Marked for Love 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

get off with, but can never bring home to Mom. It made me feel used and abused, and although I tried to pretend it didn't bother me, it crushed me every time.
    I sighed. The house smelled old and like wet dog, and I kept wondering when I’d hear or see a dog. There had been those hairs in the towel and that smell: the kind you get from the dog running outside in the rain, then coming inside and rolling across the carpet. Maybe Buck kept him outside, only letting him inside occasionally , but he had to be pretty quiet and very patient to wait out this storm.
    I left my wet clothes in the bathroom, draped across the top of the shower doors so that hopefully they’d dry a little for morning. Naked and suddenly very cold, I made my way back down the hall in the dark. Every crack of wind against the side of the house made me feel as if something had moved right beside me, just out of reach in this dark hallway. Skittish, I was thankful when I made it back to the living room. Just like he'd said, Buck left me a clean sheet and a big blanket on the couch. I thought about closing the drapes, but decided that I’d rather have a little moonlight rather than no light at all. I tossed and turned, as I just couldn’t sleep: I was way too horny. After a while of being up, my eyes adjusted to be able to see a lot more than before. I could clearly see the two chairs we had sat on across the room. Above that there was a banister on the second floor that looked out over the open living room. There were two bedroom doors. I imagined that the one on the left, closest to the staircase that snuck up the side of the living room, was Buck’s. The door was shut tightly and I thought I could hear muffled snoring coming from that side. I kept thinking back to our time together in the living room, and I wondered if I’d done something wrong to make him angry. Or maybe he just didn’t feel my gratitude for the ride, for him letting me stay. I had to fix that. I had to show him how grateful I was, one way or another. I couldn’t let him think that I was some unthankful prick, willing to use a man for a ride and a place to sleep, but not willing to say thank you properly.
    I got up, wrapping myself in the blanket to cover my nakedness and protecting myself against the dropping temperature. This old Victorian house got cold at night. My bare feet creaked along the wood floor and up the carpeted stairs as gently as I could manage. I made my way up, slowly enough to avoid being heard. For some reason, I needed to go to him all the way, not have him come to me. I stepped in front of the door I knew lead to his bedroom and slowly twisted the knob. It didn’t creak, and the door didn’t make a sound as it slid open. I tried to search for the bed, but it was pitch dark in there. I only hoped I wouldn’t wake him or startle him as I climbed into bed with him, naked. I stepped inside, closing the door behind to keep any more of the moonlight from coming in the doorway. Just a small line of light barely shone through the door crack. If his room had a window, the drapes were closed tightly, because there was not an ounce of light coming from anywhere else in the room.
    I had heard his heavy breathing before, but now I heard nothing but silence; nothing but my footsteps getting closer to the center of the room; nothing but...
    And then suddenly, I lofted into the air. Moving with alarming speed, I was pinned on my back to the bed. Someone or something was on top of me, holding me there with unforgiving force, pushing my face to the side so that I couldn’t look at it. I could barely see anything at all.
    “What do you want?” Buck’s voice growled.
    He brought his face just inches from mine, looming over me like a specter, unrelenting in his hold on me. His breathing, his grip, the snarl in his voice, told me he was angry. He had an animal’s fury pulsing through him.
    “I’m sorry,” I blubbered, “I was cold and I just...”
    “Liar,” he said,