3 | When Reality Fades Away

“Let me go, you perv!” Dhara snapped at the man.

The same man who answered the door.

The man at the sight of whom a tight shiver curled down her spine.

If only Dhara wasn’t blinded by so much rage, she would have noticed the only man standing in the room had the looks of a sexy sinner. His beautiful pair of hazel eyes brimmed with part boredom and part amusement.

If the annoyance hadn’t obfuscated her brain, she would have realized how her heart couldn’t stop pounding against her chest when he pinched those thick eyebrows and tipped a corner of his lips up.

God, that was so hot.

Even her subconscious couldn’t help but drool.

But that was all happening somewhere in the back of her mind, where her present reality seemed to suppress it all the way. Weird emotions churned in the pit of her stomach were being drowned by the nausea she felt while fretting about her sister.

With her wrist in his skin-tight grip, he sneered. “I’ve been nothing but a gentleman since you walked in.” The man bared his teeth, appearing even more precarious than the monsters underneath the beds.

The thick fog of anger dissolved a little when his lips hovered close to her own. There was no contact by any means. He still felt a mile away. Yet, something seemed to uncoil inside her. As if begging to be unleashed. Set free and take a flight. To make a wish and dive. To float and thrive.

Just when she thought she had everything under control and turned her head away, escaping his bewitching hazel eyes, she felt his hot breath battering against the crook of her neck.

This was the exact moment something unexplainable happened.

For a few pounding seconds, her heart slowed down, and her eyes widened out of pure fear. She had no clue what to expect, but something inside her bled nervousness for an unfamiliar reason. However, that seemed to be the least of her concerns when the anticipation turned to frustration. It tore her skin with sharp goosebumps.

A deep, guttural sound vibrated from the back of his throat—an approval of sorts—and surprisingly, it eased the tight, unyielding knot in the pit of her stomach.

Hot lava-like ferocity was summoned out of nowhere and, before she knew it, her brain thawed all the restraints. Earlier, a war of confused emotions was wreaking havoc inside her. But the second that dark and possessive sound dug through her chest and brushed her heart, a new desire awakened and had her soaked in places she desperately felt the need to be touched.

The man let out a deep growl when Dhara’s fingers tiptoed up his bare chest and sank into his large shoulder.

“Fuck,” he cursed into her neck, releasing her wrist and skating his enormous arms around her small waist.

He was so fucking huge. How the hell did she fail to notice that earlier? Or had he grown several fucking inches in the last ten seconds?

No. That was impossible. She refused to believe something so bizarre could actually happen.

Dhara felt his fingers keeping her closer and crushing her body against his. Normally, she would have fought such forced actions. But she wasn’t the same old Dhara anymore. Her eyes had darkened, and the world she had known since the time she was born had drifted and crumbled away. There was something new in the air. The presence of someone who mattered, whom she needed, burnt for.

She guzzled in a sharp breath when his other hand shot up to grasp her chin and turn her head so he could look into her eyes. The urgency in his actions told her how much he wanted to have this eye contact, and how much she needed it, too.

When their eyes finally met, time stilled, hearts stopped, and the atmosphere crackled with deafening electricity.

She couldn’t believe he was so beautiful. It hurt to even look at him without breaking into tears.

Not able to repress the raw impulse anymore, Dhara threw herself at him. Her frail arms clambered around his neck while her face collapsed into his neck. She breathed him in. Once, twice, thrice. A mix of spice, sweat, and nature washed her nostrils, soothing her spasming lungs.

“God, I’ve waited for you so long,” the man growled, lifting her up in his muscular arms as if she weighed no more than a feather and moving them on the bed.

Dhara gasped, pushing herself up on her elbows. Her brown eyes sparkled with the need to consume this man who felt like he owned her. Her breath turned ragged. Her eyes grew darker and much more dilated. Never had she felt something so lively, so trustworthy with anyone. His hazel eyes gleamed in the dark, defying everything she had known until now. However, a fresh voice inside her head kept whispering he meant no harm. That his broad arms and brawny chest were there to keep her safe. That if he didn’t claim her right then and there, she would lose her mind.

As if granting her unsaid wish, the beautiful man closed the distance between them and hovered over her trembling body. His eyes never flicked away from her own, never leaving her to shiver in the cold. He moved in between her legs while lowering his face until they were inches apart. This man was such a massive thing above her tiny body. She felt like she would die if he dropped even half of his weight. But what a sweet and beautiful end it would be, so much worth it.

Dhara drew her elbows and laid flat on the cool mattress, her palms taking their time to explore his chest, rocky pecs, and tight abdomen beneath her fingertips. He hissed at the touch, suppressing another growl working up his throat. Low-rise jeans hung around his hips, barely hiding that V bone that could stutter any poor heart, and made her whimper with the raw need to feel more of him. His effect on her was like a drug, the one she wished to stay always high on.

Sliding her fingers through his hair, which sent a shudder down her own body, Dhara guided his lips to hers.

“Dhara?”

However, the moment their mouths brushed with the lightest of strokes, a female voice pushed past the thick sensual air and broke the bubble Dhara seemed to have slipped into. Her eyes flew open and the second she realized a strange man was so close to her face, she flinched.

Her panic took root before her stomach recoiled. “What the—”

But the man seemed still in a haze when he pinned her thrashing hands above her head and pressed his lips to hers. And for that destructive second, her entire body froze and melted at the same time.

He kissed her.

Wildly.

Passionately.

Shamelessly.

Like she was the air he needed to stay alive.

Sparks flying.

For a second, Dhara’s head spun with the amount of heat he poured into her mouth. Her insides liquefied while pinpricks attacked at the back of her nape. She was so overwhelmed by everything he was rendering through that kiss—the zap of lust unfurling beneath her chest—her core pulsated and she squeezed her thighs to comfort the sweet ache.

The kiss diluted her thoughts and reservations, raising the wall of fog back around her mind, tugging her in, and keeping her still. Dhara almost gave in to his manipulations when the same voice came again.

“Oh my God, is that you, Dhara?” the voice held a quiver and plentiful accusation.

With something akin to superhuman strength, Dhara broke the kiss and pushed the man off her. Of course, he was still too strong, too heavy for her to move. When he didn’t budge and kept her pinned underneath him, her knee jerked upward in reflex and hit him with all the strength she could muster.

A painful grimace crossed his face long before the growl ripped out of his throat.

“Fuck!” he dropped to his side, dipping with the mattress, clutching his balls with one hand. “Shit!”

Dhara bolted off the bed and scurried away towards the door. The reality didn’t take too long to settle. And when she understood what had just happened, her chest narrowed and embarrassment flushed her skin pink.

Her eyes caught sight of a familiar figure at the door.

Nina.

Dhara ran up to her, engulfing her in her shaky arms. “God, you scared me to the death,” tears leaked through her eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Shit!” someone cussed, “Alpha, are you OK?”

Lifting her gaze, Dhara peeked through her wet lashes.

It was only then that she realized her sister wasn’t alone. Another male stood a few feet behind her. Although he seemed to be agitated, fixated on something behind her back.

Or should she say, someone?