Chapter 16
16
M ihir stood at the threshold of his home gym, staring at Anna hit the punching bag. Last night, after leaving Anna’s room, a restless sort of energy had settled upon him. Post that, nothing had been able to capture his interest—not work, not TV, not music—nothing. His mind had remained fixated on her .
Anna was here in his house, just like he’d dreamed of at one time. He ought not to make a big deal out of it, but his heart continued to roll and twist in excitement, knowing she was here, sleeping in his old room, just two doors away.
He’d tossed and turned the whole night until finally, he’d woken up at five am and decided to head to the gym—only to find her already there, beating into the punching bag.
He watched her quietly. She moved with lithe grace, her punches strong and sharp. Dressed in black gym leggings and a loose white tee, with deep concentration etched on her face, her hair tied at the top of her head, Anna looked incredibly attractive as she attacked the bag.
All the Mehra women knew how to fight. He was well aware that Rajiv had insisted they all learn self-defense and basic fighting techniques, mostly thanks to Mihir and his brothers holding them captive in their yacht all those years ago.
He sighed. So much had changed since that night long ago.
He moved closer to her. Suddenly, she spun around, her fist lashing out. He caught it in his hand, stopping her blow. He frowned. Her breathing turned shallow, her face ashen, and she began to tremble. In a second, he understood what had happened.
He caught her by the arms. “Breathe, Anna. Breathe.”
She continued to shake, her breathing uneven. Concern flooded his chest. She was having a full-blown panic attack. Fuck.
“Breathe with me, Anna,” he repeated, his eyes never leaving her face.
She still didn’t react.
“ANNA…” he yelled. “Look at me.”
Her eyes finally zeroed in on him.
“Come on, breathe with me,” he said gently. “In… and out.”
She started following his instructions, breathing along with him. A long moment later, he removed her boxing gloves and tossed them aside. Taking her cold hand, he placed it on his chest. “Feel my heartbeat. Focus on that.”
He put his own hand on her chest, right where her heart was beating frantically. “Breathe again… In and out.”
She continued to follow his lead. Soon, her eyes began to clear. Color returned to her cheeks, and her breathing evened. Her pulse, though, still felt on the higher side.
“I’m here, Anna,” he said softly. “I’m here. You are absolutely safe, okay? No one is going to hurt you ever. I promise, Anna. You’re safe.”
She finally looked at him properly. He helped her sit on the floor and offered her a bottle of water. She took a few sips.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Yes…” She sighed. “Sorry, you had to witness that.”
Seeing her look so defeated made him furious. He should have hurt that bastard some more before killing him for hurting her.
“Don’t apologize to me for having a panic attack…” He kept his tone gentle, even though he was fuming. “When did they start?”
“Right after being discharged from the hospital.”
“What triggered you right now?”
“You moved all too suddenly in my periphery, and I thought I was all alone here.” She shook her head. “Sudden movements and loud sounds can be a trigger.”
“Are you really feeling better now?”
“Yes.”
He rose. “Get up.”
“What?”
“Get up and wear your gloves.”
She stared at him. “Why?”
“For once, can you do as you are told without being difficult?”
She pushed to her feet and donned the gloves back on. He wore his own pair of gloves and moved to the training mats on the side.
“Fight me,” he ordered when she was near. “Imagine I am the guy who stabbed you. Think of him, and hit me. As hard as you can.”
“What?” She frowned. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“We are fighting your demons today, Anna. So, hit me.”
“I really don’t know how this will help.” She circled him. “But fine. If you insist.”
She threw a punch. He simply shifted to the side, easily deflecting it. She shot another punch, and he shifted to the other side.
He glared at her. “Is that all you’ve got?”
She tried coming at him again, but he deflected all her blows. She was flagging, her attempts to get to him lacking conviction. Not good at all.
“That fucking man attacked you in broad daylight,” he said, his tone harsh. “ You made it so easy for him because you weren’t paying attention, da ?”
She threw her fist out in anger; he caught it in his hand.
“ Plokhoy . Bad. You’re very bad at this,” he taunted. “Do you want to get killed? I could kill you easily, right here, right now. You want me to show you how?”
He twisted around her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. “See, I stabbed you here. So easy.” He pumped a fist out and bumped her on her waist. “Stabbed you here. Anyone can kill you like this. Is that what you want? Do you want to die, Anna? Da ?”
“NO!” she screamed, frustrated.
“Then do better,” he said. “Where has that fire of yours gone? Have you allowed him to steal it? Are you going to let that vile man dictate the rest of your life? Do you want to live in fear and angst?”
“I’m trying…” she huffed.
“Not hard enough. Commit to your moves. Don’t think so hard. Put your whole body in the strike.”
She yelled and let out a flurry of angry punches. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut. Mihir’s words had flipped a switch. One minute she was struggling, and in the next, she swung a leg out, catching him in the stomach. He staggered a step behind, grinning. This ferocity was what he wanted.
She spun, and her fist met his cheek with a loud thwack. His eyes rounded, and he stumbled back.
She angled her head. “Good enough for you?”
“It wasn’t strong enough,” he replied. “If that’s all you got, then it’s a pity. Show me your fire, Anna. Show me what you’ve got.”
Rage erupted in her eyes. Before he could comprehend what was happening, she was on him. Jab, cross, hook, another hook, her movements fast and swift. He deflected her barrage, but it wasn’t so easy this time. She unleashed her fury upon him, relentlessly attacking him. He felt a sharp jolt in his forearm as her punch connected. She rammed her fist into his jaw, followed by a swinging kick to his abs, catching him off-guard. Then she tripped him with her foot. He stumbled backward, landing hard on the floor.
A slow grin spread on her face. “Looks like I do have a lot of fire.”
“You do.” Still sprawled on the mat, he removed his gloves and tossed them aside.
Chucking her gloves off as well, Anna offered him her hand. He yanked her toward him. Before she could fall on him, he caught her waist and twisted them so she fell on the mat, with him on top of her. Shock flared on her face.
“Never lose sight of your opponent,” he said. “Always be on guard.”
She rolled her eyes. “We were done sparring. Stop being a know-it-all.”
His lips curved. “Actually, I do know it all.”
“You’re so bloody annoying.” Her eyes met his and then they turned serious. “How did you know I was having a panic attack?”
He shifted a strand of hair from her forehead. “I will always know everything about you.”
She wet her lips, drawing his attention to her mouth. That very pretty pink mouth that had captured his attention from the beginning. He suddenly realized how intimately entangled they were. How absolutely alone the two of them were. How perfectly her soft curves fit against his hardening body.
Her mouth opened and closed, her throat bobbing.
“Why did you try and help me today, Mihir?” she asked. “Do you even care? You never bothered to check on me after I was stabbed. And now this? Your mixed signals are confusing and hurting me.”
He looked at her. “You think I don’t care?”
“What else am I to think? You’ve ignored me for years. You’ve made it painfully clear that you’re out for revenge. You stayed married to me for revenge.”
“And how has that hurt you in any way? Yes, I wanted revenge, but so far, I haven’t done a single thing to hurt you ever. I let you get away from that damn yacht all those years ago because, even then, despite being so mad at you, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you!” He exhaled a heavy breath. “As far as visiting you in the hospital is concerned… seeing you in that hospital bed broke something inside me, Anna. It showed me how incapable I am of hurting you. That I’d kill anyone who tried to harm you. And I did. I killed the man who stabbed you. He died a slow, painful, and merciless death for touching you. But now, seeing you panic like that—I wish I had hurt him more.”
She swallowed thickly, watching him, just like he was watching her. Anna had always been brave, beautiful, and confident. However, the way she’d looked terrorized and heartbroken just a few moments ago had dissolved every lingering bit of negativity he’d ever felt for her. In its place, a blatant possessiveness slammed through him. He wanted to see her fire back. He wanted to see her eyes sparkle with brazen self-assuredness again. So, he’d done what he had to get her back to being herself. And it had worked. Fire shone in her eyes. All traces of trauma had vanished.
She shifted. He tried to move off her, but her chain caught in the vee of his gym t-shirt. Her hand touched his t-shirt at the same time as his. Electricity shot through his arm as he caught her hand in his. Her brown eyes widened. Desire punched through him.
Positioned as he was above her, his heart hammering hard in his chest, need awash in his veins, he knew just how difficult it was going to be to get up and walk away from her.
“I’m so tired, Anna…” he admitted, clutching her hand tighter. “I’m tired of fighting you. I’m tired of hating you. I’m tired of trying to feel nothing for you. I’m tired of resisting you.”
“Then don’t.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“I’m tired too, Mihir…” She kissed his cheek softly. “I’m also tired of fighting you. There is something between us, and I’m also tired of resisting it. In that moment when I was stabbed, you were the only one on my mind. That if I died, I’d regret not seeing you one last time. I’d regret not acting upon this craving between us. I’d regret not knowing how we went from being so amazingly perfect to so drastically wrong. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now, in this moment, you’re still my husband, and I’m still your wife. So, take me, claim me. Make me yours again.”
His heart melted, falling for her words. He shifted. His hard erection moved in the vee between her legs. She gasped.
“Show me where he hurt you,” he ordered, rising up.
Kneeling, she lifted her t-shirt from the side, allowing him to see her wound. Rage flowed through him to see her pale skin marred by an angry red scar. He put his mouth on it, drawing gentle circles around the welt with his tongue. She fell onto the mat as he continued to lick her skin. Her soft whimpers cooled his ire.
He shifted into her properly, allowing her to feel what he felt for her. She softened beneath him. He pushed his erection into her, showing her how much he needed her. Her eyes darkened, feeding into his own desire.
“You’re not supposed to feel this good against me,” he said, inhaling from her throat. “You’re not supposed to be this perfect.”
“Mihir…” she rasped, her voice filled with longing.
He captured her mouth, claiming her lips like a man possessed, like he was ravenous for her. And he was. He wanted to devour her. Her lips, her skin, her touch—they were his downfall. His mouth returned to her throat, inhaling her scent again. Then he nipped the side of her neck, making her shudder and shake. His tongue swirled over her skin, soothing the bite.
“Tell me to stop, Anna,” he said against her neck.
“No.”
“Tell me to leave you the fuck alone,” he growled, biting the side of her throat.
“No,” she gasped.
He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “This changes nothing between us. This is pure lust—a raw need that has to be fulfilled. At the end of this week, we still go our own ways. This is a final step to the end. One last goodbye.”
Even though he knew he wanted her with a ferocity that bordered on insanity, he knew that this could only be for right now. It was temporary. He’d been hurt by her in the past, and he’d sworn never to allow her or any other woman that much control over him again. He had to ensure she understood what exactly he was offering.
“Tell me that you’re okay with this…” he asked.
She glared at him, breathing hard. Wrapping a leg around his waist, she spun him sharply, so she was atop him. She lifted her t-shirt and flung it aside. Her bra followed.
Bloody fucking hell.
She untied the knot from her hair and shook her head from side to side. Her long locks fell in silken waves down her bare chest.
“So, fucking perfect,” he whispered, staring at her.
His heart pulsed in warning. He ignored it and murmured, “ Tak krasivo. You’re so beautiful.”
He couldn’t stop looking at her.
She leaned over him. “Stop talking and kiss me, Oshnov.”
He laughed. “So damn bossy, as always.”
She planted her lips on his, and every single sane thought flew out of his mind. There was only her and him, and this fire that had always raged between them.