Page 41 of Lured By Shadows

“Does it at least look good?” I murmured, my voice thin. Standing there half-naked, it felt easier to ask for honesty than to endure silence.

Anna’s mouth curved. “Yes,” she said easily. “Your ass looks perfect in it.”

The bluntness sent a quiet shiver down my spine. I glanced around then, only realizing in that moment that Melody was gone. “Where did the worker go?”

“I sent her home for the night,” Anna replied, folding her arms beneath her chest in a way that only emphasized the impossible shape of her body. “She should be with her family since I can handle things here.”

I hesitated, caught between modesty and the absurd reality that I’d already been parading around in sheer lingerie. “I was just finishing up,” I said, turning slightly and sliding the straps from my shoulders as if undressing in front of strangers was somehow normal now.

“If you’re waiting for Culver,” she said lightly, “I could fetch him for you.”

I froze mid-movement, my stomach tightening. “Don’t,” I said too fast, panic bleeding into the word. “I’ve already embarrassed myself enough today.”

Anna raised a brow, interest flickering. “Oh?” Her gaze darted to the door, then back to me. “Do tell, delicate flower.”

Another nickname. Another strange habit of this family.

It was becoming a pattern, being called something soft and breakable despite the fact that I’d never felt more exposed than I did right now, especially under her stare.

“It’s too embarrassing to say out loud,” I muttered, letting the lace slide down my chest. My breasts were bare now, exposed without ceremony, and her attention lingered without apology.

“I’m superb at listening,” she said, stepping closer, her hands loose at her sides.

I hesitated, then believed her for reasons I couldn’t fully explain. Maybe because she was a woman. I couldn’t tell if that made me gullible or just vulnerable.

“My hand,” I said slowly, “rubbed Culver’s… dick… through his pants… by accident.”

Saying it out loud somehow made it infinitely worse. I bent over to pick up my clothes, fully aware that the curve of my ass and slit were now on display. I wasn’t embarrassed exactly, but I was undeniably aware of being watched.

She made a sound that leaned more amused than shocked. “Is that all?”

I straightened sharply. “Is that all?” I echoed. “I’ve known him for barely two days. Accident or not, I basically groped him.”

Anna didn’t blink. Her eyes dragged across my chest. “You’re completely naked in front of me, delicate flower,” she said with a faint smile. “Yet I see no embarrassment. So why would touching him be any different?”

I bit my lip. “You’re a woman. And from what I can tell, you run a lot of this place. You’ve probably seen countless naked bodies. Fashion and nudity go together.”

She didn’t argue. If anything, she looked bored by that logic.

“Let’s say, for argument’s sake, you weren’t embarrassed by touching my brother,” she said, stepping closer again. “Then answer me this—if I touched you, would that embarrass you?”

Her hand lifted, nails gleaming beneath the warm lights, her fingers hovering dangerously close to my hip. I raised my hand to stop her, more confused than offended, but didn’t get the chance to answer.

Because a voice sliced through the tension.

“Anna.”

My head snapped toward the sound, eyes widening as Culver walked in with the same effortless composure he carried everywhere. Calm on the surface, but his voice edged tight with authority and irritation.

“I let you have your fun for a moment,” he said, his tone slipping toward venom, “and in return, you decide to sexually harass Ira.”

The tension in the room tightened the second he spoke my name. Relief struck first, followed almost instantly by embarrassment burning beneath my skin. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been waiting for him to come back until he was standing there again, solid and unmistakable.

Anna smiled as though she’d been waiting for that exact reaction, entirely unbothered. “I was only teasing her, my dear brother,” she said lightly, her tone effortless.

Culver didn’t buy it. Not for a second. His hand shot out, fingers closing around her wrist with exact control as he pulled it away from me. His posture shifted into something rigid and territorial, and the sudden possessiveness made my stomach tighten again.

“Teasing and touching,” he said coolly, “are two very different ideas entirely.”