by Zoey Marcel
“How do you know it’s a bite mark?” she stalled.
He advanced toward her, dark eyes dangerous. “It’s a fucking mating mark and I want to know how you got it.”
She stepped back nervously. “I didn’t mean to. A man just bit me. That’s all.”
Brad slammed her against the wall, knocking a startled gasp from her at the sudden impact of the cold wall touching her heated skin. “Did you fuck another man behind our backs?”
“What? No! We didn’t have sex. He just bit me, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means everything, damn it! You let another man claim you!”
“No! I didn’t want him to. I didn’t even know that’s what he was doing.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Chanel! You knew what he did to you. That’s why you covered the fucking mark with makeup and didn’t tell us about it.” Brad looked furious and hurt.
Dawson appeared shattered by the news and remained silent the whole time.
Cory gaped at her in disbelief. “So what, you just came here to screw us? You figured it was okay to fuck with us as long as it didn’t mean anything and we didn’t claim you?”
“What? No!” Chanel was heartbroken. It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. The look in Brad’s eyes killed her.
His tone sounded icy and offended. “That’s exactly what she thought. Do you know that anyone who sleeps with the claimed life mate of someone else has a price on their head?”
“But you didn’t claim me,” she reminded him, feeling her eyes burn. “He doesn’t know where I live. It was a mistake.”
“It doesn’t matter. You share a bond now. He can find you through the psychic link you’ve forged. Sleeping with another person’s blood mate is akin to adultery, only far more serious according to the laws of weres. And while I’m not afraid to be on any man’s shit list, I don’t appreciate you endangering my brothers’ lives like that.” Brad stepped back and nodded toward the showerhead. “Rinse off and get out. After you get dressed, Cory will take you home.”
“Well, that’s gonna be a fun ride,” Cory muttered.
A current of pain ripped through her heart. Cory didn’t want to be with her. Brad looked and acted like she willingly betrayed him, and Dawson had tears running down his face as he grabbed a towel and got out of the shower. He left the bathroom with his robe before he was even dry.
Her throat ached and her eyes burned when she asked the question she dreaded and already knew the answer to. “Are you saying you don’t want me anymore?”
Brad hesitated, a misty glimmer of agony reflected in his brown eyes as he sighed before hardening to answer her. “No, I don’t.”
His answer stabbed her in the chest. “Cory?”
Cory’s face twisted in anguish and he ran his fingers through his damp blond hair indecisively. “Ah, hell, it doesn’t even matter what I want now, does it? I can’t be with you when you’re wearing another man’s love bite.”
Chanel shook her head in disbelief as her ducts welled with the urge to cry. “It’s just a nibble on my skin. I didn’t sleep with him or get married.”
“It would’ve been better if you had,” Cory argued. “At least then we could’ve hoped your marriage failed and waited for you to divorce, or had the choice of forgiving you for banging another man behind our back. But this?”
His response left her cold and desolate. They considered her actions unforgivable? Chanel stepped under the water and rinsed away the remaining suds before moving away from it and wringing her hair out, feeling numb all over despite the warm water.
To tell them about Lucius would raise further questions and she had no intention of revealing her past to them. Besides, with the way he seemed aware that she’d been having sex with them a few minutes ago, she feared what Lucius might do if she opened up to them.
“This doesn’t have to be the end. So what if I got chewed on a little? It doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m still yours,” she told them quietly.
“No, you’re not,” Brad sadly contradicted. “You’re not really his, either. You betrayed us all. I was willing to wait for the town bitch, but I don’t want another man’s whore.”
Her heart ached and Chanel felt an unbearable spasm as if it were literally breaking to pieces in her chest. She snagged a towel and wrapped it around her body to shield her nudity from their eyes as she grabbed her clothes. They didn’t want her.
Anger coiled inside her every bit as fierce as her misery. Another man’s whore? Fuck Brad. He was far more used than she was. She was cautious and selective in her relationships. He was just a pervert who jumped anything female.
“I’ll be out in a second,” Cory said quietly.
“Don’t bother,” Chanel objected. “I’ll call someone to come and pick me up.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I said I’ll call someone,” she bit out.
“Chanel, it’s late and there’re several feet of snow on the ground. Who are you going to call at this hour?” Brad asked quietly.
“I have family, okay? Jesus, you guys act like I’m some Jezebel who no one could ever give a damn about. You’re not my salvation from loneliness. Believe it or not there are actually one or two people who can tolerate being around me despite the whore I am.”
Brad’s eyes dropped in sorrow. “Chanel—”
“Don’t!” she snapped before exiting the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.
* * * *
Chanel’s brother-in-law, Ben Easton, came to pick her up. She called her friend, Sally Moore, first, but got her voice mail instead, so she supposed the woman was asleep by now.
The sheriff was awake and apparently had just gotten off work, so he came to pick Chanel up from the Taylors’ place. The ride home was quiet and awkward, though her absorption with life’s most recent developments had her partially distracted enough not to care how uncomfortable the silence rendered Ben and herself to an extent.
“Is everything all right?”
His concern surprised her. Neither of them liked the other one very much and her past ill treatment of him was another contributor. “I’m fine.”
“It’s late. I’m surprised the Taylors didn’t offer to put you up for the night, or at least drive you home.”
“They did, but I declined.”
“Well, this way is more convenient...for them.” Ben hinted his annoyance.
“I’m sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I really needed a ride,” Chanel said flippantly.
Her mind resided elsewhere at the moment. If Lucius somehow knew what she’d been up to earlier with her cowboys, did he also know where she lived now? She prayed not. Did he know she was pregnant?
Impossible. Now she was just being paranoid. Still, the thought of moving away from Temptation sounded very appealing to her at this point. She couldn’t bear the thought of constantly running into the Taylor brothers and she worried that Lucius would somehow find her.
Why hadn’t that silver bullet worked on him? He was a werewolf, but he was also a vampire. Perhaps she should’ve brought along a wooden stake for reinforcements should her first plan fail. She didn’t want to lose another baby to him, nor would she allow him or any other man to have that level of control over her again.
She’d lost so much of it earlier with the three brothers and had started to surrender to Brad’s dark wishes. Chanel cringed inside when she recalled how she’d cried out “Master” and pleaded for him to stop. Whether she’d been imploring Brad or Lucius she didn’t know, only that she’d called one of them Master while in the clutches of terror and must never do so again.
Her jaw clenched and her eyes burned when Brad’s cruel words echoed in her mind. “I don’t want another man’s whore.”
Damn him. Well, she didn’t want a dominant playboy either, no matter what her body said in opposition of this. She must move to escape the pain and humiliation of having to see them around town with other women, knowing that she could h
ave been that woman.
She must leave to protect her unborn baby and flee the one who quite possibly was hunting her, though she hoped Lucius was simply getting in her head to play mind games with her and nothing more.
When Chanel got home she stripped and got into the shower. She’d already had one at the Taylors’ house, but the hot water proved relaxing and she felt a bit disgusted with herself for having given into them only to be insulted and thrown out like a common hooker they didn’t care about or respect.
“Chanel.”
She froze, unable to believe how audible Lucius’s voice was inside her head. This wasn’t her imagination. Somehow this was the real deal.
“That’s right, princess. I’m talking to you through our bond.”
Her eyes widened and her skin prickled with dreadful shock. “How?”
“You know how. We’re blood mates now.”
“I’m not your mate, shithead. I despise you.”
“I’ll have you know I’m keeping track of your infractions,” he warned.
“I’m not afraid of you, Lucius.”
“You used to be when you found out what I was. Now you fear only your memories of me and the inescapable power they have over you.”
“You have no power over me. I’m not the doormat I used to be.”
“My power over you is stronger than ever. I always looked back fondly when I reminisced about the life we had together. I remember the day we met. You didn’t have enough money when you went to pay for your coffee. I stood behind you in line and bought it for you.”
“Then you made me sit down and drink it with you.”
Lucius chuckled. “You know you were flattered by how attracted I was to you. We made small talk and you said you were looking for a job. I told you I was hiring a housekeeper and gave you my address. You must have been utterly desperate for cash to show up alone at a stranger’s house, going on faith that there really was a job opening rather than an ulterior motive on my part.”
Chanel sighed as she washed her body. “That was the biggest mistake of my life.”
“I even let you live at my house with me when I discovered you had no place to go. I gave you a good life, Chanel. I spared you no material possession, no affection or fantasy that you wanted. I was your hero.”
“And now you’re dead to me.”
“Do you remember the first time we touched?”
How could she forget? He gave her her first orgasm and showed her a darker, kinkier side of sex that her semi-innocent, younger eighteen-year-old self never knew existed.
“No answer. Hm. If you don’t remember I would be more than happy to insert the memory into your mind. How does that sound?”
Her eyes closed. “I remember.”
She remembered everything about that night.
* * * *
Sixteen years ago – San Francisco, California
Chanel arrived back at the mansion a bit later than she meant to. The place really was gorgeous and the outside had a Victorian quality that she greatly appreciated. She’d gone to a bookstore and purchased an erotic novel. It was after nine o’clock by the time she got back and it was dark out.
Her boss, Lucius, sat in a chair in the living room, calmly eying her once she returned. “It’s late. Where were you?”
“I went to the bookstore. I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”
“What did you get?”
She tried not to blush, but felt the warmth creeping into her face. “It’s just a romance.”
His eyes flickered with wanton interest. “I see. Do you read them to satisfy the romantic in you or your libido?”
Her cheeks warmed at his words. “I–I don’t know. I just like them. I’m going to bed now.”
“Do you touch yourself when you read them?”
She gasped and hurried upstairs. “Of course not! I have to go.”
Chanel got ready to go to sleep and lay down on her bed to read. The book was quite provocative, resembling erotica more than a romance. It was a capture fantasy with plenty of BDSM and dubious consent. The things the heroine experienced at the hand of her captor intrigued and excited Chanel. What was it like to be forced to surrender, to be owned by someone?
She whipped her top off and tossed it aside, reveling in the naughty thrill of exposing her breasts, even if no one was around to witness the display. She rolled onto her stomach and laid the book on her pillow so she could read from it while she slid her hand down her panties to touch herself. She’d never had an orgasm before, but maybe this time if she got aroused enough and went long enough she would find release.
A slight rustling and shuffling sound filled the air and before she knew it, the broad, masculine frame of a person covered her, pressing into her back with his weight. Chanel screamed only to find it muffled by a big, strong hand. She recognized Lucius’s signature cologne as well as his deep, alluring voice.
“It’s just me, Chanel. Don’t scream,” he murmured against her neck before planting a gentle kiss there.
Sparks shot off under her skin where his lips touched her and her eyes widened when she felt the enormous pole tenting his pants. He was erect for her and she was pinned beneath him, wearing only a pair of panties that left little to the imagination.
“Lucius?” she whispered in disbelief once he pulled his hand away from her lips.
“What are you reading?” He nuzzled his nose against her cheek and moved his hands so they each cupped one of her breasts and lightly kneaded them.
She gasped, unwittingly pushing into his doting palms. “Wh–How did you get in here?”
“I hid when you were in the bathroom.”
“You hid?” She was too stunned to be outraged by the confession. The thumbs brushing over her distended nipples had her equally distracted.
To her utter humiliation, Lucius turned the book so he could see the cover and read the title. His tone said he was grinning from behind her. “This isn’t a romance, Chanel. It’s erotica, and judging by the explicit cover, I think you knew damned well what you were getting. Why did you lie to me?”
It surprised her to feel guilty for having disappointed him, but then she quickly found courage when it reoccurred to her that he’d sneaked into her bedroom and spied on her while she read a smutty book and attempted to play with herself. Chanel grimaced when she realized he’d heard her whine in frustration and practically beg her body for the release which eluded her.
“What are you doing in my room?” Her tone sounded shaky rather than assertive like she meant it to be.
“What is the book about?”
She felt her face flush. “Please go away. This isn’t right.”
Moisture coated her folds and Chanel secretly hoped he would refuse to cooperate with her feeble demands and simply take her right there in her bed. A raspy cry fled from her when Lucius twisted her nipples lightly as penalty for something.
“I asked you a question, Chanel, and I expect an answer.” He pinched her sensitive breast tissue, tormenting her further with pain that summoned dark, primal urges from within her.
“It’s about a woman who gets kidnapped and is forced into slavery.” She couldn’t believe she was telling him this. It was too personal and he was her boss.
Lucius sounded like he wore a smile on his handsome face. “What kind of slavery?”
Chanel swallowed nervously, trying to overcome her humiliation. “Sexual.”
“Does it arouse you to read of women being used and objectified by men?”
Heat pooled in her tummy. “Yes.”
“Would you like to be used and objectified?”
The rough, steady hand gliding down the side of her body as he asked the question in a heated murmur exhilarated her.
“Would you mind getting up, please? This is a little uncomfortable.”
He kindly acquiesced. “Because of the baby?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “How did you know I was pregnant?”
His palm slid down to
settle over her belly. “The tiny baby bump. That and the fact that I’ve never seen you buy any tampons or pads.”
Her jaw dropped and she boldly glanced over her shoulder to convey her indignation at his audacity despite her embarrassment. “Why did you take it upon yourself to keep track of my purchases and absence of a menstrual cycle?”
“You make it sound as though the subjects are none of my business.”
“They’re not.”
“You are mistaken, Chanel. This is my house and everything that’s in it belongs to me, including you.”
His possessiveness caught her off guard, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond to it. “I belong to no one.”
He lightly gripped her arm when she tried to get up, but his firm grasp was enough to get his point across. “You are mine, Chanel, and everything you own is mine.”
His normally assertive demeanor had suddenly magnified to a point bordering aggressive and it scared her every bit as much as it turned her on. “I work for you, Lucius. That’s all.”
But in her mind, they had gone much further than the platonic employer and employee relationship. Lucius was a dark, mysterious hunk she wouldn’t mind getting to know better, but should he tire of her, it could create unnecessary friction between them. It was stupid to risk a good job over a fleeting fling with a hottie.
“You’ve never wondered what it would be like to drink in the taste of my kiss?” he asked heatedly. “To feel my hands caressing every inch of your lush body?”
Oh, lord, yes. She’d wondered and fantasized about it on more than one occasion, but had never dared to imagine that he could feel those sorts of things for her. She was only eighteen and he looked to be in his thirties.
Her heart nearly stopped beating when he plastered his mouth onto hers and desensitized her conscience and better judgment with a deep, lingering kiss.
“Lucius, we shouldn’t. I really want this, but if we go through with it, things will be weird and awkward between us afterward.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, what if you get bored with me and send me away? I don’t want to lose my job for a night or two of fun. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”