Page 111 of Every Move You Make
“All those arguments… the way I spoke to you,” she admitted, shaking her head, “it wasn’t because I didn’t care. I just… wanted a reaction from you. Anything.” A broken laugh left her. “Anger, annoyance… whatever you were willing to give me. It was better than nothing at all. And like a fool… I held on to that. Because I knew I couldn’t have you.”
“I did the same, Shauna,” he said. “All those arguments, all the things I said… I pushed you. I provoked you. It was the only way I could still be with you. Because I never stopped loving you. Not when things fell apart between us. Not when we fought. Not even when I was angry with you. Not even when there was nothing but distance between us.”
He gave her a soft smile. “After that night in Singapore, I tried so hard to talk to you, to try and understand what you felt for me. I hoped you felt something too, but then you always ran away when I tried to talk to you. So I went to Dubai feeling heartbroken all over again.”
“How could I tell you how that one night had destroyed me so thoroughly?” she said. “I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t breathe without thinking about you. But I believed you didn’tcare for me. So I tried to avoid having that conversation with you because I was sure you’d see through me and know what I felt for you in my heart.”
“God, we’ve been so foolish.” He took both of her hands in his. “I love you, Shauna Sehgal. I fell in love with you when I saw you the first time at Sheena’s wedding.” He smiled. “I’d just landed from London… and there you were… Standing by the sea in that rust-orange lehenga, the wind in your hair, the waves behind you. You stole my breath away. My heart has been yours since that moment.” He gripped her hands tightly. “When Janak suggested this marriage between us for the sake of the business, I couldn’t believe you were even considering it. I was delighted when you agreed to it. I’ve wanted you for so long, and now I finally get to have you. I lost you once, and this time I’m never letting you go again. You aremine.”
“I love you so much, Akash,” Shauna said softly. Her fingers tightened around his, holding on just as firmly. “When I agreed to this marriage… it was supposed to be for the business. That’s what I told myself.” A faint, almost shy smile touched her lips. “But a part of me hoped for something more from you. Then you wanted to make it real, and I knew I had to agree. I wanted to take a chance on you… on us. These last few days… they’ve meant everything to me. It feels like we’ve finally found what we lost back then. Like we’ve found our way back to each other.”
“These last few days have been rather perfect,” Akash said with a smile.
She nodded and then looked at him carefully. “Tonight… when Mr. Malhotra brought up Amara, it did something to me. It made me feel angry. Insecure. Like I was right back there in the past... thinking that you felt more for her than you did for me. And I hated it. I hated how much it got to me.”
He opened his mouth to correct her, but she shook her head.
“The thought of you with someone else…” she whispered, her eyes locking onto his, fierce now, almost wild, “it drives me mad.” She fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer. “You’re mine, Akash. You’ve always been mine. And I’m not sharing you with anyone. Not now. Not ever.”
“I’m yours, Shauna. I’ve only ever been yours.”
He leaned forward and palmed her cheeks, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. But Shauna didn’t want gentle or slow. She captured his mouth, her arms coming around him, pushing her body flush against his.
Mine.
The word roared through him, fierce and undeniable. She was his. Finally.
He tilted her head and captured her mouth again, deepening the kiss as his tongue traced hers. He pulled her closer, his hands moving with purpose, finding the zip at her back and dragging it down as the fabric loosened and slipped from her shoulders. The dress fell away, pooling at her feet, forgotten.
She was no less urgent. Her fingers worked at his shirt, unbuttoning it quickly before pushing it off him.
Within moments, clothes lay scattered behind them in a careless trail as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed. He watched her for a moment after laying her down against the white sheets.
God, she was beautiful. Perfect. His.
She was exactly where she was meant to be, spread before him on his bed.
And he was going to claim what was always meant to be his.
30
“Shauna, I really don’t want to dance at our sangeet,” Akash grumbled over the phone.
Shauna leaned back in the passenger seat as the car moved steadily through traffic, her bodyguard focused on the road ahead. She held the phone to her ear, glancing briefly out the window at the now familiar streets leading to her new house.
“Oh, come on,” Shauna said, a smile creeping into her voice. “I know you can dance.”
“Of course I can. It’s just all those choreographed steps… left, right, spin, smile… it feels like I’m in a school play.”
Shauna laughed softly. “You are in a play. It’s called your own wedding.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious,” she continued. “This isn’t about perfect moves. It’s about the moment. Trust me, once the music starts and everyone’s cheering, you won’t even remember the choreography.”
“I will,” he muttered. “I’ll be the guy counting steps in his head instead of enjoying himself. So no, I will not be dancing at the sangeet.”
“You’re behaving childish, you know,” she said as the car stopped at a signal.
