Page 63 of Marked
Gage continues to stand in silence, thumbs looped into his belt.
Ruin looks between them. “Okay. We drop Lilah at the manor and–”
“Like hell you’ll drop me anywhere,” I cut in.
He scowls at me. “This is too dangerous for you.”
My laughter is harsh. “So was working here,” I quip. “Didn’t stop me though.”
His muscular body crowds my front, scorching me with more than just his heat. “I wasn’t around then. But I am now. And I say no.”
I press my palms to his chest and shove. He barely moves. My lips curve. I let my fingertips trail down until they lock into his belt line. He jumps back like I stuck him with a taser.
His chest heaves as he stands across from me, hands in fists at his sides. I stalk closer. He doesn’t move back as I press my body against his.
“I’m coming,” I say, leaning into him until the hard length between his legs digs into my stomach. My eyes flutter at the sensation, and my next words are breathy. “Whether you like it or not.”
Those onyx irises glitter, hot and predatory, but I’ve won. And we both know it.
“Fine,” he says, watching me. “But you stay at my side, do you understand?”
I smirk. “Gladly.”
***
The property on Lock Lake is little more than an open stretch of land, undeveloped and empty. Just shoreline property before an overgrown small forest.
We all climb from one of the colony’s SUVs. And by all ...
Horan appears surprisingly normal in jeans and a T-shirt. But the massive sword down his spine is not. Caine’s leather pants, silk shirt, and trench would be more common in ascene, but I have no idea how he hasn’t melted in the Louisiana heat.
He smirks at me over the tops of very dark sunglasses despite the night outside, and his ruby eyes are lit with hellfire.
Oh right ... Demon.
My head shakes and I follow Ruin and the others out into the open field. They all move silently despite their heavier frames. Whereas every step I take seems to find a stick or patch of crunchy leaves.
“It’s empty,” Tanner says. “I can’t see or smell anything in any direction.”
Gage spins in a half circle. “Nor I.”
“Then it seems the little bird is even more innocent than we thought,” Caine says with a lascivious grin in my direction.
Ruin’s broad back appears in front of me. “Caine, so help me—”
I press my fingers over Ruin’s spine, kneading and pressing into the muscle under the soft tee. Every inch of his body is tense, and I don’t need to touch him to know it. I just do. His head falls back and a low pant leaves him. But otherwise he falls silent.
“He only does it to annoy you,” I whisper. “Something about how I’m already taken, even if I don’t know it.”
Ruin’s dark head turns to peer down at me, and his lips tremor. “Really? He said that?”
I nod. “That was around the time he offered to drink from me,” I say and then don’t know why I do. My eyes widen and I stare in horror.
Fuck.
Ruin’s crème skin reddens, and he whips around. “Caine, you son of a bitch! I’m going to fucking cut your–”
Lunging, I press my face into Ruin’s back, nuzzling over the rigid swells. His voice chokes off.
