Page 62 of Addiction

Armaan plucked it out of her fingers and handed it to a valet. He fired some instructions in rapid Russian. Vasily shook his head, pointing to the Bentley. More conversation occurred, which she didn’t understand. Finally, Vasily lowered his head in a nod.

“He will follow us in your car,da?” Armaan checked.

“Okay. No Arlo today?”

“Vasily gave him another job to do.”

Once her car appeared behind them, Armaan settled her in his Bentley and took the driver’s side. Within seconds, they were on the road with Vasily following behind them.

She shot off a quick text to Lavina to reschedule the rest of her meetings for the day. Lavina called her immediately. Navya disconnected her call. In fact, she switched off her phone and dropped it in her bag. She’d have to deal with her assistant tomorrow. In all their time working together, Navya had never skipped work like this. In fact, this, missing work to spend timewith a man was completely out of character for her. Yet, it felt right. Armaan felt right.

She looked around, noticing they were headed in a different direction than from his home. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” His hot gaze slid over her, and goosebumps pebbled her skin. Her heart began to race. Armaan stopped the car at a signal. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Anticipation rushed like adrenaline down her veins.

She swallowed. “What were you doing at the event?”

“I am… was the chief guest of the event. O-Diamonds supplies to many brands. This included.”

“Oh my God, and you left… just like that?”

“That isn’t important. You are.”

Happiness soared within her.

“Besides, I’d already finished meeting and greeting whoever was important before I spotted you and… him.” His brow creased. “After this morning, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Do you know how hard it was for me to let you go? And then I came to the brunch and found another man drooling all over you. Fuck, I wanted to murder him.”

She reached forward to wipe his frown with her fingers. “Aditya is just a friend.”

“He better be only that,” he muttered, still looking mad.

She caught his hand and brought it to her lips. “I’m here with you, Armaan, and not with him. Over the last few years, I’ve had enough opportunity to take things forward with him, or anyone else. But I never did. But you… you’re constantly on my mind. I can’t stop thinking about you. There has been no one who’s affected me as much as you do. And after this morning, you ought to believe that I want you.”

Lifting her hand to his mouth, he kissed it, his eyes steady on hers. “Once we cross this line between us, there won’t be any going back, Navya.”

“Had I known making you jealous would be the way to making you want to claim me then I would have done it a long time back.”

“I’ve wanted you for a long time, baby.” His eyes glimmered with heat. “I was just waiting for you to be sure you want this too.”

She nodded.

“I need to hear the words, Navya.”

She removed her hand from his and palmed his cheek. “This is what I want. I want you to make love to me, to show me the pleasure I know only you can give me. So yes, Armaan. I want this.”

“Finally, she says yes to me.”

“I think I said yes to you a long time ago.” Her hand scraped down his jaw.

He captured it in his own and bit the back of it. Her heartbeat doubled. His dark eyes glazed with desire. His want resonated within her. The signal turned green. He dropped her hand, and moved the car forward. The rest of the drive was filled with silence, the air between them thick with tension and anticipation. Desire pulled between them like a rope, tightening with every breath taken and every look exchanged.

Within moments, Armaan parked at the Dubai marina. She understood instantly where he was taking her. He opened her door and helped her out. He walked toward his yacht—the same yacht where she had met him for the first time four years ago.

She paused when she saw the massive boat appear in front of her. Her heart bumped against her ribcage. Her skin began to tingle. A soft breeze blew against her face. Even the sun shone brighter. A sense of calm washed over her. It felt like everything about this moment was preordained, like fate was waiting for her to return here, to where it had all started. She heaved out a breath.

“Having second thoughts?” he asked.

She looked to the side, realizing that they both were staring at the yacht.

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