Page 32 of Driven By Desire
“Cheese sandwiches.”
“Max and I cooked together,” Pooja piped up.
Not quite having the heart to disillusion her about the definition of cooking, he carefully lifted the lid off the platter. Not just cheese sandwiches. Toasted cheese sandwiches. In some cases, charred cheese sandwiches. One was still smouldering at the edge. Hastily grabbing it and dumping it on his own plate before anybody else ended up singeing their mouth, he waited for Max to take a seat. In the chaos that ensued as everyone served themselves, he got up to try and escape quietly.
“Where are you going?”
Why, God, why did his sister choose today to get chatty? Whatever happened to sullen observation?
The sudden silence in the room had him muttering self-consciously, “To put on a shirt.”
“Why? You generally don’t at home.”
“Yes. Why?” added a grinning Chirag.
“Because we have a guest.” He ground out.
“Who?” Genuinely perplexed, Pooja looked around the table.
“Max.”
“Max?” Turning to where Max sat, she asked, “Do you mind?”
“Umm, no.” Eyes alight with suppressed laughter, she managed, “Not at all.”
“I do.” Leaving the room before he gave in to the urge to strangle the lot of them, he made his way to his bedroom. Balling the t-shirt he’d pulled out in his fist, he let his head fall forward to connect with the cupboard with a loud thunk.
“Ouch! That’s got to hurt.” A soft, cool hand came to rest on his bare back. Turning at the gentle pressure of her hand, he rested his back against the cupboard and took in the sight of her standing there in his bedroom. Back in her regulatory cargo pants and a dusky pink sleeveless shirt, with her hair tumbling out of a high ponytail, she looked like she was barely out of her teens. Hooking his fingers through her belt loops, he tugged her forward until she was flush against him. Stroking a gentle thumb across the slightly reddened patch on his forehead, Max smiled up at him.
Reaching up to free her hair from its ponytail, he let the mass of hair tumble around her shoulders. Running a hand through the heavy silk of it, he let it flow through his fingers. She lookedlike a modern day Rapunzel. Except that she was more capable of tying bed sheets together and climbing down the side of the tower instead of waiting for a prince to come rescue her. Letting one hand rest on her tiny waist, he murmured, “Max?”
“Hmmm?” The husky sound had need arrowing through him. The hand sifting through her hair clenched, tugging her head back. Keeping her eyes locked on his, he lowered his head slowly by inches. Stopping a whisper away from the silk of her lips, he murmured, “Thank you.”
“For?”
The question feathered across his lips in a whisper of breath making him ache like he’d never ached before. “For being you.” Crushing her lips to his on the last word, he let himself taste heaven. Her lips parted on a low moan that snapped the last thread of his self-control. Finesse and skill went flying out of the window as he hauled her up against him.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Max gave herself up to his embrace with an enthusiasm that had him erect and throbbing in less than a second. His hand slid up to cup her breast through the soft cotton. Caressing the soft mound, he slipped his lips from hers to nip at the soft underside of her jaw. The shudder that shook her body reverberated in his own. Shoving his shaking hands through her hair, he rested his forehead against hers and fought for control.
“This is madness.”
A shuddering breath was his only response. Breath mingling, they stayed like that for what felt like ever.
Wrapped in his tight embrace, Max basked in the warmth and strength surrounding her. A loud shout from the dining roomdownstairs had them both starting. Stepping back, Max ran a hand through her tousled hair even as Krish finally pulled his t-shirt on.
“Dinner.”
Nodding in acquiescence, Max settled her hair the best she could and started for the door only to be hauled back. Spun around, she was taken in a kiss that plundered her mouth and ravaged her soul. When Krish tore his mouth from hers, she reached blindly for him only to have him slip something between her lips. Chocolate. Surprise had her blinking her eyes open only to have him clamp his mouth down on hers again. Tongue slipping through her parted lips, he explored her mouth to his heart’s content.
Head spinning, Max wondered if she’d ever be able to eat chocolate again without remembering this moment. The wisp of thought fled as his tongue tangled with hers and fried her brain. Giving herself up to the storm swirling within her, Max sank her fingers through the rough silk of his hair and poured her heart into the kiss.
Another shout followed by a crash had Krish reaching for his last shred of sanity and stepping back. Gripping her trembling fingers with his own, he brought them to his lips. Brushing a soft kiss against her knuckles he murmured, “Go join them for dinner, Max.”
“What about you?”
A shaky laugh escaped him as he said, “I think I might need a few minutes before I’m fit to join polite company.”
A faint smile touched her lips as with one last, soft caress to his cheek she turned to leave. This time she made it all the way to the door before his voice stopped her.
