Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
Despite his reservations about their plan, Row held true to his word the next day. He intended to scout out the best opportunity to break into the library and ask Koura for help. He’d also been aiding in the vanshaj cause for years, petitioning his own kingdom to amend its inhumane laws.
That left Zarya and Rabin trapped inside the house for hours with nothing to do as she paced the living room with every curtain drawn. Rabin watched her with that intense gaze that always did its best to unsettle her.
She’d made him sleep in Aarav’s old room last night. Though he didn’t remark on it, she could tell he wasn’t happy about his banishment.
Row had continued tossing him dirty looks and then giving her quizzical looks that suggested she was making a huge mistake.
And maybe Row was right. His conviction that Rabin was bad news shook the trust he’d been building. Once they’d emerged from the spell of his enchanted garden and that magical house, she was thinking more clearly. Yes, she’d given herself physically to Rabin, but she still couldn’t be one hundred percent sure she could trust him. Or that she forgave him at all.
“I’m bored,” Zarya said, stopping at the end of the room and pacing to the other side. “I wish we could go out.” She’d been dreaming of Rupi’s gulab jamuns since leaving Dharati and could practically taste the sticky syrup coating her tongue.
She wrinkled her nose as she peered through a crack in the curtains before she spun around and dropped onto the divan. She hated sitting around doing nothing.
Rabin lounged in a chair in the corner. He was wearing a kurta with his sleeves rolled up, displaying the length of his impressive forearms. Mesmerized, she watched the tendons flex in a way that was bordering on erotic. Gods, what was wrong with her?
He leaned forward and clasped his hands with his elbows on his knees.
“I have some ideas of how we could pass the time.”
He arched an eyebrow, his gaze traveling over her and his meaning clear. Without waiting for an answer, he stood and strode across the room, falling to a knee and bracing his hands on the divan on either side of her hips.
“Stop it,” she said, picking up a pillow and covering herself, though there wasn’t much force in it. As much as she was trying to keep a clear head, it was impossible to deny what her heart and her body wanted.
“Fine,” he said, standing up and turning around when she called out.
“Wait.” He stopped and peered over a broad shoulder. “What…did you have in mind?”
She winced as the words left her mouth and clung tighter to the pillow like it might shield her from the consequences of her questionable decisions.
A smug smile tugged on the corner of his mouth as he spun around and resumed his position with one knee on the floor. He pulled gently on the pillow’s corner, and after a moment of hesitation, she released it before he tossed it to the side.
He placed his large hands on her hips before sliding them up, his thumbs sweeping over her center and his fingers climbing under her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her stomach, before they curled over her waistband and gave it a gentle tug.
She sucked in a sharp breath as he wedged his big body between her legs, pressing his hard stomach against her already pulsing center. His hands traveled down over her hips and thighs, his thumbs digging into the tendons where they met.
“I can’t stop thinking about this pussy,” he said as his thumbs drifted inward, massaging her just beyond the spot where she craved his touch. “And how much I want to have it bouncing on my cock again.”
Zarya knew she should stop this. Right? But she’d already given herself over to him, so what was one more time?
“Would that help pass the time, Spitfire?”
“It might,” she whispered as he hooked his fingers into the waist of her underwear and her leggings more firmly and then yanked . She lifted her hips to allow him to drag the fabric down her legs before tossing it to the side.
“On your knees,” he ordered. “Turn around.”
She blinked and then did as he asked, turning over to brace her hands on the back of the divan. She looked over her shoulder as he stood behind her and smoothed a hand over her ass. A moment later, his thumb swept through her wet core, pulling a moan from the center of her chest.
She watched him drop down before he replaced his finger with his mouth while he tasted her from behind. With one hand wrapped around her leg, he used the other to circle her clit as his tongue drove into her, causing her arms and legs to tremble while she whimpered.
She felt his growl vibrate through her pussy as he feasted like a dying man. Like he hadn’t already done this over and over just two nights ago. A moment later, he pulled away and stood, undoing the laces of his pants. She watched as he shoved them down and took himself in his hand, stroking his thick erection. She couldn’t take her eyes off it as she licked her lips.
“You love this cock, don’t you, pretty girl?” he asked. “You can be as angry as you want, but you’re dying for me to stretch you open.”
Taking in his smug expression, she scowled.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone,” he taunted as he grabbed her hips and then thrust into her without warning. “It can be our little secret.” She gasped, her back arching as he hit every sensitive spot. A riot of tingling sensations filtered to her toes and fingers as he stroked in and out, driving into her with abandon.
“Fuck,” he moaned. “ Fuck , you’re so tight and perfect.”
She didn’t want to admit how perfect he felt, too. She’d now been with enough men to know that while sex could be pleasurable, nothing else had ever felt like this .
Being with Rabin was about so much more than the physical coming together of their bodies. It was like the stars aligning and the oceans’ pull, drowning them together in the most exquisite bliss.
She clung to the back of the divan, her knuckles turning white as she pressed herself against him, the slap of flesh and their moans and sighs filling the room.
It took her a moment to register the sound of other voices. Voices that should not be here right now.
Then a door slamming and footsteps.
“Shit!” Zarya said. “Row’s back. Get off me!”
She swatted Rabin from behind. “Stop it!”
Zarya clambered over the back of the divan, folding into a ball on the floor, her arms wrapped around her midsection. She willed herself to peer over the edge, and just as Rabin was tucking himself back into his pants, Row and Koura rounded the corner.
“Great news, we?—”
Row stopped, his eyes widening as they jumped between Zarya and Rabin. There was no conceivable way they couldn’t figure out exactly what they’d interrupted. Zarya’s head felt like it was about to explode with mortification as Row’s gaze continued darting between them, at a loss for words for once in his life. He cleared his throat and shook his head.
“We’ll just…meet you in the kitchen.”
Then he turned around, bumping into Koura in his haste. Koura stepped aside and smirked. He winked and gave them both a wide smile before he turned to follow Row.
When they were gone, Zarya sank to the floor on her knees, covering her head with her arms. “Oh my gods. Please let this carpet swallow me up whole. I can never look at either of them again.”
She heard Rabin chuckle and looked up to find him peering over the divan, dangling her leggings and underwear from a finger.
“Would you like these?”
She glared, snatching her clothes before she sat up and tugged them on.
“Oh my gods. Oh my gods,” she continued whispering to herself, wishing she would melt into a puddle and ooze out the door.
Rabin sat with his arm on the back of the divan, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“It’s not that bad,” he said, and she glared again.
“Not that bad? Row just walked in on us having sex ! He heard me…” She rubbed a hand down her face. “ How can I ever look at him again?”
“You are a grown woman, and surely he knows you’ve had sex.”
She finished yanking on her leggings with a flourish. “ That is not the point.”
Then, she sucked in a deep breath and stared at the doorway where Koura and Row had been standing a moment earlier.
She threw her shoulders back and strode towards the exit before she looked back at Rabin, who couldn’t seem to contain his amusement. Maybe she’d just pretend like nothing had happened.
Gods, how could anyone pretend nothing had happened?
She cleared her throat and shook out her hair. “Let’s get this over with,” she said before she marched out of the room.
Rabin watched Zarya retreat into the kitchen, unable to control his smile and refusing to feel ashamed for what was a perfectly natural thing to do. He tugged on the crotch of his pants, lamenting the fact that he hadn’t had the chance to finish, or more importantly, the chance to finish Zarya. He’d be sure to correct that later.
Low voices from the kitchen forced him up from his seat. Row was hardly his biggest fan, and this wouldn’t help matters. But Zarya’s guardian would have to accept that he was a part of her life.
He sauntered into the kitchen, where he found her seated with Row and Koura. They all glared at him as he pulled up a chair and dropped into it. He shrugged it off. This was the sort of treatment he was familiar with.
He noticed Zarya’s cheeks turn red again as she cleared her throat and then started to speak in an unnaturally high voice. She couldn’t deny it had been exciting having sex somewhere they might get caught. Rabin vowed to get her to admit it, and maybe they could try that again.
“As I was wondering, when do you think would be a good time to access the library?” Zarya asked.
Row’s gaze slid to Rabin and back to her. “Tomorrow night. There’s a big party in the ballroom, and everyone should be distracted. The keepers guard the library at night and will be stationed at the gates as usual, so you won’t be able to enter that way.”
“So, how do we get in?” Zarya asked.
“From the roof,” Row answered, and Rabin sat forward with his hands clasped, nodding in agreement. “There’s an access point from above—a grate that you’ll need to unlock, but that shouldn’t be a problem with your magic. You can climb down, and I’ll ensure the keepers are occupied while you search.”
“We won’t be able to take anything from the restricted section,” Rabin said. “The books are spelled to sound an alarm if they’re removed without permission.”
“I know of an enchantment you can use to copy down whatever you find,” Row said.
“What exactly are you looking for?” Koura asked Zarya.
Rabin had always liked Koura’s calm, steady presence. He was one of the few people he admired. He watched as Zarya confirmed with Row.
“Koura knows everything you told me,” Row said. “He will keep your secrets.”
Zarya lifted her hands in a question. “Anything that can help us break the magic of the collars faster,” she answered. “Or anything else that can help us stand up to the Jadugara. Maybe something that can expose them for the frauds they are.”
“I’ll be attending the party,” Koura said. “I was asked to perform a magic demonstration, and it will serve as an added distraction.”
“What time?” Rabin asked.
“Around midnight.”
“Then we should be on the roof by eleven thirty,” he said.
“I still have my concerns,” Row said, and Zarya nodded.
“I know, but we have to try. We’re running out of time in Ishaan, and it won’t be much longer before the situation grows unstable here, too. We’re not doing this just for Gi’ana but all of Rahajhan.”
Row blew out a resigned breath. “Very well.”
“Okay, great,” she said, pushing herself up from the table. While she seemed to have gotten over her initial embarrassment, the incident was clearly still on her mind. A fact Rabin confirmed when her gaze darted to him and then flicked away, her cheeks flushing again.
“I’m going to shower, then,” she declared and headed up the stairs.
Once she was gone, Koura also stood up from the table.
“Good luck,” he said, reaching out to shake Row’s hand and then Rabin’s. “If there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know.”
“Of course,” Row said. “Thank you.”
When he was also gone, Row focused his stony attention on Rabin.
“What is your intention here?” he asked, his voice tense.
“To help Zarya.”
Row stood from the table, pressing his hands to the surface. “You lied to her once.”
“And I’ve explained everything.”
“And you’ve told Abishek about her?” Row asked, his jaw turning hard.
Rabin rolled his neck with a crack. He understood Row’s reservations, but he wondered how long he’d have to spend proving himself. “He does not want anything except to meet her.”
Row let out a breath, his mouth pressing together. “How can you be sure of that?”
“Because I am. I would never let anything happen to her.”
Row flattened his hands against the table, his shoulders spreading wide. “I hope that you’re right.”
“I am,” Rabin replied with confidence.
“And she says you are her paramadhar.”
“Yes.”
“You intend to fulfill this role?”
Rabin dipped his chin. “Absolutely.”
“You will be sworn to protect her at all costs, then,” Row said, a challenge in his tone. “You understand that.”
Rabin kept his posture loose as he sat back in his chair. “I am aware of what this means, and I am prepared for all of it.”
Row’s jaw ticked. “You know that a physical relationship between you and your masatara is frowned upon.”
Rabin shrugged. “I am aware.” He was more than aware at this point, but he still couldn’t find it in himself to care.
He stared at Row unblinking, refusing to back down or be made to feel this was wrong. Abishek would get over it, and as long as Zarya was willing, there was no reason for them to stay apart. Zarya was still on her guard, but he sensed she was softening.
Row dipped his chin slightly. “Do you know where to find a mystic to administer the Bandhan?”
“I was actually hoping you’d know someone,” Rabin answered as Row’s eyebrows drew together. If Zarya wouldn’t travel to Andhera until she was ready, then Abishek’s mystic was currently out of the question. “I don’t know of any mystics in Daragaab.”
“No,” Row said. “But there is one in Ishaan.”
“Perfect,” Rabin answered. “I know Zarya is eager to return to her work there.”
“And you’ll be going with her? Not returning to Andhera?”
Rabin nodded. Eventually, he would return to Andhera with Zarya—once he could convince her to come—but for now, he would follow where she went.
Row watched Rabin, his dark gaze assessing him from head to toe.
“She may not be my daughter by blood, but I love her like one. Understand that I let it go last time, but I see that you are intertwined in more important ways than my distaste for you allows,” Row said, leaning forward. “But if you hurt her again, I will kill you.”
Rabin acknowledged the absolute conviction in his eyes. He placed his fist across his chest in a show of respect for Zarya and the man who’d raised her, no matter their feelings for one another.
“Understood.”