Page 15 of Marked for Vengeance
Their tongues tangled, her fingers curving into his biceps as she rose on her toes to kiss him back. This was so much better than he’d imagined. Every second was new and unpredictable. Her surrender was glorious, and the scent of her arousal was the sweetest scent in all the worlds.
“Mine,” he growled against her mouth.
She laughed and nipped his lip. “No. This is merely a moment of temporary insanity. That’s all. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
She still didn’t understand. This wasn’t temporary. It was forever. He would never let her go. Did she think she could walk away now? Or choose another of his brothers?Never. He’d kill anyone who touched her.
“You will stay with me. Always. You are my female. The one I will cherish, protect, and pleasure in any way you desire.”
The kiss ended when she shook her head. “I’m old, Vengeance. Too old for you. No man has ever been really interested in me, even when I was young.” She laughed softly. “And that was a long time ago. I’m not what you want. You just don’t know it yet.”
He snarled, caught her by the waist, and kissed her until she stopped trying to escape his hold.
“I know what I want.” He grabbed one of her hands and drew it down between his legs, letting her feel how hard he was. “You are my female, Loris. I will never stop wanting you. That is how it is with Menace and my brothers. They have claimed the other females. I saw Hope. She looked at my brother with affection. She touched him without fear. She proclaimed him as her mate to all within hearing. This is how it will be.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t know a thing about me.”
Her voice was softer now, filled with the first whispers of doubt. He kissed her again. “I know enough. I was certain the moment I caught your scent. You were meant for me.” He nuzzled her cheek.
Again she laughed, but she rested her hands on his shoulders, her fingers caressing him in small circles that made him crave more. Would it be wrong to take her now? To lift her so she could wrap her legs around his waist as he drove himself into her body? Fuck, he wanted to, but there was a reason he couldn’t. What was it? He had to fight through the lust that fogged his mind to remember. The enemy. Yes. Someone would come to investigate. They had to go.
“Soon,” he promised her as he kissed her again. “We’ll do this again soon, but we must go. The moons will rise in an hour or so,but we can’t wait. Walk behind me with your hands on my back. I will guide you.”
“I can do that. You can be my own personal seeing-eye-sex-god.”
“There’s a god of sex?” he asked as she moved into place behind him.
“I only meant you’re very attractive.”
He chuckled. “I will be your sex god. You’ll see.”
Loris didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. They both knew he spoke the truth.
7
Loris followedbehind Vengeance and did her best to keep up. The small part of her mind not busy on keeping her footing as they marched through the night-soaked woods ran through a litany of questions she couldn’t answer.
What in the nine hells was she doing?
Would Maddison be okay?
Was Vengeance insane, or did he really intend to claim her as his female?
Round and round she went, her mind whirling while her body kept reacting to Venge’s in ways that made her blush.
More than once her hands slid from the soft fur of his back to the band that held his kilt in place. What would he look like naked? Did he have fureverywhere? He seemed confident that whatever his equipment was, they were biologically compatible. However, given the size of the rest of him, she had concerns. She couldn’t seem to hold on to them for very long, though. The more time she spent with him, the harder it was to think about anything else. Even her worries about Maddi faded. The only thought that lingered was how Vengeance made her feel. He wasmaddeningly stubborn, but his desire for her was obvious. Hewantedher, and he wasn’t being subtle about it.
Hells, he probably didn’t know the meaning of the word. Everything about him was brash, bold, and far sexier than he had any right to be. Damn him.
An hour ago, she hadn’t known he existed. Now he was all she could think about. When they stopped for the night, would he really do what he’d said? She knew the answer to that. Of course he would. The real question was, would she let him? She laughed at herself. She was too far gone to stop now.
If this was her last night of living, why not enjoy herself? Death might come for her either way. A few seconds of pleasure wouldn’t change that.
The moons rose eventually, and they provided enough light for her to make her own way. They descended steadily. Vengeance moved like a phantom, barely making a sound. She did her best, but it had been far too long since she’d done something like this. She was out of practice and out of shape compared to the soldier she’d once been.
After what might have been an hour, they took a break. She unclipped a water bottle from her bag and drank from it. As tempted as she was to lean against a nearby tree, she stayed standing. She had no idea what might be lurking in the branches. Hells, for all she knew the tree’s sap was poisonous or acid or something equally deadly.
“You move well,” Vengeance said. “What military did you fight for?”
