Scarlet in the Shadows

VIII. The Pull of the Night

As we walked toward Callum’s car, the cool night air swept over my skin, but the warmth of the alcohol was still there, thrumming under the surface. I could feel it mingling with something else, something deeper and more urgent. The conversation with Callum had been unexpectedly... magnetic. His warnings about Elijah only seemed to stir up more questions, making me wonder what exactly he knew, or thought he knew. But beneath that curiosity, I felt another pull.

Something raw, something physical.

God, I’m horny.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought, though the realization made me bite my lip. It had been, what, five, maybe six months since I’d last let myself indulge in something like this? Since I’d let my body take the lead instead of my mind constantly keeping me on edge, guarded? The chaos my stalker brought into my life—him, always lurking in the back of my mind—had caused everything to unravel. My whole life had been in disarray. I’d fled the city, left everything behind, even the small pockets of normalcy I’d managed to carve out.

Including Ted.

Ted had been easy. A guy from this quaint bookstore I found in the heart of the city. He had this quiet charm about him, a bookish sort of appeal that I couldn’t resist. But it was never anything serious. What we had was pure body heat—raw and uncomplicated. A release, nothing more. It had kept me grounded when everything else around me was spinning out of control. And then the stalker happened, and my world cracked open. I lost contact with Ted when I moved here. I shut my phone off, ditched social media. I needed the silence, the disconnect.

But here I was now, standing next to Callum, feeling that old familiar ache stirring inside me, like some dormant flame flickering back to life. His presence was magnetic—more than I wanted to admit. The way his eyes flickered over me, his subtle yet confident smile, the way his fingers brushed my arm as we walked. It was all making it harder to focus on anything but the heat building between us.

I glanced up at him as we reached his car, the moonlight catching the sharp angles of his jaw, highlighting the intensity in his eyes. There was something in the way he looked at me, something that made my pulse quicken.

“Are you sure you want to go for a drive?” he asked, his voice low, the playful edge still there, but underneath it, I could feel the current of something else. Something more dangerous.

I leaned against the side of his car, letting the cold metal press against my skin, my lips curving into a teasing smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Callum’s gaze dipped to the curve of my dress, the way it clung to me, leaving little to the imagination. He was doing a terrible job at hiding the fact that his thoughts were straying the same way mine were.

“Just wanted to make sure,” he murmured, stepping closer. The warmth of his body, the scent of him—whiskey, musk, and something that was just Callum—washed over me, and I felt the tension between us intensify.

The last thing I needed right now was another complication. But maybe that was exactly what this was. A beautiful, reckless complication. My life had been spiraling for so long that I’d forgotten what it felt like to be spontaneous, to let myself give in to something without thinking it through. To let my body speak louder than my mind.

And tonight, my body was loud.

I ran my fingers lightly along the edge of my dress, feeling the silky fabric against my skin, feeling the way Callum’s eyes followed the movement. I wasn’t the same Scarlet who fled the city, terrified and broken. I was rediscovering the bold, fearless version of me—the one who chased moments like this. The one who didn’t second-guess every little thing.

I wanted this. The thrill, the heat, the moment of escape from everything that had weighed me down.

“You’re looking at me like you’ve got something on your mind,” Callum said, stepping even closer, his voice a low rumble that sent a shiver through me.

I let out a soft laugh, tilting my head slightly as I looked up at him. “Maybe I do.”

His gaze darkened, his eyes locking on mine, and for a moment, the world around us seemed to shrink. It was just us. Just the hum of desire between us.

“And what’s that?” he asked, his voice now barely more than a whisper, though it carried enough weight to make my breath catch.

I closed the small distance between us, our bodies almost touching now, my pulse racing. I could feel the steady beat of my heart in my chest, in my throat, in the way my skin tingled with every brush of his gaze. “Why don’t you take me somewhere, and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Callum’s lips curled into a knowing smirk, and without another word, he opened the car door for me. I slipped inside, feeling the cool leather under my legs, but even that couldn’t temper the heat I felt. When he climbed in next to me, the car seemed smaller, the air thicker, charged with the anticipation of what was to come.

The engine roared to life, and as we pulled out of the lot, the night stretched out before us like a promise—dark, full of secrets, and waiting to be uncovered.

I glanced at him, catching the way his jaw tensed slightly as he drove, his fingers gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary. The silence between us was thick, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was filled with all the things neither of us were saying.

We left the pub behind, and soon, the town of Havenwood was fading into the distance, replaced by winding roads and the dark shadows of the trees. I could feel the anticipation building with every mile we drove, the tension growing as the lights of the town disappeared completely, leaving only the moon to guide us.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked, my voice soft in the quiet of the car.

Callum glanced at me, his eyes glittering in the dark. “Someplace quiet. Away from the town.”

The excitement I felt twisted into something more primal. I could see it in the way he looked at me, the hunger that mirrored my own. The air between us crackled with the kind of tension you couldn’t ignore.

“Good,” I whispered, leaning back in my seat, my fingers trailing lightly over the smooth leather. The alcohol, the attraction, the mystery of the night—it all swirled together, clouding my judgment, drowning out the voice in my head that told me this was reckless.

But maybe reckless was what I needed.

We pulled off the road, the car coming to a slow stop near a small lake. The moon’s reflection shimmered on the water’s surface, casting a soft glow over everything. Callum killed the engine, and for a moment, we just sat there, the silence wrapping around us.

I could feel my heart pounding, feel the heat rising between us again, stronger than before. He turned to me, his eyes dark and intense, and before I could say anything, he leaned over, his hand resting on my thigh, sending a jolt of electricity through me.

“This… is what you wanted, isn’t it?” His voice was low, a challenge, a promise.

I nodded, unable to find the words. But my body knew exactly what it wanted.