“Not yet,” he whispered.
Just as she took her first breath, Prem pushed her down until her cheek was pressed against his mattress. She shuddered but remained in position.
“Condom?”
“No condom,” she whispered.
Prem pressed a kiss to her spine, spread her knees wider, positioned her hips, and then slid his painfully erect cock into her.
She gasped, and he groaned at the contact.
He pulled out a little, and then pushed back in, hard and firm. Because her ass demanded it, Prem slapped her cheek again, and she bowed against his touch.
He had to fuck her, had to bring her pleasure again. With a ruthless grip on her hips, he began thrusting into her in long, steady strokes, until she was silently screaming into the blanket. Her fingertips squeezed and clenched the comforter, and she pushed back against him, seeking every thrust.
“That’s it, Rina. Take me.” He didn’t know if she could hear his words, but he said them, asking for more. Whispering endearments. Demanding that they claim each other.
Prem felt Charlie tighten, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet. He wanted to come when they were together, looking at each other eye to eye.
“No!” she gasped when he pulled out all the way. But he was already rolling her onto her back and shoving one of his pillows under her hips.
“Yes,” he gasped. He towered over her, as he positioned her hips and plunged deeper into her than he ever had before. He was taking her, all of her, and finding all the hidden parts of her body that he knew no one else could ever fill like he could.
Kareena tensed under him, gasping his name. She tightened around him, almost painfully, and he tried to remember every second of this moment together with her.
“Rina,” he growled, as he fucked her harder and faster. “Say yes.”
“Wh-what?” Her eyes widened as she held on to him, legs in the air, on the cusp of an orgasm. “Wh-what?”
“Say yes!” he demanded. “You know what!” his voice was hoarse, desperate for her.
He leaned in close, pressing his lips to hers, savaging her mouth the way that she’d savaged his life.
She tensed, her mouth open wide in a silent scream as the orgasm tore through her. “Y-yes!” she whispered.
“What was that?” he demanded, as he pushed into her so hard that the bed frame pounded against the wall. “Tell me, damn it.”
“Yes!” she screamed. “Yes!”
Prem came harder than he’d ever come before. When he let go in that moment, releasing inside of her, he’d gripped her hips and held her flush against his, saying her name like a prayer before collapsing on top of her.
She’d said yes.
Later, whether it was minutes or hours, he wasn’t sure, Prem rolled to the side, then pulled a blanket over both of them. Kareena’s skin was starting to feel cool from the air-conditioning, and he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.
When she rolled over to look at him, eyes sleepy, she said, “I hope I didn’t answer the wrong question.”
“Do you want to make this a real thing?” He swallowed hard, hoping that her answer remained the same.
The hazy look in her eyes cleared. “Yeah. I guess I did answer the right question.”
“Does your answer still stand?” he asked. He’d already begun envisioning their future together. Working together. Traveling together. Long nights where they talked until the sun set and made love until sunrise. He may not be able to give her the words that she needed, but he’d stay committed to her if she were willing to make this real. If she was as invested in a . . . a partnership as he was.
She looked pensive for a moment, and he could swear he saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes.
Regret?
“Yes,” she said in a rush. “Yes, let’s do this.”
“Okay,” he whispered and pulled her close. “Rina?”
“Yeah?”
“Just to be clear, I want more than a fake engagement with you,” he whispered.
She lay eyes closed, her lips quivering. “Okay.”
They lay like that, lost in their individual thoughts. He was happy. Truly happy.
He looked down at her face with that one line of tension between her brows and ran a thumb over it.
“Rina, honey?”
“Hmm?” she said, her eyes remaining closed.
And because he couldn’t think of what he was supposed to say to find out why she didn’t sound as content, as happy as he did, he said the only thing that came to mind.
“I don’t deserve you, but I’m going to try every day to be someone who does. Is that enough?”
The line between her brows smoothed out, and for the first time since she walked in his door, a smile curved her full mouth. She pressed a hand against his cheek.
“Okay,” she whispered in response.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Prem
Prem: I feel like I need to give you a real proposal. You know, before we announce it at your sister’s engagement party that we’re together.
Kareena: Uh, sure. I mean, I don’t need one, but okay?
Prem: Really? For such a romantic, I thought you’d like the idea. You know. Rings and things.
Kareena: Well, if you’re interested in proposing, just for you and me, I’d prefer if it was a surprise. You know, because texting me that we’re announcing an engagement is not really something that sparks romance.
Prem: Ahh. Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Hey Rina, honey?
Prem: Are you happy?
Kareena: ??
Gregory LTD Financial: Hey Prem, do you have time for a quick meeting in NYC tomorrow? I saw your last few shows. Your producer sent me the tapes and a pretty compelling note. I’m reconsidering my investment into your community center.
Prem: That’s great! I’d be happy to meet you tomorrow. I have patients, but I’ll see what I can do to move my nonurgent appointments. I’ll keep you posted on my availability.
Gregory LTD Financial: Great. I let my assistant know you’ll be putting time on my calendar. Talk to you soon.
Prem walked into the chrome and glass building on Park Avenue and checked in at the wide security desk. After they took his picture, verified his ID, and called up to the top floor, he took the designated elevator up to floors twenty-five through thirty-five.
The thirty-fifth floor had sweeping views of the river, with the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
“Dr. Verma?” a woman said. Her perfectly styled black hair was coiled on top of her head. She held a tablet in one hand.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Deepak is waiting for you. Please follow me.”
Prem trailed behind the woman, keeping up with her clipped pace down wide corridors with large glass offices along the walls and spacious open desks. In the center of the floor were couches, espresso machines, and gathering tables.
The woman stopped in front of the corner office and motioned through the open door. “Right this way, please.”
Prem stepped inside, and the last thing he expected to see was a familiar face seated across from Deepak with her feet propped up on the adjoining seat, or his best friend in his office chair casually trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube, as if the woman’s presence was completely normal.
“Veera? What are you doing here?”
Veera’s feet dropped to the floor. “Oh. Uh, sorry. I thought I’d be out of here before you arrived.”
Deepak continued to fidget with the Rubik’s Cube at his desk. “We had a business lunch, Prem. Don’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”
Veera nodded like a bobblehead. “And please keep this to yourself so my friends also don’t make a bigger deal out of it.”
“Oh,” Prem said. “Are you asking me to keep a secret from Kareena?”
Veera nodded again. “If she finds out about this, she and Bobbi will jump to conclusions. And there is nothing to conclude. Obviously.”
“Right,” Deepak added.
“Oh . . . kay,” Prem said. “Deepak, you want to meet up with me later?”