“Yes?” he asked again, his voice low as he brought his forehead to mine. Our breath mingled, uneven, heavy, dripped in the heat of the moment.

“Yes,” I repeated, and his hand slid along the curve of my lower back, drawing me even closer to him. The other hand moved upward, sensually trailing along my collarbone, gently pushing my damp hair back from my shoulder. He cupped my jaw with the gentlest hold, and his thumb grazed my lips, and his eyes fixed there, dark with hunger.

“Yes?” he whispered again, making me blink nervously,trembling under the weight of his gaze.

He inched forward, closing the gap between us. His fingers cupped my neck as he guided my lips to his. The delicate kiss had our breaths become one, tangled, harmoniously rising with the quiet storm building between us.

“Yes,” I breathed again, this time like a plea, like a confession torn from the depths of my heart.

I shifted in his lap when his hand moved slowly from the base of my spine and slid up to my bosom. He placed his palm over my right breast, cupping it over the soaked fabric clinging to me. The contact was feather-light, yet my breath hitched. My stomach twisted wildly with butterflies fluttering, desperate to be freed.

And though we’d shared so much of ourselves, this felt different, more intimate, sensual than ever before. My body ached, not just with desire but with overwhelming emotions.

The wetness gathered in my core was no longer just from the bathwater. It was him.

I felt his lips gently teasing the underside of my chin, his fingers slowly tangled in my hair, guiding my head back in a soft, controlled arch.

A sudden shiver ran through my spine as his lips landed in the dip between my collarbones. I could feel the roughness of his stubble grazing my bare skin.

“Rudra,” I gasped, my breath caught in the surge of sensation.

His tongue traced a sensual, wet line across my skin, slow and deliberate. My lashes fluttered shut, and my hands clenched against his shoulders. The way his mouth emitted heat while he suckled my neck made my breathing grow heavier, my body more responsive.

He loosened his grip on my hair only to lean further in, trailing his lips lower, placing an open-mouthed kiss at the base of my neck. Slowly he pulled the flesh, sucking it, soft at first, then growing deeper, hungrier, almost possessive. My fingers slid up into his hair as I gasped again.

“Ahhh…”

The sting of his kiss grew intensely, blended with the pleasure, making me arch my back. His arm snaked around my nape, holding me in place, firm yet gentle, and my pulse thudded against his mouth.

As he slowed, finally letting go, I blinked open my eyes, stillbreathless, and looked into his.

“You don’t want me to face anyone, do you?” I whispered, feeling the heat of his mark already blooming on my skin.

He shook his head with a teasing smile, and without giving me a chance to respond, dipped his head again to my collarbone. His hand shifted from my breast to the small of my back in one swift, fluid motion, pulling me dangerously tighter against him.

His strong and thick arms caged me in. His chest pressed firmly against mine. And I felt my core brush against his lower abdomen.

The water rippled around us with the sudden movement, but I could barely notice it. My mind was entirely fixated on the feel of his mouth over my sensitive part, this time urgent, wild, hungry. The suck of his lips against my collarbone made me gasp again.

“Rudra…” I whispered, trembling as he continued his passionate onrush.

My lips parted, my cheek brushed against his temple, and my fingers clenched in his damp hair.

As his hand slid lower, gripping the curve of my hip, a tremor rocked through my spine. And then, I felt his hardness pressing against me, sending a wild shiver straight to my core.

“Annnhhhh,” A moan escaped my lips, deep and uncontrollable.

With his kisses deepening along my neck, his fingers teasing my skin, our bare chests colliding with every breath, every inch of us drawn closer by the warm, fragrant water and dim candlelight, I could feel my lower body slowly, unconsciously, grinding against the rigid length of his manhood.

It was the first time I’d felt him like this—hard, craving—and the realisation that I was the reason for it stirred a burning pride deep within me.

He lifted his lips from my skin, brushing them gently against my ear.“Calm down, little papaya... we have the whole night. No need to rush,” he whispered, teasingly slow.

A violent shiver ran through me, but I shook my head. My eyes locked with his, and then I kissed him. Wildly. Desperately.

I pushed him against the wall of the pool, rising slightly on my knees, my body leaning in, my hand cupping his cheek as I devoured his lips with a hunger that had been building for far too long. Our lips moved in perfect rhythm, breaths tangled, bodies impossibly close.

Every trace of hesitation melted. The timidness I had onceknown had burned away, replaced with the possessiveness surging in my heart. I parted my lips, catching his in mine again and again.