by MV Kasi
"Our past will always remain between us Mahi, but I have gotten over it. Your past does not matter to me as long as you promise to be with only me, until whatever this is between us has run its course, and we both decide to end it."
Before she lost her courage she answered him. "Okay. Let's do this. Let's get this out of our systems for well and good, and for however long it takes. I'll stay with you in San Francisco for three weeks."
Then pulling his face closer, she bit his jaw and licked his chin dimple. "Now...where were we? Oh yes...we were about to seal the deal on this wall. Now hurry up," she whispered to him, running her hands inside his shorts and grabbing his butt to pull him closer.
Samrat leaned his forehead on the wall next to her head and groaned out, "Oh god," as though tortured.
Then all of a sudden, he dropped her legs from around his waist to step away from her.
She was confused.
He was looking at her in pain. "I can't do this now, until you are sure."
"What? I just told you. I'm sure—"
He shook his head. "No. I want you to think about it and give me your final decision by tomorrow. But be very sure, because once you accept it and we are together, there is no turning back from it. We are neighbors who have a history with each other and you work for me. We are talking about having an affair in India with no public commitments. It is very different here," he warned.
She looked a little uncertain. "Okay. I know that. I'll think about it. But for now, why can't we just finish—"
"Send me a message tonight or before tomorrow morning if you have accepted my offer."
"Fine I will. But you don't have to go now. Let's just—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Samrat grimaced in pain and quickly turned away from her. Opening the door, he walked out hurriedly in the rain and disappeared into his house.
She stood staring, feeling like an idiot who was still extremely aroused and left unsatisfied. At that instant she wanted to drag him back from his house to both choke him to death and also to kiss him senseless.
She shut the door and slowly walked towards her bedroom to lie down quietly. Once she felt her senses restore to a reasonable level, she sat up to think about what Samrat was proposing.
He wanted a fling.
It didn't feel cheap or tawdry to her at all, and she felt it was long overdue. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what they wanted to do. It was between two available consenting adults who wanted the same thing. But like Samrat had warned, whether or not they can pull something like that in India with the current society's mentality, she didn't know. All she knew with absolute certainty was that she wanted him and craved him above anyone else.
*****
That evening, Mahi had a conference call with her friends. She told them about what Samrat had proposed.
"Mahi, are you absolutely comfortable with that arrangement?" Smitha asked in a very matter of fact tone.
"Oh yeah. I want him badly. And this arrangement is perfect because there will be no promises or messy emotional attachments or anyone's heart breaking. I really want to do this. But—"
"But what?" Jhanvi demanded.
Mahi exhaled a loud sigh. "One other issue I forgot to mention among my long list of issues. My body issue. Everything is chunkier than it used to be. I don't have a super toned body. And then there are my stretch marks, cellulite, bulges... Yikes. I can't take the disappointment in Samrat's eyes when he sees me naked for the first time. Or should I say...if I ever let him see me naked."
There was a pause and then, "Mahi, you are over thinking this. Men are not that picky when it comes to naked women. Especially Indian men," said Jhanvi.
Everyone on the call giggled and chimed in a "True."
"Well…if the choice is between feeling conscious of my body and not sleeping with Samrat... or taking a chance and showing him my imperfect body. Then I want to take the chance and be with him."
Everyone on the phone cheered loudly.
“Pack a lot of condoms and practice safe sex,” suggested Smitha.
“I don’t know why, but I'm finding the whole thing so dreamy and romantic. You and Samrat finally together after eighteen years of mating dance,” giggled Parvathi.
Mahi shook her head at Parvathi's thoughts. Parvathi had always been so romantic and found no bad in anyone or anything. She was labeled the only hot but good girl in their gang during their college days.
“Bang his brains out Mahi. Make us proud,” said Ashwini in her typical bold manner.
“Oh I will. I definitely will,” promised Mahi.
Later that night she sent a text to Samrat.
Mahi: I'll stay with you in SF.
A minute later, she received a reply.
Samrat: Good. I will pick you up at seven in the morning from your house. We will talk terms and conditions of our deal on our way to the airport.
Mahi rolled her eyes with a grin and shook her head at Samrat's choice of words. They made him seem like a very controlled, boring, and a rule following type of person.
Good thing I sampled him a little beforehand and liked what I saw.
She couldn't wait for them to come together finally!
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Dear reader, a heartfelt THANK YOU for reading my book. Hope you enjoyed Mahi's and Samrat's story so far. I definitely enjoyed writing it quite a bit. :)
THAT SAME OLD LOVE is mostly about romance and friendships. However, I would like to call out on the other issues it also touches upon, especially the social issues such as girl child preference, society's ideal wife/mother expectations, verbal abuse in marriage, grief and bereavement, etc. Hopefully, I was able to convey the importance and role they play in shaping a person's character, in a more consumable way, without being too preachy or oppressive.
Mahi's journey is not yet over. It is a long, but heartwarming, sexy, fun ride. I have included the preview of THOSE SAME OLD DESIRES for a brief sample on what is to come. :)
Please Rate and Review:
Amazon Link to THAT SAME OLD LOVE: smarturl.it/thatsameoldlove
Goodreads Link to THAT SAME OLD LOVE: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34879033-that-same-old-love
Preview of Book Two – THOSE SAME OLD DESIRES
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/thosesameolddesires
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34350479-those-same-old-desires
CHAPTER ONE
Mahi woke up at six in the morning. The D-day was here and her stomach fluttered in anticipation.
Luckily, she could distract herself. Since she wasn't the most prepared person in the world and she had always put off packing until the last minute.
She threw in her clothes and toiletries hurriedly into her bag along with her shoes and cosmetics.
After she finished packing, she took a quick shower and got ready. It was close to six fifty and almost time for him to arrive.
At the thought of him, again her stomach fluttered anxiously in anticipation.
Just as she got out all her bags along with the work laptop waiting near the main door, the doorbell rang at sharp seven.
Taking several deep breaths, she tried to calm herself.
"Right on dot. Seriously, why can't you be a little unpredictable? Shake it up once in a while. Try it," she muttered while opening the door and then was surprised to see Samrat dressed in his formal work clothes.
He looked mighty fine in them. His six foot three inches body with broad shoulders filled his dark suit. She knew he maintained his body in a meticulously way, not to get attention, but simply because he was so disciplined.
His black hair was clipped short with only slightly longer hair at the front which was again styled in a deliberately messy way. Her fingers itched, wanting to run them through his hair.
He also had slight stubble, as though he didn't find time to shave that morning.
She was finding it physically exhausting to not look at him. She wanted to drag him inside and attack h
im and at the same time beg him to take her right there.
Soon, whispered her rational mind soothingly, bringing her back from her dirty thoughts.
"Am I underdressed?" she asked, looking at her jeans and comfortable T-shirt.
Samrat was looking at her with hooded eyes. "I can be unpredictable where it matters," he said huskily and then, "You are dressed fine. Let's go. I don't want to keep anyone waiting."
He grabbed her bags to load them into his SUV.
Mahi was intrigued by his unpredictable comment. She felt slightly hot and bothered, recalling their last two encounters. And as the saying goes, still waters run deep. Under that calm and controlled persona, he was definitely hiding an unpredictable bad boy.
She sat next to him in restless anticipation while he aptly played some soothing classical music on the car stereo.
After a few minutes of silence when she finally began to relax, Samrat broke the silence.
"Mahi, I want you to be comfortable with whatever I'm proposing. If you are not, then feel free to interrupt me anytime, and I also want to let you know that you can back out anytime. Alright?"
He kept his eyes on the road.
She frowned a little. "What are you going to propose that I won't be comfortable about Samrat? I hope you are not into some sort of extreme pain and degradation kinky crap, because I'm definitely not into it. As I told you before, I have a low threshold of pain. But don't worry, I'll definitely make it up to you with other kinky stuff."
He had a small smile on his face while he listened to her. "No. I didn't mean that. I don't enjoy extreme pain either; I prefer pleasure instead, and would enjoy giving out pleasure too." And then he paused for a second. "But sometimes, a little pain can cause extreme pleasure too," he said in his slow deep voice, causing her to shiver a little. "I meant that while we have the deal in place, I want you to be available to me exclusively."
"Yes. You mentioned that before and I agreed to it," she said.
He looked at her for a brief intense second and then turned back to the road, drumming his fingers to a song playing softly in the background.
"By exclusive, I also meant that we would be with each other even outside sex. We would be on friendly terms, and share other parts of our life for the three weeks duration or more as any other normal couple," he said in a matter of fact tone.
Mahi was a little stunned by his conditions. "Okay. So you are proposing something like friends with benefits kind of relationship, then. Are you sure you don't just want a fling?"
At the word 'fling', his fingers paused for a couple of seconds and then resumed with the drumming. "What I'm saying is that I don't want a purely sexual relationship. We are adults who respect each other and have some things in common. Even if it wouldn't be of a long duration, I prefer to have a normal relationship with you to be able to share some aspects of our life."
"A normal relationship," Mahi repeated slowly as though he asked her to be in a polyamorous relationship. "Okay...sounds…uh…okay to me," she said hesitantly.
He turned again to watch her face for a couple of seconds before turning back to the road. "Another important thing is that either of us can end our relationship whenever we want. And without any strings attached or any hard feelings."
At that statement, all of Mahi doubts vanished.
"That won't be an issue from my side. I'm not going to demand anything once we end our deal. What else?" she asked feeling much better.
He proceeded to negotiate the terms of their time together pretty openly in the most controlled and sexy manner. Some of them were a little vague and he claimed to leave them to her imagination, and her imagination was running pretty wild and graphic in her head. Then, in his low pitched rumbling voice, he began to provide some details about what he wanted to do to her, and also some of the things he expected in return. It was enough to raise her temperature to a fever pitch.
"Holy hell Samrat, stop! Yes! I don't object to any of those things. In fact I would object, if you leave out any of those things during our three weeks together," she said, increasing the cooling of the car air conditioning, and then directing the cool air towards her.
He smiled. "Good. Then I think we can start our deal the moment we land in San Francisco."
"Actually, about that...can we start it a little later in the night? I was invited for dinner at my brother's house tonight." She paused while she thought of something. "And also since we will technically be in a sort of relationship, you should join me as my friend. You already know and met most of my family."
Samrat frowned slightly, but said, "Okay."
Then he made a call to one of his executives, stating that he will be taking the commercial flight that morning and to have someone else replace him.
After he hung up the call, he said, "I'm dressed formally because I thought I would be working on the company jet, just in case you had second thoughts after hearing my terms and conditions."
"Hmm...Okay, but why can't I join you on the company jet?" she asked him curiously.
"Sorry, I don't allow family or friends to use it. Only employees at a higher executive level can. We always make sure that the seating capacity is filled to the maximum, saving us money, even if it is still a lot of carbon footprint. But the jet's schedule is more...predictable, and it has conference rooms and other provisions that the commercial flights don't usually offer."
Mahi smiled at the word predictable, but nodded in understanding.
Soon they reached the airport. Samrat purchased his tickets and made necessary changes to Mahi's to be able to sit next to each other.
End of Preview
ABOUT AUTHOR
By day, MV Kasi works for a software company. By night, she gives in to her fascination to explore the human psychology and the various facets of life in her writing. She has particular fascination with successful people who are not considered 'normal' by society's standards.
Her love for reading has led her to start writing on her own. She likes to add depth to her characters and explore their psychological motivations. Due to the nature of topics and plots, she does not shy away from writing about sexuality or violence. Despite covering some heavy topics, she likes to infuse humor into her writing.
Important Note: If you have purchased a copy of THAT SAME OLD LOVE and do not have Kindle Unlimited, please provide an honest review to WIN a FREE copy of any ONE of my other titles available on Amazon. All you have to do is write a review on smarturl.it/thatsameoldlove and send me the link of the review to my email at [email protected]. Thank you!
MV Kasi
Email: [email protected]
Author Page URL: www.amazon.com/author/mvkasi
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/mvkasi
Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/mvkasi
Twitter: author_mvkasi
MV KASI Book Links
That Same Old Love (Match Made In Hell Series #1)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/thatsameoldlove
Those Same Old Desires (Match Made In Hell Series #2)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/thosesameolddesires
The Holiday Affair (Match Made In Hell Series Book#3) (STANDALONE)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/theholidayaffair
Soulless (Revenge or Love?) (The Revenge Games#1)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/soulless
Ruthless (Revenge or Love?) (The Revenge Games#2)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/ruthlessrevengegames
THE HOLIDAY AFFAIR - SAMPLE
A STANDALONE novel based on THAT SAME OLD LOVE.
DESCRIPTION:
Rana Bugati is a movie star who is famous for his perfect villainous roles. Handsome and cocky, he is used to winning the most beautiful women with just a smile. But when one overzealous fan with a powerful father threatens his safety, his parents want him to settle down rather quickly. He's definitely not happy being pushed towards an arranged match, and he is more than outraged that it is with a woman who ha
d kicked his ass several times during their childhood.
Srishti Shah is driven and ambitious. She refuses to let anything or anyone distract her from the path to success. But when her fiancé of seven years dumps her for not being 'there' in their relationship, her confidence as a woman is shaken. She wondered if a woman could have both, a demanding career, and a great relationship. Her family told her she could. And they went about it by trying to fix her up with her childhood nemesis, who for some reason they think is perfect for her.
Sparks fly when the former enemies are brought together by their eager parents. But when one unexpected kiss leads to a sizzling encounter, Rana proposes a deal. To explore their chemistry some more, until they could get their parents off their backs. But it doesn't take long for Rana to realize that pretending to be a couple isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Srishti that they are perfect together.
CHAPTER 1
Rana rushed inside his parents' house with worry churning in his stomach.
The first person he saw was his mother. And soon his worry turned into relief, and then anger.
"Hello, Ma," he called out to her.
His mother who was supposedly too sick to even talk, was sitting in his childhood home, sipping tea with his father and cousin.
As soon as she saw him, an expression of guilt formed on her face.
"Rana, welcome back home. I haven't seen you for a while," she said softly with a smile.
"I visited you, just a week ago, Ma. What's going on? I had to cut short my trip because I got a call informing me you were sick," he said in an accusing tone.
Rana's father jumped in right away and answered on behalf of his wife."Well, she is sick. Sick of you and your reputation. We all are!"