Page 51 of Addiction

Something warmed in her chest at his admission. It didn’t matter, she told herself. None of this was for long anyway.

“I’d like to meet your nephew and niece,” Armaan declared.

Navya choked on her breath. “What? Are you mad? You’ve met Rajiv and Sheena twice—the first time was aboard the yacht when you held Sheena and me hostage, and the other time was at that damn fight you challenged my brother into. Both times were less than favorable. Have you forgotten how mad Sheena was with you because Rajiv was hurt during that fight with you?—”

“—that she punched me and kneed me in the groin?” Armaan chuckled. “Of course, I remember. Sheena is a brave woman. I’d like to meet her again sometime, under more favorable circumstances.”

Navya looked at him in disbelief. “There is no way Rajiv would ever agree to even meet you himself, forget letting you meet his wife and kids. He doesn’t like you and trusts you even less.”

His hand tightened around hers. “Yet, you are here with me. If you can grow to like me, why can’t he? You can talk to him and tell him how nice I am.”

She glared at him. “I do not like you yet. This is between you and me, and I’m never talking to Rajiv about you.”

“You will, one day soon.”

“Your confidence is through the roof.” She tried again to pull her hand out of his, but he held tight. She stopped struggling and stared at him. “Armaan, we are not forever.”

“We are for however long we want to be.”

“God, can you give a woman a chance to breathe? You’re so bloody intense. We’ve barely even begun here.”

“The important thing is that we have begun,da? Who knows where it leads us? I, for one, am open to anything and everything when it comes to you.”

Her heart began to dip and rise like the waves of the sea beyond her. She stared at him agape, not knowing what to say, for she understood exactly what he was saying. He wanted everything from her, but she didn’t want that from him. She didn’t want more. She didn’t want sappy emotions and forever. She didn’t know how to deal with all that. Her past had scarred her permanently, and this man already was making her behave and do things differently. Thanks to him, she was experiencing emotions she’d never felt before. It was all a bit too much.

She tugged her hand. He let her.

She stood. “I have to go.”

Armaan rose from his chair. Moving closer to her, he kissed her cheek gently. “I hope a day comes when you don’t feel the need to run away from me.”

She gulped, unsure of what to say to him.

“I’ll see you here in the morning again, baby,” he said. “Same time tomorrow.”

“Yes,” she murmured, her heart galloping.

She needed to get away from him. Away from his imposing presence and all the intense sentiment he brought with him, which unsettled her so damn much.

Armaan pressed a button on his phone, and Dmitri appeared. The butler guided her to her car silently, where he left her with a small nod.

Once alone, she let out the breath that she’d been holding back. Fuck. How had she gone from hating Armaan Oshnov to not hating him, to not even disliking him, to actually agreeing to sleep with him, and now, to dating him? And she was doing all this knowing her family would be against him.

And he wantedmore? Armaan wantedmore. He wanted a real relationship with her; surely that was what he’d been hinting at. That’s why he wanted to meet her brother. Her hands trembled at the thought. No. This was insane. He was never meeting Rajiv. Thankfully, except for Ananya, her full family was out of Dubai. Reina was in London and the rest of them were in Mumbai. She had weeks to enjoy herself with Armaan before her family returned, and she called this off. Armaan Oshnov was her very own guilty pleasure, a secret she never intended to share with anyone ever.

Thus, it didn’t matter that he had laid his cards on the table and she knew what they were. She had her own cards in hand, and that was how she was going to play in this hot, sexy, and exciting game she’d begun with him—onherterms.

Not his. Never his.

13

Aweek later, Navya stopped her car at the exit of Armaan’s house, waiting for the large metal gate to roll open. She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. She’d been smiling nonstop the whole week. Ever since she’d started meeting Armaan daily, she found herself to be happier, healthier, and stronger. These daily training sessions with Armaan, followed by the intimate breakfast they shared, had become the highlight of her day. She waited expectantly each night for morning to come. She had to accept that she was enjoying herself thoroughly.

Her lips widened. Today, for the first time, Armaan had taught her hand-to-hand combat and it had been fun. She preferred it so much more than the boring boxing techniques he’d been making her do for the whole of last week. Armaan was a tough task master when it came to training her. However, he, too, seemed to enjoy the time he spent with her. Post their sessions, she liked that he insisted on eating breakfast with her daily.

That time in the morning, when it was just the two of them talking about everything under the sun, had become important. Armaan told her about his work and his vision for hiscompany. He told her about incidents from his childhood at the orphanage, about the many scrapes and brawls he’d gotten into. And she enjoyed listening to him. He, in turn, ensured he asked about her clients, her work, and her family.

She was actually enjoying her time with him a lot. She’d never dated anyone before him. She’d always assumed it would be complicated to date a guy, to give him her time and to be forced to spend time with him as well. But now she knew it wasn’t so. It was easy, simple, and she had to accept that perhaps it was him who made it so enjoyable. They bantered and bickered and laughed, and the whole thing repeated like a loop. Their time together was entertaining, interesting, and amusing. She loved it.

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