Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 10

10

R eina blinked her eyes open. Pale sunlight drifted into the room from the crack in the curtains. Something hard was pressing against her nape. The scent of fabric softener hit her nose. She opened her eyes and looked into the sleeping face of Vedant Oshnov. She’d fallen asleep with her head resting on his bed. His large, heavy hand was now pressed on her nape, his fingers entangled in her hair—hair that had unknotted itself at some point in the middle of the night and hung loosely down her back now.

Vedant whimpered. His fingers stroked her hair before they tightened against her nape, and he turned his head to the side, still fast asleep. Her heart jumped. Her breathing became choppy, and all those tingly feelings she’d ever only experienced with this man returned in full force.

Her interactions with men thus far had been very limited and this… this felt rather intimate. In fact, it probably was the most up-close and personal she had ever gotten with a man.

While in high school, she’d always had her nose buried in a book and med school had given her no time for frivolous interactions with the boys in her class. Not that she had been actively seeking anything of that sort. Her trust in men was rather slim.

In fact, it was only after she’d started living with her adopted family that she developed some form of trust in men, thanks to her adopted father and brother. Yet, she’d continued to fear being in a relationship for most of her life. She’d avoided the imminent heartbreak and pain that she expected out of such liaisons.

And that’s why she was shocked to feel all the intense emotions she was feeling right now. Her heart felt like it was running a freaking marathon. Her eyes wouldn’t stop staring at this sleeping man and his perfect mouth and that sharp jaw that looked even more gorgeous now, covered by all that facial hair that hid all his bruises. Her mind wouldn’t stop wondering how it would feel if she kissed him. What would he taste like? What did a man taste like? She didn’t know, and until now, she’d never been curious to find out. But now, with him, all her raging hormones had woken up and come out to play. She breathed out. She’d never harboured scandalous thoughts about any man before this. But now… Now, she had to stop thinking of her patient and get the hell up and leave.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to leave his warm embrace. A second more, she told herself.

His eyes opened and locked on hers. It took him a moment to realise where his hand was. But he didn’t make a move to remove it from her nape. In fact, he lifted a strand of her hair in his hand, caressing it softly.

Now, the very air around her thickened with tension. Even breathing became hard. Lifting her head, she slowly untangled her hair from his hand. She stood. She had to leave at once. His hand captured her wrist, halting her. Her heart jumped again. Fire lit under her skin. She exhaled and turned to face him.

He was once again staring at her hand, as if he too was baffled by this heat they felt every time they touched. His gaze found hers and he gave her a smile. Her breath hitched. With his morning stubble more pronounced, his hair tousled and those dark, sleepy eyes, he looked sexy. Sinful.

“Good morning,” he greeted her, his voice hoarse and raspy.

“Umm, hi.”

Umm, hi? She sounded dumb to her own ears. Shaking herself out of whatever spell she’d temporarily been under, she once again disengaged her wrist from his grasp. A furrow formed between his brows the second their physical contact ended. His gaze, deep and intense, burned into her. She couldn’t help but stare at him. Last night had been a complete contrast from all their prior interactions. He’d opened up and shared his fears and insecurities with her. She’d listened to him with rapt attention, enjoying her conversation with him. She’d discovered an unseen side of him—one filled with gratitude and grace. And she had to admit she had warmed up to him after that revelation.

Even after he’d fallen asleep, she’d stared at him for a long time, captivated by his features—the angle of his jaw, the tilt of his cheek, and the curve of his lips. Last night, she’d attributed her intense interest in him to merely a product of her imagination, influenced as she’d been by the seductive hero of the romance novel she’d been reading. This morning, however, she only had herself to blame for how keenly she was staring at him. He licked his lips, and her gaze was irresistibly drawn to his mouth. Look away, Reina. Yet, she didn’t look away.

Something was shaking loose inside her chest. She couldn’t understand what it was and why exactly she was behaving so unlike herself. She knew nothing about this man besides what he’d shared last night and what she’d read about him in those damn magazines that he wouldn’t stop teasing her about. Then how was she so drawn to him? It made no sense.

“I have to go,” she told him. Yet, she continued to stare at him, unable to make herself move. God, what was wrong with her?

“Stefan will be here any minute,” she announced more to herself. “I’ll come check on you again in the middle of the day.”

She turned and walked out before the urge to stay with him remained. She rested her head against the shut door behind her, trying to control her erratic heartbeat. She was getting fixated with a patient, which went against all her rules. She was a doctor, and her job was to provide the best possible care for her patient and definitely not ogle the said patient, even if he was the most striking man she had ever come across. Yes, she ought to remember that always.

She quickly went to her room on the first floor of his massive house, locking it behind her. She hurried to the wardrobe and took out her phone that she had hidden in the pocket of one of her denims. Yesterday, Armaan had returned her phone to her right before he’d left, just as he had promised he would. She’d taken extra precautions to ensure no one knew she had it with her now, thus planning on keeping it hidden at all times.

She didn’t want any of the cleaning staff also finding out that she had her phone. Her team would have a severe problem with her if word ever came out that she was being singled out with this luxury. Checking it now, she saw several missed calls from her siblings.

She immediately called their siblings group. All three of them answered within seconds of each other.

“Hi, all you lovely people,” she greeted. All of them were in different locations. Ananya and Rajiv looked to be in their offices while Navya was at home.

“Where have you been?” Ananya asked. “Why have you taken so long to reply to my calls?”

“Give her a moment to breathe, will you, Ananya?” Navya cut in.

“Hi, my littlest one,” Rajiv said, leaning back in his chair. “How have you been? Is everything alright?”

Her heart warmed on hearing his voice. Her brother was her hero and role model. He’d taught her that hard work helped you achieve your dreams and that family always came first.

“I’m fine. Just been very busy.” Reina repositioned the phone so only her face was visible to them. She didn’t need the barrage of questions that would start if they realised she was in a location other than her home or hospital.

“How are Sheena and the kids?” she asked him.

A happy expression painted his face. “They’re returning from Mumbai tonight.”

Ever since Rajiv had met Sheena, he’d found a whole new purpose to his existence. And now, two kids later, he was happily domesticated. She was delighted to see him so content in life.

“How are you all?” she asked them.

“Oh, I am fine as usual,” Ananya took over. “These two, not so much. Now that we are all on the phone together, I have to tell you that they’re fighting terribly.”

Her eyes popped, and she focused on Rajiv and Navya, both of whom were glaring at each other through their phone screens.

“Guys, what’s going on, and why am I just hearing about it?” Reina queried.

Ananya pursed her lips. “If you actually found time from your busy schedule to talk to more than one of us for more than a minute, then you’d know already. This is the first time in so long that you’re video calling.”

“Sorry, you know how my work gets.” She hated lying to her family, and this one lie weighed heavily upon her. If they ever found out… No, that wasn’t happening. She didn’t want Rajiv to get into another conflict with the Oshnovs because of her, and she was confident Armaan wouldn’t tell Navya where she was yet.

“Tell me why they’re fighting,” Reina deflected.

“It’s been a week now,” Ananya said. “Mihir wouldn’t let Navya meet Armaan when he woke up, and Rajiv sided with that fiend. Now Navya is mad and refusing to talk to Rajiv.”

“I did what I thought was right,” Rajiv justified himself.

“For whom? Me or you?” Navya shot back.

Rajiv swore. “I’m so tired of these Oshnov men. I already had one sister mooning over one of them, and now Navya is in love with the most notorious one and is blaming me for trying to keep her safe.”

“Hey, I am not mooning over Mihir,” Ananya retorted.

“Sure, and the sky is never blue,” Rajiv scowled. “You think I don’t see you wasting away? You’ve lost so much weight, you barely socialise, and you hardly sleep. These Oshnovs are nothing but a fucking pain in my life. Thank God, at least one of my sisters is far away from their shadow.”

Her heart twisted. If only Rajiv knew.

Ananya glared at Rajiv. “I’m not talking about this.”

“That’s just it; you never talk about it,” Navya said.

“And you refuse to talk to Rajiv about this whole issue between you two, which has become a fucking nightmare for me,” Ananya cleverly diverted the topic. “Clear it out at once. I hate tiptoeing around the house, wondering which one of you is in a bad mood. Thank God, Sheena and the babies return tonight.”

“I miss you all so much,” Reina said, breaking the tension between them.

“We miss you too,” Rajiv said warmly. “But I have to go now, Rei. I have to get into a meeting.”

He disconnected the call, and Reina faced her middle sister. “Navya, how are things with you?”

“Still messed up,” her sister lamented. “Armaan refuses to answer my calls or messages.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her that she’d met Armaan and that she’d liked him. But she controlled that urge.

“I’m sure he will sort it out with you soon,” she said instead.

“Enough about me,” Navya said. “You’ve been having such a busy time. Met anyone interesting?”

Reina’s thoughts immediately rushed to Vedant. She had slept with him holding her nape, his fingers entangled in her hair, and it had felt… nice. Her heart leapt. Gosh, what was happening to her?

“So, you have met someone,” Ananya said. “Who is he? I need a name, now.”

“What? No,” Reina said.

“You had that dreamy look on your face right now, one I have never seen before on you.” Ananya’s expression sharpened. “So out with it.”

“I agree,” Navya concurred.

She wrinkled her nose. “I was thinking about this patient who is making my life so difficult.”

“Oh, who is he?” Ananya asked.

“Some VIP.”

“I’m sure he thinks no end of himself, the jerk,” Navya commented.

“I agree, just set him straight, Rei,” Ananya said.

Reina smiled. Oh, how she missed her siblings. They were always in her corner. She missed bantering with them, she missed their little disagreements and arguments. She didn’t know when she’d see them next now.

A knock on her bedroom door pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Reina, it’s me, Su Min,” her friend said from behind the door.

“One second.”

She ran to the bathroom and shut the door. “Girls, I have to go. Message me if you need anything, else I’ll call you both tomorrow when I can.”

“Sure, just keep in touch, okay?” Navya said.

Disconnecting the call, she quickly put her phone on silent and hid it once again in her cupboard before she opened the door to Su Min.

Her friend entered, looking around. “Were you talking to someone?”

Reina made a face. “Uh, myself.”

“You are so weird at times. Always lost in your own little world.” Su Min flopped on her bed. “I’m sad. Vasily left yesterday. He had to return with the Oshnovs to Dubai.”

“Oh, couldn’t he stay here for a few days more?” Reina dropped on the bed beside her.

Originally from South Korea, Su Min had come to study in the UK, and she’d chosen to remain there post her education. But her parents still lived in Seoul. With her tip tilted eyes and clear as glass skin, her friend was petite and very pretty.

“You know he’s the head of their security.” Su Min shifted her bangs away from her forehead, “He goes wherever they go.”

Reina squeezed her shoulder. “Did you get some alone time with him?”

Su Min grinned. “He managed to sneak into my room every night this past week while he was here. It was… it was mind-blowing.”

“Really? How scandalous of you both!” Reina smiled. “Are you still keeping your affair a secret from his bosses?”

“Yes. Considering how the Oshnovs are so paranoid about safety and security protocols, they could decide to let go of me because I’m Vasily’s girlfriend. I simply don’t want to lose the money they’re offering. They might even think he’s sharing information with me, which he never does, you know.”

“I get it.”

Having been an honest person all her life, she too was being forced to deceive her family because of her situation here, and hence, she didn’t begrudge her friend doing the same.

“I think he’s the one, Reina,” Su Min said dreamily. “I think I’m in love with him.”

“That’s amazing. Have you told him that then?”

Su Min made a face. “I will, the next time he comes to London. Long distance relationships are too damn hard.”

“I’m sure.”

Su Min shifted on her forearms and stared at Reina. “How are things with you and our hot patient?”

“Fine. He is behaving less of a grouch. Which is good.”

Her friend shook her head. “Laila is crushing on him big time, while you are so unaffected by him. Thankfully, I’m taken so I don’t care much.”

Reina’s eyes widened. “Wait. Laila is crushing on him?!”

“There you go again,” Su Min threw her a glower, “How many times do I have to tell you to pay attention to the world around you? Laila talks about him all the time. It’s obvious. And all that extra time she’s taking from our shifts, even when the other brothers were here, is not out of the goodness of her heart. How can you be so damn oblivious?”

A rush of annoyance took over her. Bloody hell. She thought through all her interactions with Laila. Fuck, she was such an idiot. Laila had been constantly talking about Vedant. Su Min was right. Laila was spending the maximum time with him. Reina ought not to be concerned with what Laila did and thought. Then, why was she suddenly seething with resentment? Why had all her muscles tensed up?

Forbidden, he was forbidden, she reminded herself. Her family did not need any further complications with the Oshnovs. Rajiv would blow a fuse if he learned that she was getting fixated on Vedant Oshnov, and Ananya would be ready to murder him. That is what she ought to be thinking of. She should not care whether Laila was having a crush on Vedant or not.

It wasn’t important. He wasn’t important.