Chapter 16: Edge of Control

Avni didn’t remember how she ended up in his car.

One moment, she had been in the hospital corridor, drowning in the heat of Reyaansh’s gaze. The next, she was sitting in the passenger seat of his sleek black SUV, the hum of the engine filling the heavy silence between them.

She should have refused. She should have walked away.

But she didn’t.

Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the fire in his eyes that made her forget all logic. Or maybe… maybe she was tired of resisting.

Reyaansh drove in silence, one hand gripping the wheel, the other resting casually on the gearshift. The streetlights cast sharp shadows over his face, accentuating the hard lines of his jaw, the darkness in his expression.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked, her voice steady despite the storm inside her.

He didn’t glance at her. "Somewhere you can’t run."

Her stomach tightened. "I never run."

His lips tilted in amusement. "You do. You’ve been running from this since day one."

She hated how well he could read her. Hated how he could pull apart her defenses with just a few words.

"Pull over," she said firmly. "This is a mistake."

"You already made the mistake when you got in the car, Avni." His voice was smooth, but there was an underlying edge to it.

She reached for the door handle. Locked.

Her breath hitched. "Unlock the door."

Reyaansh let out a slow, dark chuckle. "Relax, sweetheart. I’m not kidnapping you."

The endearment sent a shiver down her spine. "Then stop playing games."

He exhaled sharply, finally pulling the car to a stop on the side of an empty road. The city lights flickered in the distance, but here, in the silence of the night, there was nothing but them.

Avni’s pulse was wild as Reyaansh turned to face her. "I need you to stop pretending, Avni."

She swallowed. "Pretending what?"

His eyes darkened, his hand reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. The touch was soft, contradicting the storm in his gaze. "That you don’t want this as much as I do."

Her breath was uneven now. "Reyaansh…"

"I’m done waiting." His fingers trailed down her jaw, his touch featherlight, but his grip on her chin firm when she tried to turn away. "Tell me to stop, and I will."

Avni’s mind screamed at her to push him away, to shut this down before it went too far.

But her body? It betrayed her.

She didn’t pull back.

She didn’t tell him to stop.

And Reyaansh saw it.

His lips tilted into a knowing smirk before he closed the distance, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss that was nothing like the last one.

This wasn’t hesitation.

This wasn’t testing boundaries.

This was possession.

Raw. Intense. Unrelenting.

Avni felt herself unravel, her fingers gripping his jacket as his hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer, demanding more.

The night outside was quiet, but inside the car, everything burned.