Page 77 of Illicit Games

Putting our phones aside, he tucks me into the crook of his arm after wrapping it around my shoulders. I lay my head against his chest, gazing at the horizon. The red-and-orange hue of the sun peek above the valleys. It’s so mesmerizing. Rubbing a hand over his rigid abs, I murmur, “I’ve always wanted to watch the sun set.”

His fingers play with the ends of my hair over my breast. “Yeah?”

“Hmmm. Have you ever seen one?”

“I haven’t.”

Curling my arm around his waist, I tell him, “I wish to have a home where I can watch the sun rise and set daily. Somewhere around a beach or an ocean. Like Malibu. Or Goa. I’d kill to wake up to a view like this and with you in my bed.”

“Don’t forget our kids, Rainbow.”

“I haven’t,” I answer softly, imagining our future. “They’ll be asleep in their room.”

“No, they won’t be.”

“Where else would they be, love?”

Tugging my head back so I’m staring into his warm eyes, he says, “They’ll sneak into our bed in the middle of the night because they’ll be as obsessed with their mom as I am.”

Overwhelming bliss and yearning rush through my veins, making my body come alive. “They’re going to love you just as much.”

“I wouldn’t mind if they loved you more, Iris. You’ll be the center of our world.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” I utter in a trembling voice.

“Let’s watch the sun set then.”

I settle against his chest, sighing in pleasure at the body heat emanating from him. Together, we stare at the red and orange gradient taking over the sky. The slowly setting sun. It’s even more beautiful than I imagined. Tranquil and unforgettable.

When it’s all over, I still don’t move. Too content where I am.

The lazy morning. The romantic date. The teasing and the laughing. The low simmering tension in the air. It feels like I’m dancing on cloud nine.

Or living in a Hallmark movie.

“This has been the best day of my life, Kian. It’s straight out of my dream date—” I jolt upright as my heart begins to hammer like someone pumped adrenaline in my veins.

Oh my god!

Oh my god!

Oh my god!

It can’t be possible… I snap my astonished gaze to Kian. The truth is written all over his rugged face with a hint of an evening stubble. He doesn’t even attempt to hide it.

“You knew?” My voice is a low gasp. “H-how?”

“I overheard you talking to Yukta.”

“In the cafeteria? You were there?”

“I was passing by when the question popped out.” Shrugging, he confesses, “I couldn’t walk away without listening to your answer.”

“Were you…” I lick my lips before whispering, “Going to bring me here before you knew the truth about Nathan and me?”

“I was,” he admits possessively. “Whether or not you were mine, I wanted to make your dream date a reality.”

If I wasn’t already head over heels for him, this is the moment I would fall for him irrevocably.