Riah swallowed, fingers tightening around her phone, she could hear him breathing… slow, steady, too intimate.
"Say it, vixen," he murmured.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
"I—I'm not saying anything," she whispered, voice embarrassingly soft.
Lucian exhaled sharply — not loud, but enough for her to hear the way it punched through him.
"Your not red…. again… right… or are you?"
"I—I'm not" Riah murmured softy, her cheeks flushed red, with the thought:how did he know that.
"I don't need to see you," he said. "I can hear it. The way your voice shakes? The way you keep catching your breath? That tells me enough." Lucian replied as if he heard her thoughts, heat rushed up Riah's neck, she pressed her pillow over her face for a second, muffling a tiny squeal before returning to the call,
"I-I don't sound like that," she managed.
"Yes you do," he murmured, "Your voice gets soft when you lie." His voice dipping.
Riah turned fully onto her back, staring at the ceiling in pure disbelief.
"So tell me the truth now…. Little vixen.."
Her breath trembled, silence stretched for half a heartbeat, his voice soothing as if compelling to tell him what she felt, her deep, dark feelings and then she whispered, without even knowing she had
"I… thought about you."
Lucian groaned — lowly
but enough for her to hear the way it punched through him.
"Yeah?" His voice dipped into something sinful. "Tell me."
Riah swallowed, her fingers twisting the bedsheet.
"You kept… replaying in my head."
"Which part?" he asked, Slow. Teasing.
He knew exactly what he was doing to her.
Riah pressed her forehead to her pillow.
"When you… carried me. When your hand was on my waist. When you pulled me close." She stated shy like a teenager confessing her feeling for her crush.
Lucian groaned — low, rough, like he was dragging his palm over his jaw.
Riah's toes curled.
"Lucian…" Riah called out gently
"Mhm."He sounded like he was leaning back on something, tension easing but desire rising.
"What else did you think about, little vixen?"
"I can't say it," she breathed.
"You can," he murmured, voice like velvet sliding over heat. "I want you to."
Her cheeks burned.
"I… imagined what it would feel like if—"
"If I kissed you?" he finished for her, voice dark and hungry. Her breath hitched so hard she almost dropped the phone,
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
Lucian's inhale was sharp… then slow… then dangerous.
"H…how'd y…you know.?" Her breath came out shaky.
"I just do… vixen" a low, satisfied sigh escaped his lips
"Lucian…"she called out shyly
"You don't have to be shy with me," he said softly. " I like how my name falls out from your lips, I like hearing you call my name, I just like knowing that I'm the reason…. your voice shakes"
She bit her lip, to the fine words that came right out of his mouth " I don't know what your talking about"
Lucian chuckles inwardly " you're the reason I won't be able to sleep today."
She choked on air. "I— no— I mean—I'm sure… that's not true"
He hummed, slow and sinful. "It is"
"If I told you I'm thinking about you right now… you'd go shy again, wouldn't you?"
Riah's toes curled.
"I'm not shy," she whispered.
" ok if you say so vixen" Lucian murmured in a husky low. Soft tone
" Lucian thank you again for today… erm my leg the balm worked… thanks" Riah said feeling grateful
" erm I don't feel pain anymore just a bit swollen, what's in the balm… how did it work so fast" she added
"Curious?" Lucian's voice poured through the speaker — low, smooth, amused.
She swallowed. "I mean… yeah. I've never used anything that works like that."
A soft rumble of a chuckle vibrated in her ear.
"I'm glad it worked," he said.
"That's all that matters."
"That's not an answer," she whispered, frowning even though he couldn't see her.
"It's the only one you're getting."
Then, in that soft, slow tone that always made her toes curl:"Now… you should rest."
A pause — deliberate, teasing.
"Goodnight, little vixen."
Her breath hitched at the pet name.
"Lucian…"
"Hm?"he replied lazily
"You can't just say things like that."
He chuckled — a deep, sinful sound that slid down her spine.
"That's exactly why I say them."
The line went quiet, leaving her heart racing and her mind full of him.
Riah stared at the ceiling, the phone still pressed to her ear even though the call had ended. Her pulse thudded wildly—her whole body warm and awake in a way that made sleep feel impossible, slowly she lowered the phone to her chest, clutching it like it was the only thing grounding her.
"Goodnight," she whispered to no one.
But her cheeks burned. Her lips tingled. And her heart… wouldn't slow down, she rolled onto her side, burying half her face into her pillow as if she could hide from the fact that Lucian—Lucian—had just said all that. To her. About her. Because of her, and the way he said her name…
Her toes curled again, she stayed like that for minutes—breathing in, breathing out, trying to steady herself. But every time she closed her eyes she heard his voice again, low and sinful in her ear:
If I told you I'm thinking about you… you'd go shy again, wouldn't you?
"Stop," she whispered into her pillow, flustered. "Oh my God."
Her phone buzzed suddenly.
She jumped.
It wasn't a call, just a notification. But her stupid heart still somersaulted like it expected him again, she placed the phone gently on her bedside table, turned off her lamp, and curled beneath her blanket. But the darkness didn't help—if anything it made everything sharper. More vivid, the just like you were when I first started to get get the the idea that the world is so beautiful that I could no warmth in her chest.
The memory of his voice, the way he had groaned when she said she thought about him, her fingers lightly touched her lips before she could stop herself.
"…Lucian," she breathed into the dark—just testing how it sounded, how she sounded.
Her breath hitched.
She shut her eyes tight, sleep slowly tugged at her, soft and heavy.
But the last thing she felt before drifting off…
was the phantom sensation of him whispering in her ear,
Goodnight, little vixen.