Page 41 of Kissed By Shadows

“I wish it wasn’t like that,” I sigh, our gazes locked, his a swirling storm of amber, from darkest molasses to the palest honey.

“We all do,” Roman states, his body pressing up against mine from behind. The warmth is both comforting and devastating, because one day it might not be there, and my soul fractures at the thought, regardless of how little time has passed since I met them. “But, at least this way we have a chance and we can protect those we care about.”

His arms come around me, and I rest my head on Rowan’s chest, closing my eyes and listening to his heart rhythmically thudding inside his chest through his hoodie. The softness of the scarf I knitted tickles my cheek, his arms wrapping around me above his brother’s and pulling me into him.

“How can this feel like this?” I whisper, my eyes opening to find Hunter staring at us, his face full of softness. “How can the thought of any of you getting hurt be so painful?”

The only other person I’ve felt this way with was, is, Nikolai. But I’ve known him for years. We built up a friendship first before the other feelings came. With these guys, it’s been so quick my head is bloody spinning.

“I don’t know, Peaches,” Hunter confesses, taking a few steps towards us and closing the distance until his hand can cup my cheek that’s not pressed against Rowan. “But I do know that you are ours now, that there was no way I was going to let Petrov takeyou the other night, and that we will protect you with our lives if need be.”

“I don’t want you to die.” My voice is choked as tears fill my eyes and my vision swims. I don’t know why I’m so sad all of a sudden. Maybe it was looking up the life expectancy of gang members, or the fact that they’ve been gone for a couple of days. All I know is that the idea that they might not walk through that door one day leaves me breathless, panic clawing at my insides.

“And we won’t let them hurt you,” Hunter tells me, not refuting my worry that they may one day die. The lives they lead aren’t kind, they’re full of danger and enemies who’ll shoot you in the face or stab you in the back without a moment’s hesitation. It’s a danger they can’t outrun forever. “For now, let’s eat and chill.”

He leans in and places a gentle kiss on my forehead, my eyes closing and causing the tears to spill down my cheeks as I soak in their nearness, because who knows how long it will last.

“POWER OVER ME” BY DERMOT KENNEDY

ROMAN

I catch the eye of my twin, seeing my feelings reflected back at me. It’s no different when I glance at Hunt. We’ve all fallen for this beautiful woman, hook, line, and sinker. When she pulled the scarf out for Hunter, telling us she’d made one each to keep us warm, my heart fucking skipped several beats.

Growing up, we barely had winter coats, let alone anything as luxurious as a scarf. We’ve come a long way from those daysof being cold and near starving, but I guess we just learned to live without. It’s why Hunter was so appalled at how much she’d spent, even though we have enough money not to have to worry and be able to afford all the nice things we’d like, the habit of making do is ingrained.

The soft scarf is warm around my neck—I’m never taking it off—as Hunter steps away, his eyes tracing over Iris like she hung the moon. She might as well have because I agree with her. It’s scary as hell how quickly we all feel so strongly about each other, but if this life has taught me anything, it’s that there is no point in waiting on anything because today might be your last.

“I’ll go make us something to eat,” Hunt declares, giving Iris a final lingering look with his eyes before heading into the kitchen.

I feel the deep sigh as it leaves her lungs, my arms tightening as I press my own kiss to the back of her head. She smells delicious, like honey and chocolate, like when she first came to us, so I assume she ordered some of her body wash and shampoo.

“So, can you tell me what you guys got up to the past couple of days, or is it super secret squirrel shit?” she asks, clearly still more than happy to remain in our arms. I don’t intend on moving anytime soon, she feels too good between my brother and I. We’ve shared girls before in the bedroom, we all have, but we’ve never shared anyone who really meant anything. Though looking into Rowan’s eyes, I know neither of us is letting her go, so I guess we’ll get used to it. I chuckle at her super secret squirrel shit comment.

“We just had to sort some shit out,” I tell her, not sure if I want her involved in anything to do with the Shadows. Not because I don’t trust her, I mean, she’s not exactly going anywhere to tell anyone anything, but because it will put her in even more danger than she already is. The association with usdoesn’t just come with protection. She’s now got a target on her back as much as we do. Maybe more so if anyone finds out how deep our feelings already run. It’s why we were doubly grateful for her help with getting Willow out, the distance protects her somewhat, and the fact that she has the protection of the Black Knights even more so.

She shuffles and I step back, stripping my jacket off before throwing it over the back of the sofa next to us and sitting down on it. Then I pull her onto my lap, her squeak of surprise just too fucking adorable, so I nuzzle her neck, loving the way her body sinks into mine like she knows it’s exactly where she belongs.

“Dick,” Rowan grumbles, taking off his jacket and chucking it to join mine, then falling into the seat next to us. He pulls her feet onto his lap, smirking when he notices her fluffy pink socks.

“Shut up, my feet get cold,” she complains, but there’s no heat to her words as she snuggles into my lap. My chest heats at the way she’s so comfortable with us, that she’s not fighting this thing between us either. She lets out a small moan when he starts to massage them, his thumbs pushing into her arches, reminding me he’s got more game than I realised as she breathes out a sexy as fuck sigh. “Fuck, that feels amazing, Rowan.”

His lips stay in a smile, which is fucking unusual for Rowan, as he keeps going, all her squirming making blood start to fill my dick which is right under her peachy arse. “So, Princess, what are you working on now?” I ask, wanting to know more about what she does in her downtime and distract myself from the lust that’s running in my veins. Time for that later. I’ve never met anyone who created with their own hands, not like she does, making something out of nothing.

A cute blush steals across her cheeks. “I saw from the balcony that some of the children on the estate don’t have scarves or hats, so I’m making some child-sized ones for them.”

Knowing that she’s taking care of our people does something to me that I can’t explain, but my chest feels like it expands to twice its normal size. We try to do the best we can by them, keep them fed and their parents and older siblings in work, but shit like that just doesn’t even occur to us, given we never had anything like it.

“You really are something special,” I mumble thickly, my throat tight as I pull her against me even more and kiss her head again. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of having her in my arms, my lips against some part of her. “Let us know if you need any more string, or if you think they need anything else.”

“Yarn.” She laughs and pulls back to look at me, her face fucking glowing. “It’s called yarn, and with my last order, I’ve got quite a bit to get on with.” She tilts her head to the side, thinking for a moment. “Maybe I could set up a little craft club for them? Teach some of them how to knit, or just craft with them. I was pretty good at art at school.”

“There’s the community centre,” Rowan adds, and she turns to look at him, her eyes shining bright as excitement fills her face. “It’s where the gym is, but there’s some spare rooms that mostly sit empty.”

She twists to face me and it’s like the sun bursting through the clouds on a cold winter day. “Do you think Hunter would let me?”

“Let you do what, Peaches?” the man himself asks as he strolls in, a tea towel slung over his shoulder.

She climbs off my lap, going around the sofa to him, and I have to hide the twitch of my lips when she widens her eyes a bit while pressing herself up against him. Well played, Princess. Well fucking played. “I want to start up a craft club for the kids on the estate. Rowan says there are some rooms at the community centre I could use.”