Page 107 of Reckless Dare

Soon, they were done with dinner and they cleared up the plates. Her heart thudded even harder when he pulled her towards him.

He held her face between his palms. Her eyes fell close and she let out a soft moan as the rough pad of his thumb stroking against her cheek evoked pleasure. He then kissed her.

Instead of the hot, passionate kiss that buzzed her body and left her knees weak, he kissed her sweetly. Confused, she opened her eyes.

“You are tired,” he said, looking at her. “You should catch up with sleep tonight.”

“No, I’m fine—” She broke off with a gasp when he picked her and placed her on the bed.

He joined next to her. Turning her the other way, he held her close.

She could clearly feel his hard arousal and also the vibrating tension in his body. He wanted her.

He could easily shed her clothes and do as he had wanted, and she would be more than willing. But he didn’t.

The fact that he put her needs above his desire made her melt against him. With a smile curving her lips, she fell asleep in his arms right away.

CHAPTER 31

“Ava! You better tell me who that gorgeous guy is!”

Ava laughed as her sister continued to badger her after seeing Nitya’s engagement pictures.

Ava pretended to think. “Who?”

“The hot guy standing next to you!”

Ava smiled. “He is… just a friend. We have a class together and we are in the same drama club.”

Preeti’s face fell. “Just a friend? But you both looked as though there were fireworks going on between the two of you.”

Ava’s heart skipped. She did recall how in one of the pictures, her tormentor and she were looking towards each other. She was glaring at him and he had an amused smile. It was at the time when he was running his finger over her exposed back. The photographer had managed to capture the picture from the front.

“There’s nothing, Pree,” Ava said biting back her smile. “Anyway, I’ll catch you later. You are getting late for your classes.”

Ava ended the call, promising to call back the next week.

Even though she and her sister were very close, she didn’t want to tell anything about Abhi. Her sister would get excited. And if she mentioned something to her parents, then things might get tense.

Ava felt odd. She had never hidden anything from her sister, and neither did she do anything that might possibly hurt her father.

Will Papa hate me if he finds out about Abhi and me?

Ava badly hoped that wouldn’t come to a point where she would have to choose between her family and Abhi. She still didn’t know what Abhi was to her and where their relationship was going. But all she knew was being with him made her happy and alive.

Missing him, she pulled up her phone again to see if he started back.

Abhi and the rest of the Simha rugby team were away for the tournament for the past three days. The Simha team had won the championship. Ava didn’t want to disturb Abhi while he was out celebrating with his team and friends. But he kept sending her updates and other messages.

Tormentor: We won.

Tormentor: Can’t wait to head back.

Tormentor: Hope you took a nap, Harvard, I’m going to keep you up all night.

Ava blushed and her heart raced with anticipation. They had plans to go to the beach house for the weekend.

Another message notification popped up on her screen. She expected it to be from Abhi letting her know he was on his way back.

---