Silently Falling in Love: Again (Edited)

Chapter 19 - Seduction

Anjali – November 2006

I walked into Raj's home office. The kids were asleep, I wanted to sneak in alone time with Raj. I tiptoed into his office, in one hand I had a bottle of his favorite Cabernet Sauvignon and in the other two wine glasses and underneath my robe I wore newly purchased lavender lingerie. One of the women I lunched with suggested I buy new lingerie to get Raj's attention since he was so busy these days. Her specific suggestion was to buy something new because if you wear lingerie he's already seen, you might not be able to distract him. She swore by this and her husband was as busy as mine.

I watched Raj typing away at his laptop. He switched between Excel files, a Word document he was typing a report in and numerous online websites. He had two other books open on his desk he was referring to as he put together some report.

He looked handsome even from behind and as I came near him, I smelled his cologne. I wanted him to hold me close. There never seemed to be time for romance with two kids and the hum of life, but I missed it.

I bent down and kissed his long neck. "Hi," I said shyly even though we'd been together for so long.

His fingers stopped typing, and he held still for a moment before turning his black leather chair to face me.

"Wine on a school night?" he asked as he took in the bottle and wine glasses in my hands.

"We're not in school anymore," I teased.

"I might as well be, given the number of reports I have to pull together." he nodded his head towards his desk.

I wanted to untie the belt on my robe to make him forget about his reports and only think about me, but I was shaking, and I didn't know what to do next.

"Anjali, I can't drink tonight, you will have to drink on your own," Raj sighed.

"Just one glass, please? I don't want to drink alone," I whispered. I wanted so much more than just a drink.

"I can't Anjali, this report is due tomorrow afternoon and all morning I have back-to-back meetings, so I have to work on this tonight. We can drink together on Friday night when this report is behind me. I promise I'll be better company then."

"Are you sure, just one quick glass?" I pleaded.

"I'm sure. I've finally got my head around all of this material and a great rhythm going. I can't take the chance of losing it. Another time, sweetheart. In fact, give me the bottle and the glasses, I'll leave them in my office, and we can have a drink Friday night," he suggested as he took them from my hands and placed them on a shelf above his desk.

He sat back down in his chair and faced his laptop and began to skim the book on his left and continued his work.

I turned around towards the door.

At the door Raj called out, "Hey Anjali, what was it you wanted to show me? You said you bought something new today you wanted to show me. Did you buy new furniture for the den? We really need some, it looks too sparse."

I took a deep breath and turned my head to look at Raj as he waited for my answer, maybe there was hope and I could change his mind about tonight. "No, I didn't buy any furniture. I bought something more intimate."

"Jewelry? You know my cousin is getting married soon, did you buy something for her as a wedding gift?"

"No, I bought something for me to share with you."

"Anjali come on stop playing games. I have to get back to work. Was it something important?"

"Just new lingerie," I responded as I held onto one end of the belt holding my robe together.

"Anjali, you really don't have to show me everything you buy. You know I don't mind how you spend my money especially when it makes you look nice," he replied as he swung back around to his desk.

I pulled both ends of the belt around my waist. Another night alone. So much for new lingerie.

"When is the wedding?"

"It's this weekend, and don't worry I already bought the wedding present." I responded a million miles away.

"When is the family coming to stay with us?"

"They are arriving on Thursday."

"Have you taken care of everything?"

"Yes, I've taken care of everything." Like I always do.

"Good. Thanks, Anjali. Looks like we'll have to share our wine drinking with the family," Raj said, now that he realized we wouldn't be alone this weekend.

"Sure," I muttered as I walked out of the office.

Would it kill him to make me a priority once in a while? What I wouldn't do for just once, for him to throw his papers off his desk and look at me as intensely as he did those spreadsheets.