Page 71 of Protect my Heart
It’s not frantic or rushed. There’s no need to prove anything. It’s just... right. Her lips move with mine like they’ve done this before in another life. Like our mouths know something we’re still figuring out.
When she pulls back, there’s a softness in her face I’ve never seen before. Not like this. Not so bare.
“I want you too, Anu,” I mutter, my voice quiet but clear. Something tight in my chest lets go. “Whether you choose to stay in my life or not,” I continue, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “I’ve wanted you for a long time.” I lean in, rest myforehead against hers. Her skin is still cool from the water. “You have me,” I whisper. “All of me.”
She closes her eyes and lets out a slow breath. “Good. Because I don’t plan on letting you go either.”
CHAPTER 43
ANIKA
I can't stop looking at him.
Aarav. My husband. The man I married under terms I never truly accepted, who kept his distance even as I quietly ached for more. And now he sits here in front of me, eyes downcast, cheeks tinged with pink, telling me he’s never been with anyone. Not just emotionally—but physically.
Aarav is avirgin.
The words echo inside me like a wave that just keeps crashing. Not because I think less of him—God, no—but because I’ve not seen him like this since we got married. So open. Vulnerable. Raw. He was waiting for me.
My heart twists. My fingers, which were absently brushing the edge of the bedsheet, were still.
"You really mean it?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’ve never…” I still can’t fathom the idea that someone in this century would wait for me.
His eyes finally lift to meet mine, and what I see there—honesty, fear, a hint of something soft he tries so hard to hide—makes my chest feel too small for everything in it.
“I was waiting for you,” he says again, slower this time. No hesitation now. “Even when I didn’t know where you were. Even when I hated how much I missed you.”
I blink back the sudden sting in my eyes. He could’ve had anyone. I know that. Aarav isn’t just attractive—he’s magnetic in that frustrating, broody, unapproachable way. The kind of man who draws eyes when he walks into a room but never seems to notice. Or care.
And yet he chose to wait. For me. I look at him awestruck, unable to control my strong urge to kiss him. I sit on his lap; he grows still for a moment, but then his arms circle my waist as he pulls me closer. "You have no idea what that means to me,” I whisper.
He leans into my touch without realizing it, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. “I don’t need you to say anything, Anu. I just… I needed you to know.”
I smile, small and maybe a little shaky. “I do know. And it makes me feel like the luckiest damn person alive.”
His eyes open, and there's something different in them now—something that makes my breath hitch.
Hope. A quiet, careful kind of hope. Then, softly, like he's offering me the most sacred part of himself, he says, “Teach me.”
I blink. “What?”
His voice is husky. “Teach me how to touch you. How to make you feel good. I want to learn everything. From you. For you.”
My heart hammers in my chest as I kiss him again—slow, deep, lingering. His lips are soft but urgent, like he’s waited a lifetime for this. I pull back, just slightly, keeping my eyes lockedon his. My fingers trail down the side of my kurti, fidgeting with the fabric. It slips off one shoulder, and suddenly I’m hyper-aware of everything—his eyes on me, the thud of my pulse, the way my breath comes too fast.
I’m nervous.God, I’m nervous. But it’s a good kind—the kind that says something big is about to happen. Something I’ve wanted, imagined, and maybe even feared a little. But I want this. I want him. Tonight, we cross that line we’ve both been tiptoeing around for far too long.
He’s already in bed, propped up against the pillows, shirtless, hair a mess, eyes intense in the low light. He looks like every fantasy I’ve tried not to let my mind run away with. His chest rises and falls like he’s barely keeping it together.
“You look… gorgeous,” he says, voice low, rough like gravel.
I smile, biting my lip as I step closer. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I say, even though my voice trembles. I’ve always been the bold one between us, the one who teases and pushes—but now, standing in front of him, undressing one breath at a time, I feel like I’m seeing him truly submit to me. He wants me to take control. That’s new. That’s powerful.
He nods toward my leggings. “Are you going to keep those on all night?”
I smirk and slowly peel them down, letting them slide to the floor. I’m not wearing anything underneath. The way his eyes darken—it makes my stomach flip. I climb onto the bed, straddling his thighs, placing my hands on his warm chest. His heart races. Mine answers.
“So beautiful,” he murmurs, breath catching. “My darling wife.”
