Sienna
I just stared at him, my heart thundering in my chest like it was trying to break free. Everything was spinning inside me. The way Lucian looked at me—it wasn’t teasing anymore. It wasn’t flirtatious or laced with that usual smug charm he always wore like a second skin.
No. This was different.
His gaze held a quiet intensity. His eyes weren’t searching—they were certain. Like he’d already made his decision. Like he was waiting for me to catch up to it.
I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. There was a thick silence stretching between us, not awkward but charged—buzzing like static just before a lightning strike. The air around us grew heavy, warm, intimate in a way that made me hyperaware of every point where our bodies connected.
I hadn’t even realized I was still holding his hand. Or maybe he was the one holding mine. I looked down at our joined fingers—his thumb lightly stroking over my knuckles. The motion was subtle, tender. It made my breath hitch.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured, voic
