She tried to free her hand but he only gripped it tighter. The heat of his fingers singed her skin as his thumb pressed on the pulse point in the center of her wrist. Her pulse leapt, going wild. His eyes moved from her face to her wrist and then to her face. He knew the effect he had on her, no matter how hard shedenied it, he’d always known. His gaze smoldered, she saw his irises darken in answering need to the want she felt for him and then he blinked and turned towards the road again.
He released her hand and placed his own hand back on the steering wheel. Swerving to the side of the road, he slowed the car and stopped on a side street. There was absolute silence between them, broken only by the low hum of the car engine. Sameer scraped a hand down his jaw. He shouldn’t have touched her, it had been a mistake to touch her and assume that he wouldn’t be affected by it. That she was also equally affected had been obvious, to him and to her. He turned to look at her. But she stared ahead in the distance, refusing to meet his gaze.
Raashi was speechless. This attraction between them was extremely intense and scary. And his side of the story had confused her already muddled emotions even more.
“Raashi,” she heard him call out softly.
She pretended not to hear him, hoping that he would let it go. She shut her eyes tight, unwilling to answer. But, instead he said again, louder this time, “Raashi!”
She exhaled before she faced him. “Yes.”
“You know we have to sort out all this between us. Please hear me out.”
“No, Sameer,” Raashi said, “just drop it. Frankly, I don’t care anymore. All I want is that you do not touch me again, ever.”
“I can’t do that.”
“For God’s sake, Sameer, think about Natasha, you’re with her now. You’re thinking of marrying her. How can you be so heartless to commit to her and carry on with me too at the same time?” she asked bitterly.
“I am not going to marry her,” Sameer looked straight in her eyes.
“Of course you are,” Raashi was unable to believe him.
“No, Raashi, I am not. I broke it off with her, though I am not sure that is the correct word to use, since there was nothing really going on in the first place. But the fact is that it is all over between us. For good this time.”
Raashi tried to deny the intense relief she was feeling at his words. For weeks now she had felt burdened by the unhappiness that haunted her whenever she thought of Sameer with Natasha and now suddenly she felt lighter.
She looked at him and saw the truth in his eyes.
“Why?” she asked plainly.
“Because I realized that I don’t feel a thing for her. Not even one iota of what I feel for you.”
Her jaw dropped for a second before she closed it. There were so many things she still wanted to know so she asked, “But you…Natasha and you were in a serious relationship in the past. And Natasha…wasn’t she...she was the only woman you ever loved, isn’t it?”
Damn! She was mumbling like an idiot now. His latest declaration had shaken her up.
Seeing her discomfiture, Sameer clarified, “Natasha and I were in a relationship many years ago. I was much younger then, I had different ideas in life. I thought I was in love with her and, maybe I was. She refused to marry me when I proposed to her back then and that left me emotionally scarred for a long time. This time around, I wasn’t dating her per se. You see, her father offered to add their hotel chain to mine if I married her and I was interested. It made sense business wise. Besides, I knew her and we had a history. I thought I could make it work with her. Then you waltzed back into my life and nothing was the same again. As time passed, it became clearer to me that she wasn’t right for me. She wasn’t the one I wanted. I want you. It’s always been you Raashi!”
Raashi gaped at him. She couldn’t believe they were even having this conversation.
“Sameer, I.... I really don’t know what to say. It’s just too much to handle,” Raashi said.
Nodding, Sameer shifted the car into gear and sped forward. By mutual consent they didn’t discuss anything even remotely close to personal for the rest of the drive. Sameer had already laid most of the cards on the table and he understood that she needed time to think things through.
Run. That was the only word that kept playing in Raashi’s mind. Run, as far away and as fast as she could from him. She ought to heed her own advice. But her heart was sorely tempted to give in to him. They had unfinished business, this maddening attraction, a need that had to be fulfilled. It could be so easy, especially now that she was sure he wasn’t seeing anyone. On the other hand the sane part of her told her to stay away, that she had to stop him at all cost from winning her heart again. She wouldn’t be able to survive a second betrayal from him.
A few minutes later he slowed down and brought the car to a halt in front of the villa. Silently, he walked out and stood in front of the car. Raashi joined him.
“I can just imagine this place once your restaurant and my spa are finally built. It will be magnificent,” he said.
Raashi followed him as he entered the two-story run down villa, watching him as he walked with his laptop around the place and explained his plans to her. She listened to him as he animatedly described her dream to her. He had given it a lot of thought and had deliberated on minor details that she hadn’t even considered. She asked a few questions here and there, but she could visualize it all. And he could make it come true for her. All that she had to do was come on board and sign on the dotted line.
She followed him outside as they stood at the edge of the villa. He silently shuffled through the drawings till he found the one he was looking for. Wordlessly, his eyes moved back and forth from the drawings to The Marquis and back to the land on the further end. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She wanted to hear him speak about his dream.
She touched his arm. “I want to know what you are thinking. Tell me your plans, please.”
So he told her. He handed the laptop to her, showing her the drawings open on the screen and explained the details to her. He took her around the villa again, this time describing his vision of the spa to her and how he would connect it to the Marquis once it was ready.
