Page 1 of Addiction

PROLOGUE

Four years ago

Dubai

Beating up your brother is going to be so much fun…

Don’t you want to come and watch?

Navya Mehra gasped, her heart beating wildly. She reread the messages sent from the unknown number. There was only one person who was cocky enough to text her as such. Only one person powerful enough to easily get her number.

Armaan Oshnov—the worst of the Oshnov trio of brothers. Rich, arrogant, wild, and unpredictable, he was all that and more.

She’d heard enough about him and his brothers that she ought to have stayed far away and never entered their sphere.Hissphere. But she hadn’t. Like a little lamb, she’d walked into the lion’s den of her own free will. That one mistake wasnow going to haunt her for the rest of her life because Armaan Oshnov had a reputation for always getting what he wanted. Unfortunately for her, he’d set his sights on her. It was her own fault that she’d caught the eye of one of the most notorious men on the planet.

Acquiring her cell number was Armaan’s first move. Informing her about his fight with her brother was his way of slowly luring her into his trap. God. She hated him. Yet, that hadn’t stopped her mind from conjuring up an image of his stupidly handsome face, thus making her heart feel like it was bursting out of her chest. She shook her head, clearing her mind of his image. Armaan Oshnov did not affect her in the least. Navya repeated that to herself like a mantra until her heart beat steadily again.

Thanks to him, she already had a bodyguard dogging her footsteps. Her brother had insisted on it. Rajiv knew of Armaan’s interest in her, and thus, this fight now was most definitely her brother’s way of protecting her and keeping her safe. Rajiv thought of fighting with Armaan to ensure he never bothered Navya again. Her fists curled. How dare Armaan challenge her brother as such? Rage, unlike any other, claimed her mind.

Rajiv had deliberately not told her or their other two sisters about facing Armaan in the fighting ring. It was only thanks to a frantic call from Rajiv’s girlfriend, Sheena, that Navya was on her way to her brother’s sports club to stop the damn fight. She had to stop it.

Everything she’d heard about Armaan confirmed that he was bloody unhinged and a savage in the fighting ring. He knew how to fight, and he won… every single time. But this time, if he won, it meant… She gulped. He couldn’t win. No. That was unacceptable.

Do you know that I have never lost a fight till date…

His next message confirmed her fear. Panic spread through her. She had no clue as to how good—or bad—a fighter her own brother was. She only knew that Rajiv practised fighting techniques with a trainer at his club. Could he even take on Armaan? She nibbled on her lower lip, worrying. Her brother was not brutal like Armaan. Rajiv was one of the kindest people she knew. And she would do anything to not let him get hurt. After years, she could see that Rajiv was happy. He’d found Sheena and was in love with her. It reflected in his eyes every time he looked at her.

She rubbed her temples. She wouldn’t allow Armaan to hurt Rajiv. Both Sheena and Rajiv didn’t deserve that. None of this was their fault. It was hers. If she hadn’t told her elder sister, Ananya, about the party happening on Armaan’s yacht… If Ananya and she hadn’t encouraged Sheena to join them on their mad mission to sneak onto said yacht… If they hadn’t been caught trespassing that night… None of this would have happened then. They wouldn’t have been caught by the Oshnovs and held hostage by them. Her brother wouldn’t have been forced to come there and bargain on her behalf.

Her phone beeped again.

You can put a stop to it, moya tigritsa…

Her anger further flared as she readhisnickname for her. God, she wanted to hit him.

Moya tigritsa. Armaan had whispered those words in her ear when he’d caught her in his arms that night to stop her from escaping his yacht. She’d turned around and slapped him hard, but instead of getting upset, he’d been amused by her.

That had been her first encounter with the dangerous man he was. She’d tried and failed to escape his hold on her. She’d even helplessly shivered when he’d traced his nose down the side of her throat, as if he was breathing her in, learning her scent. Even now, a tremor ran down her body at the memory. He’d released her slowly, reluctantly, as if he hadn’t wanted to stop touching her.

Moya tigritsa.Russian formytigress.

She’d googled the meaning of those words later, much later when she’d been safe in her bed after her brother had rescued her. Her phone pinged again.

Either you give me what I want, or your brother dies tonight…

What do you want?

Her fingers were shaking even after she’d typed him that response. Her blood boiled. Her recklessness had put Rajiv in danger. She wasn’t going to allow it.

She knew what he wanted. Sheena had already informed her what Armaan would claim as his prize once he won the fight. Yet, she’d hit send. Her phone pinged in seconds.

I want one night with you. Agree, and I will lose the fight with minimum damage to your brother.

I’m not a fucking object for you to barter, Oshnov.

Yes or No. That’s the only reply I want to hear, my tigress.

Waiting for you at the sports club.

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