by P. G. Van
“Oh… thank you for talking to her.”
“I’m glad I got that taken care of… for you.”
“You didn’t do that for me, Yash. Michele deserved closure. You did it for her and you.”
“Yes, and I need to thank you for that, I guess.”
“You don’t need to… but…” He didn’t let her finish. “You want to hear about my research?”
“Yes.”
“Will you be part of my research if I tell you what it is about?”
“No… but you will tell me what you’ve done so far,” she snapped.
“Easy… I’ve only studied you.”
“You mean stalked me.”
“It’s part of my research.”
“I don’t believe you!”
He laughed as if she told him a joke, the sound of pure joy making butterflies take off in her stomach.
“Mantra, I could not think of fucking another woman after I saw you, and when I tried too hard to get you out of my mind, it just made it worse.”
“Okay, stop. I don’t want to know about your research.” She placed her palms on her ears.
“You were so hot last night it took all the resolve in me not to fuck you.”
“Do you realize you are talking about me, and I’m sitting right here.”
“Yes, and you have no idea what I want to do to you.”
Her breath hitched, and she had a tough time speaking. “Stop talking… don’t say another word until we get back,” she ordered and turned away from him shutting her eyes tightly in the hope of wiping out everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours.
*****
“We’re here.” His soft voice brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes to find him holding a bottle of water and two pills, identical to the ones she had taken in the morning.
He smiled when she looked at the pills suspiciously. “I’m sure the headache is back, you need one more dose of these.”
She opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. It was no use. It was best for her to get out of there soon and stay away from him as much as possible while she wraps up her thesis.
She took the pills and gulped them down with the water.
“I’d recommend you wait five minutes and then head home.”
“I’ll be fine.”
She stepped out of his SUV without another word.
“I’m going out of town tomorrow morning. I’ll see you next week,” he called out from the driver’s seat, and she waved without turning around.
She couldn’t turn to look at him. Something told her she would wrap her arms around him and want to have her body plastered to his at the rate at which her body craved his touch. It’s as if her body came alive to his touch during her phase of amnesia and even if she couldn’t remember, her body couldn’t forget.
Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot at her apartment building. She saw Samar lazing on the couch, binge-watching a television series when she walked into their apartment.
“You look horrible, did you party that hard?”
“Seven shots and twelve hours of amnesia.” She rolled her eyes.
“Holy shit, spill everything.”
“There’s nothing except for the heart-pounding headache.”
“Pictures, girl… I want to see pictures.”
She dropped her bag in her bedroom and came to sit next to Samar. “I have one picture on my phone that I took just before I left to go to the party.”
She pulled out her phone, opened the pictures, and stared at the screen in shock. A picture of her in a bra where she is taking a bite out of Yash’s cheek stared back at her. He was looking at the ceiling, and from the angle, she could tell he was carrying her, and she was busy taking a selfie.
“Fuck.” She closed her phone and jumped off of the couch.
“Mantra, where are you going?” Samar asked as Mantra grabbed her wallet and keys and ran out of the apartment.
“I’ll call you.”
Samar shook her head and opened the door to look down the corridor. “Don’t drive fast wherever you are headed.”
“Love you, Samar,” Mantra called from the parking lot and waved to her friend standing on the balcony.
Fifteen minutes later with her heart banging against her ribcage, she pulled her car into the parking lot of The Red Room.
Chapter 15
It was a few minutes past three in the afternoon when she walked toward the main entrance of the restaurant. The staff usually arrived around four except for the floor manager.
The man smiled at her from behind the cashier’s booth as she walked through the dining area. “Mantra, I didn’t think you were working tonight.”
“I’m not. I need to talk to Yash before his travel.”
“He is in the test kitchen, and I don’t know if he wants to talk to anyone,” the manager warned.
“He knows I’m coming,” she lied.
Her nerves were raw, and she was a nervous wreck as she opened the door to the test kitchen where only Yash and his chef were allowed. The chef didn’t work Sundays, and she knew Yash was alone.
Yash was at one of the stainless steel counters with his back to her. She shut the door quietly behind her and stood staring at his mile-wide shoulders.
She walked cautiously toward him, her eyes trained on him. She was a foot away when he turned to look at her.
She gave him a sheepish smile not knowing what to say. He stepped to his side to place his hands under the automatic sensor faucet and washed his hands, his eyes never leaving her face and not breaking the silence.
He took a hasty step toward her, and the next moment, she felt his lips on hers. She moaned into his mouth, opening up for his invasion. His one hand went up to cup her cheek while the other hand dug into her back bringing her mound to his hardness between his thighs.
“Yash…”
“Why did you make me wait?” he demanded with a slight tinge of anger in his voice.
Tremors ran through her body threatening to rip her nerves to shreds as he swirled his tongue around hers and took her mouth as no one had ever before. Her back hit the wall with an unstoppable passion brewing within. She couldn’t stop him, and there was no reason to do so.
“I now wonder how you taste.” It was a growl against her lips.
She moaned letting her head tip back against the wall when he buried his face in her chest, his palm caressing her breasts. He slipped lower, his hands following suit and pulled down the waistband of her leggings along with her panties.
Her knees turned to jelly, and if it weren’t for his palms that held her thighs to the wall, she would have collapsed to the floor. Her body convulsed with every whiff he took of her arousal before taking the tip of his tongue to trace the cleft from the very top. She felt his stubble graze the delicate skin and tightened her hold on his hair.
“You taste so good, I could eat you all day,” he growled running his tongue south. Her body went stiff when he kept going past the end of her soaked folds toward unconquered territory. He lifted one foot off the floor opening her up and draped her leg over his shoulder.
“I’ve never…” She wanted to tell him it was her first time being touched in such a private spot but could not get the words out.
He pulled back to look up at her. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No, don’t.” It was a desperate plea.
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to,” he murmured going back to dig his tongue through her soaking folds. She winced uncontrollably with a feeling she never experienced but couldn’t get enough of.
“I’m going to die if you don’t make me come.”
She heard him grunt before taking a bite of her inner thigh making her gasp, and dirty pleasure spread over her.
“I want you to taste what I am tasting.” He sucked in the moisture from her folds before standing up.
He planted a gentle kiss on her lips before gathering her into his arms like she weigh
ed nothing. She ran her thumb over the cleft on his chin smiling at the memory of his chin buried in her darkest spot a few moments ago.
She leaned closer to take a bite of his cheek just like she had in the picture.
“I saw the selfie I took with me trying to eat you.” She teased looking into his piercing eyes and saw them gleam. His lips found hers with unnerving hunger making her wiggle to the core as he kissed her hard. Her lips went sore from the pressure, but she didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to dent and bruise every inch of her body to feel the exquisite pain her body longed to feel.
He placed her on the large stainless steel counter and pulled back. He walked over to a large fridge, his eyes never breaking their gaze.
“Yash, come back.” It was half order, half plea.
“You want to know what my experiment is?” He pulled out a small container of what looked like a sauce. He poured it out into a smaller cup and came back to her.
She smiled, nodding as he came back to her.
“Do you have any idea how good you taste?” He ran his finger over her lower lip, and he then took his finger to dip into the sauce.
“Open up for me, sweetness,” he ordered pulling her panties and leggings all the way to her ankles. He pushed up her t-shirt exposing her belly button. He ran the sauce-coated finger around her belly button making her laugh. He poked her belly button with his tongue before making his way back to her throbbing layers that he couldn’t get enough of.
He squeezed her nipples one after the other as he licked and nipped on her clit applying pressure on the area around it with his lips. She cried out in a sheer thrill every time he bit a little harder on her folds as he worshiped her.
She clenched her stomach when she felt his tongue work up a rhythm that was agonizingly slow and sensuous. She let go of his hair worried she would rip it off his scalp and held on to his shirt. Her hips were on the very edge of the stainless steel counter as he raised her hips and she reached for her release.
She felt the tornado of pleasure lift her up and push her over the edge as an orgasm rippled through her. Her lips parted in a feral cry, and she felt his fingers shove into her mouth.
“This is how good you taste.”
She sucked his fingers like she couldn’t get enough taking in the sweetness of caramel that was spiced up with a delectable amount of heat and salt.
She shook with never-ending spasms as he lapped her release before taking a big bite of her belly button.
“Oh my God.” It was all she could say as he made his way back to find her lips.
“Breathe, baby. I don’t want you to pass out on me.”
Her breathing was labored, and all she could think of was to cling to him.
He planted feather-light kisses along her jawline as she took in deep breaths. “You are so hot right now.”
“Yash… I want you. There is no denying it anymore, but…”
“Why is there a but?”
“I want this more than anything, and we should do it right. Take me on a date before you fuck me,” she demanded, surprised she was able to speak her mind.
“Our date would have to wait until Friday,” he groaned into her neck.
“I know, and in the meantime, if you find someone who can get me out of your mind, you can take them on a date,” she said playfully running her lips on his cheek.
“Not happening.” He nipped the delicate skin on her neck making her want to rip her clothes apart and offer herself up to him, but she knew better.
If the initial attraction was going to lead to something meaningful, who was she to stop it from happening?
Chapter 16
Mantra sat at the bar later that week waiting for her sister to join her. She drove to Monterey after work and skipped working at The Red Room to meet her sister and spend Tuesday night with her.
Wednesday was her usual day of thesis documentation, and she couldn’t wait to write sitting on the beach.
She had an interesting half week with a new twist to her not-so-fun life—Yash. He was away on business in the eastern part of the United States, and the three-hour time difference made it that much more fun.
She woke up to messages from him that weren’t messages she ever received from any man she had dated in the past. They were messages that made her gasp, pull her robe closer around her body, and feel the blood rush to her epicenter.
The messages were not dirty or porny, they were twisted and fun. He was a writer, and she hadn’t expected anything less but never such obscure messages that seemed to be about random things but instantly raised the temperature.
Mantra heard her sister’s happy squeals over the music and the chatter at the crowded bar.
“Thank you… thank you for driving all the way here.”
She hugged her older sister. “My pleasure.”
“It’s been so long since we went out. I’m getting you drunk tonight.” Her sister giggled.
“Really?”
“Yes, but first I need to use your phone to text my darling husband. My phone is dead, and I’m sure he called me a hundred times wondering where I was.”
“Sure, why don’t you do that while I make a trip to the ladies’ restroom?”
“Did you order drinks?” her sister asked looking up her husband’s number on Mantra’s phone.
“Do the honors, sis.” Mantra smiled and walked down the narrow hallway to the ladies’ restroom. She smiled thinking about how she ran into Yash for the first time outside a restroom. She was convinced he was an arrogant bastard even though she felt possessive about him talking to his date that night.
She went back to the bar feeling a lot of eyes on her, but she didn’t care for that kind of attention anymore. She wanted Yash to look at her the way he did every time she saw him. He looked at her like she was the only one in the room as he did the first time like she was the only one to satiate his hunger.
Mantra smiled to herself feeling the warmth and the throbbing between the legs. She couldn’t wait for him to be back.
“Did you order our drinks?”
“Who is this guy?” Mantra was shocked to see her sister looking at Yash’s very heated messages.
“Sloka, you were supposed to make a phone call, not spy on me.” She dragged her phone from her sister’s hand.
“Rajeev didn’t answer, and he doesn’t take voicemails, so I had to text him… who is this guy… Hot Rod?”
Mantra bit down her laugh in reaction to the way her sister said Yash’s contact name on her phone. “Nobody.”
“What are those messages? I thought I was going to faint reading them, and I am friggin thirty-two.”
“Stop, Sloka.” Mantra was trying hard not to blush at the memory of the few very explicit but discrete messages he had sent her.”
“What was that last one supposed to mean? You can never have too many, but you owe me one.”
Mantra couldn’t help but turn crimson.
“Oh my gosh… is he talking about…” Her sister’s voice trailed off when Mantra nodded indicating Yash had meant orgasms.
“Who is this guy? One of your classmates?”
Mantra shook her head unable to talk out of embarrassment.
“Is he French?”
Mantra shook her head and knew why her sister thought the man behind the text was French. One of Yash’s earlier messages was ‘I will whisper French in your ear to make the burn start deep inside, and I have the exact sweetness to put out the fire.’
“Is he some kind of pervert who is into sexting?” Her sister sounded worried.
“Sloka, he is a nice guy. I thought he was an asshole when I met him, but…”
“You like him… I should have guessed from the way you were blushing,” her sister stated confidently.
“I haven’t been on a single date with him so please don’t jump to conclusions.”
“Right… haven’t been on a date, but he is calling you the warrior princess and wants to be the icing on your cake.�
��
“Shut up, Sloka.”
Her sister laughed at Mantra’s annoyance. “Promise to tell me everything about this guy, and I won’t discuss the texts anymore.”
“Fine.”
Mantra ordered drinks, and they settled down in a corner of the busy bar away from the speakers.
“Let’s talk about you and Rajeev.” Mantra jumped right to the point and saw the surprise in her sister’s eyes.
“I don’t know what else to tell you about him. I’ve told you everything, and nothing changed since we last spoke.”
“Don’t hate me for asking this question, but do you think he is cheating on you?”
“He is not. I know that for a fact because I hired a private investigator to find out if that was the reason,” Sloka sounded guilty.
“Does it have anything to do with you not being home?”
“He is not home either,” her sister whined like a little girl.
“Sloka, my point is… are you guys home or spend time together every day?”
“When he is not traveling, and I am not on call.”
“You don’t need a professional to see the issue—you guys are not together. Here you are drinking with me while he is probably working or at home sleeping.”
“Well, then why does he have people crash our dates since we had talked about staying up all night and…”
Mantra didn’t let her sister finish. “Sloka, one condition if I am going to discuss your… err… love life. I want you to spare me the details. I don’t want any of it.”
“Okay, I’ll say bake instead of you know…”
Mantra rolled her eyes. “Fine and going back to that one instance, it could have been for many reasons.”
“His friend and his wife being in town was no reason to do that to me. He could have met them later.”
“Sloka, Rajeev is a good man. You know he is the sweetest guy ever, and if he chose to meet his friend that night, it should not have been a big deal.”
“That’s not my only problem, and it never would be if we were actively… baking.”