Marked by Pain (The Marked Series Book 2)

by Cece Rose

  “So you're saying it's his fault, and she's a victim?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him in question.

  “Definitely not, I'm just telling you how she got the way she is. No matter what she's done, she's still his sister, and he wants to save her. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing for Ryan,” Enzo whispers.

  “Ryan can still be saved, I know he can. He's not bad inside, but that woman is. She's got issues of the major kind, Enzo. They're not comparable.”

  “I think they're more alike than you'd care to admit,” he comments.

  “They're not. At least, I hope they aren't,” I reply tightly. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close.

  “How about we take your mind off her and your brother for a little while?” he suggests in a low voice, making me shiver.

  “What did you have in mind?” I ask, feeling a little breathless.

  “Something a little like this...” he trails off, leaning down and locking his lips with mine. His hands grip my waist tightly as he kisses me, and he bites my lower lip, making me gasp from the shock of the sensation. He deepens the kiss, our tongues intertwining as he holds me close to him, and when he pulls away, I wish he didn't.

  “I better stop now, before I can't,” he whispers begrudgingly.

  “What if I don't want you to?” the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them.

  “Well, then I'd at least suggest we find somewhere more private,” he teases, gesturing around us, to the fact that we're in the middle of the open space in the compound, and there are guards watching us. I feel the heat creep into my cheeks.

  “Yeah, maybe not right here,” I reply, choking out a laugh.

  “I have a surprise for you anyway, come with me,” he says, tugging me with him. I follow after him, and he leads me to the block where I know East is being kept. He scans an access card on the door. An access card that certainly doesn't have his name.

  “You stole that?” I ask quietly, not wanting to be overheard.

  “I borrowed it. There's definitely a difference,” he says lightly, making me laugh.

  “Sure there is, thank you,” I say, giving him a quick kiss.

  “I figured you'd like to see East without the feeling of eyes watching you. They're so sure of the main grounds’ security, there's nobody in here watching him at night. Just need the right access to get in and out. They figure even if he did manage to somehow escape this building, he'd never make it past the outside wall.”

  “Seems a little stupid to me,” I comment as we walk down the corridor.

  “It is. That's why Daniels suggested it,” Enzo says, grinning. We stop outside the door and Enzo scans the card, unlocking it as the light flashes green. He hands me the card and turns away.

  “Aren't you coming in?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.

  “No, I thought you guys would like some privacy. I'll need that card back in the morning though, and you need to leave here before 6am, 5:30 to be extra careful,” he says. I nod and head for the door to East's cell. I pause and turn back to Enzo.

  “Thank you, you didn't have to do this,” I say.

  “I know, but I also know it would make you happy, Crowe, and I've decided I like how happy looks on you,” he smiles, none of his usual sarcasm or snark is in his tone.

  I give him one last smile, and push open the door to the cell, stepping in and closing it behind me.

  Chapter 9

  Mackenzie

  “Kenzie,” East says, clearly surprised, as I walk across the room to him.

  “Hey, East,” I say quietly, as I pause standing by the bed. His eyes travel down me from head to toe and back up again, lingering on some places more than others.

  “You look amazing, that dress is... wow,” he mutters, standing up and pulling me to him, his hands resting firmly on my hips.

  “This old thing?” I comment sarcastically. “Well, you always look 'wow', so I just had to somehow compare for once,” I say, smirking at him, feeling happy at the effect my appearance is having on him.

  “Compare? You always outshine me, Kenz,” he whispers.

  “So fucking corny,” I mutter.

  “Only for you,” he says, winking at me and making me laugh. He rests a hand on my cheek. “How did I miss how fucking amazing you are for so long? How could I have ever just thought of you as Ryan's little sister?” he asks.

  “I don't know. I never thought of you as just Ryan's best friend,” I admit, moving my hands up his shirt and running them across his toned stomach.

  “Fuck, I think this is way too much talk about your brother,” he growls, leaning down and kissing my jawline, and down to my neck. I moan as his lips find the sweet spot between my neck and shoulder, that damn spot is the undoing of me. I don’t know how he knows it, but he does, nipping it with his teeth.

  “I agree,” I breathe, unbuttoning his shirt. His shirt falls to the ground, and I run my hands over his muscular chest and down his toned abs.

  “We can stop now, you just need to tell me,” East grounds out as my hand slides over his jeans and I stroke his hardness through the material.

  “No, I don't want to stop. I've wanted you for as long as I can remember and I—” I stop when I realise what I was just going to say, and that it could ruin the moment between us if he doesn't feel the same way. East grabs my head with both his hands, looking into my eyes like there is nothing else in the entire world.

  “I love you too,” he whispers and then he kisses me. I slide my hands into his hair as we battle for every demanding kiss, both of us desperate for each other. East takes his time sliding down the zip on the back of my dress as we kiss, brushing his fingers down my spine as he goes, and making me shiver from the sensation.

  “Cold?” he whispers next to my ear, as he pushes the dress down my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. East’s eyes widen as he stares down at me, completely naked in front of him. The dress I wore was so tight I couldn’t put any underwear on, but I don't hide from him. I trust East completely. Something snaps in East as he pulls me to him and starts kissing me again, and I kiss him back with just as much passion.

  “No, I'm not cold,” I manage to get out when he kisses down my neck, taking his time to find that sweet spot once more and sucking gently on it, sending me crazy with need for him. He picks me up suddenly, carrying me to the bed and placing me down on it. East lowers himself on top of me, and I slide my hands down his chest to undo his jeans.

  “Are you on protection, Kenz?” he stops kissing me to ask.

  “Yes,” I reply, and he smirks as he crawls down my body. I moan loudly in pleasure as his lips find my right nipple and he flicks his tongue against the hard nub. His other hand slides down my stomach slowly, to tease me, before he cups me. He slides a finger slowly across my slit, teasing me with every slow movement as he watches me for my reaction.

  “Fuck, Kenz, you're so wet,” he groans as he slides a finger inside me and I can't help the moan that slips from my lips. His thumb goes to my clit at the same time, rubbing circles as his finger slides in and out of me in perfect rhythm. In a way, I hate that he’s so good at this, but the other part of me doesn't care anymore. Not when he is with me now.

  “So close,” I whisper when the pleasure is getting too much and I'm inches away from coming. He moves his hand away, kissing me before sliding off me. East sits up on the bed, pulling me into his lap and pushing his jeans down. He slides a hand to the back of my neck and pulls me closer to him.

  “I love you,” I say as I hold myself above him, just the tip of him inside me, before sinking down on top of him and kissing him before he can reply. I move my hips slowly at first, getting used to the size of him, but as our pleasure builds, we both lose ourselves quickly. East pushes me down onto the bed, lying on top of me, and thrusting into me hard and fast.

  “Come for me, I want to feel you come on my cock, Kenz,” East whispers in my ear, his seductive tone making me lose all of the control I was holding
onto, and I feel myself tightening around him as I come.

  “Kenz,” East shouts as he finishes inside me, slowly thrusting as he calms down, resting his forehead on mine.

  “Whatever happens, I'm yours, just know that,” he tells me, and then kisses me gently. East rolls off me, pulling a blanket over us, and I lie facing him.

  “And I'm yours, that is never changing, East,” I tell him before kissing him. “We have all night, any suggestions for what else we could do?” I ask, not so innocently.

  “Don't think I'm finished with you yet, Mackenzie Crowe,” East chuckles as he rolls on top of me and kisses me, cutting me off before I can reply.

  Chapter 10

  Mackenzie

  “Come back soon, but only if it’s safe,” East asks me as I stand at the door, and smooth the creases out of my dress. I lean up, kissing him.

  “I wish I didn't have to leave,” I tell him honestly.

  “You need to get back before sunrise,” he says, but he doesn't look happy about it either. All I want to do is get back into bed, and repeat what we have been doing for the last few hours. I press a quick, final kiss to his lips.

  “Go, before I decide that I can’t let you,” East says, letting me go as I open the door. I look around, seeing the empty hallway before closing it quietly behind me. I walk down the hallway and towards my room, only seeing a few guards around on my way there.

  “Kenzie!” I hear Kelly shout behind me, and I turn to see her walking out from a room. She has a white coat on and she is holding a clipboard against her chest. I wait for her to catch up with me, and she pulls me into a hug.

  “A little early for you, isn't it?” I ask her.

  “I could say the same thing,” she replies as she pulls away. “Come on, I'll walk back with you. I've been up all night in the lab,” she adds.

  “Lab?” I ask her as we walk.

  “I heard someone was being brought in for testing, and that they will need a good healer if anything goes wrong, so I volunteered to train with the scientists,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. I'm frightened about these tests, but it’s good to know that I will have Kelly with me.

  “For me, you did that for me?” I ask her and she tucks some of her blonde hair behind her ear before she answers.

  “Yes,” she replies simply, and I look over at her, seeing her bright, blue eyes watching me with love and a tiny bit of fear. I guess it's the fear of losing each other, that all those years of friendship are gone because of everything that happened. I know she feels guilty, I can see it, but I'm still mad.

  “I hate that you lied to me, that you never told me you loved my brother. That you knew Ryan killed Mr Layan, that you kept so much from me and you were a shitty best friend recently,” I bite out and I come to a stop in the corridor, crossing my arms. Kelly looks down at the ground, tears already falling from her eyes.

  “I was a shitty friend, I know that. I should have trusted you, but I thought I was protecting you and Ryan. I never meant for things to get so out of control, I never knew how involved Ryan is,” she sobs, “I thought I could convince him not to listen to his father and Verity, but...” she whispers the end part and can't say anymore, the words just trailing off. I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her as she cries, and I find myself wiping a few tears away too.

  “What happened to hoes before bros?” I joke lamely, thinking of the promise we made not to put boys before our friendship when we were ten. Although, I never expected that the boy causing the problems would by my brother.

  “I forgot our promise we made,” she laughs, "Where have you been anyway?" she asks, looking down at the dress I'm wearing, and giving a pointed look at my messy hair.

  "I went to see East," I admit, and she raises an eyebrow at me.

  "And?" she asks, dragging the word out. I bite my lower lip and her jaw drops. "You totally slept with sexy East didn’t you? Wasn't that one of your life goals?" she asks, sounding both amused and impressed that I could now check off one of my items.

  "Yeah, when I was like, thirteen. Gods, I can't believe I actually put that on my list," I say laughing as I remember the dumb lists we made. Kelly's things were all practical and sensible, and mine were well... I wanted East, ten dogs, and all the pizza the world has to offer. I frown when I notice that Kelly's smile has already dropped.

  “Do you forgive me? Can you?” she asks more seriously, pulling away and I look at her. I would never have understood it, if it wasn't exactly what I'm trying to do now. I'm trying to convince Ryan myself, trying to save him and everyone I love. I get what she did, and Kelly isn't a bad person. I don't think she has a bad bone in her body. She made a mistake, but everyone does.

  “I forgive you,” I say, grabbing her hands and then she starts to glow white, her eyes rolling back seconds before I'm pulled into her vision.

  “Forgive me,” a voice says but I can’t hear him properly over the sound of rain, smashing rocks, and water splashing loudly in my ears. I blink my eyes open, seeing myself kneeling on the floor in a white dress, blood splattered all over it. Floating rocks are flying around me, rain is pouring from the skies, and a blue light is shining from the left of us, making it hard to see myself in the clearing. I'm holding a man in my arms, but I can only see his chest and legs. There is a dagger in his stomach, and my hand is covering it, glowing white.

  “There's nothing to forgive, just don't die, okay? I love you, so you can’t die,” I reply, but I can’t hear what the man says back as everything blurs, and my eyes are forced into closing before I know who it is.

  My eyes fly open, and I release Kelly as if she burns, stumbling back from her. “What the hell was that? Who was it, did you see his face?” I question her, needing to know. It's obviously someone I care about. She shakes her head, the tears from before still filling her eyes.

  “I didn't see his face, but I felt your pain, Kenzie. You were in so much pain,” she chokes out, her entire body trembling.

  I pull her back to me, wrapping my arms around her tightly. Whatever she just saw, we need to prevent. I have to believe that we saw that for a reason, that fate was giving us a chance to stop this from happening. “I need you to try and see more, Kelly,” I say gently, and she pulls away.

  “I can't. Kenzie, that hurt so much, your heart, I swear it broke,” she whispers.

  “Please, Kelly, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. We need to at least try and find out who it is, so we can stop this,” I insist. More tears trail down her face.

  “Some things can't be changed, Kenz, you know that. Some visions feel concrete, completely set in stone. Others feel ever-changing, and just a possible route the path could take us...” she trails off, shaking harder. She swallows thickly and looks me straight in the eyes. “I'm so sorry, that one feels definite. I've never had a vision feel so concrete.”

  “I won't accept that, I can't. It's not happening!” I snap, turning away.

  “Kenzie!” Kelly shouts after me.

  “Leave me alone, I need to figure this out, Kells. If you won't help me, I'll try and bring on the vision myself,” I say, walking away as quickly as I can. I won't accept this. This isn't happening. It had to be one of the guys in that vision, and I refuse to lose any of them. I freeze. Fuck, what if it was East? My heart couldn't take it if it was him. I may be falling for the others, but East has had my heart for as long as I can remember. I take a deep breath, and carry on walking back to my room. I need to get my shit together and figure this out, before I lose one of them for real.

  Chapter 11

  Mackenzie

  Gritting my teeth and trying for the millionth time, I call on my divination mark, picturing the eye with the swirls, while also trying to focus on the vision Kelly had before. Finally, I feel a vision pull me in.

  “Where the hell are we?” I ask, looking around. The landscape around me is unfamiliar, and feels so different to anywhere I have been before. The whole place seems to pulse with the magic of our marks.
>
  “I can't believe it. We're really here,” Enzo's voice replies, as he pulls me close. He sounds so amazed, so in awe of this place, and I am too. It’s all real.

  “I'm so fucking glad you're here with me,” I whisper, leaning up and kissing him...

  “What are you doing?” Locke asks from the doorway, pulling me from my vision. I quickly open my eyes and look at him, trying to force a smile onto my face.

  “Nothing, just um, meditating?” I say, shrugging and feigning nonchalance. I can't help but feel disappointed, I finally bring on a vision and it's the wrong one.

  “You don't seem like the meditating type,” he replies with a smirk, as he steps into the room and shuts the door behind him.

  “I'm trying to bring on a vision, I want to try and see if I can work out what Alaric is planning,” I say, giving him a half-truth at least. I don't want to worry him about Kelly's vision. I don't want to worry any of them, or burden them with this, not yet anyway. I’ll find out who it is in the vision first, I’ll figure out how to stop this, and then I’d tell them.

  “Wouldn't Kelly be better for this job? No offence to your divination mark powers, but Kelly is an extremely powerful seer from what I've heard. Plus, I wouldn't put too much trust in visions, Kenz. You know nothing is foolproof with them, you can't trust them to always show you the truth,” he says, taking a seat on the bed next to me. I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. “Woah, Kenzie, what's this for?” he asks, cuddling me back.

  “I just really needed to hear that right now, Locke. You wouldn't believe how much,” I whisper, squeezing him tightly.

  “What's wrong?” he asks, stroking my hair and pulling me onto his lap.

  “I don't want to talk about it, and plus, I don't even have time right now,” I say. I let myself relax for a moment against his chest, just listening to the repeated rhythm of his heartbeat.