A tear slips from the corner of her eye, then another.
“You have no idea what lengths I’ll go to just to make sure you’re safe,” I finish.
I wait, hoping she’ll finally say she agrees with me, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she leans in and presses her lips to mine. For a heartbeat, I freeze, caught off guard. Then, my instinct takes over, and my hands find her waist, pulling her flush against me.
The kiss is soft at first, gentle, like she’s pouring into it everything she can’t bring herself to say. But then it shifts. Herfingers slide into my hair, tugging me closer, her lips growing more urgent, more desperate. And I kiss her back like a man who’s been starved for far too long.
Her taste, her breath, the small whimper she lets out when I tilt her head, it’s too much. It’s all-consuming, enough to make me forget everything but her.
I slide a hand to the nape of her neck, while the other stays locked around her waist, keeping her caged against me, exactly where she belongs.
She pulls back, her eyes dark, her chest rising and falling in need. “Make me yours, Sidharth.”
My breath catches. “Nisha…”
She nods, her eyes hazy with desire. “Please, Sidharth. I want you.”
Her willingness to give herself to me, the trust she places in me, putting my need above her hesitation, knowing exactly how much I need her close, wrecks me in the best damn way.
I scoop her into my arms in one swift motion, and she immediately wraps herself around my neck, her cheek resting against my shoulder.
I carry her down the hallway, my heart pounding. I push open my bedroom door and kick it shut behind us. There’s only one thing on my mind now… one damn goal burning through me. To make sure she knows, without a single doubt, that she’s loved and protected in every way I can show her—body, heart, and soul. She’s my reason to live… the one thing I can’t afford to lose.
Chapter 25
Nisha
My pulse thrums wildly as Sidharth gently lays me on the bed. My arms stay looped around his neck, and without breaking our gaze, he hovers above me, his hands braced on either side of my head. My breathing quickens, syncing with the warmth of his breath brushing my skin, melting away any lingering doubt about what we’re about to do.
“Are you sure?” he asks huskily, his eyes searching mine.
This man… he’s everything and more. And it’s not just the way he always puts me and my needs first. It’s the way he sees me. The way he makes me feel safe, wanted, and anticipates my fears and anxieties before I even voice them. The way he’s somehow taken my broken, damaged heart and made it whole again.
Smiling, I trace the contours of his face. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I want this. I want you. Every part of you.”
He leans in, his forehead resting against mine, his breathing ragged. “You already have all of me, sweetheart. My every breath and every beat is all yours.”
I try to speak, but no words come out. Before I can gather a single thought, his lips claim mine. I sigh into the kiss as my hands slide down his chest, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, holding on tight, like he’s the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
I’m panting when he finally breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes.
“Nisha, I don’t just want your body. I want you. Every inch of you. I want to feel you, taste you, know you completely. Body and soul,” he says, his voice rough with need.
The ache in my core intensifies… no longer just from the heat of the moment, but from holding back, when all I want is to tell him the three words that have been clawing at my chest. Words he never asked for, but ones he’s earned in every way possible. Because if I’m honest, I’m already his in a way that matters the most. It’s just that now I have to finally say it out loud.
“I love you, Sidharth,” I blurt out, the confession tumbling past my lips before I can stop it.
His breath catches, but I keep going, letting the rest pour out.
“I’ve tried to pretend my heart’s not ready, that I still need time to give this relationship a name. But the truth is, you’ve already become a part of me.”
For a moment, he just stares, completely still. Then something flickers in his eyes.
“Say it again,” he rasps.
I swallow hard, my eyes locked on his. “I love you.”
He cups my face in his hands, his touch unsteady. “God, Nisha, you have no idea what that does to me… hearing you say that.” He leans in and presses a slow, reverent kiss to my forehead, then another to my lips. “I became yours the moment I laid eyes on you. And now that you’ve confessed your love,there’s no going back. You’re it for me,” he says gruffly, his voice thick with emotion. Then he adds, “I love you too, sweetheart. So damn much.”
