Page 60 of Vallaverse: Twist
Laz finds me, though, and drags me back to the immediacy of the present with a satisfied groan and a sharp nip on my chest. “Careful, Valla. Once you mark me, that's it. No refunds, no returns.”
My teeth are pressing into the juncture of his shoulder and neck, begging to bite. I canfeelhis flesh giving itself to me, as if his body is trying to close the distance and complete the claiming mark. His blood, his taste, his soul are crying out for me to take what we both know is mine.
It would be so easy. So fucking easy.
I lick across his skin, fully contemplating the decision. I didn’t want to mark Laz again when he was in heat. I wanted him to be aware of it. I wanted him to participate in it. But isn’t he aware now? He’s completely conscious of himself and what’s happening. Opening my mouth, I let my teeth press into him again. He gasps my name, and I drag them back and forth, grazing, tempting myself.
He clenches around me when the skin breaks under the sharp attention, his head dropping back in submission as he moans.
I could do it.
I should.
I’m going to.
I was going to anyway.
I pull back just far enough to speak. “Say yes.”
“Yes?” he asks, breathlessly.
“Let me mark you again.” My tongue swirls, and the taste of him makes me groan. “Right now.”
“Yes,” he moans, wrapping his arms around my neck to pull me closer. “Yes, Brooks.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brooks
“Laz!” I call when I hear the front door open and shut.
He and Mrs. Richards have been out shopping all morning. I think they found something in each other that they both desperately needed. Sometimes I joke that Laz would pick her over me any day, and they laugh, but every now and then I think it might be true depending on the situation.
“Just a minute,” he yells back. “Be right there!”
I have exciting news this afternoon. Well, I think it will be exciting for Laz, which makes it exciting for me. I put in a bid for a property on the outskirts of the city. It's in a semi-run-down area, but it isn't too far gone. I want him to help me with this project. I think it will be good for him.
“What's wrong?” he asks, coming into my office.
“Nothing,” I tell him. “Come look at this.”
He leans over my shoulder, brushing his cheek against my jaw, and looks down at the monitor. “What am I looking at?”
“The Williams-Richards Youth Recreation Center.”
“Where?” he asks flatly.
I chuckle. “Look at it with your eyes closed. See the potential.”
I feel him turn to look at me and back at the monitor. “Why there? That's not a great area.”
“That's exactly why. It isn't a great area, but it could be.”
“It will be vandalized and ruined within a month, Brooks.”
I shake my head. “If someone else built it, maybe. But if I build it, nobody will touch it. And other businesses will come to the area. Imagine a few little shops, maybe a cute mom-and-pop restaurant, planted trees along the sidewalk, and some shrubs and plants. Maybe a dog park a little ways down.”
“That would take a lot of work.”
