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She came crashing down to her senses, clinging to her anger.
“Why are you here?” she seethed.
“You’ve been ignoring my texts.”
“I’ve been busy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, your sisters must be wondering where I’ve disappeared to.”
She took a step forward, and he blocked her path.
“Move,” she snapped.
His brow furrowed. “Have I done something to upset you?”
She wouldn’t let the softness in his tone or the worry in his amber eyes melt away her anger. She needed to stop whatever had started between them before she became too involved with him, before there was no turning back. Already, her heart was aching. It wanted her to throw herself at him and breathe in his scent. Fuck. She was behaving like an addict, craving her next hit…of him.
“Sheena, have I hurt you in some way?” he asked again.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she hissed. When she tried to move, he blocked her path again. “Don’t be an asshole. Move.”
His eyes sharpened and his lips thinned. “Haven’t I told you time and time again that I hate these foul words coming out of your mouth? I thought we were past that.”
“You thought wrong.”
He took her arm and began guiding her to a corner. Once there, he loomed over her. “Now, tell me why you’re mad at me.”
She turned her face away defiantly, refusing to be intimidated by him. Refusing to be captivated by his nearness.
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “So much fire. If you think your defiance is going to put me off, then you are so bloody wrong. I thrive on your challenges, Princess.”
She twisted out of his grasp. “Is that what I have always been to you—a challenge? And what’s your plan then? To conquer me or subdue me? And once that’s done, then what? You get bored of me and move on to the next woman who challenges you, is it?”
Fire burned in his eyes at her words. “Where’s all this coming from, Princess?”
“Kabier told me you were a playboy. That it didn’t make sense why you were spending time with me. And after reading about your exploits online, I agree with him.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Kabier calling me a playboy is like the pot calling the kettle black. He ought to talk of his own escapades before accusing me.”
When she opened her mouth to protest, he silenced her with a sharp look.
“And you,” he began, “You have your own history splashed all over the internet. I could have looked you up a long time ago and judged you based on what I would’ve read. But I didn’t, because I respect you as a person and because I, of all people, know that not everything you read on the web is true. You, however, decided to be my judge and jury simply based on a few search results.”
Her eyes widened at that. “So, everything written about you is false?”
“You know what, I’m done.” His expression flattened. “You can believe everything that you’ve read about me because I refuse to justify myself to you.”
Regret cut into her. He pivoted, but she couldn’t let him leave like this. She caught his arm, stopping him. He faced her again, looking mighty pissed off. He had every right to be mad at her. Everything he’d spoken was true. He could have also formed an opinion about her based on what was written online. But he hadn’t. She, however, hadn’t shown him the same courtesy. She’d been so afraid of her burgeoning feelings for him that she’d used her brother’s words as a reason to push him away.
Something at the corner of her eye caught her attention. A man was standing at the bar in a group of people. He looked familiar. A beam of laser light illuminated his face, and Sheena backed a step, stumbling. Panic gripped her. Her heartbeat went into overdrive. It couldn’t be… No… It couldn’t be him.Karan. How? How was he here? It wasn’t possible.
But that face… It was etched in her memory. Her body went into shock, refusing to move as the reality of Karan being released from jail hit her brain. No. Her mind was playing tricks on her. It couldn’t be him. The man turned and looked straight at Sheena. Her blood pressure hit the roof. She was going to faint.
Rajiv clasped her arm. “Sheena, what’s wrong?”
She pointed a shaking finger at the man. “Him… He’s…”
Words failed her. Dread turned her veins to ice as that man continued to stare at her. Her brain drowned out everything but that face from her past who was watching her with a strange expression on his face.
“Who, him?” Rajiv turned, looking in the direction she was pointing in. “Is it that guy? Who is he, Sheena?”
