Soulless (Revenge or Love?): A Hot Romance Thriller set in India

by MV Kasi

  But when he went inside, he was disappointed to not see her anywhere around. And as usual, he didn't see her during the dinner time. She must have gotten a tray delivered to her room.

  He knew she wasn't the warmest or the friendliest person around. But something had to change in order for them to begin a good dialogue. Their intense, but quiet couplings, though extremely hot, weren't going to help them develop a bond for their child's sake.

  After dinner, he went into his room to watch a TV show. He turned it off when he heard a knock on the door.

  It was only eight fifty eight.

  Well, someone was impatient. The thought brought a smile to his face.

  As soon as he opened the door, she came in, and then, pushed him towards a wall. And then, she pulled his head down towards her mouth, and began to kiss him deeply.

  He kissed her back automatically, and groaned when she held him to prep him. Both of them knew it was quite unnecessary, since he was always more than ready when it came to her.

  How can he be anything but ready, considering she was rubbing her body against his like a cat, wearing another of her hot lingerie that exposed more than it actually covered.

  On instinct, he turned, and then pinned her to the wall, taking over their kiss. She moaned as he lifted her off the ground, and grinded against her. But before things proceeded as each night, where they ended up with another night full of tussles, each trying to take over, he pushed away from the wall.

  Her legs remained wrapped around his waist, and he began to walk towards his bed in that position. They were facing each other and breathing heavily. And their clothes were still on because he hadn't given her the chance to get to them, yet.

  She leaned forward to kiss him, or probably to bite his lips like she did sometimes in passion. She had figured out that it drove him crazy. But he stood up really straight, and moved his head away from her, so she couldn't reach his mouth.

  She made a frustrated noise, looking annoyed.

  His lips quirked in amusement, watching the haughty, annoyed look on the usually blank or serious face. When he reached the bed, he dropped her on it gently, and remained bent over her.

  "Okay Sia, I know we both go at it like it's a war when it comes to the bedroom—each fighting for control while taking turns. But maybe it's time we try some variation," he said.

  She didn't reply. But her eyes definitely didn't remain blank. In fact she looked angry and outraged as she glared up at him.

  Okay, so no woman wanted to hear the implication of the word 'monotonous' when it comes to having sex. And he was her newlywed husband. And they had only been having sex for the past two weeks.

  He looked at her glare. Her pissed look probably scared most men, but it only added to his amusement. She looked hot and adorable at the same time. And he didn't think she would appreciate the compliment if he told her that.

  So he tried to keep his face neutral when he said, "I wasn't talking about the sex. It's still hot as hell. I meant our conversation skills in the bedroom. Or rather lack of."

  She didn't reply and continued staring at him. But the anger slowly died in her eyes and they became blank once again.

  He cupped her face with both his hands and saw her eyes flicker in surprise.

  Their past two weeks had been too raw and desperate, with no amount of tenderness. She didn't allow that, or give him the chance to show her that. He had been equally desperate to claim her as she had claimed him. But tonight, he was determined to change some of that.

  "I want us to talk. So, let me start. Hello Sia. How was your day?" he asked.

  There were several moments of silence as she stared at him to see whether he was serious about it. When she saw the small smile on his face, she finally replied with a single word.

  "Good," she said softly.

  "Anything exciting happen today at work or at home?"

  Some more silence, and then, "No."

  "How are you feeling these days?" he asked.

  "Fine."

  "I'm very glad."

  Not a scintillating conversation, but it was a beginning.

  She was squirming restlessly under him, making him equally restless. So, he smiled down at her, and then took her mouth in a long, hard and a rough kiss.

  And then, once again it became a warzone.

  With her on top. And then, him on the top.

  And while it was his turn, and he was pounding away into her, she gave him an odd look, and scrambled away on his bed towards the headboard.

  For a brief moment, he was very worried that he might have hurt her.

  What the hell am I doing? She's pregnant. I might have hurt the baby.

  But the doctor said it was okay and that there was no chance of hurting the baby while having—

  His thoughts froze when she waited on her hands and knees in front of him near the headboard.

  And then, she turned her head back at him.

  "Are you coming?" she asked, watching him.

  Relieved, he took up her offer eagerly. Placing an arm under her, over her slightly rounded belly and her sensitive breasts, he held her shoulder firmly. Then keeping her steady, he slid into her deeply from behind.

  "You okay?" he asked huskily.

  She nodded, and then realizing something, she turned, and then met his eyes. "Yes," she said softly.

  Using his other free hand, he tugged back her hair to bring her mouth closer, and kissed her hard before releasing her mouth. And then continuing to maintain eye contact, he began to thrust into her.

  Soon she got lost in the sensation like him. She closed her eyes, and dropped her head to the bed and let go. He pounded into her harder, letting himself go as well at the sight of her until both of them exploded.

  He remained buried inside her for several moments, holding her close. He kissed her shoulder and neck before reluctantly pulling out, to fall back on the bed in exhaustion. But before she could get up from the bed and disappear, he pulled her on top of him.

  Surprisingly, she didn't resist. She shoved her face in his neck, and held him close.

  Slowly, his hands rubbed her smooth back, and then her smooth buttocks. When she sighed and her body relaxed completely, he kept continuing with his gentle massage.

  "You should do this more often. Offer yourself to me and let go. It was pretty hot," he said.

  She didn't reply and just shrugged.

  He wanted to talk. He wanted to make this as normal as possible like any other couple. The only problem was that—both of them had never been in a relationship to know how other couples behaved.

  Maybe he shouldn't care about behaving like other couples or try to change the dynamic between them too drastically. Because he enjoyed her quietness. He enjoyed her dry humor. He simply enjoyed being with her.

  Her slightly rounded belly lay softly against his hard stomach, and he loved that feeling.

  "Remember what you said the first time we were together, that it wouldn't work since both of wanted to be on top. I'm glad you finally came around, and let me lead more." He also enjoyed teasing her.

  There was silence, and then, "I didn't come around. I instructed you to take me that way."

  "Yes. But I led," he told her with a smirk.

  "In that position, obviously. I simply wanted a variation, where I offer, rather than you arranging me willy-nilly to your likes." Her tone was getting icy.

  He smiled at that word, variation. It must have stung her pride when he had used that word earlier that night.

  "It must have been the best form of variation for you. You came hard. And quite loud. You should be very glad that most of the rooms are soundproofed," he goaded her.

  She sighed exasperatedly. "Can we not talk for a while? I'm still...recovering."

  He grinned. "Good. Recover, soon. Because after a while, I have a few more variations to try. Most of them involve you letting go and simply taking it, and screaming out in pleasure."

  She smiled.

  He
felt her lips stretch on his neck, and he felt a strange twist in his heart. He tightened his arms around her to hold her even closer.

  "And Sia...you were wrong. We are definitely...well-suited," he said, using one of her other terms.

  She laughed softly and raised her head to look at him. Then slowly her laughter died as she looked into his eyes. Probably because he was watching her with a strange tenderness he felt.

  Slowly she leaned towards him and gave him a soft kiss on his mouth.

  That kiss sucked out all the breath from his lungs, and got the warning bells ringing inside his head. But a few seconds later, he got completely distracted as she began to get a competitive look on her face.

  "My turn," she said and then moved lower on his body.

  They were back to resuming their war, driving each other crazy until they finally collapsed in exhaustion once again.

  And this time, Sia didn't snuggle at the end. She got up from his bed to slip into her lingerie which he finally noticed was pale green.

  "Spend the night with me," he said, watching her closely.

  She hesitated briefly. "I need a shower."

  "Shower in my bathroom, then."

  "I have to get up early."

  "My room is only a few hundred feet away from yours. If you stay, I promise you'll get the best wakeup call ever," he said.

  Sia was quiet as she watched him. He was like a siren. Luring her with his naughty smiles and other promises of intimacy. But she couldn't afford to risk getting close to him, or even worse, allowing him to get close to her.

  "I need to clarify something again. This thing between us. It's purely sex," she stated.

  He raised his eyebrow.

  "You are just a body to me," she explained further.

  When he continued to watch her in growing amusement, she got irritated.

  "A body that I want to use for sex, to get off, and to relax. And since I cannot use my vibrators, I'm using your body."

  He didn't seem offended like she had expected him to be. In fact his lips twitched.

  "I'm truly hurt, Sia. I thought my head did most of the job than my body. I distinctly recall you complimenting my tongue on several occasions."

  He was smirking at her. And instead of getting annoyed with that smug look, she found that look damn hot.

  She tried to ignore his teasing, and continued with her explanation. "Ajay, I can't spend the night with you. Please don't ask me again."

  "Can't?" he asked, latching on to the slip of her tongue.

  "I meant—won't."

  "Hmm..."

  Dammit. He was going to wonder what she had meant.

  "Sia, I only asked you to stay the night because after some recuperation time, I thought we could go for another round or two, in middle of the night, or early morning. Like you said, we are only using each other's bodies for sex."

  "I-I...no," she replied, torn between wanting to stay and having to leave.

  Then finally making up her mind, she said, "Good night Ajay," and left.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  A WEEK LATER, Sia woke up screaming in middle of a nightmare. She was sweating profusely and her body was trembling in fear and disgust.

  She looked towards the clock, and it was four in the morning. Unable to sleep back again, she began to get ready to go to work. She felt too jumpy to even go for her early morning run.

  And as soon as she reached her work, she marched inside her office in a determined way, and locked the door. Her blood was still boiling and her skin felt as though a million invisible insects were crawling all over it.

  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.