‘I’ll call you Jaan,’ he said, looking pleased with himself.
Her breath stilled, caught between her ribs, and a flicker of heat moved up the back of her neck. ‘Why?’ she whispered.
‘Because adventure is my life,’ he said with a small shrug.
She tried to laugh it off, but her voice came out more breathy than she expected. ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’
‘It does to me,’ he declared, offering no more explanation.
She forced herself to look away from his intense brown gaze that made her feel like he saw far too much for comfort, and the lights of the Ferris wheel caught her attention.
A loud cheer burst from the fair, calling her to it—to be so free that she could scream at the top of her lungs, to break her chains for just a night.
‘But how exactly are we supposed to get out without… you know, alerting my family’s security detail?’
‘That’s simple,’ he said, eyes twinkling. ‘You put on my hoodie and we leave the way I came in.’
It was a stupid idea. It made no sense, and it would probably blow back in her face tomorrow. But that morning was hours away. Siya felt alive, reckless, and free to do something a little dangerous.
A tentative smile crept across her lips as she whispered, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’
In response, his grin widened, boyish and infectious.
Chapter 1
Present Day
Siya sighed in bliss as he ran his fingers through her hair, untangling them gently. A whisper of his lips traced a path down her neck, chuckling when she shivered. The soft light of early morning filtered through the curtains, painting the room in a warm-hued glow.
‘Good morning,jaan,’ he whispered against her ear as he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him.
‘Mm-hm,’ Siya mumbled, stifling a moan, when she felt him perk up against her.
‘Did you sleep well?’
She wiggled against him and smiled to herself when she heard him curse under his breath. ‘How could I? You kept me up all night.’
‘Are you complaining?’ he asked, tracing the shell of her ear with his finger.
‘Not at all, but your neighbours might,’ Siya said, and gasped when he bit her earlobe. He pulled her closer and swung a leg over hers, tucking her under him.
‘Let the world know I spent the night worshipping you.’
He gently pressed his thumb on her lower lip as he whispered, ‘I can never get enough of kissing you. You make me lose my mind.’
When she tried to speak, he shushed her with a desperate, starving kiss.
Nothing could have brought her out of that insane, reckless dream. Nothing but the loud bangs on the door, so much so that she faintly thought the hinges might come off.
However, Siya wasn’t ready to let go yet, so she held on to him tighter and wrapped her legs around him. But he slipped through her embrace, dissolving into mist.
‘Di! I swear to God I’ll break down this door if you don’t answer me in the next five seconds!’
Siya opened her eyes. She found herself asleep on the desk in her bedroom. The loud banging continued, and she didn’t know if she wanted to kill Kashvi or thank her for waking her up. With a sigh, Siya straightened in her chair and ran a hand through the curly mess of her hair.
The sun was shining straight down on her through the open window. Her skin felt warm to the touch, and her heart still beat in an erratic rhythm. It’d been a while since one ofhisdreams had invaded her sleep, but she refused to acknowledge that her conversation with Abhay at Meera and Raghav’s vow renewal had triggered it. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction, not even in her thoughts.
‘Last warning, Di!’ Kashvi yelled, reiterating her resolve with more bangs against the door.
