"You are an extremely difficult patient, sweetheart," Sidharth gritted out from between his teeth three days later. It was mid-afternoon and he had walked into her workroom, only to find her guiltily standing in the middle of the room. Shehnaaz was clutching the sketchbook that she had crept upstairs to retrieve, to her chest.
"I was bored," Shehnaaz whined.
"So I thought if I had my sketchbook handy, I could work on some designs."
"Why didn't you call me or Shakeela Khala to get it for you?"
"You were catching up on some work," and he had missed enough of it already, taking the week off to stay with her. "And Shakeela Khala has dashed out to do some shopping."
"This is ridiculous," Sidharth growled, reaching her in one stride and swinging her up into his strong arms as if Shehnaaz were a featherweight. "
You're being impossible. Why didn't you watch some TV, or read a book or take a nap, or anything until Shakeela Khala got back?"
"Because I'm bored now," Shehnaaz complained sulkily and he muttered something under beneath his breath."
"What did you say?" She demanded to know and he slanted a wry sidelong glance at her before snorting softly.
"I said, God save me from stubborn women'," Sidharth obligingly said and she scowled.
"I am not stubborn," Shehnaaz insisted stubbornly and his gorgeous lips twitched in amusement.
"Of course not," Sidharth shook his dark head in a most condescending manner, that Shehnaaz immediately took exception to.
"And you don't have to patronize me," Shehnaaz seethed.
"I'm not made of glass..."
"You're just looking for a fight aren't you?" Sidharth mused, his lips curling up slightly and she simply folded her arms over her chest and kept her gaze mutinously fixed on his strong jaw. Sidharth sighed dramatically and hoisted her further up against his chest before making his way downstairs.
When they got back to her room he deposited her gently onto the side of her bed and stood staring down at her implacably with his hands shoved into the pockets of his navy blue cargo pants. Shehnaaz loved him in cargo pants, they rode low on his lean hips and certainly did wonderful things for his already gorgeous backside. Now, while Sid brooded above her, her mouth went dry at the picture of masculine perfection he presented in those pants and his favorite old t-shirt, a torn, stretched grey thing with a Batman emblem on the front. His hair was a mess and he was in serious need of a shave but he looked absolutely gorgeous and she was suddenly breathless with desire for him.
His eyes narrowed speculatively on her suddenly flushed face and he seemed to clue in to what was happening immediately, the corners of his lips tugged upward as he stretched suddenly, adding a jaw-popping yawn to the movement. His t-shirt rode up over his toned, ridged abdomen, revealing his smooth bronze skin and Shehnaaz nearly groaned out loud as she squelched the urge to reach out and stroke the satiny skin on display just inches from her face.
The elaborate stretch finally ended and he groaned as he rolled his head on his shoulders, working the kinks out of his neck.
"I'm exhausted," Sidharth informed her huskily, sinking down beside her and Shehnaaz hurriedly scooted closer to the headboard. He ignored the evasive
movement and threw himself backward, lying down with his knees over the side of the bed
and his feet braced on the floor. Once again his shirt had ridden up and Shehnaaz stared at the tempting skin of his ripped torso mutely.
Sidharth lifted his hands to cover his face, hitching the shirt up even further, and he sighed again.
"Just let me rest here for a couple of minutes, sweetheart. I need to recover my strength after hauling you down those stairs. You have put on a lot of weight over these last few months..." Shehnaaz was so captivated by the delectable picture he made, laid out like a buffet in front of a starving woman, that it took a moment for the words to sink in.
