Chapter 28: Chapter 28

One week later, Sam was in the middle of doing the downward dog on a yoga mat in her office on a balmy Sunday morning, soothing music streaming from her laptop, the entire floor deserted when a familiar deep voice broke her blessed solitude.

“What are you doing?”

Sam lost her balance. With a shriek, a graceful pose ended with her in a heap on the floor, the blow to her chin mercifully muted by the thick rug.

A pair of black Doc Martens entered her line of vision. “Shit! Are you okay?”

Spitting a clump of hair out of her mouth, she glared at the shoes, eyes roaming upward to the face of the man crouching beside her, wearing a concerned expression.

“What did it look like I was doing?” she snapped, massaging her throbbing chin. Her lower lip stung and there was a metallic taste on her tongue. Bringing fingers to her lip, she touched the sore spot and winced, fingers coming away bloodstained.

Great. Another thing to add to an already crappy morning.

“Fuck, you’re bleeding,” Ryan reached to touch her lips, but she shied away, brushing his hands off.

“I’m fine.” she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the hand he held out and instead, busied herself straightening her workout clothes. “It’s just a small cut. What are you doing here anyway? I didn’t think anyone came to the office on Sundays.”

He rose to his full height, still watching her carefully. Her gaze flickered over him, mouth running dry at the picture he presented in tight black Linkin Park t-shirt that lovingly displayed tempting biceps and black jeans, windswept hair, with a pair of dark shades perched on the fair locks. A faint scent that reminded Sam of freshly baked muffins clung to him.

Goodness!

A delicious flare of heat crept between her thighs, and she felt her pulse, which was already going pretty fast, practically break into a sprint as every nerve ending throbbed with the instinct to simply launch herself at him and indulge in forbidden, but oh so satisfying sex right there in her office.

“Sam?” His puzzled tone snapped her out of the sexual fantasy and a fiery blush crept up her cheeks at the realization she’d spaced out and had completely missed whatever explanation he’d given for being here, ducking down to roll up the yoga mat in a bid to avoid looking him in the eye.

This was really getting absurd. Sam had always prided herself on being in full control of her emotions and impulses, yet in the space of a week, she’d managed to make a fool of herself by drooling over this man and losing track of the present. The last time had been during the lunch meeting with James and now this.

To cover up her gaffe, she merely nodded as though she understood, suddenly hit by a wave of self-consciousness at her shoddy appearance. Then promptly scolded herself for caring one way or the other what Ryan Silverton thought about the fact she was wearing yoga pants and a crop top to the office, or that sixty percent of her hair had escaped the ponytail and was currently plastered over sweat dampened face and neck.

Nope. She didn’t give two hoots about that. It was the labor day weekend, a public holiday that stretched till Tuesday and the entire Silvercorp building was deserted, save for a few workaholics in other departments and security. The assurance of solitude was what had brought her here in the first place, since the apartment had gotten a little too uncomfortable, what with Yash and Dee going at it like rabbits since Friday night and she forced to lie awake listening to the moaning and sounds of sex filtering through the walls.

Consequently, she was tired, cranky and aroused. Hence the now aborted attempt at yoga.

I really need to find my own place before those two drive me nuts. Mother will just have to live with the fact her precious daughter is on her own in the big, bad city.

“You should get that cleaned to avoid infection,” Ryan gestured to her lip. Jerking a finger over his shoulder, he continued. “There’s a first aid kit in my office, I’ll just grab it.”

“Okay.” Eager to have him gone, even for a minute, she readily agreed. She heaved a sigh when he was gone, and flopped down on the sofa, her body strumming with desire.

“You can’t have him again, so stop it.” she muttered to thin air. “You’ve worked too hard for this job to just throw it away for the sake of sex.”

If Bradford Silverton got a whiff that there was something going on between his son and the woman supposed to keep him in line, no doubt, Sam would find herself fired faster than she could spell the word. Plus, she could then kiss her career goodbye once word inevitably got out about the reason for being fired. The business world was unforgiving to women, even more so to women of color, especially in such a male dominated field. A mistake that would result in a simple reprimand if she was a guy would be a catastrophe for an Indian woman.

Muted footsteps heralded Ryan’s return, kit in one hand and a box of what looked to be baked goods in the other. Her nostrils confirmed it as fact as the scent of baked flour filled her office. Her stomach rumbled its approval and she sniffed appreciatively.

“What’s that heavenly smell?” she sat up, eyeing the box hungrily.

“Muffins and macaroons,” he replied, grinning when her face lit up in delight. “All homemade…well, made in my sister’s home.”

He set the box on the coffee table and opened it to reveal paradise. Picking up a chocolate muffin, he held it out. “Want one?”

“Do black holes exist?” she reached out with greedy fingers, practically salivating at the thought of eating it then frowned when he lifted it out of reach, a teasing glint in his eye. “Dude, don’t even. Not unless you want to see the wild side of me. Give it!”

“You have a wild side?” Ryan chuckled, looking not the least threatened. “Fascinating. Now I really have to see that.”

“You won’t be alive long enough to witness it.” she shot back, rising to her haunches on the sofa and making a grab for the muffin, but he simply leaned back, laughing his ass off while she glared at him, planning ways to make him pay for standing between a woman and her muffins.

“Yikes and to think I thought you so well behaved.” he chortled. “One muffin and you already turn into a rabid caveman? I’m shocked Ms. Bhaat.”

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes, settling back into the seat, and affected a demure look. “Thank you most kindly, Mr. Silverton, for offering me that delightful muffin. It would be a pleasure indeed to consume the confectionery and I shall be sure to write a sonnet in your honor as a show of gratitude.”

To further the pretense, she bowed, clasped both hands together and lifted them over her head.

He was doubled over laughing now and she took the opportunity to grab another one from the box.

“Ah ah, Princess. Not so fast.” His hand caught her wrist, the contact sending a bolt of desire through Sam.

From the hitch in his breath and the flicker of raw need that flashed in his eyes, he was not unaffected by the contact either. The playful atmosphere became charged in an instant, lust sizzling between them. Her nipples hardened instantly, breasts heavy and aching for his touch, liquid heat pooling between her legs as every cell hummed with the need to just lean a little bit closer and press her lips to his, to drown in kisses that promised to be even sweeter than muffins.

Instead, she jerked her hand free, the muffin falling from her grip and scooted away; face burning while her insides screamed in disappointment. Raking shaky fingers through her messy ponytail, she forced air into her lungs and stared out the window at the skyline while trying to get her lust under control.

She heard him sigh and turned to look at him, noting the pained expression and the tense set of his shoulders. He met her gaze then looked away, picking up the first aid kit again.

“Let’s take care of that lip, and then you can eat.” The words came out cool, almost impersonal with no hint of his inner turmoil. Dropping some mentholated spirit on a cotton tip, he made to lean close, thought about it and handed her the stick instead. “Here.”

She took it, carefully avoiding contact with his skin and rose, picking up the kit. “I’ll be in the washroom.” Without waiting for a reply, she hurried to her bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it with a stifled groan.

After taking care of the cut and lecturing her lady bits on the need to stop acting silly, she returned to the room and Ryan was nowhere to be found, much to her relief. The pastry box still sat on the table, but Sam had lost her appetite for now.

After ten minutes of trying to finish a report and failing, Sam gave up, deciding she’d rather endure her rutting brother and best friend than the temptation sitting in the office across from hers. She gathered her things; pastry box included and walked out. At Ryan’s open door, she paused, gnawing her lip indecisively, debating whether to just leave or talk to him first.

She peered in, catching sight of him sitting behind his desk, talking into his phone. As though sensing her gaze, he looked up and beckoned her in but she shook her head and made gestures to show she was on her way out. It was a cowardly move, but what was a girl to do?

To her consternation, he ended the call and came towards her, sending her pulse skyrocketing once more.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah,” she replied, keeping her gaze on a spot just beyond his shoulder, her nerves high strung.”I’ve been here since eight am and it’s already noon. I just came here to get some alone time, really not because of work or anything and I should be getting back. Hopefully Yash and Dee have stopped their sex marathon and I can finally get some sleep…” she cut off in horror, realizing the verbal diahorrea that just spewed from her mouth.

She chanced a glance at Ryan, face flaming. He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes glittering in amusement and wearing a wide grin.

“Sex marathon, huh?”

Oh goddess

“Umm…well…not exactly,” Inwardly, she cursed her running mouth and the idiot couple. This was their fault for keeping her awake all night and now too tired to control her thoughts. Then she cursed Ryan and his made for sex body for rendering her incapable of rational thought. “Look, I really should get going.”

“But I want to hear about the sex marathon.” he protested, chuckling at his own joke. “C’mon Sam, you can’t just mention that and not go into details.”

“I am not discussing my brother’s sex life with you.” she declared, giving him an evil look. The dude had the nerve to look disappointed, really?

“Fine,” he sighed in mock resignation. “But what if you get home and they’re still at it?”

She shuddered at the thought. “I guess I’ll go over to Dee’s place if that’s the case. Her cousins are staying at her place for the long weekend and it’s a mad house, but I’ll take it over the bumping and grinding.” A yawn caught her mid word and she stretched.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Or, you could crash at my place.”

She blinked at him, too stunned to trust herself to say anything. Had he lost his marbles, or had she heard him wrong?

“Eh?”

“The yellow doesn’t do your complexion any favours.” Tia, eldest of Dee’s six cousins ran critical eyes over her sister who was currently wearing a pale yellow lehenga and matching choli. “And it makes you look like you added fifty pounds overnight.”

Chitra glared at her sibling, huffing in indignation. “Lies. You’re just angry because you wanted to wear it for the wedding instead.”

The third round of loud bickering ensued, with the other four siblings taking sides with either sister and adding their voices to the mix filtering into Dee’s bedroom where Sam lay, eyes wide open and red rimmed.

With a frustrated growl, she rolled over and attempted to smother the sounds with a pillow. Or suffocate to death; it didn’t matter at this point. All she wanted was one hour of peace and quiet, but instead, the whole world had conspired to make her miserable.

First thing she would do after the holiday on Tuesday, would be to contact a real estate agent and begin the search for her own place. In the meanwhile, she could only grit her teeth while seriously reconsidering Ryan’s crazy offer, which was starting to sound less crazy with every passing minute.

Quickly, to stop herself from doing the worst thing ever, she drew up a mental list of the pros and cons.

Con number one: It was downright madness to even consider. How was she supposed to get any sleep if she ended up on his bed, Egyptian cotton sheets notwithstanding? Especially with the man himself in the same building, a veritable source of irresistible temptation.

Even just thinking about him lying on those sheets, gloriously naked and hard made her thighs clench. Okay, so he’d mentioned having a second bedroom she could use, but still.

A shriek sounded from the living room and she winced as the sound went straight to her head.

Pro number one: No jealous, shrieking harpies to give her a migraine.

Con number two: She could get a migraine from the pent up desire.

The door was flung open and one of the cousins matched in. “Sameera, you’re the only one who can settle this matter.”

Benchod!

Instead of answering, she picked up her phone and dialled.

He answered after four rings. “Hello?”

“Text me your address.”