Page 51 of Twisted Deceit
She knew there was a physical pull, and it was evident from the hardness that dented her belly anytime they were close to each other, but what she saw in his eyes, the way he held her as they exited the room, and how hard he kissed her in the elevator, told her a different story.
The ride was silent, and she was glad she didn’t have to talk after such an eventful evening. But she could not deny what she was feeling for him. She had hoped to suppress the strong pull by giving into a few moments of passion and the kiss in the elevator was toe-curling good and yet, she wanted more. It was as if the desires multiplied the physical engagement, and all she could think about was what it would feel like to be joined with his as he filled her depths with his hardness.
Her heart thudded faster and she was finding it hard to breathe. What had she gotten herself into?
Is this what it means to have strong feelings?
It was beyond sheer attraction; it was a demand from her mind and body.
Her mind did not send any warning shots anymore. Her treacherously powerful body had taken over her rational mind when she was around him.
She slowly raised her eyes to look at him as he focused on the computer screen and uploaded the video footage he had captured at the museum. She felt disgusted that all her thoughts were about her physical needs when the purpose of their visit was something else. He seemed to be staying the course, doing what was needed while all she could think about was recreating the scene in the painting room and making it real.
“Aadhya, we need to make a quick stop at the hotel and head over to another location for a casual event.” He was so focused on returning Shakti to Singoor, that she felt like a loser who could not gain control of her senses.
She shook away her dark and unfathomed desires and thoughts. “Sure. I’ll be quick.”
Not long after, they were driving to another location again after changing into casual clothes. She was glad they were not spending the evening alone in the hotel room. Especially given the chaos in her mind.
Even in a foreign country, they had security, and she wondered why they needed that when the clan wars and attacks were local to Singoor.
Unable to bear the constant silence, she cleared her throat as if to get his attention away from what he was doing on his phone. “Did you see the painting of Shakti?”
He put away his phone, pressing his lips together briefly. “The video is being processed. I uploaded the footage to the team for processing,” he paused like he caught the horrified look on her face and added, “without the audio.”
Her cheeks heated up with the way his eyes danced at her. “Thank goodness.”
“Pretty sure I got all the paintings in the video, and the team will comb through the images to find the reference that was made in the blog online.”
She scrunched her nose, curious about what he said. “Someone wrote a blog about Shakti?”
He shook his head. “There was a reference to a partial painting of a Hindu goddess, and the description matched the painting we have. If it’s a match, we must find out who the artist was.”
“How is that going to help?” She couldn’t plug the link between an artist and why the painting was necessary when they already had a good image of their goddess.
“This painting is less than twenty years old.” His voice was calm.
His words made her gasp. “So—” her breath was coming fast. “Someone saw her after she was taken from Singoor?”
He nodded. “That’s what I think. No one in Singoor had seen the Goddess except for the priests and this has to be a painting by someone who saw her after she was taken. It is cleverly hidden within another artwork. Supposedly, part of her face and one hand were visible.”
She felt a surge of joy at the thought of finding the Goddess. Restore the peace that her father and now her aunt had worked so hard for years. “That’s awesome!” She reached out to throw her arm around him. “We should celebrate!”
He chuckled as she pulled back, suddenly feeling jittery from the hug. “That’s what I was hoping we could do.”
“Good, I—”
“Is that a music concert? On a beach?” She squealed as the car turned into the entrance of what looked like a music festival. “This is surreal.”
She heard him laugh as he exited the car, holding the door for her. “I guess this is the spot for the evening.”
“This is unbelievable,” she called out as she rushed to the beach. It was not too late at night, and the air was still warm. She was glad she changed into casual clothes that were perfect for the beach and for the concert.
She looked around, and most of the folks seemed buzzed and thoroughly enjoyed the music. She sang along to some of the songs and joined a group of people who seemed to be her age and were gathered for the event.
A few minutes later, she spotted Nakul, two drinks in his hand. She blushed when their eyes met, partially because she was embarrassed, she left him behind and didn’t bother asking if he was joining her. She heard the girls in the group she was in get all excited when one of them said, “Who is this hottie?”
Aadhya’s eyes widened when she realized they were talking about her fake husband, who was walking toward them.
