Page 72 of Since You Stole My Heart

‘Pay for what?’ he asked softly.

‘The accident.’

‘What do you mean?’ he asked, but she had already gone slack in his arms, her only response the quiet rhythm of her breathing.

That left him more unsettled. Swayam had seen the toll those nightmares took on her, how she grew restless after sunset and couldn’t sleep without the lights on.

Yet she refused help because she believed she had to pay.

Everyone made mistakes, and Kashvi was not someone who ran from hers. He had seen her face consequences without flinching, but this… this was different.

What could she possibly be punishing herself for?

Kashvi snored lightly, telling him he would get no answers tonight.

He exhaled slowly, trying to ease the tension from his body as he pressed another kiss to her forehead. ‘We’ll figure it out, baby. I promise,’ he whispered, lingering there for a moment.

He would not rush her, but neither would he let her carry this alone. Not anymore.

After all, she was his wife, and the only woman who had ever ruled his heart.

Chapter 14

The first thing Kashvi felt when she woke was the deep, wrung-out ache in her body. A dull heaviness sat in her limbs, and a lingering ache pulsed faintly through her chest.

When she tried to curl her fingers into a fist, the strain made her inhale sharply. She could only vaguely recall the seizure from last night, her mind still foggy from the medication.

She tried to move, but immediately tensed as she became aware of the weight against her back and the firm line of an arm curved around her waist. Carefully, she shifted onto her back to find Swayam snoring lightly into her hair.

His features were softened by sleep, his lashes casting faint shadows beneath his eyes. For a moment, she simply watched him.

Last night came back to her in fragments. Every time she stirred awake, fatigued and disoriented, Swayam had been there, holding her in his arms. He hadn’t let go of her once, apparently not even in his sleep.

A small sigh slipped out of her, and Kashvi hesitated briefly before lifting her hand to brush her fingers lightly along his cheekbone.

What would it be like to wake up like this every morning?

She rubbed gently against his scruffy beard, which seemed denser than yesterday. He’d asked if she wanted him to shave for the wedding, and she’d told him it was up to him. What she hadn’t told him was that she was relieved he hadn’t, because she loved it.

Her pulse suddenly felt louder in her ears as her fingers hovered inches from his lips. She brushed the pad of her thumb against his lower lip, and her breath caught as the memory of their kiss rushed to the surface. A sharp, insistent need hummed beneath her skin, impossible to ignore.

If she hadn’t been touching his lips, she wouldn’t have felt them twitch as Swayam tried to smother his smile.

Kashvi gasped. It only deepened the unrepentant curve at the corner of his mouth before he opened his eyes, warm and fully awake.

‘You were not asleep!’ she accused, pulling her hand back from his lips, though heat had already rushed through her.

Swayam didn’t bother denying it. ‘I was, until you started touching me like that,’ he said, completely unbothered.

‘I was not,’ she began, only to falter when he took her hand, threaded his fingers through hers, and held it against his chest.

‘You were, and for a second, I thought I was dreaming. So I stayed quiet, because if that was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.’

Kashvi fought back a shy smile, looking away. ‘Stop being so annoying.’

‘Am I? Is that why you’re still snuggled in my arms?’ he asked fondly.

‘The correct word is “stuck.” I couldn’t move because you’re a giant bear.’