CHAPTER 37! KISS #2
The bedroom door clicked shut, sealing out the distant echo of the roaring Ganges and the family's lingering laughter.
Inside, the quiet was absolute-sudden and sharp as a severed wire. The room carried the scent of rain-soaked cedar and cold stone.
Aadhira stood in the center of the room, drenched.
Rainwater dripped from the ends of her hair, pooling on the dark wooden floor.
Droplets tracked down her forehead, tracing the curve of her throat to disappear into the damp fabric covering her chest.
Aryav stood near the window, his silhouette cutting a jagged shape against the lightning-fractured storm.
He hadn't bothered changing.
He wore patience the way other men wore weapons.
The immobility of his posture was heavier than a threat.
His stillness was the threat.
Unable to bear the weight of his gaze, Aadhira turned and retreated into the bathroom.
When she emerged minutes later, she wore one of Aryav's oversized black button-down shirts.
The hem hit her mid-thigh.
The dark fabric carried his distinct signature-expensive cedar, smoke, and authority.
The fabric hung loose around her, retaining a residual warmth that belonged only to him.
She walked past him without looking up, trying to ignore the way his eyes tracked her, and headed straight for the king-sized bed.
She climbed beneath the heavy duvet, pulling it up to her shoulders, seeking a sanctuary that didn't exist.
Aryav watched her. Then, he moved.
His actions were silent and fluid as he stripped off his damp jacket and shirt.
Fresh rain traced the knife scar beneath his collarbone before disappearing into the shadows as he climbed into the opposite side of the bed.
Neither looked at the other, yet every nerve ending was hyper-aware of the space between them.
The air conditioning was off, but a deep cold radiated from the rain-soaked walls. Cold found every place the river had already weakened, turning their breath into faint plumes of mist.
Aadhira shivered beneath the covers. The chill settled into her bones, making her teeth click faintly.
Cold drove her closer.
First an inch.
Then another.
Slowly, she closed the distance until she hovered on the razor-thin edge of his space.
Aadhira reached out beneath the duvet. Her fingers, trembling from the chill, pressed flat against his stomach.
Beneath her palm, his pulse stumbled once. Only once.
Then his breathing faltered.
Her fingers brushed uneven skin-lines she had only glimpsed before.
His muscles tightened beneath her touch, a hard knotting of stone, but he didn't move away.
His skin was warm.
Hers wasn't.
She looked up.
Aryav was already staring down at her, his dark eyes wide awake.
He hadn't moved to welcome her; he was simply waiting, letting her trap herself.
Frustrated by his stillness, Aadhira closed the remaining gap.
She rose slightly on her elbow, her shadow falling over him, and pressed her lips against his.
It was a tentative test of boundaries. But Aryav remained unresponsive, his jaw locked like stone, his breath coming in a slow, even rhythm beneath her hand.
The cold rejection was infuriating. She should have stepped away.
Instead, she searched his face for permission he wasn't willing to give.
Leaning in deeper, fueled by a reckless spark, she sank her teeth into his lower lip, biting down hard enough to break the skin.
He didn't flinch.
But His jaw flexed once.
The taste of blood settled between them. His eyes changed.
That frightened her more than if he had smiled.
She knew she should move.
She didn't.
Rainwater slid from the ends of her hair onto his throat.
She was close enough to hear his heartbeat-close enough to mistake restraint for surrender.
Ayaan.
The river.
She had stepped between death and his blood.
She had kissed him.
She had drawn blood.
Enough pretending she was safe from him.
Ye maine kya kar diya maine...?
Akal ghaas charne gayi thi kya aadhira?
Control naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai.
She moved to retreat.
He let her believe she could.
Then, his hand shot out of the darkness, his fingers anchoring behind her neck with a precision that halted her retreat entirely.
He didn't kiss her.
He only looked at her, close enough that she could feel his uneven breath against her skin.
"Satisfied?" he whispered.
The word was a low, dangerous vibration against her lips.
Aadhira froze, her breath catching in her throat.
Ab aankh bhi kaise milaungi inse?
She couldn't move, couldn't breathe under the sudden, suffocating weight of his undivided attention.
When she didn't answer, his grip tightened just a fraction.
"Good," he said, his voice barely existing.
"You spent days testing my patience."
"Don't complain when it finally breaks."
The world lurched.
Aadhira Ab tu bhaag bhi nahi sakti.
One heartbeat she was above him.
The next, the mattress swallowed her back as his weight erased every inch of distance between them, pinning her under the heavy, unyielding reality of his body.
The trap hadn't closed when he grabbed her.
It had sprung the moment she kissed him.
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