The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal by Adite Banerjie Page A

cleared up some of the mud stuck to the sides of a pot with a little more force than was necessary.
    â€˜Really? So why won’t you look at me?’
    She faced him. ‘The
truth
is that your super-fragile ego is hurt that any woman wouldn’t want to fall in bed with you the moment you set eyes on her.’
    â€˜And how exactly did you arrive at this great insight? When you were in the pool…clinging to me with all your might?’
    â€˜I was not! You’re the most disgusting guy I have met,’ she exclaimed angrily.
    â€˜Got you!’ he said, his eyes burning with equal amounts of desire and anger. He shot out his hand and pulled her close against his chest. ‘Don’t try to fool yourself that what you felt for me last night was anything even close to disgust.’
    She was treading on water and hopelessly in danger of going into the deep end. Trying desperately not to look at his seductive lips, inches away from her own, she pushed hard at his chest with her muddy hands.
    â€˜Look, we have an agreement,’ she said, trying to put some distance between them. She charged on before she lost her nerve. ‘Let’s just say that what happened yesterday shouldn’t have. We were
both
to blame.’ She rushed in before he could object to anything. ‘I guess we were both emotionally overwrought, what with the wedding and then the meeting with your father…So let’s just agree to forget about it, shall we?’
    Krish burst out laughing. ‘“Emotionally overwrought”! I love that! Tell me something: are you scared of making love with me?’
    Maya bristled, even as his rich, sexy laugh made her nerves tingle. His eyes skimmed over her T-shirt, which clung lovingly to her curves, and he ran one long finger gently down the side of her face, catching a loose tendril of hair. Anger or lust—she didn’t have a clue what was making her pulse race faster than a Ferrari.
    â€˜I’m not going to apologise for what happened,’ he said huskily. ‘And, if “overwrought” translates into the kind of passionate kisses we shared in the pool…I’ll do overwrought any day!’
    She pulled away from his searing touch and gritted her teeth. ‘If you think that because of what happened last night you have an open invitation to my bed, you’d better kill that thought right away.’
    Krish narrowed his eyes. ‘I’d love to prove you wrong,
jaaneman.
But, right now, I’m on a schedule and so are you. And we need to get on the road ASAP.’
    â€˜Are we going somewhere?’
    â€˜Yup…Make sure you pack yourself some clothes for a four- or five-day trip in the hills. See you in thirty minutes.’
    She seethed at his arrogance. Born with a silver spoon—no, make that a golden one with the Kohinoor diamond encrusted on it!—he, no doubt, felt that everyone ought to bow and scrape to his every command! But, what was worse, he knew just how to heat up her blood with just a look or the slightest touch. And God, why did her body hunger for his touch even when she knew that was the very last thing she needed? Spending the next couple of hours in close proximity to him in the car would be sheer torture. She marched back to the cottage, trying to ignore the spark of excitement that flickered through her.
    As they drove down the highway an hour later, Maya figured it would be best to maintain a studied silence. In any case, every time they talked, he seemed to steer the conversation into dangerous territory. As she fished in her bag for her book, Krish glanced at her. ‘Still sulking, are you?’
    â€˜I don’t sulk,’ she shot back and her gaze caught his cleft chin, which seemed to have dimpled a little more since the last time she had checked.
    â€˜Hmm…so let’s see…you don’t sulk, and you don’t want to make love with me.’
    She gritted her teeth and