Leo's Desire Read online

  It was eleven in the morning when he knocked on the open door to Dev Wadhwa’s farm office that appeared to be empty. “Hello!”

  A man, as tall as Nishaan, walked from behind him to enter the office. “Hello!”

  “I’m Shaan. I have a job interview with Dev Wadhwa.”

  “That’s me.” Dev smiled at Shaan, shaking his hand. “Come on in.”

  They chatted for some time when Dev explained what he exactly needed to be done. Nishaan—Shaan now—asked him a lot of questions about the size of the farm and the whole operation, beginning to admire what the other man was doing. Shaan had also read up quite a bit about Dev Wadhwa and his flower farming on the internet.

  “So, do you think you can handle all that?”

  Shaan nodded, quite confident. “I am sure, Mr. Wadhwa.”

  Dev shook Shaan’s hand. “Then that’s fine, Shaan. You can call me Dev. We don’t stand on formality here.”

  Shaan smiled. “So, is the job mine?”

  “Just one more thing before I answer your question. You haven’t given me your full name. Is there a reason for that?”

  Shaan sighed. Why had he even imagined that Dev Wadhwa wouldn’t have noticed that? “Will you believe me if I told you that I’m trying to make a name for myself without using my father’s?”

  Dev Wadhwa’s parents had done their best to stop him from becoming a farmer as they had believed that it was a menial career for someone who had topped his class in MBA. Thankfully though, all that was water under the bridge.

  It didn’t take Dev more than a few seconds before he arrived at a decision. He had noticed the honesty in the other man’s eyes, the way Shaan had looked back at him squarely in the eye while they conversed. Dev had always gone with his instincts and it had brought him nothing but success. And well, he had nothing to lose since the other man was so obviously over qualified for the job. Why not give Shaan an opportunity to work as his manager on a trial basis? If it worked, nothing to beat it.

  Dev got up from his chair and put his hand out to shake Shaan’s, a smile on his face. “I understand parent trouble only too well. Welcome on board, Shaan. Let’s say we give this a try for a month and see if it works for both of us. What do you think?”

  “I say yes.” Shaan got up too, to shake his new boss’s hand. And it was as simple as that. Luck had favoured Nishaan turned Shaan and he became an able second-in-command to Dev Wadhwa.

  Shaan called his mother that night and told her where he was. “I’m absolutely fine, Mom. I’ll just get some work experience and get back home to join Pop’s company. Just bear with me for a year or two.”

  Nalini sniffed. “I don’t really see the need for this, Nishaan. It’s not as if your father’s really angry with you or anything like that. You should…”

  “Mom, it’s late. I need to begin work early tomorrow morning. Shall I say goodnight? I’ll be in touch. You save this number on your cell. You give me a call whenever you need to chat. If I don’t pick up, don’t worry. I’ll definitely call you by the end of the day. Now, cheer up. Mwah!”

  It had been a year and two months since Shaan had gone to work on Wadhwa Farm. And now Shaan had gone and kissed his boss’s sister! Will she take up the matter with Dev? Shaan grimaced to himself. He wasn’t keen to look for another job. He liked what he was doing right now even as he kept himself updated with all his father’s construction projects. Two years was the maximum he planned to manage Wadhwa Farm. After that, he was going to claim his position as Vice President of Ahuja Constructions.

  2

  Chaahat fumed as a string of cuss words erupted from her lips on her way back to her brother’s farmhouse. What’s with people? Why the hell couldn’t they leave her alone?

  At home, her parents harassed her day and night. They had to have an opinion on every damn thing she did. They picked on what she ate, what she drank, what she wore, where she went...Chaahat could go on and on about that. But what was the use?

  She supposed she need not feel so terrible since they didn’t spare her twin, Jai, either. They went at him like a bulldozer too. But then, Jai was chilled out, agreeing to every damn thing they said and doing exactly what he pleased.

  Chaahat couldn’t disconnect that way. She wondered how Dev, their elder brother by seven years, had managed to handle them. After all, he had set up his farm despite their parents’ opposition and had become super successful in a span of five years. And during the sixth year, his wife Anya had also begun to work with him as his marketing manager. Actually, she had started the job even before they decided to get married.

  There had been a time when Chaahat and Jai had believed that their brother was an idiot, especially after hearing what their parents had to say about him. But after all these years, the twins had changed their minds. Even their parents, Karishma and Durgesh Wadhwa, had modified their way of thinking after seeing Dev’s picture on the covers of leading business magazines, astounded by the awards and accolades he had received.

  Chaahat had wanted to finish her BMM and become a model. Her dream had to be chucked through the window when she got a high percentage of marks in her exams. Her father had pushed her to do her MBA. Fretting and fuming, Chaahat had given in as her life had become hell due to parental pressure.

  But, Chaahat gritted her teeth, now that she was done with education she planned to pursue her dream. She had escaped her parents to Dev’s farm, pleading with them that she needed a short break, hoping to set up a plan of action...

  ...only to have that motherfucker Shaan interfere in her activities. What the fuck did it matter to him if she smoked? And—Chaahat burned with so fierce an anger such as she had never felt before—he had dared to not only remove the half-smoked cigarette from her hand and destroy it, Shaan had done more—he had dared to kissed her.

  Chaahat resolutely turned a deaf ear to an inner voice that insisted that she had enjoyed the kiss a mite too much, more than any other kiss that she had experienced in her life. And that, she had done in plenty, if only to spite her parents for the restrictions they placed on her activities.

  An inadvertent smile played on Chaahat’s lips as she stepped into the farmhouse after removing her shoes as she finally acknowledged her inner voice, though with reluctance.

  “What’s with smoking and your farm?” Chaahat demanded of her brother as they sat down to dinner along with their grandmother Meena and Dev’s wife Anya.

  “Why? Who’s been smoking?” Dev looked at Chaahat, his keen eyes studying her thin face.

  “Whoever! That’s not the point, is it? What’s your problem with it?”

  Dev shrugged, even as he kept a keen eye on his sister’s face. If his guess was right, she had been the one who had been smoking. The tell-tale signs were rather obvious. Chaahat’s lips had become way darker over the past year. If she did, he didn’t plan to interfere, though it was a different matter if it was on his farm. “You know it’s all about offering the perfect environment for growing flowers and organic veggies. Cigarette smoke won’t add to their quality. That’s why we’ve banned it.”

  “One measly cigarette?” Chaahat looked at him with a scowl, stirring the curry in the bowl on her plate with a spoon.

  Dev frowned in turn. In the past two days since she had arrived from Mumbai, he hadn’t missed how his sister nibbled on her food like a sparrow. “Do you have a clue about how many people live on this farm?”

  Chaahat shook her head. “What’s the connection?”

  “There are a hundred and twenty-seven people, including us. If each one smoked even one cigarette a day, I might as well shut the farm and return to the city.”

  “Are you sure you aren’t making a mountain out of a molehill?” Chaahat’s voice was heavily sarcastic. “Can you imagine Daadima smoking?” She turned to give Meena a sly wink.

  Dev laughed. “Of course not. But Chaahat, that’s just an extreme scenario I was pointing at. Still, I’m sticking with the rule of ‘no smoking’ within the parameters
of this compound.”

  “How dumb is that!” Chaahat muttered under her breath, pushing her plate away, still frowning ferociously.

  “Don’t you like the food? Would you like to have something else?” asked Anya softly of her sister-in-law.

  “Huh!” Chaahat looked at Anya as if she had noticed her for the first time. “Not really. I’m full.” She turned back to ask Dev, “Who’s Shaan?”

  Dev grinned. “Did he tell you not to smoke?”

  Chaahat threw her arms up in the air in complete frustration, even as she rolled her eyes. “He...he removed the lit cigarette from my hand and destroyed it underfoot. Who the hell does he think he is?”

  “Hello Dev, Daadima, Anya.” Before Dev could answer, Shaan had walked into their home and right up to the dining table. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting. I...”

  “Don’t be silly, Shaan.” Anya gave him a friendly grin. “Would you like to join us? Let me ask Seema aunty to bring another plate.”

  “No Anya, but thanks. I’ve had dinner.”

  “Then you must definitely join us for dessert. Chaahat, you’ve met Shaan. He’s my manager, by the way. And Shaan, Chaahat is my sister.” Dev performed the introductions, catching on that they hadn’t met in the friendliest of circumstances.

  “Your manager sure likes to throw his weight around.” Chaahat didn’t really care that she sounded rude. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. And the worst part was that she had responded with way too much gusto.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you, Chaahat.” Shaan looked at her pinched face, meeting her eyes squarely. “But smoking is something that...”

  “Which is exactly what I’ve been explaining to her. No worries there, Shaan. You did the right thing.”

  Chaahat got up from her chair, pushing it back noisily. “I think I’ll go up to my room.”

  “Na beta. Sit down!” Meena’s voice was soft, but insistent. “You must have some gulab jamoon. Seema has gone to a lot of effort to make it.” Daadima gave Chaahat’s plate a disapproving look. The girl had probably eaten a few spoonsful, not enough to sustain even a small kid.

  “Daadima!” Chaahat protested even as she obediently sat back on the chair she had just vacated. She glared at Shaan who was helping himself to a second round of the dessert. Glutton! Where the hell did he pack in all those calories? Taller than Dev by at least an inch, Shaan was broad and well-muscled with a lean frame. How the hell did these guys keep fit?

  “Would you like to go for a ride?” Shaan’s voice was soft, only for Chaahat’s hearing.

  Chaahat’s first instinct was to tell Dev’s manager to go to hell. But there was something in his liquid gold eyes, something that called out to the wild side in her. And then there was the kiss they had shared. She almost gulped when she recalled that yet again. Giving him an imperceptible nod, she got up. “Goodnight guys. I’ll take a turn around the garden before calling it a night.”

  Shaan got up from his chair too. “I’ll take myself off too. Thank you so much for the dessert. It was delicious, Seema aunty.” He hugged the cook, wished the others ‘good night’ and walked out of the house, Chaahat at his side.

  He took her hand in his, the moment they stepped out of the door and refused to let go when she did her best to pull it way.

  “Let go, Shaan.”

  “Sure, why not?!” He gave her a charming smile, still holding her hand, though he had loosened his grip on it. “Let’s go for a spin in the jeep. I’ll take you away from the farm so that you can smoke to your heart’s content. What say?” Shaan quirked a dark and shapely brow at her.

  “I say yes.” Chaahat nodded her head vigorously, holding back her smile. The guy had too much charisma to balance his arrogance, but she didn’t plan to fall for it. She couldn’t help looking at him though, when he bent down to raise the metal door of the garage, his rippling muscles pretty glaring in the light of the lamp right above his head, his t-shirt stretching over his broad chest. He was all lean, sleek and muscular, with a latent energy that so reminded her of a jungle cat. Tucking her hands into her pants, Chaahat turned away in the opposite direction, disgusted with herself for ogling at Shaan’s tight butt. She turned only when she heard the jeep’s engine right beside her as Shaan stretched forward to open the passenger door.

  Neither of them spoke as soft music played on the stereo as Shaan drove them out of the farm’s gates, down the road for a couple of kilometres. He stopped the jeep on the side and turned to her. “Here you go.” Shaan removed the cigarette packet and lighter that he had taken from her earlier and threw them on her lap.

  “I won’t say thanks,” declared Chaahat, pulling a cigarette out with a trembling hand and lighting up. She drew the smoke deep into her lungs and sighed loudly. “I so needed that.”

  “Aren’t you going to offer me a smoke?” Shaan asked, a mischievous smile on his face. He had smoked for a few months while in college, had decided that it wasn’t to his taste and had given up the habit for good.

  Chaahat covered her packet protectively and said, “Nope.”

  Laughing, he took the cigarette from her hand and puffed on it, looking deeply into her eyes, keen to provoke her.

  “You bastard! I...”

  Shaan placed the cigarette between her lips, effectively stopping her words. “That’s the second time you have called me that,” he said mildly, “I don’t think my parents will take kindly to it.”

  “Screw you!” Chaahat declared vehemently, taking the cigarette from her mouth.

  “Now that’s an offer I truly appreciate. I’m game.” There was laughter in Shaan’s voice as he continued to look into Chaahat’s eyes boldly.

  It took Chaahat a couple of seconds to grasp what he meant before colour flared up on her thin cheeks. “I think you’re going to die at my hands,” she swore, flinging the cigarette butt out of the window, her whole body taut with violence.

  “What a way to die!” He reached with both hands on her shoulders, pulling her resisting body relentlessly towards his chest. “Chaahat...” he whispered in her ear, “you are as desirable as your name.” He pressed his mouth to the wildly beating pulse at her neck, running the tip of his tongue back and forth against it as he breathed in deeply of her unique perfume.

  Chaahat placed her hands flat on his chest, her intent being to push him away. What really happened was that she clutched his t-shirt in her bunched-up fists and pulled him closer, her heart beat increasing manifold as she felt his lips against her neck. How the hell did he know to caress the exact point that gave her intense pleasure? Moaning, she tilted her head to give him better access, enjoying the way he nibbled a delicate path from her neck to her jaw line to her cheek, the texture of the dark fuzz on his face exciting her immeasurably.

  Soon, they were locking lips with Chaahat holding on to his neck as if her life depended upon it, her arms firmly locked around it. Shaan pressed the lever that reclined her seat back and lay on her now, kissing her fervently, his body hardening at her enthusiastic response.

  He pushed away the hem of her t-shirt to explore the skin beneath and pulled away with a jerk as if he had encountered a livewire. “What the fuck! Chaahat...what...?”

  He sat up abruptly, knocking against the steering wheel and swore again, vociferously.

  In the deep throes of passion that she had never experienced before, Chaahat opened her eyes a slit to look up at him, a confused look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you been ill?” Shaan asked, frowning at her.

  “What?!” Chaahat sat up, struggling with the lever even as she pulled the t-shirt that had ridden up thanks to Shaan’s ministrations. Colour ran up her cheeks when she saw Shaan’s dishevelled hair and the reddening mark at his throat.

  “Haven’t you been keeping well?” Shaan’s scowl grew blacker as he studied her face minutely, not missing the lacklustre state of her skin, her lanky hair. When he had touched Chaahat under her t-shirt, he had felt skin stretched over her tau
t ribcage with no flesh in between and that was the reason he had been utterly shocked.

  “I want to go back.”

  “Answer my question first.” He was equally rude by now.

  “You don’t have the right to ask me any questions,” bit out Chaahat. “Take me home.”

  “I don’t take orders from anyone.” Arrogance dripped from Shaan’s voice as he rested his forearms on the steering wheel to look at her with his honey gold eyes, as if he had all the time in the world.

  “Don’t then. I can walk back.” Opening the door, Chaahat jumped out of the jeep and turned in the direction of the farm.

  “Damn!” Shaan swore before gunning the engine and driving in the reverse, at the exact speed at which Chaahat walked.

  After walking for about half a kilometre, Chaahat felt extremely tired and tense. Her fists clenched, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Shaan through the window of the jeep. “Why don’t you get out of the jeep? I can drive it back home.” She was startled when Shaan shut off the engine, got out and walked over to her. Was he listening to her request? Was the sun probably going to rise in the west the next morning? With her mouth wide open, Chaahat stared at the dark-haired giant who strode up to her.