CHAPTER 35! TRIO #3
The change was instantaneous. The defeat vanished, and a smile appeared on her face, so bright that it felt dangerously exposed in a room occupied by Aryav Rai Shinghania.
"Rishikesh," she said, her voice practically vibrating with excitement.
Aryav let out a slow, controlled sigh, looking back at her.
"There are river activities, and camping, and white-water rafting, and-"
"Fine."
Aadhira froze mid-sentence, her eyes wide. "Fine?"
"Fine."
He shifted slightly, his jaw clenching as he realized exactly how completely he had just lost a negotiation he had entered with a hundred percent advantage.
He had no interest in rivers. Or camping. Or whatever fresh disaster the cousins were planning.
The only relevant detail was that Aadhira would be there. Everything else was merely security management.
Aadhira scrambled backward, snatching her phone off the nightstand with frantic energy.
"I'm telling everyone right now before you change your mind."
"That sounds remarkably like a threat."
"It is an absolute threat," she shot back over her shoulder, her fingers already flying across the glass.
Before he could even formulate a response, the call had already connected. Kashvi answered on the very first ring, her voice muffled with sleep.
"Aadhi? Why are you calling at this hour?"
"Pack your bags," Aadhira commanded, her smile audible over the line.
A long pause came from the speaker. "What?"
"We're going to Rishikesh."
Another extended pause, followed by the sound of rustling sheets. "When?"
Aadhira's grin widened as she looked back at Aryav. "Tomorrow morning."
"Don't tell the others yet," Aryav cut in, his voice calm but commanding enough to bleed through the phone line.
Aadhira pulled the device slightly away from her ear, frowning at him. "Why?"
Aryav rose from the chair in one smooth movement. The distance between them disappeared.
Shirtless, still warm from the shower, he seemed even larger standing this close. The faint scent of cedar and clean soap surrounded him, and Aadhira suddenly became painfully aware that there wasn't even a foot separating them.
She had been trying not to look at him for the last ten minutes. Standing this close made that impossible.
He reached out to take the white dress shirt from the armrest.
"Because if they find out tonight, they'll start packing," he said. He paused, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "And I want one peaceful night before the catastrophe begins."
He hadn't stepped away. Neither had she.
The room fell impossibly quiet. A drop of water slipped from the damp ends of his hair, tracing the line of his collarbone before disappearing.
Her eyes followed it on instinct. When she looked back up, he was already watching her.
For one suspended heartbeat, Aadhira simply stared at him.
He had agreed. He had actually agreed.
Excitement surged through her before she could think, bypassing every single filter she possessed.
"Thank you!"
She rose onto her toes. Instinctively, her fingertips curled lightly around his forearm to steady herself. His skin was warm beneath her touch.
Before either of them could process what was happening, she pressed the softest, feather-light kiss against his lips.
Barely a second. Soft. Warm. Gone.
The room crashed into a sudden, absolute stillness.
The bright smile vanished from Aadhira's face.
Her eyes widened, and every single muscle in her body locked rigid.
Ye maine kya kar diya...?
Akal ghaas charne gayi thi kya?
Aadhira bevkoof hai tu.
The instant she pulled away, Aryav's hand lifted. Almost. His fingers stopped inches from her wrist. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered it again.
His fingers flexed once at his side. The muscles in his jaw locked so hard a vein stood out beneath his skin.
He could have stopped her.
He didn't.
He didn't move now, either, and that was the only reason she managed to step away.
Aadhira's heart lurched into her throat. "Oh God."
She pointed at him with a trembling finger, desperately looking for an escape route. "That... that wasn't..."
Another useless wave of panic hit her.
"I got excited."
Wonderful. Excellent explanation. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her alive.
"I mean-" She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could turn back time. "I didn't mean-I did mean thank you-but not..." She groaned softly, her face burning. "I'm going to stop talking now."
Without waiting for permission-or mercy-she spun around and practically fled toward the master bathroom.
The door slammed shut behind her, the lock clicking into place with frantic haste.
A beat of silence passed.
Then another.
Aryav remained exactly where he was in the center of the dimly lit room. His gaze lingered unblinkingly on the closed bathroom door.
Slowly... almost absently... his fingers brushed across his lower lip where the ghost of her warmth still lingered. The corner of his mouth threatened to curve upward.
It didn't.
Instead, he exhaled once. A slow, controlled breath.
"...Dangerous."
Not the kiss. The fact that every instinct he'd spent a lifetime mastering had told him to pull her back.