Page 52 of Knot So Romantic

Neel: Yeah, with that look, you could tempt anyone. Try it if you don’t believe me.

I type on, encouraged by Neel’s flirting. He hasn’t flirted before. Today does feel different. Maybe Pride and Prejudice has that effect on everyone.

I’m suddenly in the mood to flirt back. It doesn’t help that he looks amazing tonight and smells really good, too. I feel like resisting would be a waste of a night like this.

Kavita: My look could tempt anyone? Even you?

Neel looks up from the phone and gives me a smoldering look. If looks could kill!

Neel: Oh, I can’t imagine a situation where you wouldn’t tempt me.

I smile, recognizing the reference. He’s paraphrasing Darcy from the movie but with a flirtatious twist.

I don’t look up from the phone for a long moment, smiling at his text. And thinking of all the times in the past when I dreamed of kissing him. So, is he saying I’ve seduced him? Is he saying he wants me to? Tingles shoot up my body at the very thought.

A server walks by with a tray of something, and Neel leans forward, slipping his phone into his pocket, and asks him something. I lean back and try to think of something else, anything besides kissing Neel right now.

Neel picks up a plate and turns back to me. “Would you like some mangoes?”

“Huh?” I’m too hot and bothered to hear what he just said. The couple kissing in front of me, the smoldering look of Darcy on the screen, and the heightened awareness of Neel beside me are like a deadly combo.

“Mango?”

A juicy fruit to bite into sounds like something too hot to handle at the moment, but I nod. Even before I take the slice from his hand, he brings it to my lips, making me open my mouth.

He’s feeding me?

He watches as I bite into the juicy flesh. The flavor explodes on my tongue, and I chew, savoring the taste while noticing his lips lift into a smile. I focus on chewing and swallowing the mango rather than on how close Neel is sitting. The way the tiny hairs on his hand are brushing against my arm as he comes closer and smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Like it?”

I’m still not used to the million-watt power of his smile. I swallow, taking a moment to answer. There are all sorts of things going on inside me, and my senses are overloaded. Neel’s touch. The closeness of his body. The heat of his gaze. I swallow again as Neel waits for me to answer.

“It’s sweet…and juicy.”

On the screen, Elizabeth is talking to her sister about meeting Darcy at the ball, as Neel lifts another slice to my lips. I take a smaller bite, my lips brushing against his thumb, and savor it slowly. “It tastes like honey,” I groan, enjoying it even more.

“I’m going to try it too.” He pops the remaining part of the slice in his mouth, acting like it’s no big deal that we’re sharing a slice of mango. Like it’s no big deal that he’s feeding me. Like it’s no big deal how much he’s affecting me.

He looks at me oddly when we finish eating after he’s fed me a few more slices, and I’m too full to eat anymore.

“What?”

“I like you,” he says.

“I thought you were never going to say it,” I tease, my voice low and playful.

His thumb traces my jaw. “You’ve got a little…” He points to somewhere above my chin.

“Where?”

“Would you like me to kiss it away, Miss Kavita?”

He leans forward, and our noses are inches apart. We’re breathing the same air, but I can hardly breathe. He smiles, and I can’t take it anymore.

“Can you—”

He doesn’t wait for me to finish as he closes the distance between us, and his lips land on mine.

He pulls me closer until I’m pressed against him. I slide my hands to his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken beneath my palm, and a soft moan escapes my lips as he deepens the kiss. He smells of mangoes and mint, filling my brain with all kinds of thoughts, like what it would be like if we weren’t here watching a movie.