CHAPTER NINE #2
"Oh, Serena," Julia breathed, her eyes shining with pride as she looked at her daughter. "You look absolutely breathtaking."
Julia stepped up behind her, opening the box to reveal a pair of stunning, teardrop diamond earrings. "These were my grandmother's. I want you to wear them tonight."
Serena turned, offering her mother a soft smile, and allowed Julia to clip the drop earrings into place.
Before they could speak further, a soft knock sounded at the door. Shraddha Ashmehr-Vohn stepped into the suite, carrying a long, flat velvet case.
"Excuse the intrusion," Shraddha said, her eyes widening slightly as she took in Serena’s appearance.
The matriarch of high society could find absolutely no flaw in the woman before her.
Shraddha walked forward, extending the velvet case.
"Serena, my dear. On behalf of Ranvir and myself, we want to formally welcome you to the family. "
Serena opened the case. Inside lay a magnificent, intricately crafted gold and diamond necklace, a piece of dynastic heirloom jewelry that radiated history and immense wealth.
"It is beautiful, Mrs. Ashmehr-Vohn," Serena said genuinely, recognizing the olive branch for what it was. "Thank you."
Shraddha smiled, reaching out to help Serena clasp the necklace around her throat. The diamonds rested perfectly against the high collar of the blouse, completing the image of untouchable royalty. "You are one of us now, Serena. Come, let us not keep my son waiting."
As Serena stepped out of the suite and walked toward the grand staircase, she saw him.
Rudraksh was waiting at the bottom of the marble steps. He wore a sharply tailored, midnight-blue bandhgala suit that accentuated the sheer breadth of his shoulders and the hard lines of his physique.
He looked up as she began her descent.
Rudraksh stopped breathing. The air simply evaporated from his lungs.
He tracked her movement, his dark eyes taking in the sleek ivory-gold silk, the diamonds at her throat, and the way the fabric clung to her hips. And then, as she turned slightly at the landing, the long cascading curls shifted, revealing the deeply scooped, bare expanse of her back.
A violent wave of possessiveness crashed over him, accompanied by a heat so intense it felt like a physical brand on his skin.
He wanted to clear the entire estate. He wanted to draw his sidearm, empty the ballroom of every politician and general, carry her off into the shadows, and just make love to her until she forgot her own name.
When she reached the bottom step, Rudraksh didn't offer his arm. He closed the distance, his large hand wrapping securely around her waist, his fingers pressing directly against the bare skin of her lower back.
Serena’s breath hitched at the searing contact.
"You are trying to kill me, Blaze," Rudraksh murmured, his voice a dark, gravelly hum that vibrated against her ear. "Half the men in that room are going to stare at your back, and I am going to have to shoot them all."
Serena tilted her head up, a slow, devastatingly smug smile touching her lips. "Control yourself, Monarch. We have a party to host."
"I make no promises," he growled, pulling her flush against his side as they turned to face the grand ballroom.
The engagement celebration was a triumph. General Ranvir and Shraddha moved through the elite crowds, projecting dynastic power, while Mrinalini held court from her velvet chair, flanked closely by Shankar and Julia.
But the undisputed center of gravity in the room was Rudraksh and Serena.
They moved through the political and military elite with flawless, synchronized grace.
Serena engaged diplomats and four-star generals with her sharp, Oxbridge-trained intellect, unbothered by the sheer opulence surrounding her.
And Rudraksh never left her side, his hand resting a constant, brand of possession against the bare skin of her back, his dark eyes daring anyone to look at her for a second too long.
***
Hours later, the final guests had departed, the chandeliers had been dimmed, and the sprawling estate of Meherlyn House had finally fallen quiet.
The mahogany doors to Rudraksh’s private suite clicked shut, the deadbolt sliding into place with a definitive, echoing snap.
The suite was vast, dominated by a dark-wood four-poster bed and a plush velvet couch near the bay windows. But Serena barely had time to register the environment.
The moment the door was locked, Rudraksh turned. The suffocating restraint he had maintained for the last five hours shattered.
He backed her against the wooden door. His hand moved up, his large, calloused palm cupping her cheek, his thumb tracing the sharp line of her jawline just as his lips crashed down over hers.
It was a kiss of consuming worship. His tongue darted deep into her mouth, tasting the lingering champagne, demanding everything she had.
Serena’s military discipline flared. She tried to resist for a second, her hands coming up to press flat against his chest, trying to maintain her tactical boundaries.
But the sheer, overwhelming heat radiating from him was too much.
The ice melted. She sighed softly into his mouth, her hands sliding up to grip his broad shoulders, and she opened her lips wider, welcoming his fierce invasion.
The kiss went on and on, a dizzying, intoxicating exchange of breath and heat.
Rudraksh moved his other hand, his palm flattening heavily over her breast, cupping the soft flesh through the sleek layers of the ivory-gold silk.
The rough friction sent a jolt of liquid fire straight to her core.
Serena whimpered, her back arching off the door as she thrust her breasts toward his demanding hand.
Rudraksh broke the kiss, his breathing ragged.
His lips moved down the sharp angle of her jaw, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down the long, elegant column of her throat, right beside the diamond necklace.
Serena threw her head back, her eyes fluttering shut to give him better access, her hands tangling desperately in his dark hair.
She sighed with unrestrained pleasure.
Rudraksh lifted his head, his chest heaving.
He looked down at her—the Amazon warrior lying pliable in his arms, her eyes closed, her head thrown back, and her spine arched exquisitely upward.
He felt such a ferocious, primal desire for her that his vision actually blurred.
He wanted to bury himself deep inside her at once, to claim her so that the rest of the world ceased to exist.