Page 20 of Driven By Desire

It was three in the morning when Krish finally walked into his hotel room.

He’d spent the whole day in negotiations so sensitive a single misspoken word would have had the work at the factory grinding to a halt and through it all he’d snuck glances at his phone like a lovesick, hormone driven teenager.

He’d got regular updates via email and messages from Chirag, Mrs. Sharma and other key members of his staff.

From Max, there had been nothing but silence.

He’d put off sending a message in the hope that he’d find a few private minutes to call and hear that sinfully sexy voice.

Those few minutes had never materialized and now it was too late to call.

Stripping quickly, he tossed his clothes over the laptop bag he’d dropped in the chair in the corner and headed to the bathroom.

A blissfully hot shower later, he turned the lights off and crawled naked under the covers.

Groaning with the relief of finally being off his sorely abused feet, he palmed his phone and contemplated the ominously silent screen.

Keying in Max’s number in his WhatsApp, his fingers hovered over the keypad as he wondered what constituted an appropriate message for 3 AM.

Deciding that nothing really did, he finally typed in ‘Sorry, I couldn’t message all day. It’s been manic.’

Knowing she’d only see it in the morning, he hit send and turned the lights off. Closing his eyes, he let the chill of the air conditioner and the blessed dark soothe his exhausted body and frayed nerves. The polite beep his phone emitted a second later had him jackknifing to alertness.

Grabbing it, he scrolled to the Whatsapp alert he’d received and opened Max’s reply.

It took him a minute to comprehend what he was looking at.

Titled Day 3 - A picture of a bottle of Hershey’s dark chocolate syrup sat in the middle of a bed.

Desire slammed through him and had a strangled groan escaping him even as his fingers flew to dial her number.

“Hey.” The husky greeting scraped across his nerve endings and had him cursing the distance that separated them.

Lying in the dark in a strange hotel room, he would have sold his soul to have been able to reach across and slide his hands over the satin of her skin.

To bring her soft, luscious mouth to his.

To kiss her breathy moans from her lips.

“Krish? Are you there?”

“I miss you.” The words slipped out before he realized what he’d said. What he’d revealed.

The soft sigh that drifted through the phone soothed the feral edges of his need even while it made him ache to have her in his arms.

“It’s going to be a long week.”

“I know.” Settling back more comfortably against the pillows, he asked, “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I tried. I wasn’t able to.”

Frowning, he asked, “Bad day?”

“Yes.”

Alert again, he asked, “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

“I am now.” The whisper had something shifting inside him. After a humming moment, she added, “You didn’t message or call.”

“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to.”

The gruff admission had Max instinctively clenching her legs together. The whispered conversation in the dark brought with it an intimacy that had every cell in her body aching for him.

“Bad day?” she echoed his previous question.

“Yes.”

“Tell me about it.” The invitation to share startled him.

Clearing his throat, he mumbled, “I don’t want to bore you.”

“You won’t.” When he didn’t reply immediately, she prompted, “Chirag said something about a strike?”

“Not yet, but negotiations are still skating on thin ice.” Tension seeped back into his body as he thought about the meetings he’d attended that day.

“Something’s wrong. I can’t put my finger on it.

We take good care of our employees. We’re willing to bear all the medical expenses for the worker who was injured and even pay him his full salary until he recuperates fully and is able to join work again. ”

“But?” The soft query reinforced the strangeness of the moment.

He was lying naked in a dark, hotel room and talking to Max about his work.

About his doubts. His worries. What the hell was he doing?

Unable to leave her question hanging, he answered, “But the mood is still antagonistic. There is something more going on here that I don’t quite understand. ”

“Have you asked them what the problem is?”

“Obviously I’ve asked.” Irritable now, he snapped, “I’ve been in meetings the whole damn day. What did you think I was doing? Twiddling my thumbs?”

“Right. Of course.” Stiff words that hinted at the temper sparking behind them.

“Has it ever occurred to you though, His Royal Highness All Knowing CEO that everyone isn’t comfortable talking to the big boss.

That they may hesitate to tell you about issues?

How often do they get to interact directly with you anyway? ”

“You’re-“

Right. She was right. They didn’t feel any connect with the big boss who flew in from another city for a scant few days every now and then.

Why would they tell him the actual story?

Mishra wouldn’t have the tact to handle this and from everything he’d seen, his local guy in charge only made the situation worse every time he opened his mouth.

He was going to have to find another way around the whole situation. If he knew what the core issue was he had a better chance of solving it and getting back to Hyderabad. And Max.

“Hello? You there?”

Attention snapping back to the husky rasp that was her voice, he said, “I am and you’re a genius.”

“You’re just figuring that out now?” The condescending question was spoilt by the laughter that trembled through it. “Am I right?”

“Maybe. It’s an angle. An angle worth exploring.”

“Krish?”

“Hmmm?” The low murmur made Max want to stretch like a cat being stroked.

“Are we having a fling?”

Eyes snapping open in his hotel room, Krish cleared his throat cautiously, “I didn’t think so. Is that what you want?”

“God, no! I really don’t want to be flung.”

The emphatic if slightly bizarre response had Krish chuckling. “Where is this going Max?

“I know you’ve had a lot of flings in the past and-“

“And you know this how?”

The steel in his voice had Max pausing before saying, “I always protect my sources.”

“I’m going to kill Chirag.” The grim reply had her hanging her head in defeat. “All he had to do was give you a simple message. Trust him to screw even that up.”

“He did give me the message,” Max defended. “We were just talking and-“

“Max.” Krish waited for her to come to a complete halt before saying, “This is not a fling. Not for me.”

On a sigh, she let the last of her doubts fade and snuggled in to the sound of his baritone murmuring in her ear.

“Talk to me, Max.”

The seductive command had her toes curling. “About?”

“Anything. I just want to hear your voice.” The husky confession had her nipples tightening. Fingers tightening around the phone she blurted out the first thing she could think of. “I got an awesome deal on the electrical fuel pump.”

Startled laughter poured down the line. Mortification had her flushing and burying her head in her pillow even as the chuckles deepened until he was practically gasping with laughter.

“You say the sexiest things.” The warmth in his voice as he mocked her had her smiling reluctantly.

“Come home, Krish.”

Laughter slid away to be replaced with an intensity that had her breath catching. “I want to, Max. If this were about what I want, I sure as hell wouldn’t be alone in this hotel room.”

“If this were about what you want, what would be happening right now?”

Hand fisting in his sheets, Krish closed his eyes and let his head fall back. When he didn’t answer immediately, she asked again, “What do you want, Krish?”

Emotion clogged his throat making it impossible to answer. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked him that. What did he want? So simple, so precious. Undone, all he could do was whisper her name. “Max.”

“I’m yours,” she whispered back. “Come home.”

Reigning in the furious need racing through him, he tightened his tenuous hold on his control. “I’ll be back Sunday.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

His control shattered. Or so he thought until she added, “With chocolate sauce.”