Vikram didn't give her a chance to move toward the sofa. He caught Janaki by the waist, pulling her flush against him, and captured her lips in a kiss that felt like it had been building for months. He didn't let go, his mouth moving against hers in a continuous, urgent rhythm, tasting the hesitation and the heat of her breath. Janaki felt a wave of vertigo wash over her, she had never been this close to someone, and the sheer intensity of it made her knees feel weak.

Vikram’s kisses didn’t slow they only grew more insistent, a relentless cycle of pressure and release that left Janaki breathless. She felt a tremor run through her limbs, a cocktail of raw nerves and an unfamiliar, soaring anticipation. Her hands, acting on a sudden, desperate instinct, flew upward to find purchase in his thick hair, her fingers tangling in the dark strands to pull him closer, even as her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.