Chapter Three
Arya
Both of us freeze at the dark and menacing voice dipped in whiskey.
The guy doesn’t move back, just growls, “Who the fuck is it?”
The temperature in the air drops to icy degrees.
I whip my head toward the tall silhouette that emerges from the shadows. My eyes widen as I recognize the gorgeous face that graces the covers of top business magazines. In the past year, even the gossip rags. The man, who is apparently far more jaw-droppingly handsome in person.
Nathan Singhania.
His relaxed posture belies the chilling set to his square jaw.
“Step away from her,” he calmly orders.
“Why don’t you make me?”
“I do that and you won’t walk away with your bones intact.”
I swallow.
So does the guy. Nevertheless, his drunken state gives him fake confidence. He scoffs. “I’m not scared.”
Nathan blinks once.
In the next second, he’s right beside us and curling his fist around the guy’s wrist. A twist and I hear the bone crack.
The guy wails. “Ah!!!”
Twisting it still in a way that makes me wince, Nathan pulls the drunken lecher off me, who drops to his knees.
“Ow! Ow! Stop!” He sobs. “I’m sorry. Ow!”
Nathan lets go with a bored expression. “Run before I make good on my threat.”
The guy doesn’t need to be told twice.
I, on the other hand, am rooted to the spot. Taking a step back, he turns my way. My heart begins to thunder. My eyes involuntarily drop to his hand that possesses such violent strength. I notice the veins running along his forearm, visible because of the rolled-up sleeves of his black shirt.
“Are you good?”
His whiskey voice cuts through my musings. Shit. What kind of impression must I be giving by checking him out after what just occurred? Swallowing past the dryness in my throat, I murmur, “Yeah, thanks for saving me, Nathan.”
His brow furrows.
My shoulders slump at the lack of recognition in his gray eyes.
Of course he doesn’t know me.
His head tilts, causing a stray strand to fall onto his forehead. “Have we met before?”
“I’m Arya Chopra.” Still nothing. “Bianca’s sister.”
My sister’s name smooths the slight frown between his eyebrows. Rather than acknowledging me, he asks, “Do you need me to walk you down?”
It’s then that I notice I’m shaking a little.
The creeper has a group of friends. I’d rather not run into them alone. I might know Nathan from growing up in the same circles, but he’s still a stranger. Despite it, he’s making me feel safe. “Yes, please. If you don’t mind.”
He steps back, gesturing for me to take the lead.
An intoxicating blend of smoke and spice drifts into my lungs as I brush past Nathan. My bare shoulder grazes his chest, sending a tremor cascading down my back.
My reaction to him boggles my mind.
Or perhaps it’s the cold weather.
Yep. That’s what this is.
His body heat warms my back as he follows behind. Clutching the railing of the rickety spiral staircase, I step down and yelp when my heel gets caught in the tiny space between the steps.
Pain shoots up my ankle as my body falls forward.
My eyes widen in horror a second before an arm snakes around my midriff, right below my breasts. The palm splays open on my ribs and brings me against a rock-hard torso.
A whoosh of air escapes my lips.
My heart is racing a mile a minute at the narrow escape from a tragic fall. The steady rise and fall of a chest against my back alerts me to my savior.
Hanging onto his muscular bicep, I tilt my head back to find him watching me with an intensity that makes heat coil in my belly. Forgetting my predicament, I become lost in his eyes.
“How did you even make it up here?”
I can’t tell whether he’s teasing or reprimanding me. Nonetheless, embarrassment floods and I lower my eyes. “Sorry. I’m not usually so clumsy.”
“Can you stand?” His hand drifts lower.
“I think so.” As soon as I let go of him and push my weight on my feet, I whimper in agony. I grab Nathan again, unable to stand. “Shit. I think I broke my ankle.”
Swear to God, I have the shittiest luck.
This is the first time I go out in months, and this happens.
A burning sensation forms at the backs of my eyes. I close them tightly, not wanting to cry like a pathetic girl. Easing my grip on Nathan, I lean away. “I’ll ju─”
I’m airborne before I can finish my sentence.
When Nathan’s cologne engulfs me, it hits me that I’m in his arms.
One arm underneath my ass and the other around my back, he holds me up like I weigh nothing. His face dips toward mine, noticing the shimmer in my eyes. I dare not blink, afraid one tear will slip out.
It escapes anyway.
A softness cracks through his cold facade, revealing an empathetic soul lies within. Why is he trying to hide it?
“You’re going to be fine,” he consoles. “Shit happens.”
Tightening his hold, he descends the stairs. I loop my arms around his neck, my body jostling a little. My fingers touch his bare skin over the collar of his shirt. I can’t resist caressing it with my thumb.
He tenses, as though he’s as acutely aware of where we’re touching as me.
I instantly stop.
My eyes do the opposite. They study the contours of his sinful features like one memorizes the fine details of a painting.
Thick brows arched over narrow eyes, a long & straight nose, inviting lips with the bottom one fuller than the top, sharp cheekbones cut from a knife, and a chiseled and square jaw, dark with a five-o’clock shadow.
In other words, the GQ model looks cover-worthy.
No wonder he sells out the magazines each time he’s on the front.
I’m staring so hard at his pursed lips that I miss him faintly calling my name until he clears his throat. My gaze snaps to his, going round at the knowing light in them.
You’re acting like a schoolgirl around a hot senior, Arya.
Thankfully, he doesn’t call out my shamelessness while he’s treating me like a gentleman. “Are you here with someone?”
We’ve reached the landing.
Did more partygoers come while I was gone? I wonder, searching for my girls in the mass of sweaty and wildly drunken bodies. “Yeah, my friends should be─”
“Aru! Aru!”
Nathan and I turn toward a panicked Noor storming in our direction. Anaya and Misha follow behind her while shoving people out of their way and wearing matching tensed expressions.
“Oh fuck! What happened to you?” Anaya demands breathlessly.
Noor probes, “Where did you disappear?”
“She twisted her ankle,” answers Nathan.
His deep and magnetic voice has the same effect on my best friends as it did on me. They freeze and peer up at him at once. A rapturous spell cascading across their faces.
Hmmm, so no woman is immune to him.
They gape at him, recognizing him instantly.
“She needs to get it checked,” he prompts. Still no response. “Immediately.”
It cuts through their reverie and they all speak at once.
“Hurt?”
“How?”
“Can she walk?” Anaya crosses her arms, eyeing him accusingly. “Did you stomp on her or something?”
“No, he didn’t,” I jump in, pulling her focus to me. “He saved me.”
“From who?”
“Tell them later,” orders Nathan.
We all fall quiet.
It dawns on my muddled brain that I’ve been in his arms for quite some time now. He must be getting tired or cramping. I remove my arm from around his neck. “You can put me down, Nathan.”
His hold tightens, making my breath hitch.
“You’re in no condition to walk.” He shushes me. “And you shouldn’t be putting weight on your bad ankle either.”
“But─”
He speaks over me to my friends. “Did you all drive?”
A shake of their heads.
“Book a cab.” Striding for the elevator, he says, “I’ll carry her downstairs.”
Gosh! He didn’t look so bossy in the magazines.
Dipping his head, he arches an amused brow.
Huh… I frown.
“You’re talking out loud.”
Ground, swallow me up.
“Still out loud.”
Sputtering, I turn my head away. “Then stop listening.”
“I can’t carry you and cover my ears.”
The tipsiness gives me false bravado because I drag my palms up his neck and cover his damn ears. “There.”
A playful sheen darkens his narrow eyes, gone just as quickly.
Thankfully, we reach the corridor to the elevator.
It’s bustling with people, waiting in a long queue.
My hands slip to Nathan’s shoulders as he walks past the line, straight to the huge bouncer.
Wordlessly, the man stops the couple at the head of the queue.
He presses the button for the elevator, which opens to an empty car.
We step inside, followed by my three stunned friends.
What was I thinking? A billionaire would never be caught dead waiting in a line. Nathan Singhania happens to be at the very top, even among the richest in our country.
I catch our reflection in the mirrored wall. It seizes my breath in my lungs.
He’s holding me so… protectively.
As soon as we’re cramped inside, I whisper to him, “You don’t have to carry me all the way down.”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Far from it. “Your arms must be getting tired.” Because the dirty martini is still in my system, I go on a talking spree. “I’m slim, but I have high bone density, which makes me heavier to carry. So, you know, I understand if you’re secretly wanting to─”
“Who told you this?”
His livid tone stops me short. “Excuse me?”
“Your tone suggests you’re reciting another’s words.”
“My fiancé─” My throat clamps up as I correct myself. “─ex-fiancé told me.”
His jaw clenches as though my words struck a nerve.
“He meant it well.”
“He’s wrong.” To prove his point, he hefts me higher until our faces are a hairbreadth away. Until I can see fury on my behalf swirl in his pupils. “He was too weak to pick you up and admit it, so he put it on you. If that’s not reason enough to dump his ass, I don’t know what is.”
Except I didn’t.
I don’t tell him that.
We arrive on the ground floor, the door sliding open to let us into the lobby. The lingering crowd watches as Nathan carries me outside, where an SUV is waiting for us.
Noor circles around us, opening the rear door.
Gently, he bends and lowers me onto the plush seat. My stomach hollows out when he reaches for the seat belt and locks it around my body.
Before he can step back, I capture his wrist. “Thank you.”
“Goodbye, Arya.”
Straightening, he turns around and walks away without a backward glance.
***
“The man is sex on a stick,” purrs Anaya, swiping through photos of Nathan online on her phone.
“Yet his fiancée left him for his older brother,” utters a stunned Noor. “I mean, what chance or hope does the average male population have?”
I lie on the bed between these two, replaying my evening over in my head again. I’ve been so wrapped up in wallowing in my own misery to stay up to date with what’s happening in the world.
Nathan Singhania had been dating Iris Mannan for as long as I can remember.
They always stayed in the limelight, more so after they got engaged.
It wasn’t a surprise to anyone. It’s why the news that broke the internet was Iris falling in love with his estranged older brother, Kian Singhania, which I’m learning tonight.
“Losing your girl to your brother.” Anaya winces. “Man, that’s gotta sting.”
Was he also on the roof to run from the happy couples like me?
I didn’t realize we had so much in common.
Broken engagement. Failed relationships. Estranged siblings.
Is that why I felt so drawn to him?
He was so attentive and protective, like a knight in shining armor. How could a girl choose another man over him? It boggles my mind.
“You know what I think?”
Nothing remotely sane comes out of Anaya’s mouth when her sentence starts this way.
Noor knows it too, and asks with narrowed eyes, “What?”
“He’s the perfect rebound for our Arya.” Grinning at me, she says suggestively, “You can fix his broken heart while he fixes yours.”
“You mean fucking him?” I screech.
“Umm, yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s what a rebound implies.”
“Sex doesn’t fix a broken heart, you goof.” Noor snorts.
“Don’t underestimate the power of a good orgasm,” she preaches in a professor-like tone.
“Assuming he’s capable of bringing a girl to orgasm.”
Anaya hums. “Maybe it’s why Iris left him.”
The three of us pause, looking at each other and simultaneously shaking our heads. “Yeah, that’s not it.”
“You know what?” I sit up against the headboard, careful of my sprained ankle. “It doesn’t matter because I’m not interested in sex. Or men, for the foreseeable future.”
They gape at me.
“Yeah, I’ve sworn off men.”
“Forever?” probes Noor fearfully.
“Most likely,” I reply. “I’m going to become a very successful cat lady. It’s like my father said, I’m damaged goods. No one’s gonna be eager to accept my hand in marriage.”
Anaya sits up, growling, “You’re not damaged goods. Do you hear me?”
“Not every man’s going to be like Aryan.” Noor rubs my arm. “You will date and fall in love again. Don’t close your heart to the possibility.”
“Promise us,” demands Anaya.
“Fine.”
“While you’re letting your heart heal,” says Anaya, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Don’t let your body, by that I mean your vagina, grow cobwebs.”
“Shut up!”
“No! I’m serious. You haven’t been single for, like, a hundred years. This is your chance to explore no-strings-attached sex. I swear, there are some good dicks out there. Even some magnificent ones─” She coughs. “─Nathan’s─” Fixes her tone. “─out there. So, sample some.”
“You moonlighting as a sexpert now?” I retort.
“Would you take my advice if I say yes?”
“I’m with Anaya on this,” Noor says. “Be wild and free.”
I slump back down on the bed, muttering, “I think you’re both still drunk.”
Their faces appear above me, hovering like bobbleheads.
“Say yes.”
“All right!” I huff, but I’m smiling. “I’m going to have loads and loads of sex.”
“Woohoo!” They clap.
“Mission accomplished.”
“You’re both crazy.” I laugh. “But I love you. Now, good night.”