Let Bharat Jogra have his palace rules, his standing orders, and his precisely arranged breakfast plates.
This kitten is staying.
She looked up at the head housekeeper with a smile. “Kamla, can you find me a small box and an old blanket? Something the kitten can sleep in tonight.”
Kamla hesitated a moment, and then, seeing the smile, she went to fetch the things.
???
Yamini bit her lip hard, stifling a moan, and trying hard to control her body from responding.
Bharat Jogra’s handsome face dripped with sweat while he gripped her thighs apart and his hips snapped towards her in a punishing rhythm.
His golden-brown eyes bore down into hers.
“Again,” he commanded.
The command made her lose all control. Instead of shoving him away with anger, her fingers gripped his shoulders hard while her body shuddered under him in pleasure.
She didn’t know how long she saw stars behind her eyes as she climaxed.
But much later, she lay against the sheets breathing hard while he moved away from her with a composed efficiency that should not be fluttering her stomach after what had just happened.
He had withdrawn before finishing inside her.
“You are supposed to spill inside me, not on me,” she said, panting while still trying to catch her breath. “Do I need to teach you how babies are made, maharaja?”
He didn’t react to her sarcasm.
She watched with annoyance through heavy-lidded eyes as he reached for the bedside tissues, plucking them one by one methodically. The paper rasped against her oversensitive skin as he swiped downward, his touch clinical and thorough, erasing all evidence of their intimacy from her abdomen.
Throwing the tissues into the trash can, he moved away and put his black robe on.
She looked at him as he tied his robe.
Not a single sign of disarray remained on him except for the damp strands of dark hair falling slightly over his forehead.
Meanwhile, she could barely feel her legs.
He walked toward the connecting door. “Breakfast at nine,” he commanded.
She ignored his command, deciding to be late as always.
She glared at his broad back, watching him go. He was about to open the connecting door when he paused. She expected him to issue another command, but he didn’t.
She frowned in confusion, wondering why he had stopped. Then she heard it too.
A sound.
A small, high-pitched, unmistakable sound—a mew.
Her heart jumped into her throat.
She pushed herself upright just as the cardboard basket near the far wall shifted. A tiny grey-and-white head peeked out, followed by a wobbling body. The kitten toddled forward with clumsy determination, sniffing the air.
Another tiny sound escaped it. Then a sneeze.
Bharat Jogra went still in a way that was sudden and absolute.
