Leo's Desire (Written in the Stars Book 2)

by Sundari Venkatraman

  “What happens at the end of three weeks? I mean, what kind of a result do you promise?” Shaan smiled right back at Dr. Raheja, making Chaahat clench both, her teeth and her fists. He was definitely going to die at her hands, and soon.

  “The guest will definitely lose weight, though I can’t really predict how much. It depends on the state of the person’s health, age, any habits they have and how much they are willing to work along with us. Oh, by the way, we would rather the guest comes here voluntarily. That’s really very important. It’s next to impossible to work on someone who’s reluctant to undergo treatment.”

  Chaahat got up with a jerk, her scowl replaced by a wide smile. “There you are, Shaan. Let’s go. This place isn’t for me.”

  Shaan turned his head towards her to give her a piercing look. Now, why the hell had she imagined that his eyes were the colour of molten honey? They looked like burning flames just now as they commanded her to sit down.

  Chaahat tilted her head defiantly, refusing to oblige.

  “Will you please sit down, Chaahat? Let’s at least find out all the details since we have come all the way to do just that.” Though his voice was soft, Chaahat knew it was still an order.

  Her stormy grey eyes promised retribution as Chaahat decided to oblige him this one time, only because he had said, ‘please’. She wouldn’t have listened to him otherwise. She ignored the amused look on Dr. Raheja’s face.

  Shaan continued with his questions. “What about substance abuse, doctor? If this person is an alcoholic or chain smoker for instance?”

  “You must call me Sindhu. Doctor sounds so formal.” The doctor smiled again, making Chaahat grit her teeth all the harder. Maybe she would join one of the programmes at the retreat only to bring the doctor down a peg or two. Flirt! She was probably married with a couple of children. She definitely must be ten-fifteen years older than Shaan. Shameless bitch!

  “As for substance abuse, as I mentioned earlier, there must be a willingness from the guest to be cured of it. I wouldn’t advice anyone to do it only to please one’s parent or other members of the family. If they aren’t willing, chances are high that the guest might just slide back into the habit once they get back to their regular life. But if they are willing, then they can definitely be cured in three weeks. It’s all about the right kind of diet, treatments and yoga amidst nature, to cure anyone of anything that’s ailing them. As you can see, we have the Mulshi Lake on one side with the Sahyadri Hills on the other three sides. Plants and trees are in abundance while pollution is next to nil. In fact, we grow most of the herbs and vegetables on the premises. I don’t think I need to even mention that they are grown organically. We give our guests the best. If they participate with hundred per cent enthusiasm, then they can really work wonders.”

  They talked some more, as Shaan had questions about a regular day at the resort and the kind of treatments offered for someone trying to lose weight and give up smoking. Chaahat tapped her foot impatiently, beyond caring now. Well, she hadn’t asked to be brought here.

  They had lunch there, just so that Shaan could check out the fare. Dr. Raheja—Chaahat refused to think of her as Sindhu even though Shaan had begun to address the doctor by her first name—explained why the meal began with a dessert and ended with a glass of thin buttermilk.

  Meh!

  Chaahat was not at all impressed by all that talk. The food was vegetarian. How awful! Who would live on a vegetarian diet for all of three weeks?! Either Shaan was stark, raving mad or he believed that Chaahat was. She shifted the food around in her plate, eating just a couple of spoonsful, her appetite non-existent.

  Chaahat put her foot down when Shaan asked to see the herb garden. “Come on yaar, this is getting too much. I’m too tired.” She had decided to play on his sympathy, pretending not to have recovered from her recent bout of illness.

  “Are you? I’m so sorry, Chaahat. Let’s go.” Shaan threw a gentle arm around her waist, holding her close to his body.

  Sindhu Raheja caught the adoring look on his face and realised that her smiles had all been wasted on the man. He was obviously smitten with the sickly young woman who had accompanied him. Sindhu could see for a fact that Chaahat would never step anywhere near the retreat if she had her way.

  Refusing to be cowed down by her observations, Sindhu made another attempt to get Shaan’s attention back on herself. “Why don’t you come over for a three-day treatment, Shaan? I’m sure you’ll love it. You obviously appreciate alternate healing. I promise that you’ll leave here completely rejuvenated.”

  “My head!” Chaahat put a hand to her temple as she pretended to a non-existent weakness, giving the doctor a sly look from the corner of her eyes when Shaan picked her up bodily to carry her over to the car. Chaahat smirked even as the doctor grimaced when Shaan gave the latter a hasty wave of his hand, his concentration fully on the woman in his arms.

  Chaahat 1; Doctor 0.

  Chaahat threw both her arms around Shaan’s neck and held on tightly, excited to be manhandled for a change. If Shaan was surprised by her docile behaviour, he put it down to her recent recovery.

  Placing her gently in the passenger seat, Shaan pulled the seat belt and buckled it up. “Are you okay?” He placed a hand on her forehead to check for temperature. “You ate almost nothing.”

  “I didn’t like the food.” Her voice was firm now. “Kiss me, Shaan.” Chaahat noticed through the rear-view mirror that Dr. Raheja was still standing where they had left her, staring at them, a frown marring her flawless features.

  Shaan stared at Chaahat, his face on a level with hers, his eyes studying her pouting lips. He didn’t need a second invitation as he placed a hand at the back of her neck to pull her face closer to his, pressing his lips to hers. He traced the shape of her mouth with his damp tongue, relishing the taste before seeking entry. With a sigh, he gathered her thin body close to his with his right arm, kissing her hard, their tongues in a wild tangle as each one fought for supremacy. It was a while before they came up for air, Chaahat giving him a broad grin and a wink.

  “I wonder what you are up to, you little devil!” Shaan saw Chaahat looking into the mirror as she laughed and turned his head right to see Sindhu walking away to her office. “So that’s your game.”

  Her gurgle was arrested midway when Shaan kissed her once again, his teeth nipping her lower lip, as if in punishment. Chaahat didn’t really care as she unsnapped the seat belt to press her body closer to his, purring like a satisfied cat as the sensitised tips of her breasts came in contact with his iron hard chest. This time round, the kiss was not to impress the doctor, but for herself. No, Chaahat didn’t intend to let Shaan know that. Nor was she going to tell him that he was a damn good kisser, in fact the best she had known.

  7

  Chaahat couldn’t sleep that night. There were two reasons for that. One, she hadn’t eaten anything, as usual, and her stomach was grumbling furiously, refusing to let her be at peace. The second was Shaan. While she had pretended to ignore the chat between Shaan and Sindhu, Chaahat had had her ears fully open, listening to what they had to say. She didn’t like Shaan’s highhanded nature. But that still didn’t stop Chaahat from admitting—only to herself—that he had caught the crux of her issues. That had been obvious in the questions he had asked the doctor at the health resort.

  But who the hell was he to interfere in her life?

  That’s what miffed Chaahat. She had come down to Dev’s farm to escape her parents’ nagging, only to be pushed into a corner by Shaan’s constant advice. She wasn’t to know that the Leo man was a know-it-all and would always insist on imparting advice. That she agreed with him, deep down, only made Chaahat angrier with the man. Why couldn’t he mind his own business?

  And then there were his kisses. He drove her wild with his lips and tongue while the thoughts just seemed to leak out of her mind, leaving it a complete blank whenever he kissed her. Chaahat was an Aries through and through. She wasn’t ready to admit
even to herself that she was the one who had instigated the kisses half the time. Only, she was clear that she did not like being controlled by anyone. And that’s what Shaan seemed to do to her. She felt mesmerised by his charm and his physical proximity. No way was she going to let anyone wield that kind of power over her.

  She walked down the veranda that wrapped around the first floor of Dev’s farm house, once, twice and now the third time. But she still had no solution to the issues that faced her. Chaahat was determined to become a fashion model, come hell or highwater. And for that, she needed to get into the right shape. But according to Shaan, it wasn’t enough to just be slim. She needed to have a lot of stamina and energy too. Damn him! Why the hell did he have to be right, all the time?

  But no way was she going to listen to his advice and go to that health resort. First of all, Chaahat just wasn’t the type to cow down to someone’s wishes. Secondly, she hated Sindhu Raheja passionately. No, she wasn’t going to explore the reason for that. Chaahat suddenly grinned to herself when she recalled the other woman’s miffed expression when she saw the way Shaan had kissed Chaahat. Served her right, the flirt.

  But where did that leave Chaahat? She was confident of losing the last three excess kilos from her body. But what really bothered her was the way she had blacked out the other day. Shaan insisted that she was starving herself to death. But how else could she lose the stubborn weight that refused to go?

  Round and round Chaahat walked on the veranda, frustrated to the core of her being, her temper rising by the minute. She needed a punching bag. And who better than Shaan?

  Chaahat quickly went down the staircase and let herself out of the house. What if it was two in the morning? She walked down the paved road to reach Shaan’s cottage fifteen minutes later. She knocked a couple of times, not wanting to ring the calling bell in the middle of the night. Oh yeah, she wasn’t totally inconsiderate. But when there was no response for all of two minutes, she rang the bell. No, she wasn’t going away. And she didn’t give a damn that she might be disturbing his sleep. It only served him right. Wasn’t he the reason for her own sleeplessness?

  Just as she lifted her hand to ring the bell a second time, the door was yanked open from the inside as Shaan growled, “Who the hell…you! I should have known.” He gave an exaggerated sigh before stepping back to let her in. “What happened now?”

  She didn’t answer, not having heard his question, thoroughly distracted by the man in front of her, clad only in a pair of boxers that had obviously been hastily pulled on, hanging low on his manly hips. With an effort, Chaahat shut her wide-open mouth, just managing to stop the drool from dripping to the floor. Shaan had a perfectly proportioned body. He was even taller than Dev’s six feet. His leonine head with dark, silky hair, was screwed tightly on muscular shoulders that sloped down to strong biceps and large hands. And his chest! Whoa! Silky whorls of springy hair—not too much of it—was spread over his broad chest that tapered to a lean waist that gave him a perfect V-shaped body.

  Her eyes noted his washboard abs and slid down to his boxers that fitted firmly over his loins, falling down to the top of his muscular thighs. She paused for a second to notice his manhood spring up in response to her lascivious gaze before lifting her eyes to meet his golden ones.

  An arrogant brow touching his tousled hair, Shaan asked, “Had your fill?” His honey brown eyes studied her right back, equally intensely.

  She shook her head, taking the few steps that brought her close to him as she slid her arms around his bare waist. “Of course not; not yet.” She looked up at his face, an evil grin on her own. “Why don’t you fill me up?”

  Shaan placed both his hands on her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers, unable to wield any kind of control over his hardening shaft. In fact, he had been in a constant state of arousal from the moment he had set eyes on her, smoking under the tree. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman. What are you doing here at 2 am? Do you want Dev to chuck me out of my job?”

  “Is that how you respond to a woman who throws herself into your arms?” Chaahat pouted at him charmingly, her grey eyes glowing with need. She had to have him or she might just go up in the flames of unfulfilled desire. And she could make out that he also wanted her as much, if not more. “I’m an adult. I don’t need anyone’s permission to make love to someone.” She stretched up to press her lips to his rough cheek, gently nibbling his jawline. “And well, it isn’t as if this’ll be my first time.” Her mouth traced a path to his chin before taking a bite of his sensual lower lip, making him groan in response.

  Unable to resist any more, Shaan gathered her up in his arms, returning her kiss with equal enthusiasm. Oh, she tasted so good! He rubbed his tongue against hers, making her moan in delight as she reached out to press closer to his aroused body.

  “Make love to me, Shaan,” Chaahat almost begged him when they next came up for air.

  Without saying another word, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. What did it matter if Dev did fire him? It wasn’t as if his life depended on this job.

  But all thoughts flew out of his mind the next second when he felt Chaahat’s tongue draw a wet line around his flat male nipple before she sucked on it. With a loud groan, he fell on the bed with her body on top of his. He pushed her sweater up and caressed her bare waist with one rough hand while the other travelled south to squeeze her small bottom, even as he pushed her lower body closer to his aroused manhood.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” Shaan complained, pushing her away and stripping her off her sweater.

  Chaahat giggled even as she helped him by pulling down her flannel pyjamas. Off went her sweater and the t-shirt beneath it before Shaan pushed her on her back to gaze at her naked body with his honey gold eyes. She wore neither a bra nor panties and looked beautiful under his hungry gaze, despite being painfully thin.

  “Chaahat…” Shaan pressed his lips to hers even as his hands reached out to cup her lush breasts, squeezing them gently at first and then hard as he heard the encouraging mewls emanating from her throat.

  “Yes!” she groaned when she felt his lips and tongue and teeth at her base of her neck, creating havoc with the pulse there. She held his head in her hands, kneading his scalp, even as she revelled in the silkiness of his hair sliding through her fingers.

  He threw a muscular leg over her thrashing ones as he kissed his way down her shoulders before taking small nips of the plump flesh of her breasts, soothing her clamouring skin alternately with his damp and rough tongue.

  She had had a couple of brief affairs. But neither men came even close to what Shaan was making her feel. The tips of her breasts were turgid and aching by now, even as his lips skirted around them, coming close enough, but never touching them. She was moaning with need by now, the bites that he was taking off her arousing her to fever pitch.

  “Shaan…” Chaahat held on to his head tightly, doing her best to direct his mouth to her swollen nipples, but he insisted on taking his own sweet time as he worked his tongue in circles around the shape of the mounds. This was sheer torture, she thought, only to have the thought sucked right out of her brain when she felt his hand cup her vagina. “Shaan…” Chaahat moaned delightedly, almost jumping off the bed as she pressed herself into his hand.

  And that’s exactly when his mouth closed over the peak of her left breast, driving Chaahat completely out of her mind and into his keeping. First it was only the tip as he rubbed his tongue roughly over it. Chaahat lost control when he widened his mouth to take more of her plump flesh within before suckling hard, her nails raking wildly over his bare back, driving him equally crazy.

  She was almost sobbing by the time Shaan scraped a rough cheek over the wet nipple before clamping his mouth to her right teat. In the meanwhile, a second finger had joined the first one that was working on her lower body as he caressed the wet folds of her feminine core.

  “I want you inside me, now.” Her voice was hoa
rse with longing while her eyes were wild as they looked up into his flushed face. “Now, Shaan.” She protested loudly when he moved away from her for a couple of seconds. “Shaan!”

  “In a second, babe. Just getting some protection on.” He returned to her eager arms before lifting her left leg to wrap it around his waist.

  Not needing any further encouragement, Chaahat lifted her other leg to lock her ankles around his waist and moaned long and hard when he plunged his thick shaft into her eagerly waiting feminine core.

  That felt so good! Shaan buried his face against her neck, giving her a few seconds to accept his invasion into her body before he felt her move restlessly under him. Bracing himself on his elbows on both sides of her, Shaan kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, even as he pounded into her rhythmically.

  Chaahat perceived the pull in her womb as she felt him deep within her body. Oh, but this was great sex, the kind she had only read of. She held on to his back for dear life as he rode her, meeting him thrust for thrust as their bodies became sleek with sweat despite the extremely chilly weather of November in the Sahyadris.

  And then she came, and how! It was as if the earth had shattered and she had been thrown into orbit. The only solid thing to hang on to were Shaan’s muscular shoulders.

  He followed right behind before he fell against her slight body, his face burrowed in her neck. “That was just effing fantastic!” Shaan didn’t know where he got the strength to utter those words, but felt compelled to tell her that. It was simply mind-blowing sex, the kind that he had never experienced before.

  Chaahat rubbed a hand against her own face in wonder and was surprised when it came away wet with tears. But then, she shouldn’t really be. It had been amazing, the chemistry between them. She reached up to kiss his shoulder. “I know what I should swear the next time I get angry with you.” There was laughter in her voice as she pressed her lips to his ear. “I’ll just say ‘screw me’.”