Page 99 of Marked
His chest heaves, gaping the top three open buttons of his shirt. The strong line of his collarbone gleams out at me, framing a network of thin scars. “I don’t know what–”
My eyes roll and I press against his front, arms winding around his waist as I hug him.
He stops breathing.
Up close, his heart thunders in my ear, and the brimstone scent of his skin is musky, laced with amber and something spicy. He is like stone against me. And my hands pat his muscular back gently.
“Little bird ...” His voice is strained.
“It’s okay, Caine,” I breathe. “It’s okay to just have a friend.” I hold him tighter. “We can be on the outside together. Me and you, yeah?”
His body shakes against me, a fine tremble of motion. He loosens his hands from the counter. I wait for them to fold around me, but he just puts me gently away from him.
A rosy color stains his vessel’s cheeks, and he won’t meet my eyes. “Humans and your sentimentality.” But he grabs the plate of cookies and pops one in his mouth.
I force my lips not to smile and follow him back out in the hall.
“Oh how the mighty have fallen. A demon? Really?”
The new male guest waits across from us, his hair shoved back and a manic gleam filling his eyes as he holds a knife to Raina’s slim neck. Ice turns my veins sluggish. Cold.
“How did you get in here?”
“I’m a supernatural, dove,” he says. It’s such a parody of Caine’s endearment that I blink back angry tears.
“Let her go,” I growl.
He presses the blade tighter, and a trickle of blood flows down her neck. She pales.
My lips part. “Raina–”
Caine throws the plate, catching the male in the face with it like a discus. Raina’s ice blue eyes spin to gold, dropping twin dainty fangs against her lip. She elbows the male and wrenches away. He snarls.
His fist flies, catching her in the cheek. Raina spirals into the air and slams into the wall with a gasp. “Caine. Go!”
He hesitates. “Raina...”
She coughs again and tries to jump up. “He’s Vlad! Get her out, damn it.”
My eyes lock with Draven’s and he smiles. “Guess my secret is out, dove.” He spins in place and kicks Raina in the stomach. She screams, hands going to her belly on an instinct that I am sure means what I think it does. Her slim body collapses, tears pouring down her face.
Draven–Vlad starts toward me, turning the knife in his grasp.
A wall of flames jump to the ceiling and Caine grabs my hand, hauling me back into the kitchen and to the back entrance of the tunnel. “But Raina–”
“Raina is a vampire, Lilah. She can get out,” he snaps. “My orders are to protectyou.”
Stumbling into the tunnel behind him, I have to run or fall.
I peer behind us as things crash and bang against the door.
Caine pulls harder, urging me faster through the dark corridor of stone.
“Call a portal,” I say, voice too high.
He swears and then begins to snarl. “I can’t. The bastard has a ward up on the building. We got to get outside.”
Behind us, a massive boom echoes. Caine lets go of my hand and pushes me forward. “Go, Lilah. I’m right behind you.”
