by Rina Kent
I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him head on. To say I’m not scared of him would be the lie of the century. He’s provoking a part that I want to keep dead. What he brings out from deep within frightens me more than what he does. But if he thinks he can intimidate me, then he found the wrong girl.
Shadow ruffles his wet strands and lets them fall haphazardly. “Nice save.”
“What?”
He hooks his thumb towards the deck on the opposite side. “You saved your boyfriend within a second of his life.”
Isn’t the saying ‘within an inch of his life’?
It’s best he believes Liam is my boyfriend instead of suspecting that we’re from the police. Shadow needs to keep his destructive hands as far away from Liam and Elle as possible.
“We were done and he was leaving anyway.” I pretend to be bored and examine my green-polished nails. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
In a second, Shadow is toe-to-toe with me.
“Keep it up, beautiful. Tell me more.” He grins, and now, I know how he masterfully hides his monstrosity behind these endless smiles. He’s so freaking charming, he almost appears normal. However, I see it. There’s barely anything behind those hollow eyes.
Was he ever a human in the first place?
According to Nonna, he was. Despite his harsh abandonment, he still withheld some of his humanity. But since he was separated from Nonna, he turned into a monster and he seems pretty satisfied with it.
“Do you like being hollow?” I ask because I genuinely want to know.
His posture turns rigid even though he’s still hiding behind that atrocious grin. “Do you want me to fuck you here?”
I scowl.
“You prefer inside where your boyfriend just fucked you?” His smirk widens. “Kinky.”
“All you had to say is that you like being hollow and I'll figure out the rest. There’s no need to deflate. I don’t even know why I bother with you.” I sigh and stride towards the lake house to take my bag. The sooner I’m out of here, the better.
I’m barely inside when he clutches my wrist and flings me around to face him. Under the soft light, the five o’clock shadow give him a warrior-like aura.
“What do you mean by ‘you will figure out the rest’?”
“Do you even care?”
He pauses for a second, and for once, his atrocious grin disappears. “I might.”
“Let me know when you do.” I reach for my bag on the cushion.
He tightens his hold on my wrist, causing me to wince. “Why do you hate being on your knees?”
Dread trickles down my spine and blood pumps into my ears. I attempt to move away. Shadow puts two fingers under my chin and forces me to stare into the storm in his eyes. Those deep greys are starting to give me whiplash. Most of the time, they’re a hollow calculative maze, but at other times, it’s a hurricane near eruption.
“You asked if I care.” His forefinger traces the line of my jaw. “I care about that.”
I revert my gaze to stare anywhere but at his face. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Does he expect me to tell him my darkest secret just like that? Even Elle and Liam don’t know this part of me.
His index finger and thumb clutch my jaw and he squeezes. It’s not that hard, but it’s enough to make me aware of his strength.
“You will break up with your boyfriend.”
“Excuse me?”
This time, he flashes me a grin. “I told you that you’re mine now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I agree while in comatose or something?”
“Keep it up, beautiful.”
Using his grip on my wrist, he yanks me towards him. My breasts crush against his hard chest. I gasp when an unmistakable bulge presses at the bottom of my stomach.
“See what that smart mouth of yours does?” His voice drops an octave.
My breathing deepens until I’m struggling to consume air. I should push him away, but I can’t help soaking in the effect I have on him. He’s so hard and thick, and suddenly, I hate my dress.
I huff, pretending not to be impressed. “Why should I care?”
His tone turns playful. “Because you will take care of it?”
“In your dreams,” I say when all I mean is Make me.
My thighs clench in remembrance of the wrestling we had the other time. My bloodstream pumps in anticipation and thrill.
What type of person craves a wrestling round with a monster?
Me, apparently.
Shadow must’ve caught the double meaning behind my words because a spark gleams in the usually-dead grey of his eyes. I suspect that mine look the same.
He reaches for my dress’s zipper. I shove him away. He lets me, and I know he’s taking it easy on me because his actual grip is steel-like. If he wants, he can break my arm with a single twist, but he isn’t.
Shadow is taking part in the sick game with me.
I am playing with a monster and I couldn’t be more excited.
Adrenaline shoots into my limbs as I rush away from him. Strong arms surround my waist from behind and haul me off the ground. I thrash and wiggle in his hold like a marionette. When he doesn’t let go, I bite his arm. Hard. My teeth almost puncture the skin.
He loosens his hold and I fall. I land on my feet and rear back with a kick. He catches my dominant leg and meets my gaze. His eyes are shining with a hazy lust and energetic fire. I’m sure mine reflect the same.
I didn’t know it was possible to want to ruin someone and kiss them to bloody death. In the past, when I craved more, I thought I wanted the foreplay. I didn’t know that lust and hate would be wrecking my senses like this.
A part of me wants to murder Shadow for all the confliction, but the other part wants me to let him fuck my brains out.
His heated eyes aren’t focused on my face anymore. With my leg suspended mid-air, he has a complete view of my black lace underwear.
He does a deliberate job of licking his lips. “Nice.”
My cheeks warm as I twist and free myself. Shadow tries to get a hold of me while I hit him without any mercy or remorse.
Problem? I don’t think he feels my hits or even cares. He keeps flashing me those infuriating grins as if he’s enjoying my struggle.
I know I shouldn’t let him get under my skin, and that being worked up will be the sure way to lose, but I can’t help it. I charge at him with all my might. He imprisons me from behind, his tattooed arms hugging me tightly.
“Give it up, beautiful.” Hot, sultry words whisper in my ear.
Shivers dance along my skin at the feel of him. All of him. From the broadness of his shoulders, to the slight stubble grazing my cheek, to the bulge at the small of my back.
“Never,” I groan and elbow him, but again, it does nothing. Either his muscles are too hard or he really gives no fucks about pain.
He continues whispering in my ear, “You might change your mind about me, you know.”
I laugh, long and humourless. “What’s there to change about a hollow monster?”
Shadow’s leniency seems to fly out of the window. He spins me around so fast, I turn dizzy. I don’t get to analyse the darkness swirling in his expression.
He slams his lips against mine.
Shadow doesn’t kiss, he devours. His tongue plunges inside and finds mine in an uncontrollable frenzy. I can’t keep up with his bruising, possessive claim. My body sags against his wet chest that smells of cloves and the lake’s water. I’m lightheaded and it feels like drowning and going under. I can see the surface, it’s within the tips of my fingers, but I don’t want to reach out. Even though I can’t breathe, I keep falling into Shadow’s unapologetic claiming.
When he breaks free, both of us are panting. He murmurs against my swollen lips, “You’re kissing the monster.”
His mouth goes back to abusing my lips. He pries them open and thrusts his tongue inside with more maddened urgency. It’s as if he’s punishing me and s
tripping away every ounce of control I have.
Well, not so easy.
I bite his tongue, not hard enough to draw blood, but it’s enough to push him. Or that’s what I think. Shadow doesn’t pull away. He bites my tongue back until the metallic taste fills my mouth. A zip of pleasure sprouts from the sharp pain.
God. I must be so sick in the head to find this pleasurable.
His hand slips through the slit of my dress.
He takes his sweet arse time roaming the tip of his fingertips on the swell of my breasts, but he doesn’t touch where I’m aching the most. My nipples throb and peak for attention, but Shadow doesn’t do them any favours.
I’m shivering, and it has nothing to do with his wet clothes gluing against me.
He shoves me against the cushions. I fall so hard, I don’t even get a chance to think. My body moulds into the soft cloth, and strange need spirals inside me. Shadow’s strong thighs straddle my stomach. Blood smears his lips. He licks it like some vampire, keeping his overcast eyes on me.
My blood. He licked my blood. I should be disgusted, but my body has a mind of its own and is firing up for his touch.
“I hate you!”
He yanks both my wrists above my head and holds them in one hand. His calloused fingers find my nipple through the cloth and he pinches the peaked pebble.
A zip of pleasure shoots across my spine, and I cry out.
“Say that again,” he taunts.
“I hate you! I despise you. I loathe your existence.”
There’s a sick pleasure in my outburst.
“You wish you do.” He lowers his head, and to my horror, my dress has bunched up to the middle of my waist. My lower half is splayed for Shadow’s wild eyes.
I love the unhinged way he looks at me. It’s as if I drive him as crazy as he drives me.
He cups me through my underwear and slips his forefinger beneath the cloth and into my wet, slick folds. A fierceness takes over his features. “I love how much you hate me.”
I groan even though my body is arching into him. “Fuck you, arsehole.”
His smirk is coupled with hazy lust. “As you wish.”
In his unapologetic shameless way, he yanks my knickers down my legs. I can’t even delude myself into fighting anymore.
He lets go of my wrists and clutches my hips in a steel grip. His head buries between my thighs. I lose sight of him, but I feel it. He licks me from the bottom straight to my clit. My body jerks as if possessed.
“Fuck. You taste like sin.”
My hand clamps in his damp hair. I swear I meant to push him away. Then his tongue thrusts into my opening. My back arches with a helpless whimper. I yank on the strands of blond hair and pull him closer. It must hurt like hell, but Shadow and his wicked tongue don’t seem to care.
He ravages me like he’s been starving and I’m his last meal. I gasp at the intensity of the assault, and spasms rock my body. My lungs fight for breath with each relentless stroke. He’s persistent and has no boundaries.
My knees turn into a puddle as he sucks on my clit. I fall. No. I’m falling, and I don’t think there’s a way to stop me from reaching the abyss.
I come in a rush of dopamine. The orgasm is so strong that all I manage is a wordless cry. Like a downpour, I can’t stop it or fight it. All I can do is soak in the rain and bask in the sensation.
My muscles turn immobile and I’m too dizzy to move.
Shadow isn’t done with me.
When I return to the world of the living, he’s sitting between my legs. His fingers smear my wetness along the sensitive skin with a half-drunken gaze.
“Do you feel filthy yet?” His hair is tousled from how much I pulled it earlier. “Just like me.”
I turn my head away, refusing to have him see me this way. I feel vulnerable and I hate it.
“Look at me.” His harsh fingers dig in my jaw and his face hovers inches from mine. “Tell me you want me.”
“No.” It’s a mere whisper and my body revolts against it.
“No?” He raises an eyebrow.
Yes! Just touch me already.
“Stop me.” He dares. “Kick me away.”
I should. God, I should. But the dare in his eyes means he’ll really stop if I do, and I don’t want him to stop.
It’s crazy how he managed to enchant my body to his even before he touched me. Now that he did, pushing him away is out of the question. I’ve had my first hit of his drug, but I still need endless fixes.
When I don’t make a move, his eyes whirl into a storm.
Wild.
Thick.
Unstoppable.
He unbuckles his trousers, freeing his erection. His cock is hard and pulsing with need.
I swallow. That thing will break me.
Why do I want it to break me?
Shadow pumps his cock twice, and I stare with parted lips. With his wet T-shirt sticking to his chest and his hardness poking straight at me, he looks like a sex deity.
He runs the cum-coated tip up and down my entrance, smearing it with my wetness. I bite my lower lip to stop a moan from surging free.
Shadow continues the onslaught.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
My breathing deepens, and I swear my entrance is clenching, begging to have him inside.
The tip settles inside, and I hold my breath. It’s been years since I had sex, and considering his size, I’m sure it’ll hurt like hell. Instead of fear or dread, all I feel is anticipation and excitement.
I want it to hurt.
No smirks or grins animate Shadow’s face. Instead, there’s a raw lust — the same feeling that’s coursing through my blood.
He rocks his hips forward and I expect him to slam inside.
The unpredictable enigma has other plans. He takes my hand and wraps it around his length. I drown in the half-dazed look on his face as I work him up and down slow at first since I try to predict what he likes.
It’s my time now. He might have driven me to an orgasm, but I still have control, too.
I rub him faster and harder and as unrestrained as when he tongue-fucked me. Soon, he loses control and thrusts himself in and out of my grip.
He fucks my hand.
The unhinged storm in his eyes turns me on more than it should.
He throws his head back with a groan. The glorious muscles of his shoulders coil with tension. Warmth sprays all over my sex and stomach.
I’m pleased, no, proud, for pushing him to the edge. At the same time, I’m disappointed he didn’t get inside me.
“Next time, beautiful...” He leans in and kisses me. Then he bites my lower lip. “I’ll show you what type of monster I really am.”
Chapter Thirteen
My fingers tap against the bar’s counter from my position at the far end while I soak in all the chaos at Le Salon. The loud music. The pretentious perfumes. The sleazy old posh folks. I can kill them all if I want to for no other reason except that I felt like it.
Sometimes, I wonder what would I be like if I didn’t have Ghost and Nonna in my life. I’d probably be a psycho killer who kills for fun.
Not bad, if you ask me. At least, I wouldn’t be having second thoughts about what the hell I exist for.
A presence appears at my back. I don’t pay it attention and grab my glass of scotch. We have this thing in Team Zero: sneaking about. Just because we can.
Flame murmurs, “It’s done.”
I smile around the rim of my glass. Easy. I knew Flame would do a fantastic job.
“How done are we talking about?”
He stalks in front of me with that usual detached expression. No hoodie covers his head tonight. Sleeked coppery strands of hair shine under the club’s lights. His beard is groomed, too. Who knew someone obsessed with sleep would appear normal in public?
“As in he won’t be released first, done.” He leans close so only I can hear him. “If anyone is coming out in
the first place.”
He retrieves a cigarette and lights it. His gaze lingers on the flame for a second too long.
I face him. “But there’s a problem?”
He blows nicotine in my face. On purpose. Bastard. “Just like I can get someone on the inside, so can Ink.”
I drown half of my glass. “He’s locked up and under severe Omega withdrawal. He can’t do anything.”
Flame raises an eyebrow. “His disciples can.”
“The fuck is with Team Zero’s obsession with disciples?” I never understood why they want to take care of other people besides themselves. I can barely keep a watch on myself, let alone take second-generation assassins under my wing.
Ghost took mentees multiple times. The closest he has is Kyle and he never leaves his side. Flame has his moles as well, but he doesn’t consider them in a familial way like Ghost does.
“They can do the job for you,” Flame says as if that’s a given and taps his temple. “Work smarter not harder.”
“The hassle isn’t worth it.”
Do you like being hollow?
Zoe’s words ring in my head and bring a bitter taste to my mouth. I take a chug of my scotch and bury her and her words in an abyss.
“Just know that there’s a,” Flame makes quotation mark, “Team Ink out there. If you have grudges with him. They have grudges with you.”
I grin and clasp his shoulder. “Aww. Are you worried about me?”
His bored facial expression doesn’t budge. He kills the cigarette and steps away from my touch. “I’m worried about the favours you owe me.”
Now. That’s hollow.
If a psychotherapist has a look into Flame’s brain, he’d scale so high on the psychopath spectrum, they’d lock him up just to study him. Unless he flips the table and garners some favours from them.
He throws a joker card in front of me. It’s a way to kill time for Team Zero. When one of us is bored and wants to play a hunting game, we’d pick one of our targets and place a joker card on them. All Zeroes compete to catch them first. The one who kills the target and retrieves the joker card is a winner.
I didn’t know there was a joker card game going on. “How dare you leave me out?”
He smirks. “Crow sent it with a note. Don’t ever fucking send me joker cards again.”