Soft light spilt through the curtains, brushing Jai’s face.
Yesterday’s events played through my head: brunch with Rhea, sketching in the afternoon, the fashion show in the evening, followed by the exhibition. Rekha. The panic attack.
My heart clenched at the thought. It had been the scariest experience of my life.
But the way Jai was there for me after … it was exactly what I needed.Hewas exactly what I needed.
My eyes roamed over him. His hair was mussed up. Thick, long lashes. A crease sat between his brows, as though he were concentrating even in his sleep. His soft lips were shut firmly.
A strange ache spread through me. I’d seen Jai confident, stubborn, amused. But in his sleep, he was unguarded. Mine to look at without his knowing.
I traced the sharp curve of his jaw, feeling the rasp of his stubble until I reached the faint scar on his chin. I pressed a soft kiss over it and wished I could stop time.
I would’ve traded anything to stay in this moment where the rest of the world didn’t exist, where there were only the two of us. And all that mattered was his breath on my skin, the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm and his possessive arm wrapped around my waist.
When I pulled away, his eyes were open.
Jai smiled slowly. ‘Good morning,’ he said, his voice rough with sleep.
His arm tightened as his lips brushed over mine softly, unhurriedly.
My hand curled around the back of his neck as I gently bit his lower lip and tugged.
‘Fuck,’ he groaned.
The next moment, I was on my back, his arms bracketing my body and his mouth slanting over mine. His hand tangled in my hair and angled my head so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue snuck past my lips and brushed against mine.
We kissed like we were trying to memorise each other before the world ended. Frantic. Hungry. Desperate.
Jai consumed me. But I needed more.
Always more of him.
His hand slipped under my T-shirt, his palm sliding over the bare skin of my stomach and palming my breast.
‘Jai,’ I gasped as he moulded the soft flesh, my back arching into his warm touch.
‘You make me feral.’ His mouth trailed hot kisses down my neck, his fingers pinching my nipple, drawing a moan.
My hand sank into his hair. He gently bit my clothed breast, sending shock waves through my body that gathered between my thighs. My core throbbed with a life of its own. ‘Please,’ I cried out.
‘Please, what?’ A soft brush against my soaked panties.
I clenched. ‘Uhm …’
Another brush. I moaned, my hips bucking, reaching for his touch again.
‘Tell me what you want, Ananya.’
My body trembled at his demand. I’d never said something like this to anyone. But with Jai … I wanted to. Because he wanted me to. ‘Please make me cum,’ I whimpered.
A slow, wicked smile formed on his lips. ‘Good girl.’ His hands bunched the hem of my T-shirt, and in one smooth motion, he tugged it over my head.
Goosebumps prickled my skin as the cool air touched me, only to be chased away by something fierce in his dark gaze as it swept across my body. My heart thundered. I felt completely bare – and yet, safe. As if he could see all my imperfections and accepted them anyway.
His lips followed, pressing against mine before trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down my throat. My breath hitched as he went lower, his mouth dragging down my cleavage, his stubble scratching a delicious path until he was between my thighs.
I was panting when he placed a final kiss over the drenched lace. His fingers hooked into the sides ofmy panties, pulling them down in a swift, impatient motion.
