Page 97 of The Divine Lies We Weave

You want this…?

No.

You cannot lie to me, mortal.

Leela bit her lip. He was my everything, once. Forgive me if I’m a weak bitch.

I cannot when I am the same, mortal. Unfortunately, love holds the deepest memories.

Leela frowned, but she was too busy trying to keep Rajesh from her.

“Don’t do it,” Leela said.

Rajesh stilled, and so did the water.

Leela sucked in a breath, her eyes lingering on his chest. She couldn’t help it. They had been together only a couple of times. Now, they were older, wiser. Maybe he was even better at it now.

“You worried she’ll control you?” Rajesh said. He took another big, deliberate step forward.

“Please,” Leela begged. “I… I don’t want to.”

“You do,” Rajesh argued. He stepped closer, and his scent was like a spider trapping her in a seductive web—and she was the helpless bug. “You want me, just like I want you. Just like we both want one another but can’t because of our circumstances. You can’t tell me if we didn’t have vengeful Flames in our heads, I wouldn’t be inside you right now.”

Leela’s fingers shook. She held his gaze, her chest squeezing with an unquenchable ache. Perhaps it was just the water, or the way he spoke with such conviction and the small smirk curling on his lips, but she felt herself grow wet, a stream of warmth tingling through her.

Rajesh refused to move away. He closed the distance and hovered his hand over her shoulder, as if waiting for an invitation.

Leela continued to press herself against the edge, worried he would see her and it would be over. He would take her, and she would let him. Let him in and touch her in ways she had only dreamed about. Let him in in ways she had only touched herself.

Rajesh grabbed her by the shoulder and gently turned her around.

Leela couldn’t help it. She was only human after all, and a horny woman at that. Her insides were breaking under his intense gaze, and his lips… fuck… his lips were dangerous. They had always been a dangerous game, luring her in and winning.

Rajesh’s breath hitched, and he leaned his forehead against hers.

Leela forced herself to focus on him, savoring the way his fingers had touched her and left heated trails all over her skin. Six years was a long time, and while she had been with other people over the years, she hadn’t been with Rajesh for so long.

Rajesh’s thumb caressed her bottom lip, opening her mouth wide, and Leela knew it wasn’t the water anymore. Her body was responding to the thirst buried deep inside, unleashing the open wounds of heartache and pushing the pain forward with twisted thorns. His other hand supported them in their tiny cage of tension.

“I have only dreamed of having you again, Leela,” Rajesh whispered, breath hot against her lips. “And now, I get to have you once more. If you’ll let me. If the Viperess can give me one moment alone with my future wife to fuck her.”

Leela searched for the Viperess in her mind, but there was no heat or rattle at the top of her spine.

The Viperess stayed silent.

“Tell me, Leela—” Rajesh pulled back, placing his hands on either side of Leela and bobbing down so he glanced up at her, the look that destroyed Leela on most occasions, “have you thought of me? Once? Twice…? Of our bodies writhing together once more?”

Leela held still. She wasn’t going to do anything until she heard from the Viperess. She couldn’t trust her.

Rajesh’s eyes shimmered with the same heat and want. “I have been denied by you all this time, and now all I want is you. I am giving you one chance, Leela. The Scorpion is gone. He promises not to bother us. My hands are yours to do with.”

Leela placed her palm on his chest to stop him. It was probably too late. He was already so close.

“Give in.” He moved closer, breath hot against her trembling lips. “Let me in. Let me forget all those moments I’ve been alone. All I’ve thought about was you and what my tongue, fingers, and body did to you. Let me have you arching your back for me and screaming my name.”

The sincerity in his tone was enough for Leela to know it was true. This was beyond seducing now. Rajesh had spent those nights dreaming and wishing for her to come back. And so had Leela. Whenever she touched herself, it was Rajesh’s hand and lips on her parts. It was him twisting deeper and deeper inside her until all she could do was collapse.

He had merely been a thought. A phantom. And now here he was. In the flesh. Telling her it was just him without a Flame guiding his wishes.