Kissed by Shadows: A Forced Proximity Dark Mafia Romance (The Shadowmen Book 1)

Iris is subdued, shivering the whole way home even though she has that little fluffy coat on that my sister used to love. I know the twins are worried about her, they’ve sandwiched her between them, clasping her hands tightly as she looks sightlessly ahead. I fucking hate that I’m not back there with them, her on my lap, holding her so no fucker can steal her away.

Before Rowan brought her and Roman back to the table, Sergi congratulated me on my recent nuptials, although he said that he was surprised there was nothing registered officially. The fucker clearly has people looking, so as soon as we got in the car, I sent a message to someone who I know will be able to make our fake wedding official.

Of course I knew Sergi was there, thanks to Nik and my men at the front who told me as soon as he turned up. I can’t exactly turn him away, he’s a mob boss after all, though to say I was displeased to have him anywhere near Iris is a fucking understatement. Nikolai was with his father, but the slight widening of his eyes and shake of his head told me that he hadn’t known of the plan to approach us.

The fact that I had a hard-on because I’d been watching Iris with Roman, knowing by what I could see, even in the darkness, that she was getting him off, almost made me want to laugh in the Russian’s face. You know, if he wasn’t threatening the woman who now belongs to me and is a part of me.

The thought that my dick is bigger than his meant that I greeted him with a smirk on my face that he didn’t like one bit. Tension thrummed across his muscles as he congratulated me on my marriage, and like the arsehole that I am, I revelled in getting under his skin, in knowing that, for the moment, I’m winning.

That was all dashed though when the fucker got up and dared to lay his filthy fucking hands on my wife, and it took more effort than I thought I possessed not to rip his fucking throat out when he laid those slimy lips on her soft cheek. But I knew that he wasn’t here with just Nik and his one guard, his men were throughout my club, infecting it like a fucking plague of locusts. Yet I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him, just grit my teeth and watch as he terrified my girl. Our girl.

My phone buzzes, and glancing down, I see it’s from Kai Matthews, one of the Black Knights who’s helping Willow and who is a genius with tech if his reputation is anything to go by. He was who I first thought of to help make our marriage official, plus there was no time to mess around and I needed the best to get the job done quickly.

KAI MATTHEWS

It’s official. Congratulations, Hunter, you are now married to Iris in the eyes of the law. All the paperwork is done, a copy of the marriage certificate is in your inbox. Your wedding date is New Year’s Day, so she belonged to you before her father gave her away. You may want to call your sister. Lilly says she’s pissed that you didn’t tell her about any of this.

I snort, rubbing my palm over my face at that shitshow of a conversation. Not to mention I’ll have to break it to Iris that she’s now officially my wife. I wonder if she’ll regret her impulsive decision, telling Jessica that we were married. Jealousy looked good on her though, and now I have a wife, so I’m not complaining. My cock twitches in my jeans at the thought of owning her for real. I’m not going to deny that the idea that she’s now lawfully mine doesn’t appeal to me in a big way.

HUNTER

Thanks, Kai. I’ll deal with Willow. Consider a debt owed. I’ll call Willow in the morning.

The message shows as read straight away, and then three dots appear as he types a reply. I look up at the mirror to check on my wife, my jaw clenching when I see that she’s still trembling, eyes unblinking and a little glassy. My phone buzzes, so I tear my gaze away and glance down at the screen.

KAI MATTHEWS

If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask, Hunter. No favours needed. If we can help with anything, let us know. We will do everything we can to help, no questions asked.

Warmth suffuses my chest, a lump forming in my throat at the offer. For so long it’s just been the twins and I, our crew always there to help but more of a responsibility than anything else. To have the Knights as allies, as friends, is more than just a blessing. They’re rich bastards, set to inherit a fortune five hundred company, and also not afraid to get their hands dirty.

HUNTER

Thanks. Just keep an eye on Willow for me, and if anything happens, will you keep her under your protection? Iris too if need be?

My heart twinges when I think of all the things that can go wrong with our situation. The Russians are not to be easily dismissed, and we may have an ally in Nikolai, but he’s having to wait just like the rest of us. I fucking hate that we’re all at the whim of that bastard, Sergi, but I know that we’re not powerful enough to take on the Bratva. Not if we want to make it out of this alive.

The screen lights up seconds after I’ve hit send.

KAI MATTHEWS

Of course, without question, they are both under our protection, whatever happens. Just keep us in the loop, and anything we can do, don’t hesitate.

HUNTER

Appreciated, Kai.

I look up as we pull up outside the estate, Rich pulling the car to a stop alongside the entrance. I open my door, checking around before going to the back and opening the passenger door, Rowan getting out and looking around as well. Checking our surroundings is too ingrained for any of us to kick the habit, so I’m not offended that he checked as well.

Reaching inside, I hold out my hand, and Iris blinks for what must be the first time.

“Hunt?” Her voice sounds so small, so defeated, and I can’t fucking stand it. She needs her fight back, but for now, we will take care of her. Prove to her that we’ve got her and that we can take care of her.

“Let’s get you inside, Peaches,” I say softly, taking her hand in mine and helping her out of the car. Before she can say anything, I give into my caveman urges and sweep her into my arms, a purr of appreciation leaving my lips when her arms instantly wrap around my neck.

“I can walk, Hunt,” she murmurs but nuzzles into my chest, sending warmth spreading across my limbs.

“I know, doesn’t mean that you should,” I tell her, letting Rowan lead the way, the car door slamming behind us telling me that Roman is at my back. The two Shadows on duty—Karl and Sonny—give us a nod as we pass, and then we’re moving up the stairs, Iris snuggled into me the whole time.

My shoulders loosen when we enter the flat, something inside me easing the moment I step through the door. Keeping Iris in my arms, I step out of my boots, then head in the direction of my room, hearing the twins follow behind me.

Shouldering open the door, I place her on the end of my bed, then kneeling down in front of her, I take her cold face between my warm palms. Her skin is so soft, part of the reason for her nickname, and my thumbs brush over her cheeks in appreciation.

“Peaches?” I wait for her eyes to find mine, and the sadness and defeat guts me as effectively as a blade to the stomach. “I need to tell you something.”

I feel more than see the twins come up behind me, and I know that they will be a bit pissed that she’s my wife now. We’re all possessive bastards, but we can’t all be her husbands.

“What is it, Hunt? I’m not sure how much more I can take tonight,” she whispers, her hands limp in her lap, and I decide that if nothing else, maybe my news will give her some fire back, even if it’s just anger at me and what I’ve done without her explicit consent or knowledge.

“I got the message in the car. According to law, you are Mrs Iris Anderson, my wife. All the documents are with the right people,” I tell her, watching as her brows dip, and then her eyes widen as my words sink in.

“You fucker,” Roman hisses, and I growl a low warning as I feel him approach closer.

“It needed to be done to keep her safe, and it needed to be legit, so shut the fuck up,” I grit out, not taking my eyes from the woman in front of me, my wife, whose lips are parted, her cheeks flushed.

“How can I be your wife? We didn’t have a ceremony,” she finally asks, and I sigh.

“I swear to you one day we will have the biggest fucking wedding if that’s what you want, but for now, I needed it to be official. Sergi was already questioning it, and I will do any-fucking-thing to keep you safe, Peaches. Even if that pisses you off.”

I will her to understand. This need to protect her goes soul-deep. It started when she so selflessly helped my sister, my obsession with her planted like a seed, and it’s only grown into a full-blown strangling vine since she’s been with us, needed us, needed me.

“I— We’re married.” It’s not a question, and I can see her start to try and shut down again. Before I can lose her to her mind, I lurch up, slamming my lips onto hers, tangling my fingers in her soft hair.

She gasps, the sound going straight to my cock as I push her back until I’m lying between her beautiful thighs, my tongue invading her mouth and my body pressing her into my mattress.

“I’ve been watching you for months, Peaches, keeping you safe and all the monsters that wanted to gobble you up at bay,” I growl against her lips, pressing every inch of my hard body into her softness. “And I will keep doing that until they’re all dead and gone.”

I’m fucking livid that this is happening and that I didn’t see it coming. None of my sources told me her father was offering her up for sale to the highest bidder, to the fucking Russians. My vision flashes as rage at her sperm donor fills my veins like lava pouring from a volcano. If I ever meet him, he best run.

“Not all of them…” she whispers back, and I growl at the reminder of how I failed her. “Where were you when I needed you most? When my own fucking father sold me to the Russians?”

I rear back, her words like a slap to my face. My inner beast roars, the need to claim, to prove that I’m worthy of her overwhelming all reason.

“You think I don’t ask myself that every fucking day?” I snarl, reaching between us and ripping open my fly, yanking my hard dick out of my jeans. I need to show her that I am man enough to protect her. That I won’t fail her again. “That I don’t think about all the ways I’ve failed to protect you?”

“Hunt, s–stop,” she pleads, but I’m too far gone in my need to be inside her, to show her that I’m not a worthless piece of shit. I’m too lost to my rage, mixed with need, to allow anything to stop me.

“No.” Lining up, I thrust inside her wet heat, every fucking nerve in my body lighting up at the warmth that envelops me. Her pained gasp is like music to my ears, the tears in her eyes the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. “I will never stop, Peaches, even if you beg me to. You. Are. Mine.” I punctuate each word with a thrust, and by the way her walls clamp and grip me, I know that she doesn’t really want me to stop.

“Y–you can’t just make me your wife and expect me to be fine with it,” she hisses, her nails digging into my arms, raking deep furrows that drive me wild.

“I can and I did,” I tell her, looking deep into her hazel eyes. “Hold her down, boys.”

Those stunning eyes widen, her body twisting, but I have her pinned by her hips, and soon, the twins have an arm each, pressing them onto the bed beneath her. She thrashes, but it’s no use, she can’t escape, and I plan to take my wife however I want her, it’s our wedding night after all.

Rowan whips out his blade, the keen edge shining in the low lights of the room as he brings it to the straps of her dress and she freezes. With precise cuts, he proceeds to slice the garment from her, and all three of us groan when her stunning body is revealed.

“Willow will be pissed you cut up her dress,” she sasses, the anger in her words unbelievable given the huskiness of her tone. She’s turned on by this, as I know she always is. She’s a girl that likes to be forced, that wants her choices taken from her, and we’re the type of monsters that revel in forcing her to take us as we are, to bend to our wills, to fulfil our every depraved desires.

“She’ll be more pissed that she has a new sister she’s yet to find out about,” I say, chuckling when she makes the cutest growl sound as I remind her of our situation.

She goes to protest, but then my hands wrap around her slender throat, and holding her eyes, I pull out almost all the way, only to slam back inside her. She moans low and deep, her inner walls clenching around me and urging my beast on. Her body flushes, her breaths punched out of her as I fuck into her, my clothes soaking up the sweat that drips from my body as I take her hard and fast. Her stunning tits bounce with the force of my thrusts, the shallow cut on her breast that Rowan gave her earlier a stark red against her creamy skin.

The twins don’t try to interfere, even though I know they’re desperate to, their eyes locked on her body as I fuck her into the bed. Her breaths saw out of her lips, her body tightening as her release gets closer, so I slow down and she whimpers.

“Hunt, Daddy, please,” she begs, and lightning races up my spine, but I need something else from her before I allow either of us to come.

“What do you want from life, Iris?” I ask her, loosening my grip on her throat, my hips pulsing as I watch her blink, trying to clear some of the lust from her brain.

“W–what?” she questions, her brows lowering as she licks her lips. “I want to not be at Sergi’s mercy, obviously.”

I give a growl, my next thrust harder at the sound of that dead man’s name.

“But after that, what then?” I continue, my dick protesting, needing to rut into her again like a beast. But this is our wedding night, a new beginning, and I need more from her.

“I–I don’t know, Hunt. A family, I guess,” she answers, trying to twist her hips so I go deeper. I chuckle, rewarding her small answer with one of my hands releasing her throat and making its way between us, stroking her clit. “P–please.”

“Do you want children?” I ask, seeing the twins freeze as they hold her down, all their focus switched to me. I pause, not moving as I look into her eyes, needing to hear and see her next words.

“I–I guess, maybe one day,” she replies, her eyes locked on mine.

“Good girl,” I praise, watching as her face softens just as I pull out and she squirts all over my hand, her body going rigid as her climax consumes her.

Then I shove my fingers deep inside her pulsing cunt and grab hold of the strings of her coil, using the contraction of her orgasm to help as I pull it from her. She’s too blissed out to notice, but I catch Roman’s considering stare, then the way his lips lift in a smirk. My gaze switches to Rowan to see a similar expression on his face. We all share a breeding kink, and I know that the idea of filling Iris up with our seed, watching her belly grow with one of our children will have them desperate to come inside her as much as I am.

But as my official wife, I feel like I should get the first turn.

“What the fuck did you just do?” her horrified whisper brings me back to her, her naked body covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

I hold up the device, and her already wide eyes become almost comically big.

“No time like the present, Peaches,” I say, throwing it on the bed and then lining up with her slick entrance.

“Y–you’re fucking crazy! You can’t make that decision, Hunt!” she yells, and I have to grab her thighs as she tries to close them. Naughty girl.

“I approve,” Roman says, and her wild gaze snaps to his as I ease the head of my cock inside her still-quivering channel.

“Me too, and majority rules, Little Lamb,” Rowan adds, her head turning to look at him, her mouth parted.

“So shut the fuck up and take my dick like a good little girl, and I’ll reward you by filling you up with my cum,” I tell her before slamming home.