Chapter 28

That made the big man laugh harder. "That doesn't surprise me." There was a running joke about Mark being AFRAID of cucumbers, which he wasn't. However, he thought they were gross and hated them to the point that he wouldn't even order a dish with the word cucumber, simply because he refused to pick them out. "I don't get it personally, pickles are one of the best things in the world, especially when you deep fry them."

Glenn had enough personality for several people. One thing that usually surprised those who knew him as Kane was the difference between his on-screen character and his bubbliness off-screen. They did share two things though: The ability to kick ass and the brother thing. Mark was family. Plain. Period. Simple.

"I uh, got to apologize to you, Marlize."

Now he knew Mark hadn't been hallucinating from pain or anything else back then. He had seriously found a woman all that time ago. Glenn had ignored it, figuring it was an infection from not being immediately treated, or pain destroying his friend's mind.

"I may have been part of the reason he didn't get back to you…I didn't believe him when he told me about you. He was pretty screwed up at the time, with his pec being clean off the bone and all." Pain, that was pure pain and agony, and that bullheaded bastard had been fighting through it for a woman.

At the time, that had seemed ridiculous.

"Oh, really? Well, it's fine because he did come to the island after he was in his right frame of mind, but by then, I was gone already. I had to leave the island because of my pregnancy with the twins." Glenn nodded in understanding and she smiled, sadness overtaking her because Mark had lost out on all those years with his children because of her. Because of her decisions. "It's actually my fault he left the island to begin with." Taking a deep breath while they continued dancing, she told Glenn about the call to Uncle Vince, glossing over her psychotic ex-husband and her friend's ferry boat exploding. Glenn's eyes widened, listening to what Marlize told him, keeping her voice low so that only he could hear her. "I was shocked he wanted to marry me, that he actually proposed. I thought he would hate me for making that decision for him and going behind his back to get him off the island." He does, but Glenn doesn't need to know that. "So don't blame yourself. What happened is nobody's fault except mine, Glenn."

This woman had to be something VERY special for Mark to still love her after that. Glenn knew better than anyone, the Deadman did NOT take life-changing decisions being made for him well. Something about that loss of freedom, of choice. Glenn had learned the hard way not to do that again since he had a loss of teeth, courtesy of his friend's fist.

"Nah, you had some help." Glenn joked, feeling better now that he had gotten that out of the way and moved the conversation onto better things, like stories of her husband from over the years.

Mark did not trust that goofy son of a bitch at all, his eyes narrowed as Glenn had Marlize in stitches. He looked over at the children, spotting his twins with Stephanie's girls, all of them dancing in a circle and grinned. Then back to Glenn, his grin gone.

Laughing at a story Glenn was telling her about when Undertaker and Kane were feuding back in 1998, before she met Mark, the antics those two pulled while in the ring had her almost doubled over. Marlize ended the dance with him, kissing his cheek as a thank you. Then she was dancing with Bill, who was known as Paul Bearer in the WWE, and he proceeded to tell her the cucumber story that started it all for Mark with the ribbing. She was laughing so hard, understanding exactly why her husband hated them now because Bill had also told her about Mark's past with cucumbers and Catherine, his mother. Speaking of his mother, she had given Marlize a big hug, welcoming her into the family and was currently dancing with the twins, getting to know her grandchildren she didn't know she had until recently.

Another hour passed and it was time to cut the cake.

It was beautiful, five tiers, and it had a bourbon chocolate flavor icing that was absolutely scrumptious. They ended up shoving each other's pieces in their mouths, laughing and shockingly, none of the cake got onto her wedding dress. The crowd surrounding them laughed and then the cake was cut, after the top tier was taken off, which would be strictly for the bride and groom.

Linda explained they could freeze it and then cut into it on their first wedding anniversary, grinning from ear to ear. Marlize and Mark headed back to the table as everyone was served with a slice of the delicious cake, which was different shades of blue and clear crystals on it that were edible. It was absolutely beautiful and tasted even better, not realizing that it was the flavor she picked out the day she confessed to Mark her secret.

Now, it tasted bittersweet.

After cake was more dancing, more mingling, and as the night got later, Mark began noticing the twins were getting tired. Paul nodded at him when he caught his friend's eye and Mark turned to scan for his wife. He spotted her chatting with a group of people who were definitely from Linda's side, looking friendly and radiant, all smiles, but he noticed the tension forming in her. Marlize was probably getting tired of all of this too, mingling with people she didn't know. Her picture would be all over the internet by morning, he'd bet money on it. Linda wasn't sparing any expense for this, including making sure Marlize would be protected. Mark made his way over there, sliding his arm around her waist to draw her back into him.

"Steph and Paul are gathering up the kids," He murmured in her ear. "Time to say goodnight to them, darlin'."

Marlize nodded in understanding, leaning into him and knew it was time to say goodbye to the twins and then…the wedding night. Christ, why did butterflies suddenly erupt in her stomach? "It was good seeing you guys again, take care."

They waved at her as Mark swept her away and she could've kissed him because all this mingling was starting to tire her out. A wedding of this size was a lot to handle, but she had done it beautifully. Maren and Aven couldn't stop yawning as she bent down, hugging each of them and kissed them goodbye, already knowing they were in great hands. Both her and Mark trusted them wholeheartedly, thankful Linda had rented out a bed and breakfast for her and the family instead of staying at a hotel.

"You two need to leave first, so we can throw the rice at you two." Linda informed them, the limousine already outside waiting.

"Aunt Linda, I don't know what to say…" Marlize couldn't thank her enough and hugged the older woman tightly, tears forming in her eyes.

"Be happy, Marlize. I know you love him and he loves you. You two will be just fine." Linda murmured in her ear, feeling her niece nod and pulled back, kissing her forehead. "Now come on, it's time to throw rice at you guys."

The crowd all gathered outside with Mark and Marlize holding hands, walking down the blue carpet that led to the limousine outside with rice thrown at them, everyone congratulating them on their wedding day. Marlize had already tossed the bouquet, not even knowing who caught it and all the traditional things. Mark helped her into the limousine, wiggling his brows at his buddies, and they whistled again before he slipped inside, shutting the door.

"Oh, thank GOD that's finally over with!" Immediately, Marlize took the heels off and tossed them away, groaning at her dogs because they were definitely barking up a storm at her.

Mark was busy tugging off anything that wasn't basically tacked down, the tie, the blazer he had shrugged back into when they left and the shoes were definitely going. "We have clothes in the trunk." All brand new for the honeymoon because they were about to catch a private flight on a private jet, then another short ride to the Caribbean resort they would be staying at.

Mark figured it was as close to the island as they were getting. He had paid an arm and a leg on it, ensuring they would have as much privacy as possible in their little bungalow on the ocean. He knew she missed it, missed her sea, missed the waves and the sunshine. Texas was beautiful, but for her, the ocean was one of her loves and he wanted to give that to her, even for a short time.

"You going to be okay being away from the kids for a week?"

"Yeah, Stephanie and Paul assured me they would be fine and I made sure to pack enough for them for a week since they're heading back to Connecticut to stay with them." Then Marlize realized what Mark just said and slowly looked up at him, raising a slow brow. "What do you mean there are clothes in the trunk? We're not going home?" He shook his head, taking her hand to press a soft kiss to the back of it and wondered how many more surprises this man had up his sleeve.

Would he tell her where they were going if she asked? Probably not. When Mark had his mind set on something, almost nothing deterred him. Look at this incredible, extravagant wedding they just had!

"I should've known." Marlize chuckled at herself for being ridiculous and began rubbing her foot with a soft groan. "I should've known we wouldn't be spending an entire week alone at home." However, right after their honeymoon, they had to get back to work since Survivor Series was on the horizon.

He wasn't thinking about Survivor Series, he had a honeymoon to enjoy and he wasn't bringing work or anything else into it. He just hummed, taking her hand and caressing the top of it with his thumb as he stared out the window. "You'll be safe now, from him," Mark assured quietly, well aware Linda had coordinated some kind of media campaign to make sure the entire world knew about her niece being married to a B celebrity of sorts, or was he a C-lister? He didn't really know or care if he was being honest. It would just make it extremely hard for her psycho ex-husband to come for her, not when the entire world would know who she was, who she was related to, and who she had married. "You and our babies." He wouldn't miss and there wasn't anything – ANYTHING – he wouldn't do to protect HIS family.

"That's all I've ever wanted was to be free of him, to be able to live my life the way I want, instead of constantly hiding and living in fear." Mark had given her that with this marriage and she would never be able to repay him for uprooting his life for her and their babies. For giving up his happiness and his personal life, opening his home completely to her and the twins. I never should've sent him way from the island. I should've kept him with me and let him protect me. In her defense, Marlize didn't know Mark from a hole in the ground back then and, truthfully, she was just NOW getting to know him. She still didn't know a great deal about him since he'd only been on the island for a little over a month, before being called back to work, because of her. "And I believe you'll protect us with everything you have. For the first time in so long, I'm not scared anymore." Was this was true happiness felt like? Marlize wasn't sure since she hadn't experienced true happiness in a relationship since her college days, prior to meeting Bradley. "Thank you, Mark. I know I owe you so much more than those words, but…they're all I have to give you for everything you've done for me and our children."

Wellllll… That little devil in him that had never really gone away was contesting that.

If he remembered rightly, she had a gracious plenty to give him. Marlize had just given him a heartfelt little speech, thanking him, and he was thinking about sex. In his defense, they had played the cockblocking each other game quite a bit over these past few weeks, and just today…his balls were informing him one more time and they were packing their bags and bailing on him.

"I don't know, darlin'," Mark rumbled, his voice dropping to a husky baritone. The little devil had won and he hadn't even put up much of a resistance. "I can think of a few things you have to give…"

She recognized that tone of voice all too well and decided to play coy, continuing to rub life back into her foot. "Oh yeah, and what might that be?" Marlize gasped when she was suddenly plucked out of her seat and sitting sideways on her husband's lap, his large hand taking over the job she'd been doing. "Come on, hubby dearest." He really was a delicious man, a man she loved with all of her heart, and she wanted him. Her lips started tracing the side tattoos he had on his neck, groaning softly when he hit another sore spot on her foot and didn't stop what she was doing. "Tell me what those few things I have to give you are. I'm not a mind reader, you know?" Mark growled, holding her closer and her lips moved from his neck up his strong jaw. "I might disappoint you, I might not be able to perform like I used to. You probably should've tested that out before we got married."

Given she was aging like a fine wine and not even that old to begin with, on top of being in even better shape than she had been on the island, he sincerely doubted that. "Mmm, just a little ring rust, darlin', nothing we can't shake off."

He bet she had been celibate all those years, not the type to go out for one-night stands and she had been terrified of Bradley. No, Marlize had probably only gotten loving from herself and maybe some toys. There was not a doubt in his mind she was tight as a velvet glove, which made Mark's cock pulse even harder in his dress pants.

"These lips," He was now informing her of the things she had to give him, nipping down on said bottom lip with a growl as he ran a hand up to gently, firmly grip the back of her neck. "The other pair…"

"So all you want are both pair of my lips, and nothing else?" Marlize was enjoying this little tease session they had going on and watched him slowly shake his head in response. "Mmm, you're quite greedy, aren't you? That I do remember very vividly from the island…"

Mark had an insatiable appetite as she recalled and they had spent a significant amount of time naked after that first night under the severe thunderstorm. He had penetrated her that night, but neither had climaxed together. She recalled going to her room, feeling so sexually frustrated she felt like she would explode. "So those lips you're talking about, I'm assuming you want what's INSIDE of them too?" She was now kissing and licking the other side of his neck, going up his jaw line on the other side, this time nipping his bottom lip when she pulled back. "It's all yours, you just have to take it, Mark. Whatever you want, it's yours."

If Marlize wanted to give up that sweet backside, too, he wasn't going to turn it down, but a lot of women weren't down with that kind of sex. Especially with him since his height, size, and sheer girth correlated. Hadn't he mentioned everything was bigger in Texas? Mark glanced out the window again, glad it was tinted, and did the mental calculations on how long this ride would be.

Not too long, but long enough for them to get a session in, consummate the marriage before she came to her senses and changed her mind. He had to reposition her, moving Marlize, so she was straddling him and watched as she pushed herself up properly onto her knees in order to start drawing that wedding gown up, slowly. She was moving too slowly and, for a second, he was ready to tear it off her body. Letting go of her neck, Mark's hand was beneath that dress, palming her through her panties and groaned, feeling the heat emanating from her, the dampness he was about to plunge into.