Chapter 13: Silent Dinners

The staircase incident stayed with me all afternoon. Every time I moved, the memory sent a confusing rush through me. I tried to read in the library, but the words blurred on the page. I tried walking in the garden, but my mind kept drifting back to the heat of his body behind mine and the rough edge in his voice when he told me to watch my step.

By six-thirty, Mrs. Hale knocked softly on my door. “Mr. Draven requests your presence at dinner tonight, miss. Seven o’clock in the dining room.”

I sighed. “Tell him I’ll be there.”

I changed into a simple dress, nothing too fancy. When I walked into the dining room, Lucian was already seated at the head of the table. He looked up as I entered, his eyes scanning me briefly before returning to the glass of wine in front of him.

“Sit down,” he said, voice flat.

I pulled out the chair across from him and sat. Mrs. Hale served the food quietly. The smell was nice, but my appetite was nowhere to be found. The tension from earlier still hung thick in the air between us.

We ate in silence for the first several minutes. I kept my eyes mostly on my food, but I could feel him watching me. His gaze felt heavier tonight, lingering on my face, my hands, the way I held my fork.

I decided to try breaking the silence. “The food is really good tonight,” I said quietly.

Lucian took a sip of wine. “It’s standard.”

I tried again. “Did your meetings go well today?”

“They were fine.” He cut another piece of salmon, his movements precise and controlled. “Eat, Aurora. Don’t talk just to fill the quiet.”

The words stung, but I nodded and took another bite. The silence returned, even heavier now. I could feel the weight of it pressing on my chest. After a few more minutes, I tried one last time.

“I spent some time in the garden earlier,” I said. “The flowers are starting to bloom. It’s nice out there.”

Lucian set his knife down. His eyes met mine directly. “I don’t need a weather report or a garden update. Just eat your dinner.”

I looked down at my plate, cheeks burning. “Sorry. I was just trying to… never mind.”

He didn’t respond. We finished most of the meal like that, uncomfortable silence broken only by the occasional short command from him.

“Pass the water.”

I passed it. Our fingers brushed slightly when he took the pitcher. He didn’t react, but I felt that familiar spark again.

Halfway through, I shifted in my seat to reach for more rice. My leg accidentally brushed against his under the table. I started to pull back immediately, but Lucian didn’t move his leg. Instead, his calf pressed lightly against mine and stayed there.

My breath caught. The contact was warm through our clothes. Small, but impossible to ignore. Neither of us said anything. The silence above the table remained cold and proper, but under it, the pressure of his leg against mine built quiet electricity between us.

I waited for him to pull away. He didn’t. After several long seconds, he slowly shifted his leg again, pressing it more deliberately against mine. The movement was subtle, but intentional. Heat spread up my thigh from the point of contact. My heart started beating faster. I glanced up at him.

Lucian was already looking at me. His eyes were darker now, stormy. His jaw was tight, like he was fighting something inside himself.

We stayed like that for what felt like forever, legs pressed together under the table while everything on top remained coldly polite.

Finally, I pulled my leg back slowly. Lucian’s expression didn’t change, but I saw his hand tighten around his wine glass for a moment.

The rest of the meal passed in that same heavy silence. I tried one more small question near the end.

“Are you working late again after this?” I asked softly.

His eyes flicked up to mine. “That’s none of your concern.”

The rejection hurt more than I expected. I nodded and finished the last bites on my plate. When Mrs. Hale came to clear the dishes, Lucian stood up immediately.

“Goodnight, Aurora,” he said, his voice low and rough.

He turned and walked out of the dining room without waiting for a reply, heading straight toward his study.

I sat there alone for a long while after he left, staring at the empty chair across from me. Every time we touched, my body reacted before my mind could catch up. I hated it. I hated how I found myself waiting for the next accidental moment, even while part of me still feared him.

I eventually went back to my room and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The devil I married was becoming harder and harder to understand. Cold commands at dinner, but deliberate touches under the table. Icy silence, but eyes that lingered too long. I didn’t know which version of him was more dangerous, the cruel one or the one who couldn’t seem to stop touching me.

Lucian’s Pov

I closed the study door behind me and leaned against it, breathing harder than I should have been. My leg still remembered the warmth of hers under the table. I had meant to pull away when she brushed against me. Instead, I pressed closer. Deliberately. Like some part of me was losing control.

“Fuck,” I muttered, walking to the desk and pouring a strong drink.

I sat down and rubbed my face. This obsession was getting worse every single day. The way she tried to make conversation tonight, even after I shut her down. I wanted to do so much more than brush her leg. I wanted to pull her across the table, grip that curvy waist again, and taste her mouth.

I downed the drink in one go and slammed the glass down.

I brought her here to protect her. Not to crave her like this. Not to lose sleep thinking about how she would feel under me.

But every small touch made the fight harder. Every time she looked at me with those confused, innocent eyes, it chipped away at my control.

I opened my laptop and pulled up the security feed out of habit. There she was in her room, lying on the bed with that thoughtful expression.

I clenched my fists on the desk until my knuckles turned white.

I had to stay in control. For her sake as much as mine.

But as I watched her on the screen, I knew the battle was becoming impossible to win.