Chapter 15 - Mark

I walked to Jameson’s mansion, whistling to myself. Over the last few days, things seemed to have improved. Lorelei and I had been getting along, talking more. She seemed more relaxed now that she could come and go from the house. She had been going out quite a bit, actually. Meeting with the girls. It gave me hope that she would really stick around after everything was over. I hadn’t asked her directly, not wanting to scare her away, but the idea of her continuing to live here was more appealing than I wanted to admit.

I forced those thoughts from my mind as I knocked on the front door. I wanted to talk to Jameson about Inara. Thinking about Lorelei wasn’t going to make that conversation any easier.

Jameson opened the door. His eyes flashed with surprise and what might have been unease.

“Mark.” He stepped back, opening the door further, but still seemed unhappy to see me. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yeah, sorry for dropping by unexpected. I wanted to—” I froze, body stiffening as Lorelei’s oak and vanilla scent wafted through the corridors.

I growled, head whipping toward Jameson. “Where is she?” I snarled.

He didn’t even pretend not to know who I was talking about. “We need her, Mark,” he said, folding his arms.

“I don’t care,” I hissed, bristling with anger. “Tell me where she is.”

He exhaled, shaking his head. “She’s down in the back office. The one next to the library.”

Snarling, I pushed past him, marching deeper into the mansion. I didn’t need him to explain what was going on to figure it out. Somehow, Declan had convinced Lorelei to help him with Inara. She was going to put her life in danger.

How the hell could they keep this from me? Especially since she was carrying my baby. I deserved to know when she was doing something dangerous and putting her and our child at risk. The rage continued to bubble and boil as I marched through the house, following her scent through the halls until I came to a closed door.

I barged into the room without knocking. Lorelei spun around, her eyes wide with shock, and she gave a squeak of surprise. Declan regarded me impassively, almost as if he had been expecting to see me.

“What the hell is going on?” I snarled. My eyes went to the open books on the table in the middle of the room. Even from here, I could see the arcane symbols scribbled across the pages.

Lorelei’s initial shock hardened, turning into stubborn defiance. “I’m guessing you already know, based on the look you’re giving me.”

“You’re studying magic,” I accused.

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m a witch. There’s a strong chance our kid will be, too. I see no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to.”

“You’re acting like I don’t know why you’re actually doing it,” I growled, glancing between the two of them. “You’re doing it so you can open The Trove.”

“Yes.” Lorelei nodded. At my slightly shocked expression, she added, “No use beating around the bush. I was going to tell you about it soon, anyway.”

“You could have told me before this,” I snapped.

Declan stepped forward. “It was my idea, Mark,” he said. “If you’re going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me.”

“Oh, I’m furious with you,” I spat, baring my teeth. “But you’re not the pregnant one who has a cub to think about now.”

“Mark, you’re being ridiculous,” Lorelei said, anger and frustration filtering into her voice. “Just calm down.”

“You’re putting our baby in danger!”

She folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Me not learning magic and not learning how to open that door is putting this kid in just as much danger. Me avoiding all of this isn’t going to stop Inara from coming—you know that. At least this way, we might have a better chance of being prepared.”

My jaw worked. The worst part was, I knew she had a point. I just didn’t want to hear it.

“We’re leaving. Now.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room despite her protests.

She followed without much resistance, though I could feel the rage and annoyance radiating off her. It wasn’t until we were halfway home that I finally let go of her. Neither of us spoke, however, until we got back to the house.

“I can’t believe you would go behind my back like that,” I snarled, slamming the door behind me.

“We’re not a couple. I don’t owe you any explanation,” she said. “I’m my own person, and you seem to keep forgetting that.”

“If I’d known this was what you were going to do the instant I let you out of the house, I would have kept you in there for another year.”

She threw up her hands. “Are you serious? Stop assuming you can just dictate every minute of my life. It’s starting to get tedious.”

I grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to me. “I’ll keep dictating it as long as you keep making stupid decisions.”

“Would you just listen to me for more than one second?” she asked, jerking her arm out of my grip. She glared at me, and I could smell the rage rolling off her. “This ends now. You’ve forced your will on everything since you shoved your way back into my life. You kidnapped me and kept me locked in your house for days. You keep saying I’m not allowed to do this or that—I’m sick of it. You don’t get to dictate my life. You are the most controlling person I have ever met. This is my life. Not yours.”

“You can’t expect me to sit back and let you put yourself in reckless situations,” I countered. “Especially since you’re pregnant with my child.”

She let out a bitter bark of a laugh. “I’m reading books, Mark, not going undercover behind enemy lines.”

“For now, sure. But you know that’s not everything you’re going to be doing.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, at the very least?” I demanded. The fact that she had concealed this from me hurt more than I would have expected.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. “I don’t have to tell you everything,” she said, though something that sounded like guilt had entered her voice. “And I knew you would react like this, even if it’s something I have to do.”

I growled, trying to calm my frustration. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her, cupping her cheek in one hand while I brushed a strand of hair away from her face with the other.

“Why are you so determined to keep me out?” I asked. “You seem to have a hard time letting anyone in. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“You have to learn that controlling me isn’t the way to go about it,” she argued.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I pointed out. “Why are you so determined to keep me out?”

Her jaw worked, but she didn’t speak.

“Is it because of what happened when we were kids?” I asked. When she remained silent, I prodded again. “What is it about me that you hate so much?”

“It’s not just you,” she said. “And I don’t hate you, though all the stuff when we were kids didn’t help. I don’t let anyone in. I’m happy being on my own. And it’s easier that way. The more I let people in and involved in my life, the more options they have to hurt me. Either by walking away later, or by doing something.”

I winced. Because the truth was, I was partly responsible for all of this. Maybe if I hadn’t been so cruel when we were kids, she wouldn’t have turned into such a reserved woman. Maybe she would be an entirely different person if I hadn’t been such an ass. All those times I had picked on her, I hadn’t thought it would affect her like this. I never would have wanted that. And the worst part was that I didn’t even know why I had done it. She had been there, an easy target. That was all.

That part made me feel worse than anything else.

“I fucked up,” I said. “I did a lot of things when I was a kid that, in retrospect, weren’t all right. And, as much as I hate to admit it now, you were an easy target. If I could take away all the things I did to you back then, I would. I’m sorry. I really am.”

The words seemed to take Lorelei by surprise. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she glanced away from me.

“I appreciate the apology,” she finally said. “But just because you said sorry doesn’t mean I’m going to instantly open up to you or trust you. It takes time. I’ll admit that you’ve changed since we were kids, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some lingering traits. You can still be controlling, and you still think you’re in the right about me not helping.”

I nodded, then took several steps toward her until she was within arm’s length. She didn’t back away. Something in the air shifted, the same way it had when I caught her sneaking out that first time.

“I understand,” I said. “And trust me when I say I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

I nodded. “Starting right now.”

I gripped her shoulders, holding her tight as I pulled her toward me. Before she could say anything, I slammed my lips against hers.

She stiffened in surprise at first, then leaned into the kiss, her hands wrapping around my neck. I kissed her deeper, trying to convey a dozen emotions at once, fueled by an intensity and passion that I hadn’t even realized I was experiencing. But something about this woman drove me wild in a way no one else had. I needed to keep her safe because I cared about her. I needed her to know that, and this was the only way I could think of to do it.

My hands ran down her spine. She moaned against my mouth, arching her back as my fingers caressed her. Her breasts pressed against my chest, driving a new hunger and need as my wolf snarled in pleasure.

Slipping beneath her shirt, my fingers trailed upward as my mouth moved from hers and began trailing down her neck. She groaned again, her eyes fluttering shut even as she pressed her body harder against mine. I knew she could feel my cock already stiffening, knew she could tell just how badly I wanted her in that moment.

Any desire to be gentle or go slowly vanished. I needed her now.

I let out a snarl as I jerked her shirt over her head, spinning her around to unclasp her bra. As the fabric fell to the floor, I held her in place, kissing her neck as I held her against me. She let out a soft sigh, her back arching slightly. She didn’t resist as my hand moved to her breast, squeezing tight. The sound she made nearly drove me and my wolf mad. I wanted to ravage her.

I pulled her over to the couch. The instant she was lying down, I jerked off her pants. She lay sprawled on the couch, fully naked, her eyes filled with lust. I ran my hand down her stomach, just beginning to swell with the baby, which somehow made her even more alluring than she had been earlier.

Lowering my head to rest between her thighs, I spread her legs. She was already wet, and my cock grew even harder. Wanting to savor every second, I pressed my thumb against her clit, grinning as her entire body stiffened in response.

I ran my tongue along her slit. She gasped, legs tightening around my head. God, she tasted incredible. Glancing up even as I continued devouring her, I saw her head thrown back, her tits heaving up and down as she panted. My cock twitched.

I could sense she was getting close. I slowed, moving away from her clit. Her head shot up, and she glared at me. I grinned.

“Ass,” she muttered.

“Not this time,” I said, crawling off her so I could take off my clothes. Her eyes raked up and down my body, not bothering to conceal her want as I crawled back on top of her. My fingers pinched her nipple, and her fists closed, gripping the fabric of the couch. “But maybe soon, if you’re good.”

“In your dreams,” she spat, even as her eyes told a different story.

I leaned forward, the tip of my cock pressing against her pussy as my lips brushed her ear. “I do a lot more to you than that when I’m dreaming,” I muttered.

Before she could say anything else, I thrust into her. Her protest turned into a cry of delight as I pumped in and out of her. She felt incredible, her muscles clenching around my cock as I rode her. In that moment, nothing else mattered. All the problems, all the frustration, all of it vanished for the moment, leaving just me and her.