Twelve Hours of Temptation Read Online Free PDF

been able to help thinking how soft her skin was, and how right she felt in his arms.
    * * *
    ‘We’ll be in Kolhapur in another hour or so,’ Melissa said, effectively breaking into his thoughts. ‘Are we stopping there or going straight on?’
    ‘We could stop for lunch,’ Samir said. ‘There’s another burger place on the highway, and a couple of coffee shops as well.’
    Melissa wrinkled up her nose. ‘I had two burgers for breakfast,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I can look one in the face for a while. Can we go somewhere else? I’ve often seen Vegetable Kolhapur on restaurant menus—would it be a kind of speciality here?’
    ‘Along with Kolhapuri chappals ,’ Samir agreed solemnly.
    Melissa made a face at him. ‘I wasn’t planning to buy footwear. But do let’s stop somewhere in the city.’
    It would add another hour to the drive at least, but Samir complied. After Melissa’s fainting fit his attitude towards her had changed. Not normally indulgent towards other people’s whims, he found himself unaccountably wanting to fall in with whatever she wanted.
    They chose a small restaurant in the centre of the city—the food was spicy, and not really to his taste, but it was worth the delay just to see Melissa savour the meal. Unlike the perpetually dieting women Samir normally dated, she genuinely enjoyed her food, just about stopping short of licking her fingers after polishing off everything on her plate.
    ‘Dessert?’ he asked after she was done. ‘There’s ice creams and gulab jamun . Or, no, you can’t have the ice cream if you’re lactose-intolerant. Gulab jamun ?’
    It was the first time anyone had actually remembered she was lactose intolerant—people who’d known her for years, including her own sister-in-law, continued to ply her with milkshakes and ice cream every time they met. Maybe he just had a good memory, but she couldn’t help feeling a little flattered.
    ‘Gulab jamun,’ she said.
    Samir watched her as she dug a spoon into a gulab jamun , golden syrup gushing out of the round sweet. It was a messy dish to eat, and she paused a couple of times to lick the syrup off her lips. His eyes were automatically drawn to her lush mouth and the way her little pink tongue ran over its contours. She was the first woman he’d met whose simplest gesture ended up being unconsciously sexy. Or, then again, maybe he was just turning into a horny old man.
    ‘How old are you?’ he asked abruptly.
    ‘Twenty-four,’ Melissa said, and her brow furrowed up as she polished off the last bit of gulab jamun . ‘Why?’
    Why, indeed? She looked so young that for a second he’d wondered if she was underage.
    ‘I was thinking about the ad you wrote,’ he said. ‘I’d assumed it was written by an older woman—someone with kids.’
    ‘Oh, that,’ she said, looking embarrassed. ‘I spent a lot of time with my sister-in-law after my nephew was born. She didn’t have anyone else to help her with the baby.’
    ‘Still, it was a very insightful piece of work. I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t win something.’
    Feeling more and more embarrassed, Melissa said, ‘Has Brian been brainwashing you?’
    Samir laughed, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in a particularly attractive way. ‘He happened to mention it a few times. But I don’t get easily influenced by other people’s opinions. Are you done? We should leave if we want to get to Goa before it’s dark.’
    He put a hand under her elbow to guide her out of the restaurant and Melissa felt all her fantasies come rushing back in full force. Of course he was probably just being polite. Or he was worried she’d keel over and faint once again, and he’d have to carry her out on his shoulder. Either way, her insides were doing weird things at his touch, and the temptation to touch him in return was immense.
    She tried to kill the fantasy by imagining his reaction. Shock? Embarrassment? Then she remembered the feel of his lips on her