Marked (BDSM bondage, Howl) by Jennifer James Read Free Book Online Page A

her to his chest, and stood in
one swift movement. The rigid hold crushed her to him and all the air whooshed
out of her lungs. She wriggled and he uncurled his biceps to let her breathe.
Hot air fanned her neck when he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder
and smelled her. “You left me. No warning. Left nothing
behind but a toothbrush. I thought you’d been taken. I damn near killed
. . . it doesn’t matter.”
    Five years without physical contact with her mate left a
craving for all the skin on skin contact possible. She snaked her arms around
his neck and clamped her eyes shut. So many things to say to him, apologies and
love words, and how good he smelled . . . .
    “I’m sorry Jack. I . . . I don’t know what to say. I got
scared.”
    “You got scared.” He snorted and swore under his breath;
ground his molars until she heard the clack of enamel. The familiar pressure of
his hand stroking over her bicep helped calm them both. “Why were you scared?”
    “I panicked. I had to get away. I just had to go. Right then. I thought I’d die if I didn’t.” They’d never
spoken of her past in the nine months she’d stayed with him. He didn’t question
her about the nightmares, and she didn’t offer to tell him. Each terrible
moment of her past lay locked behind closed doors in her mind.
    “Die? I would never harm you. Never.” She heard his heartbeat speed up, and then slow down
once more. “I never believed I’d have someone. I was alone for so long, so many
years.”
    Grief and shame swamped her. “Jack, I’m so sorry. Please. I
don’t know how to explain— you’ll never know how much I regret what I did. It’s
the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”
    He rocked his weight back and forth and remained silent
until she craned her neck to see his face.
    “We’ll talk more about it later.” His magic beat at her and
tried to erode her will, but he tamped down the compulsion so the command
became a statement instead. The control he exhibited over his magic, to be able
to turn an Alpha’s natural drive to order the weaker wolves around themselves,
helped soothe her anxieties. The act indicated a respect and care for her
feelings her father had never exhibited.
    But how could she explain it to him? Make him understand? It
wasn’t him. It was her.
    If she told him everything, he might not want her anymore.
She shook and damn near choked him.
    “Shh . . . you’re safe. I will always want you, understand?
No matter what happened to you.”
    Old memories and pain tried to surface, but her wolf half
clamped them down. The wolf could read the emotions in the air and knew Jack
told the truth.
    He stood in the kitchen for minutes or hours, she didn’t
know. The passage of time blended into one long moment. Fireplace smoke, sap
from the evergreen trees in the woods, the musk of his wolf, and soap clung to
him in layers of scent. She inhaled and kept the fragrances on her tongue, in
her lungs, until they were a part of her. Finally, she quieted and leaned her
head back. Their gazes met, and he brushed his lips across hers. She smiled and
cradled his cheek with one palm. This time she pressed her mouth to his.
    He skimmed her neck, then nibbled
on her lower lip. A possessive sweep of his tongue parted her lips.
    Electricity swept across her, danced on every nerve ending,
her nipples hardened, and her clit pulsed. His grip tightened on her leg and
rib cage. Measured steps transported them to the bedroom and he climbed onto
the bed one knee at a time.
    Nothing quenched her thirst for him after the five year
drought. Rough stubble scraped her lips as she brushed his cheek and captured
his earlobe. His abdomen bunched below her fingertips, steel encased in silk.
She tried to devour him, laved his throat and collar bones. He canted toward
her pelvis and brought their groins tight together. The fly of his jeans rubbed
her swollen folds and she squirmed against his trapped erection. God, he still
knew how to tease