Page 64 of The Ex Factor

Love! The thought reverberated through my body. Was I falling in love with him?

“Let me up,” I pleaded softly as his eyes pierced into mine.

Quick as a flash, he jumped from his position and offered me his hand. I grabbed it eagerly, and he pulled me up.

“Let’s go inside. You are shivering,” he said.

I was trembling, but it was no longer the effect of the snow and the cold. My shivers stemmed from the thought that I had lost myself—heart and soul—to this man.

We shed our outer covers in the foyer, and I realized that my clothes were damp.

“Sujit, I don’t have anything to change into.”

“I keep extra clothes here. You can use my warm sweats.”

Quivering in my skin, I followed him as he led me to the second floor and into the first room along a long corridor.

“This is me,” he said. “I suggest taking a warm shower.”

I nodded.

“Don’t put your hands in hot water first,” he warned. “Let them warm up in tap water before turning up the heat.”

“Okay.”

It felt surreal to take orders, however well-intentioned, from him. I had always been the one to give orders, and I had wielded that right with responsibility and pride. It was unsettling that not only did he care about me this way and knew how to show it, but also that I had little reservations about following his instructions. I had repeatedly said I trusted him, but when had I entrusted myself to him completely in this way?

It was a freedom akin to peeling away the layers of uncomfortable clothing from one’s body, like I was doing right now. I turned the shower knob to cold and let the water run on my extremities while diligently protecting the rest from the chilly blast. When I could feel my fingers and toes again, I gradually turned up the temperature and stayed under the shower until the bathroom fogged up.

Wrapping myself in a generous towel, I found a hair dryer, a fresh toothbrush, and body lotion, and got to work.

Back in the room, I looked through a neatly kept closet and found several sets of sweatpants and warm sweatshirts. I also found some formal clothes and a bottle of cologne. I sneaked a quick sniff of the scent and got a heady rush from the memories of his smell. Then my prefrontal cortex took over, and Aakash’s words rang in my ears.

My phone dinged with a text at the exact moment. Slipping the cologne back in the closet, I stepped over to the bed where I had dropped it to find Mary Beth asking if we had made it home safely.

I texted her back.

We took a detour to his family home and will be here until the visibility improves.

Mary Beth

He took you to his family? Isn’t that something you both have been trying to avoid?

Not family. Family home. No one lives here.

So you both are alone together on a stormy night?

Yes, but before you suggest it, nothing is going to happen.

You’re so boring. Make it happen.

No

I pressed send, locked the phone, and started toward the stairs. What I saw when I reached the landing made me stop in my tracks.

Sujit was at the fireplace, without a shirt, trying to kindle a fire. The light from the hearth reflected off his strong torso. His toned biceps curved as he poked the wood. He wasn’t as sculpted as I had imagined when I felt his arm around me. His lines were gentle rather than harsh, their shape more inviting than intimidating. The low-rise pants sat at the hips, and when he stood upright, I caught a glimpse of his tight abs and smooth muscles defining the V.

My nipples wrinkled promptly and turned to stone, the heat in my core sending a jolt up my body. I stood motionless, mymouth dry, my hands cold, with goosebumps covering every element of mine. If I was attracted to him before, right now I stood devastated.

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