“As a seventeen-year-old boy,” he began, his coffee eyes locked with hers, “you were the first person who made me want to be better.Who told me I was more than who I was pretending to be. You’ve been the voice in my head since then. Together or apart, you’ve been a part of me. The man you see is the man you’ve made. How do I not love you when you’re so deeply entrenched in who I am?”
A slow tingle spread across her body, warming her from the tips of her toes to her head, prickling behind her eyes. It took her a moment to find her voice again. “You’ve come a long way. From hating me to—”
“I never hated you.”
His reply was quick. Unequivocal.
“Vihaan,” she called, chiding him softly.
“I never hated you,” he insisted, his hand reaching out to hold hers before he pulled back, unsure if she’d welcome his touch. “I hated that I couldn’t love you. I didn’t understand the distinction until I fell in love with you again.”
“What if I don’t love you?”
“Then I’ll wait another fourteen years.”
The speed with which he answered her, the flash of resignation he tried to keep hidden, told her that he believed her to be capable of keeping him waiting for that long.
“And then?” she prodded, seeing how far she could push him. But all he did was smile at her like she’d said something cute.
“I’m not going anywhere. It’s always been you, Vera.”
And just like that, every last shield fell away. Misty eyed, her next words came out in a broken confession. “I’m tired of hating you. It’s exhausting, trying to hold onto something I no longer feel. But. . .”
“But?” he prompted, sounding like he was holding his breath.
Vera pushed up onto her toes, one hand coming up to hold his cheek gently. Her lips pressed against his sweetly, hesitantly, as if she wasn’t sure he’d want it. It lasted but a few seconds but when she leaned back, her heart was galloping within her chest, the tops of her ears burning when she caught his astounded expression.
“I need time to let myself believe in ‘forever’. Until then, I can give you ‘for now’.”
Vihaan reached for her hand and pressed it into the center of his chest where his heart pulsed under her touch.
“Do you feel that? Every beat of my heart is the sound of your name. For now. Forever.”
Her fingers clutched his when he asked, “Please tell me I’m allowed to touch you the way I’ve been dying to.”
She nodded, her chest tightening in anticipation of being swept up in him again. “Touch me.”
The tremor in his hand wasn’t hidden when he raised it to cup her jaw. Her mouth parted softly when he traced the bottom curve, his eyes tracking his finger, focused on her lips like he needed to feel it more than his next breath. He stepped closer, one hand at her waist, the air between them burgeoning with longing. “I’m allowed to kiss you?”
“Yes.”
“E-everywhere?” he stuttered, visibly thrumming with desperation and excitement.
“Everywhere,” she husked, her irises dilating as desire pooled at the pit of her belly.
A tortured sound rumbled in his throat when he rested his forehead against hers. Eyes closed, he licked his dry lips, taking a few calming breaths. “If you want me to stop, it has to be now. Before I begin. Because once I do—”
She shushed him, pressing her fingers gently against his mouth before gliding them down his neck to rest on his shoulder.
“I don’t want you to stop. I want you to show me what I’ve missed. Show me you’re mine.”
It wasn’t just the way in which he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her into him that had her gasping for breath. It was how his lips fit over hers, end-to-end, with a perfection that was tough to deny. It was in the way he whimpered when she kissed him back, likehe was finally whole again, that had her feeling like she’d weep. And when his tongue slid into her mouth, tangling with hers, devouring her with a need that seemed like it would consume them both, Vera knew she didn’t stand a chance at keeping her heart guarded for much longer. Not when he picked her over and over again. Not when he unabashedly declared his utter servitude to her. Not when he loved her like this—with a madness that refused to abate.
Her back hit the trunk of the tree behind, but all she could feel was Vihaan’s hard muscles pressing into her, his hands mapping her body in heavy strokes and hungry clutches. He licked and laved down the sensitive column of her neck, murmuring words of love and commitment, speaking into her skin as though licking an invisible tattoo upon them.
“I’ll never let you go. I’ll be so good to you; you’ll never regret giving me another chance.”
“Yes,” she gasped, squirming to get closer as his hand sought the skin beneath her shirt. As impatient as he was, she raised her arms to help him slide her top off, reaching for his shirt with an eagerness that had him groaning.