The heated look he shot her was one she felt all the way to her core and back.
“A kiss.”
His husky voice threatened to obliterate any remaining brain cells she had. She supposed it was some consolation that he sounded as out of breath as her.
“Why?” She had to claw back the urge to pull him towards her again when he stepped away. He didn’t speak for what felt like an eternity, observing her like he’d found an unsolvable puzzle that intrigued him as equally as it vexed him. The sound of heavy breathing punctuated the space between them.
"If I say yes,” he started, still panting like he’d not recovered from kissing her, “I lead this."
It took a moment for Aditi to realise what he was referring to. "Are you saying yes?"
Rian nodded. It seemed obvious that Aditi was set on following through with her plan to experiment romantically. If not him, she’d find someone else. By agreeing to this fling, Rian could keep her safe from unscrupulous men. And keeping her safe would be the mostrespectfulthing he could do, which is what he’d promised Nanamma.
Maybe Aditi had rubbed off on him because despite the serpentine reasoning, things finally made sense. Suddenly, his mind was on board with something his heart had wanted for a long time. He could finally justify giving in to his base urges.
"I set the pace here, not you," Rian instructed, still cautious.
"Deal!" With unexpected enthusiasm, Aditi jumped and threw her arms about his neck. The kiss already had him on edge and with her full breasts pressing into him, Rian could no more control his body’s reaction than he could the phases of the moon. She jumped back, her gaze dropping to his crotch, the result of their liplock and her exuberant hug now evident.
“You’re attracted to me.” He hadn’t rejected her many days ago because he thought she was a loathsome toad? He hadn’t just agreed to a fling because he pitied her? She raised her eyes to his, needing an answer that wouldn’t hurt her pride. “Are you?”
Why she sounded so surprised, he would never understand.
“Only a blind man or a fool wouldn’t be,” Rian admitted with a snort. “And I am neither.”
Her nose twitched. “What a roundabout way to say yes.”
“Fine, yes. I am attracted to you.”
The smile that grew on her face made his heart pound harder. Like it was ready to burst out of his chest, yodel like Tarzan, and swing right into her arms.
“So you do want to kiss me?” she confirmed.
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she beamed. “I’m all yours.”
Something else pounded just as hard as his heart. How he didn’t just bend her over the railing right then and fuck her until her body knew what it was to truly become his, he’d never know. Goddamnit, he needed a cold shower pronto.
“Don’t say stuff like that,” he snapped.
“Why?”
Because I liked it too much.
“Because I am not ready,” he gritted out, pride be damned. He was afraid of pouncing on her like an ill-bred animal. He was plain afraid of her.
“Will you be ready tomorrow?”
Rian dropped his head into his hands, hoping she didn’t test his patience anymore. “Good night, Doc,” he muttered, spinning on his heel, ready to head to bed where he knew he was condemned to spending a night cursing himself over his inability to stay away from her.
“At least answer me this.” He glanced behind to see that she had followed him into the hallway.
“What made you change your mind?”
He tilted his head, turning fully to face her.
“Why did you kiss me right now?” she asked, her voice dropping so that she didn’t wake up Nanamma.