The ceramic of the sink dug into Dimple’s back as Saffi pressed her against it, but the pain hardly registered in her mind. This close, Dimple’s nose was nearly pressed against Saffi’s neck. She smelled of the ocean. So little time in California and already it had made its mark on her. Then Saffi pulled back, armed with damp paper towels.
“What are you—” Dimple cut herself off with a hiss when Saffi began cleaning her knuckles. It was humiliating. She didn’t pull away.
“Not sure yet,” Saffi admitted, carefully extracting a piece of glass. “I am pleasantly surprised to see that you’re capable of guilt, though.”
“And what would I have to be guilty of?”
“Would you give it a rest?” Saffi sighed. “I’m getting bored with this game.”
For some reason, that irritated Dimple. She pushed off the sink, stepping into Saffi’s space. Their eyes met like stone striking stone. That was once how people fashioned tools, wasn’t it? One stone was always stronger, sturdier, but it was used to turn the other into a weapon. Between the two of them, who was the sword and who was the forge that shapedit?
“You’re lying,” Dimple shot back. “You love this.”
“There’s nothing I hate more than hypocrites,” Saffi said.
“I am not a hypocrite.”
“Yeah?” Saffi asked. “Then why are you letting other people weigh you down? Where’syourhunger?” She punctuated her words with a sharp jab at Dimple’s chest.
There wasn’t the roaring campfire that had been reflected in Saffi back at the theater, but it wasn’t entirely put out either. Wisps of smoke curled against coal black, occasionally joined by a flicker of red. Dimple wanted to set them ablaze again and again until the whole world burned. This time when the icy phantom fingers threatened to choke her, the electricity of Saffi’s touch was enough to incinerate them.
“Right here.”
Dimple grasped Saffi’s collar and pulled her down into a bruising kiss.
Chapter Thirty-Four
September 5, 2026
Saffi hadn’t expectedDimple to touch her so gingerly. Only the tips of her fingers grazed her jaw, as though afraid—of what, Saffi didn’t know. The press of Dimple’s mouth, however, was something else entirely. Saffi wasn’t sure if the bruising force of it was what sent tingles through her lips or if Dimple Kapoor was simply incendiary.
This was…What was this? Saffi’s mind floated somewhere high above her, disconnected from her body. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Somewhere off in the distance, the voice of reason reminded her,These are dangerous games.But this felt a lot like winning.
There was a tipping point, the building electricity between them stretching thin, but Dimple began to pull away before lightning could strike.
No.
It couldn’t end there, not when Saffi still didn’t have the answers she so desperately needed. Fingers tangled in Dimple’s hair, pulling her backin.
Somehow, the waxy residue of lipstick and venomous lies had never tasted sweeter. She could feel Dimple’s pulse in her neck, thumping like a drum, even faster than Saffi’s. The tips of her fingers, one hand brushing the underside of Saffi’s jaw, the other her arm. It raised a trail of goosebumps. Suddenly desperate to see Dimple’sface, Saffi pulled back, breathing heavily and coming apart at the seams.
“What the fuck,” Saffi breathed. It wasn’t a question, so there was no answer.
They stared at each other. Saffi wasn’t sure what her own expression held, but Dimple’s was wiped blank. How did she do that? Seconds ago, she’d come alive under Saffi’s fingertips and now she was as cold and lifeless as stone. She wanted that Dimple back. The fiery Dimple that consumed everything she touched. If not for Dimple’s bloodied hands, her short breath, her smudged lipstick, Saffi would have assumed she was unaffected. Her racing pulse could not lie.
Saffi grasped both of Dimple’s wrists, putting an end to the featherlight touches that sent sick flutters through her stomach. She kept her grip loose, easily broken if need be, and while Dimple tensed, she did not pull away. Her knuckles, while they had stopped bleeding, still looked painful.
Regardless, as Saffi’s fingers pressed deeper, the way she’d wanted to for months now, the same too-quick pulse greeted her once again. Saffi was no closer to understanding this woman than she had been eight months ago. The thought sent an unexpected thrill through her.
Perhaps the answers lurked where Saffi spun them around and pressed Dimple to the door, trapping her wrists on either side. Or maybe where she ducked down and brought their lips together again. If they did, Saffi was too distracted to notice. Dimple tugged, tempting Saffi’s grip, but this time she didn’t budge.
“Die,” Dimple gasped.
Saffi replaced the command with one of her own. “Then kill me.”
As though following through with her request, there was a thud and Dimple flew forward, knocking painfully against Saffi’s forehead.
“Shit,” Dimple said under her breath, throwing her weight back against the door.
