Page 83 of Fixation

Her heart fell to her feet because it was him. Vedant was here. Dressed in a navy-blue jacket worn over darker denims, a collared black t-shirt, hair stylishly swept back over his forehead, black Tom Ford specs on his nose, and his face clean shaved, he looked… He was catching the eye of every woman he was crossing. But he didn’t look at any of them; his entire focus was onher.

Her pulse kicked up a notch with every step that brought him closer to her. Her eyes ran over him, hungrily taking him in, assessing him for any sign of injury or disability. But she found none. His limp was gone; all the bruises from his face had disappeared. He looked fine. He looked fabulous, in fact.Something lit inside her. That spark that had died within her after she’d left London flared to life under his gaze, reminding her that he was the only man to ever make her feel everything she was feeling in that moment.

And then he was in front of her, towering over her. Her heart melted at his nearness. The urge to throw herself against his chest, to breathe him in, and to feel his arms around her slammed through her ribcage. Stop. Just stop, she told herself. He was not for her. He had cruelly cut her off his life and then refused to let her leave. She allowed her anger to rise and push its way through all the emotions tangling inside her.

“Hello,moya prekrasnaya.” He leaned closer. Lifting her hand from the table, he kissed the back of it. She gasped, and his lips tipped up in that arrogant smile.

Fuck. How dare he touch her like he had all the right to? Fury erupted inside her. She tried to pull her hand away from his, but he held it tight. Memories from their initial encounters rushed through her mind.

“Release my hand,” she snapped.

“And if I don’t?”

Oh God, the arrogance of him. She swung her fist out and slammed it against his jaw.

His smile vanished as he staggered a step back, dropping her hand.

“The next time I ask you to release my hand, you bloody well do it,” she stormed.

He ran a hand down his jaw and laughed. “Fuck, I deserved that I suppose.”

“You suppose?” she shouted. “Fucking asshole.”

“Oh My God!” Ananya’s loud voice broke through the haze inside her head. Ananya looked beyond Reina to the man nearing Vedant, and Reina knew that was the exact moment her sister joined all the dots together.

Ananya stormed toward Mihir. “Did you know she was my sister when you got her kidnapped?”

“Yes.” Mihir didn’t even have the good sense to look apologetic. Ananya swung her fist out, but Mihir caught it in his hand. When she swung her other fist out, he ducked. “Enough,Anna. You’re creating a scene, and I’m sure you recall how much I hate being the centre of attention.”

“Fucking bastard,” Ananya fumed, twisting her hand free from his hold, but he held firm.

Oh God. Reina’s head was spinning now. Ananya and Mihir were arguing, Vedant was watching the whole situation like it was a comedy show, and all she wanted to do was get in his face and hit him some more. From behind Ananya, she could see the security approaching.

Crossing her arms over chest, she addressed Vedant, her tone haughty and stone cold. “Mr. Oshnov, you and your brother need to leave, now.”

Vedant faced her. “There you are. I finally seeyou, Reina Mehra. Care to tell me why you lied to me and never told me who you were? And no more of this Mr. Oshnov business. I haven’t forgotten how you were screaming my name the last time I was moving inside you.”

Her jaw dropped even as her body came alive at the reminder. Fucking arrogant asshole. How dare he speak so casually to her? How dare he remind her of the time when she and he had been close like that? She swung her hand to punch him again, but this time, he caught her fist, shaking his head slowly.

God, she really was in a TV serial or, rather, one of the romance books she devoured so eagerly. His lips tipped up. Fucking arrogant asshole.

She exhaled. But it didn’t work to calm her down. She was spitting mad now—at him, and at herself for allowing him topush her buttons the way he was. He squeezed her fist gently, and her skin began to light up.

She tugged her hand out of his. It didn’t matter that he knew her real identity. It wasn’t important.Hewasn’t important. From the corner of her eye, she noted that Ananya and Mihir had stopped arguing and were standing side by side, staring at the two of them. While Ananya looked one step away from murdering Vedant, Mihir was rubbing his scarred cheek, looking irritated. And through all this, Vedant was staring at her. His intense gaze was burning right into her as if she… as if she mattered to him. Which was bullshit. He didn’t care at all about her.

Two of the club’s security guards reached them.

“They are just leaving,” Reina told them, not wanting to create a scene.

“Actually, we are not,” Vedant lifted his jaw. “Miss Mehra and I have something to discuss.”

She blinked, unable to believe him. “Mr. Oshnov,leaveor I will have them make you leave.”

“Really?” His lips tightened. “Then let me tell you that I won’t go out nicely. There will be a fight. Mihir will not like it, but he will not stand on the side when I get into an altercation with your brother’s men. The whole thing will get ugly. Is that what you truly want, Reina? Do you want your brother to get involved when, so far, you have clearly kept him out of everything?”

A wave of frustration washed over her. He was right. She didn’t want her brother involved in the mess she had made of her life.

At her silence, he said, “Come with me, beautiful. You and I need to talk.”

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