Marked for Life (4 page)

How could—

"May I come in?" The soft spoken request cut into his contemplation.

The coolness of the late evening air blew across his face bringing the sweet smell of honeysuckle. Blinking rapidly, Victor shook his head to snap himself out of it and Victor stepped to the side as he opened the door in invitation.

The man walked toward the living room where he sat on the couch. Victor sat beside him. Together they sat silently ogling one another. Finally, Victor leaned back and draped his arm casually across the back of the sofa.

"So who are you? Why do you seem so familiar to me? Have we met?"

The stranger smiled and relaxed back as well. "Yes, we have met, but it was many years ago." He looked around the room. "Where is the sprite?"

Eyes widening, Victor sat up with a gasp. "How do you know about Yaya?"

"The sprite and I have met on several occasions. I am Mark DeLonco. Has she told you about me?" he asked, extending his hand.

Victor took his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but gasped instead. The moment their hands touched, images formed in Victor's mind. He closed his eyes, trying to get a lock on something to bring understanding to what he was seeing. They were mostly incoherent pictures, flashes of wolves and men he didn't recognize. He became dizzy from trying to decipher the knowledge. Suddenly the imagery started to slow and some things started to make sense. Victor's heart sped up as things fell into place. As a child he'd dreamt of a black wolf all the time and thought nothing of it, but now…

Mark
is
the
man
and
the
black
wolf…
he
thought
with
a
gasp.

The knowledge didn't frighten him, but intrigued and comforted him somehow. Now he remembered a wolf watching him play in the back of his house from the opening of the trees when he was a small boy.

Could that have been him?

He cleared his head with a shake and opened his eyes.

"Do you know why the other wolf attacked me today?"

"He sought to destroy you because he smelled my mark on you."

In his mind's eye, Victor saw the two wolves fighting.

Yaya saved the dark wolf; that's when she took me in.

Victor let go of Mark's hand and reached up to touch the scar on his left shoulder. He knew now how he got it. "I thought I got this when I was young from falling or something," he murmured.

Mark shook his head negatively. "I gave you the mark when you were an infant so that when we met again you would know me. With it, no other male could claim you."

Victor nodded. Although he was not a virgin, he'd never had a real relationship with anyone. He'd had many partners, but only to experiment with sex and sexual positions. Victor realized at an early age that he was interested in men and not women, but neither managed to satisfy him completely. Over the years he became more selective about whom he took to his bed. His lovers came few and far between and they didn't stay long. He always found something wrong with them and eventually broke everything off.

"Why are you here, Mark?" he asked, giving the man a sideways glance.

"You know why I am here, Victor," Mark answered with a sly grin.

Victor
thought
for
a
moment
and
Mark
was
right.
He
did
know.
Mark
was
there
to
claim
him,
but
what
the
hell
did
that
mean
?

How
did
a
wolf-shifter
claim
a
man?
As
a
wolf
,
or
as
a
man?
Would
it
be
painful?
Would
he
die?
Would
he
like
it?
Would
he
turn
into
a
wolf,
too?
He
had
a
life
in
the
city;
not
a
great
life,
but
it
was
the
only
one
he
knew
.
Did
Mark
want
him
to
give
all
that
up?

The questions slammed into his brain one after the other. Fear started to well up inside him. Victor blew out a breath. His chest heaving, he rested his arms on his knees and lowered his head, taking deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"Victor…"

Mark's smooth voice soothed him. He turned his head to Mark.

"There is no need to fear me. I could never hurt you. I have known who you were since the day I laid eyes on you." He let out a soft chuckle of surprise. "I must say, gazing upon you as an infant gave me no idea you would grow to be such a handsome man." Mark moved closer. "Your dark skin is intoxicatingly beautiful. I especially love the way your almond-shaped eyes glisten when you speak. Your body is strong and firm and very appealing. It is a relief to know that."

"A relief? I don't understand."

"It is a relief to know my embrace will not harm you," Mark explained. "The sprite fed you from her body. Her enchanted milk made you stronger than what you would have been." Mark stared at him for a moment and then continued. "I have loved you from the moment I tasted your blood, but I had no idea your physical appearance would be so pleasing to me."

Victor was speechless at Mark's description of him. He sat very still, staring at him as he continued to speak, his tone changing from adoration to desperation.

"Being this close to you and not being able to have you is driving me to the edge of insanity, but if it takes me a lifetime to ease your fears so you can come to me on your own, I will wait. I have waited twenty-five years to be here with you; I can wait a little longer."

Mark's confession struck a chord in him. "Are you saying you haven't been with anyone else?"

"There is no one else for me."

Shocked, Victor sat up and shook his head. "Wait, you mean you haven't had sex with anyone in twenty-five years? You've been waiting for me to grow up?"

"I was driven from my pack long ago. I have no one but you. You will be my companion and mate. I cannot have another mate as long as you are alive," Mark confirmed.

"But I was a baby when we met."

"Yes, but you are a man now."

The extent of Mark's sacrifice touched Victor's heart. Victor had been celibate the last three years, but that was by choice. He just couldn't find anyone who satisfied him enough to stay with and now he knew why. Mark, on the other hand, had no choice. He had to wait for Victor to mature, alone with no support from his pack. The pain of his exile was evident in Mark's eyes.

The
more
he
understood
the
situation,
the
more
Victor
'
s
fears
faded
away.
His
Yaya
'
s
words
came
back
to
him.
Mark
was
for
him.
Victor
believed
him
when
Mark
said
he
would
not
hurt
him.
He
couldn
'
t.
They
were
a
part
of
each
other.
Mark
could
no
more
harm
Victor
than
he
could
hurt
himself.
Somewhere
deep
inside
himself
he
knew
that
.
Victor
reached
out
to
caress
Mark
'
s
face.

Sighing, Mark grasped the hand and pressed his face into the palm.

"Victor, please…" Mark's voice shook with emotion. "Your touch is torture and pleasure at the same time. My soul cries out for you. Your scent is overwhelming me, taking away rational thought. I fear I will die from desperate want if I cannot have you. My restraint is pushed to its limits. It pains me to hold back my lust for you."

Victor was astonished. He had never affected someone so much. At least no one had ever voiced such emotion to him. He could feel Mark trembling against his hand as he held it tightly to his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Mark," he said, moving closer so their legs touched. "I don't mean to—"

Victor's voice died in his throat as he looked into Mark's wild eyes. Undeniable passion and lust cried out to him. He gasped at the sight. Victor's body suddenly recognized the man before him and responded; his cock throbbed at Mark's closeness. Their faces moved closer, seemingly on their own accord. He could no longer deny what his body was telling him. Victor slid his arms around Mark's neck and pulled him on top of him. Together they hit the cushion, fusing their lips together in a moaning kiss.

Mark frantically ate at Victor's mouth and he loved it. This was the kiss he had always wanted but never received from any of his other lovers. The dominant, persistent, overpowering feel of his mouth along with the pressure of Mark's body on top of him drove Victor to frenzy. He pushed his pelvis up, meeting Mark's hardness. Mark tore his lips away with a growl and his kisses moved to Victor's throat. Tantalizing shudders raced across his heating skin. Mark alternated between tiny nips and licks, and Victor's nipples tightened from the pleasure. Mark inhaled deeply, dragging his nose along the length of Victor's neck.

"Your scent never left me, Victor," he murmured, leaving a bite on his ear. "It anchored itself into my very spirit the day I marked you. I knew every time you were in the forest," he said between sucking pecks on the pulse near Mark's collarbone. "It nearly killed me to be so close and yet have to keep myself distant because you were not ready for me. I had no idea how hard it would be to wait for you to age. Please, let me make love to you and make our bond complete."

Mark
'
s
pleading
words
left
goose
bumps
on
his
skin.
Victor
could
hear
the
torment
in
them.
He
was
on
fire
from
the
inside
out
,
Mark
'
s
hardness
pushed
against
his
perineum
and
nuts
as
he
rubbed
his
hard-on
against
him
,
promising
pleasure.
Victor
'
s
ass
clenched
repeatedly,
wanting
Mark
'
s
rod
deep
within
it.
Never
had
he
wanted
a
man
so
much.
He
knew
he
could
come
from
Mark
'
s
dominating
kisses
and
their
frantic
making
out,
but
he
wanted
more.
Victor
wanted
to
end
Mark
'
s
suffering,
but
moreover
,
his
instincts
told
him
that
sex
with
Mark
would
be
incredible.

For his answer, Victor tugged at Mark's shirt to remove it. Mark let out a groan of relief and backed off of him. The man's pants fell away from his body quickly and he kicked them off to the side. Yanking his t-shirt over his head, he tossed it into the air to meet his bottoms across the room. Victor wasted no time getting out of his own clothes. He fell back onto the sofa topless and raised his legs to shimmy from his pants. When he straightened his legs his eyes landed on Mark's naked glory.