sixteen Point of No Return
sixteen
Point of No Return
Imust’ve still been a little high from all the kissing, because when I stepped foot inside his house, the first thing to come out of my mouth was an undignified, ‘WHAT?’ Not ‘wow’ or ‘nice place’ or anything remotely elegant. Just a loud, gawky syllable that bounced off the walls.
Neil chuckled behind me as I walked around and took it all in, my sandals clicking against the expensive marble floor.
The place was ridiculously spacious for Mumbai.
The open-plan living room had an oversized grey couch that looked comfier than my bed, low warm lamps, a dining table tucked into one corner, and walls dotted with floating book shelves, indoor plants and artworks that I bet cost more than my annual CTC.
But it was the far wall that made my jaw drop all the way to the floor.
A full glass panel overlooked the vast sea, with a bench built into the wall with cushions and a fuzzy blanket.
‘You have a reading nook?’ I gasped, clutching my heart like it might explode. ‘With that view?’
‘It’s where I have my morning coffee.’
‘Well, why did you take me all the way to Bandstand for a view you apparently have sitting right here?’ I asked, pointing at the horizon. ‘If you wanted to impress me, you could’ve just brought me home earlier.’
He took a slow step towards me. ‘Then how would I have known that you were impressed by me …’ Another step. ‘And not my condo?’
I snorted so hard it actually made me double over. ‘Condo? This is not a condo, Neil. This is Mannat’s younger, hotter cousin. This is an Architectural Digest cover waiting to happen. This is …’ I looked around, waving my arms like a woman possessed. ‘This is just mad.’
He laughed softly. ‘So you like it.’
‘I’m furious that I like it.’
‘Good.’ He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into him. ‘Because I have a feeling you’ll be spending a lot of time here.’
‘That’s kind of presumptuous of you.’ I had to crane my neck to meet his eye.
‘If that’s the case …’ He murmured into my hair. ‘I’ll just have to make the most of tonight.’
‘Good plan.’ My arms wrapped themselves around his neck like they had a mind of their own, pulling me up on my toes.
He met me halfway, his lips brushing so lightly against mine that it was somehow both exhilarating and unbearable at the same time.
I leaned into him, pressing my chest into his body as he spread his strong hand over my lower back.
Then I poked my tongue between his lips … and something in him snapped.
His hand slid up my spine, twisting in my hair. If it wasn’t for his other hand pulling me snug against him, my knees would’ve buckled. He walked me backwards without breaking the kiss, guiding me until the backs of my knees bumped into the edge of the oversized couch.
‘Kavya …’ he whispered against my jaw, his lips tracing a slow path towards my ear. ‘You have no idea how many times I’ve pictured this in my head.’
My heart thudded so hard I felt it everywhere. In my ears. In my mouth. In my stomach. Between my legs. The idea that he’d thought about this, about me … it sent a molten little shock through me. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ I looked up at him as my fingers toyed with his soft, wavy hair.
‘Because telling your boss you want to do unspeakable things to her is usually frowned upon in the workplace.’
‘Fair.’ I tilted my head. ‘What things though, exactly?’ My eyes widened with feigned innocence.
He smiled against my skin, a dangerous, delicious curl of his mouth.
‘Let me show you,’ he said, lowering me on the couch.
The cushions sank beneath me, soft and inviting, and then he was on top of me, warm and solid and achingly close.
His mouth found my neck first, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss that made my stomach clench.
He took his time there, leaving a trail of kisses that tingled my skin.
When he finally reached that sensitive spot just below my ear, he stroked it with his tongue, taunting and teasing.
‘Neil,’ I gasped, and he swallowed the sound like he’d been waiting for me to breathe his name.
His hand slid down my side all the way to my ankle, then up my legs and along my thighs, dragging my skirt up with it.
The fabric bunched around my waist, making it easy for his hand to wander.
My thigh burned where his palm was pressed against it, sending ripples of heat between my legs.
I reached for his mouth again, kissing him harder and faster, like I was trying to make up for all the time I’d wasted pretending I didn’t want this.
My hands found the buttons of his shirt, trying to work them open, but it was almost like they had forgotten how to function.
I let out a frustrated groan against his lips as the second button refused to cooperate.
He pulled back to look at me, contemplating whether or not to put me out of my misery.
He must’ve realized that I was two seconds away from tearing off his designer shirt, because he lifted one hand, reached back and slid out of it in one smooth motion.
For a moment, I felt like I was going to black out.
I’d seen him without a shirt before—that day in the pantry with that dumb little water droplet running down his chiselled body—but nothing had prepared me for this.
God, he’s beautiful. My hands didn’t wait for the green signal from my brain before they began skimming up his torso, tracing the lines of his chest and shoulders like I’d been starving for the feel of him.
He let out a sharp breath when my fingers dug into his shoulder blades.
And then, almost like he couldn’t take another second of it, his arms slid under me. He lifted me with an ease that made my stomach flip and my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. His mouth found mine again as he carried me to the bedroom, holding me like I weighed nothing.
He set me down on the plush mattress, then leaned over me, bracing himself on his forearms. The look in his eyes said everything he hadn’t dared to say out loud tonight.
This is it. The point of no return.
Before I could overthink it, I reached up and pulled him on top of me.
I finally understood what all those romance novels meant when they said ‘stars exploded behind her eyes’.
I used to think it was just a cheesy hyperbole writers used because ‘nice time was had by all’ didn’t sound sexy enough.
But no. Stars are real. Explosions are real.
Whatever that earthquake was inside my body last night? Definitely real.
For twenty-four years, I’d been confidently walking around this planet under the delusion that I had experienced orgasms before.
I mean … I’d thought I had. Once or twice with my ex, I remember squeezing my eyes shut and thinking, Okay, maybe this is it?
This … flutter? And I’d been fine with that.
Until Neil Desai laid his hands on me and turned my whole world upside down.
I blinked at the fogged-up glass door of the freezer section in the supermarket, trying to focus on the packets of frozen snacks.
But knowing there was an unanswered text from him sitting in my phone made it impossible to concentrate on grocery shopping.
I unlocked the screen, rereading his message for the tenth time.
Neil: I hope you’re not too tired from last night. Actually, no. I hope you are
I bit my lip, trying to think of a flirty text to send back—something that wouldn’t give away how irritatingly mushy I’d been feeling since I’d gotten home this morning.
‘What is THAT face?’ Nikita’s voice made me jump. She was usually allergic to grocery runs, but had been rather enthusiastic about joining me today.
‘What face?’ I locked my screen and hid my phone behind my back.
She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, pinning me with her gaze. I wondered if she’d tagged along with the sole intention of extracting information out of me. It took me less than five seconds to cave and tell her what had happened last night.
Nikita’s jaw actually dropped. ‘You did it? You banged the hot intern?’ She shrieked, dropping her basket of groceries on the floor. A middle-aged aunty shot us a nasty look before shuffling away to the next aisle.
‘Niks, hush!’ I whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the corner behind the refrigerator. But it was pointless—discretion was not her strong suit. She was already shooting questions at me, her voice alarmingly high-pitched.
‘How big?’
‘Nikita!’
She ignored me. ‘Fine, fine. Was he good?’
‘Yes.’
‘Like good-good? Or good enough for a hot boy?’
‘Good-good.’
She clapped her palms together. ‘Did he last long?’
I covered my face. ‘Next.’
Her eyes gleamed. ‘Did he go down on you?’
I hesitated. ‘Yes.’
She nearly dropped her basket again. ‘How many times?’
‘Niks—’
‘How. Many.’ She waited, eyebrows raised.
I exhaled. ‘Three.’
She choked. ‘How many times did you guys do it?’
‘Um … three?’
‘He went down on you all three times?’ She gasped, one hand flying to her chest.
I nodded slowly, confused by her line of questioning.
‘Kavya, that’s like … unheard of.’ She was practically vibrating. ‘Everyone knows that the oral sex ratio is 5:1.’
‘Uh … what are you going on about?’
‘If a man goes down on a woman, he assumes he’s off the hook for the next five times. While the woman has to do it every single time to keep him interested,’ she explained like she was talking to a toddler.
‘Really? That doesn’t sound fair …’ I muttered, thinking back to how things had been with Arjun, and realizing there might be some truth to her little theory. ‘Anyway, that’s not what happened with us.’
‘The math isn’t mathing, babe.’ She hummed, rubbing her chin. ‘He’s either a unicorn, or …’
‘What?’ I asked, against my better judgement.
‘He likes you. Like really likes you.’
‘Shut up.’ I scolded her and walked away, but the damage had already been done. My heart was already doing backflips inside my chest.
He likes me. He likes me. He really likes me.