Page 134 of Lured By Shadows

“I fuck you in front of everyone out in these halls,” he replied quickly, his voice dropping to a low, gravelly growl that resonated through my bones. “I spread you open against this wall and bury myself so deep inside you that everyone will hear the way you moan my name. I take you so relentlessly that you will be crying in pleasure, soaking the floor with your sweet juices while they all watch, knowing exactly who owns you. Do you want that to happen?”

Fuck.

My pussy clenched. Maybe I was into public sex too. The thought of Culver slamming into me while strangers watched, while students passed by and heard every wet sound, every desperate cry… It sent a jolt of raw electricity straight to my core.

I wanted to nod, to say yes, please, right here, right now. But I kept my thoughts to myself yet again. I was afraid he would follow through on it. Imagining Culver’s cock hitting deep inside me as he took me against the wall was a definite turn-on. The way he’d pin my wrists above my head, the way his hips would piston into me while his breath ghosted against my ear. But I was also very sure I could never come back to the university afterward. Not because of legal reasons. I knew Culver would hide all of that with the wealth he had, which was an insane thought, but because of the embarrassment. Knowing everyone would have seen me at the pinnacle of bliss, face twisted in ecstasy, legs trembling as he filled me.

I bit my lip, trying to hide my smile, though the heat creeping up my neck betrayed me. “You want my first time having sex with you to be out in the open where everyone can see me?”

“That might be the best way to keep these inferior men away from you.” He paused, his hand sliding up my side, fingers brushing the underside of my breast. “By showing them that I am marking you from the inside, in the deepest way possible. That I have claimed every inch of you until there is no question in anyone’s mind who you belong to.”

My eyes widened, and I squirmed against the wall, his body pressing against me, the hard length of him grinding into my hip. The heat of his words seeped into my bones, making my head spin with dizzying, intoxicating need. I wanted to say fuck class, to drag him into the nearest classroom, and let him take me right there. But my heart was beating wildly in my chest, a frantic drum threatening to break through my ribs. It was like I was so excited I was going to have a heart attack.

Instead of giving me a chance to say yes, he closed in and kissed my cheek, his lips lingering, soft and devastating. “Go on. I shall see you after class.”

I only nodded weakly, my breathing ragged and uneven. As I stumbled away from him, I turned back to see him staring at me with a calm wave of his hand. He gave me a smile reserved only for me, and then he winked. I exhaled breathlessly, shakily sitting down in my seat, still feeling the ghost of his hands on my skin, the phantom pressure of his cock grinding against my thigh.

I barely had time to catch my emotions before Kiera broke the silence. “I told you to be careful with him, and yet he has you in his clutches. Ira, I… He is not what he seems.”

My mind finally reeled back enough to listen to her. “What… what do you mean?”

Her bracelets jingled as she laid them out in her lap, proper and straight. “He is fooling you into a false sense of security. Do you know that the Scarbroughs wipe all traces of their dealings from the internet? The ones that they do not wish for others to know.”

I did know a bit about that, my mind racing back to the night I stayed up researching Culver and his family. They had scrubbed the internet of what they did, and I knew that. But I was desperate for him: for his attention, his actions, his words, his time. I didn’t want to hear more from her, though. She was just putting her nose in something she didn’t need to.

No, that was unfair. It wasn’t like our relationship was a secret, and she didn’t need to hide her opinions.

“Tell me straight.” I narrowed my eyes. “What’s he hiding?”

She paused, her eyes flicking toward the classroom door even though it was clearly shut. Then she slowly pulled out her phone and turned the screen toward me.

A picture. It was Culver. Hovering over a beautiful blonde woman.

His hand was wrapped around her throat while she clutched both of his wrists, and even through the grainy darkness of the photo, I recognized the shape of him instantly. The sharp line of his jaw. The dark clothes. The unmistakable intensity in the way he leaned over her with his mouth pressed against her neck.

I couldn’t breathe for a second.

“I took this just a few days ago,” she murmured.

It felt like my heart dropped straight into my stomach, heavy and sickening, the realization slamming into me all at once that I was getting played… completely fucking played by Culver Scarbrough. While I’d been sitting there convincing myself he was different, he’d been out screwing around with other women like I was nothing more than another girl tangled up in his lineup, another temporary obsession he could charm and ruin whenever he got bored.

“How did you get this?” My hand tightened around the edge of my seat hard enough for my nails to dig into the material. “What? Do you stalk him?”

She gave me a flat, deadpanned look. “No. I do not have time for such trivial matters. I simply happened to see him while returning from gathering herbs for my family.” She paused, like she realized she’d never really spoken much about herself around me before. “Regardless, I saw him, and my intuition told me to take the photo. It seems my intuition was correct. Ira, do not let him fool you. He is dangerous, and lying is his nature.”

And God, suddenly every conversation with Culver came crashing back into my head all at once.

Every dodged question. Every half-answer.

Every smooth little deflection wrapped up in charm and teasing smiles.

My thoughts spiraled violently, racing through every moment I’d let myself trust him, every time he’d looked at me like I mattered, like I was something precious, only for me to realize I’d probably just been another girl stupid enough to fall for it. My chest tightened so hard it hurt. No way was I going to let him make a fool out of me like this. I wasn’t going to become one of those girls who gave somebody everything only to get used up and discarded once the thrill wore off.

My pulse hammered wildly against my ribs, climbing higher and higher until it felt lodged in my throat, but really it was nausea rising fast and acidic, turning my stomach because I’d let myself believe him. I’d let my feelings blind me so badly that I hadn’t seen what was right in front of my face the entire time.

Humiliation burned through me hotter than anger.

My skin flushed like I had a fever coming on, heat crawling up my neck and across my cheeks while tears welled up so quickly I couldn’t stop them before they spilled over.