Page 51 of Kissed By Shadows

Fuck. That shouldn’t be hot. Nope, that should be scary as fuck and I should be running, but instead, my knickers are drenched and I want to lay down on one of the tables right now, letting him do whatever he likes to me.

“Only if I get to mark you too,” I find myself saying, the idea of leaving something permanent on his skin appealing more than it has any right to. I never knew I’d like the idea, but I want the world to know that he belongs to me.

“I will hand you the knife myself,” he vows, his pupils wide and chest heaving as a hardness presses against my lower stomach. Yeah, he likes the idea as much as I do.

“Well, as hot as that sounds, it’ll have to wait,” Hunter states into the quiet, and I tear my gaze from Rowan to look at him with a pout. “We need to train, and you need to work on your cardio, Peaches.”

A deep groan leaves me as Roman barks a laugh. “Told you,” he singsongs, sauntering over to us and pressing up against my back. “But I want in later. I want to leave my mark on you, have yours on me too,” he whispers in my ear, sending a shiver down my whole body.

“Deal,” I breathe out, then I’m being tugged from between the twins, who both growl as Hunter pulls me against him.

“Later,” he states, and I grin.

“Yes, Daddy,” I purr, loving the way his nostrils flare and his pupils blow with just those two words.

“Fucking Christ, now I’m walking into the gym with a boner,” he groans, his arm tight around my waist as he pulls me towards the door.

Sounds of agreement come from behind us as the twins follow, and we walk down the wide corridor to some double doors at the back of the centre. As soon as Hunt opens them, I’m hit with a blast of throbbing bass that settles in my chest, the clink and grunts telling me that the gym is down the stairs.

We descend—I feel like stairs are now part of my life in a big way—and soon, enter into a vast underground space full of gym equipment and people. There are a mix of ages, with some who are definitely older. I like the fact that it’s clearly a place where all ages feel comfortable.

I spot Dayton, who gives me a shy wave, the guy he was talking to looking curiously over at us. Like Hunt and the twins, he’s covered in ink, although unlike them, he’s quite a bit older, later forties maybe. He pauses his conversation, gives Dayton a clap on the back, and then makes his way over to us.

“Boys!” he greets, grabbing Roman and pulling him in for a man hug, all back slaps, then doing the same to Rowan, who surprises me by returning it. He’s been affectionate with me, but no one else, not even Roman, so I didn’t expect him to be okay with hugs from others. “Been a while.”

Letting go of Rowan, he turns to Hunt, who has hold of my hand but gives the guy a one-armed hug anyway.

“You know what it’s like, Dave,” Hunt responds, releasing the older man.

“I know kid,” Dave says, giving Hunter’s shoulder a squeeze before turning to me. “Pleased to meet you, Iris.” He holds his hand out, his knuckles gnarled and scarred.

I startle, my hand tightening around Hunter’s, who squeezes it back reassuringly. “Pleased to meet you, Dave, but how did you know about me? I’ve not left the flat.”

His face splits into a wide grin, a gruff chuckle rumbling from his chest. “Not much stays a secret on the World’s End, love,” he tells me, the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Especially when our fearless leaders are holed up for days with a Chelsea princess in their lair.”

Roman punches him in the arm, but they all laugh as my cheeks flush a little. “I’m not a princess, though I suppose many kings have sold their daughters throughout history.” It’s meant to be a joke, but the stony faces around me and the way Hunt pulls me closer tells me that it fell flat. I guess it’s not really all that funny.

“We don’t support the skin trade, love,” Dave assures me gently, his blue eyes a washed-out colour, like he’s seen too much in his time on this earth. “And we’re all proud of our boys for taking you in, keeping you away from those Russian scumbags.” His lips curl and my heart twinges, knowing that he’s including Nikolai in that even though he was the one who helped me escape and took two beatings to keep me safe.

“Heard anything about our Soviet friends?” Hunter asks, and I straighten up, even though he refuses to let me go. Dave huffs a sigh.

“Rumor is that they’re the ones behind our guys getting targeted, lots of eagles being seen around the ends,” Daveinforms him, and honestly, it’s like he’s speaking in code, but I get the impression that perhaps the Russians haven’t been as quiet as we, I, have thought.

“You’ll let us know if you hear more?” Hunt asks, and Dave nods.

“Of course, son. Now, time to train!” He claps his hands, others in the gym whooping and dispelling some of the tension the last part of the conversation wove around us. He stalks off around the gym, offering encouragement and words of praise to everyone he passes. I see the way the younger guys look up to him, the older people also giving him appreciative nods.

“Changing rooms are over there, Peaches.” Hunter points towards the far side of the gym, two doors with signs for male and female changing rooms over them.

“I don’t have any stuff with me,” I tell him, my heart picking up as I glance up at him. “Plus, I may have never actually been inside a proper gym before. The one at Wyndham’s was kinda…girly. It’s not seemly to be a hot, sweaty mess.”

His eyes widen a fraction, then his lids lower, and something tells me that he just thought of something dirty.

“Then I get this first too,” he whispers just loud enough for me to hear and flush scarlet if the heat in my cheeks is anything to go by. Then he drops his arm from around me and hands me the bag he brought with us. “Your stuff is in there.”

I take it, my brows lowered. “My stuff?”

“I got you some, guessing that you wouldn’t have ordered any. We need you to be fit and start some self-defence training. You need to be able to protect yourself, Peaches,” he says, all traces of naughtiness gone, replaced by a serious expression. “Just in case.”

---