Chapter 19 #2
She had rehearsed what to say to Kushal at least a dozen times since stepping out of the shower.
Words like “I was drunk” and “it shouldn’t have happened” kept circling her mind.
She had meant to tell him that she didn’t know why it happened or what it meant going forward.
But the truth was, she had no real answers.
She had deliberately chosen a pair of skin-tight jeans and a thick, high-neck sweatshirt—everything covered, nothing revealed.
Not a trace of skin on display. She wanted to appear simple and in control.
A stark contrast to the way he had seen her last night…
bare, vulnerable, dressed in nothing but lace panties by the time she had dozed off.
She could still feel his hands on her, remember how he’d looked at her when his fingers teased her sensitive folds.
She swallowed hard as she reached the lobby and paused at the quiet corner near the elevator. Taking a breath, she gave herself one final pep talk. “You’ve got this, Arundhati. Focus on work. That’s all that matters today. Nothing else.”
But the moment the elevator doors slid open, all that resolve wavered.
Because there he was.
Kushal stood at the reception desk, speaking to the same woman who had been visibly fawning over him since the day they checked in. And today, she hadn’t missed a beat either…she was leaning in, flashing a too-sweet smile.
But Arundhati barely registered the woman. Her eyes were on him.
Kushal was dressed in light-wash jeans and a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
His wristwatch…that famous classic silver Rolex peeked through as he gestured casually.
He looked effortlessly good. As she stepped closer, she caught a trace of his scent, pulling her straight back into the memory of his skin against hers, his breath on her neck, his mouth claiming every inch of her as if she belonged to him.
No. Don’t go there.
Kushal turned at that very moment, as if sensing her presence, and their eyes locked.
Everything she’d planned to say evaporated.
The practiced lines, the careful detachment, it all slipped from her mind, replaced by a storm of memory.
Her lips on his. His deep, guttural sounds as he lost himself in her. Her name on his breath as she’d arched beneath him. Her soft moans as she guided his hands to keep doing to her what he loved doing.
Heat bloomed under her skin. The sweatshirt suddenly felt like a wrong choice as she felt sweat beads forming on her forehead.
Even Kushal looked at her like he was one second away from dragging her back to that bed and continuing where they had stopped last night.
She almost stepped back when he moved toward her.
But that’s when the receptionist interrupted. “Your car is ready, sir.”
Just like that, the spell broke.
Kushal turned to take the keys, nodding curtly. Then he glanced back at Arundhati and gestured toward the exit.
She moved past him, too grateful for the distraction, yet far too aware of the weight of his gaze burning into her back.
The moment they reached the car, she fumbled awkwardly with the handle. Her fingers slipped once, then twice, her mind clearly somewhere else. She couldn’t even open a simple car door without feeling like her spine was melting under his gaze.
Maybe it was even the thought of sitting beside him, just the two of them, for the next thirty minutes that was doing this to her.
Just then, his hand appeared beside hers…broad, rough, and far too close…and opened the door. When his breath brushed her cheek, she cleared her throat again; a habit she’d developed lately anytime desire tangled with denial.
As if he knew exactly what caused that reaction, Kushal smirked.
She quickly slid into the passenger seat, flustered, while he shut the door, and circled around to the driver’s side.
He started the car, setting the GPS to the location Vivek had sent, of the private short-stay villa where Noyonika was holed up under a fake name. Vivek was already stationed outside.
The drive was wrapped in silence.
As soon as Kushal parked at a quiet, secluded spot just short of the villa, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out. The moment he got out of the car, she blurted out.
“Last night shouldn’t have happened.”
He stopped mid-step and looked at her.
“I… I mean, I was—”
“Drunk,” he finished for her. “Tired. Overwhelmed. And then when I blindfolded you, whispered a few things, seduced you, you kissed me, and we both lost our way.” He said all that in one breath, like he’d memorized the words she hadn’t yet gathered the courage to say.
It was exactly what she’d rehearsed. Every word. Except he’d said it instead. Not her!
That was what made Kushal dangerous. He didn’t need confessions. He read them. Pulled them out of her like he’d always known they were there.
She opened her mouth, but the words failed.
He stepped closer.
She instinctively backed up until her spine hit the car door, before she stilled. Kushal didn’t touch her. But his body bracketed hers, his arms on either side, not making contact, but close enough to feel the heat.
“Say what you need to, Aru,” he murmured, his eyes locked on hers. “All your excuses. All the lines you’ve prepared. But don’t stand here and tell me it wasn’t supposed to happen. And don’t insult what we shared last night by calling it a mistake.”
She stayed silent, lips slightly parted.
“Because we both know,” he added, voice dropping an inch lower, “it was going to happen. Eventually. And as much as you want to hide behind logic and guilt, what I saw in your eyes last night? That wasn’t regret. You and I both know…the last night? It’s not something either of us will forget.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Especially me,” he added, his tone turning wicked. “And just so you know, after you passed out…right after I made you see stars…I had a very hard time… easing the rest of that night’s high.” His gaze dipped momentarily to her lips before finding her eyes again. “Alone.”
She gasped, but didn’t move.
Just then, they heard a man calling Kushal’s name.
He groaned under his breath, annoyed at the interruption, clearly unwilling to let anyone break the charged moment hanging between them. Yet, he slowly turned, only to see Vivek approaching from across the property.
Arundhati quickly composed herself, and shifted her expression back to neutral.
Once Vivek reached them, Kushal introduced her. “Arundhati, this is Vivek, my source.”
Vivek gave her a polite nod, then turned to Kushal. “She’s in. Noyonika hasn’t left the villa. Everything’s in place.”
Kushal nodded, before turning to Arundhati.
“Time to get someone to confess,” he said.
And she heard it…the layered meaning beneath those words. He wasn’t talking just about the case anymore. Not with that look in his eyes.
Vivek stepped away to speak to his men, and as soon as his footsteps faded, Kushal leaned in again, just enough for her to hear.
“The next confession I want… is yours,” he whispered. “That you want to give us a real chance. That you want to stay in this marriage.”
She blinked, thrown off by the sudden turn, and by the intensity of his tone. Still, she raised her chin, masking her reaction behind carefully built pride.
He smirked at that…recognizing her performance for what it was….and stepped even closer, lowering his voice to something naughtier.
“Say yes,” he murmured, “and I promise the next time I touch you… You won’t just see stars. You’ll see the whole damn Milky Way all night.”
Her lips parted. She should’ve snapped at him. Should’ve put him back in his place. But the only thing that left her mouth, caught somewhere between a gasp and a curse, was one stunned word:
“F*ck.”
Because if his promises could make her legs weak, what would the reality feel like?