That Russian bloke will tell Shadow I’ve been eavesdropping and everything will freaking end.
My mind goes on overdrive and no matter how much I think about it, no clear solution comes. The footsteps are getting near. They will reach me in no time.
So I do the one thing that could gain me time. A mistake. A madness.
I stand on my tiptoes and seal my lips to Shadow’s.
Chapter Six
My lips press against his firm ones. For a second, I almost forget about the footsteps heading our way and get lost in the moment.
He tastes of smoke and… scotch. Strong, head-turning scotch. I never thought scotch would taste in such an erotic way.
I’m acutely aware of how soft and small I am compared to his hard muscles and broad shoulders. My breasts brush against his strong chest, and heat smothers my arms and crawls down my back.
Shadow isn’t kissing me back.
His grip on my waist tightens, and his body becomes rigid, but I’m the only one who does the kissing – or more like pressing my lips to his pathetically.
Humiliation digs at my chest and tastes like dust at the back of my throat.
Thankfully, that snaps me back to reality. Still sealing my mouth to his, with less tenderness, I grab a fistful of Shadow’s T-shirt and shove him backwards towards a room.
As soon as we’re inside, I break away from him and swing back. I blend against the wall and stare from the small crack. The Russian guard stands where I ran into Shadow a few seconds ago, his hard eyes searching around. His hand reaches underneath his jacket and clasps around something metal. A gun.
I shiver and my fingers turn sweaty. We had practical training in the forces, and I know how to handle a gun, but to be on the receiving end is always bloody scary.
The black guard shows up next. He mumbles something I can’t hear. It convinces the Russian since he says something back and then they both disappear from sight.
A breath rips from deep within me.
That was freaking close!
Heat radiates down my back as a dark, sinister voice murmurs in my ear, “What are you doing?”
I jerk and whirl around. The door clicks closed with the motion. Shadow is leaning forward with one hand in his trousers’ pocket while the other is inert by his side. It’s a bit dark in here, and I have no idea what room we landed in, but I can make out the gloomy energy surrounding his handsome features.
The tiger tattoos are vibrant against the short sleeves of his white T-shirt. The strong veins in his forearms flex with tension or pent-up energy, I’m not sure.
His hand, the one not confined in his trousers, clenches and unclenches as if he’s stopping himself from something. What, I don’t know.
And I don’t want to find out.
I conjure what I hope will be a convincing laughter. “Nothing. Just a ruse. Forget about it.”
He leans closer, invading my space with his overbearing height and sinister, heart-wrenching look. He’s so much like the storm in his eyes – all mixed with a hurricane. It must be so easy for him to drag people in his orbit only so he can destroy them and spit them out.
Up close, he smells of something strong, musky, and that head-turning scotch. Seriously, since when did Scotch smell so hot?
His lips curve in a cruel smirk. “Do I look like the type of man who forgets, beautiful?”
Of course not.
What the hell was I even thinking? I could’ve pushed him without kissing him, now, couldn’t I? Only I wasn’t sure I’d take him off guard then, and I needed the element of surprise.
He edges even closer, and this time, I step back. My shoulders hit the door, and my back is glued to the wood. Shadow slams his palm near my head. I flinch and regret comparing him to a storm because he does turn into one. His smirk vanishes. His eyes darken to frightening smoke that’s about to erupt and suffocate anyone in their orbit.
His voice comes out chilling and monotone. “How do you intend to repay the psychological damage, Zoe?”
“Psychological damage? Aren’t you being a bit too dramatic?” I laugh again, but it’s forced and awkward. Probably because he’s too close, and even his infuriating smirk is gone. I preferred that to this smothering darkness.
My heart pounds, and I want nothing more than to run away from here.
From him.
“It was just a kiss,” I murmur. My fingers twirl a strand