Page 13 of How to Fail at Escaping an Alpha Orc (How to Fail #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Marcus

I felt like a teenager who was coming into his alpha abilities. Not only was this embarrassing, but I felt as if I was taking advantage of Daria’s heat. Despite that guilt, I found being connected to her intoxicating. She was warm, her scent heavenly, and the feel of her butter-soft skin was addictive. It was no wonder my body didn’t want to let her go. And she was smart, thoughtful, and funny. My mind clung to her and ate up the sound of her voice and her witty words. I wanted this woman more than I had ever wanted anyone. And in the most primitive way, my body was helping me have her. It wasn’t right, but it made sense.

She looked up at me with those innocent brown eyes, still so welcoming despite all that I’d done to her. And even with her drugging me and running, I couldn’t be mad with her either. Not that I was ever in the right to feel justified in the first place.

“What is it?” she asked carefully. She leaned back an inch.

There wasn’t much escape for her, and her back was unsupported. I knew she had lower back issues so she couldn’t be comfortable. Without thinking, I placed my hands on her back to support her, and thankfully, she pressed against my fingers.

“Daria, I’m sorry. For all of this, including the claiming. I’ve been in denial but also selfish. I’m not good with talking about emotions or having them if we’re being honest. It was not welcomed in my family. But you need to know that I do like you.”

She tilted her head, eyes turning to slits of suspicion. “Is that all? I think we both recognize we’re attracted to each other. Was that the secret?”

I shook my head, wiping a hand over my face. I hated that fully opening up was so difficult for me. “I’m shit at talking about my feelings. I’m not just talking about liking your face and body. I am interested in you. I think about you and my chest tightens.

I think about you often, Daria. Before I sleep, when I first wake up, in the shower, when I’m watching TV. I’m almost obsessed to distraction because I know this doesn't seem right, considering the situation and all that I’ve done. I know that you hate me and that this is not some extended first date where we hit it off well. And I know that I should be focused on how we’ll get out of this situation safely and how I’ll save my brother. But I can’t make sense of it because I want the distraction. I want you. Every part of you. That’s really why I claimed you, even if subconsciously. I think the knotting is the same. This impossible situation has made me act desperate. And I’d apologize, but I don’t know that I am sorry because you stole my heart, little flower, and I want yours just as much.”

I stole a glance at her face, and she looked up at me with neutral eyes. If I hadn’t claimed her, I wouldn’t be able to guess what she was thinking. Fortunately, I could feel the emotion radiating from her. She was excited but also confused. What did that mean? That she had the same feelings as me but was equally conflicted? Was there actually a remote possibility that this woman could ever forgive me?

“Marcus,” she began, then paused, pressing her fingers to her lips, unsure of her next words. I studied them, wishing I could kiss her once more. I hadn’t had enough of her. “You say you aren’t good with words, but those were some amazing ones. Almost as good as my romance novels. Although there were some concerning parts.”

“Don’t worry, I do have a plan to get us all out of this safely. I’m not fully out of it. Afterward, if you want, we can see if witches can break our bond. If I ever win your heart, I don’t want it to be because of a forced claiming.”

She twisted her lips to the side in a wry smile. She wasn’t mad or weirded out. That was a good start. “I believe you. With our connection now, you can’t lie to me, and I can feel your emotion. Everything you said was true.”

She leaned forward and rested her head on my chest. More encouragement. She began to rub my back in an up-and-down motion, grazing her nails lightly over my skin, and I sighed, purring again. “You like this?” she asked.

“I realize how horrible this will sound, but I don’t get touched like this. At least rarely by anyone who really cared about me. Lately, I don’t get touched at all.”

“No past partner?”

“I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”

She paused momentarily but then quickly recovered and kept massaging me. “Why not? You’re hot, not broke, protective, and apparently loyal.”

“I was essentially a hired killer. Being in a relationship was dangerous. Then, after I got out of the business, I took things too slow or didn’t know how to make things work long-term. It was easier for me to hook up with people than get serious. And probably safer for them.”

“That’s an awful way to live. Is that why you stopped being a hitman?”

I frowned, glancing away. I wish my decision was as easy as burnout like her necromancy work. “Not solely. There was one job that I had that left me with the option of moving forward and becoming a complete monster or retaining any shred of morality I had left.”

She looked at me expectantly, and I knew she wanted to know about it. I definitely didn’t want to share, but I needed to earn her trust. Although I wasn’t sure, this would bring us together. “My brother ordered me to go after a mafia boss’s son who served as his right hand. This mafia had been messing with our business and assaulted and killed some of our workers at one of our shops. Those people were more like staff than part of our organization – just trying to earn money. It was less that it hurt our business and more that it hurt us to see the more innocent hurt, and it didn’t do much for our reputation if we couldn’t protect our people. The job got messy, and there was a shootout, and I…did away with the son.”

She wrinkled her brow. “Did away?”

I gave her a blank stare hoping she’d get the picture. I didn’t know why I was so weird about telling her I killed someone. She knew what I was, but it felt like I’d taint her by telling her. She was too innocent.

She formed her mouth in an ‘O’ shape and nodded. “Continue.”

“Right, well, the son I…did away with had a wife and a family. And when he died, that wife took her own life out of grief. The oldest child, a teen, got into bad trouble and was sent to juvie. The youngest one was sent to live with her horrible mafia grandfather, who barely took care of her. Eventually, the grandfather was killed by some other family, and the granddaughter is living in hiding somewhere. All of this because of what I did. I always knew that my actions had consequences, but this was too much. This was evil. If I kept doing this work, I’d be nothing but continued destruction like some never-ending tornado.”

She was quiet, still rubbing my back. I waited for the condemnation she would give, but she said nothing. Finally, she broke her silence. “Well, shit.”

“Shit is right.”

“That is absolutely awful, and I get why you quit the business. I don’t agree that you were the direct cause of that situation. That guy sounded like an awful person. But I do get your reaction. I appreciate it. Things make a lot more sense now with you. I see you, Marcus. I do.”

I cleared my throat and looked around the living room, ignoring the stinging wetness creeping into my eyes. She said the exact thing I had longed to hear all my life. We’d known each other barely over a week, and she knew me. Perhaps it was the bond now. I didn’t know, but this woman was perfect. I couldn’t be the one who ruined her.

She went back to rubbing my back, somehow not tired. “I’m conflicted, Marcus. I believe you, at least now I do. And, ugh, I like you, too. I mean, you’re cute and insanely thoughtful. If we met on the street, I would try to look at you for five seconds before turning away with a coy smile. That’s supposed to be flirting or something. In reality, I probably would have still been too scared to do that.”

Relief flooded me. She liked me. I smiled, exposing my teeth, not bothering with trying to play it cool. “So, in a way, maybe this is all a good thing.”

She tapped me on the back. “You’re pushing it. Things are still very much not okay. You have a big problem with thinking you know better than anyone else. Letting people in might make things better for you in the long run, don’t you think?”

I tilted my head from side to side, pondering her words. No one ever wanted to hear from me. I was given orders and was not part of the discussion. Letting people in was never an option. “I’ve never been valued for who I was or what I thought but what I could do. I don’t have the magnetic personality that you have.”

She gave a dry chuckle. “I don’t think anyone has ever said I had a magnetic personality. I’m more of an awkward wallflower. I never made any enemies, though.”

“Well, I have. Hence me not having a lot of trust in people. I just do what’s worked for me. I’ve been a team of one, and it’s kept me alive.”

“Awesome, well now you’ve made yourself a team of two, mate. And maybe your understanding that your way is not the only way might help you out in life. I have resources, too. And now you’re stuck with me, literally.”

I cupped her face, letting myself get lost in her eyes again. “I don’t think I’ll get sick of you.” I wasn’t now. I couldn’t get any closer to her, and it felt right.

“You say that now. We barely know each other, and we’re mated for life.”

“It will keep you safe.”

“It’ll keep other men away from me.”

“Good.”

“Keep that same energy when I do something to annoy you.”

I leaned toward her. “You drugged me, and I want you even more. I think I’ll be okay.

I should ask, are you okay with being stuck with me?”

She narrowed her eyes and tapped her chin in mock thought. “I’m not sure. I had plans to marry rich and live the soft girl life. This is going to reduce that chance greatly.”

“I don’t know. I’m doing pretty well. I’ve made good investments.”

She lifted a brow. “I’ll have to think about it. I’m trying to work on not having my choices made for me and defining my own destiny.”

I gave a curt nod. “Fair enough. I’m pretty sure I need to kiss you now, but that choice is yours.”

“You have my permission,” she whispered, her scent expanding.

I smiled before moving in and kissing her, flicking my tongue over her upper lip. She moaned into my mouth, and I pressed her tighter to me, deepening our kiss. Her mouth was like a welcomed fire burning through my body. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, her legs tightening. I could feel her grow wetter if that was possible. “Tell me you won’t leave me,” I pushed.

She pulled away from me, panting. “Marcus, I’m not going to try to run away. I don’t have a plan that wouldn’t involve your brother getting killed because I refused to show up. I believe you when you say you have a plan. I believe you really care about me. I don’t know what will happen afterward, but I’ll call a truce. But I swear, if you let me get killed, I will make it so you are haunted and terrorized by ghosts and zombies for the rest of your days. Sorry I had to go mean and spoil the moment, but it had to be said.”

I licked across the claiming mark I’d given her on her shoulder. It hadn’t healed as quickly as it should have because I wasn’t given the chance to care for it. I’d use this time. “I like it when you go dark. Say something else.”

She shivered in my grasp. “Ohhh. Ok, I’ll sharpen my nails and rake them down your back until you bleed. Shit, was that gross?”

I began to suck on the mark. “No, little flower. Tell me something else you’re going to do to me.”

She wound her hips, and my mind tumbled into a blur of building desire. “Oh my God,” she cried. “Is mean talk your kink? I don’t know…. if I’m any…good at it.”

“Try.”

I felt her hands grab at a few of my locks, pulling slightly. “You’re such a jerk. You’re lucky I can’t edge you right now. Make you beg me to come…asshole. And, oh, my God, was that too much?”

The mild pain from her yanking my hair only excited me, and I began to match her movement, dancing with her hips. “Oh, no. That was just right.”

“Do you like when I pull at your hair?”

I grazed my teeth lightly over her mark, causing her to squirm. “Yes.”

I released her neck, admiring how the claiming mark was already healing, although a bit red from all the attention I’d given it. I grabbed at the hem of her dress. “I need you to take this off.”

She opened her eyes, looking startled by my change. “Oh, are we done talking now?”

“You’re practically leaking all over me, little flower. Do you want to keep talking? I know you’re still in your heat.”

She grinned and lifted her dress over her head, tossing it on the other side of the couch. “I won’t run from you anymore. Unless you want a chase.”

I lowered my head toward her chest. “You’re lucky I can’t run after you right now.”

I then took one of her nipples into my mouth, moving my other hand between us to find her heated bud. She gasped again, and it was the sweetest sound to my ear. She leaned backward, balancing her hands on my knees as she continued a fast-paced grind on top of me. I released her nipple from my mouth. I paused at the sight of her moving against me, her head tossed back, mouth ajar, breasts jiggling with a nipple wet from my mouth. Her beautiful curls were a wild crown on her head. She was magnificent.

At this stage, we were in a constant state of arousal, and it would take no time before I came again. I wanted to feel her explode on top of me. Feel her pussy tighten around me.

I sat back against the back of the couch. “Look at me, baby. I want to see your face when you come for me.”

She lowered her head back in my direction, her doe eyes glistening with need. A deep-seated hunger churned in me. “Tell me you’re mine,” I demanded.

I removed my finger from her clit, sticking my tongue out to lick her essence off my finger.

She pressed her lips together, her look unsure. “Marcus.”

I held her hips. “Tell me.” I was wrong. I knew this, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself when it came to her. I didn’t have any right to demand anything of her. Especially this, but the agitation inside of me was growing. The need to have her and be hers just the same was all-consuming. It was possibly related to the claiming. We were newly bonded, and it made sense that I wouldn’t want to let her go. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. She was mine. She just didn’t know it yet.

She grabbed the sides of my face, her eyes now so intense I thought I would come from that look of desire. “I am yours, Marcus. Now, please make me come before I find a way to stab you.” She suddenly smiled. “Look at me; I think I am getting the hang of being meaaannn.”

I pushed my hips up, still tightly holding her to control her movements. And then she came, her plush lips forming in an O shape again as she struggled to keep her eyes honed on me. Her body spasmed, and I couldn’t hold my own release back any longer. I grunted as I came, digging my nails into her sides, although she didn’t look pained. My nerves buzzed in every part of my body, freezing my thoughts of anything else except the exquisite rush of my orgasm.

Connecting with her in this way felt like heaven. I could feel a wave of emotion, something akin to a deep affection, wiggling into my soul. She was starting to fall for me, despite the conflict in her mind, and I was feeling it through our bond.

I smiled, and she returned my grin as she came down from her orgasmic high. “Why are you smiling?”

I cocked a brow. “Why are you?”

She touched her cheek. “Am I?”

“I love looking at you smile. Your face lights up.”

She pressed a hand to my chest, still locking eyes with me in a way that felt as intimate as our lower connection. My stomach tightened at the thought of ever receiving more than fondness from her. Was it impossible to believe she could love me?

“You’re purring again,” she stated before leaning forward and resting the side of her head on my chest.

I hadn’t even realized it, but I could now hear the gentle rumbling in my ears. This wasn’t conscious to calm her. She’d brought out contentment in me like I was some big cat receiving a head scratch.

“Can we pretend for a moment that everything is normal?” she said in a light voice.

I ran a hand from her neck down to her lower back, her skin hot under my touch. “Anything you want, little flower.”