It could be their future.
It could be real.
The thought was powerful enough to knock the wind out of him. Without a warning, she’d opened chambers of his heart where the echoes of lost companionship and family had tormented him, until he’d decided one day that he did not need them to survive. Vehemently, he shook his head, willing those echoes to remain silent.
“I understand that you don’t feel the same way,” Aditi said, mistaking his action to be a response to her. “You don’t need marriage. But I do.”
“Have you considered that this is the story you’ve been fed by your family, just so they can get you hitched to the NRI asshole?” he swore, desperate to keep from unravelling in front of her.
“Do not bring my family into this!” She smacked her hand against the counter, irritatedly blowing a strand of hair out of her face. “I love them. And they love me.”
“Using love as an excuse to justify their emotional manipulation is pathetic.”
She paused, pinning him with a look that made him squirm.
“Did you steal that line from one of your Korean dramas you pretend you're not watching?” she spat coolly.
“No, from one of your smut-filled romance books that you leave littered everywhere,” he sneered, no more holding back his shots than her.
A low growl emanated from her, his comment enraging her more than it should. “Donotjudge me for finding fictional men more satisfying than real ones,” she hissed, chest heaving, struggling to hold back her anger. “Present company included!”
Jealousy roiled in his stomach, even the thought of fictional men in her life suddenly abhorrent. “Doc, you haven’t been satisfied by me, so keep that mouth shut before I do it for you.”
Unafraid, she walked right up to him, her head tilting back to glare into his face. “Big talk, Bugs. I dare you to try.”
His jaw tightened, brows drawing low in warning.
“Go on,” she goaded, hands on her hips, one foot tapping the ground.
His eyes flashed dangerously. The air hummed with tension from their argument, their skin prickling in awareness. Their agitation had no other outlet besides each other. The pull between them grew stronger with each passing second, overtaking any and all sensibilities.
“Can’t do it, can you?” she taunted, unable to see that Rian’s control was fraying. “See, that’s what I thought. You’re full of sh. . .”
His lips came crashing down on hers, muffling whatever colourful insult she was about to spit at him. Her back hit the wall nearthe switchboard, the accidental brushing of her hand dowsing the apartment in darkness. Crowded against his sturdy frame with his mouth hot on hers, Aditi had one final realisation before everything was lost to the fog of desire.
This was precisely the outcome she had wanted today.
22
Blurred Boundaries
Rian
Rian hadn’t meant topounce upon Aditi like a barbarian bent on marking his woman. But the glimpse of wildness in her, her defiance and flush of anger made him want to plunge headlong into the pool of flames from which she’d arisen.
If she was an inferno, he would gladly burn.
If she was a storm, he’d be the leaf that got swept away in her.
Whatever she was, whoever she would be, he would become a part of her.
It could be no other way.
He bit down on her lip, pulling it out, prying her mouth apart. She responded immediately, opening for him, meeting every rough thrust of his tongue with hers, revelling in his domination.
The tenor of their kiss changed almost instantly, as if Rian had realised that she wouldn’t protest, going from a harsh punishment to a slow and tender exploration. He traced her lower lip with the tipof his tongue, flicking the edges, teasing her before deepening their kiss again.
Aditi moaned softly, almost fusing herself to Rian in pleasure. It was the kind of kiss that made one despise the need to breathe, where one’s body disavowed all ownership over itself, giving full authority to the person who was robbing them of the ability to function normally.