Chapter 3
3
A rmaan still couldn’t believe she was standing in front of him. Every inch of him had come alive on seeing her in the camera feed on his iPad. But now, standing in front of her, seeing her this close, his whole body was sighing in pleasure, welcoming her back into his world. His fingers were tingling with the urge to touch her, to hold her, and to keep her close. His eyes wouldn’t stop running over her, taking her in. Fuck. He was behaving poetically, when he was the last person to behave as such. Life had taught him too many hard lessons to have time for frivolities like that. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what spell this woman had cast on him that only she could trigger this intense reaction from him.
He’d seen beautiful women aplenty. He’d even bedded many of them. But, Navya, his wild tigress… she was something else. Her creamy skin was the perfect tone of warm gold that he liked. Her dark hair fell in beautiful waves to the middle of her back. Her doe-shaped eyes were the colour of warm cocoa. Her cheeks and nose were red, presumably from the cold, and her lips were painted a pale rose. But what he liked the most was that defiant chin. Tipped up the way it was, she gave off the impression that she gave a fuck about the world. How he liked that… so much. Stunning. She was stunning.
Like him, she was dressed fully in black. She’d teamed her short skirt with a shiny roll-neck black sweater, black leggings, and thigh-high black boots. On top of all this, she wore a long, black suede jacket. She was dressed simply, and except for the skin of her face and neck, not a single sliver of skin showed anywhere—even her hands were covered in soft black gloves. And yet, everything about her was undeniably sexy. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way her eyes flared in anger, all of it was too damn sexy.
He liked how unfazed she’d been while she’d watched him deal with that awful man. She hadn’t cowered in fear. She’d observed the whole thing with an air of cold indifference. In his work, men like that had to be dealt with, or else they returned to haunt you at another time. And Navya, it seemed, shared his opinion. She hadn’t batted an eye when he’d instructed his security to break his legs. How very fearless of her. Nice. He liked it.
Her expression hardened as she caught him staring at her. And then her jaw lifted up. This… this defiance in her was what he probably found the most appealing. It called to his own rebellious streak. And her eyes—good God, molten fire was streaking through them. His imagination ran wild as to how he could channel that spirit and anger into passion.
Damn. Navya Mehra was bloody perfect. He still hadn’t forgotten how she’d turned around and slapped him the first time they’d met. No woman had ever done that to him. He’d known then that she was a firebrand. One whose fire he’d desperately wanted to stoke and burn in, but hadn’t been given the chance. And now… Now, a whole new possibility had emerged.
He knew it in his gut that she, too, was attracted to him. Even now, her chest was rising and falling when they stood close. Her eyes kept drifting away from him, and then right back at him as if she was trying hard to stop herself from checking him out but was unable to do so. Yes, Navya Mehra definitely was attracted to him, even though she’d never accept it. Hence, it made him wonder what she was doing at his party in the first place.
“Did you miss me, moya tigritsa ? Is that why you gate-crashed my party again?” His words cut into the silence.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “Don’t give yourself so much credit. I was invited here.”
“And yet I don’t recall sending you an invite.”
“ You didn’t invite me, one of your staff members did. Until some time ago, I didn’t know it was your party. In fact, I was trying to leave the second I learned that, but then that awful man spiked that girl’s drink, and I couldn’t keep quiet.”
“So, you stayed and saved that girl, knowing that you might run into me. Interesting.”
“It’s really not,” she said flatly. “Had that man not created a scene, I would have been far away from here by now.”
“You thought you had to run away from me, da ? I’m flattered to know that I affect you so much.”
“You don’t.” She pursed her lips. “Can I go now?”
“ Nyet . No. Not yet.”
“Excuse me,” she said sharply. “What do you mean not yet ? Are you holding me hostage again? Is that why you’re not letting me leave?”
“Hostage, nyet . The thought is tempting, however, I have too much on my plate to try and negotiate with your brother?—”
“Keep my brother out of this, whatever this is,” she snapped. “If I’m not your hostage, then I want to leave.”
“Not so fast. Have you forgotten that you owe me a debt, moya tigritsa .”
“ Don’t call me that. I have a name; use it. And I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
He knew it, and she knew it, that she and he had made a deal. That the only reason he hadn’t collected on it and stayed away from her was because Mihir had given his word to her brother. But here she was, back in his path and pretending as if it was just another happy coincidence that he’d simply let pass. It wasn’t, and he wouldn’t.
“Allow me to remind you that you agreed to spend one night with me if I went easy on your brother in the fighting ring. I fulfilled my end of the bargain; you are yet to fulfil yours.”
A sharp exhale escaped her lips. When she opened her mouth to speak, he held up a hand, cutting her off. “If you’re going to tell me about the deal that Mihir made with your brother, then you ought to know that that deal became null and void the second you stepped onto my property. So, let’s talk about how you’re going to pay my debt.”
“Why?” she asked, her eyes round. “Why me? A man like you, who’s rich, successful, and good looking, can get any woman he wants.”
He grinned. “You think I’m good looking, hmm.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is that the only thing you heard in that sentence?”
“Yes.”
“I really don’t like you.”
And he liked her a bit too much. Standing this close to her, breathing in her soft floral scent, was already messing with his body. He knew without a doubt that she’d be as bold in bed as she was in real life. And he couldn’t wait to explore her passion.
She sucked her lower lip, thinking. Finally, she asked, “What’s it going to take to get out of this deal with you?”
“It’s cute that you think you’ll get out of it.”
She glared at him.
He raised his hands in the air. “Alright, alright. Why don’t you join me for the rest of the party? Stay and spend some time with me, and then we can talk about the deal and letting you leave.” He checked the time on his watch. “It’s my birthday in forty-five minutes. I’d really like you to wish me.”
“How about I wish you forty-five minutes in advance and leave.”
“ Nyet . My house, my birthday, my rules.”
“Then I’ll gladly say fuck you to all of the above and leave, nonetheless.”
He chuckled. “I like how you continue to think you are in control here.”
Before she could respond, the door opened, and his brothers walked in. They looked at her first, and then at him.
“We heard what happened,” Vedant said, speaking in Russian.
“And we saw that she’s involved in it,” Mihir added. “We came to check and ensure you don’t do something stupid.”
“Why will I do something stupid?”
“Because it’s you,” Vedant deadpanned. “And when it comes to her, you don’t think with your head.”
Armaan looked at Navya. “You’re right. There is something about her… Nonetheless, I’m handling the situation. And her.”
Navya crossed her arms over her chest, her annoyed gaze alternating between the brothers as they continued to speak in Russian.
“She is gutsy, I have to give her that,” Mihir said. “We saw the footage of her breaking that man’s nose. Very impressive and brave.”
“That she is…” Armaan’s eyes didn’t leave her. “Have you learned who the man was and who invited him? I cannot believe he had the guts to bring drugs to our party.”
“Vasily said that he was hired as one of the service staff. He came here and decided he wanted to be a guest instead,” Mihir said. “He’s been dealt with.”
“So, no connection to Ivan?” Armaan asked, watching the frustration grow on Navya’s face.
“Thankfully not,” his elder brother replied.
“Why is she here, though?” Vedant asked. “She knows better than to cross paths with us.”
“She says that she didn’t know it was our party,” Armaan replied.
Vedant picked up his phone and tapped into it. “The entry logs show that she and her sister are guests of Vasily.”
Armaan blinked. Huh? Strange that Vasily and Navya had not acknowledged each other earlier.
“Which sister ?” Mihir’s voice had taken on a dangerous edge.
Armaan chuckled. Mihir had that predatory look on his face, like he just needed to hear the name, and he’d go hunt for his prey.
“It’s the third one,” Vedant intoned naughtily. “It’s not the one you want, brother.”
The tension immediately left Mihir’s shoulders. “What makes you think I want her? I don’t.”
“If you insist,” Armaan teased.
Navya clucked her tongue. “Don’t you guys know it’s rude to speak in a foreign language in front of someone who doesn’t understand the said language? Be decent enough to talk in English.”
Armaan grinned. God, he liked her spunk. Even knowing their reputation, she wasn’t afraid in the least.
“Very well,” Vedant said, switching to English. “I’d like to meet the third Mehra sister.”
“Absolutely not,” she shot out.
“Why not?” Vedant said. “Both my brothers have been taken in by a Mehra sister. I’d like to see if the third one has a similar impact on me.”
Navya gave him a scathing look, but before she could say anything, Mihir said, “The Mehra sisters are nothing but trouble. At any other time, I would have said go for it. However, right now, we don’t need the headache they bring into our lives.”
“Fucking assholes, all of you,” Navya said aloud. She looked at Mihir. “No wonder Ananya left you.”
Mihir stilled, his face ablaze with fury now. Vedant immediately shared a concerned look with Armaan.
Fuck. This woman really didn’t have any sense of self-preservation. She shouldn’t have antagonized his brother the way she had. Mihir was a hazard when it came to Ananya. There was unfinished history between him and Navya’s elder sister. She was a line even Vedant and he knew not to cross with Mihir. Armaan stepped forward.
“Relax, brother,” he said in Russian. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Let it go.”
Mihir exhaled and replied in Russian as well, “Fine. I want her gone.”
Vedant snorted. “The more important question is does he want her gone?”
“You guys carry on,” Armaan said, switching to English. “I’ll join you soon.”
“Let her go, Armaan. I really don’t want to go into battle with Rajiv Mehra right now,” Mihir continued in English. “You know we have too much going on, so don’t get her involved in your life. More importantly, no good will come from getting entangled with a Mehra sister. Trust me, I know.”
They did have too much on their plate right now. They had to find Karina, and they had to be on their guard because of Ivan. And this was added to the huge business responsibility they each had. Also, involving himself with Navya would definitely end up being a sore point with Mihir, who still carried a torch for Ananya, even if he pretended that he didn’t. Letting Navya go would be the right thing to do… the good thing.
Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t good at all.
He was bad. So very bad.