Chapter 15
The music that played in the distance was way too familiar for Ariya, and it wouldn’t stop. Her eyes flew open, and the music got louder. The room looked unfamiliar, but when she felt the familiar body on her back, she knew where she was. The room was dimly lit, and the music continued to play from one side of the bed.
She cursed under her breath easing out of his arms when she realized her phone was ringing. Her clutch was on the floor to one side, and she could not recollect when it fell out of her hands. She fumbled with the magnetic clasp and pulled out her phone.
“Hi, Ma,” she answered and turned to find Veer smiling at her.
“Ariya, I thought you were coming home last night.”
Ariya yawned slipping back into his arms. “I’m already home, Ma.”
“Where?”
“I’m in San Francisco. It was a late night last night.” She smiled, enjoying the back-shoulder kisses Veer planted ever so lightly.
“Okay. When are you coming home?”
“Umm… I have a few things to take care of here. I will call you later, Mom.”
“Okay, sweetie.”
“Take care of things?” he teased, kissing her soft sweet lips.
She smiled and looked up at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”
He smiled running his thumb on her lower lip to release it from under her teeth. “I needed you to be sure before you came for me.”
“You knew I would come for you?” She was surprised.
“Not last night but… soon.”
“Why didn’t you go last night?” she asked.
He smiled. “Maybe in the hope of what happened last night.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I lied to Stefan to see if that would get you to call me, but when you didn’t, I got dressed and was on my way to see you,” he said softly.
She closed the gap between them to bring their lips together. “I was wrong to ignore what I felt for you.”
“Never too late.”
“Veer, kiss me like you did the first time,” she pleaded against his lips. He pulled back and looked at her with a puzzled expression. She smiled coyly and turned to expose the side of her neck where she had the bug bite.
He chuckled, running his fingers through her hair to angle her neck and sucked the skin between his teeth. Blood rushed through her veins setting her body on fire as he sucked on her neck in utter sweetness that kindled something deep inside. Her need to be filled by him grew by the second, and when he entered her in one strong shove, it sent out tremors of pleasure throughout her, and her body shuddered as he rode her to their release.
Almost two hours later, she sat at the dining table wearing Veer’s light blue dress shirt as he cooked her breakfast in his boxers.
“You have a sexy ass, especially when that ass is making me breakfast,” she joked taking a sip of her orange juice.
He turned off the stove and smiled walking back to the table with her omelet. She looked at the plate he put in front of her. “Where’s yours?”
He leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. “I’ll eat you for breakfast, later.”
She kissed him back enjoying the taste of fresh coffee on his lips. He pulled her into his arms, running his arms under her shirt to cup his fingers over her breasts. “I wish you’d come to me sooner. I’m going to make you pay for making me wait.”
“You should have kissed me sooner,” she murmured against his lips, smiling.
“I should have let you give me a lap dance.”
She laughed pushing him away. “I don’t want to get kidnapped again just to give you a lap dance.”
He sat on his chair with her in his lap nuzzling the nape of her neck. “You need to sit with me.”
She pulled her plate close to her. “I’m too hungry to be distracted by what you are doing.”
He held her in his lap as she gobbled her omelet. She didn’t realize until she took her first bite that she hadn’t eaten all night. “This is so good.”
Veer was sipping his black coffee, It smelled so good, she took his cup from him and took a sip. She looked at him as her lips closed on the same spot his lips were moments ago. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth go down her throat. “I’m in heaven.”
“Me, too.” He nuzzled her hair, pulling her closer to him.
“Veer… what if I hadn’t come here last night?”
“I was on my way to get you.”
She turned around to face him, her feet dangling on either side as she sat in his lap. “I was disappointed when I didn’t see you and almost panicked.”
He cupped her face in his hands and nuzzled her nose. “I wasn’t sure if you were gonna go.”
“I feel bad for taking so long…” Her voice trailed off when her phone started to go off with her sister’s name flashing on the screen. She pecked his lips with hers before answering the phone still sitting in his lap.
“Ariya, where are you?”
“I’m in San Francisco.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sipping coffee, sitting in the lap of the guy I spent the night with.” She smiled at Veer, and he raised a curious eyebrow.
“Oh really… did he take you home after the party?” Her sister mocked not believing a single word Ariya said.
“No, I just showed up in the lobby of his apartment building, and we made out in the elevator and then… I’ll stop there.” She laughed.
“Gosh, can you come up with something believable?” Her sister laughed.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing as interesting as you, but I’m getting ready to go wedding shopping for Rohan. Get the menswear taken care of,” Siri said.
“And that was his idea?” She got off Veer’s lap and walked over to the window.
“No, mine. Do you want to go with us?”
“No. Why would I want to be the third wheel?” She smiled putting an arm around Veer when he bent down to kiss her and gestured that he was going to take a shower.
“Like you’ve never been the third wheel?” her sister retorted.
“I don’t feel like it today. You guys should go by yourself. I have a few things to take care of this weekend.” She turned to look at Veer’s master bedroom door.
“Fine… you have no excuse when we go to pick my outfit.”
“Sure, Rohan will be the third wheel then.” Ariya laughed.
She spoke to her sister for a few more minutes and hung up. She heard the sound of the shower running in the distance and walked toward the bathroom, a silly smile playing on her face.
Wearing Veer’s shirt felt like he was hugging her, but she wanted more. She walked into the bathroom and stood outside the shower door looking at him through the hazy glass.
“Are you going to stand there and stare or will you come join me?” he shouted over the sound of the water.
She pulled open the shower door and laughed when he pulled her to him. The water came down warm as he kissed her softly on her lips. “Are you so boring that your sister didn’t believe what you said?”
She chuckled. “I’ve never done something like this before, and my sister knows I won’t do anything as crazy as I did last night.”
“It wasn’t crazy, that was perfect.”
“Perfect,” she whispered against his lips. She ran her hands over his steaming body as he stood under the water. She ran her fingers along his back and then back to his chest. She followed the trail of hair down to his promising thickness.
She pressed her lips closer to his when his breath hitched in response to her touch. “Don’t move.”
She let his lips go and trailed them lower kissing his skin as she made her way down. She could barely keep her eyes open under the water, but she looked at him through tiny slits as she kissed the pink tip.
He groaned holding her wet hair between his fingers. “Take me, sweetheart.”
She smiled before closing her lips over his hardness, taking in the vibrations she felt through her body as she pleasured him. His grip on her hair tightened, and she knew he was close. She let him out of her mouth and circled her finger around his steely rod as she took her mouth back to him, hungrily kissing him through the spraying water.
She felt the throbbing in his hardness against her palm, and he peaked groaning into her neck, sinking his teeth into the side of her neck—the spot where he sucked the venom out. She had her own mini orgasm from the intensity of the moment and the seismic shudders that threatened to shred through her.
*****
Ariya felt her sore muscles when she moved, but she was in a state of bliss. Veer had his chest to her back, and his solid hardness was digging into her. They were at her apartment. The room was dark making her wonder if it was late evening. They barely got out of his apartment for an hour, only to go get her things from her apartment but didn’t make it out. Veer was a passionate lover and a super sweet man, and she was glad she took the leap of faith and went with her heart.
She opened her eyes and saw her phone was blinking. If someone had called, she was in no position to hear it ring. She had the wildest twenty-four hours and couldn’t wait to spend more time with Veer. They barely slept all night—only a few hours that morning and then a few when they were completely exhausted from the mind-blowing fun they had in bed.
She blinked a few times and looked at her messages. There were a few messages from Stefan, and when she read them, she sat up in bed.
Stefan: You are confirmed to work with Veer on his reality TV show to rescue the pets of the families affected by the floods and landslides in Northern California.
Stefan: I wish you had stuck around last night for me to tell you in person.
Stefan: If you plan to say no, don’t do it over text. Call me when you are ready to talk.
Ariya took a deep breath at reading the news. She wanted to work with Veer when they had not taken the plunge into accepting the connection they had built while in the rainforest. She turned to look at the beautiful face of the man she could not think of not seeing every day, every minute of her day.
“Veer,” she called out, her voice almost a whisper.
His eyes shot open, and he groaned pulling her back to him. “Baby, we have to stop spending all the time in the bedroom.”
“And the bathroom.” She laughed sitting back up.
“Yeah,” he said, placing his head in her lap.
“Did you know about the reality TV show?” she asked, softly.
“Yeah, I’m on the show, right?”
“Did you know I am supposed to be working with you.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay with this and us working together?” She swallowed a lump in her throat as old memories of her break-up resurfaced.
“Yes.” He ran his hand through her hair and brought her lips down to meet his.
“Veer…I…”
“What is your biggest worry about working with me while we have a relationship outside of work?”
“I was the laughing stock and the trending gossip topic for not seeing what a cheat my ex was, and that I was a workaholic not to keep a man happy enough not to stray,” she spat her words out, fighting back angry tears.
“Seriously? I can attest how well versed you are to please a man.” He laughed trying to ease the moment and pulled her into his arms.
“It was not fun, Veer.” She placed her cheek on his chest.
“I don’t give a damn what people say.” He sounded adamant.
“I want you, too… I don’t want people talking about it and assessing what we have for each other, even before we figure it all out.”
“You want a secret affair?” His eyes shone in the dim light.
She smiled at him. “That’s exactly what I want.”
He laughed, taking a bite of her shoulder. “Let’s talk rules.”
“No telling anyone.” She put forth her first rule.
“You move in with me,” he stated.
“I will spend most of my time here, and you can come visit me at my place, too… it’s not too far from here.”
“That works.” He nodded.
“I’ll tell my sister I’m seeing someone but won’t tell her who… can’t keep secrets from my sister for long. She’ll figure it out.”
“We don’t argue about work when we are together,” he stated rather adamantly.
“Agreed. Do we tell Stefan?” she asked feeling guilty about not telling her best friend.
“No, rules are rules.” Veer shook his head, and she knew it was best not to discuss their relationship with anyone in the crew, even Stefan.
“Can we kiss to lock the deal?” He pulled her to him devouring her lips in a slow, seductive kiss.