CHAPTER 33 #2
“That’s just desire,” she snapped. Then she inhaled deeply, trying to steady her voice. “I know you hate me because… you haven’t kissed me.”
She hated that her voice broke slightly at the last words as though the absence of a kiss actually hurt.
I’m not hurt.
She told herself she brought up the kiss, only to prove that he hated her.
The silence was longer this time.
He looked at her face. “I was waiting for your consent,” he said.
Her heart jerked. “What?”
“I did not kiss you,” he continued, in a voice that was rough yet steady, “because you never asked me to.”
Her mind stalled.
And then, she gave a short, angry, disbelieving laugh.
“We’ve been in bed together every night since our wedding.
You touched me everywhere with your mouth and hands.
You command me during sex and fuck me until I can’t bloody think.
You even choked me just now during sex, and you expect me to believe you are waiting for my permission for a damn kiss? ”
He looked at her for a moment. “I didn’t choke you,” he said. “I was feeling your pulse at your throat. Your pulse rate increases when you are about to orgasm.”
Her face burned at his observation.
“That’s not the point!” she snapped. “You haven’t kissed me because you hate me. Admit it!”
There was silence.
His gaze did not waver.
“The contract covers intimacy,” he said. “It says nothing about kissing.”
For a moment, she could only stare at him.
Then she let out another disbelieving laugh. “That’s absurd.”
He did not say anything.
He stepped forward. Close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from him.
His hand came up, and his fingers gripped her jaw. His touch wasn’t rough or tentative. It was possessive.
Her breath caught, and her pulse was no longer steady. It began racing.
His head bent down, and his mouth hovered over hers. His breath was warm and uneven as it fell across her parted lips.
“Tell me to kiss you,” he rasped, the words sounding raw with need.
It was the first time she had heard him speak in a tone that wasn’t commanding.
Her heart thudded violently in her chest.
For a second, she wanted to push him away. She wanted to accuse him of deliberately trying to manipulate her.
But something held her back. She wasn’t sure if it was a challenge or something else.
“Kiss me,” she whispered as a command.
As soon as she spoke, his mouth crashed onto hers with none of his usual control.
His lips devoured hers, his tongue sliding against hers in a way that made her moan and grip his hair to pull him closer.
Then just as abruptly, he pulled away, his chest heaving. She gasped at the sudden loss of contact. Her lips throbbed along with her body.
She watched as his golden-brown eyes burned into hers with something raw and unreadable that had nothing to do with contracts or clauses.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered. “Kiss me again.”
He kissed her again.
But this time, it wasn’t the fierce, claiming kiss from before. This one was slower and deeper. His mouth moved over hers with a softness that made her chest ache strangely.
His fingers tangled in her hair, tilting her head back as his tongue traced the seam of her lips, coaxing them apart gently.
She shuddered and then bit his lower lip.
He groaned into her mouth, his grip tightening in her hair as if anchoring himself against her sudden provocation. She reveled in the ragged sound.
Then he pulled away from her again.
Her mouth automatically moved towards him, but he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up to study her. His gaze traced her parted lips, the flush creeping down her neck, the rapid flutter of her pulse beneath her jaw.
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes before he exhaled sharply and bent down.
She gasped as his arms slid under her knees and shoulders, lifting her effortlessly against his chest. His skin burned where it pressed against hers, and she instinctively curled into him, her nose brushing his collarbone.
The familiar scent of his cologne, masculine sweat, and something faintly metallic flooded her senses as he carried her through the adjoining door.
Moonlight drifted from the windows and fell on his face.
He paused at the foot of the bed, his jaw tightening as if fighting some internal war, before depositing her with unexpected gentleness on top of the bed covers. The cold fabric shocked against her overheated skin, making her shiver slightly.
His hand lingered, his thumb brushing against the emerald fish pendant.
Then he moved away.
Once again, his movements became controlled. He pulled the bedcovers that she had kicked away earlier and draped them over her. The weight settled over her.
He then adjusted it silently in precise movements, ensuring no cold crept in.
He straightened and stepped back.
He looked at her, his gaze falling on her face with startling intensity. Her breath caught at the hunger in those golden-brown eyes, which was a stark contrast from the controlled moments before.
Before she could say anything, he turned away to leave.
He paused at the threshold, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the soft light coming through the connecting doorway.
“Rest well,” he said in a low command. “We have another long day ahead.”
His tone was once again steady, as though the past hour didn’t happen.
The connecting door closed with a soft click.
Yamini lay still.
“Arrogant, infuriating jerk,” she whispered.
But even as she cursed him, she lifted her fingers to her swollen lips.
Bharat Jogra had finally kissed her.
And somehow, that made everything worse.