Page 27 of Necromance
I stopped mid-step, my eyes locking on the door. I was done with this. “I’ve had enough of hiding. I’m going out there.”
I moved toward it, determination flooding my every step. The ghosts, the answer to this forsaken curse, and the unanswered questions—they were all waiting. I couldn’t stay cooped up any longer.
But as my hand reached the door handle, it stopped cold. Lucien’s arm shot out, blocking the way.
“I don’t think so, little witch.” His voice was low, controlled. It sent heat coursing through me despite the anger burning in my chest.
I looked up at him, irritation flashing in my eyes. “What are you doing?”
His gaze was steady, but there was something there—something rising just beneath the surface. He leaned in slightly, so close I could feel the heat of him, that magnetic pull that always seemed to bring my pulse racing, the tantalizing scent…
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s too dangerous right now.”
A sharp laugh escaped me, though it held no humor. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you want me to sit here and do nothing?”
He didn’t flinch at my sharp tone. Instead, he stepped closer, andsuddenly, the air between us was thick with something unspoken, a heat that made my breath catch in my throat. “Yes.”
His voice was barely above a whisper now, and yet it reached into me like a caress down my spine. My heartbeat stuttered, a reaction I couldn’t ignore. I tilted my head slightly, trying to read him. “And what exactly do you think I should do instead?”
He paused, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made everything else fade away. For a moment, I forgot the world entirely, trapped in the tension between us.
Then, with that wicked grin of his, he said, “Sit still. Let me help you think.”
My breath hitched. I couldn’t tell if the challenge in his voice was intended, or if something else was simmering beneath it. Whatever it was, I felt it, coiling around my insides.
“You’re insufferable,” I muttered, but even as I said it, my body seemed to lean closer, as if pulled by some invisible thread.
Lucien chuckled softly, the sound rich and dangerous. “So you’ve said before.”
I wanted to snap back with something biting, but his proximity, the warmth of his presence, the way his gaze felt like it was touching me, made it impossible to think clearly. He was too close.
“I need to do something,” I said, my voice quieter now, uncertainty creeping in despite myself.
His lips twitched, and his voice dipped even lower as his gaze trailed to my mouth. “I could think of several ways to keep you occupied.”
Before I could think of a retort, he leaned down, brushing a hand lightly against my arm, his fingers grazing my skin in a touch so subtle it sent a shock of awareness straight to my core.
I froze, my eyes meeting his, both of us acutely aware of the way the air had warmed. Time seemed to stretch, slow, like we were both waiting for the other to make the first move.
But I couldn’t move. Not now, not with him so close.
It felt as though every part of me was caught between pulling away and staying exactly where I was. What would it be like to just lean in and brush my lips against his? Would they be solid like the rest of him? Warm? I’d never kissed a ghost before—or anyone for that matter.
I blinked, my mind scrambling to break free from the haze that had descended over me, making my thoughts cloudy and my pulse quicken with every inch of space that Lucien took up. It was as if the air itself was thick with something unspoken—something dangerous. Ishould have moved away. I knew I should.
But then it hit me.
That damn letter.
The letter from his lover. The words I had read now echoed in my mind like a cold slap to the face. I pulled away from him abruptly, the distance between us suddenly too great and yet too small.
“Rake,” I muttered under my breath, the word slipping out with more venom than I had intended and I cursed the pang of jealousy coiling low in my stomach.
I could almost see the change in his expression as the smile on his lips faltered, the amusement fading into something darker.
“What did you say?” His voice was hard, cold… laced with something akin to annoyance or… something more dangerous.
“Nothing,” I said, taking a few more steps away, putting space between us. The pull of him was intoxicating, but the memory of that letter brought me back to reality, the cool weight of it settling back in my chest. The bitterness gnawed at me again.
