Chapter Ten
Kian
“Do you think it’s wise for me to live here?” asks Iris at breakfast.
I put down my coffee mug. “Has Nathan reached out to you since the last time?”
“Not yet.”
I hear the anxiety in her angelic voice. It’s understandable considering we’re risking Nathan finding out he didn’t succeed in separating us by living together. However, there was no way I was letting her stay at the hostel near her college campus.
I have firsthand experience of how easy it is to bribe the security guard and walk inside. With all the secrets coming to light, I haven’t forgotten Iris is in danger with a lunatic after her.
A fact Nathan shouldn’t have neglected before throwing her out of his apartment. He’s too blindsided by his hatred for me to think properly.
Hesitantly, Iris suggests, “Maybe I should stay at the hostel for a while.”
“No,” I vehemently turn the idea down. “We’re not living apart, Rainbow.”
“He’s going to find out we’re together, Kian. You saw how lax the security is at my building. One call and he’d know I left with you the next morning.”
“He won’t. I took care of it.” By paying both the guard and the warden off and having them in my pocket for the foreseeable future.
If anyone asks, Iris is living there. “Nathan knows we’ll run into each other since you work for me.
He can’t make you quit. Besides, he wouldn’t even want to.
He wants to see me suffer. Being around you, knowing you’re about to marry him, will do it. ”
Pushing away the empty cup, she stands and perches her ass on my lap. Cupping the side of my face, she softly utters, “I will never marry him, Kian. I’d run away with you.”
“I know you would, baby,” I say with a smile. “But I’d never put you in a position to hurt your family like that. When I marry you, I’d do it the right way with your parents’ and dadu’s blessing.”
Her gaze turns glassy as she melts against my chest. “What if they find out the truth and never forgive me?”
“They will,” I assure her. “I’ve seen how much they love you. They’ll understand.”
“I hope so.” Worrying her lip, she lets it go with a dejected sigh.
“My whole life feels like one big fat lie. I feel so lost. My sham of a relationship didn’t just involve Nathan, it included everyone I care about.
My family. My best friends. I’m scared I’ll have no one left.
I’ve already lost Nathan. You’re the only real thing I have.
My only anchor. Now there’s someone actively trying to rip us apart after you’re finally mine.
I have this fear that one day you’ll wake up and won’t want me anymore. ”
The fright in her low voice rips me apart. Her life is in tatters all because of loving me. Yet I can’t bear the thought of letting her go. I’m far too selfish.
“You won’t lose anyone, least of all me,” I murmur against the top of her head. “I promise we’ll get through this. It’s just a matter of time. Until then, you’ll be brave and won’t worry about the future.”
Iris nods.
My brother may think he has leverage over us. That he broke us apart.
When he least expects it, I will strike and prove him wrong.
I know exactly when and how I’m going to accomplish it. Until then, Iris and I need to keep our relationship hidden. He needs to believe everything is moving according to his plan. It’s why I also can’t share my intentions with Iris or he’ll see it coming.
Iris’s sweet voice draws my attention to her. Fingering the lapel of my suit jacket, she pouts. “It’s going to be tough pretending I don’t love you at the office today. I worry that if I stare at you too long, someone will see it on my face.”
With each night she spends in my arms, it’s becoming increasingly difficult not to fuck her. I want to claim her virginity, make her mine completely.
Tipping her chin up, I tug her bottom lip between my teeth before kissing it. “You come into my office any time you want.”
“Won’t I distract you?” A sultry smile pulls up her mouth as she sasses, “The desk might even give you ideas.”
“Oh, you will. Except this time, it’ll be my mouth between your thighs.”
“I’m still recovering from this morning.”
“Is that a no?”
Insatiable need lights up her ocean blue eyes. “It’s not.”
“Good. Because it’s my pussy and I will eat it whenever I want.” My hand around her waist tightens as she squeezes her thighs together.
“Yours,” she rasps, kissing the corner of my mouth. “I can’t wait for the day to call you mine and lay my claim publicly. I loathe how every woman in the office lusts after you.”
“They can’t have me.”
“I would kill them if they tried.”
My cock pulses at the fierce possessiveness in her tone. My lips tug up, while she gasps, realizing what she uttered. As she tries to scramble off my lap, I tsk.
Pushing up her silk skirt, I make her straddle my legs and bring her nervous gaze to mine. “You mean that, Rainbow?”
“In my head, I would,” she adorably says before narrowing her eyes. “But in reality, I will punch any girl that tries to flirt with you.”
Fuck! I knew she was sassy, but I didn’t know she had such a feisty streak.
Kissing her cheek, I reply, “Noted.”
Placing her on the ground, I stand up and take our empty plates and cups to the sink.
“How are we going to the office if we can’t be seen together?” Her voice comes up from behind me. “I can take the metro and meet you there.”
I turn around so fast she startles. “You are never taking the metro. Remove it as an option from your list.”
“How else am I supposed to travel?”
“I gave you a company car.” Come to think of it, I’ve never once seen her use it. Pretty sure it’s still parked at the headquarters. “How come you haven’t driven it?”
Waving a hand, she answers, “I told you I didn’t need it.”
“Do you not like it?”
“That’s not it.”
“If it’s not your style, I’ll buy you a new one,” I announce, loving the idea.
“Oh my god!”
“We can go shopping today.”
“No.” She blinks, staring at me like I’m talking in a new language. “You’re not buying me a car.”
“Why not?”
“Seriously?” She throws up her hands. “I need to explain why?”
“Fine. You can drive one of mine to the office today.” Her smart-ass attitude from a second ago deflates like a balloon. Sensing something is off, I lean my hip against the counter and cross my arms. “Are you averse to cars, Rainbow?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what?”
“It’s…” She looks down. Picking nonexistent lint off her skirt, she admits in a small voice, “I don’t know how to drive, Kian.”
That’s it?
Straightening, I close the gap between us. Sitting on a chair, I pull her between my legs. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“Because it’s embarrassing,” she cries. “I’m twenty-one and I still haven’t learned how to drive. Not even a stupid two-wheeler, except for a bicycle.”
I chuckle.
She glares cutely.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Circling my hand to her back, I palm her ass. “Lots of people learn late. I’ll teach you.”
Her eyes widen. “No, thank you.”
“Do you not want to learn?”
“I do.”
“Then?”
“You’ll get mad or lose your patience just like my dad did.”
“No, I won’t.”
“You don’t know that,” she argues.
“Have I ever yelled at you?” Tracing my wristwatch, she shakes her head. “We’ll take it at your pace. I promise I won’t lose my patience.”
“Even if I accidentally crash your car?”
“Yeah. Even then.” Smacking her ass, I tease, “I will spank your pretty ass, though, for putting yourself in danger.”
She laughs. “Deal.”
“For today, I will call you a cab and drive right behind you.”
Iris
“Did Arjun change departments?” I ask Kian, staring at the empty desk across from mine. At first, I thought he was on leave until I noticed the desk had been cleaned out.
“I fired him.”
I gape at Kian, digesting his breezy tone. “When? And why?”
“He yelled at you.”
“You fired him because of me?” How the heck did I not know? I guess I was too caught up in the whirlwind of the past few days.
“No one disrespects you.” His calm statement holds a lethal edge.
The day of my panic attack replays in my head. I never asked Kian how he found me in the bathroom. The pieces click. “You saw me running away that day, didn’t you?”
“Yes. It’s why Arjun got off easy.”
“You didn’t have to fire him, Kian,” I reply, despite being grateful. Arjun was awful to me. Yet I can’t help but feel bad for him. “He was an amazing assistant to you and I’m here temporarily.”
“As an employee, yes. But as my woman, you’re in my life permanently.
” Crowding me against the desk, he takes my face in his hand.
“Whether or not he was amazing is irrelevant because I will not tolerate anyone belittling you. How could you think I’ll stand seeing his face day in and day out, knowing he made you cry?
He won’t make it out of here alive if he were to return. ”
His grip is the only thing that keeps me upright. I gulp past the dryness in my throat and croak out, “You can’t say something like that. You shouldn’t.”
I know. Pot, meet kettle.
However, when I blurted out what I would do to the women lusting after him, it was a form of expression of my obsession for him.
With Kian, there’s no telling.
“Iris,” he hums dangerously, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Anyone harms you, they die. Anyone touches you, they die. Anyone so much as looks at you wrong, they die. I will kill for you and it won’t be just in my head.”
A thrill shoots down my spine.
Arousal makes my breath quicken.
“If it wasn’t Nathan I was engaged to, but someone else—” I need to pause before I can even utter the next words. “—would you have…?”
A bloodthirsty light shines in his eyes. “You don’t want to know.”
My swallow is audible.
His violent admission lingers in the air. Instead of wanting to run away, all I can think is that I was wrong all those years ago.
Kian isn’t a red flag.
He’s vengeance personified.
Lust eclipses the sharp angles of his face as he notices the lack of fear in my eyes. We lean closer at the same time when we hear a set of footsteps approaching. Kian’s warmth disappears as he puts distance between us, just as Yukta rounds the corner.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says in a rush, noticing the two of us. “Good morning, Mr. Singhania.”
Kian dips his head in acknowledgment before flicking those intense metallic eyes on me. “I’ll be conducting interviews tomorrow for Arjun’s replacement. Someone from HR will send you the shortlisted candidates. Set up the interviews.”
“I will.” My lips tingle, aching for his kiss. It’s awful pretending he’s nothing but my boss. I face a silent Yukta after he goes to his office. “Hey.”
“Babe, how the hell do you not faint every time you talk to him?” She sighs, fanning herself. “You could bounce a quarter off that fine ass—”
“Did you need anything?” I interrupt in a clipped tone, possessiveness flaring. I didn’t think I had a violent streak, but I’m seeing the appeal of strangling any woman who lusts after my man.
Yukta turns somber. “I wanted to check in on how you were doing. I heard about the attacks.”
Ah, way to make me feel like crap. “It was a scary experience, but I’m doing okay.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“No. I didn’t see his face.”
“I hope the cops catch him. You’ve filed an FIR, right?”
“No. I haven’t involved the police.”
“Why?” she deadpans. Leaning closer, her voice drops to a whisper. “Wait… you aren’t suing the company? You were attacked inside the building, during working hours.”
“Of course not. It wasn’t Kian who attacked me.”
A dubious look crosses her face.
“What?” I prompt.
“There’s a rumor floating around.” Glancing at Kian’s closed door, she shares, “Last year, a bunch of girls resigned only after a few months of working here. The truth is they went missing.”
My heart hammers as I try to keep my face neutral. “Who told you?”
“Vicky.”
“You’re taking her word? She loves to gossip, Yukta.”
“She visited the NGO where Aastha lived. The girl she was friends with. The warden told her she disappeared without a trace. She wasn’t the only one.”
Fuck. This isn’t good.
Yukta continues. “With the recent attacks on you, we think someone in the company is targeting women and none of us are safe. Maybe you should rethink suing. Or bring it up with Kian since you work directly for him. Ask him if he’s aware and taking any action.”
Either of those options would tamper with the ongoing investigation. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.
With Kian’s earlier threatening profession playing on repeat in my head, I have no doubt about what he’ll do to the person who assaulted me.
Should I risk warning him about the secret investigation?
Will that stop him? Will he be willing to work together with them? I’ll have to discuss it with Harshita.
“I’ll think about it,” I finally say to Yukta.
A throat clears, breaking us apart.
A tall man, wearing a light blue button-down and black slacks, stands a few feet from us. Black cropped hair, dark features, leanly built but muscular. Despite the semi-formal clothes and casual expression indicating he’s an employee, his stance and energy scream he doesn’t belong here.
“Hello,” I greet. “May I help you?”
“I’m here to meet with Mr. Singhania.”
“And you are?”
“I’m Zen.” His voice is impossibly deep. “I work in the IT department.”
“Let me see if Mr. Singhania’s free.”
“I’ll see you later,” Yukta says before walking past Zen.
I poke my head into Kian’s office, finding him seated at his desk. “Hey. Someone named Zen from IT is here to see you. Shall I send him in?”
“Come here for a sec.”
He scoots his chair back as I approach him. “What’s—”
I squeal as I’m pulled into his lap, his mouth descending on mine. Holding me still by the back of my neck, he tastes me savagely, like a man taking a hit of his favorite drug.
As quickly as he grabbed me, he releases me.
“Send him in.”
“Yes, sir,” I push past swollen lips. The way he appears unruffled while wetness pools between my thighs turns me on.
“Iris, go.”
His low growl has me skittering away.