Page 18 of Driven By Desire

Even as he worked his way through his never-ending to-do list, thoughts of Max wove through his mind like the silver lining to the dark cloud of chores.

Max sleeping in his office, smiling at him over the most ridiculously large bunch of flowers, flashing him a wicked smile as she left with that tantalizing murmur of ‘cream lace.’

She would have finished for the day and left already. Rubbing a hand absently against his chest at the pang that manifested at the thought of not getting a chance to see her, he put his mind to finding a private moment to call her. To hearing that husky voice that haunted his dreams these days

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he stared at the line of cars stretching in front of him and sighed. Maybe it was time to think of hiring a driver. Much as he loved to drive, he was finding the traffic a formidable opponent.

Mind still working, he smiled at the memory of Mrs. Sharma’s blatant approval of Max.

She’d been his one constant at work in all these years of turmoil and change.

He’d always known that not everyone in the top management approved of the young scion stepping into his father’s shoes without the requisite experience to handle the sheer scope of work and responsibility that had rested on his then young shoulders.

His first day, he’d walked in, shaking in his freshly polished shoes to find that along with everything else he’d also inherited his father’s secretary.

A veritable dragon who’d breathed fire at him when he’d intruded on her domain as a child, she’d looked at him over the top of her glasses and said, “Welcome, Mr. Mehra.”

“Krish,” he’d mumbled, mentally wincing as he remembered all the times she’d called him a juvenile delinquent or worse.

“Mr. Mehra,” she repeated firmly before adding, “Stand up straight.” Automatically straightening his shoulders at the clipped instruction, he’d followed her into the conference room to find the elite of the company lined up to welcome him.

No, he hadn’t been welcomed warmly but he’d worked like a demon to earn the place he’d inherited.

There wasn’t a single human being today who could claim that he didn’t deserve to be where he was.

And through it all, he’d stood up straight.

Smiling now at the memory, he flipped on his indicator and eased through a miniscule gap in the traffic.

Another hour, countless muttered curses and several fantasies that involved cream lace underwear later, he finally made it home.

Yanking his briefcase out of the car, he walked into the house and into a world he hadn’t known could exist. He found Pooja and Adi huddled at the dining table over what looked like her school books.

He blinked to dispel the mirage but it stayed firmly in focus.

When he walked further into the room the two looked up at him and smiled.

SMILED. They were smiling in the middle of homework!

Smiling tentatively back at the apparitions, he replied to their cheerful greeting. “Hi. Where’s Chirag?”

“Taking a conference call in his room.”

“Okay.” Skirting them, he made his way to the staircase. “I’ll just have a quick shower and start dinner.”

“Dinner’s ready.”

Freezing with his foot on the bottom step, Krish turned slowly. “It is?”

“Yup.” With that single syllable, Adi bent his head to Pooja’s notebook again.

Shaking his head bemusedly, Krish made his way to his bedroom.

Switching the light on, he grabbed a pair of shorts from the cupboard and made his way to the bathroom.

A brief shower later, he yanked his shorts on and scrubbed a hand through his damp hair. Time to summon the troops to dinner.

Dropping his towel in the laundry hamper, he walked out.

He’d almost made it to the door when a glint of silver foil caught his eye.

Turning, he walked back to the bed. A single, tiny Hershey’s kiss sat in the middle of his pillow.

Grinning, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.

Grabbing his phone, he dialed Max’s number only to get a recorded message telling him it was switched off.

Making a mental note to try again later, he left the room and reached the dining room to find the other three already seated at the dining table. Okay, enough of the Twilight Zone.

“What’s going on?”

Three identical expressions of fake innocence stared back at him. Biting his cheek to keep from smiling, he pulled up a chair and sat.

“You’re not wearing a shirt.”

The announcement had him raising his eyebrow and looking across at Chirag. “So? You suddenly have a problem with that?”

When he only shrugged, Krish looked over at the other two who did nothing to conceal their grins. Wondering what the hell was going on, he opened his mouth to ask again when he heard the jangle of bracelets.

“Dinner is ready!” Shouldering her way in from the kitchen, Max carried a covered platter in one hand and a jug of what looked like orange juice.

She couldn’t wait to see the surprise on Krish’s face.

Turning with a wide grin, she glanced over only to see taut, firm, muscled flesh.

A lot of it. The platter wobbled dangerously even as she took a deep breath to try and control her suddenly careening emotions.

Shock kept Krish immobilized which was a good thing or he would have been scrambling up the stairs for his t-shirt like an outraged virgin. Clenching his fists so he didn’t smack his idiotic, grinning brothers, he swallowed hard and stood.

“Can I help you with that?” Gently prying the precariously balanced platter from Max’s hands, he glanced down at her.

Eyes glazed, cheeks flushed she didn’t seem to have heard his words.

Even as he watched, she swallowed and her tongue flicked out to wet her lips.

Mentally groaning, he grabbed the jug from her as well and spun around.

Striving for casual, he asked, “So, what’s for dinner? ”

“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 looked like 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 room downstairs 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.

“Thank you for the chocolate.” Smiling, he added, “Best courtship ever!”

Laughter spilled out of her lighting up her face and warming places inside of him he hadn’t even known were cold. She was still chuckling as she shut the door and headed down to what sounded like a riot mob.