Page 52 of Born in Ruin

Dhrithi shook it firmly. “Yep. And that will be me!”

Ishaan snorted and ruffled her already messy hair before turning away. “Get some sleep, Goody. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Mayukhi grabbed his arm as he turned away. “The aftershave?” she said, giving him a pointed look.

Grumbling, Ishaan retrieved it from his pocket and handed it to a laughing Dhrithi. “You probably don’t know this, Kraken,” he said conversationally. “Because you don’t have many good friends but when you’re close to someone, what’s theirs is yours and vice versa.”

He knew he’d said the wrong thing the minute the words left his lips. Mayukhi’s face tightened as hurt lined her expression. She turned away without another word and walked out, the front door shutting behind her with a decisive click.

“You are such an ass,” Dhrithi murmured.

“I know,” he said, staring at the shut front door.

“Are you going to stand here like a clueless idiot or go after her?”

Ishaan folded his arms across his chest and muttered, “I’m going to stand here like a clueless idiot.”

“Hmm. I’m still holding the cricket bat, you know,” Dhrithi said conversationally.

“You can’t bully me into doing something I don’t want to!” he argued, digging his heels into his ridiculous stand.

“You don’t want to apologise for hurting someone’s feelings?”

For fuck’s sake! He glowered at Dhrithi a moment more before storming towards the front door.

“Also Ish,” she called out, leaning on the cricket bat like Tendulkar at the pitch between overs. “Pulling the pigtails of the girl you like is really out of fashion.”

“You’re a real pain in the arse, Goody,” he snarled, slamming the door behind him as he left. He took the elevator up to his flat, in the vain hope that Mayukhi would still be there. Knowing her, she’d probably marched straight out of the building in high dudgeon, slashing his tires along the way as retaliation.

Apparently he didn’t know her at all. He opened the front door to find her standing out on his balcony, by the railing. She didn’t turn at the sound of the door but he saw her back tense and knew she was aware of his presence.

He stepped out on to the balcony, an apology on his lips when she spoke.

“You’re right. I don’t have good friends. I’ve had friends, of course, but I’ve never had good friends.”

Ishaan froze, his apology dying on his lips.

“I think I’m just not friend material or even relationship material. I’m not built for it.”

“Bullshit.” The rough word sounded like an expletive. He hated the sound of defeat in her voice. His Kraken was never defeated. She ground her enemies and her demons into the dust with the point of her stiletto heel and laughed while she did so.

Mayukhi laughed now, a mirthless sound. “Don’t act like you like me Adajania. I’m well aware of how you feel about me. Don’t patronise me by telling me you like me now.”

“It’s true,” he said, stepping up to stand behind her, his hands going to grip the railing around her, caging her in with his body. “I really hate you.”

She caught her breath as his body pressed into hers, the hard length of his erection making its presence felt.

“I hate you too,” she said breathlessly, her body instinctively arching into the contact.

Ishaan spun her around, holding her against him, his gaze meshing with her wide, flustered ones.

“And still,” he mused, drawing a finger down the line of her neck, pausing at the collarbone to admire the goosebumps that erupted in its wake. “There’s this.”

Mayukhi being Mayukhi, stepped closer, her hand slipping between them to grip his erection. “And this,” she murmured, tilting her head to hold his gaze.

“So,” Ishaan said, his voice sounding like rocks grating against each other, desire thrumming through his veins. “What are we going to do about it?”

In reply, she grabbed the fabric of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, her lips meeting his with an imperious demand he was more than happy to give into. He plundered her mouth, his tongue stroking against hers, swallowing her moans even as one hand gripped her hip as she rubbed against him like a purring cat.

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