Page 109 of Lured By Shadows

“I know,” he replied.

As he spoke, his hand slid lower onto my thigh.

My breath caught in my throat, and every intimate memory we had shared before flashed through my head. I wondered if he knew about my dancing by chance or if it came from digging into my life like I’d half-suspected all along. The wild side of me secretly hoped it was the stalking part. Culver had a way of making intensity feel almost normal, like it was simply part of what drew me to him, even if I knew it sounded messed up when I thought about it too hard.

“How do you know that?” I licked my lips, and his gaze followed the movement of my tongue.

“You make it difficult to concentrate when you do that.” He inhaled before slowly breathing out. “Apologies, I… I have seen your content.”

“And,” my throat dried at the thought of asking him, “what do you think?”

His eyes never left mine, but my neck was starting to ache from craning upward to look at him. Damn him and his lankiness.

My thoughts scattered the second his thumb slid across the slit of my thighs in an upward motion, barely missing what rested between my legs. A sharp inhale escaped me as I fought back the moan threatening to spill out.

“From the moment I saw you, I thought you were the most extraordinarily beautiful creature on this Gods-given Earth.”

He must’ve been Christian. It explained the necklace, which now looked more like a rosary, and the way he spoke about God with reverence.

He paused, his palm gliding across my thigh and making me shiver into him.

I almost hiccupped at the sensation, and my arms rose instinctively against my chest, pushing what little cleavage I had upward so I didn’t get in the way of him touching me. Because the last thing I wanted was for him to think, even for a second, that I wasn’t completely on board with every bit of his contact lighting me up from the inside.

“The way you move is hypnotic,” he continued. “It is maddeningly addictive to watch, but it does not compare to you in person.”

Culver’s fingers rose, brushing his thumb along my cheek and through my hair. My eyes searched his, and for one reckless moment, I thought I was going to do something stupid, like close the gap completely and lose myself in him.

My body turned toward him, my hand bracing on his shoulder for support. My legs parted as I drew closer, our chests and stomachs pressing together while I settled onto him more fully. We continued watching each other, the heat of the moment never fading. My free hand reached up, cupping his cheek and drawing us close enough that my nose brushed his.

I was going to do it, and I wasn’t even thinking about regretting it.

Honestly, I was wondering what could possibly be so bad about leaning in and kissing him when it felt right in the moment.

My breath hitched when both of his hands slid down my back before gliding across my ass and squeezing tightly enough that it felt like he was spreading me open.

My eyes closed momentarily, a moan escaping at the sensation.

“Culv,” I whispered, my hand sliding up to cup the back of his neck and bring him closer.

Our lips were so close to touching—

The moment shattered.

“Oh look, we get to watch the show for free, my Sun.”

Rupert’s obnoxiously dramatic voice cut through the moment, dragging me sharply back to reality.

Shit.

I was so close to jumping into something totally reckless with Culver. Sure, it felt easy and tempting in the heat of it, but deep down, I knew it could blow up in my face. Even though part of me wanted it just as badly, craved it even, I forced myself to hold back and play it smart. If I could get him hooked on me, then maybe I’d have a shot at keeping him around without everything crashing down too soon.

I pulled back, and Culver’s half-lidded eyes lifted toward Rupert with great disdain, like his brother’s interruption wasn’t merely annoying but the bane of his existence.

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

Without warning, he squeezed my ass and ground himself upward into me, making me feel the hardness of his erection through his pants.

I had to bite my lip quickly to stop myself from moaning again.