Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) (12 page)

Unless
your name was Charming, anyway.

His
smile faded.  “Are you in love with that prince?”  He demanded before he could
stop himself.

“What?” 
She shot him a distracted frown and climbed down from the chair.  “Is it really
so hard for you to concentrate and take this seriously?”

“Red,
you wouldn’t
believe
how seriously I’m taking this.”

The
more he thought about the situation, the more complications Marrok saw in being
bound to this girl.  Damn if he wasn’t growing… attached to the little do-Gooder,
though.  He’d be keeping his True Love no matter what, but he was starting to
want to keep
Letty
.

“As
a matter of fact, I
don’t
believe you’re taking it seriously.”  She adjusted
the t-shirt back into place and poked a finger into his chest.  “This escape
has to go off
perfectly
.  Any mistakes will get us caught and tossed in
the dungeon.  Is that what you want?”

Her
lecturing tone completely turned him on.  “No, I want something different.”

Scarlett
missed the seduction in his tone.  Against the odds, the woman was turning out
to be one hell of a criminal mastermind.  But, she clearly couldn’t decipher
Marrok’s
blindingly obvious
hints that he wanted to ravish her.

“I
wish I knew more about how Trevelyan pulled off
his
escape.”  She
continued, her very sexy brain consumed with unsexy thoughts.  “Ez says you two
shared a cell.”

Well,
that
brought down the mood…

“Back
when my counts of Badness were in the single digits, Trevelyan and I were locked
up together.”  Marrok allowed.  “By the time he left, we weren’t exactly
friends.”  He delivered that massive understatement in a calm tone, but
Scarlett still squinted over at him.

“There’s
a difference between ‘not being friends’ and being ‘mortal enemies.’”  She
pointed out suspiciously.  “Why am I guessing you two were the later?”

“Because
you’re a not-so-evil genius?”  He shook his head.  “Seriously, investigating
Trevelyan won’t help us get out of here.  Trust me.”

“He
didn’t tell you anything?”

“Nothing
helpful.  Unless you need a rundown of insults and death threats to use against
me.  He was screaming those pretty loud on that last day.”

She
made a face.  “It’s like you
try
to make everyone hate you.  It’s the
only explanation.”

“Sad
part is I don’t have to try that hard.”

She
sighed in resignation.  “So, what did you do to piss off the dragon?”

No
sense in lying.  “I didn’t help him escape.”

Her
eyebrows drew together.  “Trevelyan wanted you to escape
with
him?”

“Yep.”

“And
you refused?

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“I
was getting out in ten months.”  Wolfball season ensured that Marrok got
paroled every spring, no matter his sentence.  “Didn’t seem worth the risk.”

“Right
now, you only have
six months
left and you’ve agreed to come with me.”

He
shrugged.  “With you, it’s always worth the risk.”

Scarlett
frowned at him in confusion.

It
amazed Marrok that he was the only one who noticed how pretty this girl was. 
Her relentless demands and shiny hair created such an appealing package.  It
just went to show that people would believe whatever you told them.  Tell them
that the naked emperor guy from a couple kingdoms over was wearing clothes and
everyone agrees.  Tell them that Scarlett was the ugly stepsister and that’s
what they saw.

People
were idiots.

Marrok
shifted closer to her, smiling as her eyes went wide in surprise.

Letty
was so out of her league that she didn’t even notice he’d cornered her, until
her back hit the window sill.  Whatever Prince Useless did with his royal days,
it must have been edited for television material.  Charming certainly hadn’t
taught this girl very much.  Marrok could’ve had Letty’s pants off in less than
a second and she was completely oblivious to the danger.

“What
are you doing?”  Scarlett blinked, still not getting it.  “Is this part of the
pretend seduction thing?”

“Yep.” 
Marrok lied.  He could see her pulse hammering in her neck as he dipped his
head even closer to hers.  “Just play along.”  He advised quietly.  “Otherwise
you’ll give us away.”

“To
who?”  She sounded out of breath.  “We’re the only ones in here.”

He
made his voice grave.  “Spies are everywhere, baby.”

“What?” 
She gazed up at him, looking baffled and distrustful and sexy as hell.  “I
don’t think that…”  His lips brushed against hers and she trailed off with a
gasp.

God,
he’d never heard anything hotter.

Marrok’s
hand coming up to touch her jaw, making sure she couldn’t slip away.  Not that
she was trying to move.  In fact, Scarlett was so befuddled that she froze for
a beat.  He sensed the gears in her clever little mind whirring, trying to
figure out what had just happened.  Allowing her to think too much would be a
very bad idea.  The last thing he wanted was Letty talking herself out of this
before he’d gotten a chance to convince her.

Luckily,
he could be pretty damn convincing.

Marrok
suckled her lower lip and she jolted.  “That’s it.”  He whispered.  “Let me in,
baby.”  His mouth opened against hers, seeking entrance… and she hesitantly
responded.

Scarlett
softened against him, her lips parting.  She’d tried to hold out, but she
wasn’t immune to him.  Thank God.  Marrok was on fire for her.  He must have
been out of his mind to ever think he’d prefer some aggressive she-wolf to this
girl in bed.  Nothing could feel better than the slow melting of her tension.  He
felt her lean closer to him.  Her hand came up to rest on his shoulder and
Marrok groaned, deepening the kiss.

Christ,
she was sweet.

True
Loves were usually sexually attracted to each other.  God knew, Marrok had
wanted to rip Letty’s clothes off from the moment they’d met.  But, she was a
Good folk.  It had been impossible to know for sure that she’d feel the same
way.  Except, now she was kissing him back, and her body was pressing against
his, and Marrok knew he could make her want him.

Triumph
filled him.

Marrok
had waited so long to find his True Love, he’d thought she’d never arrive.  To
have her in his arms was better than he’d ever imagined.  He lifted her up so
Letty was sitting on the windowsill, his mouth never leaving hers.  His fingers
tangled in her flame colored hair and he stepped between her legs.  While she
was off balance, he was going to race forward as far as she’d let him.  That
would make it easier to lure her even farther along the next time.

Strategy
was all part and parcel of being a Baddie.

She
drew in a surprised breath as she felt the hard length of his arousal pressing
up against her.  Marrok managed a soothing sound, even as his free hand found
her hip.  He tugged her closer and she gave a small whimper that made him see
stars.  Holy
shit
, was this girl perfect.  The addictive little sounds
she made and the way she smelled and the feel of her skin.

Why
the fuck had he ever questioned having Letty as his True Love?  No one else
would
ever
do now that he’d tasted her.  This woman was…

Marrok’s
predatory instincts suddenly lit-up.

Someone
else had entered the library.  He knew without even turning around that it was Dower,
one of the other wolves locked up in the WUB Club.  One his old team mates from
Wolfball.

Shit.

Marrok
pulled away from Scarlett, irritated that he couldn’t take the time to admire
her flushed face and dazed eyes.  “Hold that thought, Red.”  He lifted her down
from the windowsill, and smoothed a hand over her hair.  “I gotta take care of
something, real quick.”

Her
flustered gaze weren’t meeting his.  She looked completely astonished and he
could already tell she was going to do her best to deny everything.  “I don’t
know what just happened,” she blurted out, “but it was a mistake and…”  She
stopped short, finally spotting Dower over Marrok’s shoulder.

Marrok
arched a brow at her.  “Told ya.  Spies.”  He turned to see the other wolf
moving closer, blocking the exit.

Dower
was a large, bearded scumbag with a long list of gruesome crimes.  The guy was
hyper-focused on being Big Wolf on Campus and he randomly hated Marrok.

Well,
maybe not “randomly.”

Marrok
never did play well with others.  He’d showed Dower up at Wolfball countless
times, put his head through a TV camera, and may have been responsible for the
jagged scar on Dow’s forearm where his hand had been reattached.  It was hard to
keep track.  The “game” was usually kill or be killed, so all the wolves
inflicted life threatening violence on each other just to survive the rounds. 
Half the time, it was impossible to know who was who out there.  No one cared
about sides.  It just about survival.

Marrok
surreptitiously moved his body so he was between the other man and Letty. 
“First time in the library, Dow?  I never took you for a reader.”

That
wasn’t technically true.  Dower wasn’t an idiot, which made him all the more
dangerous.  The guy had shaggy black hair and a pair of unsettling ice blue
eyes that saw far too much.  He was as big as Marrok, in their human forms.  Unlike
Marrok, though, he was eager to team up with other players, on and off the
field.  He usually traveled in a pack.  Marrok didn’t sense anyone else
lurking, but they wouldn’t be far behind Dower.

Dow
drew in a deep and exaggerated sniff.  “Fuuuuck, Marrok.  You cornered yourself
a prize.”  He smirked at Scarlett.  “I
thought
there was something weird
about you, honey, but now I can smell it.  What’s a Good girl like you, doing
in a place like this?”

“I’m
not Good.”  Letty objected righteously.  “Why does everyone keep saying…?”

Marrok
cut her off.  Wolves could scent the truth, even if she couldn’t.  “The Good
folk have no idea what she is.”  His eyes stayed on Dower.  This whole
situation had pain-in-the-ass written all over it.  “All of them live their
lives in the dark, so it’s not surprising they’d occasionally misplace one of
their own.”

“Well,
do they have any idea what she’s
planning?
”  Dower taunted.  “Because, I
couldn’t help but overhead Little
Miss-Placed
mention something about an
escape.”  He arched a brow at Scarlett.  “Doesn’t seem like a Good folk would
be plotting something like that, but the hypocrisy of you assholes never ceases
to amaze me.”

“I’m.
not. Good.”  She pointedly spaced each word.  “And we’re not planning any
escape.”  Her voice was too high.  “That’s ridiculous.  You
completely
misunderstood our conversation.”

Dower
gave a snort.  “Yeah, I’m sure you’re in here for the educational
opportunities.”  He gestured around the dank library with a contemptuous wave
of his giant palm.  “Oh and for sucking face with Marrok.”

“Yes!” 
Her expression lit up.  “Of course!  That’s right.  We’re here for
sex
.” 
Lying didn’t come easily to Scarlett, but Marrok gave her points for
enthusiasm.  She beamed, visibly thrilled with how quickly she’d come up with a
cover story.  “Yes.  Obviously.  This is where Marrok and I have our
assignations.”

She’d
just used the word “assignations.”  The girl was simply adorable.

Dower
fixed Marrok with a skeptical look.  “You expect me to buy that you’re only in
here to get blowjobs from a fake ugly stepsister?”

“She’s
not ugly.”  Marrok said mildly.

“I’m
not fake!”  Scarlet protested at the same time.

“Well,
whatever she is, I
know
she’s plotting an escape.  And if she’s getting
you out, I’m going, too.”  Dower decided.  “I’m here for life, because of that
fucking championship game.”  Popularly known as the “championship massacre.” 
Even by Wolfball standards it had been a bloodbath.  “I got nothing to lose by
making a break for it.  Either I’m in on the plan or I’ll be telling Dr. White
about your little ‘assignation.’”  He sneered at Marrok.  “And, just so ya
know, I think it’s disgusting that you’d ever willingly touch one of
them
.”

“Oh
come on…”  Marrok leaned back so his hand was on the chair that Scarlett had
been standing on and flashed a man-to-man smile.  “You’ve never wanted to
dirty-up a Goodie just for fun?”

“No! 
Because, I’m not a fucking pervert.”  Dower declared passionately, although a
jury of his peers had disagreed on that score.  “Bad enough when they pay the
coach and we
have
to touch them, but to
choose
one is just
twisted.”

“Bullshit. 
We all have fantasies.  Besides, you know that every one of those Goody-Goods
is
dying
for something between her legs more interesting than beige
tapioca.  Those knight-in-shining-armor pussies probably screw the poor girls with
their metal pants on.”