Page 11 of Twisted Deceit
“Fair enough.” He grinned, and she could not tell how she was doing on her test.
“What about you?” she asked to get some breathing room from being bombarded with his questions. She didn’t care about his past relationships.
“No time for serious relationships.” He shrugged, and she virtually patted herself for remembering the details from his phone conversations on the balcony. “And now I will answer your first question. What I need most importantly out of the contract is a No-Strings-Attached outcome.”
She panicked as to what he was suggesting. Usually, No-Strings-Attached was synonymous with Friends-With-Benefits. She wasn’t looking for any physical intimacy. She had to make that very clear. She opened her mouth to oppose the idea but bit back.
As if reading her thoughts, he clarified, “I cannot risk having you develop feelings for me during this year. You are an attractive woman; I could feel something from my side, too. But I want out of the deal when we go past the contract and have an intimate relationship. I can’t take clingy, mushy feelings.”
It was a relief, and she let out a laugh. “Thank you for being so upfront about it. I am in 100% agreement with that.” She was so glad the guy was of the same mindset as hers. Granted, he was hot, and she would admire him from time to time, but that was harmless and well within the contract boundaries.
“Good.” He nodded. “What would you describe as your perfect evenings?”
Another tricky one? She wondered what he was trying to get out of it.
“Well, an evening like this, good company, great location, and maybe a walk in the park is perfect.” She pretty much described the setting he had planned for the evening. She paused like she was thinking or finding it hard to choose from the many different things she had done. “Let me see, there are so many…but I would say one other would be attending a music concert on a beach. It’s perfect!”
He chuckled. “Good to know. How about we make this evening a perfect one by taking a walk?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
Later that evening, she waited for him on the patio next to the reception venue. It was a beautiful night and calm compared to the noisy banquet hall. They spent several hours talking, primarily her responding to his queries. She also managed to get some of her asks out of the way, specifically around her ability to continue studying and not traveling alone or without consent from the other person.
She saw his nose scrunch in response to the ask but did not object. She added a clause in the draft contract so he would not leave the Kanwar mansion alone when they were in Singoor. All other times, she would not care. She even offered to travel with him as needed.
It was the moment of truth, and she could not think of any reason he would not want to move forward with the contract. Even if he had a reason, she was determined to address it.
“Hello, Aadhya.” Her back stiffened slightly in response to his voice.
She smiled, slowly turning to face him. “Hey, are you enjoying the event?
He nodded and stepped closer to her. “I have one last concern about the contract.”
Now what?
She didn’t say anything. She did not want to sound defensive or desperate. Instead, she remained silent but held his gaze.
He stepped close to her and added, “Everything works well, but if you and I cannot convince people we are a couple in love, this contract will be useless.”
“Good point. How do we suggest we go about this matter?” There was no going back from this point. There would be no physical intimacy behind closed doors but they needed to be affectionate. She had to make that happen, somehow.
He lowered her voice further and said, “If you can convince your friends who are secretly watching us that we are a couple, you have a deal.”
Instinctively, she wanted to look around to see where her friends were, but her final test faced her. She kicked into action as she stepped closer to him, her hand reaching his chest. I had such a beautiful evening, and I will remember this for a long time.”
He smiled like he was picking up the cues of the role-playing. “Me too.”
Annoyed that he couldn’t develop something more elaborate to help the conversation, she moved on to the next topic. “And I must confess, it was my first time walking hand in hand with a handsome man like you.” Her hand reached up to slide up his neck. “What would have made it even more perfect was if I had mustered the courage to do this.”
With those words, she reached up to brush her lips against his. It was her first kiss, and all the fairy tales about the fireworks and toe curls were debunked. There was nothing groundbreaking. Unsure that was enough to prove her point, she dug her fingertips into the back of his neck. “Kiss me.”
As if that was his cue to kick off the role-playing, he moved, his arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her up, her lips closer to his. Just as she had discarded the overrated first kiss, she moaned into his mouth as his lips coaxed her sweetly. He took charge, and she was very soon lost in exploring the new emotions she felt deep within.
Her eyes rolled shut when he took over, and she had to admit the fireworks and the toe-curling were indeed correct. Her heart drummed a parade, unsure of what was happening and her skin broke into goosebumps. Her breath came hard when he broke the kiss, but he held her close as she steadied her breathing.
“Get a room, you two!” someone shouted in the background, and she felt the heat creep up her cheeks.
He slowly stepped away without breaking their gaze. “Congratulations Ms. Kanwar, we have a deal. It’s time for you to be my bride.”
