HannasHaven (6 page)

He stood back and she jumped down, racing to her bedroom
where she quickly locked the door.

“Hanna!” he called out. “Get back here now. Damn it, Hanna!”

She bit back a sob. Christ, what was wrong with her? She’d
just experienced the most amazing orgasm, and here she was, hiding in the
bedroom as though she were an immature teenager.

“Way to act normal, Hanna,” she muttered to herself.

Moving to the mirror, she stared at herself, astonished by
what she saw. Her lips were red and swollen, her eyes glistening and wide. She
was still panting, each quick breath pushing out her small breasts, which now seemed
bigger, her nipples more prominent where they pressed against her bra.

The walls of her sheath continued to pulse, aftereffects
from the orgasm rocking through her. This had never happened before. It was
exhilarating, exciting and terrifying.

Hanna hugged herself and sat on the bed, rocking. Stupid. Foolish.
Why had she run off? What an idiot she’d made of herself. How could she ever
face Marcus again? She didn’t even know why, for god’s sake. With a growl of
disgust she stood and grabbed the first thing her hand found—a portable alarm
clock. She smashed it against the wall.

The clock hit the window, shattering the glass, leaving a
gaping hole. An alarm immediately sounded.

“Hanna! Open this door now!” Stunned, Hanna had never heard
Marcus roar like that.

“Stand back from the door, I’m coming in.”

Marcus smashed through the door with his shoulder, the wood
cracking and splintering.

Coming to a sudden stop, he stared at her then the window.
He hit a button on his wristwatch and the alarm immediately stopped. Jumping
toward her, he picked her up and carried her away from the open window.

“What happened?” he snapped. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, mortified.
Idiot.
“Sorry, I didn’t
mean to—”

His phone rang. He set Hanna down on the end of the bed and pulled
his cell from his pocket.

“Yeah,” he snarled into the phone. “No, we’re fine. I broke
a window. Does it matter how? I need someone to come over and fix it. Now.”

He growled and, scooping her up against his chest, easily
stepped over the mess on the floor, the leftovers of the door he’d smashed to
bits. Her body stirred at his closeness.

“Marcus, what are you doing?”

He marched to his bedroom and, pushing open the door, placed
her on his bed.

Hanna looked around in interest, not having been in his
bedroom before. It was smaller than hers. A bit messy, clothes strewn on the
chair, books lying on the floor by his bed, but otherwise clean.

“Wait here. I have to secure the window. Do not move.”

Marcus left. Hanna scanned the room, staring at the mess,
until it all became too much. She was shaky, on edge, and she couldn’t talk
herself out of it. She slipped off the bed and bent to pick up the clothes off
the floor. She worked silently, tidying the room as she tried to bring herself
under control.

“Damn it, Hanna, what did I tell you?” She winced, looking
over her shoulder. He stormed into the bedroom, his face thunderous. She
supposed the sensible reaction to his ire would have been fear. But Marcus
wouldn’t hurt her and she quite liked that he didn’t treat her as though she
were fragile, or worse, not quite right in the head.

He snatched up a shirt, hanging it up in the wardrobe. “If anyone’s
going to put my clothes away it’s going to be me, goddammit,” he muttered. He
turned to her with a large, blue t-shirt and plopped it over her head. “You
need to cover yourself up.”

“Oh.” She blushed, she hadn’t even realized she was still half-naked.
Marcus cupped her chin and lifted her face. She averted her eyes, not wanting
to see what he was thinking.

“I like you topless,” he said gruffly. “But I don’t want
anyone else seeing you that way. Got it.” It wasn’t really a question, but she
nodded in agreement anyway. He turned away with a grunt.

Her wolf basked in his possessiveness and the way his scent
surrounded them. His t-shirt hung over her frame almost to her knees. Hanna
crossed her arms over her stomach.

Mine.

She shoved that thought down. The fact that he didn’t want
others seeing her half-naked didn’t mean he felt anything toward her. Well,
nothing more than lust, that is.

“Who’s coming to fix the window?” How would they explain
what happened? Laney, Cooper and Rye were the only ones who knew they were here
and they already thought she was touched in the head. They talked to her as
though she might break with one harsh word. She shouldn’t be bothered what they
thought. Yet she was.

He shrugged. “Rye will bring over something to board it up
with. We’ll get it fixed later.”

She tapped her fingers against her thigh.

“I’m going to go with Cooper’s plan,” she told him. “I can’t
pretend to be your girlfriend, Marcus. You know that none of your packmates
would buy into it. Plus, I have to give myself a chance to get to know Cooper’s
brothers. If I’m pretending to be your girlfriend, I’ll have less chance to do
that without raising suspicions.”

Pretending to be his girlfriend would serve nothing except
make her rely on him more. And make it so much more difficult to say goodbye.

He folded a t-shirt and turned to her. “What if you can’t
stand them?” he asked.

“Then I’ll pretend the best I can until another solution
presents itself.” She sounded confident, even to her own ears. “This is my
chance for a home, Marcus. I can’t mess it up.”

And I have to stop relying on you when I can’t have you.

Marcus growled. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

“I’m sure.” The intense look in his eyes left her breathless.

“I still don’t like it.”

“I know,” she said. “But it’s for the best.”

He groaned and she was sure she heard him mutter as he bent
over to pick up a stray sock. She couldn’t help but stare at his butt as he
bent over, her clit throbbing as need ran through her. She took a deep breath,
almost averting her eyes in embarrassment as he turned and stared at her
thoughtfully.

“Are you checking out my ass?” he asked.

She blushed, horrified he’d caught her.

“N-no,” she squeaked.

His lips twitched.

“You must be sick of being cooped up here with me. I mean,
you must want to get back to your pack. Don’t you miss anyone?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I miss my family. But there’s no
lover waiting for me, if that’s what you’re asking. Do you really think I’d
suggest you act as my girlfriend if I was already taken? That I would kiss you
if there was someone else?”

No, she knew he wouldn’t betray someone he cared about that
way.

“Don’t think much of me, do you? No, there is no one waiting
for me. And no, I’m not tired of living here. It’s my job to keep you safe. You
move back to Silverton and my job becomes one hundred times harder.”

Oh, well, that made sense. Even if it did hurt her heart.

Her wolf snarled, unhappy with his reply. She wasn’t sure
what she’d wanted. A declaration of love? For him to tell her that he wasn’t
about to let her put herself at risk because he couldn’t imagine life without her?
She almost snorted. One mind-shattering orgasm and suddenly she expected
devotion, love— What an idiot.

“Hanna.”

“Hmm?” She looked over at him.

“Were you trying to leave?”

“Leave?” She frowned, confused. Then it hit her. He thought
she might have thrown the clock through the window in an attempt to escape.

“No, not at all.”

Wolves needed the companionship of a pack. Although her wolf
had been more settled these last few weeks than she’d been in years, lately she’d
been at peace. Why? Quite by surprise, it became apparent.

Her wolf considered Marcus to be hers. Her pack.

Damn, damn, damn. This wasn’t good.

“Then what happened with the window?” he asked, breaking into
her thoughts.

“I threw the alarm clock and it broke the window. I wasn’t
trying to break it though.”

“So what? You just felt like making time fly?” he asked drily.

She scrunched up her nose. “I was angry and the clock was
the first thing I grabbed. Honestly,” she said when he didn’t say anything.

He crossed his arms looking a bit uncomfortable. “You were
angry at me?”

“What? No, why?”

“Because of what happened in the kitchen. You weren’t ready,
I pushed you.” There was a note of regret in his voice.

“No.” It was an easy out for her behavior, but it wasn’t
entirely the truth. It wasn’t fair to let him blame himself. “I got scared. I
felt so overwhelmed when I, umm…”

“Came,” he supplied.

“Right. It, well, I’ve never felt anything like that before.
I’m not even sure why I ran, but it wasn’t because of you. You didn’t push me
into anything I didn’t want, that I hadn’t been dreaming of. I was angry at
myself.”

“Why?”

“For acting like a freak.” She opened herself up to him.
“For running away. For not being normal.”

He snorted and sat in the armchair across from her. “Who the
hell says you’re not normal?”

Hanna tilted her head and raised a skeptic eyebrow. “Come
on, Marcus. Does a normal person have to check that the door and windows are
locked all the time? Does a normal person tap their fingers when they get
anxious? Does a normal person have to constantly clean when they feel out of
control?”

“So you do some things to make yourself feel better. Most
people do. Rye plots and plans. Cooper fondles Laney. We all have our security
blankets.”

“Only mine are weird and embarrassing,” she muttered.

He gave her a disapproving scowl. “I don’t like hearing you
say that about yourself. You are not weird. Next time I’ll just grab hold of
you after you come so you can’t run off.”

Marcus’ watch beeped. “That will be Rye. Stay in here. I’ll
tell you when he’s gone.” He turned and left.

Hanna drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms
around her legs. She wondered why he wanted her to stay in his room? It was
only Rye. Maybe he wanted to spare her the embarrassment of explaining?

And what did he mean, next time?

Marcus didn’t want Hanna around Rye right at that moment. He
knew Rye wasn’t the least bit interested in her, and like many females, she
seemed nervous around his cold older brother. But Marcus was feeling unsure, on
edge and decidedly more possessive since his intimacy with Hanna.

She looked so right, sitting on his bed, her lips red and
swollen, her hair mussed, heat in her eyes.

He didn’t want Rye around her in that state.

But he couldn’t have her. It would be unfair of Marcus to
try to attach Hanna to him. She deserved some freedom, room to breathe, to
decide what she wanted.

No, he had no right to claim her. From the sounds of things,
she’d been controlled, restricted all her life. He wasn’t about to pull her
into his life. That was the last thing she needed.

But he was no damn saint and he wanted her.

Mine.

He forced the wolf back, ignoring his possessive cry.

Not his.

Shit. The sooner they left such close quarters the better.
They both needed some space, maybe then he could dampen his raging desire.
Because he knew that the longer they stayed here, the more likely it was that
he would sleep with her.

And just how would he let her go then?

He met his brother at the door, ushering him in before
setting the alarm again. He gathered up the dustpan, brush and bucket. He didn’t
want to risk Hanna cleaning up and getting cut.

Rye cleared off the window frame of the rest of the broken
glass. “What the hell happened, Marcus?” he snarled.

Marcus picked up the bigger pieces of glass and put them in
the bucket. “I don’t know. She hasn’t told me yet.”

“She was trying to escape? What did you do to her?” Rye
accused.

Marcus looked away, knowing it was a sign of guilt. But this
was Rye, his older brother, the only person on earth who could make Marcus feel
as if he were a naughty little kid.

Rye growled. “You didn’t. Fuck, Marcus. This is why I chose
you for this job. Because I trusted you to keep you fucking mind on your job
and your hand off your dick. You need to go. I’ll take over here.”

“No.” Rage swamped Marcus at the thought. “No. She’s mine.”

Something akin to pity washed over Rye’s face.

“You know you can’t keep her. She isn’t the one for you. You
need someone strong, someone who will stand up to you, make you feel alive. And
Hanna needs to learn to stand for herself—to make her own decisions. She’s
feeling grateful, she’s scared, and you can’t take advantage of that.”

“Fuck you, Rye,” Marcus growled. “I am not taking advantage
of her. Suggest it again and you and I will be having more than words.”

Rye’s brows arched upward, startled.

“And Hanna is not the weakling you seem to think she is.”

Rye shook his head and fitted the plywood board over the
window. “I don’t think she’s weak. There’s strength inside her, I see it. But
Hanna doesn’t, not yet. Sounds like her life has been pretty awful up until
now. She now has the chance to change all that. And you can’t stand in her way.
She’s grown attached to you. She’ll follow your lead, Marcus. You cannot hold
her back just because it’s what you want. That’s too selfish.”

Marcus stood, throwing the pan and brush down. “Do you think
you’re telling me anything I don’t know?” he whispered harshly. “You think I
don’t know that I have to let her go. But fuck it, I want her so bad, it’s all
I can do to keep my hands off her. You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I?” Rye ran his hand over his face and looked at the
window. “I’ve got the measurement for the glass, I’ll get on it ASAP.”

He walked over to Marcus and in a rare sign of affection,
clapped him on the shoulder. “Let her go, brother. It’s the right thing to do.”

It wasn’t anything Marcus hadn’t already told himself.
Question was, would he be able to do it?

* * * * *

Being in Marcus’ room, immersed in his earthy, cool scent
was an erotic sort of torture. Her nipples were hard, her skin sensitive,
tingling.

Her wolf preened, urging to be set free so she could rub her
scent all over him, wanting to touch him, to feel him over her, in her.

Hanna took a deep breath, trying to slow her raging libido,
certain Marcus would know exactly what was happening to her the moment he
walked back into his bedroom. How could he not? Her own arousal perfumed the
air, as if a damn siren were calling to him.

Hussy. Hussy. Hussy.

Marcus stepped into the room. His gaze was instantly drawn
to her nipples as he cleared his throat. “Rye just left. He boarded up the
window.”

She climbed off the bed. “Oh, good, I’ll just…” He held up a
hand.

“I don’t want you sleeping in there tonight. It’s not safe
enough.”

Hanna frowned. “Why not? No one can get through the security
you have around the house, right?”