by Moore,Mary B
I turn around to see a set of twins looking back at me. They are cute and kind of look like the hottie from this morning.
“That’s nice, but not true,” I tell them with a smile.
“You must be new. I’m Nicoli and this is Carlos,” he says, pointing at his twin.
“I’m Len. I’m from Missouri and can’t wait until I move back,”
Laughing, Carlos says, “We are from here and not sure if we ever want to move.”
“I’m sorry that was very rude of me. I just miss my friends and family.” I give them a strained smile.
“It is okay Len. To be honest I am sure we would be the same way actually. What period is your lunch hour?” Nicoli ask as he starts to get his books situated for first period.
“It says here that it is at 12:45,” I murmur while looking at my schedule.
“That is the same as ours. Look for us in the cafeteria, you can sit with us and we can introduce you to some of our friends.” Carlos offers up.
“Thanks. I think I would like that.” I smile a big one this time and then turn around to get ready before class begins.
The day is long and I haven’t really met anyone since Nicoli and Carlos. Walking into the cafeteria, I look around and don’t see the boys. So, I sit at a table by myself and get my lunch out of my backpack.
“Excuse me, but you’re sitting in the wrong spot and need to get your fat, ugly, ass out of my chair.”
Looking up, I see a pretty red head looking at me like I’m an alien.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see your name or picture in this spot. So, I’m not moving,” I tell her.
“Look here, you little bitch, this is the cool table. Listen to her before we make your life hell,” says the brunette girl next to her.
“Hey, watch it. No need to be mean. Oh, hey, Len, glad you found the table. Guys, this is Len. Len this is the guys. Len will be part of us from now on,” says Nicoli, walking over and sitting next to me. Carlos takes my other side.
“What the hell? She isn’t nobody worth hanging out with. She isn’t pretty and she’s fat,” Says the red head.
“Shut up, Katy, or you won’t be allowed to hang out with us. Now, be nice or walk away,” Carlos tells her with a look of disgust on his face.
“Don’t talk to my girlfriend like that,” a boy growls out as he walks up behind Katy.
“Or what, John? Going to hit me? Try it” Carlos stands up and gets in John’s face.
“Guys, it’s okay. I’ll move. Please don’t fight. It isn’t worth it,” I grab my stuff and walk away outside. I don’t know what happened between Carlos and John after that as I finished eating and then went to my next class.
For the rest of the day, I was called fat ass. Katy and her friends were in all of my classes and they made sure I was called everything they could think of. I heard the twins got into a fight and then had to leave school. I feel bad. I hope it wasn’t over me.
Standing by the tree, lost in thought, I felt something tap my shoulder. Screaming and turning around, I punched the person’s gut. Then I felt bad when I realized it was Dante.
“What in the hell, Len? That shit hurt,” Rubbing his stomach, he looks at me pained expression.
“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you. I told you this morning, I’m a red belt. Don’t sneak up on me,” I look over to my brother who is laughing his ass off.
“I should have told you, she told you the truth. Sorry, man,” He sobers up and looks at me noticing something is off with me, “Squirt what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Can we just leave?” I start to walk away.
Neil catches up and stops me, “No, what’s wrong? Tell me or we won’t go anywhere,”
“Ugh, nothing! I just want to go home and call my posse. So, let’s go already,” I get out of his grip and storm off.
We get to the De Luca’s house within minutes. Dante opens the door and we hear yelling.
I look over at Neil and mouth, “Oh Crap”
He nods his head.
We follow Dante into the kitchen to see the back of his mom and dad who you can tell by their body language is really upset at someone or something.
“Mom. Dad. I have company with me. Would you like for me to take them to the living room?” Dante asks his parents.
“Hey son, welcome home. Hello, Neil, nice to see you again,” his dad says while trying to control his anger at whatever is going on.
His dad walks over and pats Dante on his back then turns towards us.
“Who do we have here son?”
Neil looks back and forth between us all. He takes a deep breath. “Gio, Anthony, officially meet my little squirt of a sister, Len.”
“It’s nice to meet you Len,” his dad says.
“Oh Len, we have heard a lot about you. Please call me Gio and this lug nut, Anthony. You’re always welcome here,” Gio says as she walks over and hugs me to death.
I look over and see Carlos and Nicoli getting up from the table.
“Holy Shit! Dad. Mom. This is the girl we were standing up for.”
“Mouths!” their Mom yells anger from earlier still simmering under the surface.
“What do you mean standing up for?” yells my brother, looking at me.
“Um…”
“This is the girl you guys go into a fight over?” his dad asks.
“Okay, I don’t know what happened. I left remember?”
“Okay, after you left we ended up telling them that it isn’t right to bully people. Of course this lead to John saying that he didn’t care and said more things that were not nice. Dad, you taught us to stand up for what we believe in. I didn’t like that they were bulling her and honestly, what John was saying wasn’t something that any woman should have to hear. So we ended up getting into a fight with him over this. Did you have any other problems with them during the rest of the day?” Carlos ask me.
“Um, yes and no. Katy and her friends are mean, but nobody else said anything,” I tell him and glance at Nicoli.
“Well, I made it clear that I won’t be friends with someone like that,” Nicoli tells all of us.
“I said the same thing. Sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk more over lunch,” says Carlos.
“Well, we wanted to introduce her to the twins and see if they could walk her to and from school. With practice starting up, her mom wants her walked home to make sure she’s safe. Neil and I have practice right after school but the twins can get her home and back to practice before we can. So I thought they could walk her home if it is ok with you both. Connie said she would be calling later to make sure it is alright,” Dante says.
“Thanks for letting us know and for asking if it is ok. I will talk with her mom and then with the twins. Now, your father and I have a few more things to work out with the twins if you three would like to go into the living room,” Gio states and turns back to the twins who both look down at their feet avoiding the glare coming from their mom.
“Okay, um, Neil can we head out. I am supposed to be home when Pops gets there.”
“Right and I am sure you want to call your posse,” he says, laughing. “Okay, boys, see you in the am when you get squirt. Come on, Dante, we have plays to go over.”
Back at the house I make a call to the girls and tell them all about my day, the twins, and the hottie who is now my brother’s friend.
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Summary:
This bundle includes all four books in the Marked Series and three never before seen outtakes. Discover all over again why so many are head over panties in love with Talan.
Bonus:
Cox’s Sh*t List.
Lance Kisses Ass.
Simon Has A Question To Ask.
*
Marking Her (Marked #1 Series)
Talan Cox wants to mark Maya—with more than his ink. The owner of a prominent tattoo shop, he’s used to being hit on by easy women. Though “easy” is not a word associated with Ma
ya when she comes in to support her friend. Flirtation ensues, but what will it take to break the painted man?
*
Marking Him (Marked #2 Series)
The day Maya Owens walked into his tattoo shop, everything Talan knew changed.
After officially starting a relationship, he is now having trouble managing Maya—a woman who consumes every part of his being and owns his heart. His need to control her and everything around her drives Maya insane, but he has good reason. After all, Janice is still lurking around and she has a vendetta against his Bitty.
In no time Talan wants more, and it’s faster than Maya can handle; things begin to get complicated.
Months of frustration and want take them for a ride neither wanted, but now yearn for. Will they make it through the turbulence? And if so, at what cost?
*
Scars (#2.5 Marked Series)
Abandoned.
Thrown away.
Invisible.
Every single one of those could be used to describe me. They can tell you my story—my sad past—without a single syllable passing through my lips.
I hate them—those who lied to me. They claimed to love me, but in reality they used me when convenient. My parents. Sister. And now Talan. Loving them has left me empty. Sad.
Alone.
Not anymore. Screw them. My love has turned to anger…hate. Now, what consumes me is the urge to destroy, to force them to see what they wrecked with their carelessness. My name will never be forgotten. Not after I have my revenge.
His tears will be my ultimate retribution.
*
Marked (Marked #3 Series)
“With everything I am. I’ll always be by your side.”
It was his truth.
A vow Talan made to the woman who owned him. Because that is what Maya did to him; she held his entire life in her hands. He lived for her smile…her happiness, and now someone has dimmed that light in her eyes with their malice.
His love for his Bitty has taken him past the breaking point, and he’s determined to make those that hurt her—pay. Blood. He wanted his hands on those that wronged—almost took her away from him.
Because if one thing was certain, it was that he breathed for her. It was her warmth and love that gave him a home—a purpose and desire for more, but now that had been threatened. Maya was in pain, and that for him was unbearable.
It was his fault. A fault that he would right no matter what he had to go through.
How does a man so completely in love with his female react to seeing her in a hospital bed and broken?
He fights. Goes against all logic and seeks vengeance.
***
EXCERT FROM
MARKING HER (Marked Series #1)
I was tired.
My neck and back cracked when I stood up to lean over my client’s tatt and wipe it down. The girl in my chair, an obnoxious little blonde, hissed as the cloth swiped across her sensitive skin. My mark—my ink marred her flesh with a permanent stamp of my creation.
“All done.”
“It looks amazing, Talan.” She hopped out of the chair and stood before me. Her eyes ate up the tattoos over my arms, drinking in the sight of my art.
Or body.
This little girl didn’t give a shit about the cherry blossom tree she had me place over her ribs and down her hip. She was there to land, and then go brag about, the bad boy artist who she wished would mark more than her flesh.
“Glad you like.” I turned back to my gun and began to clean up the mess, not even looking at her. My dismissal didn’t make her happy and she pouted. “Now let’s go over the aftercare and you can be on your way.” It wasn’t that she was unattractive, quite the opposite. She had a tiny waist and ample chest, but it wasn’t enough to make me want her.
The looks she was giving me came off as desperate, and I wasn’t into easy pussy. Easy usually meant used and abused. Not my kind of deal.
“How about,” her finger ran down the length of my arm, following the Polynesian pattern that adorned my shoulder, “I buy you a drink, and you can take care of it for me in the morning?”
“How about,” I pulled her hand off my skin and walked over to my station where I picked up her aftercare guide, “you take care of this yourself.”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to sneak out for a little while?” She batted her obviously fake lashes at me.
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I’m booked solid tonight and can’t get out of here.” My too charismatic personality couldn’t help but add, “Maybe some other time?” Bullshit—I had no intention of ever seeing her outside my chair.
“I can make it worth your while.”
Thank God someone knocked on my door. “Come in,” I yelled just as Simon, one of my artists, walked in.
Simon Palmer had come to work for me a year ago, after finishing his apprenticeship with a buddy of mine up in New York. The kid was young, but he was a natural. At only twenty-years-old, his portfolio could give some of the business veterans a run for their money.
He was an asset to the team, and right at that moment, my favorite person in the world.
“Yo, I’m heading out to pick up Lance; his bike broke down and he needs a lift from the mechanics shop.”
“What about his appointment at two?” I snapped my gloves off and huffed.
“Sorry, bro, but can you cover?” I barely stopped myself from shaking my head. Did I have a choice? Simon continued, oblivious to my growing annoyance at the idea of covering for Lance. “When we tried to re-schedule, she asked for you.”
“Fuck . . . okay. Who is it?”
Simon shrugged. “Don’t know, just some girl he had down for a dream catcher. The design’s already finalized and ready for transfer paper,” he explained. “So, can you, or do I call and tell her you aren’t available?”
“Actually,” my client interrupted our discussion, “we were just leaving—”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.” I sighed and turned toward my client, all while doing the touchdown shuffle on the inside. “Sorry, but duty calls.”
To say she was pissed would be an understatement, if the evil glare in her eyes was anything to go by. She snatched the papers out of my hand and marched out of my room without a backward glance.
“Did I ruin—”
“No, you just saved my ass.” I clapped his shoulder and smiled before pushing him toward the door. “Get going and pick that lazy fucker up. I’m sure he’s pissed over missing this tatt.”
“Actually . . .”
“What?” I huffed.
“He likes the chick, so he’s fuming.” Simon chuckled.
“No shit?” My eyes widened at the news.
“Yes shit,” he answered and left me laughing my ass off while he went to get Lance, my abstract artist.
“When’s my next appointment?” I asked my receptionist Janice while making my way around the front counter. I’d just walked out Lance’s crush and wanted the day to be over.
“You have one more, Talan. Esther is due in twenty.”
“Fuck, I forgot about her.” My body slumped against the counter. The boys and I were hoping for the evening to be slow, allowing us an early night.
“That’s why I’m here, handsome. To serve you in any way you need,” Janice purred, and I sighed as I flipped open my laptop and logged in. I’d made the mistake of wetting my dick in her a few months back when she first came through my door. Afterward, she became jealous and clingy, wanting more than I was willing to give.
The only reason she was still here was because she had bigger balls than the other two fuckers that worked here. Janice could handle the leers, gestures, and jokes like a pro, but fuck with her inventory or dirty my shop, and she will rip you a new one.
“Janice, cut that shit out,” I demanded before storming off toward the back and into my sanctuary. The guys all laughed when I walked by. I flipped them the bird and continued on into my room.
An hour had passed
since I’d asked Janice if I was clear and there was still no sign of Esther. It was the usual for her. The woman would be late to her own funeral, but this level of tardiness was a new one for her.
She was never this late.
I was becoming agitated by the lack of common sense people had to pick up a goddamn phone. How hard could it be to let me know if you’re coming or not? There was just something about a person’s lack of punctuality that pissed me off. Not caring if I had shit to do or places to be was plain rude.
I was worked up to the point of walking out the damn door.
“Janice,” I called out into the now empty shop. She’d insisted – once the boy’s left – in staying behind to help me set up, not listening to my refusal. “Call Esther and reschedule. I’m beat and—”
“I’m here,” Esther yelled, rushing through the door. “Traffic was a bitch and I—”
“Save it and get in my chair before I kick you out,” I grumbled and rubbed my throbbing temples.
“But, I brought—”
“Now.”
“Is he always this rude?” a soft, feminine voice I didn’t recognize asked.
I looked up, and was startled by the sexy little thing that stood before me. She was young. Much younger than what I was normally attracted to; at the most this little nymph was twenty.
The beauty had black hair; wavy and tousled locks that swept down to the middle of her back, with side-swept bangs across her forehead. Her face was sweet, innocent, while her gray eyes spoke of mischief, and in my case, trouble. Lips, those fucking cherry-red lips, were plump and inviting—the perfect Cupid’s bow that begged to be nibbled.
I let my eyes traverse her short frame and my mouth watered. She truly was an itty-bitty thing. With my six-foot-four frame, I towered over her, dwarfing her delicate one.
My feet carried me closer to where she stood, next to Esther in the reception area. I wanted her laid on that black marble top so I could feast on her. The drought I’d been on as of late might have been making me desperate...then again, looking at her was making something within me want to just take, consequences be damned.