The Malhotra Bride (18 page)

reason for them.

Raj and Tanuja hugged both Akshay and Sunita spontaneously. While Akshay was taking leave of

Dadaji,
Tanuja took Sunita aside.

“You’re on the threshold of a new life, my darling. Be happy! Wish you the very best.” She kissed

Sunita with so much love that the latter was touched. She hugged her mother-in-law and whispered,

“Yes, Aunty.”

Akshay passed her a tissue as they settled in the car. “Are you so bothered about going away with

me?” he asked, no teasing note in his voice.

She answered seriously enough, “Sorry about that.”

He rubbed his knuckles against her cheek, not able to bring himself to kiss her as the contract hung

like the sword of Damocles over their heads.

They checked into the hotel. The bell-boy led them to the lift that whisked them up to the 24th floor

to a Grand Luxury Suite that had a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea. Not that either of them was in

a mental state to appreciate it.

Akshay automatically played the role of host. “Would you like to have a drink?” he asked, checking

out the contents of the refrigerator. He had pre-ordered a jug of fresh lime juice as he knew it was

Sunita’s favourite. Without waiting for her answer, he poured chilled lemonade in a glass and gave it

to her.

She watched in surprise as he opened a bottle of Smirnoff and poured a generous measure of the

vodka into a glass before adding fresh lime juice to it. Wasn’t it too early in the evening? “Cheers!”

he raised his glass in toast, his expression mocking. He gulped the drink down in a couple of

swallows as she sipped hers slowly, forcing it down her throat that was choking with emotion.

He was restless as he went around the suite in the pretext of checking out the amenities. She

watched him from her seat on the luxurious sofa, her eyes pained. Where was the camaraderie they

shared over the past few weeks? Now that he was her husband, had she lost her boyfriend? Sunita felt

bereft.

He returned to the sitting area with his laptop bag. He made another drink for himself before setting

it up on the glass-topped dining table. As it booted, he spoke to Sunita without looking at her, “You

must be tired. Why don’t you rest till dinner? I need to finish something.” It was a clear dismissal.

She got up immediately and went into the bedroom, leaving her unfinished lemonade behind.

Akshay raised his head to look in the direction she had gone in, a deep frown on his forehead.

Where had he gone wrong? They were getting along so well. Shaking his head to rid himself of

gloomy thoughts, he called room service to order a pack of cigarettes.

Sunita pulled the curtain away from the bedroom window at stare outside. She could barely

perceive the dark ocean in the deepening twilight while myriad electric lights had come on with the

advent of darkness.

She wasn’t sure quite what she had expected on her wedding night, but definitely not this feeling of

alienation. There were a couple of times she had wondered if they would consummate their marriage

but had shied away from the thought. She loved his kisses and felt so wonderful in his arms. A tear

threatened to spill out of her eye. She rubbed it angrily away as she squared her shoulders. She had

come this far to claim her freedom. She knew that he was attracted to her if not in love. She wasn’t

going to slink out of Akshay’s life just because of some stupid contract.

Sunita changed into a pair of stretch pants and t-shirt and did 12
surya namaskars
. Once she was

done, she squatted on the floor, her legs crossed. Her hands in a special
mudra
to beat stress, she

closed her eyes to breathe deeply in and out, counting till 500. She was extremely calm by the time

she completed the routine and had come to a decision by now.

She got up with a purpose, running water into the bath and adding the exquisite bath-salts provided

by the hotel. It had to be tonight or never.

AKSHAY RAISED HIS HEAD WITH A FROWN. Was he hallucinating? Half a bottle of vodka and

some cigarettes couldn’t drive a man to seeing visions, could they? The woman who went into the

bedroom a couple of hours ago had looked beaten, her shoulders drooped.

The one who stepped out couldn’t have been more different. He stared, his bloodshot eyes wide in

surprise, a smoke haze surrounding him. Did she really have such long legs? Sunita barely reached up

to his shoulder. When had she bought those red stilettos? He didn’t remember her trying them on. His

eyes slowly travelled up her slender legs, widening more than ever. He shut his dropping jaw in a

hurry as he caught sight of her shapely knees. Why had she hid her gorgeous body in those
salwar

kameezes
?

The breath he had been holding left in a whoosh when his eyes moved up to mid-thigh and saw the

hem of her dress. It was the same sexy shade as her shoes. What was with this woman and red? Her

skin glowed all the more. The flared skirt rose up a few inches as she twirled around to give him a

360-degree view. Akshay’s body tightened in arousal as he saw the dress dipping low over her back,

giving him a tantalising glimpse of red lace. What the hell!

Her arms were up like a ballet dancer’s as she turned around to face him. Her eyes were made up

dramatically with red-gold eye-shadow and black liner, her pouting lips glistening in a nude gloss.

Akshay made a move to get up just as he realised that he didn’t want to shock his young wife with

the state of his arousal that was obvious. She may be dressed like a siren, but he knew how innocent

she was.

Sunita walked to him and took his hand in hers, her eyes inviting. It wasn’t difficult once she put her

heart into it.

He stared at her gorgeous breasts encased in red and recalled the last time he buried his face in

them. A deep sigh left him before he could stop it. Why was life so complicated?

She did not let on the shock she felt when she saw her husband sitting there amidst the cigarette

smoke, the vodka bottle more than half empty. She didn’t know he smoked but decided not to let it

faze her. She needed to reach out to him for her own sanity more than anything else.

She managed a slow pirouette despite her shaking limbs. It got easier when she caught the hungry

expression in his eyes. A seductive smile invited him to take a closer look.

Unable to resist, Akshay pulled her into his arms. “What the hell are you doing?” he growled in her

ear as his left hand stroked her back. His right hand went south as he caressed the back of her thigh.

Her skin felt so silky, driving him insane with desire.

Sunita shivered at the sensations he aroused in her. A tremor passed through her as she felt the bulge

in his jeans. He was obviously not immune to her.

She turned to press her open lips against his rough cheek, her tongue peeping out to get a taste of

him. Akshay groaned as he turned his head to catch her marauding lips, kissing her hard. He pressed

her closer to his arousal, his hand splayed on her soft bottom. He thrust his tongue inside her mouth

and plundered it in a hungry kiss.

Her hands pulled out his shirt from the waistband of his jeans impatiently. She wanted to touch his

skin. She mewled in protest when Akshay removed his hands from her body, bringing a smile to his

face. “Just a second, sweetheart,” he said, before removing his shirt in a hurry. She looked at his bare

chest hungrily as she touched him in wonder. The black whorls of hair felt crisp to her soft hands as

she explored unfamiliar territory. Akshay turned her around to press her almost bare back against his

body, his arms going around her. His large hands cupped her breasts, squeezing their softness, his lips

at her neck. “Sunita.”

She pressed closer to him, revelling in his touch, her nipples perking in response. She groaned as he

nipped at the pulse in her neck. Her hands were restless on his arms, wanting more. She felt the earth

tilt when he lifted her in his arms. Her hands automatically went around his neck and she buried her

face in his chest as Akshay walked to the bedroom. He had to make her his—contract or no.

He placed her gently on the bed and removed his jeans. While shy colour ran up her cheeks, Sunita

refused to look away. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw his muscular legs revealed to her

gaze in the muted light. She couldn’t miss his arousal straining against his briefs. He went on his

knees beside the bed and removed the red shoes that tantalised him. His hands felt warm as he

touched her feet. Ticklish, Sunita wriggled her toes, almost jerking away in shock when he pressed

his lips to her instep, his tongue leaving a wet trail. His hands and lips explored every inch of her

legs as he moved up. Sunita sat there dazed, not knowing what hit her. Her whole body was on fire.

Akshay was on the bed beside her, his hands pushing the shoestring straps of her dress down her

shoulders. She went on her knees to press her body against him, her arms going around his back. It felt

so smooth to her touch, quite different from his chest. His muscles rippled under her hands, reacting to

her caress. Sunita kissed him wherever her lips could reach as he pulled the sexy red dress off her.

Her breasts were exposed to his smouldering gaze. Sunita automatically crossed her arms over her

chest, her eyes looking at his warily.

His gaze turned gentle as he watched his shy wife, the siren nowhere in sight. Akshay gently tugged

at her arms, “Let me look at your beautiful body Sunita,” he whispered.

She allowed him to pull her arms away, her eyelids coming down of their own volition. She missed

the love and desire flare up in the brown eyes in front of her as Akshay cupped her breasts, fondling

them gently. As he heard her soft sigh of pleasure, he bent down to put his lips to her left breast as he

fingered the nipple of her right. Sunita shuddered with the passion that hit her in a powerful wave as

she felt him sucking at her breast. Her hands went around his head to pull him closer to her body as

they both fell on the bed in mounting desire.

Akshay revered her breasts as Sunita thrilled to his hands and lips on them. She pressed her lips to

his shoulders and neck, her hands rifling through his silky hair. Growing bold, she nipped his

shoulder, swiping her tongue over the bite as she heard him groan.

“Keep that up and it’ll be over before we start,” he said, a teasing smile in his eyes as he raised his

head to look at her.

Her hair was splayed on the pillows, her lips red from his kisses. A small frown of concentration

brought her brows together as she asked, “You don’t like it? I—”

He laughed at that, the soft sound strumming her heart strings. He rolled on the bed, pulling her on

top of him, pressing her feminine mound against his arousal. “My sweetheart, I like it too much. But

there’s only so much my fragile body can take against your onslaught,” he teased her, the grin on his

face bringing an answering smile to her face. Bolder, she bent to press her lips to his male nipple,

opening her mouth to rub a wet tongue on it. A long groan broke out from him in response as he pulled

the scrap of lace that covered her femininity. She nipped him hard, loving the sensation.

“You li’l wild cat,” he swore, rolling her over again below him. He kicked away his briefs and

taking her hand in his, guided it to his throbbing masculinity. Her eyes widened in shock as she

caressed his hardness. He was so huge. Would—?

Her thoughts flew out of her head when she felt Akshay’s hand exploring her feminine core. His lips

at her breasts, he gently coaxed her willing flesh to wetness, getting it ready to accept him.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised before entering her in one stroke. A gasp escaped Sunita as she felt

pain. He waited, gritting his teeth as his body wanted him to push for more. He saw the hurt leave her

face as wonder replaced it. He thrust himself within her in rhythmic strokes, his tongue exploring her

mouth. In a moment, Sunita caught the tempo and responded enthusiastically, her hands on his

shoulders, revelling in the coupling. Stars exploded behind her closed eyes as the climax tore through

her body, Akshay following faithfully behind.

She savoured the weight of his relaxed body on hers, refusing to let go when he tried to move away.

He felt so good in her arms. Drawing deep breaths, he turned on his side and pulled her close, his arm

around her waist.

Three days they spent at the hotel, in bed most of the time. Sunita was happy to notice that the half

full cigarette packet had been trashed while his laptop was locked away. And not once did the subject

of the contract crop up.

“Akshay.” Sunita hugged her boyfriend from behind as he was locking the suitcase, all packed to

leave. She had completely lost her shyness under his expert tutelage. She learned how to please him

and she couldn’t have asked for a better lover. The rocky beginning to their married life had settled to

an even flow. But it still wasn’t how it used to be before signing the contract. And she didn’t even