Page 33 of Reckless Dare

The dark anger in his eyes made her tremble and made her take a step back.

“Why?” she whispered. “W-why do I have to leave?”

“Because. I said so.”

That’s not a good enough reason.

She wanted to say those words aloud, but her throat froze and she couldn’t move.

Her eyes remained locked with his. He was easily a foot taller than her, so her head remained raised. If anyone were to look at them from far, they would look like a couple sharing an intimate moment.

But it was far from it.

She drew in just enough strength to speak. “W-why do you hate me?” she asked, swallowing a sob. “W-what did I do to you?”

Something flashed in his eyes listening to her small, escaped sob. His face seemed to have softened ever so slightly. But soon it was gone and his face hardened again.

“Leave,” he said, not bothering to answer her. “Don’t make your life harder. I meant every word of what I said earlier.”

His eyes swept over her, taking in her tank top and yoga pants before falling back to her face again. His jaw clenched hard. Then without another word or a glance in her direction, he turned and went back to the area where he and his teammates were working out.

She stayed rooted to the spot shivering all over from the hatred and anger she saw in his eyes.

Why does he hate me? What did I do?

Her mind continued to think of possible reasons, but she couldn’t think of any. The loud sound of someone dropping a heavy weight on the gym floor broke her out of her trance.

She blinked a few times. And then gathering courage, she pushed away from the wall to pick up her jacket which had fallen on the floor. Clutching it to her heaving chest along with her water bottle and towel, she ran out of the gym on shaky legs.

Her second week of Simha didn’t bode well.

CHAPTER 9

Abhi was standing by his rugby locker looking through the playbook. He was the only one there at that time of the morning. As the captain of the team, he always arrived an hour early to prep for that day’s practice. The championship games were only a couple of months away and they needed to win this year as well.

He had just showered and pulled on a pair of shorts with only a towel draped over his shoulders. He was so immersed in reviewing the playbook that he didn’t hear the footsteps until he felt a presence. His neck began to prickle and he turned to see who it was.

It was her. His nemesis, standing only a foot away, watching him with her big, innocent eyes.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Harvard?” he demanded. “And why haven’t you left?”

She looked at him with fear in her eyes and trembling lips. He knew she was terrified of him. But all he felt towards her was anger. He wanted to drag her close and crush her lips hard against his mouth until she cried out for mercy.

“Get out from here,” he ordered, clenching his palms into fists.

But instead of being more terrified and running away from him as always, she moved a step closer until she was only inches away from him. Her chin tilted up to look into his eyes.

“Tell me what can I do for you to stop hating me,” she said. “I’ll do anything.”

The word anything sent a shudder through him. He had been drawn to her from the moment he saw her at the bus window. And since then, even though he discovered her identity, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting her.

She probably knew that.

“I don’t want anything from you,” he gritted.

“Liar,” she whispered. “I know you want me. I know you watch me all the time. You desire me.”

He clenched his fists harder knowing it was the truth.

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