A woman gazed back at her. A woman who, yes, had a nice rack. She’d never looked at her body in a sexual way before, trying to see it as a man would.
“Did you uncross your arms?”
“Yes.”
“Are you looking at yourself in the mirror?” he asked after a pause.
“Yes.”
“Slowly slide your hands up your rib cage and cup your breasts,” Dev instructed in a low voice.
“I will do no such thing!” Enough. Anji reached for the corset.
“Please.” His voice was rough with longing and…arousal?
He was turned on! She, skinny little Anji Rawat with the two thick braids and even thicker glasses, had excited a man with nothing more than words. And without trying. What would happen if she put a little effort into it and played along?
She drew a breath, willing her voice not to quiver. “I’m sliding my palms over my skin.” She did so. “It’s so soft.” No sense in doing this halfway. “And now my hands have reached my breasts and I’m holding them, feeling their weight.” Her breath quickened.
“Imagine that your hands are my hands and that I’m standing there behind you, watching your face.”
As Dev described the scene, a jolt of desire such as Anji had never experienced shot through her.
Dimly, she was aware of Jenny’s voice. With shaking hands, she grabbed the torsolette and sat on the chair, her knees quivery.
“Anji, look what I’ve got!” Jenny burst into the room and hung up the dress. “They had another version.” Quickly unzipping the bag, she gestured grandly. “Ta-da! Check it out—white with an embellished gold lace overlay. There’s a gold sash that ties under the bust and trails down the back of the one-hundred-inch cathedral-length train…. Are you okay?”
“I got a little dizzy. Lia is getting some water, but she must have been interrupted.”
Lia hurried in while Anji was speaking. “Here you go. I brought you some cookies, too.”
Anji gratefully drank the water, but passed on the cookies. It wasn’t hunger that had made her dizzy.
As Lia hooked up the torsolette, Jenny asked, “How much sleep did you get last night?”
“You know how it goes. A few hours here and a few hours there.”
Jenny pulled the dress from the bag and held out the train. “You know, I’m the Energizer Bunny, but even I need sleep or my patients suffer.”
“Yes, doctor.”
“Lecture over.” Jenny stepped aside. “What do you think?”
The dress gleamed and sparkled in the light. “That’s it,” Anji whispered.
Lia had finished fastening the torsolette and was being very quiet. Anji caught her reflection in the glass and was surprised to see that she had both hands pressed against her mouth. And were there tears in her eyes?
When she saw Anji and Jenny looking at her, she laughed self-consciously. “I can’t believe I still do this.” She fanned at her face. “But sometimes, a dress is just so perfect and I have to be careful not to say anything because I may think it’s perfect, but the bride might not like it.” She fanned harder. “Let’s get it on you.”
It took both Jenny and Lia to help Anji step into the dress and do up the back.
They all stared.
“The short sleeves and the neckline remind me of those tops you wear with your saris,” Jenny began tentatively when Anji remained silent.
“Cholis,” Anji supplied in a dreamy voice. This was her dress, a perfect mix of both cultures. The dress she’d wear to marry Devak.
Lia tugged on the shoulders. “We can raise the neckline if you think it’s too revealing,” she offered.
The tops of her breasts swelled above the bodice. More than a hint, but less than slutty. Anji smiled. “Oh, no. It’s perfect just the way it is.”
3
DEV HAD TO BUY a navy blue suit to justify staying in the fitting room. It was worth it to have had that intimate interlude with his future wife. And a man could always use a perfectly tailored navy blue suit.
But it wasn’t going to be perfectly tailored unless he stopped thinking of Anji half-naked in the fitting room next door long enough so that he could have the pants measured.
He wanted to be able to answer the “Do you dress right or dress left?” question instead of the “Why are you sticking straight out front in the men’s fitting room?” question.
He felt more awake and alive than he’d been in months. And his enthusiasm about the wedding had increased exponentially. Before, he’d been happy and satisfied to have found a life mate he’d enjoy getting to know and love. Now, he was surprised and pleased and really enthusiastic…until he wondered if she was okay with what had happened. Had she enjoyed it? Or was she disgusted?
Calm down, Dev.
Except he was proud of himself in an entirely adolescent way. It had been too long since he’d thought of a woman to the point that he’d become visibly aroused. Hey, look at me! Now, that would get him kicked out of the store.
Dev needed to see Anji and talk to her without their families or the chaperone of the day hanging around. Truly, it was ridiculous, since Anji in particular had seen plenty of men’s privates. However, it was tradition, and as their schedules so rarely meshed, wasn’t worth arguing about.
But Dev wanted time alone with Anji when he could see her face while they spoke. What had been the abstract idea of a wife had become specifically about her. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought much about the details of their wedding—weddings. He was involved in his work and showed up when his family told him to.
What did she think about it all? Feelings such as those were not something to discuss in text or e-mail. Their phone conversations usually ended with one or the other of them being paged or yawning with tiredness.
Not much of a courtship.
Just before Dev thought he was going to have to add a pair of gray slacks to his order, he heard the women leave while Anji changed into her own clothes.
He knocked on the wall. “Anji?”
“Dev! I can’t believe you’re still there.”
“I bought a suit so they wouldn’t kick me out.”
“Ha! Well, I can’t stay in this room because it’s booked for another bride.”
“I wanted to ask if I could see you.”
“Are we not having lunch at the Wainright with our families in thirty minutes?”
“I mean alone. To talk. Really talk. To see each other while we speak. Without someone listening and giggling,” he grumbled.
“Oh, my, think of the scandal,” she said in a singsong voice.
“See me after lunch. Today.”
“I can’t. All the women are coming back here to choose my gown. And, Dev, don’t mention that we’ve already found it! Jenny and I were just expediting. My mother thinks I was only getting measured so they could have dresses in my size. Not that they do,” she added. “They use clips that remind me of the ones used to close bags of potato chips.”
“I will want to hear about all of that later.” Not a chance. “So you’ll show your mother the dress and then we’ll meet.”
“Oh, no. First, I’ll have to try on several dresses that they can reject. Jenny and I have already picked those. After a time, they’ll grow bored. Then, I come out wearing the dress I like and they’ll be so happy and decide that that is the dress I should have. If I come out wearing it first, they won’t like it nearly as much.”
Women. Dev shook his head. “Then how about after that? We could have dinner together.”
“I rode here with Jenny.”
“I’ll drive you home!”
“All the way back to Temple? That’s hours out of your way.”
“So what?”
He heard her sigh. “It will be very late and I’ll be very tired. It won’t be the best time to have an important conversation.”
So. She was avoiding him. Not good. He draped the blue suit over his arm. “My grandmother told me a story about a man and a woman who met e
ach other for the first time on their wedding day. They moved into his parents’ home and shortly afterward, they were walking to the market together. It was very crowded and they became separated. She couldn’t search for him because she couldn’t remember exactly how he looked. So she sat on a bench and waited until he found her. It took a very long time because he wasn’t sure of her appearance, either.” He stood. “I just want to be able to find you if we become separated, Anji.”
“We have cell phones, Dev.”
She was deliberately missing the point. In frustration, he whipped out his cell phone and punched in her number. He heard a muffled ringing that grew louder as she uncovered her phone and answered it.
“Dev? What are you doing?”
“We need to talk. We are going to talk. If you want to talk in front of our families at lunch, then I am willing to do so. However, the topics I wish to discuss are not suitable for lunch conversation and you might find it awkward to answer in front of your parents.”
“You’re blackmailing me!”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I.”
In the silence, he heard Jenny’s voice. “Aren’t you dressed yet? We’re going to be late and your mother will lecture me about my duties again.”
“All right, Dev. You win. I’ll meet you after we finish selecting my dress.” Anji disconnected.
He closed the phone, feeling nothing like a victor.
“YOU ARE GOING to be a most beautiful bride,” Anji’s mother told her. “Both here and in India. At first, I say to myself, ‘Why must there be two ceremonies?’ But the legal and the religious—that I understand. The legal work is so very much easier to do in this country.”
Anji hugged her mother. “Goodbye, Mom.” Her parents were headed home and Anji was going to have dinner with Dev, who would then drive her all the way back to Temple. The idea had not been received well.
She waved to her father in the car. “Tell Dad to drive safely.”
“I don’t like the two of you going off on your own.” Her mother glared at Dev. “My daughter is a good girl.” She shook her finger at him. “You will do nothing to dishonor her.”
“I will not, Mrs. Rawat.” Dev was very deferential. The perfect Indian son-in-law to be.
If her mother only knew, Anji thought darkly. He may have gotten his way this time, but she was going to make it very clear to him that it would not work in the future.
Her mother turned to her. “And you will do nothing to dishonor yourself.”
“Yes, Mama.”
Her mother looked suspiciously at them, but was apparently reassured.
No kidding. Anji might sound like a shrew before the night was over, but there was no dishonor in standing up for herself. This bossiness was not an attractive side of Dev and she’d decided that this evening was the opportunity to find out if there were any other traits that were deal breakers.
The official wedding invitations had not yet been mailed, so if she needed to back out of this marriage, she could. And would.
That would teach her to make life decisions after a twenty-four-hour shift.
They waved goodbye to Anji’s parents.
“You’re angry with me,” Dev remarked even before her parents were out of sight.
“Ya think?”
“Come with me and I promise to make it all better.” He smiled gently.
She was a horrible fiancée. He’d only asked to sit and talk with her and had waited hours for her to finish at the bridal salon. “Sorry,” she told him as they got into his car. “I get snappish when I’m tired.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“And I’m certain I’ll have occasion to remind you.” She leaned her head back. “However, do not think I will be blackmailed every time you want to do something and I don’t.”
“But it worked so well,” he responded dryly.
Anji smiled. She’d made her point. And he’d made his. They would move forward. “Our families are so very happy.”
“They each think they’ve gotten a prize.”
“You know what, Dev? They have.”
He glanced down at her. She saw affection in his gaze. It wasn’t burning passion, but, frankly, she couldn’t have handled burning passion right now. Warm fuzzies were just fine.
But when Dev turned into the parking lot of the Wainright Inn, Anji felt disappointed. They’d just had lunch there. Couldn’t he have found a different place for their first dinner alone?
She checked her watch. Four-thirty. A bit early for dinner, considering they’d finished lunch only three hours ago. But she had expressed concern about a late night when he’d said he wanted to talk.
Fair enough.
Except they walked right past the restaurant to the elevators.
One was standing open. They walked in and Dev punched the button for the third floor, all without saying anything. He only smiled wearily and leaned against the wall of the elevator.
“I didn’t know there was a restaurant up here,” Anji said.
“There isn’t. I booked a private room.”
He’d closed his eyes, otherwise Anji might have been nervous. She recognized that look. She didn’t need a mirror to know that her face wore the same look.
Exhaustion. Bone-deep, I’ve-been-running-on-adrenaline-too-long exhaustion.
Neither was at their best. What kind of meaningful exchange could they have?
The elevator opened onto the third and highest floor. There were only four suites on this floor, including the bridal suite, Anji knew. It was where she’d be dressing on her wedding day.
Dev gestured for her to precede him out of the elevator.
He headed to the right, but Anji didn’t follow.
Sure enough, he swiped the key card in the bridal-suite lock. He looked back at her. “Come on.”
“No.” She punched the down button on the elevator.
Dev blinked at her. Then, shaking his head as though to wake up, he ran his fingers through his hair and walked back to her. “Sorry. I should have explained. It was my attempt at a surprise.”
“Oh, you don’t need to explain. Just because we—” she gestured vaguely “—we had a moment in the dressing rooms doesn’t mean that I’m going to hop into bed with you!” She was disappointed in him. Hugely disappointed.
Dev chuckled tiredly. “Oh, now that is funny. Let me show you why.”
Reluctantly, Anji followed him into the bridal suite. A bottle of red and a bottle of white wine chilled on a table set with a fruit-and-veggie tray with a bowl of hummus. A bread basket sat next to a silver Thermos. “It’s tomato soup,” Dev said. He ran his fingers through his hair once more and massaged the back of his neck. “I didn’t know if you preferred red or white wine, so I asked for a bottle of each.”
“It depends on my mood and the weather.”
He nodded, but didn’t offer her a glass.
“I apologize. I see you were only securing privacy.” She sounded so stilted. Too much time with the relatives today.
“That’s not all.” He took her hand and led her to the bedroom. “I’ve been thinking about us and how we’re always sleep deprived. I wanted to talk with you when we weren’t rushing to do something else, or surrounded by people, or ready to drop where we stood. And I wanted to give you a gift.” He gestured to the bed. “So, I’m giving you sleep.”
“What?”
The bed was already turned down for the evening, the sheets an ivory color that reminded her of the wedding dress. Slowly, she walked forward.
“I splurged on really luxurious sheets and pillows and a blanket for us and had housekeeping make up the bed. The bed itself is a custom-built pillow top that only the suites have.”
Did he realize he was waving food in front of a starving woman? Anji drew her hand over the sheets and felt the soft, silky cotton. And so many pillows. She could cocoon herself.
“If we like it, we can order one of the b
eds for ourselves.”
She heard him approach and stand next to her as she stared at the bed. Dev took her hand again. Once more, she felt the strength and confidence she’d felt the night they met. She squeezed back.
“So, Anji, will you sleep with me tonight?”
She started and tried to draw her hand away, but he wouldn’t let it go. “And I mean only sleep. Sleep, glorious sleep. Think of it. We both have tomorrow off. We can sleep for hours and hours with no one to wake us up. And then we can talk.”
“You did all this for me?”
“Yes. And, I’ll admit, for me, too.”
She swayed. “But I don’t have my things.”
His teeth shone whitely against his skin. “You do. Jenny helped me. There’s a bag in the bathroom and the hotel supplies robes.”
Feeling like a zombie woman, Anji walked into the bathroom and saw the whirlpool bathtub. “Oh.”
She was so easy. Seduced by the promise of glorious sleep and a relaxing soak.
Dev picked up a shopping bag and handed it to her. Inside, she saw a toothbrush and toothpaste, along with various toiletries and a new set of her favorite lounging pajamas in a pale blue cotton knit. Jenny’s work.
The gray set she had at home was all stretched out and full of little holes and she’d moaned about having to toss them when she married.
There was a note in the bag, written on one of Jenny’s prescription pads. “You are so—” underlined three times “—lucky. Take twenty-four hours and call me in the morning. Love, Jenny.”
Anji looked up at Dev, who was regarding her with his dark eyes, and felt a rush of affection. “I don’t think anyone has ever given me such a thoughtful gift before. Thank you.” She exhaled, feeling the tension already leaving her body.
“You’ll stay?”
She nodded. “You would have to drag me out.”
He smiled and she noticed for the first time that she liked his smiles and that she hadn’t seen many of them. “I’ve already showered, so you can have the bathroom for as long as you like.”
Anji looked at the tub. “Dev? Don’t wait up.”
One-Click Buy: June 2009 Harlequin Blaze Page 41
