Page 31 of Kissed By Shadows

“Do not touch her, Dima,” Nikolai grits out, turning his head to face me. Red glistens at the corner of his mouth, his tongue darting out to lick the blood as his fierce eyes bore into mine. His gaze burns, my chest heaving as the anger starts to change into a burning lust.

Clearly ruled by my whirling emotions, I surge to him, my lips slamming against his as my hands tangle into his woollen coat, my fingers grasping the lapels and pulling him closer. It’s not a pretty kiss, it’s as savage as my anger from moments ago was, my teeth nicking his lips, copper making my taste buds tingle.

He quickly returns my embrace with a deep groan that does terrible things to my core, his hands slipping under my jumper, and the shock of their coldness has me gasping and moaning in equal measure. He uses his grip to tug me closer, his tongue matching mine, stroke for stroke as he devours me.

I press my body against his, my hands leaving his coat to delve underneath and seek his skin. I need to feel him, even if it’s just under my fingertips. Pushing past his suit jacket, I tug his shirt from his trousers, gasping into his mouth when I make contact with hot skin. Pressing my hands against his firm abs, I inhale the hiss that falls from his lips as my fingers trace up them.

But it’s the pained groan that has me pulling back sharply, my brows dipping as I take in the way the skin around his eyes is tight. It’s then that I notice the purple along his jaw and his puffy lip that’s scabbed over, which can’t be from just my slap.

“Are you hurt?” I ask, my gaze darting over his face, then darting down to where my hands disappear under his clothes.

“I’m fine,Malyshka,” he tells me, but I just scoff, shoving his clothes up to reveal his body to me.

“Fucking hell, Nik,” I gasp, his torso a patchwork of mottled purples and blues, his tattoos almost hidden in the dark colours. “Who did this?” I glance back up, a weight deep in my stomach as the truth settles in my bones. “Sergi.”

“I’m fine,” he states again, gently taking my hands from his body into his and pulling them away. His clothing falling back down, hiding his injuries, but I’d know Sergi’s handiwork anywhere. I had to patch Nikolai up enough times when we were younger to know that this was a punishment for something and no doubt Sergi didn’t even raise a hand, having always used his henchmen to do his dirty work.

“Why?” I ask, his grip tightening in mine, his jaw clenching, and a horrible, sticky feeling coats the back of my throat, a part of me guessing the answer before he even has the chance to lie. “Because of me? Because I escaped?”

“It’s fine,” he says, not releasing my hands as his eyes rove over my face.

“Stop saying that! None of this fucking fine, Nik! Not a single fucking thing has been fine since I came home yesterday!” I’m yelling but I can’t stop, even though I should because what I said isn’t strictly true. Finally having Nikolai was more than fine, and being with the Shadows hasn’t been exactly dreadful.

Tears sting my eyes again, but I’m so fucking sick of crying, of having to react to the shit that just keeps coming, that I refuse to let them fall.

“I know,Solnishko.” He sighs, pulling me into his body before encasing me in his arms, his juniper, black pepper, and vetiver scent washing over me and helping to soothe my frantic pulse. “But we have to play the hand we’re dealt, at least until we can change our cards.”

I close my eyes, just breathing him in as my arms gently hug him back. “I’m just so tired, Nik, and it’s only been a day.”

His lips brush against the top of my head in a soft caress that has my eyes blinking open, locking gazes with Rowan, his brown eyes not dissimilar to Nikolai’s, just a little more amber in them. I freeze, expecting to see anger in them. I am in the arms of the enemy after all, and I did agree to be the Shadows’ just an hour ago.

But there’s no censure, just his usual calm way of studying what’s before him, taking in all the information before acting on it. He gives me a small nod, and I watch as he walks towards us, Nikolai and the guys either side of him—yep, I’d missed that there was another one—stiffening.

Rowan steps up behind me, and I’d be lying if I said that my body didn’t melt into Nikolai more at having them both caging me in. There’s something comforting about being between these two powerful men, something that settles the frenetic energy that swirls inside me.

“She’s ours now too,” Rowan states simply, his voice sure and unhurried. My eyelids flutter when his hand strokes down my hair, his thumb caressing the side of my neck. “And she’ll need all of us to keep her safe.”

Lips press against my head before Rowan’s warmth leaves, Nikolai taking a deep inhale that has my cheek moving up and down as it rests on the soft wool covering his chest. He uncurls his arms, pulling away just enough to look into my face, searching.

I swallow as he really takes me in, his gaze roaming over my face, snagging when he reaches my neck. Then his hand comes up, tracing a spot on the side of my throat, and heat suffices my cheeks when I realise that the twins, and maybe Hunter, must have left a hickey there.

“Nikolai, I…” I trail off, not really sure what to say. That I’m sorry? But the thing is, I’m not. I made no promise to Nik, and this thing between Hunter and the twins can’t be easily dismissed. There’s a pain in the back of my throat at even thinking about ending things with the Shadows, but equally, the idea of never being with Nik again leaves me nauseous, my entire body feeling like it’ll curl in on itself if I have to let him go.

“He’s right,Dorogoi,” he states, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows, the back of his jaw working and his tone pained as if this isn’t easy for him to say. I guess he didn’t expect things to be like this when he brought me here. “You need them to keep you safe, and maybe happy too?” His eyes come back to mine, searching once again, the skin around them tight and the look in them almost begging me to deny his words.

I suck my lips between my teeth, only able to give him a nod. It’s still so new, but the time I’ve spent with the Shadows hasn’t all been bad. Most of it has been…nice. More than nice if I’m being truthful.

“We should discuss what happens now,” Hunter interjects from behind me, and I twist to see him still seated, his large hands gripping the arms of his throne so tightly that his knuckles have gone white.

The memory of being on my knees before him last night, his hands in a similar position hits me, sending a bolt of desire straight to my centre. As if he knows, his eyes catch mine, a small twitch of his lips hinting that perhaps he’s remembering too.

“My father sent me here to encourage you to hand Iris back into his care,” Nikolai states, and I snap my head back to him, trying to tug myself out of his arms. The movement is instinctual, knowing he wouldn’t take me back since he was the one who sent me here in the first place for my safety. “Don’t worry,Dorogoi, I won’t be leaving here with you tonight.” Hisvoice is soft, his words enough to calm me, years of friendship building an unshakable trust between us.

“We wouldn’t give her back anyway,” Hunter states, his tone hard and unyielding. “She’s under the protection of the Shadows now, and our connections if need be.”

“Family is important to the Irish,” Roman adds, and I turn in Nikolai’s grip, my back to his front to look at Roman. Nikolai keeps his arms around me, like now that he’s got me back, he’s not letting me go anytime soon. Roman’s leg is still slung over the arm of his throne, but his eyes are uncompromising with a dark gleam in the brown depths, which are usually full of laughter. “And we have the Murphys and the Kellys on our side if we need them.”

“Good, that should be enough to stop a declaration of an outright war,” Nikolai responds, and I must say, my curiosity is piqued. Nik spoke about the twins before and their connections to Irish mobsters, but I didn’t quite realise it was enough to make Sergi pause, if not halt him altogether. “You’ll need to keep watch on her at all times, she can’t be alone for even a moment.”

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