“Nice,” he commented, manoeuvring the car down the busy Worli road at dusk. “Works for me.”
His lost passenger startled — “Huh?”
“This song. What do you think?”
Her eyebrows shot up — “Yes. Has rain in it.”
Nilay turned into the hotel gate and brought the car to a halt under the porch.
“Wait for me,” he told her and got out, his door held open by somebody. He heard the unmistakable click of the opening of her door behind him. Nilay rolled his eyes, handing over his key to the valet.
“NiP, hello, sir, welcome to St. Regis.” A man who looked like the Manager came running down the door. “I am Anuv Sinha, the Manager of the hotel. I welcome you on behalf of St. Regis. Where would you like me to escort you, sir?”
“One second.” He turned to get Ritu, whatever little he could, but she was already there, rounding the car to him. And his breath stuck in his throat. He had sent her the dress, knew how it looked, had seen her walk out of her building and into his car through the barrier of his windshield. But nothing compared to seeing her in flesh, up so close. The black cocktail dress slithered down her curves, dipping like a piece of art at her chest, moulding to her breasts and tiny waist before flaring to life down her ample hips. And when she walked… His gaze slid to the slit in that black silk, her shapely calf appearing, then disappearing, then appearing again — teasing every cell of his body,
“I told you to wait,” he scolded low enough for her ears. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, blow-dried like a queen. Her mouth was redder than usual, the bangs framing her cheeks baiting his fingers to reach for them and tuck them back so that he could have her entire face in his view.
“I can open my own doors.”
“But I would have liked it more.”
“Why?” She frowned up at him, her eyes touching his mouth in her tiny heels. He gazed pointedly at the sliver of bright skin visible from between the slit of her dress. She reddened, those browns going wide, angry and shy. “You are so vulgar.”
“It’s not vulgar, Doctor. It’s sensual.” He reached out and loosely tucked her bangs behind her ear. He was a man of vanity. He knew how much a good curl meant to a woman. “Youlook sensual.”
“I almost used safety pins to close some of this slit.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s better you do.”
“Isn’t it? Let me visit the ladies room and…”
He caught her hand before she began to walk into the hotel. “No.”
“You just said it’s too much.”
“I didn’t say it’s too much. I meant it’s better for my sanity if you don’t show so much skin. I feel… my BP will shoot when gazes turn to you.”
“Then it’s under control,” she laughed. “This looks good but not as good as you are exaggerating.”
She was so naive. He pulled her closer by the hand he had caught and anchored his fingers on her waist, just in time for Gautam’s car to glide in behind theirs. They descended, and Maya was literally strutting to them, beaming — “Look at that!”
“Heordered it, don’t start, Maya.”
“Fine, Maasi. If I say you look hot, you will start telling me all the reasons why that’s so stupid, so,” she held up her hands. Gautam was close behind her. He smiled at Ritu but his eyes were hard when they met his. Nilay nodded.
“Who was the manager here?” Nilay ran his eyes over the lot gathered there for him.
“Sir, that’s me. We are delighted to serve you and your party today. Would you like me to escort you to one of our restaurants…”
“Asilo.”
“Our rooftop bar. I regret to inform you that it is booked for the evening but we can arrange a table if…”
“We are at that party.”
“Oh,” his face lit up. “The Gandhis. This way, sir, ma’am.”
Nilay walked through the one-sided conversation of the Manager falling over his feet to offer them their suite for the night if they were too tired to drive back, complimentary services and other things that went in through one ear and out through the other. The hot skin under his hand was all that he thought about. And the slow, hitched breathing from the woman in his arm was all he cared about. The elevator doors opened and they stepped in. Maya and Gautam stood with them, the Manager too. That is why all he could do was squeeze Ritu’s waist reassuringly.
