Page 39 of Marked

Thirteen

Jack’s body collapses on top of mine, our sweaty bodies slick against one another. I run my hands down his back as he buries his face in my neck, trying to catch his breath. My fingers ghost back up his spine, relishing in the smoothness of his skin, before sinking into his hair.

“Well done, Detective,” I tease, voice still a little shaky.

He huffs out a laugh and leans up on his elbows to look down at me. My hands fall from his hair, giving it more of the tousled, just-fucked look. His eyes dart to my mouth, but when he dips his head, he brushes his lips along my cheekbone.

Disappointment hits me hard, but I know it can’t be any other way.

Jack sits up and slowly slips out of me with a groan. Instead of flopping down next to me on the bed, he stands and grabs his boxers. “Can I get you anything from the kitchen? Water? Coffee?” He lifts a brow. “Alcohol?”

“I can get it,” I insist, sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed.

He comes over and lightly pushes me back against the bed. “No, I’ll get it. I want to take care of you after that.”

A blush heats my cheeks at the earnest tone. “Um, okay. I have a bottle of green tea in there if you don’t mind?”

“Of course.” He leans over me to press a kiss to my forehead before standing. I try to grab him, but he swats at my hands with another laugh. “Patience, Valkyrie. I’m not done with you yet.”

Almost instantly I feel my inner slut perk up at the idea of a round two. When liquid pools between my legs, I assume it’s arousal, but the gush gives it away. I quickly stand from the bed, grabbing the closest article of clothing on the ground to catch his cum as it drips out of me. I blink when I realize that in our lust induced haze, we didn’t use a condom.

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath and hobble to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and sit on the toilet to pee. It takes a few bundles of toilet paper to wipe up the rest of his mess. After flushing it all down, I remain seated. With a heavy sigh I rub my face, trying to sort out all my facts.

One: I’m on birth control so that should hopefully have me covered.

Two: I haven’t been with anyone but Seth in the past two and a half months, and we always used protection. I knew he had other partners, and I didn’t want to be a part of that.

Three: Typically, wereanimals can’t catch diseases.

Four: Jack and I aren’t wereanimals.

Five: I don’t know anything about Jack’s sexual conquests.

“Fuck,” I mutter again.

There’s a soft knock on the door followed by a soft, “Valkyrie?”

Standing, I head to the door and open it. At his concerned expression, I give him a tentative smile, but it doesn’t seem to appease him. I sigh softly again and take my green tea from him when it’s offered. “We didn’t use a condom,” I point out.

He tilts his head at me. “I know. What concerns you about it?”

I take a small sip of my tea, a bit miffed at his question. “Why aren’t you concerned at all? You don’t know if I’m carrying something or not.”

Jack hums and leans against the door frame. “You’re right, I don’t. It was a mistake on both our accounts, but I should have been in better control than that. I can tell you that I’m clean if that makes you feel better. I haven’t been with someone in a while.”

I blow out a soft breath. “It does. I’m also clean. It’s just, I know wereanimals can’t catch diseases like that, but we’ve both acknowledged that you and I don’t fall into that category.”

He nods. “I can see why you’re worried. I’m sorry I wasn’t up front with you about it.”

I look down at my drink, twisting the cap back and forth. “Thank you,” I murmur. “For not making a big deal about my concerns. For not making me feel silly about them.”

Jack closes the distance between us, tilting my chin up with his pointer finger. “You don’t have to thank me for simply listening to you. If there’s something bothering you about us and I can do something to fix it, I will. I respect you, Valkyrie.”

I just stared up at him, mouth floundering for something to say in response. Really, who is this man? How could he be so perfect in so many different ways? Everything he says to me is what I want, what I need, to hear. He makes me feel normal. He makes me feel accepted.

I don’t know how it happened, or when, but my lips are on his. They’re warm and soft and exactly how I imagined they’d feel. I’m clumsy with my kiss because I don’t know how to do it. The ones I give my marks are pecks, a simple press of lips against lips.

At the reminder of my marks, I tear myself away from him with a gasp. No, no, no! I stumble away from him, covering my mouth with my hand in absolute horror. What have I done? What did I just do? How could I? My eyes brim with tears as he reaches for me. “No!” I choke out.

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