Page 36 of Claimed By Shadows

“Fuck, Peaches,” he shudders out, his warm breath brushing against my face once Roman is finished. I wore one of my lace bralettes, a bright turquoise colour and something Sergi never would have chosen for me. It’s the first step to reclaiming myself back from him. “You are so fucking beautiful it blows my damn mind.”

A flush creeps over my skin, heating me up even further.

“He never gave me any pleasure, never let me feel anything other than pain,” I confess in a barely there whisper. Hunt’s head snaps up, Roman going still behind me. “Nik used to come in afterwards and help me forget, but—” My breath hitches and I have to close my eyes, breathing in slowly, then exhaling. “I could still feel him. His touch has branded me, inside and out.”

Tears sting my eyes, making Hunt waver in my vision.

“How can we help, baby?” Ro asks, his hands resting lightly on my hips.

I swallow, licking my lips. “I need to show my mind, convince my body that touch doesn’t equal pain. That I’m no longer in that mansion.” I hold Hunt’s gaze, my body trembling with a mix of terror and excitement. Terror that what I’m about to do will set me back, excitement that maybe I’ll be able to overcome what was done to me. “I’d like you to hold me, Ro, while Hunt gives me pleasure with his fingers. Sergi never did that, used his fingers I mean, so I think that’s a good place to start?”

CHAPTER TWENTY

“CONSTELLATIONS - PIANO VERSION” BY JADE LEMAC

IRIS

“That’s the best place to start,” Hunter says, his voice soft as he releases my hand and cheek. “Can we take the hoodie off?”

I lower my hand from his face, shrugging out of the garment.

“What about the cameras?” Roman asks, toeing off his boots and settling back on the daybed. I look over my shoulder at him, nibbling my lips.

“They’re not turned on. I spoke to Julia this morning, told her I wanted to reclaim things, and she assured me they’d be off while you guys are here,” I admit, my cheeks flaring with heat as he smirks at me, a blond brow raised.

“So you planned to seduce us all along, did you, darling?” he teases, opening his arms in an obvious gesture for me to snuggle into them.

“Maybe,” I reply, shuffling until my back hits the heat of his chest. He’s only in a black T-shirt, with it being warm outsidetoday, but I can feel the heat of his body flowing into mine even through the layer of fabric. My eyes close in bliss, a soft exhale falling from my lips at the comfort. “Are you complaining?”

“Never,” he whispers, brushing his lips across the bare skin on my shoulder, shivers tickling my skin from his touch. “Though I wouldn’t mind a taste of those lips, if that’s okay?”

His fingers come around to cup my jaw, turning my head to the side as he leans over my shoulder. Our eyes meet, and there’s a world of feeling in his brown eyes that used to be full of so much laughter but now have an edge of sadness in them which dims their light. I don’t answer him with words. Instead, I close the small distance between our lips, brushing mine against his in a soft caress that devastates me all the same.

“I love you, Ro,” I breathe against his lips, both our eyes still open, even though we’re too close to really focus on each other properly.

“Fuck, Princess. I love you so much it consumes me,” he answers, teasing my lips with every word. My hand comes up and wraps around his wrist, using it as an anchor as our lips meet again, this time not parting.

It’s like walking on a sunny beach, the gentle breeze kissing your skin as the sun warms your skin. Kissing Roman is so much more than a meeting of skin. It’s pure sunshine and I greedily deepen it, my eyes closing as I inhale his scent, letting him ground me in the here and now.

His deep moan fills the room, his hand flexing against my jaw as he dives into my mouth, licking and sucking, our tongues meeting over and over again. The cushions underneath us shift as Hunt moves closer, his fingers trailing fire across the tops of my breasts, leaving me gasping and breaking away from Roman.

“Can I take these off?” Hunt asks, his fingers tickling at the waistband of my leggings. Wordlessly, my chest heaving, I nod and watch him as he curls his fingers in the material, slowlydragging them and my matching lace knickers down my legs. His gaze fixes on the space between my thighs, which are open and trembling with the effort not to shut them. “Shit, baby. Just look at that pretty pink pussy.”

Lightning races across my skin at his words, at the admiration in his gaze.

“You are perfection,” Roman purrs into my ear, the fingers of his hand dropping from my jaw and trailing to the strap on my shoulder, playing with it. “Can I touch you too, angel?”

“Yes, please,” I breathe out, my eyes on Hunt as Ro pushes the strap down and exposes my breast to the air. My nipple pebbles, not from being out but from the hunger in Hunt’s gaze as he takes me in, his stare like a flame that burns where it lands.

Ro’s fingers track down my skin, circling my nipple and tightening it further before he closes his hand around my breast and squeezes. A moan leaves both our lips, my eyelids drooping with the spark of pleasure that zings through me.

I watch with a hooded gaze as Hunt strokes up my leg, from ankle to my thigh, his touch making my skin tingle with anticipation. His gaze flits from my face to where he touches, always checking my reaction, and his care makes me love him more than I even knew was possible. He’s ensuring I’m okay with what is happening, and I know that both of them will stop if I give the word.

But I don’t want to stop. I want them to keep touching me because it feels exquisite and so opposite to what Sergi forced upon me. There’s no question that I’m here with them and not back in that awful mansion with him.

“Keep your eyes open, okay, Peaches?” Hunter asks me in a gentle command, his emerald orbs boring into mine with an intensity that steals the air from my lungs. “I want you to watch what we’re doing so you stay here with us.”

“Okay, Daddy,” I whisper, and the growl that rumbles from his chest when I call him that has wetness seeping from my core.

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