Page 43 of Marked

Fourteen

The sweet, sweet smell of liquid life pulls me from my sleep. I blink groggily at the clock next to me and see that it’s close to seven in the morning. Sitting up, I rub my eyes before looking over at the other side of the bed. It’s rumpled state quickly reminds me of Jack and what happened last night.

He was so…attentive. To everything. My pleasure, my mental hang ups, and the other needs I have.

Smiling, I climb out of bed, and my inner slut all but purrs at the subtle ache between my thighs. Spotting his shirt next to my feet, I tug it on. The hem falls to my upper thigh, just barely covering me. After finger-combing my hair, I make my way to the kitchen but stop when I see a shirtless Jack. He’s only wearing his underwear and my, is it a delicious sight.

My eyes greedily take in the expanse of his back as he reaches up to grab two coffee mugs from the cupboard before I shamelessly ogle his ass. When he turns towards me, he does a double take. My cheeks heat as he slowly drags his eyes down my body then back up, a small smile curling up his lips.

Setting the mugs down on the counter, he stalks over to me. He cups my face in his hands and sensually caresses my lips with his. I close my eyes, a soft hum of pleasure echoing in my throat as I kiss him back.

“Good morning, Valkyrie,” he rumbles when we part.

“Good morning, Jack,” I whisper against his lips.

He smirks and presses another quick kiss to my lips. “Coffee?” he asks as he grabs the pot of freshly brewed coffee.

“Yes, all the liquid life,” I say, walking over to join him at the counter. When I reach for a mug, he lightly smacks my hand away.

Jack sets the pot back down before grabbing me by the waist to sit me down on the counter. He looks me over, eyes lingering on my thighs, and nods his approval before going back to the coffee. “How do you like it?” he asks casually, as if he didn’t just put me on display for him.

I chuckle. “There are a few flavored creamers in the fridge. I’ll take a healthy pour of whatever you pick.”

Jack takes my mug with him to the fridge and pours in the caramel flavored creamer. When he brings it to me, he makes a point to spread my legs more so he can stand between them. We’re very close, and it feels remarkably intimate even though we’re both just sipping our coffee.

“How do you feel?” His free hand lightly skims up my thigh to my hip, lifting the shirt as he does. “I noticed these this morning when I woke up.”

I follow his line of sight to the faint bruises along my skin. “They don’t hurt, if that’s what you mean. I don’t mind a few marks if they were worth getting. Plus, they’ll be gone tomorrow.”

Jack’s eyes dart to my throat before meeting mine. “And was it? Worth it?”

“Very much so, Detective Khoury,” I answer, lifting my brows suggestively as I take a sip from my coffee, never breaking eye contact.

His eyes hood in response. He dips in and presses a soft kiss to my neck before backing away from me. At my questioning gaze, he points at the microwave clock. “If I don’t get away from you, we’re going to be late for work.”

I sober at the reminder of work. At the zero leads we have for all those headless women. “Fuck,” I mumble and rub my face. “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“To be fair, I think I thoroughly distracted you.” Jack runs his hand through his disheveled black hair. “Speaking of that, we need to talk about last night. You told me what you were, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you about me.” A smirk tilts up his lips again. “Someone kept my mouth busy.”

I hum in satisfaction at the reminder. “I did.” Hearing my phone ringing from the bedroom, I set down my mug and hop off the counter. “Hold that thought because I’m dying to finally hear this,” I tell him before hurrying down the hall, I snatch my phone up from the nightstand and blink when I see an unfamiliar number. Deciding to go the professional route, I answer it as I would a work call. “This is Dalton.”

“Is this Val?” comes an uncertain masculine voice.

“It is. Who’s this?”

“Bryan, Taylor’s intended.”

I raise my brows in surprise. “Oh, hey, what’s up?”

“Taylor gave me your number a while ago for emergencies,” he begins, the tremble in his voice making my hackles rise. “By chance have you seen her?”

“Taylor?” I clarify unnecessarily. Who else can it be? “I haven’t seen her since work, why?”

A whine begins to come through the phone before he clears his throat and cuts it off. “She never showed for the pack run. It’s not like her to miss a run, let alone without telling me or the alpha. I thought maybe you guys might have had a call last night?”

Panic coils in my belly. “No, we didn’t get called to a scene if that’s what you mean.” I say, looking up at Jack when he walks into the room with a curious expression. “Have you heard from her at all?”

“Not since she got off work. She called me like she always does and told me she was going to go home and relax a bit before the run. I had to work later than her, so I was going to meet her at the pack house.”

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