“Check to see if the sweetness is enough and turn off the stove,” he instructed. He topped the concoction with a generous amount of toasted nuts and apricot seeds.
She nodded and took the small spoon he handed her and tasted the apricot dessert. Her eyes nearly rolled at the taste. It was perfect.
When she opened her eyes, she saw him watching her with a look that had her heart beating faster. The awareness she had always felt with him blazed into a roaring attraction. He was looking at her lips, and she felt them tingling strangely. She wanted to know how it would feel to have his lips on top of hers.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, her voice was getting stuck in her throat due to her forbidden thoughts. “You can taste.”
One moment, they were standing next to each other, and the next moment their mouths were fused together. She didn’t know how it happened, but heat blazed while his tongue tasted her lips.
“Fuck, it is perfect,” he growled deeply against her lips.
She was shocked. For a moment she thought she was imagining the kiss since she wanted it moments ago. But the rough feel of his bearded stubble along with his kiss felt too real.
Arjun was kissing her.
She knew she should be outraged and push him away before slapping him for daring to kiss her. But she held his t-shirt and pulled him even closer.
They kissed. He gripped her hair and tugged her head back before his tongue slid into her mouth. Passion blazed as he devoured her mouth, tasting her and the sticky sweet she just had. Every rough lick of his tongue made her stomach quiver in passion.
Her body felt blazing hot. Her breasts felt swollen and sensitive as the aroused buds brushed against his hard chest. She moaned at the sensations. She wanted to feel more.
Letting go of his t-shirt, she slid her hands underneath it and touched his hair-roughened, hard muscles of his chest. He groaned into her mouth.
She was lost in heated sensations when his mouth suddenly pulled away from hers.
“Fuck,” he cursed softly. “We should stop.”
“Why?” she demanded even as she grabbed his t-shirt and tried to pull him closer again.
“We have company, princess.”
Her eyes opened. She stared at his face. His eyes were hooded, and his lips glistened from their kiss. His signature smirk was gone, and he looked both aroused and pissed.
That’s when she heard.
“Hello? Anyone home?” Sameer called from a nearby distance.
Shock ripped through her when she realized what she had done. She had kissed Arjun—her arrogant neighbor and the man she supposedly hated. Her cheeks blazed when she realized that she still had a hand inside his t-shirt. Pulling her hand out and letting go of his t-shirt, she stepped away.
Arjun watched her shocked face. “Stay here and straighten your hair. I’ll receive him.”
With those instructions, he stepped out of the kitchen.
She realized her ponytail was loose and crooked. With slightly shaking hands, she straightened her hair and retied her ponytail. She wanted to run out of the apartment and go back to hers to hide inside and never come out. She was shocked and embarrassed.
But she took a deep breath and stepped out of the kitchen. She heard the conversation between Arjun and Sameer as they greeted each other.
Sameer saw her coming out of the kitchen.
“Oh, hi, Tanvi,” he greeted. “Congratulations on getting the job.”
She forced out a smile. “Thank you, Sameer. I wouldn’t have got it had you not helped me with the applications.”
Sameer blushed. “You are welcome,” he said. “But I’m sorry that I couldn’t meet you this afternoon. I had a last-minute meeting I couldn’t decline.”
“No problem,” she said.
Sameer smiled. “I’m glad that Arjun could keep you company, and we are celebrating at his home.”