Unexpected Connection

Playing with fire.

His lips curved into a faint smirk. “You know exactly what.”

Her gaze remained unchanged. “I believe we’ve concluded all business matters, Shah Rukh. If that’s all, I have another meeting in fifteen minutes.”  Her spine stiffened, but she didn’t let his words faze her. “That night meant nothing,” she said coldly, brushing past him.

His eyes roamed over her back, trying to think of something—anything. “You’re really going to pretend nothing happened?” he chuckled, “You’re lying to yourself, Kajol. I’ve been doing business for decades—reading people is second nature to me. And I know you’re lying.” he said holding her arm to prevent her movement.

She finally looked up, meeting his gaze with a calm intensity. “I’m not pretending or lying to myself. I just don’t see the need to dwell on irrelevant matters.”

He moved closer, his tone dropping to a husky whisper. “Is that what Belgium was to you? Irrelevant?”

She forced herself not to react, even though his proximity made her heart race. “It was what it was. Now it’s done.”

The truth was, Shah Rukh had exerted her entire body the last night in Belgium, his touch far more skilled, unrelenting and commanding than her ex-husband’s ever was. Varun had been good in bed, but Shah Rukh seemed like he was an expert. No man had ever touched her the way he did. And the worst part? She wanted to forget it, to brush it off like she had every other meaningless affair. But the memories wouldn’t leave her. The roughness of his hands, the deep, guttural way he had moaned her name, the way he had looked at her like he wanted to consume her whole.

And then, an uglier thought crept in.

His wife.

Her stomach twisted.

Somewhere, right now, she was waiting for him. A woman who had his last name, his devotion, his loyalty. A woman who had likely been in his arms a hundred times before, thinking she was the only one who truly knew him.

Kajol swallowed, hating the pang of jealousy that shot through her.

And it infuriated her that she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Yet she couldn’t and wouldn’t ever let him know how deeply he had affected her. Even if her body still ached with reminders of his touch.
She spun around to face him, eyes blazing. “You think because we shared one night, you know me? Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Khan. I don’t mix business with... whatever that was.”

His lips twitched, but his gaze was dark and stormy. “That night is burned into my memory, Kajol. You can try to pretend it didn’t happen, but I can see right through you.”

She bit her lip, hating that his words made her heart pound. “You have a wife,” she hissed. “Children. A perfect little family. And I don’t do married men.”

He stepped closer, invading her space, and she took a step back, her back hitting the wall. “I know,” he whispered, his hand brushing her cheek. “But you did me.”

Kajol shoved his hand away, pushing him back with a firm hand on his chest. “This stops now, Shah Rukh. I’m not your plaything, and I refuse to be tangled up in your complicated life. Go back to your wife. Forget about Belgium.”

Back in her office, she closed the door behind her. Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes and pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Damn him. Damn his arrogance and his persistence. She hated that he had a point.
Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The jealousy ate at her, a foreign feeling she hadn’t expected. The thought of him going back to his wife after a night like that twisted something deep in her chest.