WHEN WORLD'S COLLIDE

The first time Mithra met Jai, she knew he was trouble.

Not just because of his sharp smirk and the lazy arrogance with which he carried himself, or the way his eyes lingered on her like he was trying to figure her out. No, it was something else-something more dangerous.

She had spent her whole life surrounded by men who spoke in power and violence, men who claimed things that weren't theirs to claim. And yet, when she looked at Jai, she saw a different kind of danger. The kind that could make her forget everything she had built around herself.

She wasn't supposed to fall for him.

And he wasn't supposed to fall for her.

But fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Now, standing in his room, her back against the locked door, she looked up at him-his hair damp, his shirt clinging to his skin, his dark eyes burning with something raw and unrestrained.

"You really think I beat him up because he threatened me?" Jai's voice was low, dangerous, his body mere inches from hers.

Mithra frowned, confused. "Isn't that why-"

Jai let out a sharp, humorless laugh before gripping her waist and yanking her forward.

Mithra gasped.

"You don't get it, do you?" His grip tightened, his breath hot against her skin. "I beat him up because he dared to touch you."

Her heart stopped.

Jai's eyes held an intensity that made it hard to breathe.

"I beat him up because you're mine," he whispered, the words searing into her like a promise, like a curse.

Mithra wanted to deny it, wanted to push him away, wanted to remind him that they were from two different worlds-

But the way he held her, the way his voice shook with fury, with possessiveness, with something terrifyingly close to desperation-

She knew she was already his.

Even if she didn't want to be.