The Holiday Affair: A Match Made In Hell Novel

by KASI, MV

  Even though, the glass of the shower cubicle was covered with the steam, she couldn't help but stare at the tall, broad, muscled form standing under multiple jets of water with his back facing her.

  He was naked.

  Obviously he would be, considering he was showering.

  Her mind kept repeating that fact and asking her to get out, but she felt hypnotized and intrigued.

  Like a naughty girl at the sight of her first naked man—which was quite close to the reality—she couldn't help, but gawk at the water and soap sluicing over his ropey muscles that moved on his back.

  He was tanned evenly which intrigued her even more. Because that meant he must have been naked under the sun somewhere to not have any tan lines near the underwear area. And speaking of underwear, she couldn't get her eyes off of him. He had a grab worthy butt on his narrow hips.

  She wondered inanely whether women drooled over men's butt. Because his butt made her drool, making her want to touch it.

  Her breath almost stopped when he bent down to rub soap on his legs, offering a view of his rather well-hung—

  She gasped out loud.

  At the sound, he whipped around suddenly and their eyes met through the glass.

  She was sure she had a deer in front of headlights look while he glared at her with an ominous, pissed look.

  When she didn't move from the spot and kept staring at him, he opened the glass door of the shower cubicle and glared at her further.

  "Well?" he demanded.

  At his pissed growl, her brain began to work again. Only a little, since she was unable to form a coherent sentence or an explanation.

  "I...uh...I wanted to see...I never saw...I mean I did, but always in the dark...never like this..." her voice drifted off at his furious expression.

  "Get out," he ordered.

  Not waiting to be told again, she fled outside the bathroom as heat infused her cheeks.

  What in the everlasting hell was she doing?

  After the last scene, she couldn't bear to face him. She ran downstairs and then out of the house.

  It was quite dark with only moonlight falling over the dense trees and foliage around. She kept on walking and walking, muttering crap, crap, over and over again. She covered her warm cheeks with her palms trying to cool them down. But it was of no use.

  The naked images of the man were imprinted into her head. And more that his pissed off look both embarrassed and aroused her. How messed up was that?

  How could she be so curious? It wasn't like she was a virgin or anything. When she and Gaurav were twenty one and had gotten engaged, she had coerced him to make love to her. Like everything in life, she had been very curious to know what the whole fuss was about.

  And when they finally had sex, it was embarrassing and painful, where Gaurav had spent most of the night apologizing to her. During the seven years of them being together, they had been intimate a few more times with the last time being...crap...almost a year ago. No wonder Gaurav called her cold and selfish!

  Ok, so she wasn't a sex goddess or anything. But she had tried to please him since it was a way for them to express their love towards each other. But apparently her effort wasn't enough. That is if she were to believe what Gaurav's new fiancée announced to everyone on the video.

  Was that why she stared at that strange man like a sex starved, hormone ridden, teenager? To prove that she wasn't cold and she had the same needs as other women?

  Blanking her mind from further thoughts, she continued walking.

  After she had walked for what seemed to be forever, she slowed down, feeling breathless.

  Over the past few months, she wasn't able to exercise. Her mother and her aunt had been behind her, reminding her over and over the importance of exercising and eating healthily. But she barely had time to shower and grab some sort of breakfast before eating again during the evenings when her stomach had reminded her that she skipped a meal.

  She didn't know how far she walked, but after she began to think rationally, she began to get some courage to face the man.

  She owed the man an apology. There was no doubt about it.

  She had no right to snoop around his room and neither did she have the right to intrude his private space even if she had been curious. Heck, now that she thought about it, most of her interactions and attitude with him had been entitled and very condescending filled with prejudices.

  Tired or not, and discovery of a broken engagement or not, her parents would be ashamed of her behavior. They had always insisted that their help or other employees be treated with utmost respect and she always treated everyone fairly.

  With that thought in mind, she stopped walking, to turn back and walk towards the house.

  As she stood frowning determining the direction of the house, she felt something...slither up her night pants.

  Screaming loudly, she shook her legs vigorously, losing one of her footwear in the process. But when whatever had slithered up didn't fall away, she still felt it moving up her leg. So she quickly removed the pants and began to run away from there.

  She didn't make it very far. Her foot got tangled in some root on the ground.

  She pitched forward, while her arms shot out, trying to balance desperately.

  But it was of no use. She not only fell, but went tumbling over what seemed to be a long slope in the forest.

  She screamed as her side, along with her head, hit the dirt in a jarring way. She kept rolling, hitting every damn stone, stick and thorns along the way.

  She yelled, "Ouch! Ouch Ouch!" as the stuff poked her.

  When she finally stopped, it was when her head banged into something hard and she almost blanked out.

  Standing up slowly, she limped down to the level ground, until she could stand steadily.

  She looked around her at the darkness and at the unfamiliar terrain. Taking a deep breath, she began limping in what might be the general direction of the holiday home.

  "This is what you get, if you peep at strange men in their bathrooms," she muttered.

  Heart thudding loudly, she kept quiet when she thought she heard a rustle in the woods.

  "Sapna," a male voice called out from somewhere.

  For a moment, she was confused and then so very glad. Very, very, glad.

  Hell with the embarrassment, she wanted to cry in relief at hearing the man's voice.

  "I'm here!" she shouted back, running towards the source of the voice.

  "That's good. Are you alright?" he asked.

  "Yes. I think so. I'm only a little scratched up," she answered him back, but was frustrated when she couldn't find him or see any tall figure appear from anywhere.

  "Where are you? I can't find you," she cried out. Her feet with the missing shoe was scratched up and she felt the stings along with thorn that was lodged deep inside.

  "Don't move. Keep talking, I'll find you," his voice called out in a reassuring way.

  "Okay. I can't move much anyway. I...lost my shoe and even some of my clothes," she said, feeling stupid.

  It was quite rare for her to feel stupid. But after feeling stupid about not knowing her long-term fiancé had broken off the engagement to commit himself to another, it was not that strange a feeling right now.

  Also, she'd rather feel stupid and alive than be smug and then be bitten or attacked by some wild animals.

  When he didn't speak, she began to panic.

  "I hope you are still coming to get me. Don't leave me here by myself," she called out in a worried tone.

  "What? And leave a beautiful half-naked chick alone here, all by herself?" he asked softly from somewhere close.

  She almost slumped in relief as she saw him. And her teeth began to chatter with shock and relief. She rushed towards him. He was a complete stranger, but never had she been so glad to see another human being and wanting to feel their warm presence.

  "You are okay," he said in a soothing tone and held her as she shivered in her arms.

&nb
sp; "Here, wear this," he said, removing his shirt, he made her wear it over her flimsy night shirt.

  Soon she felt slightly warmer.

  "What happened to your other shoe?" he asked.

  "Some sort of snake or a reptile or something slid up my pants and I tried to shake it off, and then when it didn't go, I had to remove my pants and throw them away, I lost my shoe around that time, and then when I began to run, I tripped on a root, or something, rolled down and fell on my head, until I blacked out briefly, and then—" she broke off her long winded response when he ran his fingers on her temple gently, feeling her bump.

  "Hmm...you might have a concussion, I need to get you to the hospital," he said.

  "What? No. I'm fine. Just banged up a little," she said quickly. She didn't want her whole family to know about her little accident and worry about her.

  "Don't be silly. You need to get it checked. It might not feel like a big thing right now, but in some cases, people haven't woken up after their heads got banged up a little," he scolded.

  She could imagine the look on her parents' and family's faces when they find out the circumstances...

  "How would you know it's a concussion? Are you a doctor?" she asked him, trying to distract him and change the topic.

  There was silence.

  "No. I'm not a doctor. But I think it is basic knowledge," he said quietly.

  "I'll just stay up during the night, then," she said.

  He sighed audibly. "Fine. Now let's back to the place." Then he crouched slightly. "Hop on," he said.

  "What?" she asked, bewildered.

  "I saw you limp during your run towards me, and you lost your shoes. You feet must hurt. So hop on."

  He was right. Her feet hurt like hell, so she did as he asked. She wrapped her legs around his lean waist, and looped her arms around his head, and placed them on his broad chest.

  He handed her a small flashlight which she held to flash it in front of him.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  "Yeah," she said, feeling a little weird. Her body began to heat as she felt extremely aware of her bare legs being wrapped around the man's bare waist. She could feel several of his hard, ridged muscles as he began to walk.

  "How did you know I might have been lost and not just on a long walk?" she asked, wanting to break the awkward silence and trying to distract herself from the unwanted feelings of her body.

  He chuckled, making her face heat up as she found that very sexy.

  "The look on your face at being caught, spoke volumes," he said.

  "I see. I...uh...just accidentally walked into you. I didn't know you were there," she said lamely, trying to bluff her way out.

  "Ahh. So when you accidentally walk into a closed bathroom, you watch people shower?" he asked in a teasing tone.

  "It wasn't closed all the way. And I called out to you several times, but you didn't answer me. I didn't realize you were showering," she said in a defensive tone, feeling her cheeks and ears on fire.

  "Hmm. So when you saw me bare ass naked with the water and soap running over my body, you still didn't realize I was taking a shower?" he asked.

  That sight was permanently branded into her brain. It made her entire body heat up even more, and she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, making it worse.

  "Well, I was outraged that you were still in my holiday home," she said. She was intending to snap at him for putting her in a spot, but her tone was now coming off as breathless.

  "No. You decided I had to go, even though I technically have to stay here," he said.

  "But you agreed to take money for the inconvenience and find another place tonight," she argued.

  She felt ridiculous arguing with him when both of them were half naked. She also noticed that he walked with ease and grace, barely jostling her or shifting her weight on his back.

  "Only because you assumed, I'd take the money and do your bidding right away," he replied.

  At that, she felt ashamed of her behavior and got reminded of wanting to apologize to him.

  "About that, I'm really sorry for my earlier behavior Mister. ...Mister..."

  Oh crap. She still didn't know the man's name, and she had been drooling over him from the past few moments while getting a semi-naked ride on his back.

  CHAPTER 11

  Rana shook his head, wondering how he could feel both annoyance and excitement at the same time. Not just excitement, but also the feeling of being alive. Extremely alive.

  Even as he bantered with the woman, he could feel her soft curves pressing on his back as he held her long, toned, bared thighs.

  He badly wanted to see her face again. She was a contradictory female. Confident and hoity one moment, and then uncertain and curious the next.

  "What's your name?" she asked him again, bringing him out of his musings.

  "It's...Rahul," he answered, giving her his cousin's name like he did to everyone around.

  "Hmm...okay. I just wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior, Rahul. I'm usually not a peeping tom. I don't go er..hunting for naked men to watch during my spare time," she said.

  He laughed at her little joke. "I'm glad to hear that. So, what do you do in your spare time?" he asked.

  "Well, whatever time I can find, I try and spend it with my family," she said.

  "A family girl, then. Heard not many of your kind are left anymore in today's generation," he said in a teasing tone.

  "No. Not exactly..." she said sleepily as she rested her cheek on the back of his shoulder.

  "Hey, we are almost there. Don't go to sleep. Or I'll have to take you to a doctor," he warned.

  "Mmm...hmm..," she said, followed by an outraged, "Ouch!" when he smacked her nearly bare ass.

  Her body stiffened behind him.

  "You just smacked my ass," she announced haughtily.

  At her princess like tone, his body began to stir and come alive again. But this time it came alive in an inappropriate way.

  "Hmm...Considering it was my hand that just smacked your ass, I already know that fact," he pointed out with a smile.

  She removed one of her hands from around his neck to rub the sting off her butt.

  "Well, what you might not know, Rahul is that I'm neither fond of sarcasm, or guys who are smartasses. And especially guys, who smack women's asses," she informed him sternly.

  He was fully aroused at that, and had to adjust to hide the fact by lifting her legs higher from his obvious erection.

  Crap. She would think he was a pervert.

  "Well..." he drawled. "That's quite a shame. Because you have been missing a lot, if the guy in your life hasn't been a smart ass or smacking your ass the way you might actually enjoy it."

  There was a loaded silence. As though she was analyzing what he had said and was intrigued by it.

  "So? Is there?" he asked.

  "Is there, what?" she asked in a distracted tone.

  "A guy in your life, who may or may not be smacking your ass the way you like it."

  There was silence again.

  "No. I...uh...just got off a long-term relationship," she said.

  He didn't know why, but instead of offering some kind of sympathy, his body did a mental happy dance hearing that.

  She had fallen quiet again.

  He shook her slightly, until she squeaked and held on to him tightly.

  "I'm serious. Don't sleep," he ordered, reminding her of the fact that she could possibly be concussed.

  "Fine," she grumbled. "You are quite bossy, aren't you?" she asked.

  He laughed. "I'm sure it's not as much as you, princess. And besides, since I almost saved your life, according to a few old legends, I now own you. You need to listen to me and follow all my orders," he teased.

  "Hah! You didn't save my life. Well...technically you might have. I don't know if I could have made it back before some wild animal or snake got to me," she confessed.

  While she spoke, he could see the house through a small clearing. />
  A few minutes later, he let her down on her feet inside the house in front of a bathroom. He made sure it wasn't the one she fled so she wouldn't be embarassed.

  "You need to clean the scratches before they get infected."

  "Yeah. I will," she replied.

  But instead of letting her clean up on her own, he lifted her up and placed her on the stone bench inside the shower.

  "Hey!" she gasped as her almost bare bottom hit the cold stone and he knelt between her legs to inspect her feet up close.

  "Stay here. Don't move," he ordered and went out, towards his room to get his first-aid kit.

  When he returned to her, she was surprisingly, still sitting on the stone bench while holding a small hand held shower to wash the dirt off her feet with several cuts.

  "Okay, I'm back," he said, heading towards her with the kit.

  She looked up at him with her huge eyes that were slightly glazed and she was also grimacing in pain.

  "Oh, just what I need. There is a thorn stuck inside my foot that I'm unable to pull out using my non-existent nails," she said.

  He knelt down, and taking a small pair of tweezers from the kit, he raised her foot to check where the thorn was lodged.

  "It's here," she pointed. "I can pull it out myself," she said, trying to take the tweezers from his hand.

  "No. You won't be able to get it out without causing too much pain," he said, raising her injured foot up and placing it on his thigh.

  "Oh? And you can, because you are such an expert thorn remover?" she asked.

  His eyes flew to hers and he smiled slowly. "Yes. And I'm also an expert in a lot of other things," he said with a smirk while waggling his eyebrows dramatically.

  She rolled her eyes and smiled back, easing back slightly and letting him tackle the thorn.

  She must be really in pain, if she wasn't arguing with him or calling out his innuendo.

  He tried to keep his eyes on the task before him, but he couldn't help but notice her long, tanned legs below his shirt.

  "Don't move," he said, and pinched the skin on her sole slightly and pulled out the thorn in one try. Then getting some antiseptic out, he poured it over a cotton ball and rubbed it over the scrapes.