Shadowed (Team Zero #4) by Rina Kent

“What are you going to do about it?” I taunt.

“Don’t push me.” His voice is steel hard, but his eyes blaze with wild lust. He’s like a predator waiting for the prey to move so he can pounce.

If it’s for him, I’m willing to be a prey any day.

Sick pleasure tightens my limbs and melts with my bones. The familiar rush of adrenaline grips me and I push off him, jerking to my feet.

I run to the door, but the moment I open it, a hand slams it shut. A familiar, larger-than-life presence glues to my back.

All of this is so sick, but I can’t deny the pleasure I derive from pushing his buttons. We both love the chase and the fight. I’m already soaking wet at the thought of a struggle.

He’s warm. Too warm. I can’t help leaning into him even though I’m supposed to fight him.

“Where do you think you’re going, beautiful?” he whispers in hot sultry words in my ear. I can hardly hear him over my roaring heartbeat.

I elbow him and try the doorknob again. “Away from you.”

The dark, deep chuckle fills me with both excitement and dread. “You’re not going anywhere.”

I spin around and puff my chest forward. “Make. Me.”

A gleam shines in his eyes as he pushes into me. His leg yanks mine apart and he rubs an unmistakable bulge against the bottom of my stomach. “Oh, I’ll make you all right. You’ll come over my cock so many times, you won’t be able to move for days.”

Yes, please.

My subconscious erases everything except for the man staring down at me with untamed want. Sometimes, I feel like he wants to hurt me, and while it should send me running for the hills, it has the complete opposite effect. The idea that I have such an impact on a dangerous, wild man like Shadow fills me with overwhelming thrill.

He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I yelp, even though my heart is hammering with excitement. I pound on his back, but he doesn’t loosen his hold. On the contrary, he tightens it then slaps my arse.

I gasp at the new, sweeping sensation. “You’re a nightmare!”

“You love me for it.” The amusement drifts wild and clear.

“Humph. Don’t flatter yourself.”

He lowers me on the bed as if I weigh nothing and he’s on me before I can blink.

The intensity in his overcast eyes almost burns me. “You’re mine and will always be. Start getting used to it, beautiful.”

His mouth finds the pulse point in my neck. My skin ignites in a thousand fires, and then he bites down hard. I bite back at his shoulder. The struggle goes on for what seems like forever. Our clothes are half torn and on the ground.

My body is so stimulated that when he sinks inside me in one delicious go, I almost come right here right now.

Just like yesterday, his gaze doesn’t leave mine. It’s like he needs me to see how clear his eyes are even when they’re hazy with untamed lust. It’s the connection that makes me come apart around him.

If I had any doubts before, now I’m sure that whatever we have is beyond any fucking or physical struggles. He owns a piece of my soul and as he kisses me while riding his own orgasm, I know I own a piece of his soul, too.

We lay in each other’s arms, breathing heavily and basking in the remnants of the dopamine cloud.

There’s some blood on the sheets. No idea if it’s his or mine. I think I scratched him too hard.

“You asked me if I like being hollow.” He curls a strong hand around my nape. “I don’t.”

I stare up at him, not believing my ears. “Then why were you?”

“It was easier. Less complicated.”

From what I learnt about his life, I can’t say I blame him.

“I feel like I’m hollow, too, sometimes,” I admit in a soft whisper. It’s like a chunk of me is missing since my parents’ death.

“We’ll fill each other up.” His lips graze my forehead in a long, toe-curling kiss.

I must’ve drifted to sleep because Shadow wakes me up in the middle of the night by slipping inside me from behind. It’s like he can’t get enough of me. I come twice before he lets me go back to sleep again.

When I wake up the second time, he’s pressing a hand to my mouth with a knife in his other hand. The small light coming from outside casts harsh edges on his features.

My eyes bulge as sleep withers away.

What…?

He places an index finger to his lips. “Someone is here.”





Chapter Twenty-Four





I shove Zoe inside a wardrobe and cover her with clothes until only the blonde strands peek out. “Don’t come out under any fucking circumstances.”

The shining green of her eyes fills with fear. “But what if –”

I place a finger on her lips and shake my head. “They’re after me. If they don’t know you’re here, they won’t target you.”

At least I fucking hope they don’t. I’m guessing this is one of Team Ink’s stunts. Their target should be me. If anyone puts their hands on her, I’ll burn them alive and watch the fucking show.

After I make sure she’s in a good hiding spot, I start to close the wardrobe.

Zoe grabs my wrist. “I can shoot. Give me a gun.”

After I faced Ghost about the security footage, he mentioned something about her being a police forces’ student. Her fighting skills made sense with that background, but I didn’t spare it much thought at the time. Now, it’s useful. At least I know she can protect herself if something happens to me.