LITMIR.BIZ

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we should go back. My father will be looking for me.’

      ‘Your father is a busy man, and why do you want to end our conversation when it’s just getting interesting? Am I that bad to talk to, Amrita?’ He smiled softly and for a minute he looked almost like a different man. But then he caught her palm and brought it up to his lips and as he kissed the middle of it she felt the sexy Mehtab return. His lips were soft and his scent was spellbinding. ‘This is what your tenaciousness makes me want to do,’ he said as his hands roamed her back, and when they reached her collarbone she pushed him away.

      ‘What are you doing?’ she gasped without much conviction.

      He just looked at her and smiled. ‘Has anyone told you recently that you can drive a man completely wild?’

      Amrita pushed him a little further away and gathered her composure. ‘Not men I hardly know. Until two minutes ago, that is. Is this a habit with you, Mr Rathod, feeling up women you’ve only just met?’

      His hand was still behind her waist and now he pulled her back in. ‘It wasn’t until tonight. But you are making it very hard, Amrita.’ As he came closer and his lips hovered over Amrita’s she suddenly felt her resolve melt. It was just a kiss, with a man who was saying all the right things, and maybe she was overthinking things. She closed her eyes and tipped her face towards Mehtab. He nipped at her bottom lip and a moan caught in Amrita’s throat. This was torture. And then he was kissing her—softly at first, and then with a strange passion that was strong, but he took care not to hurt her. She felt herself responding with an ardour that she had never experienced before. Their bodies were now pressed against each other and Amrita found herself melting against him. It was as if she had been kissed for the first time, and Mehtab read her mind when he pulled away for a second and said, ‘This is just the first of many kisses.’

      As she drew him back into another sweet kiss Amrita thought, with some amazement, was this even her? But in the moment, she didn’t care.

      CHAPTER TWO

      AMRITA was feeling a little heady from all the kissing when she suddenly realised where they were. There was a party going on inside, and here she was kissing on the balcony. What if someone saw? ‘We can’t do this here.’ She broke away from Mehtab, who looked as if he didn’t care one bit about who saw.

      ‘No, we can’t, as much as I hate to say that. I don’t want your father thinking that I seduced his daughter when actually it’s the other way around.’ He laughed. ‘Let’s head back in.’

      ‘No, you go in first. I will go to the ladies’ room and then join the party. I can’t believe I did this. You know, I don’t usually go around kissing strange men,’ she suddenly found herself saying in a serious tone.

      ‘Yes, I know, Amrita. I don’t think any less of you, if that’s what you are worried about. I will see you back in the ballroom in a bit.’ His lips brushed her cheek and then he was striding away.

      Amrita walked a little unsteadily to the ladies’ room and wondered, was this what love at first sight felt like? Or was it lust? How and why did she do this? Kissing someone she barely knew? What was wrong with her? But she couldn’t deny the fact that she felt good—strangely so, but happy. Yes, she felt happy. She reapplied her lipstick, combed her hair and walked out just in time to see Mehtab go up to her father, shake his hand and whisper something in his ear. Her father looked slightly worried but she saw him nodding away. Mehtab kept patting his hand and saying something softly and she was curious to know what this was about. As she walked up to them they stopped talking and looked at her—her father with a concerned expression, and Mehtab with one of lust.

      ‘So I will see you two tomorrow?’

      ‘Yes, Mehtab. Amrita and I will be there at twelve o’clock,’ her father replied.

      Amrita was going to ask why when Mehtab took her hand and kissed it. ‘It was so nice meeting you today, Amrita. It was refreshing.’ He smiled and Amrita felt faint. ‘Until tomorrow, then?’ As he walked out Amrita turned to her father.

      ‘Daddy, what’s happening?’

      ‘Darling, it’s just business. Mehtab wants to help get the company back on its feet. You will accompany me, won’t you?’

      ‘Of course I will,’ she said. She had to get to the bottom of this mystery.

      Mehtab sat behind his mahogany desk and found himself humming a tune he hadn’t heard for years. It was a lullaby his mother used to sing to him and his five siblings as she tried to put them to sleep after a dinner of a fistful of rice. He used to ask for more every time, and his mother used to gently smile and say, ‘Mehtab, one day you will have all that you want.’ In retrospect, it seemed perfectly natural to him that her prophecy had come true. He had known since he was ten years old that he could make it out of the slum, but there had been many dark days. He never stopped feeling guilty that his family was not here to enjoy his fortune.

      He stopped humming and felt a migraine coming on. As he pressed the buzzer for his secretary to get him an aspirin a voiced boomed on his intercom. ‘Sir, your twelve o’clock is here.’

      It was Manoj Piramal and his daughter Amrita, and suddenly Mehtab felt his anger melting away. Today his strategy of bagging the Piramal empire and marrying Amrita would come to fruition. He couldn’t think of a better business proposal—Piramal needed someone to rebuild the company, which was a challenge Mehtab was looking forward to, but in return Mehtab would also get a wife. A wife who would bring with her the sophistication that came with old money.

      Amrita had it all—class, intelligence, wit and, though Mehtab had not expected it, beauty. She was gorgeous and when he remembered their kiss last night, he couldn’t help but feel his pulse quicken. Unlike the stick-thin women who usually graced his bed, Amrita had curves in all the right places, and it made her seem so much more feminine and delicate. Her outfit suited her perfectly and the yellow kurta brought out her hazel eyes and high cheekbones. Her straight black hair and the sexy fringe caught him off guard. He had wanted to kiss those lips the moment he walked in.

      She was much more interesting than he had expected. The way she had indulged in that witty repartee with him—he couldn’t wait to meet her again. He just needed Manoj Piramal to accept his offer and couldn’t help but wonder if the old man was really desperate enough to broker away his daughter’s hand in marriage to save his crumbling empire. Mehtab could sense that he was. He realised maybe he would even do the same if the tables were turned. But he had to hold his horses, because Amrita didn’t seem like the I-will-go-along-with-anything kind of woman. If her demeanor had revealed anything to him yesterday, it was the fact that she was super smart, and even though she had kissed him, getting married to him was a totally different ball game. Would she fly off the handle? He knew he would have to tread very carefully today.

      Amrita looked at Mehtab’s face as she entered his office and she was instantly reminded of their kiss, which had left her feeling woozy for a long time after. She had never felt so blown away before, but then she hadn’t ever been kissed like that. He was an intensely handsome man, with his chiselled jaw line, broad shoulders and that sinful smile, which she thought was the sexiest thing of all. The fact that he had kissed her had pleased her, and made her feel special. Even at work today, he looked perfect, as if he had walked out of an advert for a designer suit. His black suit and white shirt looked even better as he wore no tie, and he appeared casual yet so sexy. Amrita had taken extra care while getting dressed this morning—she wore a pale blue sheer kurta and jeans and had jazzed it up with a pair of leopard-print high heels. Her hazel eyes were shining thanks to the blue kajal. She wanted to look good for him, strange as that made her feel.

      ‘Mehtab, thanks for meeting us today,’ she heard her father say.

      Mehtab shook Piramal’s hand warmly and said, ‘Sir, the pleasure is all mine. Thanks for coming in. I know this is a tough time and it can’t be easy for you to consider my proposition, but I am glad you are thinking about it.’

      He quickly stole a glance at Amrita and noticed the look of surprise on her face.

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