Chapter 24

Dinner went fine and Marlize actually ate instead of nibbled, responding to whatever the twins said to her and whatnot. They brought up the wedding, excited for it to see their parents get married, and Marlize pretended to match their enthusiasm, even though she was dreading it. Stuck in a loveless marriage out of convenience and protection was not the recipe for a happy life, but here she was, in this predicament, and she had no choice or else Mark would take the kids away from her through the courts. Once dinner finished, she cleaned up while Mark took the twins into the living room to watch a movie, putting the leftovers away in the fridge.

Just as she shut the fridge, Marlize nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Mark standing RIGHT there, not even an inch away from her. "Jesus, you scared me! Aren't you supposed to be watching a movie with the kids?" Being this close to him made her nervous and she ignored every other feeling, focusing solely on that one and no others.

"They asked for drinks." As long as it was water, Mark had no problem having them out in the living room.

They were pretty well-behaved kids, but they were kids, nevertheless, and Aven had already spilled chocolate milk on his favorite chair, so…water from here on out until they were a little bit more stable and cautious. He didn't move, figuring it was good for her to sit and be uncomfortable, or stand as it were. Marlize shuffled to the side, giving him access to the fridge and he simply leaned over her, keeping her trapped there as he grabbed two waters. Mark loved having a massive, double-door refrigerator sometimes, like right now.

"You going to join us," Mark was asking as he pulled his head away from her since he had to bend down, his lips dangerously close to her ear for a moment. "Darlin'?"

Did he want her to? Or was this for the kids benefit? They were already skeptical about them fighting since both hadn't shared a bed together last night in the master room. That would have to change from here on out. She did not want Aven and Maren to find out what was really going on. Suppressing a full body shiver, Marlize had to find her voice box quickly and nodded, their eyes locked as soon as he pulled back to stare into her eyes again.

"Sure, just let me finish up in here and I'll make some popcorn, if that's all right?"

Why did his smile have to melt her insides? Why did being this close to Mark set her on fire? His nose brushed against her cheek before he turned to walk back into the living room, calling over his shoulder not to take too long. They'd restart the movie once she joined them. Marlize had to breathe while popping the popcorn in the microwave, closing her eyes and touched her cheek where his nose had brushed only moments ago.

I'm in hell. This is pure hell. Ten minutes later, she joined Mark and the kids, taking a seat next to her fiancé at the insistence of Maren, who was on her other side and Aven next to Mark on his other side. She passed over the bowls of popcorn and munched on some, her own bottled water between her legs capped. "So, what movie are we watching tonight, you guys?"

"The Little Mermaid!" Maren was psyched, she loved Ariel and anything to do with the sea, much like her mother. "Aven picked the last movie, so it's my turn."

"Cars is way better than what Dad wanted to watch," Aven snorted, peering around to shoot his father a quick grin. "No offense, but Old Yeller is boring."

"It's a classic."

"It's SAD! Why would you want to watch a sad movie? The dog dies!"

Aven wanted a dog so badly, and then he had seen that movie ONCE, like last year. Now, they had three dogs and he was terrified they were going to die. Not that he would tell his Dad that because boys didn't do that, they didn't cry in front of their fathers.

Snorting in amusement, Mark simply grabbed Marlize's legs and draped them across his lap, watching as Maren adjusted herself to curl into her mother all over again.

Maren then leaned around to share a look and a smile with her brother.

That also made Aven move from one side of the couch to the other to sit next to his sister, so Mom and Dad could have some time to themselves and be more comfortable. He also didn't want his mother's feet on him, that was just gross.

What are you doing, Mark? What game are you playing here?

Marlize did NOT want to be this close to him, but she didn't pull away either since the kids had witnessed what he'd done. If she pulled away, it would be very suspicious and that wasn't an option. Instead, she simply sat there while chomping on her popcorn and smiled when Hades came up to nudge her hand, immediately starting to pet him.

"Good boy." She whispered while continuing to watch the movie.

Throughout it, Mark was caressing her bare, smooth legs and Marlize had noticed it, keeping her eyes focused on the television. The Little Mermaid was one of Maren's favorite movies and it made Marlize's heart ache due to it being connected to the ocean. Anything regarding the ocean was somewhat tainted for her now, though she'd keep those thoughts in her head and leaned forward to put the empty bowl on the coffee table in front of her.

Mark had definitely noticed Maren's affinity for the ocean and he knew why too; she had been raised on it. Her mother had lived on it, loved it, so it was only natural for that love to be passed down and shared with their daughter. "You know, I own property in Florida." It wasn't anything like the cabin on the island, not by a long stretch. However, it was humid and hot, Florida in general, and the saving grace was the fact that he did have an ocean front property and the breeze from it usually kept it tolerable.

"Isn't that where Disney is?"

"One of them." Leave it to Maren to ask the important things. Mark absentmindedly ran a fingertip along Marlize's foot arch, cocking a brow when her toes involuntarily flexed and glanced over at her.

She was ticklish on her feet! "You do?" That shouldn't have surprised her at all, but it did. This man was LOADED, a true millionaire, possibly even a billionaire, though his money didn't matter to Marlize. "You have an ocean front property?"

"In Orlando."

"Oh my gosh, Mommy, that's where Disney World is!" Maren had never been there before, but it was a dream of hers to go one day and her eyes were lit up at the fact her father owned an ocean front property in the very city Disney World was. "Can we go?! Can we go there sometime, please?!"

"Geez, calm down, sis." Aven was chuckling at the way his sister was reacting, bouncing up and down on the couch with her hands clasped tightly in a plea. "Dad will take us there one day since he owns the property."

"I don't see why we can't, but it's up to your father when we go and I don't want you badgering him about it, Maren Louise."

Louise was named after her grandmother, who she adored and was no longer with them. She looked up at Mark, her foot twitching again when he tested the waters and cleared her throat. She had to bite her lip to keep from giggling since he continued stroking that spot on her foot, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Okay – okay stop, I can't take it! My feet are really ticklish, Mark…"

"I hadn't noticed," Mark drawled teasingly, chuckling when Aven let out a little giggle. "And yes, I'll take you guys to Florida, to Disney," That would suck for him, no doubt, but he'd do it for them. He'd definitely be springing for the VIP stuff, refusing to stand his backside in extremely long lines all day. It'd have to be a multiple day vacation, he knew people couldn't see everything there in one day.

"Yes! When?"

"Let's just slow our rolls, this year, but Mama and I got to go back to work soon, so we're going to have to plan for it, okay?" Maybe Mark shouldn't have opened that can of worms.

"We get to go to the ocean AND Disney!"

Marlize was beginning to find this a little too amusing so he narrowed his eyes and purposefully kept tickling her feet. "Stop it, my feet are off limits." She tried to pull away from him, only for him to plant her legs right back where they were across his lap. "Mark, I'm serious now…" That smirk was making her insides quake and he started doing it again, making her squeal out when he actually put more pressure on what he was doing. "Stop!"

The twins were getting a kick out of this, watching the playful antics of their parents, laughing right along with them while Daddy kept tickling their mother's feet.

"Mark! Oh that's it!" Marlize pinched his nipple, making him growl out and she raised a brow in a challenge to him. The next second, she was pulled up to straddle him on the couch and he was tickling her sides, making her squeal out. It wasn't just her feet that were ticklish and he knew her sides were from discovering that during one of their bouts on the island. "Oh my god, I can't breathe, stop!" Then she pinched his other nipple, knowing they were very sensitive to him.

Turnabout was fair play!

"Purple nurple!" Aven crowed, though he and Maren moved off the couch because Mom was THRASHING, shrieking and laughing, and they weren't going to catch one of those flailing hands.

"Woman!" Jesus, he wasn't going to have any nipples left if she didn't stop it and when Marlize did it again, Mark freed one hand and returned the favor, more of a light pinch, light twist, while still tickling her with the other hand.

"It's called a titty twister, Ave." Maren informed him, her hands up on her cheeks as she watched her parents go back and forth, both of them smiling now.

"Mark, don't do that!" Marlize scolded through giggles, his big hands stopping the tickling to give her a minute reprieve and she rested her forehead against his, her hands now on his broad, bare shoulders.

This man shirtless would be the absolute death of her. Nothing had changed from that island except for the fact he was a lot more chiseled and slimmed down. Mark had definitely taken care of himself over the years and he looked in better shape than when they were on the island together. Then again, he had been downing copious amounts of alcohol on a daily basis, all to hide the inner pain and turmoil of his friend's death.

"Truce?" Those eyes…Becoming lost in them and the moment they were in, Marlize did something stupid and softly kissed him, no tongue or anything, just a soft kiss.

The twins vacated upstairs to their room, quietly, not wanting to disturb their parents and watch them making out.

Warning sirens immediately went off in his head, the logical part of him letting him know he was being stupid, returning that kiss, even if it was soft and tender. It was dangerous. SHE was dangerous to HIM. It was crazy because he knew Marlize was terrified of him in one of his tempers, afraid he would hurt her.

This woman really had no idea how much power she held in her tiny hands when it came to him, how terrified he was of HER hurting him. Mark had a horrible habit of ignoring those sirens, his arms wrapping around her body to pull her flush against him, aware the twins had left or else this wouldn't be happening. He was the one to deepen the kiss, testing the waters by swiping his tongue along her bottom lip.

Her own alarm bells were ringing in her head and all Marlize could do was melt into the kiss, the feeling of his lips after all these years too amazing to pull away. Mark was like a drug, a powerful drug she could not kick the addiction from. It didn't help she still loved him, completely and irrevocably, even though he was blackmailing her into marrying him. He was angry with her too, Marlize couldn't forget that and she hated how much her brain and heart were at war. Still, the taste of him and how he pulled her closer, her fingers losing themselves in his black tresses, was too good to pull away, to break the kiss.

Soft moans spilled out of her mouth, their tongues gliding together in perfection and she shivered from head to toe, the memory of that night with the severe thunderstorm washing over her again. It had so many times before, but never with this amount of intensity, the want and need from both of them practically screaming out. Marlize had no idea how long they sat there on that couch, in that position, kissing like this, but eventually they needed air to breathe and she was the one to pull away first, the passion haze slowly beginning to lift from her brain.

SHIT! I didn't mean to do that or for it to go that far! I didn't even mean to kiss him! "It started out like this, you and me, we didn't like each other at all and you forced me to go out in that severe thunderstorm. Because of you, storms no longer scare me, you helped me overcome that fear that night. I always get that flashback whenever it storms outside." Marlize had no idea what possessed her to say all of that, but it was too late to take it back now or the kiss for that matter. Fuck, I need to breathe.

What the fuck am I doing? This woman is poison. Sweet, sweet poison.

She had lied to him before, telling him sweet, loving falsehoods, professing her love to him, while plotting to send him away behind his back. Mark could almost envision her poison seeping into his body, working its way through his veins, his blood, before wrapping around his heart in venomous tendrils, crushing the life out of him. He smiled, a hint of sadness, a hint of bitterness seeping through as he caressed her face with the back of his hand.

"Darlin', I never knew why storms scared you…you are the damn storm." Wild and ferocious. Dangerous. Electricity that jolted through him. She was just as addicting, just as deadly, as those storms she had been afraid of. Marlize just didn't know it or see it.

She did not miss the sadness and bitterness in his eyes and knew they would never be able to get past what happened, from either side. The past haunted them far too much and they couldn't even enjoy simple moments like these without dragging it back up again. "A storm, huh? I guess that's a fair assessment."

Then what the hell was he? A force of nature that wrecked everything in his path didn't compare to the type of person Mark was, or had been. He had changed significantly, even Marlize couldn't deny that. Still, those acid pools were in full force with those emotions and she was off his lap instantly, needing space from him.

"I was out of line for kissing you just now and I won't do it again. I'm heading up to check on the kids and then going to bed. Goodnight, Mark." A storm…she was a storm…at least she knew what kind of analogy he thought of her as and Marlize didn't know if she should take it as a compliment or an insult.

Maybe a mixture of both.

Mark had absolutely no idea how long he sat there. He let his head fall back against the couch, stretching his arms out along the back and closed his eyes, letting out a slow, shaky breath. That had been a bad idea, kissing her, ignoring the way she lit him on fire, the way everything in him had yearned to be with her again in a very physical sense.

"Fuck…" He closed his eyes as he reached down to adjust his erection, knowing blue balls were on the menu tonight. His cock was STRAINING right now, threatening to riot if he didn't go hunt her down, make her submit, and finish what that kiss had started. "Fuck…" Pushing himself upright, Mark was aware either ice or a cold shower and maybe a jerking session was in order.