Claimed by Shadows (The Shadowmen #2)

Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“I’M WITH YOU” BY VANCE JOY

IRIS

T he next few days pass in a blur of way too many orgasms. It’s like we’re making up for lost time and can’t keep our hands off each other. The guys postpone any Shadows’ business to spend lots of time with me, and we’re happy to stay in the flat and just breathe each other in.

The night of Ember’s revenge comes though, and I remind myself that I need to get in touch with her and maybe organise a meet up soon. It’s strange because I thought I’d be desperate to get out into the world after the past few weeks of being at Serene Haven, but I’m not, not yet anyway. I can feel a small itch starting, but for the moment, I’m happy to be in our home with my guys.

I watch from our massive bed as they all get ready, dressed head to toe in black and looking fucking edible.

“You keep looking at us like that, Peaches, and we’ll be late,” Hunt muses as he grabs his gun and tucks it into a hidden holster underneath his black hoodie.

My cheeks flush as a throb of need flares within me. “Sorry.”

“You never need to apologise for perving on us, Princess,” Roman teases, giving me a wink from across the room.

A very unladylike bark of laughter leaves my lips, one that would have the matron of my old finishing school shuddering, but I don’t care about being a lady, not anymore. The smile is fixed on my lips as I look at my guys, my Shadows, who love me for exactly who I am.

“I love you all, so fucking much,” I say, my voice a little choked as I get to my feet and take the few steps towards Rowan, who is closest to me.

“I love you too, Lamb,” he replies, his hand cupping my cheek in that way he does which makes my toes curl. Then he drops a soft kiss on my forehead, his lips pressed against my skin and sending warmth flowing through me.

“Me too, princess,” Roman says behind me, his strong arms wrapping me up and making me feel so fucking safe tears prick my eyes. “So fucking much.” His lips press kisses on my neck, his breath tickling my skin as he breathes deeply.

“I love you, wife,” Hunt says, striding over to us and sliding his hand around me, cupping the swell of my stomach, which my cropped tank top gives perfect access to. He’s been touching my belly every chance he gets, which means more than any words because it shows me his acceptance of our baby, despite its conception.

His lips press against my temple, and I gasp as said baby gives a mighty kick. Hunt freezes, his chest not even moving with his breath. I look up to find him wide-eyed, staring down at his hand.

“Did you feel that too?” I ask quietly, and he swallows, nodding his head just as another kick happens.

“Fuck, that’s our baby, Peaches,” he gasps, his eyes glistening as they fill with joy.

“I wanna feel!” Roman whines, sliding his hand around and underneath Hunt’s. Our baby is clearly feeling indulgent as it gives another kick, and Roman laughs. “Shit! Our baby is strong.”

Another hand finds a space on my stomach and I look up into Rowan’s amber eyes, watching as they fill with wonder when our baby keeps kicking, clearly trying to show off for its dads.

“You are an exceptional woman, Iris,” Rowan whispers, and I have to swallow hard because there is so much emotion inside me that it’s a wonder I can breathe.

The warmth of their hands seep into me, our baby deciding that it’s done for the evening and the movement stopping.

“We will be back before it gets light, hopefully not much later than one,” Hunt tells me, his fingers giving a final brush before he steps away. The others follow, but Hunt takes my hand, leading me out of our bedroom and towards the main living room. “And we’ve got some company for you so you won’t get bored.”

He flinches when I squeal, finding Johnny in the living room alongside Dayton, Rufus, and Joe.

“Damn, girl, you look like you’ve nonstopped fucked since you got out!” Johnny laughs as I launch myself into his arms. “Not that I can blame you with all that man meat you’ve got.”

“Careful, Brat,” Rufus growls, and I pull away to find Johnny blushing.

“Seems I’m not the only one with a butcher’s shop full of meat, huh?” I tease, and he goes even redder, which is just fucking hilarious. “Hey, Dayton.” I peer over Johnny’s shoulder to see an equally blushing Dayton. Shit, I forgot he was like, only fourteen.

“H–hey, Iris. Nice to see you again,” Dayton—or Bubby as the guys call him—stammers, looking around the room. He’s still wearing the dark hoodie I always used to see him in, hood up and most of his face hidden.

“Are you staying here with me too?” I question, stepping out of Johnny’s embrace to pull Dayton into a hug. I didn’t really see him when I came back from Sergi, or maybe I wasn’t paying attention because I was in such a dark place. “It’s so good to see you.”

He stiffens for a moment, but I just keep hold of him, and within a moment, he’s relaxing in my arms and wrapping his around me. For fourteen, the kid is tall, so he has to bend down a little, but the way his body heaves out a sigh makes me wonder if anyone has ever hugged him before. I make a mental note to do it more and chat with the guys to see what’s going on with his dad.

“Y–yep, I’m going to be here with you guys tonight too,” he tells me, a smile on his lips as he steps away.

“Don’t worry, kid, we’ll keep the dick talk to a minimum so as not to pollute your innocent mind with our debauchery,” Johnny casually assures him, linking his arm with mine as I stare at him, slacked-jawed.

“Fucks sake, Johnny!” I scold, shaking my head as poor Dayton turns a deeper shade of red. “Ignore him, Dayton.”

I glance up to find my guys giving Rufus and Joe fist bumps and nods. Hunt catches my eyes, coming over to me and taking my face in his hands, ignoring Johnny, whose arm is still linked with mine.

“Rufus and Joe are staying inside the flat until we get back, Bubby too, and we’ve more men posted outside and around the estate,” he tells me, his brows furrowed as his eyes dart between mine. “We shouldn’t be more than a few hours, and we’re not far away, just the other side of Chelsea, but I’ll message you when we’re done.”

“Okay, Daddy,” I reply, ignoring the swooning noise that Johnny makes when Hunt leans in and claims my lips in a kiss that I feel to my very soul. Then Hunt pulls away, his hands leaving my face to drift down to my stomach, brushing it with a soft caress.

“See you soon, Princess,” Roman says as soon as Hunt moves aside, taking his place and gliding his hand through my hair to angle my head and cover my lips with his.

“Love a man who takes charge,” Johnny whispers, and both Ro and I grin, breaking the kiss. His hand lets go of my hair, his fingers trailing along my jaw as his eyes devour me, promising me fun when he gets home later.

He steps away with a grin, then his eyes widen. “Fuck! Almost forgot the marshmallows!” he gasps, turning on his booted heel and striding to the kitchen.

“Marshmallows?” I murmur as Rowan appears in front of me.

“Best not to ask,” he says with a twitch of his lips, then holds up something, and it takes me a moment to realise it’s a knife, a switchblade like the one he gave me before that Sergi stole. “Keep this on you, at all times, yeah?”

He stashes the blade into the pocket of my shorts, tucking his fingers into the pocket and using that to close the distance between us. Of course Johnny doesn’t let go of my arm, fucking degenerate.

Roo doesn’t say anything, just slams his lips onto mine and destroys me with his kiss, leaving my knees weak and my pulse thrumming in my veins. As quickly as it started, he ends it, giving me a searing look before he turns around and strides out of the flat, Hunt and Roman already having left sometime when Rowan was inhaling me.

“Shit, girl. That one is a scary motherfucker, but in the way that you would thank him for playing with your insides,” Johnny breathes out, two growls from the wall by the door snapping my fuzzy head up, finding Rufus and Joe both with narrowed eyes, staring at my friend.

“I think you are going to get spanked later, babe,” I tell him, recognising the way the two Shadows stare at my friend with lust in their eyes. After all, my guys have definitely looked at me the same way, and it’s usually a lot of fun afterwards.

“Why do you think I keep saying shit like that in front of them?” Johnny stage whispers in my ear, and I huff a laugh. “Gotta keep them on their toes, you know. Anywho, tell me why the fuck this is the first I’m hearing about a bun in the fucking oven.”

“ASTRONOMICAL” BY SVCINA

ROWAN

I roll my eyes at my brother, who is a fucking idiot, trying to roast marshmallows on the mansion that burns in front of us.

“This is becoming a specialty of ours,” Hunt says from beside me, folding his arms in front of himself as he watches Roman too. The light of the fire reflects in his eyes, making him look like some kind of demon.

“Maybe we should add it to our résumés,” I reply, and he huffs a laugh, both of us facing forward once more, watching as those fucking scum cease to exist.

“Come, we need to get rid of these cars and get out of here,” Hunt orders, though he doesn’t rush. The flames won’t be noticed for a while, this estate in the middle of fucking London is big enough that no one will see them until the bodies of Ember’s rapists have turned to ash.

We walked here, and so all we need to do is dispatch the four cars those arseholes drove and the job is done. Four monsters now in hell rather than roaming the earth, hurting innocents. Sometimes it pays to be morally grey, to be able to hurt those who get off on the power they wield over others.

Roman finishes his foolishness with the marshmallows just as a Shadow approaches us. We called one of our other guys for backup, there only being three of us and four cars to get rid of. Luckily, selling stolen cars is also a specialty of ours, so this should be easy.

Hunt hands me the keys to the McLaren, a gaudy red thing that is highly sought after on the black market. I swap the plates for some that we had made for this occasion, the old ones will be destroyed and voilà, the car is lost, never to be found again.

My mind drifts back to my Lamb as we leave the burning mansion behind us, heading to the underground car park we have so we can remove the tracking devices without a trace. There, we will meet more of our guys who will take the cars to Dover, to the docks where the cars will be driven onto various shipping containers and sent to buyers across the globe.

I can’t believe how much my life has changed, how much I have changed since she’s been in it. I used to be so…blank. A true shadow, drifting through life, and then she stormed in, shining a light on all the dark places that were taking me over, banishing them.

I almost slipped back into the shadows when she was taken, almost gave in to the darkness again, but still, she wouldn’t let me, the mere thought of her was enough to keep me from descending into the depths.

Now she brings even more light into our lives, a child for us to cherish and love. I never gave much thought to being a father, never realised how much it was something that I wanted until she told us her secret.

And I don’t give a fuck if Sergi Petrov is the biological father. He’ll be dead soon, so it won’t make a difference anyway. We will be all the fathers that baby needs, Nikolai too. Though that must be a head fuck, being the father to your brother. I know he’ll rise to the occasion though, being just as deprived of light as the rest of us.

We just need to tell him first, make him understand that it’s not just us anymore, not just Iris, and with her birthday next week, I have the perfect plan.