Page 16 of Driven By Desire
“We’re going bra shopping.”
“You want me to buy you bras?” Bewildered, he shook his head to try and clear the confusion swimming through it. Only to have it fill with visions of Max in nothing but lacy scraps of underwear. Hell, he’d buy out Victoria Secret on his next trip abroad if she promised to model it for him.
“Krish, are you listening to me?”
Belatedly realizing she was still talking, he tuned back in to the conversation to hear her end with, “Pooja should have been wearing one months ago.”
“Pooja??” Horrified at even having to contemplate a conversation that involved his baby sister and bras, Krish sagged against his car. “What the hell are you going on about? She’s a kid.”
“She needs training bras. She should have been wearing one months ago. You get good stuff at the mall in Financial District..”
Krish’s brain short circuited. Mortification warred with helplessness. How the hell had he missed this? It had never even occurred to him but it should have. It goddamn should have. Bracing himself against the car, he fought the waves of exhaustion that swept through him.
“Max, that’s the other end of the world. This can’t wait till the weekend?”
“She’s being bullied at school. That’s what all the fights at school are about. She needs them now and you get the best ones there.”
That sealed the deal. Clenching his jaw, he threw his laptop bag back into the rear seat. “You’re coming along?”
“Only if you want me to.”
He wanted her a little too much and for a lot more than what promised to be a mortifying shopping trip. Shoving his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t fall on her like a starving man at a feast, he managed a brusque nod.
She was hurrying into the house to bring a mortally embarrassed Pooja out when he stopped her with a quiet, “Thank you, Max.”
Formal gray trousers and a plain, white shirt were the perfect foil for his dark, good looks. Add in the rock solid sense of responsibility, the heart that beat so strongly for his family and the hint of vulnerability in the otherwise shuttered gaze that looked at her and Max didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.
“I’m sorry.”
The husky apology scraped across already raw nerves and had Krish fisting his hand in his pocket to stop from reaching for her.
“I should never have said what I did that night. I was wrong.”
“So was I.”
Their eyes met and held for a long, dangerously intimate moment. Fighting not to step closer and fulfill the promise the air seemed charged with, Max managed to say, “Want to start over?”
An unsmiling dip of his head was all the answer she got as he continued to stare at her with a banked intensity that had her breath catching.
“I should go get Pooja.”
“Yes, you should.” The quiet answer had her turning and fleeing for the comfort of the house. Whether she was backing away from the need swarming his eyes or the answering clamor of her heart, she wasn’t sure but Pooja’s unintended chaperonage was the perfect solution to a problem she didn’t completely comprehend.
---***---
An hour and a half later, the bright lights of the mall, the bustling crowds and the chaotic tumult of noise had in no way diminished the intensity of emotion that simmered between the two of them. Trying hard to ignore the quiet, brooding presence that walked beside her and her own seemingly uncontrollable reaction to him, Max focused on the stream of chatter coming from an excited Pooja.
Finally reaching the lingerie section of the biggest store there, Max caught the eye of the closest saleslady. “We’re looking for training bras.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Come this way.” Leading them over to a quieter section of the store, she started taking out samples for them to look at. Frowning over her shoulder at a pretending to be invisible Krish, Max gestured him forward.
“How many can I buy, Max?”
Stepping closer, Krish caught the soft whisper and felt his heart clench as he watched Pooja reach out and gently touch a blindingly bright pink one.
“You need at least two. Beyond that you’ll need to ask your brother.”
Wary eyes peeked out at him from around Max. When she didn’t voice the question, he asked, “I’m assuming one black and one white would be practical?”
