CHAPTER 68! LOVE #2
I gasped, a small sound escaping my throat as the heat between us flared. His hand slid up the curve of my jaw, cupping it gently to hold me still while a soft whimper caught in my chest.
"Aryav..." I breathed against his lips.
He didn't stop. Than I remember his hand, he didn't care about his bleeding hand or the pain. My entire body trembled against his.
"Aryav... you're bleeding..." I managed to say.
He pulled back just enough for his lips to brush mine.
"Let's go back to the room," I pleaded softly. "Heal your wound."
He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes closed. "Heal it, Aadhira."
"Yes, let's go-"
"You are my cure," he murmured.
Then his mouth claimed mine again. This time, the kiss was possessive and desperate, like a man who had been starving for years and had finally been given permission to feed.
My knees nearly gave out against him-he was too intense, too overwhelming, but my body responded to every touch.
When my strength finally failed, he caught me before I could slide down, pulling me against his bare chest until there was no space left between us.
He broke the kiss, glanced at the table behind us, and lifted me smoothly, setting me down on the edge of the dark wood.
"Aryav..."
He didn't answer. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.
Slowly, he unbuttoned the lower half of my shirt, exposing my stomach to the cool air. He lowered himself, his hands gripping my waist firmly as he pressed his face against my belly.
"Ah-Ary..." A broken sound escaped me, and I gripped his shoulders tightly.
He lifted his face slowly, searching my eyes for a moment before looking back down. His thumb stroked the smooth skin of my stomach, and then he leaned forward, pressing his warm lips directly over my navel.
He rested his mouth there for a beat before sucking the sensitive spot softly.
My legs went completely weak, a quiet gasp escaping my lips. "Uhh..."
He didn't pull away. He kissed the skin of my belly, biting down lightly until pleasure and pain blurred together, before soothing the spot with his tongue.
A low sound echoed deep in his chest as whatever restraint he was holding onto snapped completely.
Finally, he stood up, pressing his forehead back against mine as he let out a long, unsteady breath. His arms pulled me closer, holding me so tightly against his chest that barely any air passed between us.
"So you're not as unaffected as you seemes?" I whispered, pressing a light kiss to his jaw.
"You have no idea," he murmured near my ear.
"Maybe I do."
"No, you don't." He went quiet for a moment, his voice dropping very low. "If you really knew what I think about you, you would have run away from me a long time ago."
A strange chill ran through me at his words. Realizing his words has more meaning than I can understand but than my eyes went to his hand which was still bleeding, I prepared to climb down from the table so we could leave the gym and head back to our room. I took a single step forward-
Stab.
A sharp pain shot through the sole of my foot.
"Ah-!" I gasped, pulling my leg back instantly.
The softness vanished in a second. Aryav's eyes snapped open, sharp and alarmed. "What happened?"
"Nothing, I just-"
"Don't move." His voice left zero room for argument.
He dropped to one knee, scanning the floor until he spotted a tiny shard of broken glass near my foot.
A small bead of blood was already welling up on my skin-likely from the same glass he had shattered in his palm earlier.
He closed his eyes briefly, a flicker of guilt crossing his face as if he blamed himself for my injury.
I tried to shift my weight. "It's just a scratch-"
Before I could finish, his arms slid smoothly under my knees and behind my back. He stood up in one fluid motion, lifting me as easily as if I weighed nothing at all.
"Aryav, put me down! It's just a tiny cut-"
He ignored me completely, carrying me out of the dark gym and down the quiet hallway.
He walked straight into our bedroom, carried me into the bathroom, and set me down gently on the edge of the high marble counter.
Without a word, he opened the mirror cabinet and pulled out a bottle of antiseptic, soft cotton pads, and a small bandage, laying them neatly beside me.
Then he stepped directly between my parted knees.
His warm hand gently cupped my ankle, lifting my foot to rest on his knee so he could inspect the cut.
The exact same hands that had been striking a heavy bag moments ago-the same hand that was torn and bleeding without him giving it a second thought-were now touching my skin with extreme care.
He poured a few drops of liquid onto a cotton pad. "This will sting a little."
"You're bleeding, too," I whispered, watching the shadow of his long eyelashes against his cheeks. "Why are You angry?"
His hand paused. "At what?"
"The punching bag."
"I wasn't angry at the bag," he said softly, pressing the wet pad to my cut.
I winced from the sudden sting, my leg twitching instinctively.
He stopped instantly. Lifting my foot slightly higher, he blew a cool breath over the hurt spot to ease the pain.
"Then what were you angry at?" I asked quietly.
"At myself," he whispered, his thumb slowly stroking my ankle to soothe me.
"Why?"
He raised his head, his dark eyes locking onto mine-no guard up, no hidden thoughts, just complete honesty.
"Because you went to sleep angry with me," he said softly. "I knew you were hurt, Aadhira. I knew it, and I still let you turn your back on me."
He looked down at my foot again, carefully smoothing the bandage over the cut.
"I kept telling myself I had my reasons-that what I was doing with Sameera was strictly for work. And it was," he continued, his voice dropping lower.
"But that doesn't change the truth. You were lying in bed alone, feeling hurt, wondering what was going on with your husband. I hate knowing that I made you feel that way. I hate that I made you feel insecure."
His words filled the quiet bathroom. He wasn't offering weak excuses or asking me to simply move on.
He was taking the full weight of the blame himself.
The hurt inside me didn't instantly vanish, but the wall between us finally cracked.
This man whom the world found intimidating was sitting on the floor between my legs, visibly affected simply because he had hurt my feelings.
He smoothed the edge of the bandage one last time before placing my foot down gently. I let my legs swing lightly off the edge of the counter.
Reaching down, I took the antiseptic and cotton from his hands, taking his injured left palm in mine to clean his wound. He didn't object; he simply watched me in silence as I patched him up.
When I finished, he took a small step closer, the heat of his chest right in front of my face.
I looked at him. He looked exhausted. I knew in my heart that I was still upset about everything that had happened earlier tonight.
But looking at the quiet tenderness in his eyes right now, I also knew one thing for sure: I didn't want to spend the rest of the night alone in that cold bed.
"Come here," I said softly.
He hesitated slightly. "Aadhira..."
"I'm not saying everything is fine," I told him.
"Then?"
"I'm still angry with you." Reaching out, I grabbed his wrists and pulled him closer. He didn't budge under my weak strength, but he closed the distance himself, his massive frame looming over me.
"I don't want you sleeping in another room."
Aryav stared into my eyes for a long, quiet moment, his expression softening with deep affection.
He leaned in, placing his hands on the marble counter on either side of my hips, bringing his body as close to mine as possible.
I couldn't stand the lingering distance anymore. I didn't want the silence, and I didn't want his guilt.
Without breaking eye contact, I reached up with both hands, grabbed the hem of my silk nightshirt, pulled it over my head, and tossed it onto the floor.
Aryav went dead still.
His chest expanded with a deep, heavy breath, but he didn't rush me. He glanced at the shirt on the floor before looking back up, his eyes dark with a quiet, hesitant question-asking if I was sure, asking if this was truly what I wanted.
With trembling fingers, I reached behind my back, unclipped my bra, and let the white lace drop to join my shirt.
The silence in the room felt electric.
Aryav's head lifted slowly, his heavy gaze tracking up over my flat stomach and the curve of my bare breasts, until his eyes locked onto mine once more.
My breasts felt heavy, tight with a dull, heavy ache that went straight down to my core.
Watching his dark eyes track slowly over my bare skin sent a warm, burning blush all the way up my neck.
He stepped directly between my open knees, his body standing like a solid wall of pure heat. The look in his eyes was so strong, so hot, it made my breath catch in my throat.
His warm hand went to my stomach. He knelt down in front of me again and placed his head against my stomach, licking my navel before pressing soft, warm kisses over my skin.
A sharp shiver ran through my entire body, making my nipples harden into tight, sensitive peaks right under his heavy gaze.
"Ah... Aryav..." I gasped softly, my fingers digging into the cool edge of the marble counter.
Slowly, his mouth moved upward to my cleavage. He held the swell of my right breast with one hand, rubbing his finger over it in slow, soft circles.
Then he cupped my left breast with his other hand and pinched my nipple gently.
"Ah!..." I moaned out loud at the sudden pain.
To soothe the sting, he put his warm tongue right over the tight peak and started sucking it like a man obsessed.
He didn't stop playing with my right breast with his fingers, squeezing and rolling the sensitive tip while his mouth worked on my left.
My toes curled as sweet, intense waves of pleasure crashed through my body.