‘Kavya …’ he whispered against my jaw, his lips tracing a slow path towards my ear. ‘You have no idea how many times I’ve pictured this in my head.’
My heart thudded so hard I felt it everywhere. In my ears. In my mouth. In my stomach. Between my legs. The idea thathe’d thought about this, aboutme… it sent a molten little shock through me. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ I looked up at him as my fingers toyed with his soft, wavy hair.
‘Because telling your boss you want to do unspeakable things to her is usually frowned upon in the workplace.’
‘Fair.’ I tilted my head. ‘Whatthingsthough, exactly?’ My eyes widened with feigned innocence.
He smiled against my skin, a dangerous, delicious curl of his mouth. ‘Let me show you,’ he said, lowering me on the couch. The cushions sank beneath me, soft and inviting, and then he was on top of me, warm and solid and achingly close. His mouth found my neck first, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss that made my stomach clench. He took his time there, leaving a trail of kisses that tingled my skin. When he finally reached that sensitive spot just below my ear, he stroked it with his tongue, taunting and teasing.
‘Neil,’ I gasped, and he swallowed the sound like he’d been waiting for me to breathe his name. His hand slid down my side all the way to my ankle, then up my legs and along my thighs, dragging my skirt up with it. The fabric bunched around my waist, making it easy for his hand to wander. My thigh burned where his palm was pressed against it, sending ripples of heat between my legs. I reached for his mouth again, kissing him harder and faster, like I was trying to make up for all the time I’d wasted pretending I didn’t want this.
My hands found the buttons of his shirt, trying to work them open, but it was almost like they had forgotten how to function. I let out a frustrated groan against his lips as the second button refused to cooperate. He pulled back to look at me, contemplating whether or not to put me out of my misery. He must’ve realized that I was two seconds away from tearing off his designer shirt, because he lifted one hand, reached back and slid out of it in one smooth motion.
For a moment, I felt like I was going to black out. I’d seen him without a shirt before—that day in the pantry with that dumb little water droplet running down his chiselled body—but nothing had prepared me for this.God, he’s beautiful.My hands didn’t wait for the green signal from my brain before they began skimming up his torso, tracing the lines of his chest and shoulders like I’d been starving for the feel of him. He let out a sharp breath when my fingers dug into his shoulder blades.
And then, almost like he couldn’t take another second of it, his arms slid under me. He lifted me with an ease that made my stomach flip and my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. His mouth found mine again as he carried me to the bedroom, holding me like I weighed nothing.
He set me down on the plush mattress, then leaned over me, bracing himself on his forearms. The look in his eyes said everything he hadn’t dared to say out loud tonight.
This is it. The point of no return.
Before I could overthink it, I reached up and pulled him on top of me.
I finally understood what all those romance novels meant when they said ‘stars exploded behind her eyes’. I used to think it was just a cheesy hyperbole writers used because ‘nice time was had by all’ didn’t sound sexy enough. But no. Stars are real. Explosions are real. Whatever that earthquake was inside my body last night? Definitely real.
For twenty-four years, I’d been confidently walking around this planet under the delusion that I had experienced orgasms before. I mean … I’dthoughtI had. Once or twice with my ex, I remember squeezing my eyes shut and thinking,Okay, maybethis is it? This … flutter?And I’d been fine with that. Until Neil Desai laid his hands on me and turned my whole world upside down.
I blinked at the fogged-up glass door of the freezer section in the supermarket, trying to focus on the packets of frozen snacks. But knowing there was an unanswered text from him sitting in my phone made it impossible to concentrate on grocery shopping. I unlocked the screen, rereading his message for the tenth time.
Neil: I hope you’re not too tired from last night. Actually, no. I hope you are
I bit my lip, trying to think of a flirty text to send back—something that wouldn’t give away how irritatingly mushy I’d been feeling since I’d gotten home this morning.
‘What is THAT face?’ Nikita’s voice made me jump. She was usually allergic to grocery runs, but had been rather enthusiastic about joining me today.
‘What face?’ I locked my screen and hid my phone behind my back.
She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, pinning me with her gaze. I wondered if she’d tagged along with the sole intention of extracting information out of me. It took me less than five seconds to cave and tell her what had happened last night.
Nikita’s jaw actually dropped. ‘You did it? Youbangedthe hot intern?’ She shrieked, dropping her basket of groceries on the floor. A middle-aged aunty shot us a nasty look before shuffling away to the next aisle.
‘Niks, hush!’ I whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the corner behind the refrigerator. But it was pointless—discretion was not her strong suit. She was already shooting questions at me, her voice alarmingly high-pitched.
‘How big?’
‘Nikita!’
She ignored me. ‘Fine, fine. Was he good?’
‘Yes.’
‘Like good-good? Or good enough for a hot boy?’
‘Good-good.’
She clapped her palms together. ‘Did he last long?’
I covered my face. ‘Next.’
