Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 3

3

R eina entered the lounge of Vedant Oshnov’s palatial London mansion, her mood sour and foul. Su Min and Laila sat on a sofa, laughing, as they peered into a magazine, so engrossed that they barely even noticed her arrival. Stefan, she knew, was probably asleep. Stefan had the night shifts, looking after Vedant, so he slept during the days.

She went straight to the window, breathing in the cool air, allowing it to calm her mind. The view was spectacular. Surrounding the mansion from all sides was a huge meadow of oak trees. A road in between them cut through to the entrance of the castle. And in the distance was a lake, its colour so blue it hurt the eyes. She allowed the stunning beauty in front of her to soothe her.

After their first meeting, she’d expected Vedant to behave difficult. Looking at that incident, in retrospect, she’d concluded that she had been too worked up with his brother, Mihir, and thus, had behaved cold and curt with Vedant. She’d made up her mind to henceforth control her own response to him. She was a doctor, and she could deal with problematic patients in a professional manner.

After all, Vedant had gone through a lot. He’d definitely be in a lot of pain when he woke up, and it wasn’t his fault his brother was holding his medical team captive here. She’d decided to take a chance and be nice to him, but all that resolve had flown out of the window when he started behaving rudely with her. She was already irked about being forced into this situation here, and she hadn’t been able to stop herself from reacting angrily to him. She was human, after all, and there was a limit to her endurance and tolerance.

Besides, she was his doctor for God’s sake. The least he could do was be polite. Was that asking too much? His behaviour cemented her belief that some rich men were not necessarily good humans. And perhaps Vedant fit into that category.

His bodyguard, Tyrion, had been a silver lining in this whole ordeal. He was warm and kind to all of them and had ensured that they had everything they needed to be comfortable.

Reina tossed her glasses on the table in front of her and untied her hair from the tight bun she’d worn since her shift in Vedant’s room had started. She’d started wearing glasses the day after Dr. Williams had insisted on her sleeping with him. He wasn’t the first man to make a move on her. She’d been hit on enough in med school by classmates, seniors, and even professors who thought she was easy just because she looked good. As if that was the only thing worthwhile about her.

However, this issue with Dr. Williams had been the last straw. She’d taken to wearing this severe persona while at work just to stay under the damn radar of every hotshot, depraved man who thought it was cool to ask for sexual favours from her just because she was attractive. Bloody assholes, the lot of them. All these men were just the same—fucking untrustworthy.

Sighing, she dropped into the armchair beside Su Min and Laila.

Su Min lifted her head from the magazine. “How is he? Any change?”

“Yes, he’s conscious now and extremely coherent. And boy does he like to order around.”

Her friend leaned forward. “Is it?”

“He’s a general pain in the ass. Bloody rude, condescending, and ungrateful.” Reina pinched her forehead. “God, I don’t need this.”

Laila swiped a hand in the air. “We’ve all faced difficult patients. The difference is that we are getting paid heavily to look after and tolerate this one.”

“True,” Su Min concurred.

Her whole team had been increasingly excited about the money they were all earning, thanks to this one man. Apart from the money, Mihir had organised, of course via Tyrion, that clothes and toiletries be available for them all. Now, they each had a wardrobe filled with basic work clothes, some casual denims and tees, workout clothes, and shoes. Her colleagues had been even more thrilled after that, Laila especially. She behaved as if she was on a five-star vacation. Of the three in her team, Laila was the only one Reina didn’t quite like. Dark haired and grey-eyed, Laila thought no end of herself and behaved like an utter know-it-all and a diva.

Reina sighed. Her differences with Laila aside, there were other bigger problems she had—the biggest one being that she was lying to her family about her situation. And she hated it. Her family thought she was having a difficult set of days at work, and that’s why she was unable to receive their calls or reply to their texts. But if this continued for a month or more, then no excuse would prevent one of her siblings from flying to London to check on her. Fuck. If that happened… No, she wasn’t thinking of the war Rajiv would start if he learned that his baby sister was a captive of the Oshnovs. Hopefully, she could deter her siblings for some more time, and Vedant would be better soon before her siblings found out the truth.

She twirled a strand of her hair, watching Su Min and Laila focus on the magazine in their hand. They both looked relaxed and carefree. So easily they had slipped into the routine here. Reina had to admit that she definitely enjoyed the eight hours of continuous sleep she managed to get every single night for the past four nights. She sighed. If she didn’t have the sword of her family hanging on her head, maybe she could enjoy more of the freedom here. Like the rest of them, she too had started to appreciate the various in-house facilities that Mihir had allowed them to use, especially the pool and gym. Swimming and exercising had now become the highlights of her days. Oh, and also the long walks on the beautiful grounds around the house. She enjoyed her morning routine of?—

“—Reina, you’re not listening to us,” Su Min interrupted her thoughts.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

The other two women once again giggled at something in the magazine.

Reina frowned. “Alright, what are you both reading?”

Su Min tossed the magazine on the table. It showed a picture of a gorgeous man wearing a charcoal suit and black-rimmed spectacles. The five o’clock shadow on his face highlighted the sharp angles of his cheeks. The more she stared at him, the more she realised how freaking beautiful he was. He was leaning on a black Ferrari against the backdrop of a city skyline. She jolted. That was Dubai’s skyline.

She looked at the girls. “Who is this hot hunk I’m looking at? And why have you both been giggling while ogling him?”

Su Min shared an amused glance with Laila before facing Reina. “That, my dear, is our patient, Vedant Oshnov. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you while you were lost in your head.”

Reina’s breath hitched. She looked at the magazine again and then at Su Min. “No fucking way.”

“Yes, all the way!” Su Min laughed. “Read the name in the caption, Reina.”

Even the sky is not the limit for Russian billionaire, Vedant Oshnov.

Bloody fucking hell. It couldn’t be. But it was. It so was.

Su Min grinned. “I’d told Laila that he was gorgeous but she wouldn’t believe me because, of course, his face is so badly bruised right now. I was looking for a book to read in the library and I came across this shelf that had all the magazines featuring the Oshnovs. Mihir appears in none. Most of them feature the middle brother, Armaan, but there are a few in which Vedant is mentioned. I took this one just to show her.”

Reina lifted the magazine and stared at the picture of her patient. Damn. He looked… fabulous. Uff. It didn’t matter. He was her patient, she reminded herself. Then why was her heart rate accelerating despite knowing that? Why did it feel like crackers were bursting in her belly?

Laila stood. “It’s my shift now.” She leaned over Reina and looked at the magazine in Reina’s hand. “He looks yum. I bet he has hard abs under those clothes. I can’t wait to find out. I’m going to enjoy my shifts with him when he’s more conscious.”

Reina gaped at her. “That is so unprofessional of you.”

Laila shrugged. “Nothing about our situation is normal or professional. Since his brother has broken so many Goddamn rules and kept us here, why should I not enjoy it? If Vedant Oshnov is as gorgeous in reality as he is in this picture, then I can’t wait to find out. And, of course, we all are going to see his abs at some point. You have to change his dressing, don’t you? Just ensure I’m around to help when you do that.”

Oh fuck, now her mind wouldn’t stop conjuring images of Vedant’s hard abs. Shake it off, she scolded herself. She was a doctor first and foremost, and she never objectified her patients in any way. And she wasn’t going to start with Vedant Oshnov.

“Also, Reina, I’ve prepared the notes for our weekly meeting with Dr. Williams this evening.” Laila tipped her head towards a folder on the coffee table. “Take a look when you can. I’m going to go check on my gorgeous patient now.”

With a naughty wink, Laila left the room.

“I also want to be around when you change his dressing,” Su Min added. “Why should only you two have all the fun?”

Reina rolled her eyes. “Hey, have you forgotten you have a boyfriend?”

“I have eyes, and they want to look at a hot guy, very much so.” Su Min made a face. “Besides, Vasily told me that while Armaan is the loud and naughty playboy, Vedant is a silent lady killer. Women love his quiet and calming charm. One night is all he promises them. He doesn’t even remember their names the next day. But they… Apparently, the women never forget him or the night they spend with him.”

“Oh please, nobody can be that good in bed,” Reina scoffed.

Su Min chuckled. “They don’t forget him because he is that good in bed.”

Bloody hell. Reina felt her cheeks burn. “Okay, that’s way too much info.”

“Please don’t be a prude, girl. You’d understand the needs of the human body better if you dated more often.”

“Where do you see me ever having time to go out on a date? Being a doctor is fucking hard. I barely have time for myself as it is. I’d rather not complicate my life with a man.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t you miss having that tingly feeling one gets around a hot, sexy man?” Su Min pointed at the magazine. “Especially around a hot, sexy man like him .”

“Um, no, thank you. I’d rather have no feeling other than care for my patient.”

Tingly feelings? What were they? She’d never been with a man like that, and so far, she hadn’t even been curious to find out. Her whole life had been dedicated to studying and becoming a good doctor. After being unable to save her own birth mother, becoming a doctor and saving lives had become her life’s mission. While other girls in school had been having fun partying and flirting with the boys in their class, Reina had always had her nose buried in a book.

Su Min didn’t know that Reina had never had a boyfriend. They’d met when Su Min had joined Reina’s department as a nurse, almost a year back, and had become friendly thereafter. Her friend always assumed that Reina had dated in the past and it had never worked out with anyone. Reina had never felt the need to correct her. Only her sisters knew that she hadn’t dated any man so far.

“You don’t know what you’re missing. You should go out more often. I’m sure the men you’ve met so far have all been duds,” Su Min said. “Wait. I know… You should read a romance novel. We have time now. Perhaps then you’d be fascinated with Vedant Oshnov too. After all, it doesn’t hurt to have a handsome man as your patient.”

“That sentence is so ethically wrong,” Reina shook her head. “I’m sure your boyfriend wouldn’t like that you’re so interested in his boss.”

“Please, I’m only looking,” Su Min scoffed, and then her expression turned serious. “You know I didn’t even get to meet Vasily when he came with Mihir to London. We’ve been dating for six months now, and most of it has been long distance. How do I understand how I really feel about him when I hardly ever meet him?”

There was nothing she could say to that, and hence, she remained quiet.

Su Min continued, “I bet Vasily doesn’t even know I’m caring for Vedant. And I’m not allowed to tell him on the phone either. Ugh, the only thing I hate about this situation is how our calls are being monitored. Anyway, when do you plan on changing his dressing?”

Reina glared at her. “Laila and you are behaving downright scandalous. The last thing I need is for both of you to ogle over Vedant’s abs and make a fool of yourselves when I change his dressing. It will give his already inflated ego a very big boost.”

“You better call me, nonetheless,” Su Min ordered.

Reina ignored her. Her eyes fell on the magazine still clasped in her hand. Silent lady killer? She really didn’t need to know that.

She focused on the article in the magazine. It shared a glimpse into him and what he did for a living. She already knew that O-Corp had three major arms in diamonds, energy, and oilwells. What she hadn’t known was that Vedant single-handedly ran O-Oil. The article revealed him to be a sharp, intelligent, and shrewd businessman, who won every contract he wanted. He was now working on laying a new oil pipeline from Russia to Eastern Europe, further strengthening their business in the European markets.

The magazine mentioned that his late father, Alexander Oshnov, had handed him the reins of O-Oil a couple of years ago, and thanks to Vedant, O-Oil continued to remain a world-renowned name in the oil and gas sector. Presidents, prime ministers, and state heads of various countries came to him for the use of his oil resources.

Her head swam with all this information. Vedant Oshnov was a powerful man in his own right. The article also mentioned how his wealth, keen intelligence, and striking looks were a major draw for women. He attracted them by the dozens, but was very specific in whom he dated.

Her eyes ran over his face—wheatish gold skin, perfectly spiked hair over a wide forehead, dark, dreamy eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a jaw that could cut through glass. Added to that were those sexy rectangular Tom Ford specs on his nose. His perfectly tailored suit highlighted his strong shoulders, broad chest, and narrow waist. She exhaled a heavy breath. Vedant Oshnov oozed sex appeal and charisma. Gorgeous men like him never stayed long term—they only offered steamy hot nights followed by endless heartache. His awful personality certainly proved that point.

Despite knowing that, the swarm of butterflies hellbent on attacking her belly did not stop. She stood. Enough with the nonsense. She was going for a swim. There had been a time in the past when she swam daily. Unfortunately, med school and work had taken up most of her time in the past few years. Now that she finally had some time on hand, it was better she fell into a pattern here. Surely, that would take her mind off her way too handsome patient and focus on herself.

Wouldn’t it?