Page 21 of Unmasking Her Shadow

“Sam. No,” I mock her.

She growls and narrows her eyes at me. The outline of her barley visible in the darkness, but I remember every inch of her body. I don’t need light to see her. When her hand is free, she lunges to grab mine.

“Naughty, naughty little wolf. Do you need to wear your collar again?”

She jerks her hand back and cradles it to her chest. She really dislikes being shocked. I free her other hand, and she reaches for me but stops herself, and I don’t like it.

“Dream of me,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to the mouth of my mask before making my way out of her bedroom.

I open and close her front door, then slip inside her pantry. Her footsteps rush towards the door and disappear, hoping to spot me outside. When she doesn’t find me, she gives up and goes back upstairs to her bedroom. Pretending to be a detective earlier triggered nothing within her. All she had to do was search her house, and she would have found me. Not that it would have mattered. I would have just pulled her in here with me and made her scream.

I watch her search for her shorts, but she hesitates when she grabs them, climbing back into bed half-naked. Part of me gets pissed when her hands disappear underneath her blanket. Did I not do a good enough job, or is she still tingling between her legs so badly she needs to keep going? I bring my fingers to my nose and inhale her scent. She smells like…mine.

I prop my phone up against a can of peas and unbutton my jeans, sliding my hand beneath my waistband and mirroring her movements. When she yanks her hand away and rolls over with a frustrated groan, unable to come from her own fingers, my climax bursts through me like a freight train. My back hits a shelf too hard, and a can tumbles off. I catch it just before it crashes to the floor and gives my location away.

She’s still in bed. I free my face of its cages, then tiptoe to her kitchen, grabbing the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge she squeezed fresh today and pour a glass. It won’t take long for her to fall asleep, then I can kiss her goodnight. One day soon I’ll be able to do this during the daytime while she’s here with me. Awake. The way she looked at me earlier tells me her body recognizes who it belongs to. It won’t be long until her mind and heart get on the same page.

I wash and dry my cup, placing it back inside the cabinet where it belongs, and creep up the stairs. My chest contains a thunderstorm as I step back inside her bedroom without concealing my face. Just because she’s a heavy sleeper doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance she could open her eyes and this would all be over.

I trail my fingertips over her cheek. She’s intoxicating, even with her hair winding around the ribbon on her head. I fix the ends like I normally have to before leaning down and gently pressing my lips to hers. Before I can walk through the doorway, I turn around and soak her in one more time.

17

Sam

My pussy is broken. Completely and utterly broken. I’m having withdraws from Shadow, but yet I cannot come. Useless, like a gorgeous car without an engine, a book with blank pages, or a bank with no money. It got a taste of what it wants and now it’s a picky little shit throwing a tantrum because I took away its favorite toy. It doesn’t want my fingers, the shower head (which I can’t really blame her because the pressure in this hotel sucks), or the vibrator I shoved in my bag. Apparently, a vibrator is considered an essential item when packing a getaway bag to escape home and hide from a stalker, who might or might not be an ex-boyfriend.

Shadow won’t give me anything about his identity, so I won’t be home next time he shows up in the middle of the night to fuck me awake. Do I wish to be woken to him between my thighs? More than anything, actually. I still haven’t sat down and tried to process that information. There’s something insanely wrong with me. I just need to confirm whether he is Tyler. If he gives me that much, I’ll be his dirty little whore again.

See? Insane.

We are all born and wired a little differently. How boring would this world be if we were all the same? If we were all normal? What is considered normal anyway? Who decides that? Maybe I’m the normal one and everyone else is just lying to themselves and settling for less than what they truly desire because someone told them being miserable is just part of life. Do what makes you happy. If that is being claimed by a complete stranger in a mask, so be it. Go for it. Bend over and take it like a good girl…or boy…with a smile on your face and shove normalcy up anyone’s ass who tells you it’s wrong.

I have to be at the spa in the morning, and I cannot stop tossing and turning. Shadow has taken over my life. He’s all I think about. Will it still be this way when he reveals himself? I really hope so. If not, life will go on. I do not accept misery as a daily emotion. Life is too damn short. I’ve kept my phone off this entire time. Even when I went to work yesterday. I half expected Shadow to find me here. Kind of disappointing, if you ask me. He needs to go back to stalking school.

I turn my phone on, but keep the location off. Not that I think it would save me. My heart thumps and my hellcat purrs when I read the missed messages from him. So demanding, possessive, and obsessed, like he’s losing his mind. I have half a mind to tell him where I’m at so I can scratch this damn itch, but I’m a strong-ish woman. I can hold out for longer than this.

Hidden_Embers: Unless you show me your hands, I will assume you are my ex-boyfriend, and he gets no pussy from me. Not even a peek.

Phantom_Shadow: Little wolf, I am going to punish you so fucking hard for pulling away from me. Keep your phone on. You’ll get your proof tomorrow. Sleep tight, pup. You’ll need your strength.

If he thinks he can just send me a picture of a random hand, he’s an idiot. I leave my phone on anyway, and finally feel like I can go to sleep now. The possibility of Shadow knowing where I am and coming for me is calming me for some odd reason. If he shows up, I can just pretend for one more night that his identity isn’t bothering me.

* * *

“Hey Sam,” Emily hesitates when she steps into the break room. “This is super awkward, but have you heard from Xander today?”

I stare at her for a few moments too long, dumbfounded. “No, why would I?”

“I stayed at his house last night, and when I woke up, he was gone. He won’t respond to any of my calls or texts. It’s weird.”

I swallow hard. “That is weird. I’ll let you know if I hear from him, but Em, I don’t talk to him,” I assure her. If he turns out to be Shadow, I owe her an apology. A huge one.

She walks out of the break room, only to poke her head back in a couple of minutes later. “You have a walk-in. I showed her to your room and told her you would be in shortly.”

What a better way to keep your mind off your sex devil than to keep busy. My phone vibrates three times on the way to my room. It’s usually on silent, but I’m eager to receive whatever proof Shadow is going to show me. Unable to wait, I peek at my notifications before walking inside. Every single one is from Shadow.

Phantom_Shadow: It’s insulting that you thought any of these fuckheads could be me. Which one are you afraid of? I’m assuming it’s the douche with the finger tattoo since you are so obsessed with looking at my hands.