Marked for Love 2

by Jamie Lake

  We were down the basement stairs before I asked again. “Buck, what happened tonight? Why were they all here? How did they know I was here?”

  He ignored me again until we had exited the garage and clambered into his truck. He revved the engine alive, and the same radio station that had been playing on our way here came on again. The soft tunes were starkly out of place in this nightmare.

  Buck looked at me sideways and took a deep breath. It didn’t look like he wanted to explain this whole night to me. But I wouldn’t break eye contact.

  “I think you were set up, Nathan. Who did you come here with?”

  I balked. “You! You brought me here, Buck. What do you mean?”

  “No, no.” Buck shook his head impatiently. “I mean, who brought you out here? Where were you walking from when I picked you up? You see, I think Japheth was around, watching you while you were trying to hitch a ride. Didn’t you feel something near you?”

  I trembled at the memory. I had felt something’s eyes on me. I thought I was just being paranoid. “Well, I mean, I was trying to get a ride into the city with my friend Max…”

  Buck’s ears perked up at the name. “Tell me more about Max. How long have you been friends?”

  “Uh, I don’t know. Not long. You know...I was having a rough time, trying to find a place to stay and stuff.” I let my voice trail off so that Buck could fill in the missing pieces. I didn’t want to admit that I was pathetic enough to just sleep with men for a place to stay, but it was true.

  Buck winced at my confession. He came across the seat of the truck and slid down beside me, “You see, Nathan, Japheth has been looking for you for a while too. Ever since that day I protected you from a pack of wolves in the woods. You remember, right?”

  I just nodded my head mutely.

  “Well, Japheth may have hired Max to bring you to him. That’s not too far-fetched. My brother can be…persuasive.” I had no doubts about that. Buck was rugged and gorgeous, much more so than a normal man. I’d bet he had no problem convincing other people to do what he wanted.

  “So,” Buck continued, “I ran into Japheth in the woods last night. We usually steer clear of each other, but he was so engrossed in hunting - probably you - that he didn’t notice me there. When I realized that it was you he was after, I tore him apart. I mean, it was a fair fight. Japheth is strong. But I was furious and he lost badly. He probably cowered with the rest of the pack to regroup. And then he came for revenge.”

  We drove a little while longer in silence. Buck took us farther down the dirt road, past all the other Victorian houses. They were all beautiful and deadly silent. None of the woodland animals had returned since the fight.

  “You’re hurt,” I said, looking at Buck’s deep cut and various bruises. “Where are we going?”

  “I’ll heal fast. You don’t need to worry about me.” He sniffed me and his nostrils flared. “I can still smell him on you. I’m going to clean you up. We’re going somewhere good.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “To the lake, where I can bathe him off of you.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The rumble of his truck stopped as it parked in the middle of the woods. A lake appeared below the tree cover, lit only by the moonlight. It was beautiful, and I felt my soul calming instantly. We both got out and met around the front of the vehicle. Buck was as calm as usual, but I was still shaking. He wrapped his strong arms around my shoulders and pulled me in close.

  I rested my head on Buck’s chest. The warmth of his body and his strong embrace was getting me hot again. Everything at the mansion felt so unreal, and yet just standing there made it all fall away. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I felt myself stirring and growing. Looking down between us, Buck was getting excited too. I knew we weren’t going to be rough with each other tonight, though. What we needed tonight was love.

  Buck grinned down at me and swept me up into his arms. I laughed out loud and let the events of the night fall away.

  “Now let’s wash you off, dirty boy.” He grinned and eyed me playfully.

  I laughed again and quipped back, “Don’t you think you’re a little dirty yourself, big man?” It was true. He was covered in sweat, but I didn’t mind that so much. His natural smell turned me on: but he was covered in bruises and cuts that had gotten dirty from fighting outside, although the large gash on his stomach was much better now; he really was right about healing fast. I ran my finger over the wound and he flinched.

  “Better be careful,” he teased. Buck carried me over to the water’s edge and gently set me down. He was obviously prepared to take his time. He had laid me so that my feet were just in the water. I enjoyed the lapping of the waves against my calves.

  “Okay, baby, just relax and enjoy this. I have a lot to make up for. I’m so sorry that Japheth touched you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you,” Buck mumbled.

  “But you did protect me, Buck,” I breathed. The night air was crisp and clean. It occurred to me that if I’d had Buck around when I was younger, camping would have been much, much better.

  Buck knelt down at my feet and started washing them in the water. He manipulated his hands in long strokes over my legs. He mumbled his apologies while kissing my skin, moving up and down my legs. His thick lips and chin hair moving over my skin brought me to ecstasy. My back arched up and my head rose off the shore. My eyes rolled back and I clenched my fists. He wasn’t even touching me sexually, but I was going insane for him.

  Buck noticed my perked-up cock and laughed lightly. “Do you like this, baby?”

  All I could do was moan my assent. That was enough encouragement for him to kiss harder. He gently carried me further into the water until it was up to my chest. He spent a lot of time running his hands all over me. Slowly and carefully, he washed away the sweat and dirt that I had accumulated.

  “It’s okay. Nothing can get to you here,” he promised.

  His words washed over me, healing my heart just as much as my body. Each time I moaned out in pain, he slowed down and moved gently. Each time I moaned in pleasure, he gave that spot more attention. My back was fully arched and my head was thrashing back and forth.

  “Baby, what can I do to make you happy?”

  I couldn’t focus long enough to give an intelligible answer. Buck came up and laid down right beside me on the shore. Our bodies were both halfway in the water. He held himself up on one arm and used the other to caress my face, neck, and chest.

  I looked up at him and revelled in those glorious green eyes. He ducked his head down and met my lips with his. His lips and tongue moved with electrifying magic. He caressed my lips until all the fear and tension was dissolved.

  He kept going, each kiss becoming more passionate. He dipped his tongue into my mouth gently, as if asking for permission to enter. I met him, our tongues intertwining and moving together.

  Buck broke free first and swooped me up again. “I want to give you the night of a lifetime.” He took us further into the water. We stayed close enough to the shore so that he could sit down and the water would come up to his chest. He cradled me there and continued to rinse my skin, cleaning me off.

  Now his hands were roaming everywhere and he was getting more excited. His tender touch turned passionate and wanting. He slid over my cock and gripped it tightly. His other arm pulled me up to kiss him again. His kisses sent sparks across my nerves.

  Our lips melded together and he kept playing with my cock. His thumb caressed me underwater and his fingers moved nimbly around my balls. I loved the sensation and how hard he was working to please me, but I wanted more. I stopped him, much to his surprise.

  When I pulled away from his kiss, his eyes flew open in surprise. I stood up, looking down at him in my nakedness. He looked up and smiled at me in admiration. “You’re so beautiful, Nathan. Sharp and muscled and gorgeous.”

  I smiled at the compliment and tugged his hand until he stood up.

  “Come on, Buck, there’s something I w
ant you to do for me.” He jumped to his feet, willing and ready to give me whatever I asked.

  I lead him to the edge of the water where I laid down in front of him again. I patted my crotch and he knelt down in between my legs. I didn’t even have to tell him what I wanted. He responded to my need immediately.

  Buck dipped his head down and took the tip of my shaft in between his lips. He held me there, prolonging the pleasure, and hummed across me. The sound sent deep vibrations through my cock that threatened to make me cum.

  Then he engulfed me in his mouth. His slid all the way down my shaft until his lips were sucking the base. I felt the muscles in his throat swallowing at me, pulsing my shaft. He applied pressure from his tongue and lips and moved back up my cock.

  He paused for just a second to see how I liked it. “You like that, baby? Do you like the way I play with you?” I threw my head back, moaning in pleasure, and he kept going.

  Buck brought me right to the edge of climax, then stopped.

  “What?”

  He crawled over me and planted both hands beside my shoulders, stopping my protest with a kiss. “I know what you want, baby. Let me give it to you.”

  His cock was huge and dripping: his eyes were expectant. It took me a second to realize that he was asking for permission. The thought drove me wild, and I nodded my agreement. With that, he picked me up in his arms and slid me down onto his cock. He slid in easily, slick from the water and his pre-cum.

  Buck held me there with his strong arms and rocked me with his hips. It was much softer and deeper than the first time. This position gave him full access and allowed him to get himself in all the way to the hilt.

  “I want to mate with you tonight,” Buck whispered in my ear, his hair slicked back from the water. His eyes, tender and passionate, roved my face.

  A smile spread across my face. “You want me to have your baby?”

  He laughed. “I didn’t mean like that. I’m not quite sure that that’s possible...but we can try.”

  I laughed, and it turned into a moan.

  Buck kept rocking me from side to side, then back and forth until I was panting and trying to match his motion. He moved faster and faster, and finally, I couldn’t help it. I exploded all over his chest. He didn’t pause, but I felt him cum inside me. The spurts warmed me and I arched my back. Buck howled in pleasure, then gently set me down to wipe himself off. He turned to kiss me deeply, cradling me in his arms and rocking me against his chest.

  CHAPTER 10

  I walked with Buck back to the truck, both of us dripping water everywhere, the moon glowing across our naked bodies. He pulled a tarp and first aid kit out of the bed of his truck while I walked around and gathered firewood. It would only be only an hour or so until sunrise. The sky was lighting up just a little, turning from deep purple to a lighter violet. The moon was still out though, and there was plenty of light. I brought my stack back to Buck and he got to work, fastening them into a pile for the fire.

  We sat in a makeshift tent on the ground, made from the tarp and the back of the truck. A fire burned and glowed between us as I cleaned up the wounds and placed bandages on them.

  “Ow,” he grimaced, pulling back a little. I laughed at him.

  “I thought nothing could hurt you, Buck.” He laughed along with me. He let me bandage one more cut, then took the supplies out of my hands and tossed them aside.

  “Wha...? I wasn’t done. You still have two more cuts right here.” I pointed to his left shoulder and tried to reach for the kit.

  “Ha ha, Nathan, hold on. That’s not important as what I have to say.” He looked deadly serious and I settled down.

  “In my clan, there’s a prophecy.” No way, I thought, and I leaned away. This was too much. “Please, just listen. Come here. I need to hold you and know you’re safe.” He pulled me back in. The earnestness in his voice made it impossible to deny him. “Okay. Like I was saying, prophecy is the wrong word, though. My father was very intuitive. He couldn’t predict the future or anything: he was just very wise. He could read your soul by just looking in your eyes. He knew your intentions without ever having to hear you say a word. It was amazing. His patience and understanding are something to which I aspire.”

  I ran my hand across his cheeks and he snapped back to the present.

  “Father knew that Japheth was no good. Japheth knew that Father despised him, and had named me to be the successor Alpha male. Technically, we’re twins, but I was born first. I think he chose me because I wanted to be most like him. Japheth was angry and impatient, even as a child. He preyed on lost hikers, never intending to take them as a companion. He liked to use people, then discard them. Japheth killed Father when he was ailing, and claimed that he was the one our Father wanted to be the Alpha.”

  I gasped. I didn’t know anything about Buck. It sounded like he’d had a much more difficult childhood than I did. I wiped the moisture from his eyes with my thumb.

  “Since there was no one else there to prove what Japheth had done or to prove that he was lying, some of the pack believed him. Others didn’t, and it split us apart. I let Japheth take the place of honor because I didn’t want to be in control that badly.However, Japheth ran the pack poorly. He egged the others to attack humans like he did, instead of taking mates or companions. He even attacked his own, using them when they were too young or weak to fight back.”

  Buck continued, “My father understood that we would not always be separated from the humans like we are now. Soon they would start coming onto our ground. Japheth wanted to conquer and destroy them, but Father hoped that we could join together and coexist. Father explained that there would be a human: he called him, ‘the special one,’ who would divide or unite us. The wolf who could conquer this human’s heart,” he said, as he lightly tapped my chest right above my rib cage, “would be the rightful ruler for generations to come.”

  With the sincerity in Buck’s voice, and the way his eyes drifted back to another place and time, I couldn’t help but believe him. “So, you think I’m that human?” My voice squeaked, unconvinced.

  Buck chuckled and messed with my hair. “Yes, sweet Nathan, I know that you’re the special one: you’re my special one. You have to understand that I’m more than 100 of your years. I’ve seen humans come and go. None of them have been like you. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you all those years ago. I’m going to keep you safe. I just want to hold you. Come here.” He opened up his arms and I climbed into them. “I was afraid I had lost you today. I love you, Nathan.” Buck’s face was shrouded in shadow. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could hear the raw emotion in his voice.

  “I love you too, Buck.” I shuddered at the thought. Back during the attack, when I had realized that it was Japheth and not Buck handling me, I had thought for sure that Buck had been killed outside. I never imagined that we’d get to have this moment.

  Buck looked down at me and kissed my forehead, then my cheek. “No worries, though; everything is all right. I swear, Nathan, I’m going to protect you. No one in the pack will even think about attacking you, especially after what I did to Japheth. You are going to be safe here.” He paused. “That is, if you want to stay here, with me.” He sounded embarrassed, as if he had assumed too much. “I mean, I understand if you don’t. I can take you anywhere. I just want you to be safe...it’s just that I can’t leave here, you know. I need the woods and the seclusion.” His voice carried tonnes of regret. “Could you imagine me in Portland or Seattle for the rest of my life? Ha, imagine the mess I’d make.”

  I raised my fingers to Buck’s lips to cut off his ramblings. “Don’t worry,” I said, “Buck, I...”

  Buck tensed, his ears pricked. He pulled me off his lap and sniffed at the air. I looked around in confusion, but saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

  “It smells like...”

  Thud. That’s when the blow came across the back of his head. Japheth. He tossed the two-by-four to the ground and moved around Buc
k.

  I gasped and Buck yelped, but we got up quickly. My love growled in anger, rounding on Japheth. The brothers faced each other, shifting between human and beast so quickly my eyes blurred. Buck flexed, circling Japheth, and snapped his teeth. Japheth growled back. Then they were a blur of fur and teeth and claws. I gasped and screamed, but it was no use. The rest of the pack didn’t interfere, reverently watching their leaders fight.

  I was still stunned. Japheth had fallen out of a window and survived a horrible wound. It was still dripping, but he was up. I heard a whine and a yelp of pain as his teeth met in Buck’s fur. I cried out again.

  “Buck!”

  He turned to look at me, favoring his right leg, and Japheth struck. Shifting into human form, he picked up the two-by-four and clubbed Buck. Buck went down soundlessly, hitting the ground in a pile.

  I shrieked and went for him. The world turned into the slow motion of a nightmare. I felt arms wrap around me. I kicked, scratched, and bit, but heard only laughter. Japheth yanked me up off the ground by the hair and held me inches away from his face.

  “Now you’re going to be mine forever,” he threatened. He gazed down at me, grey-green eyes full of triumph. Then he dropped me to the ground. I fell awkwardly and my shoulder twisted the wrong way, but I didn’t care about the pain.

  “Buck! Buck!”

  Howling like demons, the rest of the wolves surrounded me. Shifting between man and beast, they restrained me, fondling my ankles and limbs and holding me down. Kicking and screaming against them achieved nothing. They lifted me in the air and carried me away.

  I screamed for Buck, but the forest ate my empty cries. The night was silent, but I refused to let go. I screamed until my throat was hoarse, and I kept fighting, but they just held me out until my limbs were exhausted and my throat was raw. I sagged in Andrew’s grasp, limp and weak.