Crowed (Team Zero #2) by Rina Kent

I reach out a hand, cup him through his boxers, and stroke lightly. His erection surges to life in an instant. A guttural moan rips from the back of his throat as he tilts his head back.

In the time he’s been trying to take me away, I’ve been doing my best to distract him. Not only to alleviate the tension residing in his shoulders, but also to make us both come alive.

Even if it’s for a short period of time.

The safety I find in his arms is addictive.

He’s addictive.

“You can’t keep seducing me forever, you know.” He sounds strained as his erection keeps growing underneath my fingers.

I lick my lips, looking up at him. “I can try.”

His mouth crashes into mine, and he pulls me towards him with so much ferocity that it knocks the living breath out of my lungs.

I hold onto his neck with all my might because this, the now, is all I have.

And if it’s everything I get out of life, then so be it.



*****



I yawn as I stumble into the kitchen, Charlotte hot on my heels.

It seems like all the sleepless years are taking their toll on my body. Or it’s because Crow exhausts the hell out of me that I have no energy.

Or both.

Thankfully, I don’t have to work for the time being. I miss Céline and the patients, and Xavier has been calling to check up on me, but I needed this holiday.

I haven’t taken an appropriate time off for years. Not even after Maman died.

“Merde,” I curse when I find Charlotte’s food can empty. “No more food, Charlotte.”

She stares between me and the can with those puppy eyes and barks.

I bite the inside of my cheek. That look has always been my weakness. “I’ll go fetch you some.”

“Go where?”

I startle at Crow’s low tone and turn around, a hand on my chest. “You scared me.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” He stands in the doorway, arms crossed, wearing black trousers and a T-shirt. His shadowed features make him appear like a faceless grim reaper.

Which I guess he is, in some way. But I couldn’t care less about that part. All I see is the man inside him.

“Charlotte has no food left,” I say. “I need to get her some.”

“I’ll give her my ham.”

I sigh, approaching him. “And then what? We will both be out of food. I haven’t done grocery shopping for a week.” He opens his mouth but I cut him off, “And don’t even say delivery. No one comes out here. I have to fetch my own mail from town.”

He closes his eyes for a mere second. When he opens them, there’s a raw desperation in them. “I wasn’t going to say delivery. They’re the easiest way to send a killer.”

I palm his cheek, stroking the slight stubble. “I’ll be fine.”

He picks me up and sets me on the counter. At this level, I’m almost eye to eye with him. He pries my legs open and settles between them, his large hands on either side of my thighs. My legs automatically wrap around his waist because I want him close as much as he wants me.

His nearness sends a strange type of calm over me.

Crow cages me in his arms, his forehead lowering to rest against mine. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” I whisper, holding his face in my hands. Our bodies are so intertwined, I don’t even know what belongs to him and what belongs to me anymore.

“People like me aren’t allowed to want anything.” His shoulders stiffen. The pain lodged deep inside his gaze hitches my breath. “The moment we do, it’s all taken away.”

“Not me, Crow.” I brush my lips against his, needing him to feel my words instead of hearing them. “You know, I’m like you in some way.”

He pulls away to stare at me with an arched brow. “Ah, bon?”

“Ah oui. When Papa and Maman were alive, I was already happy and didn’t want anything else. When they both died, I continued not wanting anything.” My breaths turn shallow as I stare into those mesmerising eyes. “Until you. And now that I have you, I intend to keep you.”

His eyes shine with playfulness. “Like kidnap me?”

“Uh-huh. And lock you up in this faraway castle with me. Like Beauty and the Beast.”

He bursts into laughter, head thrown back with the effect. The sound is so contagious, I end up grinning like an idiot.

“Wait.” He stops abruptly. “Does that make me Beauty?”

It’s my turn to laugh out loud. “More importantly, that makes me Beast. So you better be scared.”

Crow lowers his head to nibble on my earlobe then growls into my ear. “Oh, I’m terrified.”

I moan, shivers breaking all over my skin. My head tips back, giving him more access, but before I lose myself to him, I muster the will to release and push him with both hands. “Food. Charlotte.”

Merde.

I can’t even form full sentences anymore.

“Fine.” He sighs deeply. “I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to...” I trail off when his unwavering stare falls on me. “Whatever. You’re so annoying when you’re bossy.”

He taps my nose, smirking. “You secretly love it.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “I don’t.”