Page 82 of The Redemption
“I just foiled her plans because I overheard her talking. She was planning to use this ritual to claim you tonight. And even if you’d rejected her, she was still going to use Kailash Uncle to force her way into your life somehow.”
Was she?
“She literally said she’d use Kailash Uncle because of her father’s friendship with him. And also because she thinks you’d never refuse your Baba,” Siya adds.
For a second, I genuinely don’t know what to say. The idea that someone like Kriti has been planning this entire scheme while I was completely unaware of it is unsettling enough. Before I can respond, Siya suddenly grabs the lapels of my jacket tightly.
“If you don’t have feelings for her,” she says, glaring at me, “which I’m assuming is true, then stay the f*ck away from her.”
My brow lifts slightly at her commanding tone. Is she giving orders tome? To Raghav Kundra?
“Don’t entertain her beyond work, RK,” she says, her grip tightens around my jacket. “And don’t let her touch you.”
My entire body goes still at that possessive, jealous, completely unfiltered sentence falling from her lips. She has no idea what she just said to a man like me. A man who doesn’t appreciate being told what to do. Yet, the intent behind her words is so damn hot that something inside me finally snaps. Without warning, my hand slides around her waist once again. And before either of us can think it through, I pull her close and kiss her.
Siya freezes against my mouth, clearly stunned that I’m actually kissing her. At first, her lips don’t move, as though her mind can’t quiteprocess what’s happening. As though everything has blacked out.
But my mind? It’s already gone. Nothing has ever felt like this. The second my mouth touches hers, every ounce of control I’ve been holding onto around this woman goes straight to hell. Her hands instinctively clutch my jacket tighter as her soft gasp melts into my mouth. I kiss her deeply, memorising what she tastes like before finally pulling back slowly.
Siya opens her eyes and looks at me, still seeming lost in a haze. We are both breathing heavily. I stare at her lips, still damp from the kiss and slightly swollen, before lifting my gaze back to her eyes. Then she moves first. Or maybe I do. I don’t even know anymore. Because suddenly we’re kissing again. And this time, Siya kisses me back as if she wants more.
F*ck!
The realisation hits me forcefully.
She’s mine.
My hand slides from her waist to the back of her neck, angling her head just right as my mouth hungrily claims hers.I just can’t stop touching her. And Siya? The way her body presses against mine, I know she wants this as much as I do. I kiss her slowly one moment, then more deeply the next, unable to decide whether to savour her or completely lose myself in her.
She’s mine now.
My fingers dig harder into her skin. One of my arms stays locked around her waist, holding her firmly against my body, while my other hand slowly moves upwards along the curve of her waist. My fingertips graze the skin below her breast and linger there for one reckless second too long, I almost weigh one of them, eager to know how perfectly she would fit inside my palm.
Siya moans, shivering at the contact of my fingers on her breast. I pull her flush against me, again. I want no f*cking space between us. My mouth turns greedier. I kiss her like a man starved, wanting to consume every breath she takes.
She’s mine.
My free hand moves possessively over her waist and hips, memorising every curve without permission, while Siya’s fingers slowly slide up from my chest towards the exposed skin beneath my open collar.
One of her hands stays pressed against my chest, her nails lightly dragging over my skin through the half-open collar, scratching just enough to make my lower body harden. The other hand slips behind my neck, her fingers brushing into my hair at the nape.
And that one touch… those nails against my skin…f*ck, I’m gone.A rough breath leaves me before I can stop it. Our breaths turn choppy, our kisses increasingly desperateas I slide my palm upwards to cup her jaw firmly.
I stop kissing her the next moment and let my thumb glide slowly across her lower lip, wanting to feel her lush lips before tilting her head back and kissing her full mouth again. I’m addicted to this woman. I simply can’t get enough of her taste, no matter how many times I kiss her.
This no longer feels like a simple kiss. It feels like surrender. Like finally giving in to something dark and obsessive that has been growing between us from the very first moment we met.
Just then, I hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Siya hears it too, because she breaks the kiss first. But even then, neither of us actually moves. We just stand there, breathing heavily against each other, our foreheads almost touching, both of us completely wrecked by what just happened.
My hand is still cupping her face, and her fingers are still twisted into my shirt. And f*ck. The look on her face alone makes me want to kiss her all over again.
As realization hits slowly, Siya looks completely shocked, unable to believe she just kissed me back like that, while I’m trapped somewhere in that same haze, my mouth still tingling with the taste of her.
Then, remembering the sound that pulled us apart in the first place, we both turn towards it at the same time. A few feet away, Haider and Esha stand frozen in place, watching us. Or rather… watching the aftermath of what they clearly just witnessed.Esha’s jaw drops in shock, while Haider looks like his brain has temporarily stopped functioning altogether.
In the next moment, Siya’s wide eyes flick back to my face, and panic crashes into her expression. She pushes against my chest and steps away from me, almost stumbling backwards. Before I can grab her again, she turns and runs away from me.
I take a step forward to follow her, but I notice that Esha is already rushing after Siya. So, I stop where I am as Haider walks towards me. He is still in shock. The man has witnessed me destroy people, kill men, and burn down entire operations without blinking. But this? Watching me lose control over a woman like that? That is probably the last thing he ever expected to see.
