Page 41 of Unmasking Her Shadow

“Who says she is not you?”

I choke on my sandwich. “Funny,” I croak, chugging my water while Ki glares at him. I’ve already ruled him out as Shadow.

“Women can be…” he contemplates his words. “annoying.”

“I mean, I can’t really argue there. There are women I wouldn’t wish to be stuck in a room with.”

“Most women want me just to say they have me. Like when you see a cute puppy and you just have to have it. Then, once you bring it home, you become the boss and controlling and won’t let it out of your sight because it might wander off or chew your furniture. Very fucking annoying.”

I snort at his metaphor. Did he just compare himself to a puppy? It is true, though. Sometimes I wish I had a dick. They don’t need anything but some petting…like a dog.

“Men aren’t much better.” I raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to argue.

“Touché,” he replies.

When we finish our meals, Ki lays down and props herself up on her elbow, and I slide in between her and Ryker on my stomach, crossing my arms under my head to make a pillow. She plays with my hair, and my eyelids grow heavy. Birds and the gentle rushing sound of water overpower the muted traffic in the distance. This is where a massage table needs set up. Not inside a building with recorded sounds of nature.

I don’t even realize I’ve fallen asleep until I hear Ki’s soft voice saying, “Wake up, Red.” She tucks my hair behind my ear, and the brush of her fingers across my cheek sends shivers skating across my skin. “Not that I want to, but we need to go, so I need to drop you back off at work.”

I groan, not wanting to move. “I’m so comfortable. Just leave me here and pick me up later.”

I can hear her quiet laughter. “I will not be leaving you to sleep out here alone.”

“Then stay.”

“If I stay here with you, sleep will be the last thing on your mind.” Her warning sends a rush of need through me.

I roll over. “Kiss me,” I demand, my pussy controlling me as usual.

She cups the side of my face, rubs her thumb across my cheek, and leans down to claim my lips. I become liquid beneath her. Her kiss always makes me feel like I’m floating and falling all at once.

She rests her forehead against mine. “We need to leave before I show you why all your relationships before me have failed.”

I whimper and she stands, pulling me with her and pressing a quick kiss to my temple before tugging me towards her bike.

28

Kioni

I’m not used to these nervous feelings I get around her. My heart is racing when I jog up her steps to knock on her door. She agreed to a date, but I didn’t specify when. Did I plan on showing up at her place tonight with a bucket of popcorn? No, but the opportunity presented itself, and who am I to turn it down? The movie theater I drove by earlier had a sign out front that said Fill any container with popcorn for five dollars. And when I checked her cameras before I left, she was flipping through movies on her TV. Thanks, universe.

Before I even knock on the door, there’s growling and barking on the other side, and “Nyxie, baby, we aren’t eating anyone tonight,” comes from Sam.

Maybe this wasn’t the safest idea.

The door cracks open enough for her to peek through and stand in front of her very large, very mad that I’m here dog.

“Kioni!” she exclaims with a puzzled look on her face

“Expecting someone different?” I ask jokingly.

“Umm, no,” she replies looking around me. “I wasn’t expecting anyone.” The low rumble from the black shepherd has my heart racing for another reason. She can sense that I’m the same person she chased last time.

I hold up the bucket of buttery popcorn. “What do you say to a movie night?”

She grins. “What a coincidence! I actually just started watching one. We can start it from the beginning. I didn’t make it very far.”

She goes to open the door wider, and the beast behind her steps out, blocking my path.