Lost In You | 18+ (A Dark Mafia Romance Book) - Chapter 3

Niyati

"Regret doesn't scream. It whispers in fragments - of touch, of breath, of a name you shouldn't have said."

The harsh sunlight pierced through my eyelids like a blade, dragging me out of the dark, blurry abyss of unconsciousness. My head throbbed mercilessly, my body ached in places I didn't even know existed, and there was this unbearable heat wrapped around me. A weight, heavy and warm. Something-no, someone-was holding me.

I cracked my eyes open with effort, only to be greeted by the sight of a perfectly sculpted, bare chest rising and falling beside me. My breath hitched. My heart stopped for a beat.

My body was tangled with a man's.

I froze.

His strong arm was lazily draped across my waist, anchoring me to the bed. His skin was warm against mine, and the sudden intimacy sent a jolt through my core. A scream bubbled at the back of my throat, but I slapped a hand over my mouth just in time.

What the hell have I done?

I slowly peeled his arm off me, careful not to wake him. Every movement felt surreal. I looked down at myself-and horror gripped me.

I wasn't wearing anything beneath the oversized cotton shirt clinging to my body.

No. No, no, no.

I sat up, clutching my head as a sharp sting tore through my skull. My memories were fragments-broken glass on a cold floor. I remembered drinking. Crying. Pleading. "Kiss me.." beneath shower.

Kissing...

Kissing Raj?

My stomach twisted.

I shot up and rushed to the bathroom, barely making it before I collapsed to my knees and threw up everything from last night. My hands trembled as I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my face. My reflection looked like a stranger-hair messy, lips swollen, eyes red-rimmed.

Who was that man?

Where am I?

The image of the man lying beside me flashed in my head again. He wasn't... Raj?

What did we do last night? I can't remember.

I was trying to regain my memories of last night when the bathroom door creaked open. It snapped me out of my thoughts. I jumped, clutching the hem of the shirt tighter around my thighs. My heart thundered in my ears.

Before I could speak, I felt my nipples throbbing and aching. air knocked out my lungs. I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned.

And there he stood.

Towering. Bare-chested. Eyes dark and unreadable.

"Did we...?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. My voice was barely a whisper. "Did we have sex last night?"

His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing.

He didn't respond.

Instead, he started coming closer. His moves were slow and.... elegant?

I really don't get why I was feeling this way. All of this was so new for me. I've never felt this in my five years of relationship with Raj. He never looked at me with.... This Eyes?

Fuck. I am truly fucked up. Why the fuck his gaze hits so hard and - and- I am out of words--- Intense? I could feel it in my bones. It's too much for me.

And then in a snap of fingers he was too close to me... Like I was feeling his breath brushing my face.

Heat crawled to my neck. I tilted myself backward, my back towering the sink platform.

He placed his both hands on either side of my waist on the platform's edge. I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every moves- every breath so closely.

It knocked out the air out of my lungs. My eyes flutter but I tried to look up and met his piercing gaze. He leaned on me.

"Wh-Wha..." I stammered. "Wha-"

But before I could even form a word properly his voice came out cold and detached. "Take a bath. And get out of my house." Totally opposite to his eyes.

I blinked, stunned. "Excuse me?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," he said, his tone like a blade wrapped in silk. "And wash that shirt before you leave."

The audacity of this man. A thousand curses swirled in my head, but all I managed to do was slam the door shut in his face. Tears burned the corners of my eyes.

Who does he think he is? Arrogant jerk.

I leaned against the door, heart racing, thoughts spiraling. My memories were foggy. The kiss... the hands on my waist... the way he pulled me into him... But it wasn't Raj, was it?

No. That man wasn't Raj. He didn't even sound like him.

But then why did it feel so... I can't name it. And don't even want to.

I wanted to scream.

I took a shaky breath and stepped into the shower, turning on the cold water to numb my senses. Only then did I notice my saree dumped in a soggy pile on the floor, drenched and unwearable.

Great.

I peeked out of the bathroom and, with all the dignity I could muster, muttered, "I... don't have any clothes."

There was a pause.

"Wear a robe. Or my shirt. I'll tell someone to bring something."

His voice was muffled, but there was a strain in it, like he wasn't used to speaking gently.

I wrapped a towel around myself and waited awkwardly. Surprisingly he didn't even raised his eyes towards my face and left.

Minutes later, he returned with a pastel-pink kurti set. I blinked at it. It was... perfect. Soft cotton, my size, even my style.

How the hell did he know?

"Thank you," I said hesitantly, clutching the dress to my chest. "You can tell me the price, I'll pay you back."

"No need," he muttered, turning away.

"I insist. I don't even know you, and-"

"Fifteen thousand," he snapped, turning to look at me.

My jaw dropped. I mean who the fuck wears a dress costs Fifteen thousand?

Congrats! You're going to be that fuck.

"Fifteen?! Are you out of your- Is it came with a bodyguard? Because I can't see any strings, strips or button made of gold."

His lips curled into a smirk. "Relax. I don't need your money. Just wear it and leave."

I stared at him, speechless. His gaze dipped, just for a second, lingering on the curve of my bare shoulder where the towel had slipped slightly. His eyes darkened.

And that flutter in my stomach returned. Fuck. This shouldn't feel this way. But I guess from the last night my life started ignoring the - Shoulds!

And this man is making me crazy. Everything about him is just too much. Arrogance, attitude---- beauty.

Fuck you. Stop it, Niyati. This man is rude, arrogant, and possibly a criminal.

"Do you need help?" His voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "What?" The question came out of my mouth before I could comprehend anything.

"Do you need me to change you into this?" He repeated. Heat crawled up my body and a shiver ran down my bones.

"What the hell are you saying? Can you hear yourself?"

"Can you watch yourself?" He snapped. "Why are you standing there staring at me? Do you want one more round?"

"What?" His words stunned me. My ears burned with the heat. I almost tripped at my place and the word came out more like a scream.

"I am going to believe- you have some serious kinda obsession with this word. But I prefer your version from last night - Who's obsessed with my c-"

"Shut up!" I screamed. Eyes wide and frustrated. "You're such a jerk!" My voice came out poisonous.

To my surprise he was smirking. I really wanted to punch that smug.

"Fuck you." I hissed.

"You already did." He snapped with that smug.

He was more than too much.

I went back to change, but I couldn't ignore the way his shirt had clung to my wet skin earlier, how my nipples had hardened beneath the fabric, how his eyes had flicked to them when he thought I wasn't looking.

He didn't touch me. He didn't try anything. But the tension-God, the tension-was undeniable.

And I hated that part of me liked it.

Just then a wild memory of last night stabbed - His mouth on my collarbone... and I said "Please don’t stop"—why the hell did I say that?

I stepped out in the new outfit. His eyes flicked up to meet mine-and then slowly roamed down my body. Not lewd. Not crude.

Hungry.

His fingers curled like he wanted to touch me... but didn't.

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide the way my body responded to his gaze. "I'm leaving. And I'll pay you back. You don't get to throw pity gifts at me."

He exhaled sharply, brushing a hand through his tousled hair. "It's not pity. Just-leave."

"You keep saying that, but you don't stop staring," I snapped.

His jaw tensed. "Don't flatter yourself." aashole.

"Too late for that," I muttered, grabbing my things. "You were gawking."

"You're the one walking around in my shirt and towel, clinging to me all night, moaning some other guy's name," I flinched at his words. He took a pause then continued, "and pleading for my touch." he shot back, voice low and dangerous.

I froze.

He didn't just say that.

He stepped closer. "You thought I was him. Raj, right? You begged for him. But he wasn't there." He leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. "I was."

My breath hitched. His proximity set my nerves on fire. I stumbled back, but he didn't follow.

"You still don't remember," he said, a bitter edge to his voice. "Figures."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, heart racing.

He smiled-but there was no warmth in it. "Nothing. Forget it. You'll forget me anyway."

His words cut deeper than they should have.

I turned on my heel, furious, confused, and utterly humiliated.

"I'm not someone who forgets easily," I muttered.

"Good," he replied. "Because I won't forget you either." I heard it so low that I thought I was imagining.

I paused at the door, clutching the handle, heart hammering. There was something about him that pulled at me, a twisted kind of gravity I didn't want to acknowledge.

I should run. But part of me... didn’t want to

But as much as I hated it...

I was drawn to him.

And I had no idea why.

A/N Thankyou so much for reading 💗 How's the chapter?

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