4 | When Nothing Makes Sense

“Look, obviously, this was a massive misunderstanding. I was just looking for my sister. And now that she is here—safe and sound—let’s not make a big deal out of it.”

After enduring the most embarrassing moment of her life, only Dhara knew the poise and courage it took to sit in front of the same man she had harassed not so long ago, as if her insides weren’t lit on fire. Having no clue what on earth got into her, she found it hard not to chew her lips out.

All her life, Dhara had never felt this kind of surge and white electricity begging to be released. She had never felt this unexplainable attraction to anyone. Men had never been a priority in her life, not when she had a younger sister to take care of, not when their parents weren’t around to ease the weight of responsibilities off her shoulders, and not when the stress of next month’s rent and the food they needed on their table for healthy survival inhabited her mind.

Her forehead and cheeks warmed with the awareness of his intense gaze upon her. Flopped on the couch across from her, one arm draped along the length of the back of it, he didn’t seem to give a shit how uncomfortable his shameless gawking was making her feel. Couldn’t he just look away or do something else with his eyes? Why did he have to make her miserable?

Luckily, she wasn’t alone in this. Nina sat by her side, her only support and the only person she trusted in the entire room. Or the world.

“Ah!” Dhara tensed when Nina hissed. “What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to break my hand?” Yanking her hand away from Dhara, which she had been holding for a bit of comfort, Nina shook it in the air as if to dispel the pain.

Her heart instantly sank into her stomach. “I’m so sorry.”

She tried to reach out when Nina signaled for her to stop. “It’s OK.”

It was anything but OK, but Dhara didn’t force it any further. Nina had a premature birth, and in many aspects, her sister was weaker than the rest of the kids her age. Of course, Dhara had stopped bringing that up a long time back. She had seen how much being called weak affected her sister mentally.

“Big deal out of what?” Cutting her thoughts short, the man with still no shirt to cover his bare chest asked.

It took Dhara a minute too long to realize what he was talking about. Her brows furrowed, and she bit her lip to avoid the same warm sensation building up in her chest again—the one that led her to the bed with him.

Averting her eyes from him to the man standing behind the couch—the one Nina had arrived with and caught them in the middle of God knows what wizardry—Dhara wondered if he was the man her sister had left the club with. Like the man sitting on the couch, this guy wasn’t any less good-looking. He had the same golden eyes and dark-as-soot hair growing out of his head. He was tall and broad, muscled in all the right places.

Yet somehow, the man on the couch outshined him with little to no effort. With him in the room, with his relaxed posture and powerful eyes, he easily made everything else turn pale. There was no doubt in her mind that the man on the couch was the one who called the shots. Alpha, the other man had called him. Not that she had any clue why the hell someone would name themselves Alpha for any reason whatsoever.

Not her concern.

“Err…” Did he have to act so oblivious? “Out of everything that happened?”

“And what do you think…happened?” was his immediate response, shameless amusement glistening in his golden eyes.

“All I’m saying is, let’s deal with this situation a bit more maturely. Shall we?”

She could feel a stupid smirk cutting across his lips. She could just feel it.

“Are you saying what happened earlier was something immature would do?” He quipped with the same stupid smirk still plastered on his handsome face.

Dhara felt like she wanted to scream so loud his ears would bleed.

“No!” she snapped, fisting the hem of her T-shirt a bit tightly while doing that one thing she had been avoiding since the embarrassing encounter—she glared at him. “That’s not what I said.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying let’s forget about it!”

“It must be normal for you to throw yourself at someone and then forget about it.”

“Are you serious?” Did he really just accuse her of being a slut? “You think I do this with every guy I come across? Have you lost your mind? I’ll have you know, Mister, I’m not the person you’re assuming me to be.” God, this guy was too much.

“You must be really attracted to me then,” he drawled cockily. “Because you kind of did more than just throw yourself at me.”

Boy, was he smug? So desperately, she wanted to wipe that smirk off his pretty face.

Asshole.

“Ugh. Why are you doing this?” she couldn’t keep her annoyance at bay anymore. She already felt so guilty for her actions. He didn’t have to make her feel worse.

“Trust me, I’ve barely done anything,” he said, before cunningly adding. “Yet.” And there was that wink. That stupidly annoying wink had her stomach in a silly twist.

“You know what? We’re done here,” shooting up to her feet, she grabbed Nina’s hand and snapped her gaze one last time at him. “I already apologized for what happened. Not going to stoop lower than that and beg you for it. I said what I needed to. Now, it’s on you to accept it or reject it. I don’t care. It’s already past midnight, and I have to wake up early tomorrow. So, if you both excuse us, we’re gonna mind our business.”

“Are we leaving so soon?” Nina asked with a frown, as if she hadn’t been attending to their conversation at all.

“Yes, we are,” and with that, Dhara headed straight for the door.

“I don’t think I asked you to leave.”

Barely halfway across the room, Dhara stopped dead in her tracks when the man on the couch spoke again. However, this time, his voice held a biting edge to it. A kind of edge that cracked its blunt nails into the back of her neck and prevented her from taking another step forward.

“I don’t need your permission,” even though her body seemed oddly affected by his intense gaze and fierce voice, her mouth hadn’t forgotten to be rebellious.

She heard him chuckle, her breath hitching at the sound.

“From now on you do.”

“I’m not about to pretend and say I know what you mean.”

“Quite desperate to figure me out, I see.”

Ugh, there he was again, being cocky as hell.

Turning to face him again and fix him with another of her retorts, her back stiffened when she found him heading over to them. His tall stature, brawny shoulders, and a face that could rival the Greek gods threatened to fracture the authority she was trying to hold over him. He was easily the most authoritative and domineering person in the room. There was no doubt about it. He was the Alpha, just like the other man had said not so long ago, even though she was yet to be aware of the true meaning the title held.

“Don’t hold back,” he said softly, tipping his head to the side and watching her with something that could only be defined as curiosity. “Say whatever you want. I like it when you speak your mind. It’s cute.”

She was so not cute.

But of course, that should be the least of her concerns.

“You want me to speak my mind? Fine,” gathering up the courage she thought was needed to look him in the eye, she let go of her sister’s hand and took one step closer to the man. The act of reducing the distance between them would surely take him off-guard. And he did appear a little taken aback, giving a sense of accomplishment to her exhausted brain, making her feel cocky herself.

However, as she felt his intense gaze solely stapled on her own, a touch of uncertainty wavered in her intentions. How could he have such an effect on her? She couldn’t figure it out. It was as if he had something that belonged to her and that gave him an advantage, which he seemed to exploit every time he saw fit.

And she did not like that.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” twirling a strand of her dark curl around his finger, he gave a gentle tug to it.

“A prayer,” she responded without missing a beat. “That you go to hell!”

While Dhara felt satisfied with her response and one more time prepared herself to leave, she felt her wrist being grabbed, her body being yanked back to him. His hot breath hit her ear, while his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her to him, and setting her insides on another bold fire.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but you can’t leave before I get my answers,” he whispered into her ear, shooting a shiver down her spine.

The more she struggled against him, the more his grasp around her tightened. “What do you mean? What…what answers?”

Another chuckle rolled out of his sexy throat. “Don’t tell me you’re not even a little bit curious to know what happened between us a while ago.”

“Momentary lapse of judgment, that’s what happened. Now let me go!”

He didn’t.

She groaned out of frustration. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make him budge. It was as if he was made of mountains.

“Everything is not that simple, sweetheart,” letting her free eventually, he ran a hand through his hair. Turning and moving back towards the minibar in the room. He opened the cabinet and poured himself a drink.

Without turning back around, he gestured to the couch. “Come on, don’t make me repeat myself. Sit. It wouldn’t take long.”

If it were some other day, some other guy, and some other situation, Dhara would have stormed out without giving a shit about anything else. But for some reason, some really insane and unbelievable reason, this felt different. He felt different. Besides, he wasn’t wrong to guess that she was equally curious. Deep down, she knew it was more than just a lapse of judgment. There had to be more explanation for what, how, and why she felt the way she did. It was all so confusing. Her head hurt, and her chest felt like it couldn’t take any more.

With a deep exhale, she closed her eyes and tried to think clearly.

“Fine. I’ll stay.” After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes and looked at him straight. He was leaning against the counter, a tumbler in his hand. “But my sister leaves.”

“Sure,” he agreed.

She hadn’t expected him to compromise so easily.

Not that she was complaining.

“Viraj?”

“Yes, Alpha!” the second time during the entire conversation, the other man in the room spoke. Once again, referring to the man as Alpha. Dhara wondered if it was truly his name.

“Drop the girl, make sure she reaches her home safely.”

“No!” Dhara interrupted, swallowing thickly. She wasn’t going to trust some strangers with the address of her home. Who knew what they were capable of? “Just…just get her a cab. Her friend is waiting downstairs. Her name is Poppy. She can take my sister home.”

The Alpha guy didn’t say anything for a moment. Just stared and took a sip of his drink. Dhara feared that she went too far, that what she said offended him somehow. But the next time he spoke, all her doubts melted.

“You heard the woman,” he said, his words directed at the other male. “Do as she says.”