Serendipity {Complete}

Chapter 16 - Veer

Right. She was not scared of him but was jumping every time he touched her and was huddling in her seat as far away from him as possible. Was refusing to even look straight at him.

Because you are an asshole.

Veer felt like crap. He had not been prepared for the guilt sweeping over him when he'd seen her in the bright light of the kitchen. He could not believe how bad her skin had looked-red and scraped raw. Her neck and shoulder were dotted with hickeys and that bite mark. She looked like she had been violated.

That was just what he could see. He remembers mauling her tits, and God knows what they looked like.

You really are an animal.

He had never treated any woman like that before. Not even if they had wanted it. Losing control was not even an option because he had always been mindful of his size and strength. He knew he could be intimidating, and inspiring fear in women was not his kink.

His apology felt woefully inadequate. The last thing he wanted was to break her trust, and then he still proceeded to shatter it. How was he different from Jaggi or any other asshole he thought he was saving her from? He should have just picked her off his lap and put her down the minute he realized she was probably high. He should have resisted everything she had unwittingly offered.

Plus, the fact that she had never seduced a man was glaringly obvious. Drugged or not, willing or not, she had been utterly unsophisticated in the art of seduction. Planting sweet, surprised kisses all over his mouth, clinging and grinding so damn adorably on him. The memory of her soft, warm body against his still has the power to ignite his blood.

Dragging his mind off that alluring visual, he reminds himself that he needs to assure her that she is safe. That was of paramount importance. He will safely drop her back at the hotel. And walk away. That will be the end of it all.

Miraya nods to everything he's saying, but he can see her eyes darting between his, full of questions. He is not sure he is prepared to answer her if she asks him why he did what he did. He wasn't even prepared to explain the nicknames.

"I'm n-not scared... of you. I'm not." She repeats, but the hesitation is evident.

"I can see that you are, Miraya."

"N-No... I'm just f-feeling embarrassed." Her whisper is barely audible as her eyes flick to everything around him.

He was expecting that. He knew she would be feeling regret, but it still rankles him.

Miraya finally turns to sit facing him, her hands picking and rolling the hem of her borrowed t-shirt. She couldn't chew on her lip because of the scab, so the nervous energy needed another outlet.

"I... um... I'm actually s-sorry too." She finally looks up at him, but briefly, her lashes swooping low immediately. "I s-should not have, um... sit on you... sit on you? No-no, that can't be right... Is it sat... it's sat right?" Her delicate brows knit in confusion over the fucking tense of the verb, making Veer crack a grin.

"Yeah, sat." He wipes the smile before she spots it.

"Yes, I should not have s-sat. On you. I really don't know what c-came over me. I have n-never done a-anything like that before. The day... and the heat had... really m-messed up my head. I'm sorry for that."

He is about to interrupt her, but she holds up one hand to stop him. "I need to s-say this. Please? I k-know it upsets you when I a-apologize or t-thank you, but I'm still going to."

The fingers rolling the edge of her t-shirt become frantic, winding the fabric into a tiny pinwheel.

"I'm a-aware I have been terribly stupid. And... also terribly l-lucky. If you had not c-come back, I don't know what w-would have happened to me. Maybe n-nothing. Maybe worse things. But.. but I c-can still recognize that you have b-been kind to me, and... if I had not done that, the s-sitting, uh, on you part, I know y-you would have never made a move."