the kitchen, purposefully giving her that onceover that hadn't been done in a very nice way, but in his defense, she had started it by going for HIS weight. Nobody would say he was above being petty because he wasn't. Marlize wasn't budging, but those beautiful aqua blues were darting between both of them, the hunger evident in them.

"Fine, just the beer." She looked parched and he extended it, the literal devil trying to tempt her. Someone who was not him had said something very cruel to this woman once upon a time. It explained a lot. Probably high school trauma or something along those lines, possibly a relationship even. "One sip and I'll move."

"No, I'm not negotiating with you. I'll simply move around you and-" This jackass had actually moved quicker than a man his size had the right to, blocking her again.

Drinking that beer would set her back because that was a TON of calories in that can of pure beer. It wasn't light at all. She had recognized the can instantly and it was in her face once again, forcing Marlize to take a step back. Mark took one, their eyes not leaving each other's. He was really starting to anger her and she could feel her temper rising quickly, especially being sweaty and hot from her running.

"I. Said. No."

Trying one more time to go around him, only for him to block her, she finally lost it and smacked the beer can out of his hand, making it land on the ground to the side of them. That would teach him not to take 'no' for an answer! While he swooped to pick it up, Marlize made her way around him to head into the house for that much-needed shower, cursing a blue streak in her head.

WHAT A DICKHEAD! Didn't he hear me when I said I was on a fucking diet?! OF COURSE NOT! MEN DON'T LISTEN!

His dark laughter followed her up the stairs as she hauled her cookies to the bathroom. Mark heard her slamming a door behind her and popped the beer himself, once he was sure it wasn't going to foam over. He downed half of it in a few swallows, his acidic gaze focused on the ceiling, wondering just how pissed off his boss was going to be if he wound up breaking the niece mentally because it wouldn't be hard.

You really going to ruin another life?

It was like Jared's mother was in his head, sneering at him while also wailing with grief. It was a disturbing voice, but very distinctly hers. He went from venomous to something else entirely, throwing the beer can and what was left of its contents as hard as he could into the nearest wall.

Week two came almost in the blink of an eye and, unfortunately, Marlize had to talk to Mark about provisions. She really wished he would've just made a list, something he had forgotten to do, so she didn't have to bother or talk to him, but he didn't. The deadline to send the list was fast approaching, today, or else they wouldn't be getting supplies for another week.

Granted, Mark could easily pay off her friend to bring more provisions, but Marlize didn't want to put him out any more than her unwanted guest had already. Even after two weeks, Marlize still felt nervous around Mark and she didn't understand why. He had an aura about him, a sadness that overmatched her own. Maybe that was why he had come here.

Blowing out a breath, Marlize reluctantly knocked on the door to his room and waited for him to answer, stepping back when the door opened. "I need your list of provisions, unless you don't want anything. I'm on my way out to the dock to drop the list off to Dirk. He'll be here soon."

He nodded, walking over to the dresser where he had tossed a lot of his belongings haphazardly and rifled for the list. Wordlessly, Mark passed it over to her, frowning when he realized she was peering around the room. He had tacked up blankets over the windows, so it was pitch black and he bet it smelled like the whiskey and beer he had been overindulging in.

"I'll clean it." He informed her flatly, having been mostly drunk for the past few days, hiding in here to sleep it off, shower, and do it all over again.

"Don't worry about it." Marlize didn't care what he did to the room since she planned on cleaning it from top to bottom once he left, whenever that was.

Mark had known if he had seen her during his lapses in sobriety, he would have said or done something vile. Stepping out of the room, forcing her to step backwards or bump into him, as was his preference, he was shirtless, in a pair of black pajama bottoms and his hair hanging loose down his back and shoulders. "I'll walk with you." He needed a cigarette and some fresh, ocean air.

Also, it smelled like a storm was coming.

Ever since that incident with the beer and chocolate bar, they hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other. "Well come on then, Dirk is probably waiting for us already." He nodded, grabbing his smokes really fast from the room and together, they headed down the stairs and out the front door. A storm was indeed brewing, the wind beginning to pick up and she really didn't want Dirk on the ocean during a storm. "Shit, should've waited…" Marlize muttered under her breath, holding the list like a lifeline and could see the clouds slowly beginning to move inland.

Dirk had about a 40 minute ride from the mainland to here, so if he was quick, he would miss most of the impending storm.

"He knows what he's doing."

Mark liked Dirk, had talked to him twice now, and that was enough to know that the man was very loyal to Marlize for whatever reason. Also, he knew something about her that Mark was very curious about. Curious yet smart enough to know that if he went fishing for information, it would get shut down immediately. Naturally, that just made the curiosity worse. He figured if it was bad enough, or Dirk had anticipated not being able to clear the nasty weather, he would have probably told Marlize no.

She was a natural worrier; Mark had noticed that too. Not over him, he was an asshole and she was probably praying he left any day now, but she worried, nevertheless. He didn't mind being barefoot as they walked, not worried about anything sharp outside of sticks and seashells really. Marlize combed the beach bright and early every morning for any potential trash that might find its way to the shores she called her home.

"You ever get massive waves from storms?" He asked as they headed for the dock, adjusting his pacing so he didn't overtake her. "Like, how far do they come in?"

"Depending how bad it gets, it's flooded all the way up to the deck. That's only happened a few times though and luckily, no hurricanes have hit here." Yet.

There was always the possibility of it happening and Marlize prayed every night it didn't. She wasn't religious in the sense of going to church every day and reading the bible, but she did believe in god and prayed often to herself. She was more spiritual than anything, just really needing to heal her soul from the inside out. Her heart too. Bradley had mangled every part of her and piecing herself back together was proving more difficult than she anticipated. Not to mention, she was terrified of storms and really hoped they could make it back to the cabin before it began.

"It'll be okay. We have to hurry back though before it starts pouring." Marlize started picking up the pace, walking a little faster and Mark stopped her by grabbing her arm, forcing those icy blues to look up at him. "What? We're in a hurry to get to Dirk…"

Simply shaking his head, Mark looked heavenward as it seemed to pick up even more. He wanted to tell her that Dirk may have already circled back around and gone back to the mainland. Nature guy, sure, whatever she wanted to call him was fine, but he was no expert on the sea. All he knew was apparently the sea, the ocean, could be capricious. Calm and beautiful one moment, devastating and vicious the next. Maybe he'd become an expert because the ocean sounded fabulous to him. Marlize had already gone on ahead and he followed slowly, eventually watching as she ran out onto the dock in time to see the backend of Dirk's boat disappearing from view.

He flicked away what was left of his cigarette to walk up behind her. "Yeah, that."

"Shit! SHIT!" Marlize jumped out of her skin when a flash of lightning lit up the sky and her eyes went wide, her entire body shaking. "Fuck, we gotta go! We gotta get back to the cabin now!"

So much for her day fishing and possibly going for a small run through the woods. Marlize immediately began jogging past him on the dock back to the house, having shoved the paper in her pocket and could feel a few raindrops splatter on her skin. Another flash of lightning and she nearly went into the ocean, jumping to plant her feet on land instead of going into the water.

"Fuck!" Mark wasn't following her and she left him out there, knowing he would come in when he was ready, unless he wanted to watch the storm come in. The first thing Marlize did as soon as she was back inside the cabin was shut the windows, including the one in Mark's room. "Jesus…" She mumbled once another loud CRACK sounded throughout the cabin, rumbling its foundation or at least that's what it felt like.

She had HAULED her cookies in here and Mark was laughing when he finally trudged back to the cabin, soaking wet and in love with that storm. "Why are you hiding?" Marlize was in the kitchen now, gripping the countertop with an iron hold based on the way her knuckles were white, and then thunder cracked again, making her jump. "Are…are you AFRAID?" She sassed off to a nearly seven foot stranger without thinking twice about whether or not he'd hurt her, but she was afraid of a storm? That little evil bit of him was rearing its ugly head. "It's just a storm, Marlize."

A beautiful storm, destructive and raging. Mother Nature at her finest.

"I…" Marlize did her best to keep the fear out of her voice and failed when another streak of lightning, followed by a crackle of thunder resounded. There was no point lying to this man because he could read her like a book. "Yeah, yeah I'm afraid of storms."

Her eyes shut when thunder rumbled throughout the cabin, feeling as though it was shaking its foundation yet again. To keep herself occupied, she had already started the fireplace up since she knew it would get very chilly outside due to the storm raging outside. Mark suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the cabin, making her panic instantly.

"W-What are you doing?!" Marlize jumped when a flash of lightning streaked the sky. "No! Let go of me right now, Mark!" She jumped and he hoisted her over his shoulder like she didn't weigh anything.

To be fair, Marlize wasn't really as heavy as she thought she was and he had hoisted men who weighed three hundred pounds and some change up into the air for a living. "It's nothing to be afraid of." Mark informed her, knowing that lightening was the problem here, but…it wasn't like they were going in the water and he had no intentions of being near the trees. The beach was perfect, where they could watch the storm dance across the waves the wind was causing. "Pet, if you insist on struggling, you'll get that ass smacked again." He had done that once and she had not appreciated it. "Or I'll drop you in the water."

On the contrary, Marlize enjoyed her backside smacked by him and couldn't figure out why.

"DON'T! Please, just let me go back inside!" She cried out, squirming more and felt his hand come down on her backside, shuddering against him because of how damn good it felt.

Her brain and vagina were on the same page, demanding another one. What the hell was wrong with her? Marlize knew deep down she knew why she enjoyed it so much – it was painful. She wanted to feel pain and squirmed again, just so he would land that meaty hand down on her other cheek, the rain pouring down on them.

Fuck, that feels so damn good! I love the sting from his hand… Marlize jumped when another streak of lightning lit up the sky and she was now crying, her tears mixing with the falling rain.

"Is it the sound that scares you?"

Marlize was suddenly on her feet in front of him with her back against his chest, his hands on her shoulders to keep her there. He wasn't letting her go back inside and ordered her to open her eyes, once again threatening the water if she didn't. Deciding if the lightning struck, hopefully, it would hit him first instead of her, Marlize obeyed and the clouds were moving rapidly, the lightning reflecting in her icy blues. Mark was so much taller than her 5'5 thick frame.

Her body trembled, and she actually buried her face in his arm, the rain beginning to pelt them a little harder. "The noise…and the lightning. I'm not good with loud noises, never have been."

Marlize tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her shoulders tightened slightly. It was a vise and Mark wasn't letting her go to run back into the cabin. She jumped when a crack of thunder rumbled through them and Marlize clapped her hand over her ears, only for him to pull them away to hold them at her sides.

"W-We're gonna get sick if we continue standing out here in this storm, Mark…"

"No, pet, we're not." Marlize was hiding her face in his arm again and he moved his hands to cup her face from behind, forcing her to look out ahead. He bet her eyes were closed and Mark lowered his mouth to be by her ear. "Open your eyes, Marlize," He could see they were clenched shut and he used one hand to keep her face steady, the other coming down on her backside again.

Jumping back into him, those eyes flew open, her lips parting just a bit. Was she…was she turned on by this? That was one way to get over her fear, Mark wasn't going to argue with it. To be honest, he rather liked her backside. It was plump, pert, and very…spankable, so he did it again.

"This is the perfect time to let everything out." His mouth hovered by the shell of her ear.

"W-What do you mean?" Marlize didn't shut her eyes again, just blinking regularly and it didn't help the rain had already soaked them from head to toe, mixing with her tears.

"Everything you've bottled up inside. You can release it out here in this storm."

Shaking her head, knowing her emotional pain ran deep and it was embedded into her, Marlize refused to budge. Even though she was away from her abusive ex-husband, isolated here on this island, fear consumed her daily because, if he ever found her, he would kill her. Bradley wouldn't hesitate to kill her after what she did to him.

"I can't…" She murmured, loud enough for him to hear since his chin was now resting on her shoulder, his breath still caking her ear.

"Relax."

"Why do you want to know so badly about my past, about what haunts me? Do you get your rocks off hearing other people's pain and anguish, Mark?" Marlize tried to inject some kind of venom in her tone, but all that came out was defeat. "Trust me, the less you know, the better off you'll be when you eventually leave here." It's better this way, so please stop trying to get me to talk about it.