Page 60 of Fixation

He smiled as he looked around the room. His study was a work space and a relaxing space for him and his brothers. They had such a room in all their homes. He was glad to be working again now. His work was his passion, and he felt immense delight to be back in the thick of things.

But apart from being dedicated to his work, he was thoroughly committed to his recovery as well. In fact, he insisted on spending more than the scheduled time on his exercises, pushing himself beyond his limitations. He was going to getbetter and fitter than before. That was a promise he’d made to himself. He already felt great… and a lot of that had to do with her, Reina.

Their dinners were slowly becoming the highlight of his day. Seeing her, talking to her, being with her—all of it filled his heart with joy. But making love to her was a pleasure beyond his imagination and expectation. She was perfect in every way—sweet, warm, and funny. And she was getting bolder as each day passed. He still couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago, he’d made love to her on this very desk. Even thinking about that made his heart run.

He loved the banter between them, he loved her curiosity and the dozens of questions she peppered him with. He frowned. While she was getting to know him, he realised that he still didn’t know much about her.

Where was she from? Was she from London or some other city in the world? What were her hopes and dreams? The only thing she’d told him was that she was the youngest of four siblings.

Starting tonight, he’d spend time getting to know her. Well, that was after he’d made love to her first. He couldn’t believe that he wasn’t satiated despite their lovemaking earlier. He wanted more and more from her.

Even now, his body hardened, and his heartbeat accelerated, thinking of how her mouth moved under his, how she instantly melted into him, pushing closer, like even the smallest distance between them was too much. Although he respected the fact that she wanted to keep them a secret from her colleagues, he hated that he had to hide her from the world. Once he was better and no longer her patient, nothing and no one would get in the way of him claiming Reina in front of the world.

His heart stuttered.

Claiming Reina in front of the world?

He’d just jumped several steps ahead in their situation. Yes, it was a situation still because neither of them had spoken of the future. When he’d decided to pursue Reina, he’d never thought of it beyond the present, but just a few days into this with her, and he already knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t be able to let her go. There was just something about her… He exhaled. Perhaps, tonight he could talk to her about taking their situation to the next level and really dating her once he was fully recovered.

His cell phone rang. It was Mihir on video call.

“Have you seen the BBC?” Mihir asked, even before Vedant had a chance to say hello.

Vedant picked up the TV remote and clicked a button. The Police were standing outside a residential building, and some reporters were talking in the background.

He frowned. “What exactly am I looking at?”

“Read the caption scrolling on the screen,” Armaan said from beyond Mihir. They both were in their study in their Dubai home. Vedant focused on the news.

Anita Svensson, Chief Financial Analyst, Regal Bank of England, found dead in her apartment.

“What the fuck?” Vedant swore aloud. He immediately turned on the volume to hear the news reporter.

His head spun with all he heard.

Multiple stab wounds…

Head injury…

Blood everywhere…

Initial reports estimate time of death thirty-six hours earlier…

Staff at the building noticed this unidentified man exiting the complex…

The screen split into two and a grainy picture of an East European looking man was displayed on the screen.

“She’s the same woman you dated,da?” Armaan asked.

“Yeah, but why is that relevant?”

Mihir and Armaan exchanged a look.

Vedant’s heart began to race. “Guys, what the hell is going on?”

“That man on your screen is Karl Leipzig,” Armaan said. “He was the leader of the group who attacked me here in Dubai.”

“What?” Vedant looked at the TV again. “But wait, why would he kill Anita?”

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