by Nalini Singh
“No.” Nayna was too loyal to her family to go so far out of reach without warning. “I’ll deal with this, Mr. Sharma.”
“She’s my daughter.”
Raj rubbed at his forehead. “Do you know her dreams?” he asked, fighting to keep his voice even. “Have you ever asked Nayna what she wants?” Maybe he shouldn’t be speaking so bluntly to a man who might be his father-in-law if Raj’s dreams didn’t shatter, but he was too fucking angry to worry.
The idea of “controlling” Nayna, it made his vision haze red. “Have you ever looked at her and seen Nayna rather than a daughter who might turn out to be like Madhuri?”
Gaurav Sharma sucked in an audible breath. “Just bring her back home safe and sound,” the older man said before hanging up.
Raj’s chest heaved after the conversation, and he had to take harsh breaths of the summer air before he tried to call Nayna. Her phone was either off or she was already in the air. He sent a message, got a response after about two hours: Yes, I’m safe. If you’re the reason my parents aren’t hounding me, thank you. I need time to think.
Raj’s shoulders knotted. Despite what he’d told her father, his first instinct was to fight, to push. That was how he’d survived the first six years of his life and the urge had been burned into him. It was what made him such a good businessman and how he’d taken his father’s company to the next level.
He called her.
To discover she’d switched off her phone again.
“Fuck.” Gritting his teeth, he breathed, just breathed. It was a technique he’d had to teach himself when this happened, when he ran up against a roadblock that no amount of pushing or fighting would conquer. The six-year-old boy inside him began to panic, and it manifested as a tightness in his chest and a rigid tension in his body.
He had a feeling it always would, but he’d learned to think past it.
His breath coming in clearer after several minutes, he sent Nayna another message that would download when she turned on her phone. “Fight for me like I’m fighting for you,” he whispered after pushing the Send key. “Want me like I want you.”
25
Raj Declares an Ab Moratorium
Nayna only lasted an hour before switching her phone back on. She didn’t want to be out of touch in case of an accident or emergency among the people she loved. Strangely, once again, she had no messages from her family. That was not a natural state of affairs. It had to be Raj. No one else would have the kind of stubborn will to go up against her father and win.
Raj, however, had sent her something: Another picture of his abs, but this time he’d blacked out that part of his body as if it were a censored image and written: No more abs for you.
Her lips trembled where she sat on the bus she’d taken from Christchurch, where her plane had landed. She missed him. Unbearably. But she didn’t reply, couldn’t reply. Not until she had more inside her than need and confusion.
After arriving at her cabin on the edge of Franz Josef Glacier Village late that day, she holed up, watching bad reality television deep into the night hours. She just needed something to occupy her brain so it wouldn’t go around and around in circles, a dog chasing its own tail.
Part of her kept screaming what are you doing? And what was she doing? Raj was the most incredible man she’d ever met. She should grab on to him and never let go. Only… being with her would savage his dreams. He’d never turn his disappointment on her, was too good a man for that, but she’d know and it’d break her. And making his dreams come true would destroy hers.
Yet the idea of walking away stuck like a stone in her gut, unpalatable and brutal.
At least she had time to figure out what the hell she was going to do.
Franz Josef was a resort town of a kind. In the sense that it was near a spectacular glacier and had thermal baths you could luxuriate in, and restaurants and cafés that served world-class food. That was where it ended. The village was pretty much one street surrounded by verdant native forest and looming mountains. Those mountains were beautiful in the morning with the hovering mist a light blanket.
As for the glacier, it was a wonder of blue ice frozen in the midst of what looked like an enormous waterfall, movement forever captured in place.
Since Nayna had a lot of time on her hands—even reality TV could only take up brain space so much of the time—she got a ride out of town several times that week, then hiked across the rocks to the foot of the glacier. She’d made a spur-of-the-moment purchase of proper cross-training sneakers and a light jacket in Christchurch, and they came in handy. Her canvas trainers were just not supportive enough for the rugged environment, and it could get cold in the national park.
It was a good walk, the glacier at the end her reward.
To mix it up, she did a number of the other short hikes through the park, sticking to the well-posted paths—she had no intention of ending up lost in the wilderness.
She also met several lovely people—hikers, tourists, and locals. The bakery a twenty-minute walk away from her cabin recognized her as a regular by the third day. She’d never had such delicious baked goods in her life. Or maybe she was overcompensating with carbs. She didn’t really care. Cream doughnuts with raspberry jam were the best doughnuts.
But as she lay in bed on the ninth day since her self-imposed exile, Nayna admitted her intense loneliness. She missed the constant buzz of life in a family home, missed sitting up drinking chai with her grandmother, teasing her mother about the soap opera’s latest twists and turns, even missed her father’s dry comments from behind his newspaper and Madhuri’s giggles when she dropped by.
She missed Raj most of all.
He’d messaged her a photo every day, the fiend. The man was getting very good at shockingly sexy selfies that didn’t show his abs. A shirt partially unbuttoned. A towel held casually to block the view. A shot of his back taken in the mirror. More pictures of him reading, along with an update that made her laugh: Mr. Darcy is finally not being a dick. I might like this guy after all. Tino at work is reading it too now. Mostly in public, where women can see him.
Nayna saved every single photo and message but didn’t reply except for a message every forty-eight hours confirming her status as alive: The local possum gang hasn’t swarmed me yet.
Lord help her, what was she going to do?
It turned out she was going to switch on the television and watch reruns of a home-renovation show full of men in hard hats. Outside, the quiet darkness shook its head at her, clearly judging her choices.
When her phone lit up with an incoming text, she grabbed it in grateful desperation.
It was Ísa, who Nayna knew was currently camping with Sailor and his family: How’s the whole ‘running away to the jungle’ thing going?
A freaking jungle would’ve been noisier than this, Nayna replied in the midst of the cocoon of silence that surrounded her. They have baboons in the jungle, right? And baboons are noisy. It’s so QUIET here I keep expecting to hear ghostly wails and rattling chains. She’d never realized how much of a city girl she was until this trip—where were the sirens in the night, the neighbor on their other side blasting his music too loud, or the car backfiring and turning into a drum in her dreams?
Ísa’s reply came quickly: I am currently suffering from the curse of peace and quiet and nature as well. Do you think the ghost will come with a dashing duke to rescue you?
I’m more into the stubbled-jaw, blue-collar man these days, Nayna admitted. Do you know what I’m watching right now? A rerun of a home-renovation show full of construction types. Every time one of them picked up a hammer or began handling lumber, she’d imagine Raj doing the same, his muscles flexing, and then it was all over. I hate myself.
Why don’t you invite Raj to join you? Have a little fun away from prying eyes.
Nayna stared at her friend’s sinful suggestion. And stared.
Ísa was right. Why didn’t she invite Raj to join her? It was arrogant of her to think s
he could make this decision alone when the two of them were in this together; whatever happened, the fallout would hit them both. She’d talked to her bosses and was doing some remote work so she could have more time off. Raj might not be in a position to leave his business… but she could ask.
She pushed the Call button before she realized that it was freaking late at night—or early in the morning, depending on your view of things—but it was too late by then because he’d picked up.
“Nayna?” His voice was rough, a sleepy growl.
Toes curling into the sheets, Nayna said, “Sorry I woke you.” Actually, she wasn’t sorry if that was what he sounded like when he woke up—at least if this all collapsed and she ended up a shriveled old maid just like Auntie Babita had warned, she’d have the memory of this conversation with him.
“Is something wrong? Do you need help?”
The sharp concern in his rapidly awakening voice turned her heart to mush. “No,” she said at once. “I just…” A deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a couple of days.”
She’d expected silence, shock. Raj’s family was pretty traditional, and though the two of them had been plenty naughty together, this was going into more dangerous territory altogether.
But he replied at once. “Where are you?”
Nayna took the risk and told him.
“Hold on.” Sounds of movement that had her imagining him rising naked from his bed, his hair tumbled and his eyes hooded with sleep.
A minute later, he said, “I’m pulling up flights on the laptop. I see seats open tomorrow morning to Christchurch. I’ll hire a car and drive from there.”
Nayna hung up a few moments later so he could concentrate on making the bookings, her heart pounding and her mouth dry. When she could finally string together words, she messaged Ísa to let her know what was going on.
Her best friend replied: Take my advice and do every dirty thing you’ve ever dreamed.
Nayna bit down hard on her lower lip as she responded to her friend, then put her phone on the bedside table, intending to sleep. Of course, her brain wasn’t about to cooperate. It raced and raced. Raj was coming to her. And this time there were no parents, no prying eyes, just the two of them in a town of strangers.
No rules. No boundaries.
Nayna dreamed of tangled limbs and sweaty bodies… and the chance to find out who she and Raj could be together when no one was interfering, when the choices they made were theirs and theirs alone.
* * *
After a little hunting, Raj had lucked out by finding an opening on an early-morning flight to Hokitika. His plane had stopped in Christchurch first, before continuing on to the small West Coast town. He’d already booked a rental and picked up the SUV only minutes after landing.
It was a drive of under two hours to get to Franz Josef, but he wouldn’t have risked it if he’d felt in any way sleep-deprived. New Zealand roads were well-paved for the most part, but they could be winding and lonely out this way. If he had a wreck, he’d be waiting a hell of a long time for someone to find him.
However, he was wide awake, excitement pumping adrenaline through his veins. When Nayna had throttled back her messages and replies, he’d braced himself for rejection. At the same time, he’d kept up his photo campaign so she wouldn’t forget him; it had taken teeth-gritted control not to go any further, not to push as he wanted to push.
But if the reward was this, he’d do it all over again.
Swinging through Hokitika township, he bought a large cup of scalding-hot coffee as well as a bagel, both of which he wolfed down before beginning the drive. It was a smooth one, no gridlock to worry about. Just stunning native forest and a wild coast.
He stopped only once along the way, to help a motorist resecure a couple of kayaks that had begun to slip from the roof of the other man’s vehicle. It was just past eleven when he rolled into Franz Josef. The town was wide awake but quiet, the vast majority of those who came here not party people but hikers and backpackers interested in the glacier and the other natural beauties in the national park.
Pulling over, he grabbed his phone and checked the instructions Nayna had given him on how to get to her cabin. He followed them to the letter and soon found himself going down a narrow pebbled drive surrounded by the dark green of native ferns and trees.
The cabin stood at the end in splendid isolation.
He scowled. She was all alone out here.
Leaving the vehicle, he heard the rush of water and realized there must be a waterfall nearby, but he was more interested in the fact there was no one else within shouting distance. He grabbed his bag from the back seat and shut the car door… just as Nayna opened the front door of the cabin.
26
Aunties in the Pharmacy when You’re Buying CERTAIN THINGS
His heart kicked.
She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her feet bare and her silky straight hair hanging past her shoulders, and he’d never seen a lovelier woman in his life.
“Hi,” she said when he stopped in front of her.
Starved, he cupped the side of her face and dipped his head, kissing her into his bloodstream. She was fire and spice and his addiction. He dropped his bag and, wrapping his arms around her, lifted her up to make the kiss deeper, more intense. She kissed him back as passionately, her arms tight around his neck.
Breaking the kiss only when she gasped for air, he nuzzled her neck. “You smell good enough to eat.” He kicked his bag inside, carried her in, then kicked the door shut behind him.
She slid down his body in a luscious rub of soft against hard. “Raj.” A whisper of breath against his lips. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Nothing could’ve stopped me.” He’d long ago learned to fight for what he wanted. And in her invitation, he saw hope that she was fighting for him too. It was enough. For now, it was enough.
What happened here, in this cabin, would decide the rest.
Kissing her again, he thrust his fingers in her hair, fisted his hand. The strands were silky and soft and he wanted to feel them all over his body. When she grazed her teeth over his lower lip, he couldn’t help the fingers of his other hand from digging into her hip. She didn’t seem to mind, snuggling up even closer to him and opening her mouth under his.
Raj was only male.
And this was Nayna. His Nayna.
Making a harsh sound in the back of his throat, he took the invitation and deepened the kiss until it was raw, rough. No way could Nayna have missed his erection—the damn thing was trying to poke a hole through his jeans. But she didn’t pull away.
Lifting her up, he said, “Legs around my waist.”
Sleek and strong, those legs wrapped around him. Turning, he backed her into the nearest wall. “This is going to be my favorite position for kissing.” It put her mouth at exactly the right height, her breasts easy for his hands to caress and handle.
“Kissing only?” Nayna was running her fingers up and down his chest.
“Do you want the T-shirt off?”
“Why are you even wearing it?” was the wicked response, the woman in his arms the same one he’d met that very first night.
A smile uncurling deep inside him, Raj pressed in until his chest crushed her breasts, their breaths mingling. “Maybe I want you to take it off.”
Eyes locked with his, she hooked her fingers under the edge of the T-shirt and tugged it up. He cooperated because being naked with Nayna was at the top of his mental to-do list. The physical, this intimacy, it meant something to her.
It did to Raj too.
Dropping his T-shirt to the floor, she shaped his upper body with possessive hands. The sensations went straight to his throbbing cock.
“Nayna.” He kissed her throat, sucking a little.
Shivering, she moved one hand up to hold him closer. He could take a hint. He kept on kissing her neck… and found a little spot just behind her left ear that caused her to make a sudden kittenish sound
and dig her nails into his nape. His cock jumped. He did it again. She whimpered.
One hand on her breast, Raj squeezed the plump warmth of it before rubbing his thumb over the pebbled nipple. But that wasn’t enough. Raj wanted the taut little mounds naked under his hand, under his mouth.
He pushed up her T-shirt.
She raised her arms.
Skin tight, he didn’t give her time to change her mind, stripping off the tee and dropping it on the floor beside his. “What is this?” The words came out gritty, barely understandable.
She looked down. “My bra?”
“It’s all lacy and see-through and taunting me.” He could see the dark circles of her nipples through the pale peach lace, wanted to suck them into his mouth.
So he did.
She cried out, her fingers gripping at his hair.
His mouth suctioning hard on one pouting nipple, he plucked and rolled the other one between his thumb and finger. When one of Nayna’s hands came to his wrist, he realized immediately he was being too rough. He took it down a notch and her breathing sped up. Got it, he thought on a fiercely determined surge and kept it at that exact pressure.
He wanted Nayna hot and wild for him.
Tugging at his hair, she pulled him up for another kiss. Their tongues tangled, his chest pressing up against her lace-covered breasts. One hand on the curve of her hip, he leaned in hard and took everything she had to give until she pushed at his chest. Pulling back because he figured he might be crushing her, he went to shift his attention to her throat but Nayna shook her head.
“We need to talk.” Her chest heaved, her words breathless.
Talk? Raj barely had a brain at this point. “Now?” he managed to say.
Nayna stared at him. “What the hell am I saying?” Hauling down his head, she branded his mouth with her own.
Raj’s hand was back on her breast before he was even aware of moving.
