Page 86 of Drunk On Love

His hands shifted slightly, his thumbs gently brushing my cheeks as our foreheads stayed connected, our breaths mingling in a rhythm that felt too intimate to bear. His lips brushed the corner of mine, so softly it was almost a tease. The sensation was electric, powerful enough to send a shockwave through my entire body. My knees threatened to buckle, but his strong arms kept me anchored, holding mefirmly against him.

And then he kissed me.

Again.

Manav Oberoi kissed me like his life depended on it.

His lips moved against mine with a precision laced with desperation. When his fingers brushed the skin just below my collarbone, a soft whimper escaped my lips, and he smiled against my mouth—a smile that was both knowing and devastatingly sweet.

My body was flush against his as his hands roamed gently but purposefully, grounding me and yet setting me ablaze.

And in that moment… it hit me like a punch to the chest.

I’m in love with Manav Oberoi.

God help me.

____________

As I lay on the bed in the guest room, staring at the ceiling with my heart racing like I’d just run a marathon, my thoughts refused to calm. My lips still tingled from his touch, and my entire body felt like it was on fire.

He was breathless.

His eyes were shut, and his forehead touched mine.

His voice, so husky, echoed in my mind.

“Stop me, Kiara… go back to your room.”

Why’d he have to be so gentle, so careful, when all I wanted was for him to lose control? He wanted me—every kiss, every touch screamed that much—but he still held back. Now I was left here—alone, restless, and completely unravelled.

My fingers unconsciously brushed my lips, swollen from his passionate assault. Was this what it was supposed to feel like? The heat, the fire, the sheer inability to think of anything else but the way he made mefeel? All my novels, all my imagination—they didn’t even come close to this.

I tried to focus on my breathing, to center myself, but every time I closed my eyes, I was back there in his arms. The way his leg had slipped between mine, his heartbeat wild and erratic, matching my own.

Oh God, this wasn’t going to work. I was a mess, a completely undone mess.

Was this what love felt like? Or was it just the aftermath of a kiss that had turned my entire world upside down?

No. It was more than that.

I wanted him.

I wanted Manav Oberoi to be unfiltered.

____________

“I can’t sleep there…” I stood at the entrance of Manav’s room, clutching my cushion tightly. His hair was damp, strands falling over his forehead, and his brows were furrowed so deeply it looked like they might just fall off his face. Midnight showers?

I’d tried my best to sleep in my room, convincing myself I needed rest to deal with the chaotic storm of social media the next day. But what I hadn’t factored in was Nancy—sweet, helpful Nancy—snoring loudly enough to wake the dead. So, I grabbed my cushion and wrapped my shrug around me, and now here I was, standing at Manav’s door in the middle of the night.

And no, it hadnothingto do with his ridiculously hot and mind-numbing kisses earlier. Absolutely not.

It was Nancy’s snoring. Just Nancy’s snoring.

Manav seemed lost in thought, staring off into the distance as if debating whether to donate all his hair or keep brooding. I reached out and poked his chest gently to make sure he wasn’t sleepwalking.

“Sorry, what?” His voice was distracted, as if I’d interrupted something monumental.