The kiss came as such a shock that Shweta stood absolutely still for a few seconds.
The sensation was indescribable. Sheâd been kissed before, but the feel of Nikhilâs warm, demanding lips on hers was something else altogetherâinvoluntarily, she clutched at his arms, trying to pull him closer.
His hands were cupping her face now and with a little inarticulate cry, Shweta arched her body to lean in closer to the kiss. She was conscious of nothing other than the feel of Nikhilâs lips on her mouth and throat.
A lot of time seemed to have gone by when Nikhil let her go finally, and she stared at him, her eyes still a little hazy from the effect of his kisses. One of his hands came to rest lightly on her shoulder, and the other caressed her cheek, as he ran a thumb gently over her lower lip.
âI should apologise,â he said softly, and his voice was not quite steady. âI shouldnât have done that. But Iâm not sorry I did.â
Dear Reader,
This is my fourth book, and I started writing it almost immediately after I completed the third. I had the characters and plot ideas all mapped out in my head and for the first time in my short writing career I felt Iâd got the âhangâ of writingâthis book would be an absolute breeze. Of course when I started writing about Nikhil and Shweta, they took on a life of their own, deviating from my carefully planned plot at every possible opportunity (I hated itâIâm a control freak who only likes people who do as theyâre told!).
Shweta is attractive and outgoing, but sheâs been ruled by convention for most of her life, and is terribly risk averse. Nikhil on the other hand is the quintessential bad boy. Heâs strikingly good-looking, and while heâs out of the rock bands and fast motorbikes phase, heâs still a far cry from the nice, safely eligible kind of man Shweta is looking for.
Nikhil and Shweta were classmates from the ages of four to fourteenâthey fought almost constantly, and if someone had told Shweta that sheâd end up falling for Nikhil many years later, sheâd have been horrified. Nikhil on the other hand always had a soft corner for her, and he finds the new, grown-up Shweta infinitely alluring. And in spite of my control freakiness, I found myself liking both of them more and more as they muddled their way towards admitting that they are crazily in love with each other.
Happy reading!
Shoma
SHOMA NARAYANAN started reading Mills & Boon>® romances at the age of eleven, borrowing them from neighbours and hiding them inside textbooks so that her parents didnât find out. At that time the thought of writing one herself never entered her headâshe was convinced she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. When she was a little older she decided to become an engineer instead, and took a degree in electronics and telecommunications. Then she thought a career in management was probably a better bet, and went off to do an MBA. That was a decision she never regretted, because she met the man of her dreams in the first year of business schoolâfifteen years later theyâre married with two adorable kids, whom theyâre raising with the same careful attention to detail that they gave their second-year project on organizational behaviour.
A couple of years ago Shoma took up writing as a hobbyâafter successively trying her hand at baking, sewing, knitting, crochet and patchworkâand was amazed at how much she enjoyed it. Now she works grimly at her banking job through the week, and tries to balance writing with household chores during weekends. Her family has been unfailingly supportive of her latest hobby, and are also secretly very, very relieved that they donât have to eat, wear or display the results!
This and other titles by Shoma Narayanan are available in eBook formatâcheck out www.millsandboon.co.uk
To Anna and Megan, my two wonderful editors,
for their patience and unfailing support
ONE
âThat,â Priya said, pointing dramatically, âis the hottest man I have ever seen in my life.â
It was the first evening of their annual office convention and Shweta was already exhausted. The flight from Mumbai to Kerala was short, but it had been very early in the morning and sheâd not slept much. Then the day had been crammed with intensely boring presentations that sheâd had to sit through with a look of rapt attention on her face.
âAt least look at him!â Priya was saying, and Shweta looked in the direction of her pointing finger.
A jolt of recognition made her keep staring for a few seconds, but there was no answering gleam in the manâs eyesâclearly he didnât remember her at all. Not surprising, really. Sheâd changed quite a bit since theyâd last met.
She shrugged, turning away. âNot my type.â
Priya gave her a disbelieving stare. âDelusional,â she said, shaking her head sadly. âYouâre so out of touch with reality you canât tell a hot man from an Excel spreadsheet. Talking of spreadsheetsâthatâs one guy Iâd like to see spread on my sheets...â