Page 12 of Every Move You Make
With an exasperated breath, she tossed the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Cool tile met her feet. She crossed to the window, pushing the curtains wider. The sky was already turning pale gold at the horizon, the sea stretching out in quiet promise.
Mornings by the beach were always beautiful and peaceful. Perhaps she ought to take a walk to clear her mind and to use the time to think through her upcoming meeting with her grandfather in Mumbai.
She quickly changed into a pair of plain white shorts and a simple gray tee. Opening the terrace doors, she headed toward the beach. The salty morning air wrapped around her instantly. The steady crash of the waves filled her ears, already easing the tight knot that had settled in her chest.
The private stretch of sand surrounding the beach resort was nearly empty. Just a few early walkers and joggers in the distance. She walked barefoot, letting the damp sand press between her toes.
A shriek of delighted laughter broke through the quiet. She turned and froze.
Akash stood near the shoreline, dressed in blue swimming trunks and a loose white linen shirt that fluttered lightly in the breeze. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing strong forearms, and several buttons were undone, showing off the hard contours of his chest and the ink running down the base of his neck and shoulder.
Fuck. He looked good.
Keya’s four-year-old daughter, Kiana, was in a bright pink swimsuit, clinging to one of his arms. Little Kush, nearly three, hung from the other, his tiny legs wrapped around Akash’s side like a koala as Akash spun them in a wide circle.
“Faster, Akash,” Kiana squealed, her legs swinging in the air. “Faster.”
He laughed deeply and tightened his grip on them. “Hold on, monkeys.”
And then he spun them again, the three of them a blur of motion and sunlight against the sea. The children shrieked in pure delight. He only stopped when they begged him to go at it again.
“Uff, I’m tired,” he told Kush in mock seriousness. “Let’s take a break. Then we’ll go again, okay?”
“Okay.” Kiana wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. Kush followed suit, smacking an equally enthusiastic kiss on the other side of his face.
Akash groaned. “I’m being attacked. Two tiny, scary monkeys are attacking me.”
The kids only giggled louder, clinging to him and smothering his cheeks with endless noisy kisses while he pretended to protest.
Shauna couldn’t help but smile. She’d heard from Raashi and Keya that Akash was wonderful with their kids, but shehad never truly seen it for herself. This easy laughter. This unguarded warmth. There had been a time when she’d known this version of him.
She exhaled softly. But that had been years ago. Their equation had changed drastically since then. In recent years, she had only seen the controlled, composed, almost arrogant man who returned her barbs with fire of his own. This light, teasing, sunlit version of him was a side he kept carefully hidden now.
Akash dropped down onto the sand, keeping Kush on his lap while Kiana wriggled away. Pulling her back, he placed a little sun hat onto her head and brushed the sand off her hair while she babbled about building a sandcastle. He was really good with them, and it was clear as day that he adored his sister’s kids.
Akash looked up. He saw her, and the smile on his face disappeared.
The warmth drained from his expression as if someone had flipped a switch. His jaw tightened and his shoulders straightened. Kush climbed higher onto his chest, shifting just enough to expose the side of Akash’s neck and shoulder to her gaze, giving her a clear view of the dark ink sweeping down his skin.
She now knew what it was. Sanskrit words she’d looked up afterthatnight.
Aham Ahamsi Yodha. It meant:I am a warrior.
Thatnight at the nightclub in Singapore, she’d wondered what the tattoo meant and why he had gotten it? Later, she’d traced the black script with her fingers… and with her mouth. She remembered the way he’d shuddered beneath her touch, the sounds he’d made when she’d kissed along the ink.
Heat shot through her. Absolutely not.
She wasnotthinking about that night again. Not now. Not with him just inches away, watching her like he could read every memory flickering through her mind.
She forced herself to meet his gaze.
Kiana looked up and spotted her standing a little distance away. Her entire face lit up.
“Aunty Shauna!” she squealed, wriggling out of Akash’s hold and sprinting toward her, her little feet kicking up sand. “Come play. We’re making a sandcastle.”
Before Shauna could react, Kiana grabbed her hand and dragged her to where Akash sat on the sand, Kush beside him, busily patting wet sand into a misshapen mound.
Shauna knelt in front of them. “Hi, Kush.”
