Marked (Valeterra Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Reynolds

  “Do all bookstores in your world come with one of those?” he asked. His tone showed confusion and irritation. The confusion I got, but the irritation, I didn’t.

  “Not all of them do, but I prefer the ones that have them. My favorite thing to do is buy a book, a doughnut, a chicken salad sandwich, and a large vanilla iced coffee, and to curl up in a big chair and read. I guess that’s obvious, though.”

  Shit, I shouldn’t have said that last part. Gail fussed at me all the time about making self-deprecating remarks. Both of us have always been plus size, but she never minded it. She flaunted her curves every chance she got. I tried to cover mine up with billowy clothing. I think having a beautiful face makes being plus size easier. I have a plain face, so having a rounded stomach makes me even more unappealing.

  “I’m not sure how that’s obvious about you,” he said, sounding honestly confused.

  “Oh, never mind. I forget where I am. Stephanie said this world didn’t have the same kind of hang-ups about weight that mine does; therefore, you wouldn’t understand.”

  “What’s wrong with the way you look?” he asked, sounding a bit harsh. Did he think I was treating him like a child for not understanding how my world worked or was he angry that anyone would treat me harshly over my weight?

  “Well, if we were on Earth, I would say all you had to do was look at me, and you would see what was wrong with me, but since we aren’t, and since you are all the way over there and it’s dark, you can’t see. Never mind all of that. I didn’t mean to spiral down that road. You probably think I’m a self-pitying old woman, and I hadn’t intended to sound that way. It was a stupid remark that I’m trying very hard to stop making.”

  A long pause followed my diatribe. I couldn’t say it was an awkward pause, but it was uncomfortable. In any other situation, I would assume I’d put a man off by talking about my weight, but for some reason, I think I made him angry. I wasn’t sure if he was mad at the people from my world for treating me badly or angry with me for putting myself down.

  Finally, I said, “Well, good night. If you get a chance, stop by the store in the morning and say hello.”

  He didn’t say anything, so I turned and went back into the house, forgetting all about my book.

  13.

  ~~~Valerie~~~

  After I had left the balcony, I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. To my surprise, when I turned the knobs, hot water, not lukewarm water, rushed over me. Shaking my head at my ridiculousness, I told myself that I had to stop letting little things like that surprise me. I was going to show my surprise in front of the wrong people and offend them, but I couldn’t help my reactions. Consciously, I knew the people of Valeterra weren’t primitive, but that didn’t mean things such as running hot water didn’t surprise me.

  Once out of the shower, I made myself take my time getting ready for bed. Every time I passed my bedroom window, I peeked out to see my neighbor still standing next to his railing with his head turned so that he was looking up the road toward the center of town. I was sure he didn’t know I was watching him since he didn’t turn to look my way. If he was a shifter, his senses should have been able to tell him that I was looking at him. The fact that he didn’t appear to sense me was a bit disappointing, especially once I had on a thin strapped, thigh-high nightdress with nothing underneath, and I very much wanted him to look my way. I wasn’t sure if he could fully see me from such a distance, but I could imagine him being able to do so, just as I could imagine him touching himself as he leaned against the railing to take in the sight of me.

  The mental images I conjured of what the man across the street looked like were vivid and erotic and were images of Jackson. For all I knew, the man on the balcony was Jackson, but I doubted it. I did like thinking it was him, though. Even more, I liked thinking that he had been as turned on by the sound of my voice as I had been—still was—at the sound of his, and that he was right then contemplating unzipping his pants and fisting himself.

  I caught myself lifting the hem of my nightdress and cupping myself with the curtains cracked. Flushing with embarrassment, the second I slid a finger between my folds, I jerked them out again. I pulled the curtains closed, turned out the light, and crawled into bed. I tossed and turned for a second, then gave into my urge to please myself.

  The orgasm came on so quickly that it surprised a small cry from me. Instantly, I covered my mouth with my other hand to silence any other noises, but then remembered that I was in the building alone. There was no one there to hear me masturbate, and there was no way the man on the balcony could hear me, I hoped, so I removed my hand and let myself enjoy the feelings washing over me.

  When I settled, I understood that I still wasn’t satisfied. Nothing I did was going to satisfy me fully, I knew, but since I was still feeling the ache, I tried for a second orgasm. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had two orgasms, but I felt sure there would be two that night.

  The second one took a little longer than the first one to hit me, but nowhere near as long as I had expected it to take. My imagination had worked a little too well that night. At one point, I could have sworn the man was touching me, really inside me, and that had helped bring me to climax quicker than anything else had.

  Fully sated, for the time being, I sprawled out on the bed, basking in the feeling of contentment and relaxation, refusing to let any anxiety of the next day overshadow the bliss rushing over me. Shortly after that, I fell into a deep sleep.

  I woke the next morning with only a slight tremor running through my body. My mind played scenario after scenario in my head of all the bad things that could happen that day while I dressed.

  My nerves didn’t hinder my appetite any, but when I opened the cabinet doors to make myself a cup of coffee, I realized that I had nothing in the apartment to eat. I contemplated skipping breakfast, but since the bookstore wasn’t supposed to open for another hour, I sucked up my pride and ordered myself to walk to the bakery I’d passed the night before to get a bite.

  I nearly tripped over my own feet when I entered the restaurant and found Jackson sitting in a booth at the back of the little building. He didn’t look up when I entered, and I didn’t approach him, but I still felt as if he were staring at me.

  I felt other eyes boring into me as well when I turned to the counter and placed my order. Nearly every one of the beings/people in the place were staring a hole through me. I didn’t blame them. I was new and different, a curiosity. Why wouldn’t they stare?

  When I went to pay the young woman behind the counter for the pastry and the blended fruit drink I’d ordered with the coined money Stephanie had given me at the other restaurant the night before, the woman said, “Your meal is paid for, miss.”

  “Excuse me,” I asked confused for a second by her statement.

  “You don’t owe anything for your food. It has been taken care of.”

  “By whom?” I asked.

  She didn’t look to the back booth, but said, “Mr. Nichols says we are to bill him for everything you order for the next month or so to allow you time to acclimate to being here.”

  “Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I have money. You all have given me enough as it is.” I tried to hand her the number of coins I was sure was necessary for the transaction according to the cheat sheet that I had in my wallet, but she wouldn’t take it. Stephanie had also given me the sheet last night during dinner.

  Giving up because I knew I was holding up the line, I sighed, plastered a big smile on my face, and said thank you. I took my food and drink and walked to the back of the restaurant while everyone watched me.

  When I got to his table, he didn’t bother to look up at me. I waited for a second, but when he still didn’t acknowledge me, I cleared my throat and said, “Mr. Nichols?”

  Easily, he sat the newspaper he was reading down beside his plate and looked up at me. Our eyes instantly locked, and a wave of lust and possessiveness hit me so hard I stumbled forward a bit into th
e chair in front of me. I don’t know if the emotions were his or mine. Surely, they were mine. His actions didn’t say, ‘I want to fuck you, or I want to take you in my arms and protect you from the world,’ but something in his eyes told me a different story. I was also feeling those same emotions. The lust I got, but why I would feel possessive over him, I didn’t know.

  The instant I realized I hadn’t said anything more, I broke eye contact and said, “I wanted to thank you for my meal. You don’t have to pay for everything for me, though. Stephanie, the lady that brought me here, gave me instructions on how your world’s coins work. Right now, I have enough to pay for everything I need. I’ll do everything I can to settle in quickly. If the bookstore doesn’t go over well, I’ll go home, get another job, and send you all the money I make to make up for it. I don’t want to be beholden to anyone. I also don’t want to be a burden on the town. I’m not a superficial person. All the money I make will go straight to you. I should be paying you more in rent for such a large building and apartment. Please, raise it to what you would typically ask for it, and I’ll pay it.”

  I don’t know why I kept talking and talking, but I did. Jackson made me nervous. He made me worried that he thought I was greedy and needy and was only out for the financial gain. He said nothing throughout my diatribe.

  I looked up to see that his expression had turned angry. Maybe I was irritating him. Why was I irritating him? People ramble all the time. I wasn’t any different. The rambling could annoy him, but he didn’t have to let his annoyance show on his face. That was just rude. I didn’t know anything for sure and didn’t have time to find out.

  Before he opened his mouth to speak, if he was going to open his mouth to speak, a woman walked up to me and stuck out her hand. She placed herself between Jackson and me on purpose it seemed. I don’t think she did it out of jealousy. Perhaps she thought she was protecting him from me or me from him. If the entire idea of me being here was to find a mate, keeping me from him wasn’t helping. Granted, I didn’t think the man would want me for a mate, but I still needed to meet the potential alphas, didn’t I?

  Damn it, my thoughts were all over the place, and I was making a fool of myself.

  “Hello, I’m Anne Walker,” the woman said. “I’ll be helping you at the bookstore. I’ll be running the used book side of things.”

  The woman looked older than most people in the restaurant, but only about five to ten years older than me, which in her world meant she was old…maybe a couple of hundred years old.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “My name is Valerie Stutts.” I shook her hand. I felt the slight tremor in her grip and pulled away as soon as I could without being rude. She looked sheepish. I didn’t understand why she would be afraid of me. I wasn’t a danger to her, surely. Her age would mean she was strong, whatever she was. Besides, if anyone should have been afraid in that situation, it was me. I was the odd woman out after all.

  “Stephanie was going to introduce us this morning, but since you’re here, why don’t you come eat with me and tell me all about yourself.” She didn’t speak the way I would imagine someone of her age in that world would. She should be calling me deary and looking at me in shame for talking to a man in public.

  “All right,” I said before turning to Jackson. He had picked up his paper once we started ignoring him and began reading.

  “I’m sorry for interrupting your breakfast, Mr. Nichols.” He didn’t look up at me as I spoke, but I went on anyway. “Thank you for mine, and I assure you, I can pay for my food.” I looked down at myself and said in a near whisper, “I’ll even watch how much I eat. I should be doing that anyway.”

  I heard his paper rustle and looked back up to see him glaring at me. I don’t know why I’d said that. I’d vowed long ago to love myself and never change for anyone. Why did he make me self-conscious? The people in the room aren’t what my world considered skinny, so why did I think I needed to be.

  “Anyway, thank you.” I walked away, following Anne to her table. I had originally planned to eat at the store, but I guessed I could eat in the restaurant if I weren’t alone while I did it.

  14.

  ~~~Jackson~~~

  “Why, for the gods’ sake, couldn’t I speak to her this morning?” I demanded of Stephanie when I entered my office shortly after my encounter with Valerie at the bakery. As the Archon of Greenleaf and the surrounding communities, the office was where I was supposed to be throughout the week, but I’d only started keeping regular hours when Valerie agreed to come to Valeterra.

  I jerked off the suit jacket I wore and slung it over the coat rack, ignoring Stephanie’s startled expression. She quietly followed me to my desk where I plopped down with a loud sigh.

  Taking the seat opposite me, she said, “I take it the ‘her’ you’re referring to is Valerie?”

  “Who else?” I snarled.

  “So you finally met her?”

  “Yes. Yesterday and again this morning.”

  “Yesterday? You didn’t say anything about seeing her when we met yesterday.”

  “I hadn’t met her when I last saw you. She was out on her balcony last night when I stepped out for a bit of fresh air. I hate that apartment by the way.”

  “I can move you somewhere else, but you said you wanted to be as close to her as I could get you.”

  “I know.” I was fighting an internal battle between two different instincts: the need to be with nature and the need to be with my mate.

  “What were you saying about not being able to speak to her?” she asked, giving me a quizzical look.

  “I don’t know. When I saw Valerie last night, we talked a little bit. But this morning, she approached me at the bakery, and I just stared at her like a fool.”

  “If you spoke to her the night before, she knows you aren’t a fool.”

  “I didn’t tell her who I was last night. Judging by our conversation this morning, she didn’t recognize me either. I forgot she doesn’t have our eyesight.”

  “What did she say to you this morning?”

  “She rambled on and on about how I didn’t have to pay for her stuff and that she would pay me back for everything. And she keeps putting herself down. Gods, that’s driving me insane. When she says things like that, she makes me want to smack her and kiss her at the same time. But I didn’t say anything to her. Why?”

  “I don’t know. Were you ever that way with my sister?”

  “No. With Alexis, I was the one who couldn’t shut up. With Valerie, though, her closeness seems to stun me into silence. Her smell, her aura struck me mute. Besides that, all the things that kept running through my head to say were inappropriate. Couple that with the wolf in me telling me all of the things I should be doing with her body while she spoke, I was terrified to open my mouth.”

  “That was more information than I needed.”

  Her playful look told me that my words didn’t disgust her.

  “It’s the truth.”

  “Those feelings and thoughts didn’t stop you last night, right?” she asked, growing serious.

  “No. I had the emotions, but they didn’t render me mute.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  After a long moment, I said, “I don’t know if I can do this. My need for Valerie is too strong. I’m scaring myself. How do you think she’ll react to me when she finds out she’s my mate?”

  “I don’t know. I bet Valerie will be more accommodating than you think.”

  “You honestly think so? She’s so fragile. Her medical file says she hasn’t been sexually active in years. I could damage her if I don’t get a handle on my emotions. And what do you think the people of Greenleaf think of me now. I’m the Archon of this community and the alpha of the local shifter pack. Who wants to follow an alpha who can’t speak to a simple human woman?”

  “I’m sure they haven’t thought one thing about it, but if you want, I’ll ask around and give you
some time to calm down…maybe even rub one out?”

  “Oh Gods, I know you didn’t suggest that I masturbate.”

  “I did. We’re all the family we have. Hell, we don’t have many friends left either. Every once in a while, I have to put on my bro-hat and give you a little manly advice.”

  “Bro-hat?”

  “I don’t know. I think I heard one of the male humans say something similar to that to one of his friends.”

  “Leave. Now. And never say that again,” I said, pointing to the door.

  Laughing at my shocked embarrassment, she left. I sat back in my chair, contemplating rubbing one out as she suggested. I had done that twice last night to the images I had of her in that thin nightgown I caught a glimpse of through her bedroom window. It hadn’t helped. Doing it again would probably be just as ineffectual, but it was all I could think to do to relieve the stress and lust I felt at that moment.

  15.

  ~~~Valerie~~~

  Anne did most of the talking while we ate. She didn’t talk about the town or her personal life just about how much she loved to read. She gave me summaries of some of her world’s most popular novels and stories. They were fascinating in as much as I could remember them later when I tried to recall them. I spent most of the meal looking over my shoulder at Jackson. She caught me a time or two but said nothing about it. I couldn’t determine from her expression what she thought about me focusing so much of my attention on him, either, but she didn’t seem offended by my lack of attention toward her.

  At ten minutes ‘til nine, Anne and I walked back to the store together. I followed her into the used book side to look around for a second before going to my side. The wide array of books offered on her side was impressive.

  She and I agreed to close for lunch around one or two, depending on how busy we were, and eat together. She wanted to know everything about my world and me. I had questions about the one I was currently in, but she was too quick with her questions for me to ask my own.