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Zara nodded and looked away, afraid that if she even let one tear out, there’d be no stopping the rest. She’d no idea why she was feeling this emotional. But she was.
With his perceptive gaze, Virat noted her state. But thankfully, he said nothing about it. “Shall we get to the most relevant thing in all of this? I know the world thinks I’m totally uncaring but I do have standards,shahzadi.”
“You and she have never...then?”
Distaste etched around his mouth. “She’s caught in an unhappy, powerless marriage with an abusive husband. The last thing I’d do is take advantage of her.”
“And she showed up here at the hotel, in your suite that night. I’m guessing to confront you about the news of our engagement.”
His eyes were intent on her face. “How do you know that?”
“She’s fixated on you as her way out of an unhealthy relationship. Probably even believes that she loves you.”
He regarded her with an intensity that made Zara feel naked to her soul. “How do you understand her so well? If I didn’t know you better, I’d have thought you’d overheard our conversation.”
Zara felt as if she was teetering right on the precipice of something. But she pushed the feeling away with a shrug. “Never mind how I know. I hope you let her down easy, Virat.”
“Such little faith in me, Zara?” Zara didn’t know what he saw in her eyes but when he spoke again, there was no such mockery in his voice anymore. “He married her when she was nineteen. The girl has no idea what freedom feels like. I told her the last thing she needs is another control freak like me in her life. Then she said something about you.”
“What?”
“She said she felt sorry for you.”
Zara raised a brow. “Why?”
“Because you have to deal with me, I suppose.” He nuzzled into her neck and Zara thought she might melt right there. “And I told her you had me so thoroughly wrapped up around your little finger that she should worry about me. That you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met. I had her barely out the door when Anya showed up after an early morning flight. We had to finalize your new costume and then I had a meeting with the set designer.”
Her gaze rested on the blue shadows under his eyes, and yet, there was no dimming the vitality the man gave off by just occupying a space. “So I was wrong about you, then.”
“About what?”
“I thought you’d agreed so easily to our fake engagement because it would give you the perfect chance to torment me.”
“But?”
“But you did it because your alleged affair with this woman was bringing you too much attention. You didn’t dare risk exposure about the docuseries. And there I was ready to fall into your lap with the perfect reason to make the minister let down his guard again.”
“But not every woman would have roped me into a fake romance that easily, Zara. Only the one I’ve never stopped panting over.”
Zara touched him then. Not touching him at this point was akin to trying not to breathe. She clasped his cheek with one hand, fisted his hair with her other and pulled him for a kiss.
Head bowed, mouth open, he let her have her way with him. He tasted of whiskey and warmth that Zara knew she was never going to get enough of. Soft, eager lips met hers in hard kisses and sweet nips. She rubbed her cheek against his bristle, dug her teeth into his lower lip. The kiss made her dizzy with want.
She pressed her lips against his, moaning into his mouth.
“Come to bed,shahzadi. I’d rather not faint like a Victorian virgin while you kiss me like that. Think of all the rumors on the set.Virat Raawal faints at the feet of his fierce fiancée, unable to withstand the heat of her kiss.”
Zara giggled and his nostrils flared. He traced an abrasive finger under her eyes. “I know I’ve been driving you like the beast that I am. So let’s give ourselves a rest and then—”
“Wait, what?” she said, sounding breathy. “You’re asking me to sleep...like actually sleep with you?”
He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms and pushed a hand through his hair tiredly. “I mean, I’m not going to be of much use to you until I get some sleep in me, since I have been awake for...about forty-eight hours but—” his gaze shone with a wickedly naked hunger “—I was thinking it would be nice to have you right there when I wake up and we can get right down to it. Without wasting any more time.
“Also, my suite is the only place where we won’t be disturbed. There’re about a thousand people who want a piece of me right now. The last thing I want to do is wake up and come looking for you, only to be surrounded by your fans again.”
“You’re having trouble falling asleep again, aren’t you?”
He thrust his fingers through his hair. Only now did Zara see how desperately he needed to sleep. “You remember then?”
