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His uncle knew only one version of the past. Dev’s dad, Pritam Luthra’s version. While his dad was alive, telling anyone else the truth of why he’d done what he had that night was impossible. His father was a tyrant and too powerful for a twenty-one-year-old Dev to take on. Once his father had passed, Dev had spent all his time trying to locate the Rajpoots. Hence, no one, not even his uncle, knew the entire truth of the past. And right now, explaining his feelings for Avantika to his uncle would be like opening Pandora’s box. And Dev was mentally too exhausted to get into it, especially when his uncle was already so worked up. So, he tried a different tactic.
“I have a son, Uncle. His name is Neil. Avantika was pregnant when everything happened all those years ago. I recently found out about Neil, and now I’ve moved in with them.”
His uncle was silent for only a few seconds before he blasted, “What? How do you even know the boy is yours? What if she’s tricking you?”
Dev had known of Neil’s existence only since a few days, but with that knowledge had come an inexplicable, intrinsic and immense love of a father for his son. Hence, someone even implying that Neil wasn’t his made his blood boil. Neil washis.
“He’s mine,” Dev said, forcing himself to remain calm. “You just have to look at him to know he’s mine.”
“And I think you’re too blinded by this Rajpoot girl to think with your head. First, I heard that Sanjana is involved with Aaryan, and now you’re with Avantika. It’s unacceptable.”
Dev pressed a hand to his nape. “I’m not asking you to accept my or Sanjana’s choices, Uncle. However, I am requesting you to respect them.”
“How can I do that knowing that you destroyed all your father’s dreams?”
“I am not my father,” Dev growled. He exhaled and gentled his tone. “Come to Dubai soon, and meet Neil and Avantika. We need to talk about this face to face.”
His uncle fell quiet again.
“I need time to think things through,” Uncle Raj finally said before disconnecting the phone.
Dev tossed his phone on the bed, annoyed by his uncle’s lack of flexibility. But he was sure Uncle Raj would come around. Dev and Sanjana were his only living family, and he would not be able to stay mad at either of them for long. Removing his clothes from a suitcase, he left them on a chair and headed to the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, he returned to his room and found Avantika putting fresh white sheets on his bed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
She spun around…and her jaw dropped. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed as she saw his state of undress. Her eyes skated over him, taking in his damp hair, his bare, wet chest and the rest of his towel-clad form. She licked her lips, and raw lust slammed through him.
“I…I just thought t…to change the sheets on your bed,” she fumbled.
“I can see that.”
“I should go.”
He took a step forward, and her teeth sank into her lower lip. She stood in place, her eyes never leaving his as he advanced closer. Finally, he raised a finger and pulled the lip out of her mouth. His finger, however, stayed on her lower lip, caressing it.
Her throat worked, but no words came out. This was the first time in days that they were all alone. Memories of that thundering morning in London slammed through him. Her eyes flared, and her lips parted as if she, too, was remembering their time entangled on that bed in their hotel in London. She inched a step nearer to him as if unable to bear the separation between them. Her body touched his, and he felt himself thicken and harden. His finger continued to stroke her lower lip. He ought to let her go. There was too much unresolved between them. Too much she didn’t know and too much he was now scared to tell her because, deep down, he wasn’t sure if he could trust her to believe in him.
Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from touching her. His fingers continued to play with her mouth.
“I should…go,” she repeated, not moving.
“Hmm.”
He’d been so angry at her. So hurt and betrayed that she hadn’t told him about Neil. That he found out about his son because of a mere coincidence. But right now, in this moment, as she looked at him with lust-filled eyes, all he could see was the one woman who made him ache. The one woman he had craved for years. The one woman his body never failed to respond to. But he had to let go of her. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he didn’t want her to…her eyes swept over him to something behind.
She gasped, and he twisted sideways to see what had caught her attention. Fuck! Avantika was staring at his bare back through the mirror behind him, her expression filled with pain and horror. Her inquisitive eyes met his, and he slammed his mouth over hers, silencing the questions he knew she’d have.
He yanked her to him, and she fell against his chest, grabbing his shoulders as his lips devoured hers. She responded to him immediately. Small moans escaped her mouth as their tongues met and dueled, battling for domination. But this time, he wasn’t allowing her control. He savored her taste for a few moments before he walked her backwards. She was breathing heavily when he finally released her mouth. She stared at him for a long second.
He shut the door on her shocked face.
“Dev!” she called out. She knocked hard on the door. “We need to talk.”
“Not now.”
“You can’t pretend I didn’t see what I did. You have to talk to me.”
