Mark of the Wolf by T. L. Shreffler Page B

pathetic sound.
Gareth’s hands had stopped moving. She could tell he was stiff and
tense.
    Then she felt his hand again on her back,
running over those scars, leaving chills across her skin. “And
these?” he asked slowly.
    “ His belt,” she whispered. She didn’t
know why, she couldn’t control it, but a tear slid down her cheek.
Thank god she was hiding her face. She hadn’t cried over the
beatings for a long time, several years at least.
    “ And this is the same man who sold you
out to pay for his gambling debts?” he said quietly. Maddy nodded,
her throat too choked to speak.
    “ I’ll kill him.”
    She looked up in surprise. His green eyes
were ablaze with an unknown emotion, one that struck terror in her
heart; it was a wild, feral look that she was sure didn’t belong on
a human. His teeth were bared in a way that made her heart pound,
and his rage was almost palpable.
    “ What?” she whispered, her mouth
dry.
    “ I’ll fucking kill the bastard that
did this to you,” he growled, so low that she could barely
understand his words.
    The tone of his voice terrified her, but his
threat didn’t. She didn’t want her stepfather dead, but at the same
time, she probably wouldn’t be too bent out of shape if it
happened. “Why?” she asked hesitantly. “Why would you help me? I’m
nobody.”
    The growl he gave her was fierce, and then he
moved, pulling himself up the couch until he was completely on top
of her, covering her body with his; she felt consumed, sheltered.
His arms landed on either side of her, locking her in, and then his
hips were pressed against hers. A hard bulge pushed into her thigh.
He was hard, a full erection. Her eyes widened and her breathing
grew shallow.
    “ Nobody touches you,” he said quietly, and she got
the distinct impression that this was not the usual Gareth. There
was something dangerous about him, something untamed and
uncontrollable. The wolf inside? She couldn’t be sure, but the
feeling of power coming off of him was intoxicating. She reached up
and touched his bulging arms — looked into his eyes.
    “ Why?” she whispered again.
    “ Because you’re mine. ” And then he kissed her again, his
mouth harsh and controlling. She felt a stab of pain as his sharp
canines grazed her lips, and he moaned, licking the blood them She
took him in, kissing him back, heart pounding like a drum. She
could taste his mouth, his saliva, a heady rush of fire moving
through her body straight to her dripping cunt. Everywhere he
touched began to burn with pleasure.
    And he was touching her – her arms, her neck, her sides and stomach.
One hand went behind her back and suddenly her bra was loose,
sliding off her body and flung somewhere out of sight. He didn’t
hesitate – his rough tongue lapped over her nipples, teasing them
into painful peaks, drawing upon them, causing shivers of pleasure
to wrack her body. She panted and groaned, and he chuckled low in
his throat, a sound that sent chills across her skin.
    “ Oh my god,” she groaned as another
wave of pleasure took her. He moved to lift her up slightly,
adjusting her so she was sitting in his lap, his one hand holding
her face as he kissed her, the other working at her pants. Then
they were gone, and her panties were the only thing between him and
her naked body. They were pink and striped, already soaking wet.
She looked up dazedly at his face and saw the hunger there, saw him
looking at her body in an intimate way that no man ever had before.
She pushed her face against his shoulder, suddenly shy, wanting
only to hide. She had always been self-conscious, but his gaze saw
too much.
    Then his fingers pushed under the band of her
panties, and she gasped, one of them sliding down her wet little
slit. It played around her lips and then hovered over her clit,
rubbing the swollen little nub gently, just enough to make her gasp
and cry out, her body going tense.
    “ Shh baby,” he murmured, kissing her
lips as she moaned.