Marked Read online

  Marked

  Jenika Snow

  MARKED

  By Jenika Snow

  www.JenikaSnow.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © March 2020 by Jenika Snow

  First E-book Publication: March 2020

  Photo provided by: Adobe Stock

  Cover Designer: Designs by Dana

  Editor: Kayla Robichaux

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  I saw her through a crowded dancefloor. I didn’t know what it was about her, but she transfixed me, possessed me.

  I was instantly obsessed.

  I had to have her.

  She let me touch her, dance with her, move with her. But that wasn’t enough.

  I didn’t know her name, but I wasn’t letting her get away.

  And it seemed fate had plans for us.

  A chance run-in the next day, a misunderstanding, has our paths crossing once more. She could act like she was indifferent toward me, but I saw the truth. I saw it in her eyes, in the way her pupils dilated, in her body language.

  And when we came together it would be explosive, consuming. What she didn’t know but would soon find out was that I’d marked, claimed her.

  And once I licked it… it was mine.

  Chapter One

  Izzy

  “Oh my God, look at this place. This is so damn swanky I think I’m getting turned on,” Nadine said in a pleasure-filled voice.

  I looked over at her, and she tossed her duffel bag onto the small couch in the hotel room. We’d spent the extra hundred dollars a night to upgrade to a suite that overlooked the city, and I had to admit, I wasn’t complaining about that additional money spent.

  The room was pretty incredible, a massive improvement over the Motel 9 accommodations I was accustomed to.

  There was a spacious living room, a small kitchenette, and the bed was in a separate room. Nadine darted off into the bedroom, and a second later, I heard her squeal. “Holy shit. We have a jacuzzi tub up in this bitch, Izzy.”

  I snorted and shook my head, but I loved her enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, but how much are we really going to be in the room?” I found myself muttering. I was cheap; I wouldn’t even pretend I wasn’t, but it’d been so long since I got out and did anything fun. And that’s what this weekend was about.

  So living it up for the next two days, we would.

  I was trying to loosen up a bit, enjoy this for what it was, which was needing to get drunk, letting loose, and not worrying about the real-life shit going on in our lives.

  Nadine came back out and held up those little shampoo and body lotion bottles you got at nicer hotels. “Free shit, Izzy. Free.” She enunciated that last word, and I laughed.

  “Maybe we should just stay in the hotel all weeks, order room service, and watch TV.”

  She snorted. “Nope. I am in love with this room, but we agreed this weekend we’re going balls to the wall.”

  I grinned and tossed my bag on the couch beside her. “Okay. Balls to the wall.” I walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside, looking at the city below. We were twenty stories high, the city active below. I wasn’t much of a city girl and preferred to stay at home in my little introverted bubble. But I was excited about this weekend.

  I looked over at Nadine. It had been two months since she ended her yearlong relationship with her boyfriend, Jay. Not only was she depressed, because she’d hoped he’d been “The One,” but on top of that, the reason they’d split up was because she found texts and emails of the slimy fucker cheating on her with his coworker.

  So, we planned this trip to Toronto, intent on drinking, partying, and just putting reality and responsibilities behind us for a couple days. She deserved that. I deserve that. And I wasn’t going to let my normalcy, modesty, or the fact that I was one hell of an introvert, get in the way of that.

  I was going to make sure this girls’ weekend would help her finally put Jay in her rearview mirror.

  I watched as she walked over to the window and stared at the city. “Look, I can see the tower,” she said with excitement in her voice and glanced over her shoulder at me, pointing at said tower. She faced me fully and grinned. “But we didn’t come here to see a tower, now did we?” She winked, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s go to a bar tonight, or maybe a club?”

  I could see in her eyes she was going to go buck-wild this weekend, and I was genuinely glad she was happy, excited.

  After her split-up with Jay, I’d seen a side of Nadine I never witnessed before. It had really hit her hard. And even though inside I was cringing at the knowledge of being around so many people, the loud music, the sex on the dance floor, I was going to go out of my comfort zone while we were here.

  “I’m game for whatever. You decide what you want to do, and we’ll do it,” I said instead of suggesting we just veg here all night.

  Drinking, debauchery, and forgetting about our responsibilities for one weekend wouldn’t be the end all.

  I repeated that in my head like a mantra and told myself I would have a good time. What’s the worst that could happen? I get drunk and have a hangover the next day?

  Didn’t sound so bad if it meant making memories.

  Or maybe those were famous last words.

  Chapter Two

  Izzy

  I definitely felt out of my element. All the people around were most likely a decade younger than my thirty-two years. The club Nadine picked was packed, but then again, it was a Friday night. The music was new releases, ones I didn’t even listen to. I was more of a classic rock kind of girl, but I was on my third beer, so it was all starting to sound kind of nice. That’s how I knew the alcohol was getting to me; I didn’t feel as uptight, out of place, or uncomfortable.

  So yeah, not so bad, now that the liquid courage was kicking in bigtime, and I was living for it.

  I shifted on the barstool and looked over my shoulder at the dance floor. The club lights were low, colorful neon up-lighting on the walls, this disco ball in the center. The sphere of mirrors kind of seemed a little out of place in this modern place, a little old-school, but I liked it. I liked the prisms it cast across the ceiling and floor.

  “I really like this place,” I said and took a drink of my beer. I had to shout, and I looked over at Nadine. She sat on the barstool beside me, the sequin crop-top showing off her tight little body. Me, on the other hand... I looked like a grandma compared to everyone else.

  Ripped jeans and a V-neck fitted T-shirt completed my “club look.”

  Nadine was on her second whiskey sour, her gaze moving over the dance floor as she sipped the alcohol through two tiny red straws. She was bopping her head in time with the musi
c, and I watched her eyes widen before she pulled the drink away and set it on the counter.

  I looked in the direction she was focused on, but aside from the grinding twenty-something-year-olds, I didn’t know what caught her attention.

  “What?” I shouted and glanced back at her. She tipped her chin in the direction I’d just been looking. I turned again, but all I saw were half-naked women with supermodel bodies, guys with sleeve tattoos, and a whole lot of bumping and grinding going on.

  She leaned close to me, and I smelled the whiskey on her breath as it teased the shell of my ear. “Look at the two guys at nine o’clock.

  I was pretty sure it was the alcohol that was getting to me, but I had to mentally picture a clock and where nine was on it before I turned my attention in that direction. The majority of the men in the club were extremely good-looking, reeking of sexual need, and then I realized who she was talking about, or at least one of them.

  He seemed older, looked more experienced in life than my thirty-two years, at least. He seemed mature, and I was only going off his appearance, the way he stood, and the way he had this powerful air about him. It was as if maybe he didn’t quite fit in here. Like me.

  He was tall, muscular. At first, I thought maybe he was a bouncer, because of his stature and the sheer muscular size of him. And then there was the scowl he had on his face. It screamed “stay the fuck away from me.”

  He had a darker complexion, an olive skin tone, and his hair was black, cut short, a little bit messy but in a really sexy way. He looked Mediterranean—maybe Italian or Greek.

  What am I doing, measuring him for a suit, creating a profile for him as I take in his stats?

  The guy who stood beside him was several inches shorter, not as bulky or muscular. He had a swimmer’s build, with longer blond hair that reminded me of the guys I went to middle school with in the nineties, parted in the center and falling to their ears. There was a woman beside the blond, hanging all over his arm, looking up at him like she was ready to fuck his brains out right in front of everybody.

  “God, that blond reminds me of Trevor Gold. Do you remember him?”

  I turned my attention back to Nadine and thought about who she was talking about. I’d known Nadine since elementary school, and I didn’t have to think very hard on who she was speaking about.

  “You know, my Trevor Gold.”

  “Oh yeah. I for sure know who you’re talking about,” I said and started laughing, remembering how obsessed she’d been with him. “How in the hell could I forget Trevor?”

  She’d been in love with him from the sixth to eighth grade. He’d been the guy she’d shared her first kiss with during a spin-the-bottle session at Holly Montgomery’s birthday party. Nadine had even talked about marrying him, even if she was only thirteen. But it turned out he’d been a bigger douchebag than we anticipated, so she definitely dodged a bullet. Just like she’d dodged a bullet with Jay.

  “I’m actually liking the look of the other guy,” I said, flinching, because I hadn’t meant to mumble that out loud. When I looked over at her, I was glad to see she still had her focus on the blond, clearly not hearing me over the rush of music.

  The last thing I needed was for Nadine to have heard me and try to convince me to go up and talk to him. When she meant “balls to the wall” this weekend, I knew she meant that in every possible way, even getting crazy with a one-night stand. And although there was nothing wrong with that, I’d never been so adventurous. Hell, I’d only ever been with one guy in my life, and it was less than memorable. After that, I vowed never to give myself over again until I felt an undeniable pull that went beyond physical and sexual attraction.

  I brought my beer up to my lips and finished it off, drinking the last half of it as I looked at the man who seemed just as out of place here as I did.

  I was about to turn around and ask for another one, telling myself “what the hell” on getting tipsy, when I saw Mr. Dark and Sexy turn in my direction, his gaze raking around the club and dancers. And then he looked right at me. Our gazes locked, and I felt my heart stop. I told myself he wasn’t staring at me. A man who looked like him didn’t find interest in a woman who looked like me, always the Plain Jane of the bunch. But there was no denying his focus was on me.

  He didn’t smile, didn’t show any expression at all. But I felt his stare as if he stood right in front of me, as if he had his hand on my cheek and stroked his thumb right under my eye.

  Goose bumps popped out along my arms, and a shiver raced up my spine. I felt this flush rush over me, felt the music move through my veins in a purely sexual way. What I felt was desire, lust. Need.

  I looked away quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed, a little uncomfortable, and a whole lot aroused.

  “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” I said to Nadine, and she brought her red straws to her mouth and took a drink while she nodded. “Stay right here.” She nodded again.

  I stood and started moving through the thick crowd, bodies bumping into me as everyone grinned together to the music. The room was packed, the heat heavy. The music was fast but sensual. Maybe it was the alcohol; maybe it was the feeling of arousal the likes I’d never felt before after seeing that dark stranger, but whatever it was, I felt so sensitive, so in tune with everything that was going on, that I almost felt high from it.

  What a night this was turning out to be.

  Chapter Three

  Tommy

  The lights were low, the air almost foggy, and the beats bumping. Lasers flashed across the space, slicing through the gyrating bodies that were all but having sex on the dance floor. This wasn’t my fucking scene, but here I was, agreeing to come out with Mike and his new piece of ass. I’d finished off two shots as soon as I’d gotten here, needing the liquor to get through the barely legal people bumping and grinding all around us.

  I glanced over at Mike, not sure what he saw in his newest conquest. The guy got more ass than a toilet seat; that was for damn sure. It wasn’t my scene, but despite the fact that he fucked plenty of chicks, even if I found it fucking disgusting, he was a good guy with a good heart… for the most part.

  He just needed to learn to keep his dick in his pants.

  I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. I was ready to get the hell out of here, go back to the hotel room, crack open a beer, and veg out in front of the television.

  And then I saw her. I felt her stare as if she’d pressed her body right to mine. She sat at the bar beside presumably her friend. She wasn’t wearing the typical club clothes, not the pasted-on material that barely covered her body. She wore a pair of form-fitting jeans with a couple holes in the knees and a plain tee. Her breasts were round and high, and she was tiny, petite.

  Her dark hair was loose, hanging over her shoulders, and fuck, her eyes… so blue and bright my cock instantly jerked in response.

  Fuck, my reaction to her was instant, my body tightening, my cock hardening even further. I’d never felt this way for a woman, never had this type of experience with just one look.

  The sight of her was like a fucking drug to my senses.

  I had to find out more, had to know who she was.

  “I need a fucking drink,” Mike shouted, and I gave him a chin lift in agreement. I wasn’t a big drinker, but when I was in this kind of atmosphere, I gratefully took one for the team.

  He made his way to the bar, with his woman for the night in tow, and I followed, people moving out of my way. Maybe it was because of my size or the fact that I had a perpetual scowl on my face. Either way, I wasn’t complaining.

  The scent of sweat and sex lingered in the air, a dirty aroma that was like drying paint in my nose. I felt my scowl deepen. There were two bartenders stationed behind the neon lined bar. Their movements were precise and accurate, but then again, I supposed they had to be to get shit done in this place.

  Mike leaned against the counter and caught the attention of the female bartender. I knew he’d go for that
one, despite the fact that he had a woman right beside him who was willing and ready. I couldn’t hear what Mike ordered over the rush of the music, but it didn’t matter. I’d shoot down anything at this point. A moment later, there were two cold bottles of beer being set in front of us, and I didn’t miss how the bartender slid a piece of paper toward Mike.

  All I could do was shake my head. I wanted to tell the girl with Mike for the night that if she was hoping for something more than sex, she’d be really fucking disappointed. But, the way she stared at him, the fact that she hadn’t missed the exchange between him and the bartender, told me she knew… and she was fine with it.

  I faced the club with my beer in hand and took a drink as I scanned the crowd. I people watched, because it was better entertainment than just about anything else at the moment.

  I watched as a couple dry-humped each other a few feet away. Then there were two women making out a few feet away, and two guys grinding on each other.

  It was all about sex in a place like this.

  I’m too old for this bullshit.

  “Man, I think I’m gonna go,” I found myself saying to Mike. I was hungry, so I’d hit up a place on the way back to my hotel, one of those twenty-four-hour diners where there wouldn’t be a hundred nameless strangers gyrating in front of me.

  “Yeah, all right.”

  “You have your key?” I asked and glanced at him.

  He was all but making out with his woman for the evening but managed to give me a thumbs up.

  I knew coming out for the weekend and agreeing to stay in the city for the night had been a bad idea, but after a grueling workweek at the construction site, getting away from the mundane shit I dealt with on the regular, didn’t sound awful.