Page 32 of Marked

Blair sat at the table, the sheet from the bed wrapped around her chest and waist with the remainder of it laying on the floor at her feet.

Her feet were crisscrossed in the chair and her hands were folded in her lap.

Her brown hair was rampant, barely staying in the loose bun on the top of her head.

Damien tugged at a loose strand, causing the rest to fall, as he walked to his things.

Taking a small plastic bag out of his satchel and opening it, he revealed a large portion of dried jerky.

Blair peered over but wrinkled her nose in disapproval and crossed her arms over her chest. The fresh moonlight poured in through the open window, a sign that they had spent most of the evening talking and tangled in the sheets.

“So, what is the next step?” Blair asked, watching Damien as he shrugged at her decline of food and slowly took a bite.

“We have a few options, but the hunters are the core issue. We need to start with them.” Damien answered in-between bites.

Blair bit down on her bottom lip, looking down at her intertwined fingers, tapping them one by one. “So, we find a way to take them out?” Her eyes following each finger as it moved.

“That’s awfully bold of you to assume you're coming with me.” Damien taunted, lifting the bag in the air and letting the rest of the contents fall into his mouth.

Blair scoffed, “That’s awfully stupid of you to assume I’m not.”, her eyes raising to him in challenge.

With his arm frozen in mid-air, Damien slowly turned his head to look at her and smiled.

For a second, Blair glared back, fighting back a smile as she folded her hands over her chest “Do you plan on taking them out by yourself?”

Damien swallowed and wiped his mouth, clicking his tongue. “I might know someone who can help, he’s supposed to be around tomorrow.”

Blair nodded and stood, bunching the sheet up on her chest and turning toward their bags but within a second, Damien was behind her, pulling the sheet off, exposing her body to the moonlight. She giggled as he began to kiss her neck and everything else occupying her brain became muddled.

As she felt his hands roam over her back and chest, she laughed again, a spark of playful defiance lighting in her low belly. She turned around suddenly and ran her hands up his arms and across his chest, mapping out every muscle and vein. She then looked up and pushed him away with a coy smile.

Damien looked down at her with curiosity on his face and went to kiss her, but Blair moved fast, taking off down the dark hallway, her giggle echoing off the walls .

Running as fast as she could into the kitchen, she crouched down behind the island.

Inhaling deeply to control her breathing, she smiled at the adrenaline in her body.

The kitchen was cast in darkness and shadows, the only light from a lantern in the living room.

Within a few minutes, the lantern showed movement on the wall and Blair backed away in the opposite direction, keeping low and retreating into one of the bedrooms. She stayed low to the ground and shuffled underneath the bed, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the sounds of her breathing.

Within another minute, she sensed movement in the doorway and although she couldn’t see it due to the black abyss surrounding her, she tensed and waited for the steps to come closer. There was only silence as she held her breath and listened to the heartbeat in her ears.

“Found you.” Damiens dark voice boomed, as he grabbed her ankles and pulled her from beneath the bed.

A scream ripped from her throat as he stood her up, her thrashing body fighting against him.

He held her wrists and then her ankles, his shadows now entering the game.

She fought back and tried to rip away from him.

“No fair!” she managed to huff out as her laughter escaped in between her squirms.

“Next time you want to play, maybe choose a game that’s not in the dark.” Damien whispered to her as he kissed her jaw and throat. She stopped fighting back and slumped against him, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart .

Damiens chuckle seemed to bounce off the darkness around them. “One of my favorite things about you is how feisty you are.” he growled

Blair scoffed in response, “You cheated.” Her words turning to moans as his lips trace her neck.

“Here, let me make it up to you.” Damien whispered against her skin. In less than a second, her back was pushed down, and her stomach hit the bed. Using the side of his foot, he kicked her ankles open, and she was suddenly spread open from all angles.