“Why are you blushing?” Priyank pulled her closer, his hand sliding around the back of her neck, the warmth of his palm making her pulse quicken.
He couldn’t get enough of her. Not now, not ever. She seemed so different today-composed, almost normal. He didn’t miss her silly quirks entirely, but this side of her was something he didn’t mind either.
The fingers of his free hand wove through her soft, crimson hair, the strands slipping like silk between his fingertips.
“What do you mean?” Priya blinked, her lashes fluttering slightly. The hint of a smirk betrayed her attempt to play innocent; she knew exactly what he meant.
A small smile tugged at Priyank’s lips. “Your cheeks,” he murmured, his voice dipping lower, “they’re the same shade as your hair. That’s what I mean, Angel.”
The heat in her cheeks deepened at his words. His kiss earlier still lingered on her lips, and now his teasing-the way he noticed everything-was unraveling her usual composure.
“You really had to say that?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, though her tone betrayed the mix of embarrassment and amusement curling inside her.
“Probably,” he said with a lopsided grin, his thumb brushing lightly against the curve of her jaw. Then he chuckled softly, his gaze steady on hers. “Actually, scratch that. I totally mean it.”
“Then I think I have to admit-I’m blushing.”
“Won’t mind if you don’t want to,” Priyank murmured, leaning closer. His lips brushed her soft cheek in a feather-light kiss. “Because actions speak louder. And I’m totally enjoying these actions.”
“Not a good one, though,” she muttered, her cheeks growing even warmer. She glanced around nervously. “I’m embarrassed-we’re standing in the middle of the street.”
“More like an empty alley,” he said with a casual shrug, his voice filled with teasing amusement. “And who cares?”
“I do.”
“Then keep caring, because I love teasing.”
Priya felt like melting into a puddle-had she ever thought, even once in her life, that a day like this would come?
No, she never had.
To think she’d be comfortable enough to be kissed and held in Priyank’s arms like this-it was something. If not everything.
It seemed like things were totally changing.
“I want to kiss you so many times that even I lose count,” Priyank said, his gaze locked on hers, the weight of his words reflected in the seriousness of his expression.
Priya’s breath hitched. The intensity in his eyes made her feel both exposed and cherished, like she was the only person in the world who mattered to him.
“And then what?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, though her heart pounded loud enough to drown out the silence of the alley.
“Then,” he said, a faint smile curving his lips, “I’ll start over, because one lifetime isn’t enough for you, Angel.”
Her cheeks flushed a deeper red, and she broke eye contact, pretending to glance at everywhere, though there was nothing she wanted to hide from more than her own emotions. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
“And you love it,” he teased, his thumb brushing lightly over her jawline. The tenderness in his touch was a stark contrast to the playful tone of his words.
He knows she doesn’t love him. Yet!
Still taking chances on that, seems no loss here.
She tried to fight the smile that tugged at her lips but failed. “Maybe,” she admitted, her voice soft, like a secret she wasn’t quite ready to share but couldn’t keep to herself.
The tension between them grew, a quiet moment stretching in the stillness of the alley. Somewhere far off, a car horn blared, but neither of them moved.
“I could stand here forever,” Priyank said, his voice low, his hand gently tilting her chin so their eyes met again. “But if I don’t kiss you right now, I might go crazy.”
He leaned in, closing the space between them.
His lips brushed against hers, soft and unhurried. Then, his tongue grazed her lower lip, a gentle, teasing stroke that urged her to let him in.
Without hesitation, Priya parted her lips, allowing him entry. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring with a mix of tenderness and passion. His lips pressed against hers with growing pressure, drawing her deeper into the kiss. Their mouths moved together in perfect rhythm, his lips dancing over hers as if they were meant to.
Priya’s eyes fluttered shut, then rolled back, overwhelmed by the sensations crashing over her like waves. It was too much, too fast-everything she couldn’t quite comprehend in the moment but didn’t want to stop.
Within seconds, he pulled back, though not completely. He placed a soft, lingering kiss on her now-wet lips, his breath warm against her skin.
“Angel,” he whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. “You’re my death, and I’d kill thousands for you… and die a million times without you.”
The rawness in his tone made her heart twist. She opened her eyes to meet his, and what she saw there startled her-vulnerability.
He felt torn, caught between the weight of reality and this fleeting moment of bliss. How was he supposed to face the truth he had been running from? The truth that soon had to come to light?
And then there was Aman. The thought of him made Priyank’s chest tighten painfully. The situation was a storm brewing on the horizon, and for the first time in his life, he felt something he had never allowed himself to feel before: fear.
Terrified, even.
But for now, with Priya in his arms, her lips still tingling from his kiss, he let himself pretend, just for a little while longer, that everything was okay.
Could he really pretend and shrug it off? He doubted it. Once Priya found out the truth, she wouldn’t look at him the same way-not in the way he wanted, or even with the small acceptance she’d shown him now.
But he couldn’t hide it forever. He didn’t want to.
He couldn’t base what they had on lies-not now, not ever.
“Where are you lost?”
Priyank’s thoughts snapped back to the present. “I was just thinking… at least I taught you how to kiss properly. Seems like a good achievement.”
Priya nuzzled into his chest, a soft laugh escaping her. “Knock it off and let’s go.”