Page 20 of Marked

Noah

Airing my perceived failures to the woman I was half in love with wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Who the hellwas I kidding? There was nohalfwhen it came to Lanie. I was well and truly sunk; had been for as long as I could remember.

“My sister was the kind of girl who was friends with everyone in high school. She got good grades and had no problem lending a hand to anyone who struggled.” I closed my eyes, picturing the smiles she used to give so freely. They were so unlike the ones she forced out now so people would stop asking if she was okay. “Matt’s family moved to town at the beginning of their freshman year. The guy was a gifted quarterback, so after the team won their third game in a row, his popularity soared. He went from the new kid in town to the town’s golden boy overnight. The whole school vied for his attention, but he’d set his sights on Juliette.”

“You would’ve been in what? Fifth grade?”

“Yeah. He fooled me too. I should’ve recognized the monster he kept hidden inside.”

“How could you have known?”

Needing a bit of breathing room to get through the next part of the story, I let go of her hand and stood. The words tumbled from my mouth with ease; my suspicions, the bruises I saw, I told her everything. She let me get it all out before she joined me, resting her small hand low on my spine.

“When they came back to town from college, the red flags were all there,” I began. “It was in the way he watched her, like she was a possession rather than a treasure to be cherished. I thought it was because he loved her so much, but I was wrong.”

“You were a kid, Noah, not a highly trained FBI agent. Hell, you didn’t even know what a red flag was back then.”

“Maybe not. Still doesn’t ease the burden of blame we all felt when the cops found her on the bedroom floor.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Clenching my jaw, I gritted out, “Do you know where I was while she was getting the ever-loving shit beat out of her?”

Lanie inched her way to my front, her hazel eyes glistening with emotion as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I did the same, drawing us closer together. “It doesn’t matter, Noah. You. Weren’t. There.” She punctuated each word with a gentle squeeze.

“I was drunk at a frat party, losing my virginity to some chick I didn’t even know.”

“Okay, first of all…damn. You saved yourself ’til college?” Her lips twitched right before she rewarded me with a brilliant smile. “You really are a master of control. Secondly, and you need to listen up because if I have to say it again, you’ll be shoveling out the pig pens for the next week.”

I shuddered at the thought, making Lanie chuckle briefly before she sobered.

“What happened to your sister was tragic, but there is only one person to blame. Matt. He’s the one who raised his fists in anger. Not you.”

With only a few words and her unwavering support, she managed to drain the remaining tension from my body.

“I’ll always feel a certain amount of guilt over not being there to save Juliette.”

“Of course you will. It’s what makes you a good brother.”

“Master of control, huh?” I smirked. “I guess we’ll find out later.”

“Seriously?” Wiggling her body, she tried to break free of my hold, but I tightened my grip. A perturbed Lanie was a sexy sight to behold, and I’d ruffled her feathers exactlythe way I’d hoped. “In everything I said,that’swhat you heard?”

Leaning close, I spoke directly in her ear, “Darlin’, I heard it all, but hearing you call me master got my dick hard.”

To prove my point, I lowered a hand to her ass and yanked her against me, letting her feel exactly how much her words had affected a certain part of my anatomy.

She gasped and I took advantage, slamming my mouth to hers. This kiss meant more than any other we’d shared. It wasn’t sweet and slow, it was frantic. Teeth clashed and tongues tangled. It was a claiming on both our parts. She was mine, without a doubt, but as we stood outside of her parents’ house in Bumfuck, Colorado…she finally made me hers.

“Thank you,” I breathed against her lips as we came up for air.

“For what?”

“Being you.”

“I don’t know any other way to be.”

“Had we known you were coming, we would’ve asked them to make other arrangements, Alaina.” Iris shook her head, then dunked a plate in the sink filled with soapy water.

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