Page 21 of Kissed By Shadows

ROMAN

I walk into our main living room, the morning sunshine filling the space, but I come up short when I spot my brother sitting on one of the sofas, scrolling through his phone with a smirk on his face that would make the devil cower and run. He’s one of those get up at five AM types and go work out at the gym, which is fucking disgusting. I’ve always been more of a night owl myself, preferring the solitude of the dark to work out. To be fair, he alsothrives in the dark, in fact, most of the time I wonder if the man ever sleeps.

Seeing him still here and not looking like he’s been working out is not what pulls me up, however. It’s the blonde with her head in his lap, a blanket tucked around her body, his fingers toying with a piece of her honey-coloured hair.

Taking careful steps so as not to wake her, I round the back of the sofa.

“What’s so funny?” I whisper, seeing his lips twitch as he stares at the screen, completely ignoring me.

“I gave her my phone and the card for the joint account,” he murmurs back, reaching out to hand me his phone.

Taking it, I settle down by her feet, careful to make my movements gentle so she isn’t disturbed. Resting my spare hand on her leg, she shuffles her legs, placing her feet in my lap, and my dick stands to attention at the almost touch, even through my dark sweatpants.

Ignoring the demanding fucker, I glance down at the screen to find an online statement for our joint account. There’s several transactions, a hefty sum on Amazon, and I briefly wonder what she spent so much on before finding another large payment to an online shop called Nest. My lips lift up in a grin when I think of Hunter seeing the numbers. He’s gonna lose his shit and I can’t wait for the fireworks. Rowan and I live to rile him up, like the younger brothers he never had, and we now have an ally in Iris, though she is as far from a sister as I could imagine.

My fingers rub circles on her leg over the blanket, the movement stopping and my eyebrows hitting my hairline when Honey Birdette and Tatu Couture appear. My dick twitches as I wonder what she bought from the high-end lingerie and toy shops, and more importantly, will I get to have a front-row seat to whatever it is?

“Naughty little Princess.” I chuckle, handing the phone back to Rowan who gives me a knowing smile.

There’s something about the bond twins share, it’s unlike any other, or so I’m told. We often know what each other is thinking and feeling, and I can tell our minds are aligned in this. We want in. Preferably inside Iris.

Her confession of inexperience last night was the biggest fucking turn-on. We could teach her exactly what we like, how to cater to our preferences and every whim, and she’d love it. I felt how wet she got being ordered to suck Hunt’s dick, how much she loved being forced. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was into some consensual-non-consent, perhaps she’d even let Rowan and I hunt her down one day and take what we want from her.

“Morning,” Hunter’s voice calls loudly, and I wince when Iris shoots up, blinking and rubbing her eyes as she looks around.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe,” I tell her, my chest tightening when her wide eyes look at me, panic making her chest rise and fall in rapid breaths. Her legs are tucked in close, and I miss the weight of her feet on my lap.

“Roman?” she asks, her voice husky and too fucking sexy for this time in the morning if I don’t want to walk around with a hard-on all day. I’m also impressed she knows it’s me and not Rowan, most find us hard to tell apart, a trait we encourage by dressing identically most of the time. But Iris seems to know who is who without even guessing.

“Yeah, Princess, it’s me, and Rowan and Hunt,” I say, reaching over and tugging her feet back onto my lap. Using my thumbs, I rub firm circles into her arches, the tightness around my heart easing as her eyelids flutter and the tension drains out of her body.

“Shit, Roman, that feels amazing,” she moans, leaning against the back of the sofa and closing her eyes, her panic all but forgotten as I rub her feet.

I glance up to see my brother’s eyes full of fire as he watches her, and it’s like I can see the obsession forming. He’s always been one to fixate and cling onto things, often needing to know everything about them. As a child, that resulted in him pulling apart the few toys we had, then looking confused when they lay in pieces at his feet.

As an adult, he enjoys taking people apart, finding out what makes them tick physically and mentally, and as we rarely need them put back together, we let him indulge. He can’t break her fully though, however I’m not averse to letting him play a little, push her boundaries and discover what makes up Iris Montgomery.

“We have work to do,” Hunter growls, my grin widening as I peek over at him. He’s standing stock-still, staring at Iris with a wild hunger in his eyes that sputters out when she opens her lids to look at him.

“And who will be my jailor today if you’re all working?” she asks, her tone laced with a fake sweetness that has me almost cringing and glad it’s not directed at me. His jaw clenches, the tension between these two enough to light a bonfire.

“Roman can stay with you as he seems intent on your comfort.” Jealous wanker, but you won’t find me complaining. “Rowan, you’re with me, so get ready,” he states, dismissing her by turning his back and going into the kitchen, probably to make his morning cup of coffee.

“Lucky bastard,” my brother mutters, twisting to face Iris. She mimics him, giving me her back even as her feet stay on my lap. “See you later, Little Lamb.”

Then he shocks the ever-loving shit out of me by reaching out and cupping her face in his palm. She’s facing away from me, so I can’t see what her reaction is, but she does lean into the touch, and his whole face softens as he gazes at her. Reluctantly, hepulls away, getting to his feet and striding down the hall to his room.

“You got some magic in that pussy of yours?” I tease, her head whipping around to face me, one perfect brow raised.

“Her name is Evangeline, and fuck yeah she’s magical,” she tells me without missing a beat, wriggling her toes in a clear demand for more foot rubs.

A bark of laughter falls from my lips, hers pulling up into a grin. Fuck, she’s got a pretty smile. It’s enough to make me wonder if there really is such a thing as love at first sight.

“I enjoyed making her acquaintance last night,” I purr, drinking in the flush that steals across her cheeks. She’s so sassy but so easy to make blush, and I think making that colour appear across her body is my new favourite pastime. “I can’t wait to see what you bought her this morning.”

Her eyes go wide, her lips parting, and I have to bite my bottom lip to stop another laugh from spilling out.

“How did you know?” she whispers, shivering when my thumbs resume their rubbing, massaging away all the tension.

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