That Same Old Love (A Second Chance Romance) (India) (Match Made in Hell series Book 1)

by MV Kasi

  Soon they were heading towards her house.

  Her ankle was slowly getting numb. She removed the shawl and placed it like a pillow under her head, feeling relaxed and much better. She also felt slightly dazed and a little sleepy.

  "Why was tonight bad for you?" he asked casually, still watching the road.

  She sighed. "Well it wasn't bad-bad. I don't think it can ever get that bad for me. Not anymore. It was just a little unsettling that Ananya and her friends seem to think that I'm some sort of femme fatale, who is out to steal their husbands and brothers, while trying to deliberately involve children in my sick twisted games."

  Then she scoffed loudly and said, "FYI they think that we'd both make a match made in hell."

  He was quiet and didn't comment on his sister's friends' deductions. Until a few days ago, he thought of her in a similar manner.

  "What do you mean by it can't ever get bad for you?" He was curious about her way of thinking, and ignored the match made in hell comment.

  She didn't know why she answered him. Maybe it was the medication, combined with the low sugar from not eating for a very long time.

  "Well...each time I thought my life had hit the bottom, someone always lowered the bottom. Finally, I had reached rock bottom a few months ago. Nothing can ever come close to that period. Whatever happened tonight is barely scratching the surface compared to that." She sighed softly and looked at him on the rearview mirror. "And you know what they say—the thing about hitting rock bottom is that there is only one way to go. And that's up."

  He didn't comment.

  Soon he stopped the car in front of her house. He helped her out of the car and tried to get her to walk. The medicine made both her legs almost numb and she was finding it difficult to walk. After a few frustrated minutes, he simply picked her up in his arms, fully expecting her to fight or argue with him about it.

  She just giggled. "Ooh Tarzan is carrying me. And I even caught you almost naked in your red underwear last week, remember?"

  She felt the muscles in his arms and abs with her fingers as she made her comments.

  "Gym shorts. I was in my gym shorts," he growled.

  She giggled. "God! Why can't you have a normal conversational tone while speaking to me? You always seem to growl at me. It makes me want to agitate you more."

  She looped an arm around his neck for stability.

  Samrat was both annoyed and turned on with her touching him. And holding her in his arms wasn't helping either.

  I'm in hell, he thought viciously, when she fumbled around her messy bag with a single hand, looking for the house keys and taking her own time. The wine odor combined with the scent of roses, emitting from her was pretty strong, but it no way deterred his inconvenient hard-on.

  Finally, she found her keys, and soon they were inside the house, where he gently lowered her on the bed.

  "What happened?" he asked as she swayed possibly feeling lightheaded.

  "I think it must be the low blood sugar."

  He remembered her mentioning to him that she had skipped lunch. "Did you eat anything at the party?"

  "No. People have been fighting for my scintillating company most evening. First you, and then our juniors." She leaned back on the pillows. "I have some cut fruit in my fridge. Can you bring me that along with some water?"

  He nodded and left her side.

  When he was almost at the bedroom door, "Also bring me the leftover cheesecake from my fridge along with a spoon."

  He turned to look at her, "Anything else, memsaab?" he asked in amusement.

  She grinned. "Yeah, while I'm eating, take off your clothes and dance for me in your underwear."

  Breathing noisily through his mouth, he left the bedroom, shaking his head now in annoyance.

  CHAPTER 22

  Mahi knew that her mouth filter was totally compromised and not functioning right then. But what the hell? Needling him was the only entertainment she had that night, and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

  After a couple of minutes, Samrat came back with a tray.

  "You should leave. You're already late and missing most of Srishti's party," she told him guiltily.

  He placed the tray next to her. "That's okay. I don't think the party is ending any time before one o'clock. There is plenty of time left, and I'll leave in a few minutes when you have eaten something."

  Samrat stayed because he was feeling guilty.

  Despite all of Mahi's character defects, he couldn't help liking her. And he was almost certain that he hurt her feelings that evening and also during the past four months. Although, it was difficult to know from Mahi's behavior because she always looked so cheerful or was always teasing him. If he wasn't careful, his attraction for her would somehow turn into something more and hurt his sister.

  Mahi began to eat the cut fruit while offering the cheesecake to him. "Here. Try it. I made it last Saturday for my cousin. He loved it and there's still a ton of it left. I won't be able to finish it alone."

  He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Almost six days ago? No thanks. I'm good."

  She rolled her eyes. "For heaven's sake! People and their hang up with old food. I have a perfectly functioning refrigerator that keeps my food fresh for days. Look. I'm eating it and enjoying it."

  She ate a spoonful.

  The slightly salty crackers crust along with the rich creamy texture of the cream cheese, almost made her moan out.

  He was staring at her oddly.

  "Here try some," she held out a spoonful.

  He reluctantly ate some from the spoon. "Not bad," he remarked and grabbed the cheesecake bowl.

  He almost ate the entire thing in under five minutes, until she stopped him. "Hey! Leave some for me. I didn't even get my requested underwear dance from you, and you are finishing up my dessert."

  Smiling sheepishly, he gave her the bowl with just a few bites left.

  Mahi looked at the near empty bowl in awe. "My god! You must be having a sweet tooth the size of an elephant tusk! I remember how you devoured your sister's carrot halwa after two rounds of breakfast."

  At the mention of his sister, Samrat's smile dropped.

  He stood, and took the tray with the empty bowls and placed them in the kitchen, before getting back to her.

  "Will you be okay if I leave now? And do you need a change of clothes from somewhere?" he asked evenly.

  Not realizing that his mood had shifted to a grim one, Mahi grinned at him. "Not unless you are offering to change my clothes for me." And when he didn't answer her, she decided to tease him further. "Actually, I'm going to just take my top off and sleep. So leave now, if you don't want a show...Or maybe you do want to see the show..." she said with a flirtatious smile.

  "Mahi, stop it," he growled. "Stop taunting me with your innuendos. They are not funny anymore."

  Her smile dropped as she felt her awareness grow rapidly. She didn't know if the tingling sensation in her body was due to his nearness or because of the medication. But from the past five nights, the sight of his almost bare body and her reaction to it, kept her lying awake.

  She wanted him. Not as some gentle romantic companion to talk to, or to hold hands with, but in the most basic primitive sense.

  "I'm not taunting you Samrat...or maybe I was. I don't know. But I do know that I really want you," she told him, looking at him boldly without a shred of coyness.

  He looked angry at her confession and slowly came towards the bed to sit next to her.

  "Mahi, Stop. Stop playing with fire or you'll get burned. If you have any idea about what I would do to you, if I took you up on your offer, you'll run away screaming. So stop it," he warned her softly.

  She quirked an eyebrow at his overly clichéd and dramatic statement. Any other time, she would have laughed loudly on his face, and made a smart ass comment. But right then, she was mesmerized and could feel the electricity crackling around them.

  "Stop. It," he gritted at her bold stare.


  "Make me," she dared him, staring in fascination at his strong square jaw that was clenched tightly, making his chin dimple look very lick worthy.

  His hands were fisted, and he was trying very hard to not jump on her, and attack her like a hungry animal. The past three months of unrequited lust were rushing through his mind and body, making him crazy. I have to get away from here!

  "You need to come with a warning sign!" he growled out in frustration.

  Before he could drag himself away, Mahi caught his decorative duppatta around his neck and pulled him towards her. Samrat half expected her to be teasing him again, but his brain shut down completely when he felt her lips on his.

  She was kissing him. Nibbling his lips like he was the decadent dessert they had shared earlier. He kissed her back, and then pushed her on the bed to move on top of her. She gasped as her head hit the pillow and stared up at him. He was lying on top of her, balancing his weight on his elbows, and watching her intently.

  They continued to stare at each other silently while their breaths sped up.

  Slowly she raised a finger, and then traced it over his eyebrow scar, and then his cheekbone, and then his jaw. And just before she could reach his lips, he lowered his head and kissed her again. And this time in an open mouthed kiss. She clutched his hair using both her hands, and pulled him even closer, while their tongues tangled and clashed, and their lips fused.

  His hands cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples through the layers of cloth, making her gasp into his mouth, wanting more.

  She dragged her mouth away from his and shoved at his shoulders to push him off her. Confused and dazed, he slowly raised his torso to look at her. Watching him, she unhooked her bra and slowly pulled it out from one of her sleeves, exposing more of herself. His eyes lowered, and then flared hungrily as soon as he saw her aroused breasts, tempting him through the almost transparent damp cloth.

  She arched greedily, tempting him further. He moved lower and cupped her breasts in his hands and then squeezed them gently and felt their shape. Lowering his head, he bit her nipple gently through her dress. But when she made frustrated noises and moved restlessly under him, he bit harder and then began to suck vigorously. She moaned loudly in mindless pleasure, and her hands clutched his hair to drag him even closer. His mouth paid the same attention to her other breast, teasing and petting first, and then biting and sucking the way she wanted.

  She tried to drag him up for a kiss, missing his mouth, but he resisted. And instead he began to move up slowly. He pulled back her hair with one hand to expose her neck, and then dragged his hot and rough tongue over the length in one long lick, making her shiver and pant under him. And then he began to alternately bite and suck her neck, until she squirmed restlessly.

  He finally moved up to join her lips in another long hard open mouthed kiss. He kept kissing her because he couldn't stop himself, all the while squeezing, pinching and then caressing her breasts.

  She clutched his shoulders hard and raised her hips to rub herself against his arousal, creating a friction that drove them both crazy. When she couldn't take it anymore, she wrenched her mouth away from his and then leaned closer.

  "Hurry...Samrat," she whispered into his ear before tugging his earlobe with her teeth.

  He shuddered. And his hands trembled while trying to decide on whether to pull up her dress gently, or to tear it from her body like he wanted, before giving in to the passion that they both desperately craved.

  Just then his phone rang loudly in his pocket and they both froze. They stared at each other, their loud breaths coming out hard and fast, while the phone continued to ring, until it finally stopped after several seconds.

  He closed his eyes to break their eye contact and rested his forehead on the pillow next to her. He tried to get control of his body that was hurting and screaming for a release.

  After an indeterminate amount of time, he slowly raised his head to look at her. She was staring at something. When his eyes followed the direction of her stare, he noticed that his hands were still clutching her breasts over the wet spots left behind by his eager mouth.

  With a vicious curse, he jerked his hands away and rolled off her to spring up from the bed as though it was on fire.

  "I need to...get back to the party. You are on pain medications and I...I got carried away."

  She didn't move and was staring at him with needy glazed eyes. "It wasn't the medications. That was the real me and I do want you Samrat."

  The look in his eyes was so intense and hungry that she thought he would skip the party and finish what they started. He closed his eyes briefly and turned away in a hurry and walked out of the bedroom.

  Soon, she heard the click of the main door closing.

  Holy shit that was intense and I can't wait to finish what we started, were her last thoughts before she blacked out completely.

  CHAPTER 23

  Sidhu and Ananya were getting ready to go to bed that night after the party.

  Sidhu slid into the bed and waited for Ananya to join him. "Srishti and her friends had a great time. I am glad everything went so well."

  Ananya didn't reply. She was still devastated by what happened at the party. She felt that she finally understood where she stood in Sidhu's life and how he still felt about Mahi.

  A few days ago Sidhu had apparently confronted Srishti asking her about how she met Mahi, and what they spoke about. After hearing Srishti's explanation, Sidhu had readily absolved Mahi from any guilt. He told Ananya that Srishti's meetings with Mahi were harmless interactions where Samrat was present most of the time.

  Ananya watched Sidhu as he lay on the bed with a smile. She had been madly and blindly in love with him for almost seventeen years. To the point where she had been obsessed and was always ready to please him in any way.

  She had been proud of his kind and forgiving nature, his helpfulness and his level headed maturity. But on that night she hated that he displayed those qualities with Mahi. She felt betrayed by his behavior when he was trying to help Mahi.

  Most outsiders would probably consider her the immature one for believing or thinking like that. But she didn't care and felt justified by feeling betrayed.

  Even though she felt the roiling emotions churning in her stomach like acid, she calmly slid into the bed next to him. Sidhu dragged her closer, spooning her from behind and kissing her neck and ear. She let him and didn't say a word. Soon he was snoring softly, and she stayed awake for a long time.

  CHAPTER 24

  Samrat groaned in his sleep, caught up in a tormenting dream. Somehow he knew it wasn’t really happening, but he still couldn’t wake up. It was an erotic dream and Mahi was in it. She was laughing at him. She was telling him that no one could escape from her wiles. She lowered her head and bit his nipples hard, arousing him painfully, and then slowly she swirled her tongue in a soothing manner. She was heading downwards, alternately biting and then soothing him.

  Growling, he tried to push her away, but suddenly her naked body was on him. And he could feel her breasts crushing softly against him, and her stomach pressed against his painfully aroused body.

  "I know what you want and need. Only I can give it to you. No one else. Do you hear me? No. One. Else," Mahi whispered in his ear.

  “Stop. Get away from me,” he begged her hoarsely, but she didn’t listen; only laughed tauntingly.

  Soon he gave up the fight, and held her head in his hands, to push it down to where he wanted her mouth.

  Samrat woke up with a violent start, breathing hard.

  He was sweating badly and he cursed in frustration and desperation, while his body was still painfully aroused.

  Whatever happened a few hours ago in Mahi's bedroom had been a mistake. A mistake he was thinking about most of the night, replaying the images over and over, and wanting it to end in completion.

  "What the hell is wrong with me!"

  He hated that she could still do this to him. He wanted her badly, like he had
n't wanted any other woman in his life.

  He closed his eyes at that self-admission and felt a crushing guilt remembering his late wife.

  Nandini had come into his life when he was twenty six. At that time, his parents had been anxious to get him married and he was just starting to establish his company, and hadn't cared about whom he would marry. He simply asked his parents to pick a few girls that he could choose from.

  His parents found him a twenty one year old girl, who was a family friend's daughter. They felt that she would be perfect for him, since they wanted someone who would take care of him, and be a good mother to his future children.

  Nandini had been all that, and was also beautiful, sweet and caring. And his parents and sister loved and doted on her too.

  When they got engaged, he had been too busy running his company and hadn't spent enough time with her until their wedding.

  And like most arranged matches, they hadn’t been intimate or even kissed before their wedding.

  Their first intimacy was on their wedding night, at one of the farm houses in his village. It had been very awkward because Nandini thought sex was a dirty immoral thing to do, and the days that followed didn't get any better. Even though he was always gentle with her, she still couldn't enjoy their lovemaking. And each time his body felt the physical need, he had to gently coerce her, and she reluctantly complied.

  He was travelling a lot during their initial days of marriage, and when he was home, he was busy with phone calls and other things he had to do for his relatively new company. Nandini had never complained and made sure she catered to his needs all the time.

  He had often wondered if she was capable of snapping at him, or if she would ever call him out to make him miserable when he did something to displease her.