Chapter Nine #2
He touched his lips to hers and lost himself. He kissed her hard, and she kissed him right back with the same amount of need. His hands found that gorgeous, luxurious beautiful, thick, soft hair as he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss.
He was barely aware of anything else—but he knew she was walking him back to the bed.
* * *
She wasn’t sure who or what had taken over her brain, but she knew she wanted this. Her body was in charge right now, and she was going along with it. Dave kissed her, and she did not melt.
No.
His kiss lit her on fire. He kissed her, and the need that had been simmering all day long flared hot.
She walked him back toward the bed and gently pushed him down onto it. This…this was what she wanted, and she hadn’t even known it. Then she crawled on top of him, removing his shirt. He was beautiful. She had admired his brain, now she was going to worship his body.
His hands crept to her shirt. “Nimi.” Her name in his throat was enough to drive her over the edge. “We have too many clothes on.”
“That is one thing we can agree on.” She pulled him close for another kiss. “Do something about it.”
He sat up and lifted her shirt off, revealing her bikini top. His deep brown gaze met hers as he pulled the string, and she gasped as it fell.
“Whatever you say, you’re the tour guide.” He chuckled, his mouth finding hers again as he hooked a finger into her bikini bottoms.
* * *
Roshan woke to the scent of coffee.
“Good morning,” Nimi’s voice called to him.
He opened his eyes to find her standing over room service, wearing his old UMD T-shirt. It was too big and hung off one shoulder. He’d give anything to be that T-shirt right now. “I got us breakfast.”
He crawled to the edge of the bed and tugged on her hem. She moved closer. He kissed her bare shoulder. “You, in or out of this T-shirt. That’s all I want.” He ran his hands under the soft fabric. “I need more of you.” He gently tugged off the shirt and pulled her back to bed.
“Who needs food?” she asked, climbing on top of him.
Hours later, he woke again, their legs entwined, her head on his chest, soft hair everywhere. A sense of calm, no, contentment settled over him.
She turned her head to him and opened her eyes. “We haven’t showered yet.” There was a sparkle in her eyes.
He pulled her on top of him. “That’s a problem.”
They showered together, slow and thorough, before finally conceding to clothes and eating breakfast, even cold.
Nimi curled up on the sofa, again in his T-shirt, holding a mug of coffee. Her hair was still damp from the shower, her face fresh and makeup free.
“That was fun,” she said over the mug.
He grinned. “That was fun.” He had completely forgotten about the patient charts he needed to review.
“I guess I should have mentioned this before…but damn can you kiss.” She grinned at him, her eyes darkening. He felt a power he had never really felt before. “But I feel like I should be honest with you. I can’t really do a relationship right now.”
He snapped his eyes to her over his coffee mug. He agreed with her. He wasn’t really looking for a relationship, either. So why did her words hit so hard? “Yeah. No. Me, too. I’m not in a relationship-y kind of place.”
She seemed to relax. “So we agree. This is just fun. Until I leave?”
He crawled over the bed to where she sat. “Right.” That was all he could really commit to—some fun. His schedule did not allow for anything serious. “In which case, we should not waste time.” He put down her coffee and pulled her into his lap. “I’m going to get as much of you as I can.”
She started to lift the T-shirt off again. Lucky he hadn’t bother to put one on. He moved to kiss her.
* * *
They dressed and took care of the guys before walking to the bookstore and picking up the book Malini recommended. “You sure your foot is okay?” He glanced at Nimi’s feet. Nimi still had a slight limp, but she didn’t seem to need the crutches.
“Yes. It still hurts a bit, but I was hoping to take the bandage off.”
“I’ll take a look at the hotel.” He nodded. “I’m impressed they had two copies of the book.”
“I was hoping to get my hands on this. It’s so popular right now.” Nimi’s eyes lit up, hugging the book as they walked back. She looked like a kid in a candy store.
“You really do love to read, don’t you?”
“Yes. When I was a kid, it was really the only vacation I could get. I’d lock myself in my room and get lost in all these different worlds…” Her gaze softened as if she were actually losing herself in a book.
“Why do I feel like there’s more to that?” He focused on her as they waited for the light to change.
She inhaled, and the light turned. Roshan stayed silent. Something about her body movement told him that he was right, and she might need to share.
They walked a few minutes in silence. When she spoke, there was a wistfulness to her voice. “My dad was my hero. He was tall and strong and brilliant. He always challenged me to be my best, to question the status quo. Then he was diagnosed with MS.”
Roshan kept quiet though he had questions. He hadn’t known about the MS.
“He lost his sight just before the diagnosis. It was a pretty scary time. My mom, my sister and I did everything we could for him. But he hated being dependent on us for every little thing.” She paused.
“His sight came back after a month or so, and then he almost immediately was unable to use one arm. That cleared up more quickly, but the whole experience terrified him. It terrified us all, quite frankly. My dad was a giant to us, the foundation in our lives—in my life—and now all of a sudden, he was fragile. At any time, his body could betray him again, and we lived in fear of that. My mom and my sister treated him like an invalid, even when he was healthy. I disagreed with them. I tried to coax my dad into being fearless again, but my father had been spooked by his sudden blindness and paralysis and was inclined to follow Reena and my mom’s lead. ”
“You became the outcast.”
She nodded, hugging the book tighter. “Books, especially books with strong South Asian female leads, didn’t become my escape, they became my teachers.
If these characters, who were written by women who were like me, could be strong and fight not only for themselves but for others, then so could I.
These books gave me the strength to defy my mom when she pushed for marriage.
They were a comfort when she died and provided courage when I opted to leave home.
” She paused, then chuckled. “Pretty screwed up, huh? I guess you didn’t sign up for that story. ”
He stopped walking to look her in the eye. “I’m signed up for whatever you want or need. I’m honored you shared that with me.”
She stared at him, disbelief all over her face. As if no one had ever said these things to her before. “I need to keep this light,” she finally said, gesturing between them.
“I’m light,” he said, adding actual lightness to his voice.
She gave him a half smile. “I have another confession, I’m a nerd.”
“Aren’t we all in one way or another?” He chuckled, and they started walking again.
“I guess I never put you in the nerd category. You were captain of the soccer team.” She shrugged. “The most popular guy in school. All the girls had a crush on you. You had it all together.”
He shrugged. “That was a long time ago. And someone very wise said, ‘I did not peak in high school.’”
Nimi laughed as he knew she would. “You’re right. People need room to grow. And I guess we have both changed quite a bit since then.”
They walked in silence for a bit, and as they reached the hotel, he asked casually, “You said all the girls had a crush on me. Does that mean you, too?”
“No!” She gave him a look of mock disgust. “I was too smart for that.”
He held the door for her. “And what about now?”
“Now…well…” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m having sex with you, aren’t I?”
He leaned down and kissed her. Desire sparked as he took her mouth with his. “Not at this exact moment.”
“True. We could take care of that.” She pulled him over to the elevators. “Let’s have a day at the hotel again. I’ll rest my ankle. I don’t need my ankle for sex, do I?” She smiled playfully at him.
“We’ll work around it.”