Page 74 of The Promise of a Traitor

“What if we were done with the ruining?” she replied, turning towards him. “What if we wanted to build instead?”

He reached for her hand, playing with her fingers. “Like a home? A future? A family?”

“Are you sure about this?” She clenched her fingers around his, the action negating her words. “So much has happened…”

“I know. All the more reason, I think we’re due a few lifetimes of peace now.” He brought their joined hands together, kissing the tips of her fingers.

She smiled but the smile faded as her thoughts swirled back into focus. He wanted, desperately, to wipe that look off her face.

“We’re going to figure it out, Aastha,” he said softly.

She sighed. “Why do you want my mess?”

“I want you, mess and all. I’ll take whatever comes as long as it comes with you.” He took her hand in his, twining his fingers around hers. “I told you I wasn’t letting you leave me this time around.”

She squeezed his fingers tight. “Only because you planned to leave me first.”

“Yeah,” he grimaced. “Clearly my plan is going swimmingly well.” He tugged on her hand, drawing her closer to him. “Promise me you won’t leave me, Aastha.”

She kept their clasped hands between them as she climbed into his lap, legs on either side of him cradling him close. “I was in love with you. I am in love with you. I will be in love with you forever, Advik Malhotra.”

“Are we sitting here conjugating verbs now?” He squinted up at her even as his heart threatened to burst out of his chest with happiness.

“Ohh yeah,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss him gently. “I have many sexy tricks up my sleeve. Come, coming, came.”

He started to laugh. “This is disturbing on a whole other level.”

She leaned back on his lap, his hands bracing her lower back and smiled. “I’m just getting started.”

His hands slid up her back in slow, gentle strokes and her brain glitched, all thoughts of grammar disappearing into the ether.

“But,” he watched as she collected her fraying thoughts and forced them to force coherent sentences, “love isn’t always enough. I don’t know if-“

His hand found the underside of her breast and her brain short circuited. “Stop it,” she gasped.

His hand disappeared the next second, falling to his side, fist clenched. She groaned, her head falling to his shoulder. “I don’t like being responsible,” she grumbled.

You,” he said, his voice husky with suppressed emotion, “still haven’t promised me that you won’t leave me.”

Aastha caught his cheek with her hand, tipping his head back to meet her gaze. “Adi, I swear to God, I am going nowhere. Unless you ask me to leave.”

“Even when I wanted you to leave,” he said roughly, “I couldn’t let go of you.”

Her stomach quivered at the look in his eyes. “Will you ever be able to forgive me? Truly forgive me for everything?”

“I already have,” he murmured, allowing her to see what she meant to him.

“That easily?” She tunnelled her hands through his hair, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his.

“Nothing about you is easy, Aastha,” he growled. “But then easy is boring.”

“Is it?” she laughed, huskily. “I could do with some boring in my life.”

“Stay with me,” he muttered. “Boring is my shtick. Haven’t you heard?”

“I’ll. Stay. With. You.” She peppered each word with a kiss. “On. One. Condition.”

“Name it.”