Page 20 of Trapped By the Maharaja

It was close to midnight when the helicopter landed in front of the Devara Palace. Sanjana stepped out, feeling tired from the double shift at the hospital.

The palace doors opened before she even reached them.

Lalita and Kumari stood waiting in the foyer, their hands clasped, eyes bright despite the hour.

“Maharani,” one said softly, “shall we serve your dinner?”

Sanjana paused, feeling shocked and guilty.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to keep you two awake.”

“It’s no trouble, Maharani.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head gently. “Please… don’t wait up for me after this. I already ate at the hospital. Please go to sleep.”

They bowed as she walked past them, murmuring polite goodnights.

Her steps quickened as she made her way up to the grand staircase and then to the master suite. Her shoulders were slightly stiff, and she was looking forward to taking a hot shower.

She pushed the double doors open and stepped into the master suite, and froze.

Ram stood near the floor-to-ceiling window, talking on the phone, his deep voice low and commanding. He was only wearing loose cotton pants.

Her eyes automatically moved over his bare chest, broad shoulders, defined abs, and then his darkly handsome face. Her heart jerked when she saw that his eyes were locked on her.

He didn’t stop talking. He didn’t even acknowledge her. He just kept speaking in calm, clipped tones in a language she didn’t know. But his eyes remained on her.

Sanjana stood frozen before she sucked in a breath and walked into the suite, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

Her heart was pounding hard.

I am a doctor. Human form isn’t a mystery to me.

And yet, Ram’s powerful body made her heart race.

She shut the bathroom door firmly, leaned back against it, and closed her eyes.

The cool marble under her bare feet helped. But only a little.

She undressed quickly and stepped under the warm stream of the shower, scrubbing off the fatigue, the frustration, the image of Ram’s wet, sculpted chest. Her heart still thudded, refusing to calm.

When she emerged, she quickly dragged out her nightclothes and put them on. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the walk-in closet.

Ram was still awake. He was off the phone.

He stood with his back to her, but he turned the moment she stepped out as though sensing her presence. His eyes swept over her, taking in the cotton nightwear instead of the silk nightgowns that were purchased for her.

When his eyes returned to hers, they were dark and unreadable.

Sanjana wasn’t sure if he was angry or coldly indifferent. But it allowed her to discuss something that would end the situation she was trapped in.

She raised her chin slightly and spoke in a low but steady tone. “Ram, we need to talk.”

Ram’s eyes remained on her.

She pushed forward. “We need to discuss… our impossible situation.”

His dark eyes flashed.

Sanjana’s heart pounded, but she didn’t stop.

“Too much has happened between us in the past, Ram,” she continued. “You married me for an heir. But you couldn’t even bear to touch me these past two nights. It’s obvious you can’t stand the sight of me without remembering the past… betrayal.”

His jaw ticked, but he said nothing.

That made her angry.

“Stop trapping us in this impossible situation, Ram. You’re not going to touch a woman who disgusts you. Let’s end this farce of a marriage.”

His expression turned glacial, but she continued.

“Your ego will never let you forget what I did, Ram. Do you really want an heir from a woman who betrayed you with your own cousin?”

Her heart pounded in her chest, breath short. She expected him to shout or lash out or storm off in cold silence. But there was a flash of something dark and dangerous behind his eyes. And then, he stepped forward.

Her heart began to pound, and she took a step back as he drew closer.

But there was nowhere to escape. She was trapped by the look in his eyes and the grip of his muscled arms.

“You’re wrong,” he growled.

Before she could say anything, his mouth was on hers. Hard, hot, and furious. His tongue thrust forcefully between her lips.

He kissed her like a man possessed. Like a man who had held himself back too long.

Sanjana was shocked. She gasped against his lips, but the sound was swallowed by the heat of him. His one hand tangled in her hair, and the other curved around her waist, pulling her flush against his bare chest.

Heat exploded as she tasted his fury and desire.

Her fingers instinctively braced against him, and she tried to push him away.

But he was too strong and she was too weak. The tension fueled by anger and hatred strangling between them for years finally snapped like a live wire sparking across her skin.

He broke the kiss, pulling back, breathing hard.

His eyes burned into hers.

“You are my wife now,” he said darkly, “I didn’t touch you because I’m waiting until I know I won’t lose control and hurt you.”

She was shocked. And then, she realized with a shudder that she both feared and craved the thought of him losing control.

He tugged her hair until she was forced to look at just him. “We will fuck, Sanjana. There’s no doubt about it. And when we do, you will crave it as much as I do.”

Sanjana’s heart slammed against her ribs. Heat burned her inside and out as his words washed over her. But panic and then anger followed.

“I will never crave you,” she said, pushing her palms hard against him.

He didn’t loosen his grip, his eyes burning into hers. She saw darkness, fury and hunger. A moment later, his hands dropped from her.

She stumbled back, desperate for distance and for air. Her chest rose and fell with her pulse still out of control.

Ram didn’t follow. Not physically. But his dark, burning gaze held her as tightly as his hands had.

Her lips still tingled. Her body still hummed. And she hated it.

“I will never want you,” she whispered, breathless.

Ram’s mouth twisted, but there was no humor in it. “You already do, and you always did.”

Her stomach flipped violently at his reminder. “You’re wrong,” she said. “I might have wanted you in the past. But now, I hate you. You forced me into this contract marriage. I will never willingly want you or come to you.”

Ram watched her with unreadable eyes.

Her legs felt unsteady beneath her as she retreated to the far side of the room. She sat on the velvet couch and picked up a hospital file to blindly stare at it.

She sensed his heavy gaze, but she refused to look at him.

Even as she stared at the file, her lips still tingled from the force of his kiss, swollen and alive with sensation. Goosebumps rippled across her skin, while her heart continued to race. She forced herself to focus on her work, but it was hard.

Much later, when she heard the deep, even breathing, she looked up. She saw Ram’s powerful, muscled form lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

Letting out a shuddering breath of relief, she dragged her gaze back to the file.

I cannot want him. I hate him.