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He was shuddering with the pleasure. Jerking against her as his head lifted from her kiss, his lips lowered to her shoulder, and before he could still the need, his teeth bit into her tender flesh.
He tasted blood and heard her scream. He couldn't pull back. His tongue raced over the little wound, licking and spilling the hormone into the marks, sucking at them as he felt another, shuddering orgasm tear through her.
He had marked her. He had promised himself he would hold back, that he wouldn't mar her creamy flesh, that he wouldn't leave that telltale animalistic wound on her. But even as he remembered that promise, his teeth remained in her flesh. The violence of his need rocked inside him, the primal possessiveness tearing through him until nothing mattered, nothing eased it, until he was taking her again.
Chapter 9
"What happened here?" It was dark, the faint light that spilled into the room was courtesy of the bathroom light Haley had left on earlier. Just enough to allow her to see the amazing spots on his body, and the scars.
The scars made her ache. Especially the one on his chest. It wasn't very old, the healing flesh still looked tender to the touch.
"Bullet." He yawned as though it were nothing. "We were on the Lawrence estate a few months ago, and I took a bullet covering one of our enforcers."
She remembered the news reports of that. Callan Lyons had been wounded as well, and Cassie Sinclair, one of the wolf breeds who was often in Sanctuary.
The emergence of the wolf breeds and their Colorado compound had aligned two powerful forces. Journalists were forever covering the compounds, the strikes against them, and the struggle for freedom in the two areas.
"What about here?" There was a long, jagged scar on his side.
"Knife." His tone was lazy, still unconcerned. "Council soldier almost managed to gut me there."
She flinched.
Noble opened one eye and stared down at her. "I'm more careful now than I used to be."
She stared back at him in disbelief. "Why don't I believe you? You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Noble?"
"Course not." His hand stroked down her back, his fingers playing against the rounded curves of her rear as his lips twitched playfully.
"Uh-huh." She rolled from him, aware of his gaze on her, the lazy sprawl of his naked body, and the erect length of his cock.
She glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight.
"I'm hungry." She was starving. "There's a roast in the slow cooker, if I throw some cut-up potatoes and stuff in, we could have a meal within the hour."
"Let me check the house first."
He was out of the bed in a bound. Smooth dark flesh rippled with muscle as he moved to the surveillance equipment. He checked the screens, then grabbed his weapon, and-moved from the bedroom naked to make his rounds through the house.
Haley pulled on the gown and robe that he had collected for her earlier, when she had meant to finish dinner. He had distracted her that time. When he returned, she was belting the robe and pushing her feet into warm house shoes.
"I'll shower." He entered the bedroom moments later.
She almost grinned at his decisive statement. She had showered earlier, then had allowed him to convince her to lie beside him a little while longer.
While he petted her. Just stroked and touched her. For the moment, the incredible biting need that had filled her had eased, leaving her warm and languorous, a glow of satiation filling her.
Another unfamiliar feeling she thought as she moved into the kitchen and checked the roast in the slow cooker. Opening the refrigerator she pulled out the potatoes and carrots she had cut earlier that day. Emptying the water from them, she rinsed
them and placed them in the pot.
Half an hour, she decided as she turned the heat up on the food.
She moved into the living room and refueled the glowing embers of the fire, watching as the smaller logs caught, and the flames began to lick over them greedily.
She turned and stared at the brightly lit Christmas tree before moving and rearranging a few of the presents beneath it. The bottom of the tree was surrounded by gaily wrapped boxes. Hanging on the limbs were small, Christmas-patterned bags that held much smaller presents. A silver ring for her mother. A necklace for one of her sisters-in-law, a bracelet for another. There were earrings for several of the college students who helped out at the library and almost always joined Haley and her family for a few hours on Christmas Eve.
The house was always filled on Christmas Eve. Her parents, brothers, and their families would arrive a day or two before, and laughter and joy always filled the air as they dragged mattresses from the attic and made room for ten extra people in the small house.
