“Why?”

She brushed a finger over my brow and my gut clenched. “That frustrated wrinkle between your brows.”

“I’m not that easy to read.”

She cackled, drawing curious looks from my friends ahead. Bane clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Almost ruptured my eardrum.”

She flicked my ear. “Big baby.”

I grabbed her hand. “You seem to like touching me. Careful.”

“Or what? You’re always threatening me. Talk so big and never follow through—”

I stopped dead in my tracks, spun Bane into me so that she hit my chest, moved one hand to her waist and the other to her jaw, and leaned down toward her mouth. I let out a rough breath, every muscle in my body tight. Every concern and pain caused by my ex vanished. Bane incinerated Sejal’s presence as if she’d never existed, as if she’d never hurt me, as if she’d never left a trail of ashes in her wake. More than that? Everything and everyone around us melted into oblivion.

Bane grunted, gasped, some sort of soft, surprised, sexy noise that had me wondering what she’d sound like beneath a flurry of kisses. That sound, whatever the hell it was called, made me want to make her make those sounds again. And again. Tiny puffs of breath that slowly unraveled me.

“Who never follows through?” I asked, my voice dipping low.

She gulped, staring at my mouth. Her nostrils flared. She clutched my hips, digging her nails into my sides. And if she wasn’t careful, I might just toss her back into bed.

Damn. It. Bane was really out here tempting the hell out of me without even trying.

“You keep touching me, Bane, and we might get into some trouble.”

She sucked in a long, deep breath so that her breasts rose up my chest. Fuck. My gut clenched and I nearly, almost, pushed her into me. I wanted to feel more of her, all of her.

She whispered, almost labored, “Still talking, I see…”

“Does me touching you like this bother you?”

“No,” she said on a breath.

“What about now?” I ran a thumb across her bottom lip. Bane never moved away. She never told me to stop. Her body always reacted, like these little pants escaping her right now, and the way she imperceptibly tilted toward me. Was she…into me? Did she feel a fraction of anything I was feeling with her?

I yearned to know. But what if she didn’t? What if she was simply playing the part because my friends were nearby? That seemed to be the only reasonable conclusion.

“Ya’ll going to make out right here in public, huh?” a voice announced to my right.

Bane jumped and stepped back, and I dragged my eyes away from her to see who the hell had interrupted us, but softened when I saw it was Diya.

Diya was standing a few feet away, a tablet clutched to her chest, and a dopey grin on her face. “You have a whole villa for that.”

“Oh my god,” Bane grumbled, her cheeks turning a delectable rosy glow.

“I can crash at my place, don’t worry.” Diya double-clucked her tongue.

“Okay, bye.” Bane walked after the group, who’d been seated and had probably been watching our interaction based on the approving winks from Sam and Aamar and the expression of unfettered glee on April.

“I have a favor to ask,” I said.

“Oh?” Diya replied.

“Bhanu loves ube, right?”

“Like it’s the only dessert in existence.”

“She’d mentioned this place had ube cheesecake, but I noticed a couple of other ube items as well. Which one is her favorite?”

“She loves them all, trust me.”

“But which one is the most amazing? The one that will…make her ditch my friends with me?”

I didn’t imagine Diya’s smile could get any wider, but it had. “Ah! Now that’s an entire mood! Let me see what I can do.”

I went to our table and dropped my backpack on the floor, taking a seat beside Bane, somewhat proud of myself for creating a hopeful escape. I enjoyed my friends, I truly did. But I saw them often, and this lunch wasn’t a mandate like the excursions. Right now, I just wanted to be with Bane in this bubble of pleasantness we had before it broke.

“What was that about?” she asked me.

“You’ll see.”

“Hmm. Very suspicious, you talking to my sister alone and her wicked little devilish expression. I saw that.”

Draping an arm around the back of her chair, I promised, “I think you’ll thank me for what’s coming.”

I watched her get quiet as conversations rose around the table. She imperceptibly glanced at the others, who were busy perusing the menu and recapping the boat adventure. Bane had seemed a bit drained since we left the marina, quiet. Even now, she stared into the distance, uninterested in the untouched menu in front of her. I’d seen these signs in my mother to know that maybe she needed a recharge.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes, why?”

“You seem bored.”

“Being ‘on’ for so long wears me out.”

We’d been with my friends for hours now, and even I was tired. “Do you want to get out of here?” I whispered.

She ran a hand down her neck, letting her arm hang, and nodded.

“Okay. Give me a few minutes?”

The waitress arrived and took drink and appetizer orders from everyone except us.

“Are you not eating?” April asked.

“No. I think I’m okay for now,” Bane said right on beat, patting her stomach over her cover-up. She’d crossed her legs and my knee tilted to touch hers. Magnetic. Automatic.