Page 150 of Lured By Shadows

My breath hitched when I turned around and saw Culver at the end of the hallway.

Then the next second, he had pressed himself against me.

My blood stained his hands, but he cupped my mouth and pushed me against him, his body molding to mine with possessive electricity. I shrieked against his palm, my body melting into him while thrashing at the same time. The hard length of his cock pressed insistently into my ass even as I kicked my feet and twisted in his grip. The feel of him stirred a confusing rush of heat low in my belly, mixing with the terror, making my skin flush and my pulse race faster, my nipples pebbling against his arm.

“Oh, I see why Rupert enjoyed when his mate ran from him." Culver inhaled sharply, his cock twitching in his pants, and I felt every bit of it through my fear. “The thrill of chasing you, if only briefly, was pleasurable.”

“Mr. Scarbrough,” the maid bowed.

“We will need fresh sheets come morning, Belinda.” Culver’s voice dipped into an indifferent tone with her, and my body shivered against him, trembling and bare and caught.

I was still thrashing, scraping my manicured nails against his arms, but they couldn’t even leave scratches. My eyes went wild as I tried to plead with Belinda for any kind of help, but his hand stayed clamped over my mouth so tightly I couldn’t get a word out. The coolness of his palm searing against my lips, the taste of my own blood slick on my tongue.

As soon as she was out of sight, he released me completely.

I gasped out, turning around to stare at him. His elongated smile widened further, and I saw the sharp fangs catch the light, glistening wetly.

“What the fuck are you?”

I asked that while backing away from him. He didn’t move. Instead, he watched me with sheer amusement as I tried to put distance between us, my bare heels scuffing against the polished floor. I startled when I pressed against something solid. When I turned toward it, I saw it was just the edge of the hallway, the cool surface biting into my heated skin. I gulped, my eyes fluttering back to where Culver stood unnaturally still, as if carved from stone, his gaze fixed on me with a predator’s patience.

“Gods,” I heard him finally say loudly enough for me to hear. “I should not…” He hummed out, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. “…But it is too thrilling not to. Run, my little lamb. Escape me if you can.”

The low rumble of his voice sent a tremor through my core, a traitorous pulse of heat tangling with the terror. My heart stuttered, and I swore I could hear it skipping beats. My hands scrambled on the wall as I gave one last glance at Culver… the inhuman thing I fell in love with… before kicking my feet back up and running down the hall, the phantom heat of his mouth still lingering on my throat, the ache between my thighs a shameless reminder of what we’d done.

I still had no idea where I was going. The Scarbrough estate was far too big, and I wasn’t great with directions as it was. I was so screwed, and there was no way I was getting out of here alive.

Breathing raggedly, I turned back around as I continued sprinting through the corridors, only to see Culver leisurely keeping pace with me, his long strides effortless and predatory. I gulped in air, squealing out in literal fear, the sound swallowed by the vast hallways.

I was going to be eaten, and my remains were going to be disposed of.

I had to distract him somehow, so I slowed down, my throat dry and uneven. “Answer me! What are you, Culver?”

He tilted his head, and that was the last thing I saw before he vanished in front of my eyes.

I didn’t have much time to comprehend it before I heard his low, husky voice in my ear, his breath ghosting over the shell of it, sending a shiver straight to my core.

“A vampire, my beautiful lamb.”

The nickname sounded eerily close to being his next meal, and a shiver shot down my spine before I spun around to stare at him, my nipples tightening against the chill air.

“A… vampire?”

They weren’t real. Or at least that was what I would have said ten minutes ago, but there he was in front of me. My blood on his fingers, on his mouth, and in his system. The sight of his lips slick with my essence made my stomach clench with twisted hunger. His neon eyes staring at me, the elongated fangs that would pierce into me eventually and drain me of life.

My face paled at the realization, the wetness between my legs chilling as fear swept over the heat.

I jumped back away from him, trailing backward, my bare thighs brushing together. “So what? Are you gonna kill me?”

His eyes widened briefly before settling again. “Gods no, Ira.” His voice settled into despair. “Never would I do such an atrocity. Nor would I allow anyone else to do the same.”

As usual, I didn’t believe him. My trust was fractured, but I faltered.

Because he had so many opportunities to kill me, and he hadn’t. The memory of his mouth on my skin, the way he’d made me moan, warred with the fear tightening in my chest. Maybe he was really toying with me before killing me, but he hadn’t yet.

“Then what do you want from me?” My lips trembled, and I bit down on them to stop it, the pressure sending a pulse of sensation through my body. I continued backing away, though.

He stepped forward, and my heart stuttered in my throat. Anxiety over what would happen next tensed my muscles, but a low, shameful heat pooled in my belly.