The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

Friday night, I go round to Grace's house for dinner. At one point, I end up alone with her mum again. She tells me that, although she has no problem with Grace and I being together, we're not allowed to sleep in the same room until I've marked her.

She really wants to be sure that Grace is my mate. She doesn't want the same thing happening to her daughter, I get that.

I tell her that I want Grace to be in love with me before I mark her. Jeannette reassures me that, when the time comes, she will help me tell Grace and keep her calm.

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Two weeks pass by in a blink.

Preparations for the Halloween dance get underway at school. They've hired out the old Blackwood estate for the event.

The dance will be hosted inside the main ballroom and on the grounds, there will be a scare maze, pumpkin patch and games.

Rory and Grace start planning their outfits the day after I asked Grace to the dance. Xaden and I don't get involved.

Grace casually suggests that we go in couple—costume for the dance. I leave it all up to her, I honestly don't mind what I dress up as.

Eventually, Rory and Grace decide that, as a group, we will dress up as the Riverdale characters.

Xaden and I don't get a say. Poor Finlay and Luke are roped in, too.

We try to make other suggestions, but the girls' minds are made up.

Obviously, my beautiful red—haired mate is going to be Cheryl Blossom. The bossy Rory is going to be Veronica Lodge. I have been nominated as Jug head, Xaden has been chosen to be Archie Andrews and, here's the best bit; Luke will be Betty Cooper and Finlay will be Toni Topaz.

Luke and Finlay don't put up as much a fight as I thought they would. I think they're looking forward to it, it will be a laugh.

I ask Grace to stay over at mine on Friday night. She doesn't realize it, but it will be our one—month anniversary of going out. It has been exactly four weeks since we went to Finlay's party, and we made things official.

We've now known each other for six weeks. I'm going to tell her that I love her, soon. That's long enough, right

On Friday night, Grace comes back to mine with me, after school. She has her overnight bag with her.

Silently, I wonder if she has any of her lingerie in there. Or if she's wearing it under her clothes. Fuck, if she's been wearing it all day at school and I've had no idea…

We've only had one sleepover in the last two weeks. School got busy with assignments and, when Grace stayed over, nothing happened.

My little mate was on her period and was feeling crap. We ate chocolate and watched chick flicks.

I can't believe I'm this whipped, but I don't care.

So, I'll be honest, the teenage boy in me is excited at the prospect of having my mate in my bed tonight. I want to touch her; it's been too long since I last did.

The evening goes by fast. We order pizza with my parents and eat outside on the patio with the fire pit blazing in front of us.

Grace and I stay out when they go in, wrapped in a blanket. We talk some more, but mostly we stay out because I know Grace is enjoying it. She lays against my chest whilst looking up at the stars.

When it gets late, we say goodnight and go up to my bedroom. As usual, I mess about on my phone whilst Grace gets ready for bed. Then, we swap places.

When I come out, my little mate is waiting for me under the covers. The moment I get into bed next to her, she reaches for me, placing her hands on my bare chest.

I pull her into my arms and bury my face in her neck, inhaling her delicious scent of honeysuckle mixed with strawberries. It's an odd mix that works perfectly on her.

My gums throb with the need to release my incisors and mark her. I pull back quickly, resisting the temptation to bite her sweet neck.

'Axe' Grace's soft voice breaks the comfortable silence.

'Yes, Strawberries' I reply.

I kiss along her cheeks and jaw. Everywhere but her neck.

'I've wanting to tell you something for a while now,' she mumbles.

I lean back and our eyes meet. I can see how nervous she is.

'Me too,' I confess.

Her eyebrows raise in surprise as her eyes widen. 'Really What's your thing'

I smirk at her. 'Nope. You first, Strawberries.'

She blushes and breaks eye contact, looking anywhere but at me. I gently grab her chin and make her look at me.

'Tell me,' I urge her gently.

She swallows visibly and licks her lips. My eyes follow her tongue's movement.

Fuck. I want her.

'I—I, well, I—' she stumbles over her words before taking a deep breath. 'I love you.'

My heart thumps wildly in my chest and happiness fills me. She loves me.

My mate loves me.

I grin at her. 'Guess what, Strawberries'

She inhales shakily. 'What'

I reach over to my bedside table and pull open the drawer. I take out a small box with a white ribbon and hand it to her.

'Today is our one—month anniversary,' I tell her.

Her lips part in surprise as she accepts the box. She looks up at me, awe and disbelief on her face.

'I love you, Grace.'

She grins and throws her arms around my neck. I chuckle and hug her back.

'You're the best,' she whispers.

'Open it then,' I tell her when she pulls back.

Grace sits up in bed and hurriedly unties the bow. She lifts the lid off the box and gasps as she sees the necklace inside.

Carefully, she picks up the gold chain and holds it up. Hanging from the chain is a gold heart pendant, engraved on the back is A & G.

Rory helped pick it, obviously.

'Axe,' Grace murmurs, her eyes shining with unshed tears. 'I love it. Thank you.'

She gently puts the necklace back in the box and then places it on the side. When her hands are free, she throws herself at me again.

We hold each other and I bask in the perfectness of this moment. I'm so happy. I can't remember the last time I felt this content.

Slowly, the atmosphere changes between us. Grace's lips find my neck. She kisses along my throat, sucking gently and nibbling at the sensitive skin. My grip on her tightens and I clench my jaw.

'What are you doing' I ask her huskily.

She pulls back and smiles mischievously.

'Trying to turn you on. Is it working' She responds, her face flushed.

Instead of answering, I take her hand and place it over my erection, straining against my boxers.

'What do you think' I reply and she giggles.

She reaches for the bottom of her over—sized t—shirt and pulls it up, over her head. My eyes widen as I take in her underwear.

She's wearing the white set of lingerie. The satin bra pushes her breasts up, teasing me with lace trim. The panties cover everything, but the lace cut—outs make them sexier.

My mouth goes dry and my cock twitches in response. 'Shit, Grace,' I mumble.

She smiles shyly and looks down at herself. 'Do you like it'

I swallow hard and manage to nod. 'I love it,' I choke out the words.

I grab the back of her neck and pull her down to me. She catches herself before she falls on top of my chest, and I capture her lips with my own.

I push my tongue into her mouth, and she moans around it, opening wider for me. As our tongues collide and caress each other, I move my hands down to her breasts.

I squeeze them through the fabric first, to see if she pushes me away. Grace arches her back, pushing them further into my hands.

Deftly, I unhook her bra and she helps me slide it from her arms. It's discarded to the floor and her warm breasts are exposed to me. I massage them in my hands. I was right, they're the perfect handful.

I break the kiss so that I can finally see her chest. Her nipples are pale pink, and I can't resist leaning down to suck on one. I trace a circle around her other areola with my finger as I flick the nipple in my mouth with my tongue.

Both of her nipples harden at my touch. Grace's breathing shallows and she thrusts her breasts into my hand and face. I graze my teeth over her nipple and gently bite down. She moans and buries her hands in my hair.

I pinch the other and roll it between my fingers until she's whimpering.

'Axel, please,' she begs breathily.

I pull back and smirk at her. 'What do you want, Strawberries'

She licks her lips. 'You.'

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