Page 104 of Lured By Shadows

“When is our wedding, my little lamb?” he murmured, mischief threading through the words, playful on the surface but edged with something that didn’t feel entirely like a joke.

Heat crawled up my neck, quick and embarrassing.

“How about you worry about the wedding that’s actually happening?” I muttered, cheeks burning as I tried to salvage my dignity. “She’s the one who deserves the attention on her big day.”

Anna giggled from her seat, lounging with the kind of elegance that felt almost hereditary at this point.

“What a stunning pair you make,” she said.

I looked away before I could combust.

Culver didn’t let up. His smirk deepened as he tracked my reaction, his eyes always a little too observant. I stood abruptly and elbowed him in the side. Not that it did anything. He absorbed it with effortless ease, which only made me want to elbow him again.

“I don’t see it,” I declared firmly, as if saying it loud enough would make it true for both of us.

His voice dropped, slower now, the cadence shifting.

“What exactly is there to deny?” he asked, his gaze pinning mine. “We suit each other perfectly.”

My heart stumbled.

It shook me, not because it felt wrong, but because some stubborn, sneaky part of me was already nodding along, wanting it to be true.

“I’ll deny it until the day I die,” I snapped, folding my arms and looking anywhere but at him. It was meant to sound sharp and defensive. Instead, it came out too honest, a little scared… like a kid refusing to name something they already knew.

Both of them laughed in sync, and I puffed my cheeks. I didn’t get the joke. Their shared laughter made me feel like I was missing something, like there was a whole language being spoken around me that I couldn’t quite understand.

Instead of saying anything else, I drifted toward the far side of the room, where paintings and sculptures waited in curated stillness.

It was easier to focus on things that didn’t look back.

I let my gaze skim over canvases and metalwork, pretending to understand them when really I was just trying to get my ribcage to stop buzzing. Their laughter lingered faintly in the background, ghostlike and persistent, until silence finally settled again.

I didn’t hear footsteps, but I felt him.

His breath brushed the shell of my ear. “We can return another time to admire the art, if you would prefer.”

I startled, jerking slightly. “Jump-scaring me costs you points,” I muttered, refusing to look at him.

A quiet, amused chuckle followed, unhurried, like my reactions were his favorite form of entertainment. “And how many points have I lost?”

“You’re in the negatives,” I grumbled as we neared the stairs. “Which means I officially dislike you.”

“Does it?” he mused, his accent curling around me.

Heat flared without permission, and I nearly squeaked. He wasn’t touching me, but it felt like he was.

He laughed again, clearly noting the flush on my cheeks. I clenched my fist and nudged his arm harder.

“I swear, I’m gonna beat you up.”

“So violent,” he drawled, mock-offended.

I huffed, trying to hold onto my irritation despite the smile tugging at my mouth.

“I couldn’t actually hurt you,” I shot back. “It probably wouldn’t even faze you.”

“Hm. We may not know unless you try,” Culver replied, his gaze lowering to meet mine. “Physically speaking, of course.”