Page 20 of Unmasking Her Shadow

I eat dinner in my bedroom, staring at my web and going over times, conversations, and locations. Xan climbed through my window the night I first messaged with Shadow, so he gets a big arrow. The flirty client I had a couple of weeks ago gets a question mark. I end up with too many suspects and not enough details to narrow them down. The definite nos all get weapons in their hands and I line them up like they are battling the potential stalkers. If he turns out to be a member of the opposing team, I’ll be so pissed. With Shadow, I feel seen. I feel good. I’ve never felt that with any of them, so that would mean this is all pretend, and I’m not ready to face that yet, but I can’t fall for a ghost either.

The moment I return to the station and settle between Ryker and Kioni, I instantly forget the thoughts that were plaguing my mind. My dark rays of sunshine. They both challenge me to a headstand contest. The rest of the crew watch and cheer me on, wanting so badly for me to beat their coworkers and knock them down a couple pegs on their cocky ladder.

I squeal when Ryker purposely knocks his leg into mine, causing me to topple into Kioni. When her hand brushes against my ribcage and our eyes meet, flowers bloom in my belly. A hidden garden I didn’t even know was planted. A few curls fell from her hairband in the tussle, making her appear softer in a way. She’s so pretty. I realize I’m staring, but I’m also unable to help it. Her touch is searing into my skin like a brand.

“You okay?” she chuckles.

“Yeah,” I breathe, frozen in place despite the internal heatwave.

Her eyes drift to my lips, and I realize I’ve never thought about kissing a woman until now.

What in the hell is wrong with me right now? Kioni is my friend. Shadow has my sexual senses heightened is all.

Down demon.

“I’ll kick his ass for you.”

She doesn’t just pull her hand away. Instead, she slides it off me, leaving a trail of fire behind her fingertips. I disentangle myself from her, and he makes a “Pshh” sound.

“Alright,” I announce, my voice trembling. “Now that we all know Ryker is a cheater, let’s begin.”

16

Kioni

Sam snores softly behind me while I study her work, laughing to myself. I love the stickers she chose for me. Her curiosity is growing with each interaction we have, but she’s not ready for the truth yet. My little wolf will try running away, and I don’t know if I could let her go. I would need to silence her, so the only word that would stop me from dragging her back would never elude her pretty lips. Red. I have nightmares she screams it when I remove the mask, and I wake drenched in sweat, heart pounding, and tears wetting my cheeks.

Obsession is not something I have ever experienced before her. Nobody has ever made me want to hold on, to chase, to devour. Nobody except her. I should have known my first taste of her would have me addicted, obsessed, and borderline feral. I want to live between her legs, hold her heart in the palm of my hands, and take over her every waking and dreaming thoughts. For her to be as in love with me as I am with her. Baby steps.

As much as she wants to know who I am, she is oblivious to everything. She’s aware I’ve been inside her home, yet she has never once searched for anything out of the ordinary. I reach under the mattress above her and tug out the straps I installed a couple of days ago, buckling the cuffs around her wrists and ever so slowly tightening the straps until her arms lay above her head without waking her. The room darkens further when I close the curtains and the bedroom door, blocking out any light. I slip under the blankets, concealing myself so that I can pull down my balaclava along with her tiny night shorts. A rush of need zips through me when I feel nothing else. My girl isn’t wearing any panties tonight.

I groan, inhaling her scent as I bend her knees and spread her legs open. She stirs and a loud gasp comes from her lips when I suck her clit into my mouth, letting my teeth graze over the sensitive bud. No words. She’s still asleep. How is it that one can wake up so fucking early in the morning, yet a tornado couldn’t even wake her in the middle of the night? I chuckle against her cunt, sliding two fingers inside and curling them. She moans, and so do I when I insert them into my mouth, tasting my addiction. Time to wake up, Sam. It’s more fun when you know who is between your legs making you squirm. I push my fingers back inside her, adding a third, and cover her clit with my tongue. My fingers flutter inside her, but my tongue stays slow and torturous, building the storm inside her.

“Sh—. Oh, god,” she howls like a good girl, tightening her thighs around me. I swipe my thumb in her arousal and press it to her asshole, rubbing it around until she relaxes and dipping the tip inside. Her pussy latches onto my fingers and her thighs squeeze the side of my head so tightly I think it may burst, but my movements stay steady until she releases her death grip. Death by pussy. I think I could handle that being on my obituary.

“Are you a magician?”

I snort, tugging the mask back over my face so I can speak. “Elaborate,” I tell her.

“How do you make me come so easily?” Her breathing is still labored, and a satisfactory smirk tugs hard at my lips.

“You are mine, Sam, of course I know how to play with you.”

I search my pocket for the pen I know is in there, and blindly write MINE on the bottom of her foot.

She giggles and tries to pull away. “That tickles!”

I shove the pen back into my pocket, put my gloves on, and make sure my mask is situated before I slip out from under the blanket.

“Show me your hands,” she whispers, and I pause, my hands halfway to the cuffs around her wrists.

“No.”

“Please? I won’t ask for anything else.”

I laugh. “We both know that isn’t true.”

“Shadow. Show me your hands,” she demands.