Page 45 of That Same Old Love

Her heart began to thud even more loudly, and she didn’t make any noise, or even move from her spot, hoping that he would leave soon.

“I know you can hear me, and I can feel you standing close to the door. I’m not leaving until we talk.”

Samrat sounded as though he would wait outside all evening until she opened the door.

Composing herself, she opened the door with a huge fake smile pasted on her face, and then felt a momentary shock when she saw him.

He was wet and dripping near the doorstep with an ominous expression on his face.

Still pasting the wide fake smile on her face, she asked, “Aren’t you a little too old to be running around and playing in the rain?”

Samrat’s expression didn’t change, and he stood quietly for several seconds, watching her as though searching her face for something.

“You know why I’m here,” he said softly, as though he didn’t want to spook her.

But she wasn’t just spooked, she was terrified, and she was almost sure that he could hear her heart thudding loudly in her chest, along with the roaring noise in her ears.

Her smile slipped a little, and she was determined to kill whatever was happening between them. “Are you here like the cliché neighbor to borrow some sugar? Or or… maybe to lectureme on attacking you last week and letting me know how you didn’t appreciate it—”

She broke off when he stepped inside and closed the door before pulling her into his arms. One of his hands molded her against his body, and the other was tangled in her hair to hold her head still. Her hands automatically crept into his wet hair, clutching him.

Watching her keenly, he slowly started to lower his head towards her.

She could feel the urgency building and then rushing through her body. Not wanting to wait a second longer, she pulled his head closer to join their lips in a hard kiss.

He responded back with a hungry desperation, pulling her closer. She pushed him off her and ran her hands under his wet shirt, gently raking his chest with her nails, making him shudder.

Not breaking their kiss, he pushed her towards a wall and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer. She could feel his need in the obvious arousal and also in the way his body was trembling as he kissed her.

Pushing her higher, he broke their kiss to place small nibbling kisses on her neck.

She moaned into his ear. “God, I want you. I’ve been going crazy imagining us together for so long… and that day is finally here,” she said and pulled his mouth closer for a long kiss.

After a few seconds, Samrat froze and then wrenched his mouth free to stare at her, gasping and breathing heavily. “I want you too, and not just for today, but until we both are completely sated. It might take a week or several months. Will you stay with me in San Francisco for the next three weeks? I know that you are going there for your training. I’ll be there as well for my conferences.”

She understood what he was trying to propose. She had wanted the same thing, but she felt uncertain about the duration. “I think three weeks are okay Samrat, but months? I don’t know if I can promise you that. Maybe we can decide on that as we pass that hurdle. But are you sure about this? What about our past,mypast, my—”

“Our past will always remain between us Mahi, but I have gotten over it. Your past does not matter to me as long as you promise to be with only me, until whatever this is between us has run its course, and we both decide to end it.”

Before she lost her courage she answered him. “Okay. Let’s do this. Let’s get this out of our systems for well and good, and for however long it takes. I’ll stay with you in San Francisco for three weeks.”

Then pulling his face closer, she bit his jaw and licked his chin dimple. “Now… where were we? Oh yes… we were about to seal the deal on this wall. Now hurry up,” she whispered to him, running her hands inside his shorts and grabbing his butt to pull him closer.

Samrat leaned his forehead on the wall next to her head and groaned out, “Oh God,” as though tortured.

Then all of a sudden, he dropped her legs from around his waist to step away from her.

She was confused.

He was looking at her in pain. “I can’t do this now, until you are sure.”

“What? I just told you. I’m sure—”

He shook his head. “No. I want you to think about it and give me your final decision by tomorrow. But be very sure, because once you accept it and we are together, there is no turning back from it. We are neighbors who have a history with each other and you work for me. We are talking about having an affair inIndia with no public commitments. It is very different here,” he warned.

She looked a little uncertain. “Okay. I know that. I’ll think about it. But for now, why can’t we just finish—”

“Send me a message tonight or before tomorrow morning if you have accepted my offer.”

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