Chapter 3
It was the same car—it had to be the same one. The royal blue Lamborghini that cost as much as a house was hard to miss, and the face of the owner flashed in front of her eyes was intimidating and exciting her at the same time. Mantra watched in horror as the car rolled into the parking lot of the gas station where she was filling up her car.
The scratch she had left on the luxurious car almost a week ago mocked her, making her feel guilty. She was in a hurry to get away that night, and she now hoped the earth would open up and suck her in before he spotted her.
Her almond eyes followed the tall, athletic figure as he walked toward the cashier window. She sunk deeper into her seat taking in his chiseled profile. His hair looked stylishly unruly making her body awaken just like it had the night she laid eyes on him.
Bile rose in her throat when he turned to look in her general direction for a brief moment as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. She heard the gas pump shut off at the same time startling her. She pulled her hoodie over her head quickly replacing the gas hose and ran back to the comfort of her car. Damn the cars with the gas tank opening on the passenger’s side.
She drove away without another glance his way and was on the highway in minutes. Relieved that he didn’t spot her for more than one reason, she turned up the music enjoying the scenic highway.
The rumble was hard to miss. She felt it cut through the loud music playing on the audio system in her car. She glanced in her rearview mirror, and the sinking feeling returned when she spotted the royal blue shark-looking car coming toward her at what seemed like the speed of light. She hastily moved to the right lane to let the beast built for speed pass by her.
The car came so close to her so fast that she was sure she was going to be rear-ended and gripped the steering wheel with her sweaty palms. She would have closed her eyes and let the situation pass if she had a choice.
She held her breath waiting for the car to pass, but it did not. Instead, it pulled up right behind her going at the same pace as her.
“Oh, shit!” The words escaped her mouth when she saw the line of red lights ahead of her with the traffic starting to slow down.
The car moved to the left-most lane to pass her, and she watched in horror as it cut in front of her leaving no room to stop. She slammed on her brakes hoping her little car would stop and watched, her mouth as dry as sandpaper, as the nose of her car rammed into the mystic-looking rear of the hot alien beast vehicle.
“Oh, no!” Exactly what she was hoping to avoid. She stopped, frozen in her spot as the cars behind her moved to the side lanes. Her heart started to thud when he signaled her to pull over to the shoulder. She nodded and moved to the shoulder as wild thoughts of running from the scene crossed her mind. She probably would have if it weren’t for the darn traffic jam.
Cars moved at a snail’s pace, but she refused to get out of her car. She watched him open the driver’s side door up into the air and slide out.
She was virtually kicking herself as he lazily strode toward her. He looked extremely casual in jeans that hugged his waist running endlessly down his long legs, and his white dress shirt molded to his broad shoulders.
Her eyes were riveted on his face, specifically on his full lips that were pressed together.
“Are you okay?” He leaned over her car looking down at her pale face. Her thick, dark hair delicately framed her face, and her dark eyes were hard to forget.
She nodded not trusting her voice.
“I need to see your driver’s license, and I’m gonna need your insurance information to fix my ride.”
Fix? There was barely a scratch on the bumper. They barely touched at that low speed. “I… I don’t see anything damaged.”
“Well, the car is built with carbon fiber, but something on the inside could be damaged, and I did get a nasty scratch.” His eyes moved lazily over her face just like they did about a week ago at the bar. She decided to ignore his looks and whatever he was trying to do with his piercing eyes and got out of her car.
“I need to take pictures of the damage before I can give you my information.” She walked past him taking in a full whiff of his sexy cologne that made her sidestep slightly.
“I don’t see any damage.” She turned to look at him and saw him smirking.
“You see that souvenir on the side? That’s definitely paint off your car and see, your car has the same scratch, too.” He pointed to the scratch she had left on his car a week ago. Her heart sank wondering if he knew how he got the scratch that night.
She decided not to fight it, not in the middle of the highway. The last thing she needed was an insurance claim, and she panicked when a thought passed through her mind about her coverage. The insurance company could drop her coverage, and without the coverage, she couldn’t drive. That would throw a deep dent into her life, upsetting everything.
“That scratch isn’t from today,” she blurted out. “You shifted lanes from the left, and the scratch is on the right. It could have been any other black car.”
“Why is there a scratch on your car at that spot then?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I have a lot of bushes next to my parking spot,” she declared coolly hoping he would buy it.
“Fine. I still need your information because you hit me. Either you give me the details, or I can have a cop get the information from you.”
“What do you need?” she snapped.
“Everything.” A crooked smile crept up his face.
She gave him her driver’s license and her insurance information.
“Your insurance card say’s it has expired,” he drawled.
“It’s renewed, I just don’t have the latest copy. Use the policy number.” She tried not to sound as annoyed and turned around.
“Mantra Arundhati Varma.” Her full name rolled off his lips, and she froze in her tracks. The words sounded so sensual when he said them. She hated her middle name as it was old-fashioned, and she avoided using it, but she didn’t mind when it was said with his deep voice.
“Yeah?” she stuttered.
“I’m Yash. It’s nice to meet you.”
He held his hand out forcing her to step toward him to shake his hand. His large palm cocooned her delicate palm for a moment longer than required. She knew who he was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m Mantra.” She pasted a polite smile on her face, and that’s all the pleasantries he got.
“Can I have your phone number?” He was cautious. “I need it for my insurance claim.”
She growled on the inside, and a glare surfaced.
“I don’t see proof of valid insurance, and I’ll have my insurance company call you if they need additional details.” His tone was casual.
“Fine!” She gave him her phone number and hoped to get away as soon as possible before she had a repeat of the episode at the bar last weekend.
She was jolted back to reality when her phone started ringing.
“I needed to make sure you didn’t give me the wrong number even by accident.” His voice was deep and husky.
“Call my insurance company,” she almost snapped and turned away from him. She was better off dealing with her insurance company than him.
“Arundhati?” he called out like he knew she would react to it.
“The name is Mantra,” she snapped and was sure she caught a glint of amusement in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, my mistake.” The edge of his mouth twisted up wickedly.
She realized the guy was messing with her, and she couldn’t help that he got under her skin. How did he do that?
“I prefer Mantra.” She tried to stay calm.
He stepped closer and stopped inches away. “Mantra is a beautiful name.”
“Thanks,” she snapped. She blamed her grandma for picking her middle name, but the way it played on his lips was almost sinful.
“Can I get a ride?” He surprised her.
“Huh?”
“I don’t know how much beating my car took, and I can’t risk driving it.” He shrugged.
“Umm…”
“It’s going to take my towing company an hour to show up, and I need to be somewhere in thirty minutes.” He looked at his watch making her feel guilty.
“What about the car?”
“It really can’t go anywhere without me. So… do I get a ride?”
“Where do you need to go? I can’t go if it is out of my way,” she stated calmly.
“I need to go to a restaurant not far from here.” He clicked the sleek key fob and followed her to her car.
“Fine.” She tried to be nice only because she felt guilty about scratching his beast of a car the night at the bar and didn’t confess.
She got into her car and stared at the fancy car sitting on the shoulder. “Are you sure you want to leave your car here?”
He looked up from his phone for a brief moment, and she swore she saw a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “I’m texting my guy to have it picked up soon.” He finished typing on the phone and looked sideways at her. “You can drive while I text.”
She gave him a polite smile refusing to show any reaction. Her body was reacting to his closeness, and with every breath of the musky cologne she inhaled, she felt her deepest layers emanating molten heat. She had to keep herself in check and not show him how he affected her.
“Are we pretending like we don’t know each other?” His words were playful.
“We don’t know each other.” She stayed calm.
“You checked me out at the bar, you followed me to the restroom, you scratched my neck and then my car, and today you ran into me. We just didn’t know each other’s name.” He smirked taking in her delicate features as she looked at the road ahead.
“I barely touched your car,” she uttered ignoring his other comments.
“You touched,” he crooned.
“Where are you headed?” He was bad news. He was a walking sex god, and she didn’t need anything like him in her life.
“The Red Room,” he declared his voice steady, but the air between them hummed with sexual tension.