Chapter 12
12
T he butler, who’d introduced himself as Dmitri, was waiting for her when Navya stepped out of Armaan’s home gym. Speaking in accented English, he asked her to follow him. The man looked to be in his late fifties and walked with a slight limp. He had a thick mop of salt and pepper hair, and it seemed like he ran the house with an iron fist, considering how every staff member they passed literally squirmed in his presence. She smiled to herself, as she took everything in.
When Navya had walked inside the house an hour back, she’d been so nervous that she’d barely glanced around. But now she could appreciate the sheer magnitude and grandeur of everything around her. The living room was huge. Expensive artwork adorned the walls, soft rugs were spread on the floor, all the furniture, the accessories—everything was perfect. She noticed how a touch of gold was present in every artwork, every rug, and accessory. Even the beige sofas had a few gold cushions on them. The dining table, a massive edifice that sat eighteen, had a golden streak running through the white marble. Everything looked rich and classy.
Dmitri guided her to an open terrace, and from there, down to a garden where Armaan was waiting for her under a white pergola covered with purple and pink bougainvillea flowers. A table for two was set under it, with a pitcher of orange juice on it.
Armaan held a chair for her. Like her, he too had changed and was dressed in white linen pants and a light blue shirt, left loose, its top three buttons undone. His hair was slightly damp, and his jaw held an overnight shadow. Uff. He was a treat to the eyes. A thrill shot down her spine. For the next few days, this gorgeous specimen of a man was going to be solely hers.
“This is beautiful,” she said, taking the seat.
She looked to the side. Much ahead of them, she could see the sea rumbling, its waves foaming and crashing. It truly was stunning.
Crossing her, he took the seat opposite her. At Armaan’s nod, the butler went back into the house.
“He looks intimidating,” Navya remarked of the old butler.
“He is.” Armaan watched Dmitri’s departing form. “He’s been with Alexander for decades, and he chose to work for us after Papa passed. He’s our main butler and dotes on all three of us, but he’s exceptionally fond of Mihir. He stays in whichever of our homes Mihir stays in.”
“How many homes is that?” Navya asked.
“Well, you’ve seen our London home. We own a penthouse in Moscow and a home in the countryside there.” He spread a hand out. “And this is obviously our home here in Dubai.”
Navya looked beyond him. If the house was huge inside, then the outside was even more overwhelming. Three large wings jutted out of a central structure. All the three wings were positioned such that they had equal breath-taking views of the sea behind her.
Noting her interest, Armaan explained, “The left wing is Vedant’s, the middle one is Mihir’s, and the right wing is mine.”
“Impressive.”
As she scanned her surroundings, she noted the armed guards stationed everywhere. From the side, she saw Vasily doing the rounds with two other guards. He’d been called by the guard at the gate when she refused to leave. Even though he’d recognized her, he hadn’t allowed her to enter until he had gotten permission from his bosses. He gave her a slight nod as he passed them.
“Those are our three main guards. The one on the right is Arlo, the left one is Checkov and Vasily is the head of our security,” Armaan explained. “Our fourth guy, Tyrion, is with Vedant in London.”
“Yes, I noticed Arlo is with you always.”
“He’s with me, usually, yes,” Armaan said. “By the way, how do you know Vasily? I’ve been curious about this since that night at our New Year’s Eve party.”
She unfolded a napkin and placed it on her lap. “His girlfriend, Su Min, works as a nurse in the same department as Reina at the hospital. She invited us to the party, via him of course. Actually, I had gone to London to catch the Coldplay concert with Reina, but she was called in to work the night of the concert. So, instead of letting the tickets go to waste, she offered them to Su Min and Vasily. Them inviting us to your party was, I suppose, their way of returning the favor.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know Vasily has a girlfriend, that too in London,” Armaan said. “Why didn’t Vasily or you acknowledge one another when we were dealing with that man who spiked your drink that night?”
“I met him for the first time that night. I thought he didn’t acknowledge me because he was afraid of you.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”
“Hmm. Not sure why he needed to be afraid. He’s worked with us for years, and he’s been our Chief of Security for more than a year now, ever since our old guy retired. We trust him.”
“Could it have anything to do with the scary reputation you brothers choose to maintain?” she asked, her tone sweetly sarcastic.
“My reputation didn’t scare you.”
That was true. She ought to be scared of him. He could probably make her disappear with a wave of his hand. He could have his way with her right here, right now, and no one would to come help her, and yet she knew from the bottom of her soul that he wouldn’t hurt her. To the world, he may be extremely dangerous, but she’d never felt threatened in his presence. In fact, she felt safe around him. Her breath hitched. Shit. Now was not the time to dwell into why she felt like that.
“This is a huge house for just the three of you. Assuming there are only three of you, right?” she asked, deliberately changing the topic.
“Yes, it’s been just the three of us for a long time now.”
Was she imagining it or did his usually calm face freeze for a second? The next moment, however, he smiled and continued, “We like big houses. They afford us the ability to live under one roof and have our individual privacy as well.”
“And the guards? Do you need so many?”
“Being as rich as we are also puts us in the eye of some not-so-nice people. It doesn’t hurt to be careful. Besides, Mihir is too rigid about our security.”
“And do you always do what he says?”
He poured the juice for her. “We listen to each another and always have one another’s back. My brothers are my everything. Look, I know there is bad blood between Ananya and Mihir. However, since I’m not judging her, I’d request that you don’t judge him either.”
“I won’t sit quiet if he threatens me again like he did earlier. In fact, I may just put some of your training lessons to use and hurt him.”
“Sheath your claws, tigress!” Armaan laughed. “I’ll ask him to back off. But you have to understand that his actions and words only come from a place of love.”
His brother was a dick. She was still reeling from how he’d openly threatened her if she hurt Armaan. Please. This between Armaan and her was purely physical and nothing else. No one was going to get hurt. But she did get that Mihir was protective about his brother, the same way Ananya was protective about her. They each didn’t want their sibling to be involved with the other’s sibling. Unfortunately for them, what they wanted didn’t matter here.
She held her glass up, changing the topic. “A toast.”
He grinned and lifted his glass to hers. “To the day you accept that you like me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not this again.”
“You will accept it one day, baby. You already said yes to me today and you’re sitting here with me, exactly as I wanted. Aren’t you feeling good already? Why not agree to give in to everything I say? I promise that you won’t regret it.”
She clinked her glass to his. “Let’s take it one moment at a time.”
A corner of his lips tipped. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?”
“It’s what you like about me,” she replied.
“Oh, I like so much about you, moya tigritsa. ” His voice turned husky as he stared at her. “And there’s so much more I want to do to you.”
Her heart rumbled in agreement. She gave him a flirtatious smile. “There’s so much I want to do with you too.”
His eyes turned dark at her admission. Even the air around them crackled. So quickly, the mood between them shifted from light and easy, to hot and heavy.
He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “All in due time, baby.”
He kept her hand in his, her skin warm from the imprint of his kiss and his touch. God, she was really doing this—dating him and flirting with him. All this was so new to her. Uff, what if she was making a mistake? Doubt poked its questions in her brain, confusing her. She took a few steady breaths. No, this was right.
She lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip. The juice was cool and refreshing. Since she wanted to do this with him, she needed to get to know him better. That was the right way.
“If we are going to date, then I want to know more about you and not what Google can tell me. Tell me something no one knows about you.”
He released her hand. “My brothers know everything about me.”
Dmitri appeared, followed by two women dressed in grey and white maid uniforms. They set a basket of bread on the table and placed a covered plate of food in front of them each. Navya opened her cloche and smiled. Breakfast was a fluffy omelette with veggies on the side. The delicious scent wafted over to her and she realized how hungry she was.
“ Priyatnogo appetita ,” he said.
This one was easy to understand.
“Bon appetit,” she replied.
They both ate their food in silence.
“This is delicious,” she said a few minutes later. “My compliments to your chef.”
He smiled.
“Tell me about your tattoo,” she said. “Is it an anchor?”
“Yes. I noticed you staring at it through the gym mirror earlier.”
She pouted. “Do you always notice everything?”
“About you, yes.”
“What does the tattoo mean?” she queried, her throat thick. It bewildered her as to how he was always so intense about her.
“It means stability, loyalty, and strength. But for us, it is a sign to remain grounded.” He spread his hand out. “That we didn’t have all this at one time, and now that we do, we need to appreciate it every single day of our lives and remain grounded through it all.”
“Us? Do you mean all of you have this tattoo?”
“Yes, we got inked together. I have it on my back, Vedant has it on his arm, and Mihir has it on his chest.”
They returned to their breakfast and there was silence again.
“So, where was I…” Navya said once she was done eating. “Yes, you were telling me something not many people know about you.”
“You’re relentless, aren’t you?” He lowered his chin a fraction. “Ask me something then.”
“All three of you grew up at the orphanage?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In Rishikesh.”
Her eyes rounded. “Whoa. Google has definitely not mentioned this anywhere. Tell me more.”
He shrugged. “It’s not a lot and not very interesting, actually. Life was hard, as you can imagine. We grew up poor, but the orphanage wasn’t bad. It was run by some decent people who actually cared about the kids there. The caretakers were nice, but some of the kids could get nasty. It was survival of the fittest, you see. Anyway, from a very young age, we used to all sleep in the same corner of the room. We bonded with one another very early in life, and learned to depend on each other. We all chose each other over everyone else and protected one another from the other kids. My brothers and…” he took a pause before continuing, “My brothers are my chosen family. That will never change.”
The two maids came to clear their plates and put a pot of coffee on the table.
“Coffee or tea?” Armaan asked.
“Coffee, lots of milk, no sugar.”
He nodded to the staff and they left. He prepared her coffee as she’d instructed and handed her the cup before pouring his own. She saw he took it black with no sugar.
He looked lost in thought. There was something bothering him from their previous conversation. She’d heard the pause in his voice earlier, but for now, she chose not to probe. Anyway, the moment was gone, and she had many other questions to ask. Her curiosity about him had no bounds.
“Why weren’t any of you adopted before, you know…” She spread a hand out. “Before Alexander Oshnov. Weren’t you well in your teens when he took you in?”
“It was just destiny that none of us got adopted as babies.” Armaan looked into the distance. “As we grew older, we promised one another that we’d always be together. Hence, whenever a couple came for adoption, we would purposely behave mischievous or get into a fight with one another. No one wanted to adopt a very naughty child, and hence they didn’t. There were times when we hid also,” he smiled, lost in his memories. “The head matron, Mrs. Braganza, had a soft corner for the four of us, and she soon realized we didn’t want to be separated, so she stopped parading us when someone came in for adoption.”
Her brows knitted in confusion. “You said four.”
His face shut down. “I made a mistake. I meant three.”
She studied him for a moment. “What are you hiding, Armaan?” At his silence, she said. “You just told me that we need to be honest for this to work.”
He remained silent for a long moment before he spoke. “What I’m about to tell you is very private and confidential.”
“Go on.”
His gaze turned serious. “Actually, we have a sister, Karina. She’s lost, and we are trying to locate her.”
Her eyes widened. No wonder he had frozen earlier when he’d spoken of his brothers. “That wasn’t mentioned in any article I read on you all.”
“It’s not something we talk about.” He looked beyond her. “Until recently, we thought she’d run away with someone and didn’t want to be found, but new evidence suggests that he may have sold her off or that she ran away from him and is now either hiding or is living in fear of him. But we will find her soon and be reunited with her one way or the other.”
“And you’re sure she’s alive?”
“We have no option but to believe that.”
She understood his hope and his belief. She caught his hand. “Then I hope you find her, and I hope she’s safe.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “Now, my turn.”
“Hey, I’m not done yet.”
She tried to pull her hand from his, but he held firm.
“Alright, ask,” he said.
“Where did you meet Alexander? How did the richest man in the world decide one day that he wanted to adopt the three of you? There is no information anywhere on that.”
He smiled. “That is a story for another day, moya milaya . Right now, I want to know about you and your family.”
She looked into her cup. “Mom and Dad are great, the best, actually. Mom inherited Poseidon from her father. She helmed it for a very long time until Rajiv took over. Dad was an accountant who decided that one of them needed to be a full-time parent, and hence, he was always there for his kids.”
“That is wonderful.”
“He is wonderful.”
Armaan caressed the top of her hand. “I believe your mom still sits on the board of Poseidon.”
“Yeah, although she’s retired now. She and Dad are very happy traveling and living between Mumbai and Dubai. They head several charities and enjoy socializing with their set.”
“And Rajiv and Sheena have two kids now?”
“Yeah!” she beamed. “Shiven’s three and Nia’s fourteen months old. They’re adorable. We’re all so besotted by them.”
“How nice…” Armaan smiled. “I like kids.”
Something warmed in her chest at his admission. It didn’t matter, she told herself. None of this was for long anyway.
“I’d like to meet your nephew and niece,” Armaan declared.
Navya choked on her breath. “What? Are you mad? You’ve met Rajiv and Sheena twice—the first time was aboard the yacht when you held Sheena and me hostage, and the other time was at that damn fight you challenged my brother into. Both times were less than favorable. Have you forgotten how mad Sheena was with you because Rajiv was hurt during that fight with you?—”
“—that she punched me and kneed me in the groin?” Armaan chuckled. “Of course, I remember. Sheena is a brave woman. I’d like to meet her again sometime, under more favorable circumstances.”
Navya looked at him in disbelief. “There is no way Rajiv would ever agree to even meet you himself, forget letting you meet his wife and kids. He doesn’t like you and trusts you even less.”
His hand tightened around hers. “Yet, you are here with me. If you can grow to like me, why can’t he? You can talk to him and tell him how nice I am.”
She glared at him. “I do not like you yet. This is between you and me, and I’m never talking to Rajiv about you.”
“You will, one day soon.”
“Your confidence is through the roof.” She tried again to pull her hand out of his, but he held tight. She stopped struggling and stared at him. “Armaan, we are not forever.”
“We are for however long we want to be.”
“God, can you give a woman a chance to breathe? You’re so bloody intense. We’ve barely even begun here.”
“The important thing is that we have begun, da ? Who knows where it leads us? I, for one, am open to anything and everything when it comes to you.”
Her heart began to dip and rise like the waves of the sea beyond her. She stared at him agape, not knowing what to say, for she understood exactly what he was saying. He wanted everything from her, but she didn’t want that from him. She didn’t want more. She didn’t want sappy emotions and forever. She didn’t know how to deal with all that. Her past had scarred her permanently, and this man already was making her behave and do things differently. Thanks to him, she was experiencing emotions she’d never felt before. It was all a bit too much.
She tugged her hand. He let her.
She stood. “I have to go.”
Armaan rose from his chair. Moving closer to her, he kissed her cheek gently. “I hope a day comes when you don’t feel the need to run away from me.”
She gulped, unsure of what to say to him.
“I’ll see you here in the morning again, baby,” he said. “Same time tomorrow.”
“Yes,” she murmured, her heart galloping.
She needed to get away from him. Away from his imposing presence and all the intense sentiment he brought with him, which unsettled her so damn much.
Armaan pressed a button on his phone, and Dmitri appeared. The butler guided her to her car silently, where he left her with a small nod.
Once alone, she let out the breath that she’d been holding back. Fuck. How had she gone from hating Armaan Oshnov to not hating him, to not even disliking him, to actually agreeing to sleep with him, and now, to dating him? And she was doing all this knowing her family would be against him.
And he wanted more ? Armaan wanted more . He wanted a real relationship with her; surely that was what he’d been hinting at. That’s why he wanted to meet her brother. Her hands trembled at the thought. No. This was insane. He was never meeting Rajiv. Thankfully, except for Ananya, her full family was out of Dubai. Reina was in London and the rest of them were in Mumbai. She had weeks to enjoy herself with Armaan before her family returned, and she called this off. Armaan Oshnov was her very own guilty pleasure, a secret she never intended to share with anyone ever.
Thus, it didn’t matter that he had laid his cards on the table and she knew what they were. She had her own cards in hand, and that was how she was going to play in this hot, sexy, and exciting game she’d begun with him—on her terms.
Not his. Never his.