Page 108 of Marked

Chapter 23

Derek’s kiss turned savage, claiming my mouth like a man starving. His tongue invaded with possessive intent, drawing desperate whimpers from my throat that seemed to drive him wild. I was caught between him and Caleb, their powerful bodies forming a cage of heated muscle and barely restrained need. The low rumbles in their chests felt more animal than human, vibrating through me where they pressed against my body.

While Derek devoured my mouth, Caleb attacked my neck with hungry desperation. His teeth grazed sensitive skin, each bite followed by the soothing lap of his tongue. The contrast of sharp teeth and soft lips had me arching, pressing harder against them both.

“Please,” I gasped when Derek finally let me breathe, though I wasn’t sure what I was begging for.

Someone—Derek, I thought—growled and yanked at my shirt. Buttons scattered across the floor like fallen stars, pinging against the hardwood as the fabric was roughly shoved down my arms, effectively trapping them at my elbows. My chest heaved in the cool air, but I couldn’t feel cold, not with their burning touches marking every inch of exposed skin.

My body sang with rightness, every cell screaming that this was where I belonged—caught between these powerful men who seemed desperate to consume me. This was what I’d been missing, what I’d been searching for without knowing it. When Caleb’s teeth found the sensitive juncture of neck and shoulder, I moaned shamelessly into Derek’s mouth, my body instinctively arching to offer more of myself to them both.

A deep, primal growl—more dangerous than anything I’d heard before—cut through the heated fog of desire. The sound seemed to shake the very foundations of the cottage.

Derek and Caleb froze instantly, their bodies going rigid against mine. The change was dramatic—like watching wolves snap to attention at their alpha’s call. Their breathing was ragged, muscles trembling with the effort of restraint, but they didn’t move away. If anything, their grips tightened possessively.

I blinked through the haze of desire, turning to find Marcus standing, his posture radiating barely contained violence. His eyes blazed with an otherworldly intensity that should have terrified me—they weren’t just their usual icy blue, but something wilder, almost crimson in the dim light. Instead of fear, heat pooled low in my belly at the raw hunger in his gaze.

“We need to leave.” Marcus’ voice was rough, almost inhuman. Every word seemed dragged from his throat. “Now.”

Derek and Caleb pulled away as if burned, though their movements seemed physically painful. Their bodies shook with visible restraint, hands clenching and unclenching at their sides. That familiar frustration bubbled up inside me, turning quickly to anger. I was sick of their endless hot-and-cold game, tired of being left wanting and confused.

Something in me snapped. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was weeks of building tension, or maybe it was just the sight of Marcus standing there looking like sin incarnate while trying to deny what we all clearly wanted.

I stood, deliberately letting my ruined shirt slip farther down my arms, and stalked toward Marcus. He stiffened, a warning growl rumbling deep in his chest. The sound vibrated through the air, primal and dangerous.

“Stay where you are,” he commanded, his voice dropping to a register that made my knees weak. “Or go to your room. Now.”

I kept walking, letting my hips sway slightly. “No.” My voice was steady despite my racing heart. “This is my cottage, Marcus Stone, and I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”

His chest heaved with rapid breaths, muscles coiled tight as he battled something I couldn’t quite understand. With each step I took, he seemed to wage an internal war—his body simultaneously leaning toward me and trying to retreat.

“Kai,” he warned, but I could hear the strain in his voice. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I purred, now close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. “Don’t want you? Don’t crave your touch? Don’t dream about you—all of you—every night?” I heard twin growls from Derek and Caleb behind me. “Too late for that, don’t you think?”

Marcus’ eyes blazed, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “You don’t understand what you’re asking for.”

“Then explain it to me,” I challenged, closing the final distance between us. “Because right now, all I understand is that I want you so badly it hurts, and you want me too. I can see it in your eyes, feel it in your touch.” I pressed my palm against his thundering heart. “Here.”

“Baby.” His voice was strained, almost pleading. “You need to stop.”

Instead, I rose on my tiptoes, pressing my chest against his. “Make me.”

“Last warning,” Marcus growled, but his hands had found my hips, gripping hard enough to bruise. “You’re playing with fire, little one.”

“Maybe I want to burn.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, deliberately pressing closer. “Maybe I’m tired of you three treating me like I’m made of glass.” My lips brushed his jaw as I whispered, “Maybe I want you to lose control.”

The growl that tore from his throat was pure animal—dark and dangerous and thrilling. His eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, something ancient and predatory in his gaze.

“Please, Marcus,” I begged softly, letting all my need and desire color my voice. “I’m yours. I think I’ve always been yours. Just… please…”

Something in him snapped. One moment I was standing, the next I was crushed against the wall, lifted effortlessly as his mouth claimed mine with bruising force. This wasn’t just a kiss—it was a claiming, a devouring. His tongue demanded entrance, and I yielded instantly, moaning as he consumed me with a hunger that bordered on feral.

I locked my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, needing more. He tasted like expensive wine and raw power, and I wanted to drown in him. His hands branded my skin wherever they touched, leaving trails of fire in their wake. When I rolled my hips against him, seeking friction, he growled into my mouth and bit my lower lip hard enough to sting.

“Mine,” he snarled against my lips, then dove back in for another devastating kiss. His whole body pressed me into the wall, solid and powerful and perfect. I could feel Derek and Caleb’s presence too, their heated gazes adding to the intensity of the moment.

Just when I thought I’d finally won—finally broken through their maddening restraint—Marcus wrenched his lips away with a sound of pure agony. His eyes were wild, pupils blown widewith desire but rimmed with that strange crimson glow that made my heart race. For a moment, he looked utterly feral, like something not quite human lurked beneath his perfect control.

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