Lower this time, breaking.
“Meera…”
This one, shattered him.
He shook.
The tremor ran through his chest into her, through the arms locked around her, through hands gripping her back as if they had forgotten how to let go.
This was not the man she knew.
The man she knew stood composed through everything. Untouched. Unmovable.
His face pressed into her neck, his mouth against her pulse as if he needed to feel it there, needed proof she still existed.
Warmth touched her skin.
Uneven.
Wet.
Her breath caught. She could not tell whether it was sweat or….
“Don’t…” His voice scraped raw enough to hurt. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Never.”
He drew in a sharp breath. His hold tightened.
“I thought…” The words dragged out of him. “Meera… I thought I lost you.”
His voice failed at the end.
She froze.
‘Lost her?’
The tremor in him had not eased. His arms clung to her with a force that spoke of fear, as if loosening his grip would take her away again.
Her chest drew tight. She leaned into it, almost surrendering to the pull of him.
Then the memory struck.
Him. Rajveer. The contract.
The hollow inside her twisted. Anger surged, sharp and blinding, burning through every softened part of her still reacting to his touch.
How dare he?
How dare he hold her as if she mattered more than breath while his signature sat fresh on papers that would destroy everything she had ever belonged to?
Her palms pressed against his chest. She pushed him away with all the force left in her.
He stumbled back. His arms fell from her as if torn free against his will.
Space rushed in between them, sudden and brutal.
“Don’t touch me.” Her voice cut clean through the chamber.
She stepped back, her legs stiff. Cold still lingered in her body, but it couldn’t reach her anymore. Anger burned hotter.
