Page 36 of No Boss
For a moment, she was only a shape in flame and shadow.
Then she turned.
Abhinav forgot how to breathe.
It was the sharp, involuntary stillness of a man who had just seen something he wasn’t prepared to see.
Her red ghaghra moved first.
A soft flare as she turned, fabric catching the light and sending it outward in a muted ripple of gold before settling around her again.
His gaze followed.
Not deliberately. Not even consciously.
It rose with her movement as she stepped forward. The choli held the glow close, letting it linger before slipping away with each step.
Her dupatta lifted at her shoulder, embroidery flashing in sparks. Small details, enough to miss, except he didn’t.
He noticed.
All of it.
The light did not remain in the chamber. It moved with her.
So did his attention.
It caught on the maangtika at her parting. Slid to her earrings. Paused at the curve of the nath.
Details. Unnecessary details.
He noticed all of them.
Focus.
He didn’t.
Her hair was loose. That came next. Dark, unrestrained, shifting softly as she walked.
His jaw tightened.
She moved toward the threshold, the aarti thali balanced in her hands.
His gaze drifted again. To her fingers curved around the edge of the plate. To the soft clash of bangles brushing together, catching light with each step.
And then… just for a second… it slipped lower.
A glimpse of skin at her waist.
Bare. Touched by light. Warm.
His breath stopped.
He looked away immediately. Hard. Like a man with discipline. Looked back immediately. Like a man who had just lost it.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
He dragged his eyes up again, irritation sharp now. At himself. At the situation. At the fact that his body had very clearly decided to betray every standard he operated by.
