Shadow (Ghost Born MC)

Chapter 13

13

Rurik

T hankfully, Malik followed my orders without a word, but as he passed me to go outside, his anger licked at my skin like a fucking real fire. And it had me half-hard in my slacks. The time to bring him to heel had come, and I wasn’t putting it off any longer. I’d played with him long enough.

The game had finally changed, and I was holding all the cards.

He threw Denis a flinty glare as Denis opened the door for him, but Denis just stared blankly ahead, more than used to Malik’s attitude by now. Hell, all of my men were. And I was pretty sure they were wondering why the fuck Malik didn’t have a bullet through his skull for the shit he’d pulled earlier. Had any of them tried what Malik did, they would’ve already been on their way to the crematorium.

But not Malik. Never my Malik. Even if Anatoly pulled something, I’d lose my shit. And Anatoly knew this. It was the only reason he was giving me an opportunity to fix this before he had to step in and make Malik disappear. He knew as well as I did that if something happened to Malik, he’d have to put me down, too.

Once Malik was inside the backseat of the SUV, I slid in beside him. Turning his head, Malik stared out the window, his jaw clenched tight. Neither of us said a word, and tense silence filled the vehicle as Denis slid into the driver’s seat and pulled off down the road.

When we finally reached the hotel, Malik shoved open his door, not even waiting for one of the soldiers to open the door for him. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, seeking patience I didn’t feel like I had. Both of us exploding would do us no good, and we’d get nowhere. Malik already didn’t respond well to me, but his response to rage was even worse.

I had to keep my head about me, even if I wanted to do nothing more than pin him to the nearest surface and drive my cock inside of him over and over again until all he could focus on was obeying me and moaning my fucking name.

Denis opened my door, and I slid out, nodding once at him. “This will be all, Denis. Take the rest of the day off.” I clapped his shoulder, then headed inside, following after Malik. When I walked into the lobby, he was already impatiently jabbing his finger against the button for the elevator.

The woman working the front desk was eyeing him with trepidation, and it made my jaw clench. Letting my eyes meet hers, I stepped up and pressed my hand to Malik’s lower back.

She instantly cast her eyes away, her cheeks coloring in shame.

“Get your fucking hand off of me,” Malik growled, his voice low and threaded through with an undercurrent of danger.

“Get your temper under control before one of the employees calls the police on you and I have to get you out of trouble again,” I quietly warned. “You’re frightening the front desk employee.”

“Fuck her.”

My lips quirked with a smirk, and I leaned in, letting my lips trail over his ear as I whispered, “If you touch anyone that’s not me , I will haul your ass to Washington and chain you to my bed, where you will live out the rest of your fucking days.”

He swung his wide, shocked eyes to mine just as the elevator doors opened. I stepped to the side, hooking my fingers in Malik’s belt loops to tug him back with me. I let an easy, carefree smile tilt my lips as I inclined my head to the couple stepping out. They returned my smile, and then, their steps faded away as they headed toward the exit.

Malik stepped inside the metal box, removing my hand from his jeans. I stepped in with him, and he jabbed the finger for our floor before slamming his finger over the button to close the doors.

As soon as those shiny, metal doors closed, I pounced.

He sucked in a sharp breath of surprise when I wrapped my hand around his throat and slammed him back against the elevator wall hard enough to make the box rattle. Leaning in, I smashed my mouth to his. He resisted at first, trying to turn his head, but I just dug my fingers into his jaw, holding him in place. And then, I sank my teeth into his bottom lip hard enough to make his lip bleed. Snarling, I lapped the blood up, then pressed my hand in harder against his neck, cutting off his air flow. Immediately, he stilled, realizing he no longer had the upper hand.

Hell, he never had it to begin with.

“I’ve played your fucking game long enough, Shadow,” I growled as the elevator slowly came to a stop. “Now, we’re playing my game, and your hand is empty ,” I warned him. My hand dropped from his neck just as the elevator doors opened, and he reached up almost absentmindedly, rubbing at his neck as he stared at me.

I pressed my arm against the door to keep it open, then arched a brow at him. “Let’s go,” I told him, jerking my head in the direction of the hallway.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” he rasped, his throat obviously hurting. I’d put a lot of pressure beneath my hand. If I’d really wanted, I could’ve crushed his windpipe. And that look in his eyes let me know he was very aware of that.

He was even more aware that I hadn’t.

My other hand snapped forward, and I gripped the front of his t-shirt. Twisting the fabric in my fist, I yanked him toward me. His pupils blew wide, and unable to help myself, especially when a trickle of blood ran down his chin, I leaned in and kissed him again, taking a moment to lick that blood up.

“Our room. Now ,” I growled as I pulled back and shoved him into the hall.

He stumbled, quickly catching himself. I stepped out after him and adjusted my shirt. When I arched a brow at him, waiting to see if we were just going to have this shit out in the hallway—because I didn’t give a fuck where I got inside of him at—he turned on his heel and walked off toward our room.

Good boy .

With a smirk tilting my lips, I followed after him, my shiny Oxfords silent on the hallway’s carpet. His hand shook as he swiped his keycard over the door pad. When he pushed the door open and stepped inside, I followed, quietly shutting the door behind me. When that little shnick echoed and the electric sound of the lock engaging reached his ears, his shoulders stiffened.

I licked the front of my teeth, then began to slowly and carefully unroll my shirt sleeves. He turned to face me, and for the first time since Malik had appeared on my radar, he looked nervous and unsure.

Fucking good .

“Strip,” I snapped, letting my mask fall away. That rage I’d been feeling consumed me, and Malik swallowed thickly, nervousness glimmering in his dark eyes. “And do not say a fucking word unless it’s to say yes, more, please, or my fucking name.”