He lets out a shaky breath. “I don’t know when it happened… but somewhere along the way, I started wanting something more. Something real. And for the first time in my life… I don’t know what to do about it.”
My heart twists at his words.Is that the reason he proposed to me?Is it really what I’m thinking? Am I the one who makes him feel real?
Nervously, I meet his gaze. There’s an intensity in his eyes that feels like it’s pulling me closer. I know exactly where this conversation is headed, and it’s a place I don’t want to go—a place neither of us should. I should put a stop to it here before it spirals further.
Shaking my head, I force a small smile. “How about we go for lunch? There’s a Chinese restaurant down the road that I love,” I suggest, my voice deliberately light, as if that could erase the awkwardness hanging between us.
Aditya blinks at the sudden shift in the conversation, his expression unreadable for a moment before he repeats, “Lunch?” His lips twitch into a smirk, his amusement evident.
“Yes, lunch,” I insist, standing up quickly before he can say anything else. “You know, the thing people do when they’re hungry?”
He studies me for a moment, and for a brief second, I think he might confess it again. Tell me that it’s me he wants. Maybe, deep down, I want to hear it too. Though I’ve heard him say it before, I still crave those words.
But then he sighs, shaking his head. “Alright,” he says, standing up as well. “Lunch it is.”
I turn away before he can catch the disappointment in my eyes. For now, I guess food is easier to deal with than the tension crackling between us.
“Why don’t you wait in the living room? I just need a few minutes to change into something more comfortable,” I say, gesturing towards my formal dress.
Aditya raises an eyebrow. “You look fine to me.”
I roll my eyes. “And you clearly have no idea how uncomfortable this is.”
“Got it. I’ll be waiting, but don’t take too long. Or I might just come back to peek,” Aditya teases, his smirk full of mischief.
I shoot him a pointed look. “Don’t you dare.”
With a chuckle, he raises his hands. “No promises.”
I huff, placing my hands on my hips. “Leave, mister. I really need to change out of these clothes, and you’renotgetting a free strip show.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, my eyes widen in horror, and I slap a hand over my lips, silently cursing myself. Damn me and my big mouth.
Aditya freezes for a moment, then his gaze darkens, heating up. Slowly, deliberately, he steps towards me. My heart leaps into my throat, every instinct screaming at me to move. But I can’t. I just can’t. He comes to stand in front of me and my breath catches in my throat. His scent—warm, masculine and maddeningly familiar—engulfs me, making my pulse falter. My body betrays me. My core clenches painfully, a reaction I have no control over.
His hands come up, warm and firm as they cup my face, his thumbs grazing my skin with a tenderness that sends shivers down my spine.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman here, Sana,” he murmurs, his voice rough with restraint. “But this smart mouth of yours is making it damn hard for me to stay in check.”
I swallow hard, my pulse hammering in my ears. My mind screams at me to step back, to regain control, but my heart—the traitorous thing—wants nothing more than to close the distance between us.
Before I even realise it, my eyes flutter shut, my breath shaky as I surrender to the moment, wanting for once to follow my heart’s desire without overthinking what’s right or wrong. I don’t say a word, but I hope… God, I hope he understands what I’m asking for without me having to say it.
And as if sensing my silent plea, he gently cradles the back of my neck and pulls me toward him, his lips crashing onto mine.
The kiss is hot, all-consuming, and utterly intoxicating. A jolt of desire surges through my body like an electric current, and I grip his shirt for support. His tongue teases mine, demanding and relentless.
OMG, is this what it feels like to be kissed? I’ve never felt anything like this before. Wild. Fulfilling. Addictive. But whatever it is, it feels so... amazing.
His arms tighten around my waist, pressing me against him, and just like that, every rational thought slips away. I know I should pull back, that I should stop this before it goes too far—but I can’t.
I don’t want to.
I’m lost, drowning in the passion, in the desperate, urgent way he kisses me—as if he has to, as if he needs this, needs me, just to breathe.
My breathing grows ragged as his lips leave mine, trailing down my jaw until they find the sensitive skin of my neck. A soft gasp escapes me, and my body arches instinctively into his touch.
“God, I want to make you mine this very second,” he rasps against my skin.
