the software architect on a company I acquired recently.”
Relief sweeping through her, Riya shook the woman’s hand.
Sonia cast another quick look toward Nathan before stepping out of the enclosure.
Leaving her alone with Nathan.
She jerked as he clasped her wrist and tugged her toward the raised platform. “Let’s go.”
Her eyes wide, fear beating a tattoo in her head, she shook her head. “No. I would very much like to be a spectator, thank you.”
The most unholy delight dawned in his eyes, a wicked fire that turned them into a fiery blue. His mouth curved into a smile; it was the most gorgeous he had ever seemed to her. There was no facade, no frost. Only pure, undisguised laughter at her cowardice. “Not a choice. If you want—”
Surprising him, she took a few steps forward and cast a quick glance at the setup. “It’s not fair, Nathan. My going on this has nothing to do with my company’s abilities.”
“Life’s not fair, Riya. But you have to grab your thrills where you can.”
With that, he pulled her and they stepped through the railing.
“You sound like a little boy going on an adult ride for the first time.”
He clasped her hand and pulled her down to the sofa. Her knees quaking, she managed to stay still as he clipped the safety belt around them. And now, instead of an intangible one, there was a rope binding them together.
Breathe, Riya.
Within minutes, a faint whirring began and the crane unfolded, lifting them up into the sky.
Riya gasped and clasped his hand tighter, at the sheer magnificence of the feeling. Her mouth dry, she laughed giddily as they went higher and higher.
The whole island was laid out beneath them like a glittering jewel. The villas, the infinity pool, the beautiful grounds, she had never seen a more breathtaking sight. Her heart raced at a thunderous speed, a strange pull in her stomach.
When it felt as if she could extend her hand and touch the clouds, they came to a standstill. She found her gaze drawn to Nathan’s profile.
His nostrils flaring, he looked around them, his eyes glittering with thrill and energy.
It was the most exhilarating thing she had ever been part of, the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. And the effect of it still paled against the sheer masculinity of the man holding her hand.
Panic surged within her and Riya breathed in greedy gulps. He tightened his clasp on her fingers. “You okay, Riya?”
She nodded and met his gaze. “This is your true thrill, isn’t it?”
The safety belts forced them much too close for her comfort. When he turned, his thigh pressed against hers and Riya sucked in a sharp breath through a dry throat. “Yes.”
Laughing, because it was just impossible not to when you were hundreds of feet in the sky, Riya nodded. “It’s spectacular.”
“I think so.”
“I hope it’s not going to be limited to this island,” she said, thinking of how many people, average people like her, would miss it if it were. “Something like this, everyone should have access to it.”
He turned to look at her, a warmth in his eyes. “We’re aiming for Las Vegas, Paris, Bali, São Paulo, Mumbai, London in the first round. As soon as the approvals are in, we’ll launch the new level of membership and also offer an exclusive offer to our low tier members at a discounted price.”
Riya glanced around once again, her heart swelling in her chest. “It’s going to be magnificent. What’s it going to be called?”
He shrugged and smiled. And Riya felt a different kind of pull on her senses. “Haven’t decided yet,” he said.
Before she could blink, the safety tether loosened. Imagining them plummeting to death, Riya gasped and held on tighter.
Only to realize that Nathan had undone the belt.
“No...no...no...Nate...Please Noooooo,” she screamed as he tugged her up until they were standing. He dragged her forward to the railing, and the whole setup swung in the air. Her stomach lurched, and Riya plastered herself to him from the side, breathing hard.
He stiffened for an infinitesimal moment even as the ridges and planes of his lean body pressed against her.
Adrenaline pumped through her, her muscles trembling with a thousand little tremors. She was shamelessly plastered against his back, but for the life of her, she couldn’t seem to peel herself away from him.
His fingers tugged at her arms around him. His smile dug grooves in his cheeks. His hair was wind-ruffled; his eyes were glowing. “Don’t worry, Riya,” he whispered, tucking her tight against his side. “I won’t let you fall.”
Sandwiched snugly against his side, Riya looked around at the magnificent sight.
Her heart boomeranged against her rib cage; her senses spun. It was a moment of utter perfection, of glorious beauty.
When he pulled her back down, she went reluctantly, suddenly loath for it to be over.
Letting her breath out slowly, she settled into the moment, grateful to him for allowing her to be a part of it. They sat like that for a while. Everything about the evening cloaked them in intimacy.
Gratitude that he had given her a chance, that he’d let her be a part of this, and some unknown sensation she couldn’t stem welled up inside her. And beneath it, Riya felt a sliver of fear that she was crossing into unknown territory. “Nathan, I’m very sorry for everything that...for all the hurt we caused you. I can’t imagine what you must have felt learning about Jackie and me so soon after she died. I’m so—”
His arm around behind her, he turned, and his finger landed on her mouth. “I don’t require an apology from you.”
Raising her gaze to his, Riya forced herself to focus on his words rather than the sensation of how her own mouth felt. “Is Maria right? All these years, would you have come back if Jackie and I had been gone?”
“No, I wouldn’t have. Leave the past where it is, Riya. Come out of your cocoon, and live your life, butterfly.”
The warmth in his endearment caused minute little flutters all over her.
“Just because I don’t stand hundreds of feet in the sky and touch the clouds on a regular basis doesn’t mean I’m not living,” she countered.
His long fingers landed on her jaw, the abraded tips pressing into her skin. Their legs tangled in front of them. He shifted sideways until he was all she saw. Found herself staring into languid pools of molten hunger.
Desire punched through her, every inch of her thrumming with alarm and anticipation.
They were hanging in the sky with a slice of paradise laid out beneath them for as far as she could see. And the man in front of her, the most gorgeous, the most complex man she had ever met. In that moment, something she had held tight inside her, something she hadn’t even realized existed, slowly unraveled.
Just a little movement of his head and suddenly his breath feathered over her nose.
Her fingers landed on his chest, to push him back. But the thudding roar of his heart beneath muted any rational thought. A slow fire swirled low in her belly, spreading to every inch of her.
One long finger traced her jawline in reverence, the tips of the others grazing her neck. “I think it’s the most terrible thing in the world that you don’t know whether you enjoyed a kiss or not, butterfly. The most horrible thing that no man has shown you, without doubt.”
Liquid desire darkened the ice blue into the shade of a cloudy sky.
Every