Chapter 39

"God I missed you," Manik murmured against her mouth. A thrill rushed up to her spine, not just because his hardness was pressing against her stomach. Nandani had missed him too, more than she wanted to admit. Missed his voice. The way his mind was always running underneath the smooth surface. The way he could be sweet when he thought no one was paying attention, unlike most guys, who waited until they would be noticed.

"Key?" Nandani asked hazily after they stumbled out of the elevator. He reached into his pocket and handed it to her, his teeth on her neck and his other hand up her skirt. Her hands shook as she tried to slide the card into the door, and dropped it. Dammit, she cursed under her breath.

"Nandani?" Manik's voice was a raw whisper in her ear. She could tell his impatience was kicking in, and she loved how she could make him come deranged and unstable. She could barely breathe, let alone answer him. "If we don't get into this room right now Nandani, I am going to fuck you up against that door."

Her fingers almost dropped the key again. "In about two minutes everyone on the twentieth floor is going to know my name," she warned him, lovingly.

Mercifully, the green light flashed and they entered the darkroom.

The door closed almost as quickly as it had opened, and Manik slammed her body up against it. She had never felt him this desperate before.

Nandani reached for the zipper in her dress and started to carefully slide it down her body so as not to damage it, extending one hand to hold his chest away from her. "Manik, as much as I love this," she managed to get out the words between kisses, "Mukti will kill me if I wreck this dress."

"I will kill you if you wreck that dress. I fucking love that dress, on you," he said. His mouth was buried in her shoulder, her hair wrapped around his hand pulling her head back to allow him better access.

She managed to step out of the dress and toss it on the stool by the bar. It should not wrinkle too badly in the next twenty minutes or so, she thought. Which was probably a generous estimate of how long they would last.

Feeling a sudden urge to take a breathe, to catch up with what they were doing, she pushed Manik back just far enough to look at him. He complied, though clearly unsure of this unexpected shift in her. "Hey," Nandani said.

"Hey." A million things were running through Manik's eyes. A question, why she had stopped him. Impatience and hunger because he wanted her. A deeper emotion she could not name but desperately needed to.

He reached a hand up to run a finger across her lips, almost with deep and solemn respect. At first, their relationship had been all about passion, but the sweetness had crept in, over time. It had resurfaced now. "God, Nandani, you are so beautiful." The emotion in his voice made her swallow.

"Manik, I am sorry if I..." But Manik interrupted her. "I know. Later," he said.

Nandani did not know what had caused the moment, but it felt like they were frozen in time. They were still seducing one another and were being seduced by one another, but their touches were slow, and had a longing, and were meaningful.

She had fallen for him hard, after nearly a month apart. And she was ready to give him anything he wanted. She would tell him anything he wanted to hear. Which scared the hell out of her.

So instead she lifted the bottom of his shirt and ran a finger along the top of his pants, feeling his skin heat beneath her touch. She tilted her chin up at him.

"Manik?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to fuck me or what?" she asked mischievously.

His eyes lit as he pulled the shirt over his head and she went to work on his belt. He pushed her back up against the door and wrapped her legs around his hips.

Manik reached between her legs, sliding, the scrap of silk aside, to plunge his fingers into her. "Bossy," he murmured against her lips, stroking her with his fingers and rubbing his thumb in circles over her clit. Her head fell back at the intensity.

After a few moments the pressure was starting to build up, and then he pulled his hand back and she moaned in protest. He slowly slid those two fingers into his mouth and sucked them, eyes fiercely on her, before letting them fall. Holy shit, Nandani muttered. Then he leaned forward and kissed her, hard, and nothing in the world had ever been hotter than tasting herself on him.

When he pulled back she was dizzy. "Where have you learned that?" she asked him.

"Creative license," he drawled.

"Manik Malhotra, you are the hottest thing I have ever seen." She pulled his face back to hers and pulled him out of his boxers so she could stroke him. He groaned into her mouth and suddenly the race was on.

They clawed desperately at each other as his control snapped. She tried to get a few more strokes in, but he pushed her hand aside and reached around her thighs, lifting her up and against the door as he plunged into her in a single stroke. If she had not been so ready, it would have been unbearably tight. But it felt like heaven.

Their voices mingled as they kissed and moaned together. He felt unreal. He was so deep, but still, she wanted him deeper, closer to her, part of her. She wanted him to be hers forever. They were so far gone. She leaned her forehead against his, beads of sweat mingling. Their eyes locked.

"Nandani, I am close," he warned.

She dug her nails into his back. "Manik, please. Just like this."

They came together, crying out, not caring who heard.

*****************

Nandani woke up to the sound of the door closing behind her. The way the sun was peeking through the gap in the curtains, which they had forgotten to close the night before, suggested it was still early. She stretched and rolled over to see Manik wearing jeans, last night's shirt, a leather jacket, and a killer grin. He was carrying two cups of coffee. She smiled and beckoned him with a finger. "Get over here, you."

"Are you talking to me or my coffee?" Manik raised an eyebrow.

"I meant the coffee. But I guess you can come too," she said smiling lovingly at him. She held the sheet over her and leaned toward him while he passed her the coffee. She promptly deposited it on the bedside table behind her and grabbed the collar of his shirt. His mouth was warm on hers. She could get used to this. It felt right.

"How can I be this sore," Nandani muttered between kisses, "and still want to do it all over again?" She moaned as his lips and teeth started doing wicked things to her neck.

He smiled smugly against her skin. "I would be happy to oblige."

Thirty minutes later they were back on even ground in the clothing department: 0---0

"Have I told you how much I love your new ideas?" Nandani said.

"Mmm," Manik said.

"So how have you been?" she asked.

"Okay. Actually, that is not true. I have been shitty." He leveled serious eyes at her. "School is okay, the guys are fine. But there is this girl I was into, and she kind of up and left me. And I realized there is no one I can talk to like her. No one makes me laugh, and swear. And she already knows my secrets, so it is just easier."

"You are saying I am a sure thing?" she asked him.

"Something like that. But you are not predictable," he replied.

"Can I ask you something?" Nandani asked him.

Manik nodded.

"Did you really hit Aryaman?" she asked.

Manik expelled something between a laugh and a groan. "I hate that guy, you know."

Nandani was glad. Aryaman was pretty hard to hate, but the fact that Manik did on principle meant something.

"I guess I should be his biggest fan since he is responsible for you being single. But I hate that he was with you. That he has touched you. And the way he was talking about you two getting back together..." Manik said.

"Aryaman said that?" she asked him.

"Yeah. And I just lost my cool," he admitted.

"I did not peg you for a fighter, Manik."

"I am not, normally. It just made me crazy thinking about you with anyone but me, Nandani. I hope you know that?"

She pondered this over for a few moments. "Manik, I want to make this work. You mean a lot. I will tell Mukti tomorrow. I just want to wait until after the meeting."

"Seriously? Thank God," he said grinning.

Round three after that was sweeter, but not slow.

A/N: A very happy new year 2021 to one and all. Keep reading, voting, and commenting. Also, do follow, if you haven't. ❤️❤️ ❤️❤️ ❤️❤️