Page 15 of Since You Stole My Heart

His jaw tensed. ‘Okay, I’ll go, but I’m taking it with me.’

She moved forward on instinct and grabbed the book, trying to tug it free from his grip. Kashvi narrowed her eyes. ‘If you want a book, you’ll find tons back at home.’

He tightened his hold just enough to resist her pull. ‘I don’t want a book. I wantthisbook.’

‘What? Why?’ she demanded, tugging harder.

Swayam opened it and slowly flipped through its pages. ‘Just in the mood to read romance.’

Kashvi let out a short, incredulous laugh. ‘You hate romance.’

He corrected her with a faint smile. ‘I hate badly written romance. This is a great one.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Because it’s your favourite book.’

She tugged at the book again, irritation flaring as she tried to mask the way her heart fluttered at the fact that he had paid attention to what she loved.

Swayam held it out of her reach, and when she tried to grab it, she stumbled straight into his arms. ‘Give it back,’ Kashvi insisted.

In one smooth motion, he turned her around, the world tilting for a second, until her back was pressed firmly against the bookshelf.

Kashvi flattened her palms against his chest to steady herself, and he wound an arm around her waist. ‘Careful,’ Swayam murmured, the word brushing against her skin as much as his fingers did.

There was no more space between them.

The scent of his woodsy cologne mingled with the faint dustiness of her old books, and for a moment, she felt like she was home. Her breath hitched, and her body betrayed her by leaning into his warmth for a second too long.

Swayam studied her, his coffee-brown eyes darkening with helpless frustration. He gently cupped her face and traced his thumb beneath her hollow, sunken eyes as he said, ‘You look exhausted.’

Kashvi hated how easily he could see through her. Her lips trembled and she pressed them together to hide it. ‘How did you know I was staying here?’

‘Luv. We were having breakfast when you called him this morning to pick you up. He didn’t want to tell me, but I got the address out of him.’

‘So you interrogated him too?’ she snapped, irritated that he wasn’t rising to her anger the way he usually did with teasing remarks.

Swayam shifted his hand at her waist, brushing the curve of her side in a bid to reassure himself that she was okay. ‘No. I told him you’d been having nightmares for weeks, and that knowing you were going through it alone was driving me insane.’

The anger she had been wielding so confidently faltered under the intensity of his concern. Kashvi had no sharp reply this time. ‘But I didn’t want you to know.’

‘Why?’

The question was simple. Direct. Infuriating.

In an instant, she remembered Swayam, just two weeks into being her roommate, knocking softly on her door after hearing her cry out. He had sat by her bed all night, holding her hand through the nightmare, whispering that she was safe until her breathing finally evened out.

The first time, he had looked startled but determined. The second time, he had come before she had even called his name. Somewhere along the way, she’d begun to rely on him, and that terrified her.

‘It’s no big deal. I’ve been away just a few days.’

‘Twelve days,’ he insisted.

‘You’re counting?’ she asked, surprised.

‘Of course I am. You thought I wouldn’t?’ Swayam replied without hesitation, and her pulse stumbled at the hope swelling in her chest. ‘And if you’re really so fine, why do you look so pale?’

Kashvi bristled. ‘It’s my new skincare routine.’