CHAPTER 5

Nandani wanted to crow in victory.

Because of the way they were sitting, their faces were only inches apart, to begin with. Looking over the planes of Manik's face, obscenely long eyelashes hooding chocolate eyes, his full lips parted, awareness suddenly ran through Nandani. It felt like they had gotten closer together though she was pretty sure neither of them had moved.

Suddenly she was less sure of herself. The kiss had seemed harmless enough when she had proposed it. Now with Manik looming larger than life in front of her with broad shoulders and tanned skin and unreadable eyes, things weren't so black and white anymore.

Manik inclined his body towards her. He paused with his lips a couple of inches away from hers.

Through partly lowered lashes she could see the skepticism etched on his features.

What the hell is he waiting for? Nandani thought to herself.

Impatient to get it done, she needed to get studying if she was going to salvage anything of tonight, she, therefore, closed the space between them.

They were then breathing the same air, a millimeter apart. He had no way to escape. The smallest twitch would bring them into contact.

Manik smelled like mint and something headier. Based on the challenge in his eyes earlier, she was willing to bet he wouldn't back out now.

He didn't.

The light touch of his lips was fleeting. She had intended only to assess, but her eyes fluttered closed. His mouth was just the right mix of hard and soft.

The tingling surprised her, lasting for seconds after his lips left hers.

Then faded into nothing at all.

She felt exposed until Manik's mouth came back. This time it was firmer, lingering. His lips brushed. And they clung.

Her eyebrows rose as little sparks ignited in her brain, pinpricks rising along her arms. Warning bells went off somewhere in her mind. Manik's lips moved over hers, still slowly, but more purposeful by the minute.

The kiss was deceivingly casual, like Manik himself, smooth on the surface with an edge just underneath. It struck her suddenly that he was right. She didn't know him at all, and it might be dangerous to assume she did.

His lips slanted over hers, coaxing, asking for things that could not be put into words.

Like he wanted her permission to explore, to savor.

The crazy thing? She wanted to give it to him.

She sucked in a breath, consciously willing her hands to stay at her sides.

After a moment or so, he pulled back.

Well damn.

She blinked, trying to focus on the denim of his jeans until her eyes were uncrossed enough to meet his gaze. Their knees were still touching.

Whoever had told Manik he didn't have any moves was flat out wrong.

She didn't trust herself to look up quite yet, though she could feel his eyes on her.

"Well." She cleared her throat. "That was..."

Her words were cut off as she felt fingertips on the back of her neck, searing her skin as he pulled her mouth back to his.

That's when Manik Malhotra kissed her.

Really kissed her.

The heat of his mouth crashing down on hers sent sparks of heat down her spine.

Manik's thumb stroked the length of her jaw and when his tongue slipped out to part her lips she opened instinctively but surprised.

He tastes like sin. The thought drifted through her hazy brain.

Manik's mouth on hers was then raw. He moved with a conviction that did strange things to her brain and her body. He was unpracticed, but the way she reacted to him couldn't have been more perfect even if he had kissed a thousand girls.

His fingers were on the back of her neck, caressing, and then tightening to pull her closer. It was like his mouth was trying to bypass her brain and speaking directly to her body. Like it knew there was something between them and was claiming what was his rightfully.

Until now she had been on the receiving end but could not be anymore. His mouth had lit her on fire and her reaction was completely unpredictable.

Her hand reached up of its own accord, sliding up the muscles of his chest and around his neck. His hair was thick and silky on her fingers.

She used the leverage to hold him to her harder as her mouth started moving under his.

His teeth grazed her lower lip and a bolt of hot lust shot through her, twisting the need in her gut tighter.

Manik groaned.

It was the sexiest thing she had ever heard.

Manik rose onto his knees. He reached around her back to haul her closer.

The strength that pulled her against him did not belong to a kid and the move brought her body flushed with his.

His fingers fisted in her loose hair and he pulled down, forcing her mouth open under his. Her blood thrummed in her veins, and she could feel her heartbeat every second, everywhere.

The heat in her stomach, and lower, was driving her crazy and she arched her body towards him. If this was a game she wasn't sure if she were winning or losing anymore.

Her brain had left the equation long ago and the only thing she knew with certainty was that she needed to feel more of him against her.

Harder. Closer.

His chest pressed against her breasts, and...

Oh shit. This was spiraling out of control. She was practically fucking her best friend's brother, who happened to be in the process of turning her inside out with his mouth and hands. On her bed.

Her eyes opened a crack and it brought her back to reality. It is not okay, she reminded herself.

Summoning willpower she didn't know she had, her hands pushed Manik back.

He let go of her instantly and she fell back on the bed.

The first thing she noticed was their breathing, shallow, and mismatched in contrast to the steady beat from downstairs.

Next, her vision refocused. When it did, she could see Manik sitting on the side of the bed. He stared at the floor.

Her libido wanted to celebrate that she had made a dent in Manik Malhotra's too-cool-for-school exterior.

Too bad doing that, had almost killed her.

Manik regained composure before her. "Well," he asked in a coarse voice, turning to meet her gaze. "Scientific enough for you, Nandani?"

She cleared her throat. "That was..." Hot as hell, she thought but didn't tell him. "You definitely have the right...foundations, Manik."

"Foundations?" His voice caught on the words and she couldn't tell whether he was going to laugh or groan.

Manik's eyes were still cloudy, but his voice had leveled.

"Well, thanks for the advice. And the experiment," he said. He looked like he wanted to say more but got up. He paused at the doorway.

"It was good catching up, Nandani. Happy Birthday."

She listened as his footsteps sounded on the stairs. The soft creaking of the door closing behind him.

Hell. This was not how she had intended to start the school year.