Mikah grinned at her. ‘You okay, babe?’
She smiled. ‘Of course. I never said thank you, for coming out here, for roundly ignoring my wishes – ‘ and she laughed as he looked guilty, ‘…and for being a friend. A really good friend.’
Well now, you’re welcome. After all, what else are friends for?’ But his smile was so wicked that she shook her head, laughing.
‘You make everything sound so filthy.’
‘But you like that?’
‘Oh yes.’ She sipped her now cold coffee. ‘So…’
‘So…’ Mikah smiled at her, ‘Is this the right time to ask what you plan to do next? I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to be with your sister, if you moved back here. I know Stan would understand.’
Harpa sighed. ‘I can’t answer that question right now, it’s too soon. I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to go back to Seattle; I love the city, my job, being near you. I just need time to trust myself to be away from Cosima again.’
‘I get it and listen…it’s a plane ride. Obviously, my business is there, but I can come back here as often as you like. That is, if you want to try and make something of this, us.’
Harpa smiled. ‘I would, I really would…’
Mikah signaled for the check. ‘Then, Miss Bedi…Miss Malhotra…would you do me the honor of escorting me to my hotel suite?’ He held out his hand and, giggling, she took it and stood.
I do hope,’ she said in an undertone, ‘that you won’t mind so polite when we get to your room, Mr. Ray.’
Mikah kissed her. ‘You can count on that, sweetcheeks…’
He was neither gentlemanly nor polite as he pushed her against the wall of the elevator but she loved it as his hands slid under her skirt and he dropped to his knees, pushing the fabric of her skirt over her knees and burying his face in her sex. Harpa gasped as he snagged the delicate material of her panties in his teeth and drew them down her thighs but then as she started giggling, the effect was ruined when the elevator stopped, and Mikah toppled backward. Harpa shrieked with laughter and by the time they got to his suite, they were breathless.
‘God, I am so crazy about you, Harpa Malhotra,’ he said, cupping her face and she grinned.
‘Shut up and fuck me, Ray.’
He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. She was already wriggling out of her top as he set her down and as he pulled his own t-shirt off, she was attacking his fly.
‘Greedy girl…’ But he let out a rush of breath as she freed his cock from his underwear and took him in her mouth. She teased the tip with her tongue before tracing the blue vein that ran down the long length of him.
Mikah stroked her hair gently, but as he grew harder and thicker under her touch, he moaned. ‘Harpa…I have to be inside you.’
She grinned, laying back on the bed and spreading her legs wide. ‘Come on in…’ she whispered, and Mikah dropped on top of her, growling and making her giggle.
Somehow, Cosima had fallen asleep in the middle of the movie they were watching, and now she was sprawled across the couch, her head in his lap. Arlo stroked her hair, still not quite believing she was home. It had been weeks but still every day, waking up with her, sent his soul into the stratosphere. He had meant what he said all those weeks ago; he wanted Cosima to be absolutely certain she was okay before they made love again but it was driving him crazy too.
His cell phone rang. ‘Hey, Jack.’
‘Hey buddy, how is she?’
Arlo looked down at his love, all stress erased from her lovely face in sleep. ‘She’s good…well, getting there. We’re just doing our usual thing; watching trashy t.v. and eating enough calories to feed a small country.’
Jack chuckled. ‘Good move, sounds blissful.’
‘Where are you at? Cosima’s been asking after you, wondering when you’re going to come see her – you haven’t seen her at all since she got back and she’s worried.’
Jack sighed. ‘Dude, I wish I was there too, but I’m calling with good news.’
Arlo was immediately wide awake. ‘Really?’
‘We’ve had a communication through from India. Sources close to Arjun Malhotra’s enemies. The threat is lifted. The orders have down from the highest authorities. Arjun’s children are not to be harmed.’
Arlo’s breath caught in his chest. ‘Are you serious? Oh, my God….Cos…Cos wake up…shit, Jack is this true? That’s un-fucking-believable! Cos…’
Cosima sat up, blinking at him, faintly annoyed, but he grinned at her and handed her the phone. ‘Talk to Jack, Cos…
Cosima took the phone from him. ‘This better be good, Hampton, I was having a really good dream.’
Arlo watched her face as Jack relayed the news. For almost a minute she said nothing…then dropped the phone and burst into tears.
Arlo laughed and picked up the phone. ‘Jack…I think she’s happy!’
‘I hear crying.’
‘Yep, that too, but she’s smiling like an idiot.’
‘Will she call Harpa? I have to get off the phone.’
‘Of course, we’ll tell Harpa…and to thank you, Jack.
Cosima was still sobbing and laughing. ‘I don’t believe it…I don’t believe it.’
He gathered her into his arms, feeling the weight of years of stress falling from her. ‘You’re free, baby, you’re free.’
‘Oh god…oh god…’
When she had calmed down, she wanted to call Harpa immediately, but the call went to voicemail, and she didn’t want to tell Harpa the biggest news of their lives with a message. ‘Just call me back, please, Harpa, I have huge news. Whatever time of the night, it’s okay, just call me.’
Then she got up from the couch and yelled with joy, leaping around the room like she was on drugs. Arlo watched her, laughing, and when she yanked him to his feet and started to dance with him, he couldn’t resist. ‘God, I love you, Cosima Malhotra.’
‘And I love you, Arlo, and guess what, I can love you wherever I want now…’
‘Damn right you can, beautiful…’
Cosima kissed him, her hands moving down to cup his cock through his jeans. ‘Take me to bed, Arlo Forrester…tonight, I need to celebrate.’
He swept her into his arms. ‘God, yes…’
They tore each other’s clothes off and tumbled onto the bed. Cosima climbed on top of him, grinning down as he cupped her breasts in his big, warm hands. She leaned down to kiss him, running her hands over his hard chest. ‘I missed this body,’ she whispered, reaching down to take his cock in her hands, stroking along the length of him, massaging his balls in her palm. Arlo groaned and, with one movement, flipped her onto her back.
‘I can’t wait, I’m sorry…’
Cosima grinned wrapped her legs around his waist, arching her back. ‘Don’t apologize, just do it.’ She guided him to the entrance of her cunt and then gasped with delight as, with one strong thrust, he plunged into her. ‘Oh…god…yes…’
Arlo pinned her hands to the bed with his own, locked eyes with her as they moved, their need for each other desperate now, after all, those weeks apart. Arlo slammed into her, his cock thickening with each movement, her vagina muscles gripping him tightly, driving each other insane with excitement and desire. They came together, and Arlo didn’t give her time to recover before he turned her onto her stomach and took her again, pushing into her ass and making her scream with pleasure.
The night was lost as they took each other again and again, tumbling from the bed in their frenzy, Cosima straddling him, riding him so hard her body undulated above him, and he couldn’t take his eyes from her breasts moving with her thrusts. The muscles in her stomach rippled as she moved and when he was close, he pulled out and came on her belly. Collapsing back on the bed next to him, Cosima kissed him, smiling. ‘We get to do that forever now, my darling.’
‘You bet that sweet ass of yours we do. Cos…now that you’re a free woman, where do you want to live? Here? Or would you want t
o be in Seattle, nearer to Harpa?’
She propped herself up on her elbow. ‘No, Seattle is Harpa’s thing, I wouldn’t want to cramp her style, now that we don’t have to live in each other’s pockets. To be honest, Arlo, I love New Orleans, despite everything that’s happened here and in fact, in spite of everything. This is where we built your hotel, where our first home together is. What about you, though? Are you missing San Francisco?’
Arlo nodded. ‘A little, I must admit. I really want you to see it, meet Margaret, my assistant and the closest thing to a mother I have. She’ll love you.’
‘That sounds great….’ Then she groaned. ‘Talking of mothers…’
Monica had stayed in New Orleans since Cosima’s homecoming, and both Arlo and Cosima had had their fill of the woman. Constantly needy, constantly whining that her daughters were ignoring her, despite their visiting her almost every day. Cosima had been trying to persuade her to go back to London for weeks.
‘Mom, I’ll be going back to work in a couple of weeks, Harpa’s going back to Seattle. What will you do all day? All your friends are back in the UK.’
‘I’ll be fine, besides I want to get to know my son-in-law better.’
Cosima rolled her eyes. ‘Mom, Arlo isn’t your son-in-law, we’re not even engaged.’
Monica waved her hand. ‘Semantics. It’s inevitable.
‘Well, she is right about that,’ Arlo grinned at Cosima, ‘but Lord help me if I want to discuss my intentions for you with Monica.’
Cosima wriggled with pleasure. ‘Is that because your intentions are purely filthy?’
‘Indeed. Look, sweetheart, let’s go to Frisco for a couple of weeks before you go back to work.’
‘That, sir, is a wonderful idea.’
Unfortunately, Monica thought so when Cosima went to her hotel to tell her they were leaving for a while. Monica clapped her hands together.
‘Oh, I love San Francisco, it’s been years…lord and I shall have to have a new wardrobe.’
Cosima was dismayed. ‘Mom…Arlo and I are going on a vacation. Together. Alone.’ She let a warning tone creep into her voice, and Monica flushed.
‘Really, Cosima, I don’t think you’ve ever learned the importance of family, especially at times like this.’
Cosima sighed, used to the passive-aggressive machinations of her mother. Not this time, Mom. ‘Whatever you say, Mom. But Arlo and I are leaving tomorrow so….have a safe flight back to London.’
Monica huffed. ‘Well, then…shall I send the hotel bill to Arlo?’
Cosima had been walking towards to the door, but she turned, disbelieving. ‘Excuse me?’
Monica waved her hand around her. ‘For this. I assume he’s picking up the tab for all of this?’
Cosima blinked. ‘Why on earth would you think that?’
‘Well, he’s bankrolling you, isn’t he? How else would you be able to afford to live in such opulence, take so much time off work?
Her words hit Cosima like a wrecking ball. For a moment, she was speechless. ‘For your information, Mother, no, Arlo isn’t bankrolling me. Yes, I live in his home with him – at his request – but everything else I pay for.’
Monica’s smile was cruel. ‘By spreading your legs?’
Cosima made a disgusted noise. ‘No, Mom, I’m not you.’
Monica cackled loudly and moving swiftly, she pinched Cosima’s face between her fingers. ‘Don’t think you’ve got any more currency than this, Cosima. You got your beauty from me, don’t forget that.’
Cosima jerked her head free, her eyes cold. ‘But, luckily, my moral compass from Dad. Goodbye, Mother, I can’t imagine we’ll ever have anything else to say to each other.’
Cosima slammed the door on her way out and went down to the hotel’s reception, seething. Her mom always seemed to make her feel worthless, like damaged goods. Bitch. Cosima knew she would never see her mother again if she could help it. Mom, you’ve insulted me for the last time.
But some of her mother’s barbs had hit home. Was she Arlo’s kept woman? Cosima tried to push the thought away. No, her mom wasn’t going to destroy her happiness out of spite.
She was so lost in her thought that she didn’t see him at first, and it wasn’t until he stepped directly in front of her and spoke that she stopped.
‘Hello, Cosima.’
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steve and Roger dart towards them as she recognized the man in front of her. He smiled.
‘It’s so lovely to see you again.’
Finally, she found her voice. ‘Naveen…what are you doing here?’
He smiled. ‘I’m here for you, of course, Cosima…’
TORN IN TWO
Part Four
Steve and Roger slammed Naveen into the wall before Cosima could say another word. She watched as Naveen gave no resistance as her two burly bodyguards searched him for weapons.
‘He’s clean.’ They let him go and Naveen, with a slight smile on his face, straightened himself up.
‘Cosima, I mean you no harm, on my mother’s honor I don’t. I just wanted to talk to you, resolve our…issues.’
Cosima looked at him coldly. ‘The only issue is you threatening to kill my sister and me for years, Naveen. Other than that, I do not see any reason why we should talk.
Naveen nodded. ‘I know, I understand that. But, Cosima, I swear, that is behind me, and I’m here to ask your forgiveness. May we talk?’
Cosima hesitated then nodded. ‘Not here, not in public. Steve, Roger, we’re going to the penthouse.’
The two security men exchanged a look but Cosima was determined. She wanted to show this man that she was protected, that she wouldn’t back down or be cowed by him.
As they drove back to the LaBelle, Cosima tried not to stare at Naveen. He was as handsome as she remembered; dark hair, longish, curling around the collar of his shirt; black-as-night eyes, framed with long thick lashes, the swarthy skin clear. He had a beard now, which suited him, and the hair at his temples was graying. He had been her teenage idol, growing up, and she had adored him – until the terrible day when she and Harpa were ripped away from everything they’d ever known and sent to London. She’d never forgotten the horrible day when her father had told her that Naveen was one of the people who now hated their family and wanted to see them dead.
At the LaBelle, Steve stood between Cosima and Naveen in the elevator on the way up, and Cosima had to smother a smile. At first aloof and polite, her two bodyguards had become more than just Arlo’s employees to her, and she knew they were fond of her too. Probably because I don’t treat them like the staff, she thought to herself. They would tease her like a little sister, and she would give them back as good as she got. I know what you’re doing, Malhotra, she said to herself, you’re distracting yourself from the fact that Naveen Chowdry, the man who wanted to kill you for so long – and who was your first love – is less than a foot from you.
So many conflicted feelings.
Once they were back in the penthouse, Naveen admired the apartment and made all the right noises as Cosima poured them both a drink. They sat opposite each other on the couches and Naveen studied her as he sipped his scotch.
‘You’ve grown ever more beautiful,’ he said softly.
Cosima rankled a little. ‘I like to think my intellect has become sharper, my skills at my work more refined. My appearance is of little matter to me – it does not define who I am.’
‘Touché, I meant no offense. I’ve followed your career, Cosima, you’re a star.’
‘I bet you have,’ she muttered then fixed him with a cold look. ‘Was it you, in New York? Was it your threats that were the reason for us being exiled from there?’
He shook his head. ‘No, that was not me or in fact, as far as I can tell, was there ever any threat to you in New York. The death sentence may have still been in place then, but as far as I know, no-one acted on it – or were planning too.’
Cosima was confused. ‘I don’t
understand. For years, Harpa and I have been shifted from place to place by the FBI because of…’
‘I’m sure you were, but I’m saying, New York wasn’t us.’
Cosima sighed, rubbed her eye. After a beat, she took a deep breath. ‘Naveen…was it you? This time? Did you have me abducted?’
He sat forward, his gaze steady. ‘No, Cosima, that wasn’t me, I swear. While I had come to New Orleans to kill you, had I done so, it would have been quick, not torturous.’
She blanched at his words and he held up his hands. ‘But you should not be concerned about that, about me, I mean what I say: you are safe from me. But, Sima, you should know, neither was it the families – which means you have a new enemy.’
For a moment, Cosima looked away. ‘You haven’t called me ‘Sima’ for years…Nav.’ She gave him a half smile and Naveen’s body relaxed.
‘I’m so sorry, Sima, for everything I put you through. I don’t know what I was thinking, what was wrong with me. Hell, yes I do. Jealousy, pure and simple. When you left India, the pain of you going away…’ He trailed off and sighed. ‘Please, Cosima, forgive me. I have been a fool.’
She nodded but didn’t say anything. Naveen drained his scotch. ‘There is one thing I do know that may help you,’ he said. ‘I know who instigated the attack on you at the market. Sabine Karlsson.’
Cosima rolled her eyes. ‘Well, that’s not the biggest surprise but how do you know?’
Naveen grinned, his face suddenly boyish. ‘Because I’ve been entertaining her.’
Cosima wrinkled her nose. ‘Gross.’
Naveen laughed loudly, and she couldn’t help but join in. ‘I agree, Sabine is not the most pleasant of people,’ he said, ‘Did you know she lost out on a big job to your mother?’
‘Oh, so I’ve screwed her over twice in her reckoning? Well…good,’ Cosima felt satisfied then sobered up. ‘Do you think she had anything to do with my abduction?’
‘Hard to say…she asked me if I was behind it so that could either mean she genuinely isn’t involved or that she’s bluffing.’
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