Page 46 of Born in Ruin

The heat in the eyes holding hers was a conflagration of everything that had flared between them from their childhood to now. And all Mayukhi wanted to do was stoke it, until the blaze consumed her.

“Alright. Alright.” Sri drawled, sounding a little irritated. “You two can eye fuck each other later. We’d like some decorum at the table please.”

While Ishaan took his seat beside her, Mayukhi glanced around at the smirking and in many cases envious faces. And suddenly, she didn’t care about the agenda for the evening. She just wanted to get out of here, taking Ishaan with her. He was the only one she wanted to spend her evening with.

And yet, there was more at stake than her unexpected desire for this man. So, she refocused on the evening and dug out her inner party girl.

“Jagerbombs anyone?” she asked, raising her voice so she could be heard across the table. Her answer was a unanimous cheer of approval for the suggestion.

Ishaan raised his hand to signal the waiter for a round of the shots. Parash brought out a packet of tiny pills that he passed around the table. Ishaan and she didn’t bother to decline, palming them and pretending to swallow it along with the others. Ishaan’s hand found hers under the table and she slipped the pill hidden between her fingers into it.

The evening got progressively wilder, with some of them slurring and some practically passing out at the table. Mayukhi and Ishaan continued to try and subtly pump them for information but got nothing. By around midnight, Mayukhi was done. Ishaan and she had done their best for tonight but it was time to call it quits.

“I’m calling it. I’m exhausted,” she announced, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet.

Ishaan rose with her, his hand automatically going to her back. A shiver went down her spine but she allowed him to guide her towards the door. They stepped out of the foggy, noisy space and into the crisp, night air of a humid Mumbai night. She’d barely taken two steps down the grimy pavement and towards the parking lot when Ishaan bent his head to murmur, “Consent?”

“Hmm?” Mayukhi turned towards him, confused.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, his hungry gaze falling to her parted lips.

In response, Mayukhi stood on tip toe, grabbed the lapels of his shirt, pulled him forward and kissed him. He took control of the kiss immediately, his hand going to the back of her head even ashis lips plundered hers. Mayukhi’s heart thundered, her hand going to grip the wrist of the hand cradling her head. Her mind was a mindless mush even as her body plastered itself to him, wanting nothing more than more of him.

A throat clearing had reality crashing in. She stiffened and tried to jerk back but Ishaan wouldn’t allow her. He coaxed her down from that feverish high with small, gentle nips on her swollen lips before tucking her head in against his chest so she wasn’t visible before turning to face the throat clearer.

“Majid,” he said, his voice sounding remarkably steady in contrast to the way Mayukhi felt. “What’s up?”

“We’re having a party a few nights from now, a close gathering of friends. Naveen’s place in Juhu.”

Mayukhi emerged from the depths of Ishaan’s shirtfront. Majid’s amused gaze flickered to her before moving back to Ishaan’s impassive face.

“You should come, both of you.”

“Thank you for the invite.” Ishaan dipped his gaze to Mayukhi’s flushed face. “If Yukhi wants to come, we’ll be there.”

It was fake, she reminded herself. All of this was fake. And still, she couldn’t help the warmth that seeped into her at his words, at the sound of her nickname on his lips, rasped out in that sexy baritone of his.

“You’ll piss your friends off,” Majid observed quietly, that smug amusement still visible as he looked at them.

“They’re already pissed off.” Ishaan tightened his arms around Mayukhi. “They’ll have to accept that I’m choosing Yukhi and bychoosing her, I’m choosing her life and her friends as well. They can deal or,” he shrugged, not finishing that sentence.

Majid gave a noncommittal hum before stepping back. “We’ll be in touch with more details.” With one last goodbye, he disappeared back into the nightclub.

“You knew he was standing there when you asked to kiss me,” Mayukhi said, her voice toneless, realisation making the warmth of his earlier words ebb.

“I did.” Ishaan’s calm acceptance didn’t help with the devastating disappointment she felt.

She nodded, took a deep breath and stepped out of the embrace of his arms. “It’s not the invite to the party at the Alibaug property.”

“No.” Ishaan gestured to her to start walking towards the parking lot before following her. “But it’s a step forward in that direction.”

A step forward, Mayukhi thought as she marched towards his ridiculously sexy car. She wasn’t sure how many more steps she could take before her tenuous grip on her heart slipped and she stumbled. Too many steps and she’d fall. And falling for this man would bring her to her knees, for how do you fall for a man who despises you?

TWENTY-FIVE

Ishaan

He stood on his balcony, staring out into the distance, his mind a muddled mess. Tonight, the role he’d played, the person he’d been…it had all left him feeling dirty. And then there was that kiss. Kissing Mayukhi had been necessary but the want, the need he’d felt in that moment, it had had nothing to do with necessity. One thing was for sure, kissing Mayukhi hadn’t felt dirty. It had felt right.

---