HannasHaven (13 page)

Marcus heard the trepidation in her voice and inwardly
cursed himself. A noise came from the porch and then Ryder stood there,
battered and bruised. But his eyes were bright, aware and centered on Marcus.

“Can we talk?” Marcus asked.

Marcus stepped into the woods, Ryder walking beside him. “We’ll
be out as soon as we can pack our stuff. Don’t worry. We won’t take anything we
haven’t paid for ourselves.”

Marcus ran his hand over his head. “I seem to be fucking
things up left, right and center. You don’t need to leave. None of you. In
fact, I insist you stay.”

Ryder stared at him suspiciously, as though trying to figure
out his angle.

“Look, I’m not one for big speeches. I prefer action. But I
know this. I need men like you here, working with me. Helping me. You may not
trust me, but I am speaking the truth. Stay. Cooper is a fair and good Alpha. I
know you hate me, but your pack needs you. This is your home. Don’t let this
run you off.”

Ryder snorted. “For someone who doesn’t like to talk, you
sure do say a lot. Why should I trust you?”

“You have no reason to. But you seem like someone who cares
for his pack. Are you prepared to just up and leave them?”

Ryder looked away, clearly undecided. Then he turned back.
“If I’d challenged Leonard, he’d have killed me before I even got a chance to
fight him. You have more honor than him.”

“Thanks,” Marcus said drily. “I think. I’m guessing Leonard
didn’t train anyone other than his enforcers to fight, am I right?” Marcus
asked.

Surprised at the question, Ryder nodded.

“Given some training, you’d make a formidable foe. I’d like
you to be one of my enforcers, if you can stand being around me.”

Ryder grew silent, contemplating the offer.

Marcus, impatient, broke through the quiet. “So will you do
it?”

“This isn’t a way of punishing me for challenging you?” Ryder
asked suspiciously.

Marcus wished he’d killed Leonard years ago. “I swear.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll stay.” Ryder grinned darkly. “Next time
I challenge you, I want to win.”

They shook hands. Wondering if he’d made a mistake, Marcus
followed Ryder back to his cabin.

Soft laughter greeted them as they got closer.

It stopped as soon as he walked through the door, everyone
growing sober quickly.

“We’re staying,” Ryder announced.

Blair wasn’t able to hide her relief. Hanna smiled, her eyes
filled with praise.

“Really?” Blair looked between the two men.

“I’m going to be an enforcer. Right, boss?”

Yep, this could be his worst mistake yet. But then Hanna
sent him a look of approval and suddenly any trouble he’d get from Ryder seemed
worth it to see that look in her eye.

“Well,” Hanna stood. “I better get back before Cade and
Connor come searching for me.”

Blair grabbed her wrist. “Wait. If we’re staying, then we
can organize those self-defense classes I was talking about. You’ll come, won’t
you?”

“Who will take them?” Hanna asked.

Self-defense? She hated touching strangers. And yet, it hadn’t
taken her long to get used to Cade and Connor, and she’d just let Blair touch
her without flinching. It seemed she’d turned a corner and it annoyed Marcus
that he didn’t know why or how.

“Rafe will be. I promise you’ll be safe with him.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

Suddenly Marcus realized she was leaving without him. With a
nod to Blair and Ryder he stepped out. Sure enough, she was already more than
thirty feet away.

“H-urgh, Anna, wait up.” He cursed himself for his near
blunder.

She barely slowed. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her to a
stop, frowning down at her. “Don’t walk off by yourself like that, it’s not
safe.”

She raised a brow. “Other women walk around on their own.”

“They live here. The pack knows them. You’re a stranger.”

“I think everyone knows who I am by now. And they seem
friendly enough to me.”

“Just do as I say,” he barked.

A ripple of hurt flickered in her eyes before she blanked
them. “Certainly. I’ll inform Cade and Connor that they are to escort me
everywhere, or else I’ll wait in my room like a toddler who needs someone to
hold their hand.”

“Hanna, that’s not what I meant.” He stepped in beside her
as she started walking again. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they
followed the rough dirt trail. Moonlight shone brightly, lighting the way. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I worry about you.”

An owl hooted, a haunting sound. “I’m fine,” she told him. “You
have more important things to worry about.”

Nothing more important than you.

He shook that thought out of his head. She was right. He had
to concentrate on the job at hand.

“You’ve changed,” he told her.

“What?”

“You’re different. You’re more confident, less shy, unsure.
Before you would never have been able to take self-defense classes or let
people you barely know touch you.”

He tried to hold back the accusation in his voice, but her
eyes flashed amber and he knew she’d picked up on it.

“Isn’t it a good thing that I’m growing more confident, that
I can think about taking self-defense classes without running away scared, that
I can let other people touch me, fall asleep at night without checking every
window in that monster of a house?”

“Of course it is,” he told her, deeply ashamed of his
reactions.

“I blame you, you know.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because you’re the one who helped me grow more confident,
who showed me that I am worth something, that I am worthy of having a pack,
friends. I have the strength to do all this because I knew you were behind me.
Or at least I thought you were.”

Tears filled her eyes and he drew her close, hating the way
she stayed stiff against him. “Hanna, I’m sorry.” He ran this hand over her
back. “I will always be here for you. I hope you still know that. I’m a jerk
and I wish I could take back everything I just said. I am so glad I’ve helped
you, baby. I’m so proud of you, Hanna.”

Finally she sank against him, and he let out the deep breath
he’d been holding.

“I don’t think that self-defense classes are a good idea
though.”

“You don’t think learning to defend myself from someone bent
on harming me is a good idea?” she asked incredulously, pulling back from him
and placing her hands on her hips. “You’d rather I just sat around and let them
hurt me?”

“Of course not,” he snapped back. “I don’t want you in
danger in the first place. And you could get hurt in a class. You’re so
precious, so tiny. I don’t want you harmed.”

“Funny, cause the only person hurting me lately has been
you.”

He was so stunned at the accusation he let her go. She took
a half step back, her chest heaving with fury as she glared at him.

So he did the only thing he could think of, the only thing
in that moment that he wanted to do.

He kissed her.

Marcus pressed his lips firmly against
hers, almost punishing her in his grip. Then, as he realized she wasn’t putting
up a fight and was relaxing into his embrace, he pulled back, gentling his
touch. With his tongue, he caressed her lips, slipping between them. Instead of
clasping her tight, he ran his hands up and down her arms.

Hanna raised her arms, winding them around
his neck, rubbing her body against his.

“Hanna, I want you. More than I want to
breathe, I want you.”

Her pupils dilated with arousal.

“I want you too.”

Those four words sent fireworks through his
blood as it rushed to his cock. He lifted her up against him. Hanna wrapped her
legs around his waist, nipping at his neck as he headed farther into the forest
for cover.

“Christ, Hanna, I can’t hold myself back.
Tell me now if you don’t want this. Tell me if you want me to stop.”

“I don’t, I can’t. I need you too,” she
panted.

Marcus stopped, unable to go any farther.
Hanna let her legs drop down, but he held her up, eagerly kissing her soft
lips, gathering every noise she made. He ate at her, pleased by the way she met
him, lick for lick, nip for nip.

“I’m sorry this can’t be slow and gentle.”
He wanted to be that for her.

She pulled back to look straight into his
eyes. “Marcus?” she purred.

“Yes?”

“Fuck me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Setting
her down, he grabbed for her jeans. She slapped his hands away. The wave of
disappointment nearly overwhelmed him at her rejection until she yanked off her
pants. As soon as they were free of her legs, she grabbed at her sweater.

“Hurry up,” she urged as he stood there,
gaping.

Finally realizing she hadn’t rejected him
at all, Marcus dropped his pants and grabbed her, turning so she leaned against
the large oak tree behind them. He covered her back with his front.

“Split your legs,” he ordered.

With a whimper she spread them wide. Marcus
ran his hands down her back, over her buttocks, squeezing them.

“Marcus,” she cried, trying to turn.

“Keep your hands on the tree in front of
you,” he ordered. “Don’t move.”

He slipped the head of his cock inside her,
felt her sucking him in. He drew back quickly.

“Fuck, no condom,” he groaned.

Hanna’s breath came harshly as she
trembled, shuddering. She glanced over her shoulder.

“Don’t you carry one around?”

“No,” he bit out.

“Can’t you just pull out?” she cried.

He shook his head, taking a step back. “I
can’t risk it.”

Turning, she looked at him, blinking. Then
she drew herself up, anger and hurt filling her eyes.

“No, I don’t suppose you can.” Grabbing her
clothes, she quickly, frantically pulled them on.

“Hanna?” he queried, reaching out to grab
her arm.

“Don’t touch me,” she spat. “I get it, all right?
I’m good enough to fuck, but you don’t want to risk anything more. I get it.
But that doesn’t mean you get to keep touching me. Just leave me alone.”

“Hanna, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yes, you did. What can’t you risk, Marcus?
What? That I might get pregnant? Or that I might just be your true mate? That’s
it, isn’t it? Because you feel what I do, that we are meant to be together.”

Yeah, he felt it. This overwhelming
attraction was the reason he was losing his mind. “We can’t do this, Hanna. Not
here. Not now. You’re supposed to be with Cade and Connor.”

“Not ever, right? Because you can’t ever
mate someone as weak and tainted as I am.”

She’d turned her back and started walking
away, leaving Marcus alone with his regrets.

He told himself it was for the best. He
needed to put some space between them. He couldn’t have her. Yet he couldn’t
help but feel he was making the worst mistake of his life.

Because damn, he loved her.

* * * * *

After a meeting with his small group of
enforcers, Marcus dismissed the men. Shit, he was tired. Cooper made this crap
look easy. Marcus didn’t know how he did it. Not only did Marcus have to put
protection in place for this pack who had almost lost all the werewolves who
knew how to fight, he had to somehow bring them together, get them to trust
him.

He knew it would take time. They’d lived
under a shitty Alpha who’d cared about no one but himself. Anyone Leonard
considered worthless he’d treated worse than dirt.

Marcus knew he wasn’t the friendliest or
most congenial guy, but when young pups or females shrank away as they saw him
coming he wanted to throw up.

“Cade, Connor, can you hold back a minute?”
he called out. He rubbed his temple, willing the headache forming to disappear.
Ryder seemed to take delight in questioning his every directive and Marcus knew
he should take a stronger stand against him. Yet his mind wasn’t fully on the
job. It kept slipping back to Hanna and her anger and torment when he’d refused
to take her without protection.

He’d been right to make that decision. But
being right didn’t do anything to make him feel less of an asshole.

“Yes?” Connor asked. Connor was definitely
the approachable twin. Cade was a bit strange, to say the least.

“I want you to tell Hanna not to
participate in those self-defense classes,” he said abruptly. It had been three
days since their tryst in the forest and he’d avoided her as best he could
since, even to the point of turning away when he saw her coming. And had felt
like an absolute bastard when he’d scented her pain.

“
Anna
,” Connor replied, “makes her
own decisions.”

“Why don’t you want her doing them?” Cade peered
at him as if he were a bug under a microscope. “Don’t you want her to be
strong? Don’t you want her to be capable of defending herself? Or would you
rather she get hurt if someone attacks her?” Cade’s voice was filled with
curiosity.

“Of course not,” Marcus growled, standing.
He barely held himself back from launching at the other man. “But she shouldn’t
have to defend herself at all. She’s too small, too fragile. She could get hurt
in those classes.”

Cade continued to stare at him. “If I had a
woman, I’d do everything I could to defend her. I’d always stand between her
and danger.”

Marcus nodded, glad the other man saw his
point.

“I’d also arm her to the teeth. Teach her
everything I knew about defending herself. Because there may be times when
neither Connor nor I could be with her and I would never want her to be defenseless.
So unless I hired a bodyguard or locked her in a safe room, I’d want her to
know how to fight.”

Marcus stared at him.

“Anna stays in the classes. They’ll be good
for her.” Connor smirked. “Besides, what do you care?”

“I took care of her before you two came
along,” Marcus whispered harshly. “You’re supposed to be protecting her.”

“We are. But you’re going to blow our cover
if you keep looking at her like a hungry lion staring at a tasty treat,” Connor
told him harshly. “You’re playing a dangerous game, my friend, and you’re
hurting her. She cried herself to sleep last night. And you have the gall to
tell us how to protect her? Back off.”