Page 23 of Smoke and Moon

He’d buried his nose right along the crease of her left thigh and brushed the soft fold of her sex.Her core quivered.It seemed to tighten and build to something unknown, but she knew she should tell him ‘no’ and stop him.However, there was something about him.She felt mysteriously drawn to him.And she wanted to see what he did next.

What she hadn’t conceived was his bite.It had been more of a nip or quick pinching of her flesh between two of his teeth, followed by a swipe of his tongue.

Her cry sprang forth.

It was the audacious sting and wet glide that made her grip a fistful of his hair and yanked him away from her.The quivers in her core had spiraled into heat that swelled and sank low into her sex, making it throb and liquefy.Everything and everyone else around them had blurred, faded, and practically become non-existent.He garnered all her focus.

As she stared into the eyes that had turned a dark amber and held a bright glow around the outer edge, she had the urge to lean forward and press her mouth to his tantalizing lips.No, his wolfish grin.The man was wicked.

Kai showed up to rescue her right then.Thankfully?

The doubt-filled thoughts shocked Morlie.Her big sister was always there for her and protected her.If it hadn’t been for Kai, she would have been dead by now.

However, Morlie could not help but wonder what if she had put up a fight when Aodh had ordered Liekki to take her away.What if she had remained and let the sexy, tall man deliver on the promises she saw reflected in his gaze?

She wanted to know what he meant when he made that claim—mine.

No one owned another, so why did he say it?

That area high on the inside of her thigh began to tingle as the questions filled her mind.It reminded her of something else she had avoided focusing on.They all had referred to her as marked.The Vampire had gone as far as to state the reason he shredded her pant leg was because he wanted to see the mark.Dov had clarified the man’s act when he explained it was at the top of her thigh.

Nervous about what she would find, Morlie lifted her leg.She set her heel on the edge of the bed, then leaned forward and looked between her legs.She could see something but had difficulty identifying it at her angle and seated.

Getting up, she went into the bathroom to the mirror over the sink.

She felt anxious but didn’t let that stop her from undoing the fastenings of her pants before she pushed them over her hips to the floor.Naked, except for her midriff top, she moved closer to the mirror.She took a moment and stared into her eyes, then traveled her gaze over her features.Nothing on her face seemed different.She still appeared to be the same Morlie who had left her suite to hang out with her new friends.However, now something had altered within her on an elemental level.

She brought her leg up until she could rest her foot on the cold, marble countertop.Once her left foot was planted firm, she tipped her knee to the side, let gravity pull it down, and widened her stance.The angle caused her hips to jut forward, and then she saw it.No, she saw two things.

The first thing that drew her gaze was the white ink etching at the very top of her left thigh, barely leaving a finger's distance from the symbol carved into the skin and her sex.

The symbol was familiar since all of the official messages from their government always held the two halves of a circle with a single line between them.They had learned in education classes that the symbol meant that even though the Consumers and the Dispatch areas were separate, they were still one people, and one half was incomplete without the other.It hadn’t gone without notice to even youth that there was also a solid line that kept the two halves from connecting.

Now, there was another line added.It was longer and pointed at both ends.It didn’t take much thought for Morlie to conclude that the longer line signified something permanently dividing the lower dispatch half from the upper consumer's behalf.The ice-white mark was offensive as its harsh coloring stood out so blatant against the brown of her skin’s tone.

I can never go back.The mark had severed her connection to the humans inside the wall.

Morlie didn’t want to go back to where she and her older sister struggled to eat and find shelter and medicine to survive.However, her eyes still burned with unshed tears at the thought that her government had forced this situation on her and would deny her the safety of the community.Her people had marked her and threw her away to dragons, Vampires, and Lord knew what else surrounded that table in the clearing.

Mine.The man’s strong voice filled Morlie’s mind and drew her gaze to the other mark on her skin.A small red, swollen mark sat in the crease of her thigh—a puncture wound.

Where he bit me.

It didn’t look infected.There wasn’t any weeping, and no pus seemed to be there, and it appeared to have closed already.Morlie felt she should be thankful that it seemed to be healing fine.

But nothing was okay for her right now.She had more questions and not enough answers.The weight of everything she had been through and what was to come bore down on her shoulders.Morlie’s foot slipped from the counter and landed heavily on the floor, the impact sending pain ricocheting up inside her leg.

‘She’s mine,’ the tall, lean, muscular man demanded.How long before he came to claim her or before the council forced Kai to take her back?

“Morlie?”

The call of her name jolted her out of the heavy feelings saturating her mind and body.

“Morlie, are you alright?May I come in?”

“I’m fine.Give me a moment,” Morlie called out.Typically, having another woman see her naked wouldn’t bother her.However, after her day, she felt as if enough people had seen parts of her body.She preferred to keep her privates covered.She grabbed her ruined pants, then moved to the door and glanced out to ensure she was still alone.She could see the front door cracked, but no one was inside her space.Clutching her pants to her body, she rushed out and into the closet beside the bathroom.She tossed her tattered clothes on the floor, snatched the robe from the back of the door, and put it on.

Once she was covered and headed across the room, she said, “Come in, Eilidh.”Morlie knew with Drahks’ keen hearing, Eilidh would have no problem hearing her soft words.

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