Free Daring Fire: Paranormal Romance (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 2) by Mallory Crowe Page A

move even an inch. He took a big sniff of the air by her neck and said, “You smell too good.”
    He flashed her a quick smile, grabbed her arm and pushed her hard into the silent man. Gravelly voice loosened his grip on her hair as she was flung away, but some of her hair was still ripped out. She reached her arms out to catch herself as she collided with the man with a force that made her feel as though she’d been hit by a car.
    Before her momentum had ended, the third man pushed her away and she flew backward. She had nothing to break her collision with a warm chest. She mentally braced herself to be pushed away again but this time, two arms wrapped around her to hold her close.
    She immediately tensed and tried to move away, but the arms tightened. A hand touched her chin and moved her face to look at the man who held her.
    Marcus’s angelic blue eyes stared down at her. She tried to catch her breath as she sorted out whether she should be relieved or terrified to see him.
    “Look at me.” His eyes met hers. It wasn’t a hard request to follow. She’d rather look at his beautiful face than any of the ugly things that surrounded her on the street.
    His voice wrapped around her head in calm and soothing tones. “You are okay. These men are friends of mine having a smoke. They did nothing to you. You have no fear of them or me.”
    Her eyes narrowed in confusion. They did do something to her, and she was filled with panic that they might touch her again. Marcus seemed to realize her mind was working overtime and his grip on her chin tightened. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get her attention. He continued, “You trust that you’re safe with me and that you are in no danger.”
    Gena still had no idea what he was talking about, but she was willing to take a chance on Marcus if it meant she’d avoid being killed for the third time in two days. She nodded her head. “I’m safe,” she said.
    Her breathing calmed a bit under the spell of Marcus’s voice, but her heart still beat a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
    Marcus turned his attention to the three men across from them. “Vlad said you were looking for me.”
    Gena cautiously looked at the thugs. They didn’t seem too disappointed that Marcus had stopped them, and Marcus didn’t appear very outraged that she was being battered in a dark alleyway. It was a wonder Marcus didn’t have his own set of guards if these were the men he associated with.
    She needed to get the hell out of there.
    Gravelly voice took a step forward. “We were looking for you. He said you were out for a moment. We got bored.” He shot a glance at Gena.
    Gena felt a rumble against her back and realized Marcus was growling . Who growls?
    “You got bored so you stole her?” he asked with an angry tone.
    How could they steal her if she didn’t belong to anyone? But she couldn’t deny she was thankful he sounded angry on her behalf.
    Gravelly voice didn’t seem intimidated by Marcus. “We checked her neck first. She was unmarked.”
    Gena lifted a hand to her neck. She didn’t have any marks on her neck, be it tattoos or birthmarks, but what did that have to do with anything?
    She shifted nervously in Marcus’s arms and he loosened his grip. She didn’t want him to let her go. These men stopped when he came, and she wanted him to stay with her as long as there was a threat. Instead of removing his hands, he raised them to the top of his jacket she still wore.
    His fingers reached for the zipper and her hands covered his. Before she could protest, his warm breath whispered in her ear, “Relax.”
    Fat chance . She did keep her mouth shut as Marcus started to unzip the black leather. The sound of the metal on metal seemed much too loud in the crowded alley. The farther the zipper moved down, the more of her blood-covered chest was bared to the three brutes who stared at her.
    Her top still covered all the important bits, but her attackers seemed fascinated by the large