Page 44 of Lured By Shadows

He stayed still only for a moment before his hand slid around the back of my head, fingers twitching lightly against me as he drew me closer. His body leaned in too, his thigh brushing mine. Tingles raced up my back while my heartbeat drummed unevenly in my chest. Our foreheads touched, and somehow I managed not to combust on the spot.

“Why do you insist on apologizing?” he murmured. “Your touch is far from unwanted.”

His cool breath mingled with mine. If either of us closed the slightest distance, we’d be kissing.

My eyes dipped to his lips before flicking back up. Absolutely not. My brain was a liar. A terrible, terrible liar.

“Well…” I held his gaze, trying to read whatever hid beneath that impossible calm. “You left so fast that I… thought I did something really bad.”

He smirked, his nose brushing mine. “You know exactly why I had to go, Ira.”

The way he said it was maddeningly vague on purpose. Classic Culver.

Unfortunately, my imagination filled in the blanks anyway.

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling, but the image still surfaced: Culver alone behind that door, jaw tight, hand working rough and fast around his cock just to burn off enough tension to come back and look at me without losing control. It was dramatic, ridiculous, and embarrassingly effective.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced the thought away before it dragged me under completely, though my body clearly hadn’t gotten the memo. I shifted slightly on the cushion, trying to ease the ache building between my thighs. “Like, I might have an idea,” I muttered, still half trapped in the mental image, “but I can’t be too sure. I guess I’ll keep that question to myself…”

“It would be thrilling if you asked what’s on your mind,” he chuckled, finally pulling back, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

“You’d end up telling me that you were jerking off to the thought of my hand on your dick,” I said, folding my arms across my chest and puffing my cheeks in a weak attempt to hide my spiraling thoughts. “Pervert.”

Unfortunately, it was becoming a very attractive personality trait.

“Seems as if we were both thinking about it,” he hummed without a trace of embarrassment, though desire brightened his eyes.

I couldn’t think of a comeback fast enough. How was he always able to make me feel like some innocent schoolgirl? No. No way. I was a grown woman… technically.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I reached out and slid my hand between his legs. My fingers brushed against the cushion beneath him. His eyes lifted slightly in surprise, and I watched his Adam’s apple shift as he swallowed.

“If you’re trying to tease me,” I whispered, fighting to keep my voice steady, “it won’t work.”

It was absolutely working.

I nudged my hand forward just an inch until it barely brushed against his pants. The tiny contact was enough to make his breath hitch while still letting me cling to the last scraps of my sanity.

“Ira,” he warned, his voice rough.

Then his hand closed gently around my wrist. He tugged it slightly toward where his cock rested beneath his jeans, not far enough to fully guide me there but enough to make the implication painfully clear.

“Are we making it to dinner?” Probably not emotionally.

I wanted to say no. I wanted to see just how far he would go, but I nodded instead because I was more than a little hungry… for more than just food. Still, I knew my short-tempered, sleep-deprived brain wouldn’t survive another hour without something actually nutritious.

“I guess so.”

He chuckled, shaking his head slowly. “I almost thought you were going to tell me to forget about dinner.”

“And would you?” I quirked a brow.

He paused, then rose smoothly and held out his hand for me to take. His eyes gleamed down at me. “I would still have dinner,” he said calmly. “However, the contents would be slightly different.”

Sir. Please act right for five minutes.

I hesitated, chewing on my bottom lip while my pulse stumbled unevenly again. I knew he was just a perverted man, but part of me kept wanting to believe there was something genuine beneath all the teasing. Instead of dwelling on it, I slipped my hand into his and forced myself to focus elsewhere. His touch soothed me almost instantly, easing the tension in my body little by little until my nerves stopped buzzing quite so loudly. My fingers tingled where they twined with his, but the sensation was strangely calming.

“I’m nervous,” I admitted quietly. “It sounds like everyone’ll be there.”