by M. V. Kasi
Shuddering, she opened her laptop to see if she had any more information from the hacker. She was quite frustrated that even after receiving another large sum of money, the bloody hacker didn’t get back to her yet. He was making her anxious.
Since she didn’t have any additional information she could pursue, she focused on things that had to be done at Blush Enterprises.
Fortunately or unfortunately, her day was very busy, and it distracted her from worry that had been gnawing at her over the past couple of days.
Nine hours later, she was ready to call it a day. She called up Varun to let him know that she couldn’t visit him that evening.
“I’ve sent a few addresses to the hacker. He should be able to determine the IP addresses, and hopefully get into the security feeds,” she said.
There was a pause. “Okay. I was hoping we’d have all the addresses and the feeds access by this time,” Varun said in a slightly anxious tone.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get there. And Varun…the wedding is in three days,” she said gently.
There was a Naidu Estate family friend’s daughter’s wedding. And he, their abuser was definitely going to attend the occasion. It was a good opportunity to place tracking devices in the car.
“I know. I’m waiting to hear back on that valet job at the hotel. Even if they don’t confirm it, I’ll be there somehow,” said Varun.
“No. Don’t risk it. You’ll raise suspicions if anyone notices you. And there will always be several cameras around in most high-end hotels,” she said.
There was a frustrated sigh. “I just feel so restless that things are moving so slow. By now, we should have had proper tabs on each and every movement of his!” Varun exclaimed.
“I know. But we have to have patience. We’ll get there for sure. If not now, then definitely when I take over the Naidu Estate in a few months.”
Her phone chimed, indicating a text message.
“Varun, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later,” she said before ending the call.
She looked at her phone. And the text was surprisingly from Ajay.
Ajay: Tonight. @7 p:m. In the kitchen.
She stared at the message for a while.
Over the last three weeks, she had been the one calling all the shots when it came to setting up the time for her nightly visits.
Was Ajay fed up about it already, that he wanted to take control, and set up his own time and place? Or maybe he wanted to get a little adventurous that evening.
But the kitchen? Maybe a little uncomfortable, but she was sure it could be managed. She smiled in anticipation as she drove home.
As soon as she opened the door, she could smell something delicious in the air, and it made her mouth water instantly. Usually the cook was done making the meals by this time.
Curious, she went into the kitchen and was shocked seeing Ajay near the stove.
And he was cooking.
“Hey, you are early. It’s only six thirty,” he said as he smiled at her.
“You are cooking,” she said as she stared at the pots and pans on the stove. Her eyes fell on the small, evenly diced cucumbers, carrots and onions along with other garnishes.
“Yes. It would appear so,” he teased with a smile, and took a sip of beer from a nearly empty bottle. She saw another empty bottle next to the kitchen sink.
He must have been in the kitchen for a while.
“But why are you cooking?”
“Hmm. I guess it’s to eat whatever I’m cooking.” He smirked as he picked up something delicious looking with a fork.
“Don’t be a smartass. I meant why are you cooking? And…and you can actually cook?” she asked in slight awe and fascination.
He grinned. “Kamala is out for a couple of days and I know how uncomfortable you are to let anyone new into the house. So I decided to prepare dinner. And yes, I can cook.”
“Why didn’t you order a take-out? And how come she told you and not me about being away for a couple of days?” she grumbled.
“I don’t prefer outside food. And Kamala received the call this morning and she had to leave right away. She didn’t call you because apparently you intimidate her. I wonder where she got such an outrageous idea about you, considering how openly affectionate you are with everyone,” he teased as he came closer.
He was right. “But still. She should have informed me too.”
The intimate scene in the kitchen was causing havoc in her stomach. And her reasoning was totally weird. Watching him smile at her, and then alternately tease her, made her feel nice. Too nice. She felt warm and fuzzy on the inside and she knew that she shouldn’t get too attached to that particular feeling.
Because it wouldn’t last. Not with her kind of past and current hang-ups.
He was watching her keenly. “Stop over-analyzing it and open up,” he demanded with a piece of something yummy at the end of his fork. It looked like a bite size meatball.
“Are you good at cooking? What if it isn’t—” Before she could finish her sentence, he stuck the fork into her mouth and she had to take a bite.
She chewed automatically and whatever it was, it tasted amazing. She could taste the ground meat along with the onions, vegetables and the spices. When she didn’t comment for a while his grin got wider.
“Based on you expression, and frequent looks towards the serving dish, I’m assuming you approve my cooking skills.”
“You are not a…bad cook,” she said with a small smile.
“Thanks. Now that you have showered so many compliments on my cooking I can die happy,” he teased and then led her to the opposite side of the kitchen island where he had two dinner plates ready.
There were no candles or any of the fancy dinner stuff, but it still felt very intimate.
You should not be here. Leave and refuse to share dinner with him. Don’t get in too deep with him. She ignored the warnings and sat on one of the chairs. Just once. I want to see how it is to have someone.
She knew she was never going to have many such intimate dinners with him. And more than that, she also knew that if he wasn’t stuck with her as his temporary wife, he could have had Jyotika to share many such cozy dinners. And Ajay would have filled them with humor, laughter and then passion. Which would have definitely been reciprocated by someone like Jyotika.
That knowledge sat heavy in her heart.
“Relaaax…and don’t think too much,” he said as he brought in the mini meatballs dish closer and began serving them in both their plates.
Meantime, her phone chimed. She looked at the message.
MafiaBoy: Two camera feeds. One at the children’s hospital lobby and the other at Dr. Kranthi’s office.
She frowned at that message from the hacker and forwarded the information of the camera feeds to Varun. And then quickly typed a message back to the hacker.
Sia: That’s not enough. I need more. And I’m running out of time.
Then putting her phone away, she tried to mentally switch off from everything except the man in front of her.
Ajay finished serving their food into their plates. And before he sat down on his chair, he leaned forward and held her neck to bring her closer. He locked their lips together in a long, intimate kiss.
The kiss worked like a charm. It wiped away all other thoughts and the tensions from her mind. The kiss went on and on until they were both breathing quite heavily. And much later, when they were both out of breaths, he pushed her gently back into the chair and laughed.
“Okay, I had promised myself that I’ll feed you first before I drag you off to my room to do very marital things to you.”
Her heart was still thumping crazily. “Sounds like you’ve been planning this for a while,” she said, taking a bite from her plate to calm down and distract her mind from feeling some really crazy emotions.
“Of course. Brilliance like this—” he gestured energetically to the dishes around—”doesn’t just happen. You need to be impressed enough to
let me take the first lead tonight,” he said.
She watched him and then shrugged. “Maybe this was a fluke. You probably just managed to make a few okay tasting mini meatballs of some sort,” she said, already devouring half the mound of meatballs he had placed in her plate.
“She can tease,” he laughed. “You are definitely not good for my ego. But luckily I have enough fans for my cooking, to be not affected.”
She smiled. “I don’t doubt it. Who taught you cooking?” she asked.
His eyes had dropped to her mouth, and he kept staring at it, not replying for a while.
“Something stuck in my teeth or around my mouth?” she asked, feeling slightly conscious.
“You should smile more often,” he told her softly, and then, a few seconds later, he looked up with a mock leer. “And I was pretty much zoned out imagining your payment for tonight’s dinner.”
She smiled once again.
He smiled in return. “The Colonel had taught me how to cook, among many other things,” he replied. “He made both me and Harsha learn, stating that we were to know all the essential skills in life. And I’m pretty glad that he did that, even though I wasn’t very grateful at that time.”
“Hmm…So, I should thank The Colonel when I meet him the next time,” she said.
“Yup. He wants to meet you again too. Anyway, what about you? What were you forced to learn when you were a child?”
That simple question yanked her away from the fantasy world she lived around him, and threw her back to her messed up reality.
“Let me teach you a new game, Little Princess. It’s called the guessing game. You need to close your eyes, and then guess what you touched or tasted. And by the way, one of the rules for this game is that we cannot wear our clothes while we play.”
And that’s how at the age of eight, she had gotten her first lesson of the human anatomy. Although the filthy words and actions taught to her, weren’t what any decent parent or guardian would ever teach or expose their kids to.
Sweat broke out on her skin at the memory. The relaxed and easy atmosphere was completely gone because of the sudden shift in her mood.
“Are you okay, Sia?” she heard Ajay’s voice asking her.
She stared at her plate, trying to calm her rage and fear. And for some reason, she couldn’t switch off to enter back into the fantasy world.
“I’m fine. Let’s get the dinner over with and head to your bedroom for a quick fuck. I have a busy day tomorrow,” she told him in a quiet monotone, quite aware of the crude word she had deliberately used.
There was a long silence, but she refused to look up. Her hands shook slightly as she kept cutting the already bite size meatballs into halves. And then she kept staring at the tiny pieces of the vegetables and meat like they were the most fascinating things ever.
She heard the scrape of a chair as Ajay got up and moved towards her. She had expected him to storm out of the room, or call her disgusting. But instead, she felt his warmth behind her as he leaned forward.
“It’s okay Sia,” he whispered softly in her ear. “I wasn’t prying. I was just making conversation.” He placed a small tender kiss on her neck. “I would like to spend some time with you, and not just for the sake of our baby or for sex. We already know that we are well-suited in the bedroom. And maybe, if we let ourselves, we’ll learn to enjoy each other’s company outside it too. Are you willing to try?” he asked.
Her heart felt heavy as she turned to look at him. He was watching her with a small, tender smile. She was almost tempted to fall into his arms and bare her black soul. She wanted to tell him all about her fears and the other deep, dark and twisted secrets.
What madness had he inspired in her? She had never felt this vulnerable before. Nor did she ever have the need to connect so deeply with another.
She wanted to share things with Ajay. Her body, her heart, and maybe even the secrets she kept locked inside her withered soul.
Yeah right. What would it get you? You’d probably get to see the skid marks as he ran the other way.
“Okay. I’m willing to try,” she answered him quietly.
She found it hard to remember why she had needed to put some boundaries between them.
He nodded and kissed her cheek to move towards the stove. His kiss tingled on her cheek for a lot longer than it was advisable, and also re-created a warm mushy feel inside, taking her smoothly back to the fantasy world.
They ate spicy goat biryani with delicious gravy Ajay had prepared on the side. She also stuffed her mouth with a refreshing cucumber and carrot raita that he threw together in the last minute.
“Hmm…You can definitely cook,” she said as she sat back in her chair when she was finally done.
“Aren’t you lucky? I don’t even have to be house trained,” he replied with a smile.
The mischievous smile did wonderful things to her insides and she kept staring at his mouth. Until his smile slowly dropped and his eyes began to smolder.
“Another thing I’m very good at…” he reminded her huskily, coming around the table towards her.
“What?” she whispered.
“I rather show than tell,” he said and picked her up in his arms.
Her mind was consumed by him and by the anticipation for the coming night, but there was still a part of her that needed everything to be clean and in order.”The dirty plates and dishes…”
“Leave them. We can get to them tomorrow,” he said and hurried them towards his room.
And since he had put the effort to feed her a delicious meal, it was his turn to lead first. Or so he reasoned.
He drove her insane by teasing her slowly. She knew he was bigger, and could easily overpower her if he wished to. But he had become careful around her. And she being the control freak she was took advantage of that fact, and always tried to get an upper hand.
And even though she maybe the one in control, he had the complete power over her, like a wizard with a spell.
A little after midnight after they had laid exhausted on his bed for a while, she slowly stirred, and then got up.
“I have to leave…” she whispered.
He didn’t reply. Just watched her as she put back her clothes.
“Thank you. For dinner and tonight,” she said.
He didn’t speak again, and continued watching her keenly as though he could read what was on her mind.
“Goodnight Ajay,” she whispered as she went towards the door.
She kept staring at his perfect form, the muscled abs on his chest, his boyish face relaxed and satisfied. She wanted to stay there and stare at him forever. She didn’t want to let go of him. Ever.
And that’s why she had to get away. Ajay had managed to get under her skin. She wished she could turn back the time and reduce him to mean nothing more than a warm body that helped her to get off, and maybe sleep better.
But he had started to mean much more to her.
She almost ran into the door as she kept turning back to stare at him.
“Goodnight Sia,” she heard him say with amusement in his voice, as she was about to close the door behind her.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
IT WAS THE third month of their marriage. And somewhere along the way Ajay let himself in too deep, and he was beginning to feel like he was drowning.
He wouldn’t call Sia’s and his relationship as ideal. Like their first time after the marriage, she still continued to visit him in his bedroom during the nights. Their sex was still like a passionate war. But once they were done, she began to stay in his room for a longer time. They held each other close while he told her about his childhood adventures with Harsha, Jo and other friends.
They even had dinner together. She slowly opened up and she spoke a little about her life. Nothing groundbreaking. It was mostly about her work. But somehow their relationship felt more intimate. More precious to him.
He liked her.
Once he broke through her initial cool reserve
, he discovered that she was an extremely intelligent and fascinating woman. And even with her vast amount of money, she was still hungry to learn and grow. When it came to his ambitions he was the same. So they had plenty of topics to discuss and argue about.
Smiling like a besotted fool, he called her on her phone. She answered it after a few rings. It was a huge step-up, compared to their initial days of her not answering his calls and communicating only through text messages.
“Hey,” she greeted softly. He could hear the slight smile in her voice and it made him drown even more.
“I would like to propose something radical,” he said.
“Hmm. I hope you are not expecting me to cook dinner tonight,” she said and laughed softly at her own silly joke.
Another step-up since their marriage. She had eased around him, enough to be able to joke.
“No. More radical than that. Our first date ever. This evening,” he said.
There was silence on the other end.
“We always have dinner together at home these days. Even breakfast sometimes,” she said.
Ajay smiled at her tone. Lately, he had been making her breakfast each morning. She grumbled about not being able to finish the large portions he insisted she have.
“That’s my daughter you are feeding. And what’s in your plate, won’t do,” he told her.
“What’s wrong with feeding our son multigrain toast and honey?” she asked.
“It’s the most boring breakfast in the world. And you eat the same thing each and every day!” he said, not hiding his laughter.
She glared at him. “Well, I like it. And you are not going to have time to wait on me forever. Once the baby arrives, you’ll barely have any sleep tending to him all night.”
He grinned widely. “Oh? So, you are not kicking me out once the baby arrives?”
“No.”
“Interesting. It appears to me, like you enjoy my company so much that you are willing to use our baby as a cover,” he teased.
She didn’t disagree. “You are…okay to have around, I guess,” she told him with a smile, which was high praise coming from her mouth.
