Secret Passions (Secret Series Romance Novels) Read online

  She decided to make a full home-style meal. Everything from chole masala, a corn and tomato dish that happened to be one of her favorites, to khoya, a rich dessert. She enjoyed making the samosas, small pie-crust triangles filled with potatoes, peas, and seasons. Then she took her time making some potato pancakes stuffed with spicy seasoned meat, a dish her mother had taught her to make to perfection. The small round disks were perfect, and she enjoyed setting them on one of his larger burnt orange plates. The colors of her meals were as important to her as the taste. As an artist she’d always found the color and texture of the food from her home as beautiful as any painting.

  She got to work making prawn patties with curried cauliflower and chickpeas and set it all on a bed of white rice. She had found some green flat bowls and used those for each setting.

  She followed up the patties with a tamarind fish curry. She placed the soup-like orange mixture in a dark brown square bowl she found in the back of one of his cupboards. She found some frozen salmon in his freezer and made curried salmon cakes with chopped onions and peppers to add the right mix of flavor and color.

  To finish the meal off, she made khoya. Knowing it would keep her at the stove for over an hour only made it more appealing. She enjoyed matching each dish to a colored plate, and by the time she had the meal laid out, she felt like she’d used all her artistic abilities to make not only a delicious meal, but a beautiful one. She topped the table off by lighting the tier candles and turning the lights lower. Then she waited nervously for him to arrive. The table was set with a meal fit for a king, and enough food to feed the entire building floor.

  John followed Mitch in the door and Sandi instantly felt shy and embarrassed.

  “Wow, it sure does smell good in here.” John said, setting down the packages just inside the doorway.

  Mitchell looked shocked. He stood in the doorway looking at the table and she wondered if she’d made the wrong choice of cooking so much.

  “You…?” He cleared his throat, “You cooked all this?” He dropped the packages and walked to the table and looked at her. She nodded and looked down at her hands.

  “It looks and smells wonderful.” He turned back and nodded to John as the older man excused himself.

  She stood there, looking at her hands. He walked over and put his finger under her chin until she looked at him.

  “Sandi, you didn’t have to cook all this. But I’m not going to turn any of it away. Not only does it smell delicious, it looks beautiful. I’m starving after all the shopping I’ve just done, so I might just eat every last drop myself.”

  She smiled at him. Then she noticed all the boxes and packages he’d carried in. “What’s all that?”

  “Oh!” he clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “That, my dear, is your reward for working your fingers to the bone making all this food. But,” he held up his finger when she started walking towards the packages, “not until after I’ve eaten. I did say I was starving.” He smiled.

  He wasn’t joking about eating a lot. When they had sat down, she was amazed at how quickly he cleared several plates. He talked about his work as they ate, and she told him about her artwork and how she missed painting. Even though it had only been a day since she’d painted, to her it felt like weeks.

  To which he stood and smiled at her, holding his hand out. “Dessert can wait.”

  She put her hand in his and he pulled her up and walked her over to the couch. “Sit.” She sat and almost laughed at him as he tried to drag several packages over to her. “Don’t open anything until I say so.”

  She couldn’t help but notice that he was acting like buying things for her had given him pleasure, as well. She sat there waiting until the last package was piled around her. She was surrounded now. Large boxes sat on the floor, bags of every size crowded around her.

  “You bought all this for me? I just wanted four things.”

  “I know, but I’ve never gone shopping for a woman before, so I decided to over-do it.” He sat in the chair across from her and put his chin in his hands as he leaned his elbows on his knees. “Plus, everything you had was pretty much destroyed in your apartment. This is just a small start to everything you needed to replace.”

  “Small?” She gestured to the large pile of bags and boxes.

  “You can say the same about your dinner.” He smiled as she laughed.

  “True, I guess I did get carried away. I suppose I could forgive you for doing the same.”

  “Well...” He motioned to the bags.

  She dug in. It was the first time anyone had ever bought anything for her, especially a man she wasn’t related to. She could only remember her father giving her one gift her entire life. It was the night before her engagement. The small gold chain was a family heirloom, one she’d left behind.

  Now as she opened a bag full of socks of every color and style, she wondered what he’d been thinking. “There must be over two dozen socks here.”

  “Yeah, well, they were having a sale.” He smiled and grabbed a bag from the top of the pile. “Here, open this one.”

  She took the bag and smiled when she opened it and found a couple pairs of jeans her size. The next bag had shirts of bright colors. Did he know she enjoyed color? He must have because the more she opened, the more she realized he had picked out items she would have purchased herself. Shirts, skirts, pants, even the shoes were all items she would have picked out.

  When she reached for a box next, he stopped her. “Wait, open the boxes last.” She looked at him and she could see eagerness in his eyes. She picked up another bag and found an elegant skirt of purple silk with a matching top.

  “There are dress shoes,” he searched the remaining bags and set a bag next to her. “Here.”

  She slowly opened the bag and found an elegant pair of heels.

  “For when you’re free of this prison. I thought you’d enjoy going out.”

  She blinked back a tear. Not only had this man bought more clothes than she’d need in a year, he’d even thought to buy her a dress and heels. Something not practical, but something she’d enjoy wearing.

  There was a bag of make-up and toiletries she hadn’t thought to ask for.

  “Yeah, well, I had some help picking out some items.” He said quietly when she set the bag aside. “Now, open the big box first.” He smiled again.

  She had to kneel down to get to the box. He sat on the floor next to her and helped her open it. When the lid was finally removed, she stopped in shock. In the box was her easel. Well, it couldn’t have been hers, she’d seen her easel shattered in pieces on the news report as they panned around her studio.

  She pulled out one of the pieces and enjoyed the smooth feel of the wood.

  “I can put it together tonight.”

  “Mitchell?” She was looking at the dark wood and when a tear slipped from her cheek, he leaned over and wiped it away. “You didn’t have to do any of this for me.”

  “I know.”

  She looked at him. His knees were touching hers as her legs were crossed, her long skirt tucked around her legs. She loved looking into his green eyes. His dusty blond hair had a slight curl to it and begged for her to run her fingers through it. He was so close, she could see small freckles on his nose and cheeks. Angel kisses. She’d always wanted angel kisses. She made the mistake of looking at his mouth and was transfixed by it. He had a slight dimple near the corner of his mouth on the right side.

  “Sandi?” Her eyes traveled back to his eyes, just before he leaned over and took her mouth with his. It was her first kiss, and she was shocked at the smoothness of his lips. He smelled of spices, and when she opened her mouth, he dipped his tongue in and she tasted them and him. Her fingers were wrapped around the wood piece to her new easel, her fingers digging into the wood as his hand came up and gently ran up her neck to cup her hair and face. He tilted her head slightly and she dropped the piece of wood and gripped his shoulders. Even though she was sitting, she felt her world tilt
when his mouth angled over hers, and he took her deeper then she’d ever been before.

  She closed her eyes on a moan and felt her body starting to shake as his fingers gripped her hair, holding her gently to him. She never imagined it would feel like this, being this close to a man she had feelings for. She’d never denied how she felt towards Mitchell. At least not in her mind. He was her hero. The man who’d risked it all to save her. Sure, Ethan Knight had actually stuck his neck out physically, and she didn’t discount what he’d done for her, but Mitchell had crossed that line, the one that most people wouldn’t have, and he’d done it all to save her.

  Ever since meeting him five years ago, she’d dreamed about him, about this. She slowly moved her fingers up his shoulders and ran them up his neck until they were where she wanted them to be, deep in his soft hair, holding him to her mouth as he continued to kiss her, causing small goose bumps all over her body.

  Then he was pulling back and when she opened her eyes he was smiling at her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go too fast. I can’t believe how good you taste, how good you feel.” He leaned his forehead on hers and she closed her eyes, trying to hold onto this moment forever. But then he pulled back and scooted back, handing her another package. “Here, there’s more where that one came from.”

  An hour later, Mitch had cleared a large space in his office. He’d put Sandi’s new easel together and had carried every box into the room for her. She had disappeared upstairs to put her clothes away and when she came back down, she was wearing a pair of her new jeans and one of her new shirts. He smiled and couldn’t help feeling proud that he’d picked items that not only looked very good on her, but looked her style. It was hard to explain, she just looked right wearing the clothes he’d bought for her.

  “They look great on you.” She walked over looking a little shy, her cheeks turning a soft color of pink. He didn’t know where that kiss had come from earlier, but he’d been sitting there admiring her and the next minute he’d been devouring her.

  He really needed to control himself. He could tell she was inexperienced, and he didn’t want to scare her or go too fast. He was supposed to be protecting her, not sleeping with her.

  She picked up a large canvas and a box with the tubes of oil paints and various brushes the clerk had suggested.

  “I can’t wait to get back to it.”

  “Now?” He looked around. It was a quarter to ten and he doubted he’d be able to stay up much longer. After all, he didn’t even get any sleep last night. He’d spent the entire night on his laptop searching for a way to get her out of the mess he’d gotten her into.

  “You don’t have to stay and watch.” She started setting the paints down on the small table he’d set near the easel for her. “I have a strong urge to paint that I’ve been avoiding for a full day now.” She turned to him. “You look tired. I bet you didn’t even sleep last night.”

  He nodded and realized he was exhausted. “If you need anything...”

  “I won’t. When I start painting, I pretty much ignore everything else around me.”

  “Okay, well...” He started backing up. “Enjoy. Goodnight.” When he realized she was focused on the task of organizing her paints, he smiled at her back and then turned and left.

  Taking the stairs slowly, he walked into his room and decided a shower might help clear his head of her. But before he walked into the bathroom, he checked his messages. He still hadn’t heard from Ethan. Deciding to try one more time, he picked up the phone. On the third ring it went to Ethan’s voice-mail and he left another message for his friend.

  He didn’t know what else to do except to hide her until Ethan could enlighten him as to how he could hide a full grown human being in a city of over eight million.

  The next morning when he walked into his office he was shocked to see her still at it. She’d laid one of his old sheets on the floor underneath the easel and he could see paint splattered on it from across the room.

  “Good morning.” She jumped and turned to look at him when he walked in carrying a coffee cup.

  “Is it morning already?” She smiled and when he walked closer to her, she reached out and took his mug and drank some of his coffee. “Mmmm, my favorite.”

  Damn, he thought, he’d worked it out in his mind last night to not be attracted to her. It was all very logical in his thoughts. He’d told himself it was only natural that he’d found her attractive. After all, it had been almost half a year since he’d been with anyone, physically.

  But when she licked her lips and took another sip of his coffee, he knew it was more than just attraction. He was in full-blown lust. Taking the coffee mug from her, he set it down on the small table and took a step closer to her. Her eyes were focused, her hair was pushed up in a clip he’d purchased at the clerk’s suggestion. Slowly reaching up, he let her hair down and played with a red streak that ran the entire length.

  “I like this.” He smiled when he noticed her eyes cloud over. She stood with her paintbrush in one hand, down by her side, forgotten as he took one more step towards her, blocking out any space between them. He knew what he was doing, he was following his instinct as he leaned down and took her mouth.

  The sweet coffee was on her tongue, her lips were softer than he remembered last night. She was softer. She was short and he wrapped his arms around her waist as he leaned over to take the kiss deeper. Then she was wrapping her arms around him and pushing herself up onto her toes as he moaned and tried to stay in control of himself.

  He couldn’t remember it being like this with anyone else. He didn’t think he could take much more of this without carrying her up the stairs, so he pulled back and tried for a casual smile. How could he have known that he would be shaken to the core over a simple morning kiss?

  “Good morning.”

  She laughed when he said this again. “Yes, it is now.”

  He enjoyed her smile. Her entire face lit up and her eyes sparkled.

  “Can I see your progress or are you one of those moody artists that don’t want anyone to see a painting until it’s completed?”

  She shook her head, “No, I’m not moody, please.” She motioned for him to look at the canvas and stood back so he could stand in front of the easel.

  He’d never seen anything like it. The colors alone drew the eye. Then he stepped closer and he could see the small circles, each one delicately placed so as a whole, they made an image that almost shocked him. He’d seen paintings of landscape before, but none as detailed and all of it made from those small circles. He wondered if her wrist and hands hurt after a full night of drawing circles. Turning, he smiled as he noticed her rubbing her hands and wrists.

  “This is incredible. I can’t even begin to imagine how you do something like this.”

  “Patience.” She smiled and walked over and stood next to him. “I’m not quite finished, but I think I’ll take a break and grab something to eat and maybe steal some more of your coffee.”

  She smiled up at him and he knew he was in more trouble than he had previously thought.

  After fixing them some scrambled eggs, he told her he had a few things he had to do today and left for his meetings before he’d be free for the next few weeks. He didn’t like lying to her, but he didn’t want her to know that he planned on going to her apartment building to see if her father and cousin were still hanging around.

  He was no Ethan Knight, but he thought the simple task of staking out a building couldn’t be that hard. As he rode in the taxi the fifty blocks downtown, he thought about the kisses. Why was it that when he wasn’t around her, he could think rationally that it was a bad idea to kiss her? But when he was with her, all he thought about doing was kissing her again.

  He asked the taxi driver to drop him off two blocks away. As he started walking towards her building, his eyes and mind were focused on looking for her father and cousin. He would have missed the dark sedan parked a block away by the pier if she hadn’t mentioned seeing it that firs
t night. He causally walked to the pier and leaned against the railing, looking out at the river. To anyone else, he was just a man taking in the sunny day. Behind his sunglasses however, he watched the sedan. Its windows were tinted, and he was wondering how he’d get a better look to see if the outline of a man sitting in the driver’s seat was indeed one of Sandi’s relatives.

  He must have stood there, leaning against the railing, for fifteen minutes before he got a break. The window of the sedan slid down slowly and someone threw a cigarette butt out. Sandi’s cousin Anish sat in the driver’s seat, watching the people come and go in front of her building.

  He wondered where her father was as he started walking to find a taxi. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, shocked as he spotted Sandi across the street. She was walking quickly right towards the black sedan.

  By the time he had crossed the street and was half a block away from them, she was already fighting her cousin off with impressive moves. He started running just as he heard her scream and take off running in the opposite direction, her cousin right on her heels.