Page 93 of Under the Ink

“Youclaimedme?”

“Yeah. I guess Sage didn’t get that there memo.”

“I don’t belong toanybody. Not you, not Sage. Nobody.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, darlin’,” he said, taking another step—and the look in his dark eyes made her freeze in her tracks. “I staked my claim, and I’m like a wolf. I mate for life, and you know what that means.”

Had he told Annabelle that—whoever the hell that woman was?

Naomi wanted to talk, but she could no longer move, could barely think. And she was afraid that her silence told this man he could move forward with impunity—but, try as she might, she couldn’t make her body do anything in response to her brain’s demands.

She was paralyzed.

“There’s just one problem, darlin’. We haven’t actuallymatedyet. But we can take care of that right now.”

As if she were transported from the room, Naomi was suddenly back in that hotel room with Jacob. They’d gone to the homecoming dance and he and another kid from church, Jacob’s best friend, had rented a cheap hotel room on the edge of town. He’d asked if she liked candy, to which she’d told him yes. “That’s because you’re sweet,” he said. “But have you ever wanted to try the laughing kind?”

It took a bit for her to understand he was talking about edibles, something they’d discussed a week before. And even though she knew she’d feel guilty, she didn’t remember seeing anything in the Bible condemning her if she chose to try. So she meekly told him she would.

And apparently had a larger dose than she should have.

When she came to, Jacob was ripping her in half. Even now, she could remember how heavy his body felt on hers, how helpless she felt.

How badly it hurt—as if she were literally being torn in two.

Had she told him no? Had she done more than push against him at the end?

Suddenly back in the present, Naomi’s blood grew cold as Andy’s face got close enough to hers that she could smell his sharp cologne. Turning his head, he brought his lips to her ear and whispered. “I get the feeling you’re definitely an animal in bed, Annabelle. Let’s find out.”

He was fucking psycho.

As his lips touched her neck, the heat from his skin seemed to thaw her body. “No!” she shouted, pushing against him.

“Nope. You lost your chance to say that.”

Like he’d ever given her an opportunity to refuse.

Moving backward quickly, she followed her instincts. She knew going deeper into the room would allow Andy to corner her, but she needed some distance from him. “Stay back!” she yelled, but it was like he’d lost his sense of hearing.

Lunging, he grabbed her around the shoulders again. “No way, darlin’. You’re mine—and I’m gonna mark my territory.”

Another jolt of adrenaline rushed through her veins but she could feel his strength and knew if she resisted, she wouldn’t stand a chance. He ran his tongue along her neck, making her flesh feel like it was going to crawl away. Unable to hold still any longer—and grateful that she could move—she reached behind her body, and, as she touched it, considered grabbing the alarm clock to use as a weapon.

But there was a huge heavy lamp there, too…

Turning quickly, she picked it up—and she moved fast enough to take him off guard. His expression was a mixture of disbelief, anger, and even amusement, and he was getting ready to respond. But she felt a surge of strength and anger and managed to pummel the lamp into his head, shattering the base.

He wanted a wolf? She’d turned into a ferocious one.

Then she tried to remember if she’d even brought her self-defense items in here from the bus, but she was pretty sure she’d left them in her storage area.

Really smart. Ginny didn’t need to hear about this one.

Before she was thinking straight, Naomi was in the hallway, calling Sage. Under her breath, she said, “Pick up. Pick up. Please, God, pick up.” She ran down the hall toward the elevator, punching the down arrow button, figuring that if she went to the lobby, he wouldn’t attack her there.

“Hey,” Sage said, answering his phone. “You ready for breakfast?”

“Andy just assaulted me.”

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