Page 48 of One Hellish Wedlock
He didn’t hate it.
Her leg was hooked over his, anchoring him like she belonged there. Her breath ghosted against his skin, and her fingers twitched ever so slightly against his chest, as if searching for something even in her sleep.
Reyansh swallowed hard.
His body was reacting in ways he wasn’t ready to confront. His skin felt too hot. His pulse had picked up. Sleep? That ship had sailed the second she wrapped herself around him like a human blanket.
He looked down at her, lips parted in sleep, lashes resting on her cheeks, hair a little wild.
How could someone look so chaotic and peaceful at the same time?
He let his head fall back against the pillow, exhaling slowly.Just a few more hours,he told himself.I can survive this.
But then she shifted again. She snuggled closer, her entire front now pressed against his side. Her arm curled around his waist like instinct, and she let out a small contented sigh that hit him square in the chest.
And just like that, his resolve melted.
He didn’t push her away.
Instead, his arm moved, almost on its own, and rested lightly around her shoulders.
He closed his eyes again, knowing sleep wouldn’t come easy. Not with her body molded to his, not with his senses on fire, not with the terrifying thought echoing in his mind:
He was getting used to this.
Morning
The shrill ring of the morning alarm pierced through the quiet. Reyansh groaned, blindly reaching out to shut it off. His sister was arriving today and the thought alone brought a faint smile to his face.
But as he blinked his eyes open, the smile vanished.
Aanya lay sprawled on her stomach beside him, one leg bent slightly, her hair a messy halo across her bare back. The white shirt she’d borrowed had slipped off one shoulder, revealing a stretch of skin that made something deep in his chest tighten.
She looked beautiful, exactly like she had on their wedding night. Fast asleep. Curled up the same way. Back then too, she’d claimed her side of the bed in silence, shutting him out without a word.
His hand hovered in the space between them, aching to brush a strand of hair away or trace the soft curve of her shoulder. But he pulled it back before temptation got the better of him.Don’t be an idiot, he told himself.
Shaking the thoughts away, he glanced at the clock. It was nearly 7:00 a.m. His sister would be here by 9:00. He couldn’t afford to lose time.
He headed to the shower.
When he stepped out an hour later, towel slung low around his waist, she was still asleep…curled into the sheets, untouched by the chaos of the morning, lost in her own little world.
“Aanya,” he called sharply.
No response.
He walked to the bed and tapped her arm. “Aanya, get up.”
She groaned and shoved his hand off, turning the other way. “Let me sleep… I’ll wake up when I want to.”
He sighed. “Aanya, Di will be here in an hour. We have a deal, remember?”
She muttered something unintelligible and didn’t even open her eyes.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Have it your way.”
Before she could register what that meant, Reyansh leaned in and gently pinned her beneath him. Then, with a wicked tilt of his head, he shook his damp hair, sending a shower of cold droplets across her face.
