Forever Marked (Marked Series Book 1)

by Jesse Lorenzo

  Behr choked out another long laugh. “Aye, woman, is that your way o’ trying to get me naked then?”

  It was her turn to start choking and coughing her brains out. She had no response to that.

  Behr leaned forward, putting his hands on either side of her head, caging her in his arms. She laid back from his close proximity.

  “That's right, you best keep that mouth shut with those smart ass remarks of yours. Aye, you wag that tongue one more time, I might just give it a little bite.” Behr wet his lips, looking long and hard at her mouth. Ellora’s pulse quickened. She found herself breathing heavily, thinking about how much she wanted to feel his lips on hers in that very moment.

  Then it all came rushing back to her. She’d kissed Behr... in the pub... before she collapsed. And it was AMAZING! A rush of emotions hit her all at once -- longing for him to kiss her in that moment and not stop, humiliation for her brazen kiss that night, and maybe a little bit of fear. Fear for liking him so much, so fast. Fear of never having had a boyfriend before. Fear that she might just be a rebound for him, so soon after his long relationship. Well, now maybe even a little awkward, because in this moment, she didn't know how to act or what to say.

  In a nanosecond, Ellora’s face switched from longing for a moment of passion, to awkward sideways glances. She looked anywhere but at him and started fiddling with her fingers. Behr dropped his hands and sat back down at her side, obviously feeling the arctic air change around them.

  “Behr, about that night... I... I'm so sorry for... um... putting you on the spot like that. But I um... it's just that...” She left that pathetically unfinished statement hanging in the air, because all of her explanations sounded incredibly lame in her head. She scrambled to try to say something, but instead, she was babbling like an idiotic fool.

  Behr bent his large frame down to her eye level. “Hey, hey, hey now, love. Whatcha’ got to be so sorry about, eh? I'm not sorry at all. THAT was exactly what I've always wanted. That’s how a REAL kiss is supposed to feel. The only thing you should be sorry about is not doing that sooner.” He lifted one side of his mouth in a devilish grin, his eyes hitting her hard with an undeniable desire for her.

  Gasping at his admission, Ellora couldn't help but smile at his cocky expression. He didn’t mind telling her he desired her. He showed his feelings proudly.

  “I guess that was just my way of shutting her mouth and making her feel insanely jealous and stupid,” Ellora finally proclaimed, giving a naughty smile of her own. “It seemed to work pretty well.”

  Behr's eyes twinkled as he laughed, running his hands through his unruly hair. He got up and walked over to a duffel bag beside the bedside table. He continued to laugh, mumbling something to himself.

  He pulled out some clothes and shouted out over his shoulder, “If that's what you do to get folks to shut their mouths, then I'm going to be VERY talkative from now on, eh, love.”

  Winking at Ellora, he made a kissing noise. Before he shut the bathroom door, he added, “Try not to dream about my hot toasted buns, will ya, lass. You need your rest, all right.”

  Ellora grabbed the plastic jug of hospital water on her bedside table and chucked a handful of ice at him. “Dream on, bigfoot. Go cool off!”

  A few days had gone by, and Behr had stayed right there with Ellora through the night, refusing to go home. She teased him, asking, “Aren’t there visiting hours here? And aren't they over?”

  Behr would just widen his stance and throw his arms off to the side with cocky confidence, and declare, “It is if the head doc isnae your friend and drinking pal, which he is, love. The rules dinnae apply to me.”

  Adelle showed up the next morning to help Behr get his patient home and into her room. Ellora’s homecoming proved to be quite dramatic, to her dismay. Everyone in town seemed to know all about her ‘flu’ and knew when she would be discharged. They all showed up at Grady's to see how she was holding up. Many brought food; they wouldn’t have to go grocery shopping for a decade with all the food they’d been brought.

  She was relieved when Adelle went in the kitchen to gather the supplies needed to tend to her back. It left her and Behr alone together. Even though they did spend some time alone at the hospital, she never quite felt comfortable there. Now she was home. A feeling of contentment washed over her as Behr guided her over the threshold.

  Behr bent down to her. His whisper felt rough as his voice rumbled against her ear. “Did you need me to carry you up the stairs, love?”

  Turning her head into him, she leaned in to whisper back, “I think I should try to walk. I'm supposed to be recovering from the flu, remember? I don't want anyone any more concerned than they already have been.”

  He nodded, his face stubble abrading her cheek as he did. Ellora loved having him this close to her. She felt protected... safe. A feeling she hadn’t had in a very long time.

  Behr carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, and even though her feet were on the ground, he was basically holding her, taking on all her weight. Lifting her arm, Ellora wrapped it around his neck automatically. He guided her through the throng of people, obviously more patient than she was. Kristy, Grady, and Gerard hugged and kissed her, letting her know how worried they were and just how many heart attacks she’d caused that night.

  Patrick announced to everyone that the points Ellora had gotten from kicking Shannon out of the pub had been taken off for ‘fainting like a girl.’ He would probably never let her live that down.

  They made their way to the back narrow stairwell, where he scooped her up in his arms and skipped stairs like she weighed nothing more than a doll.

  “You're such a caveman.” Ellora giggled into the crook of his neck.

  Walking down the hall, Behr was opening the door to her room when he looked down on her with that big crooked grin that she had grown to love so much. His eyes were bright with amusement.

  “Aye, that I am, and you like it. Don’tcha, woman. Dinnae be pretendin’ that you don't.” He gave a loud primitive grunt for emphasis, which had Ellora laughing again.

  “OUCH! My stitches! Why do you all of a sudden become a comedian when it hurts to laugh at you?”

  Behr let out a deep-throated laugh. “Because your pain amuses me, ya smart ass.”

  Huffing out a deep breath, and having no other way to get him back, she bit him on the neck, thinking, ha! That'll show him.

  Behr stopped just inside her room. Slowly, he turned his head and looked down on her. He no longer had a twinkling look in his eye or a bright smile. His look darkened, becoming sultry, suggestive… heated. His eyes dipped low as he stared longingly at her mouth. Then he slowly dragged them back up to meet her eyes.

  The energy crackled around them. Ellora could feel the heat of his body rise, as he continued to paralyze her with the powerful force his eyes always seemed to have over her. The intensity almost frightened her. No one had ever looked at her like that -- like at any moment, he would devour her, desperate to have her, to taste her. But it also excited Ellora, because she liked the thought of him kissing her with all the unbridled passion she’d read about in romance novels.

  Behr placed Ellora on the bed before she even realized they were there. He gently guided her back, hovering over her. Running his nose across the length of her collarbone, he inhaled her scent deeply, then ran it up the sensitive skin of her neck. This action instantly made Ellora break out into goose bumps. She shuddered in anticipation for his next move.

  As he nipped and bit a path along her neck, a guttural groan came from deep inside his chest. “Dinnae go startin’ something you might not want me to finish, love. My restraint can only go so far before you push me right off the edge.”

  She believed him. His stern warning had her stomach flipping around and heating up like an old fashioned pizza oven. In that moment, she wanted him to kiss her. She was ready. Ellora’s breath increased rapidly as she watched him watching her. His eyes raked over her body, as if he warred with himself
about his next move. Should he make the move, or should he back off? Ellora wet her lips, hoping he would pick up on her invitation and her need for him. He leaned in, and his warm masculine scent washed over her. Closing her eyes in anticipation, she waited. His hot breath tickled her face as he leaned in...

  That's when Adelle came bounding in with all her bubbly cuteness, breaking the spell. She stopped short, gasping at the scene laid out in front of her, and whistled. “Ooooooh, lock the door if you plan on ravishing her in broad daylight. Aye, get a room, you two!”

  “I'm in my room, cow!” Ellora shouted with pent up frustration. Her body still hummed, wanting him to finish what he’d started. She attempted to toss a pillow at Adelle’s head, but her shot came up short and embarrassingly to the left of her.

  Behr let out a frustrated growl, baring his teeth. He leaned in and bit Ellora’s earlobe, whispering, “We will continue this later, love. That is a promise, one I intend to keep.” He gave the tip of her nose a quick kiss then slowly raised up off her, before pinning Adelle with a demoralizing glare.

  “Oh, dinnae look at me like that, ya big baby. You knew I was coming up straightaway with her medical cleaning kit. Lachlan said I had to check her bandages and make sure they weren’t seeping through yet, anyway, and I intend to see the task through.” She strutted across the room, her long skirt swaying with her, to set the supplies on her kitchenette table.

  Ellora’s eyes followed her, and that's when she noticed the thirty-inch flat-screen TV for the first time. It stood on a tall, mocha-stained, wooden stand across the room, right in front of her bed and in between the two large windows.

  She knew her eyes must’ve bugged out of her head, because Behr and Adelle’s faces lit up. They looked at each other then back at her. Ellora could feel a cool draft, and realized that her mouth was hanging open like a fish out of water. She was stunned. Several minutes ticked by before she realized that she could speak.

  “Oh my God, who...? When...? And why?” Was all she could manage to say. Definitely not her most eloquent moment ever.

  Adelle came barreling at Ellora, jumping on her bed, giddy like a little kid on Christmas morning. “Do you like it? The three o’ us thought you'd like it, we did! There is only so much o’ that beautiful view a person could take, being stuck up here for as long as you’ll be, before going mad, eh?” She turned up her lip and stuck out her tongue, mocking a disgusted gag, obviously kidding around with her. Ellora could never get sick of that view.

  “The three of you?” she pressed, with one raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, Behr, Gavin, and yours truly figured you needed to get yourself acquainted with Scottish pop culture so you would quit embarrassing us all the time. Consider this like an intervention, Ellora.” She couldn't quite get the last part out without bursting out in laughter. “Now, we can watch girly movies, or… you can use it as background noise as you two eat each other’s faces off!” Adelle snickered when she caught sight of Ellora’s deep scarlet blush.

  “You shouldn't have done this. It’s just too much. I mean, usually, people just give flowers or get well soon cards. People just don't buy other people TVs. They just don't,” Ellora argued. She was terrible at this. She’d much rather do kind things for others. She wasn’t good at being on the receiving end of it.

  Behr cleared his throat and walked back over to the object of his desire. He sat down beside her on the bed, his weight making the mattress dip down low. “We are nae just some people. We are your family, AND the people who care ’bout you. You dinnae have much in the way of possessions, so we thought this would be nice to help you feel settled… you know, so you’ll feel more at home here.”

  Ellora considered his words as she fumbled with her yellow bedspread, looking from her fingers to the dip Behr made. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the contrast between the very dated, pale yellow bed spread with the delicate little daisies on them… to this very LARGE, rugged, and muscular alpha male that sat on it. It was a very contradictory combination.

  If only he knew that she felt more at home here than she ever had back in the States. Ellora opened her mouth to refuse again but thought better of it. She saw how happy it made them both to do this for her. She needed to stop being so stubborn.

  “Thank you. I love it! I will start doing extensive homework right away, Miss Adelle,” she answered in her best childish, perfect little student voice. “I definitely don't want to embarrass anyone,” Ellora stressed, teasing her friend right back.

  “Well, I will see about getting you a... what was it again? Oh yeah, a double bacon cheeseburger and a chocolate shake.” Behr winked at Ellora, cupping his hand on the side of her face. He kissed her on the cheek tenderly as he got up and back pedaled out of the room. His eyes never left hers as he did.

  “Don't forget the greasy fries!” Ellora shouted out to him when she remembered to breathe.

  Ellora had gotten some much needed rest in the following days, and she’d hate to admit it, but she was thankful for her new TV. She could kill Adelle for getting her addicted to her favorite daytime soaps, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, though. She never would have thought they would have equally dramatic soaps here as they did in the States. Ellora loved hearing the thick accents shouting dramatically in heated confrontations!

  Adelle helped clean her wounds and redress the bandages. Sometimes, Ellora would just cling to her sheets, leaving her back bare so she could get some air to it. She knew it was healing well because it started to itch as it scabbed over. Adelle kept her company throughout the day, painting her nails and practicing applying a smoky-eye look with her new makeup. Apparently, Ellora had become her real life doll to play with, and she took full advantage of this, too, knowing full well she couldn’t escape her.

  Adelle let Ellora borrow her laptop so she could continue to work on Grady’s renovation project. She checked out shops in the area, which she could enlist to help paint the outside of Grady's bar. Plus, she pre-ordered him a brand new sign. Ellora was disappointed that she had to find help, because she wanted to do this all on her own, but asking for help seemed to be the theme lately. She was, however, extremely excited to see how everything was coming together.

  You'd think Ellora was an amputee by the way she had been confined to her room, or her bed more like it. Every time she wandered down the stairs to get something to eat or drink, stretch out her legs, and change the view, she was stopped. Behr would use his body as a barrier, holding out both hands like a street cop directing traffic.

  “Nope! Think again. Turn ’round and get that cute butt back up those stairs, young lady. You are supposed to be in bed with the flu. Kristy will ’ave me stoned to death if I let you walk ’bout.”

  Trying her best at a pretty pouty-lipped look, Ellora batted her eyes at him and groaned, “Uuuugh, Behr, pretty, pretty, please with chocolate syrup on top! I am going stir crazy up there. I need to stretch my legs.”

  He would cross his arms over his tight chiseled chest and flex his biceps. He shot Ellora a determined glare, definitely not willing to let her pass. With a matching stern voice, he stated flatly, “You've got to let your back heal this time ’round. Dinnae make me tie you to the bed posts, you stubborn woman.” He stressed each word carefully, which made her feel all the guiltier for doing such a terrible job the first time around.

  Defeated, Ellora flung her arms out to the sides. “All right, all right, turn down the dramatics. I'm going, ya big bully.”

  “I'll be up straight away with your coffee and breakfast, love.” His voice changed its tone to soothing and caring once again. Oh my, Behr, she thought.

  When he came up with the loot, Ellora panicked at the thought of him leaving her there. It was going to be a few hours before Adelle came up, and the constant solitude had her feeling anxious, like the walls were closing in. Definitely a case of cabin fever. Reaching up, Ellora gripped his thick wrists, halting him. “Behr, please don't leave me. I don't want to be here all
alone. Please sit here with me for a while.”

  Behr’s expression softened. She could've sworn she saw a look of devotion and determination ripple through his expression as she studied him. A warm smile showed in his eyes, even though his lips wouldn't mimic the emotion. He closed his eyes for the briefest moment, a ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth. Tilting his head, he opened his eyes and looked down at her. “Aye, love, I will always be ’ere for you.” Cupping Ellora’s chin, he lifted it up. “Just ask and I'm ’ere.”

  Behr scooped her up, careful not to touch the bandages. He moved her over easily, so that he could sit right beside her. Ellora handed him the remote as he handed her the tray of food. Finding nothing else, Behr left it on Britain's Got Talent. Looking her way, he shrugged. “Gotta love Simon Cowell.”

  Ellora could say this about Behr: he was a terrible singer! He sounded like a dying cat in heat that had been hit by a pellet gun. And that was her being nice. He couldn't hit a high note to save his life. His deep voice wouldn't allow the foreign note. And Ellora loved every moment of it, bleeding ears and all. He was so funny like this, and the more she laughed, the worse he bellowed the tune.

  Thankfully, he stopped when the commercials came on, because her cheeks and abs burned from laughing so hard. Ellora leaned her head on his large defined shoulder and draped one arm over his stomach. Their legs were touching side by side, but it just wasn't close enough for her. Breathing out a contented sigh, Ellora curled her legs up with his. Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head, breathing in deeply. She could feel his breath in her hair as he spoke softly. “Comfortable, Lor?”

  Just like that, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu struck her. A forgotten memory flashed back to the time Ellora got pneumonia.

  When she was eight, her dad had to rush her to urgent care. While they waited in the tiny room with the flickering fluorescent light, Ellora’s father looked helpless, out-of-control, wondering how he could fix this. He never knew what to do when she was sick like this. Ellora had a terribly high fever, and she was very weak and lethargic. Fat tears rolled down her red cheeks continuously. So her dad did the only thing he could do in that moment -- resort to humor.