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“No. I’m in awe of you. You did everything to keep your family safe. Not many people could have survived such a terrible ordeal, but you did. You helped your siblings escape. You helped them build a new life and you ought to be proud of yourself.”
He gave her a soft smile.
She hitched up the sleeve of his t-shirt and traced the tattoo on his bicep. “Survival, moving forward, strength, triumph… I now understand what it all means and why you inked it on your skin. You’ve lived through all that. You are the bravest man I’ve ever come across.”
“We’ve hidden for so long, Tiya. We’ve barely made any friends, rarely, if ever traveled to India, yet Dev somehow knew we’d survived. He’s been hunting us, searching for us for years. He finally found us in Dubai because Shaurya became the face ofKeyStoneand he started to rise in fame. Initially, we all thought he was hunting us because he owns most of our assets. I thought he wished to hurt us. To perhaps even kill us so there’s no one standing in between his wealth and him. But now, I don’t think he cares about all that. He’s only obsessed with finding my sister and we don’t know why. He doesn’t know about Neil and I’m scared, terrified, to even imagine what will happen if he ever learns about him.”
“Neil looks like him…a lot.”
“That worries us so much, you know. Dev lives in the same city as us. Our only aim in life is to keep Avi and Neil safe and away from him.”
She captured his hand. “I promise never to let anyone know about them… Not even my parents.”
Her mention of her parents reminded him of something he’d found vastly odd. He explained to Tiya about all their cement problems and Dev’s hand in it, and their plans for the future too.
“Last night, your dad, I thought he looked a bit stressed because he was selling to Dev,” Vihaan pointed out. “I’m not sure, and God knows I’m biased against Luthra, but I just felt all wasn’t well with your dad.”
Tiya chewed on her lip. “I’ll talk to dad and find out what’s up with him.”
Vihaan nodded.
Tiya hugged him again, this time settling in his lap. Her warmth surrounded him, her strawberry scent did ridiculous things to his heart, but right now he simply wanted to hold her close.
“I saw Dev the first time after twelve years at that party your parents had organized,” he breathed out. “I saw him and I wanted to kill him, and if you hadn’t correctly figured out that I was losing my mind, I would have done so. I would have ended him. But you kissed me that night and calmed down a dozen years of rage. It took just one kiss from you and I forgot everything.”
She kissed his forehead. “Allow me to make you forget again then.”
She kissed his cheek, before her mouth floated down his jaw to the base of his throat where she bit him hard.
His whole body tightened.
Fisting her hair, he drew her back to face him. “What’s on your mind, hellcat?”
“Surface,” she gulped.
He chortled.
God! She was just too cute. He loved how she went for what she wanted. And what she wanted right now was him.
Carrying her in his arms, he dropped her on the dining table and moved into her. He kissed her waiting lips while she helped him out of his t-shirt. Leaning down on her, he pressed her against the cool marble, wrapping her long silky legs around his waist, wanting to lose himself in her warmth for just a little while longer.
25
“Oh my God!” A loud voice screeched. “Bloody hell! I’m scarred for life.”
“Fuck!” Vihaan cursed. He quickly pulled Tiya to her feet and pushed her behind him.
Tiya poked her head from around him and found his sister standing at the entrance, her hands covering her eyes.
“Why can’t you ring the bell, Avi?” Vihaan said, sounding annoyed.
Hell, she was more than annoyed at the interruption as well. His family had the worst sort of timing. Someone or the other was always walking in on them.
“I would have knocked had I known you’d have company.” Avi lowered her hands from her face. Her gaze switched from Vihaan to her, found her dressed in Vihaan’s shirt and her brow arched.
Avi’s amused eyes fell on Vihaan. “I thought you must have dropped Tiya home by now. I didn’t know she stayed the night. And since you never bring a woman home ever, I didn’t assume you’d be…busy.”
Wait what?
