Chapter 13
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Hi everyone,
This is the seconds thread for Desert Rose. For the previous chapter scroll down and click on Previous.
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Aye Dil e Naadaan'.
Note: This chapter is strictly for 18+ readers'..
Desert Rose ' Chapter 12
ARNAV
parked the Jeep in a makeshift lot set aside for vehicles. As Khushi got off
the Jeep, he came round to her side, caught her by her shoulders and turned her
around so that her back faced him. Khushi closed her eyes, a shiver going up
her body in anticipation. When Khushi felt a pull at her hair, she realized
what he was doing. He was unravelling her hair from its braid.
'Now it's fine.' He said in his husky
timbre.
Fine? Nothing was fine
since I met him thought Khushi trying to stem the dhak-dhak that had begun a
few seconds ago. Laad Governor! Why
did he behave like he had every right to touch her like that? She knew the
answer to that didn't she?
Because, she had practically thrown
herself at him this morning, asking him to take her out. And now, by allowing
him to bring her here, she was letting this charade go too far, she thought
guiltily. I have to find a quick way to finish talking about the negotiations
and get out of here, thought Khushi despairingly. Hey Devi Maiyya, give me
strength she prayed silently, quickening her steps to catch up with him.
The desert festival seemed to be
bustling with unbound energy. The fair, lit up by flames from torches was a
sight to behold. Khushi and Arnav thronged through the crowd to where hawkers
selling pots, handlooms, wool and carpets beckoned them to come and buy their
wares. Arnav explained to Khushi that these items were hand made by the local tribe
known as Jasnathis.
Khushi was fascinated by these people.
They looked sturdy, resilient and full of life. The men wore colourful turbans
sporting thick moustaches while the women dressed in brilliantly coloured
costumes accessorized by chunky jewellery.
One woman began to call Khushi to her
stall. She was selling colourful lac bangles
in different colours embedded with precious stones. The woman held out one set of six bangles embellished
with tiny mirrors, red and gold beads matching Khushi's chunri. Khushi's eyes
lit up when she saw those beautiful bangles, but she simmered down remembering
just in time that she had kept her purse along with her clothes in Keshav
Rathore's house. Just as she began to refuse her, the hopeful woman turned her
attention towards Arnav and spoke in a dialect in which Khushi could only
understand one word ' beendni. Here
we go again, thought Khushi groaning inwardly.
Arnav took out his wallet and paid for
the bangles even as Khushi protested. When she turned away from him in anger, he
took her hand in his and jerked her toward himself.
'I've paid for these goddamn bangles!'
he grated.
'Then you can wear them yourself,' she
retorted, her eyes flashing with anger.
Arnav gripped her hand firmly and began
to force the bangles onto her hand. Khushi winced with pain, as the bangles refused
to go around her knuckles and the older woman rattled off in her dialect
chuckling aloud.
What was the old hag laughing about? Looked
like the men around here treated their women like their property, thought
Khushi irked at the patronizing attitude of the woman. But whatever she said
seemed to have worked wonders. Arnav took her palm, gently folding it in his
large hand as he smoothly slid the bangles onto her hand starting another spate
of dhak-dhaks.
Trailing behind Arnav through the
crowds Khushi grudgingly acceded that her loose hair was indeed a sensible idea,
realizing that she was already drawing glances from many men in the crowd. As one
of them approached her trying to lead her to his stall, Arnav strode up,
scowling at the shorter man so fiercely that he scampered away without looking
back. After that, he took her hand in his holding her close to his side.
'Could
I please have some gol-gappa?' Khushi's face lit up in a child-like delight as
she spotted a pani-puri wala.
'Are you sure?' asked Arnav grimacing
at the dirty cycle. 'the water '.'
'It's alright Arnavji''. it had been so
long since I had them.' Khushi begged.
Arnav watched Khushi in fascination as
she closed her eyes savouring the taste. He couldn't stop himself from going up
to her. As Khushi opened her eyes to see him standing so close, he lifted his
hand up to her lips and wiped the pani that had trickled half way down to her
chin, licking the pani off his fingers in an unconscious gesture before he took
hold of her hand again.
Khushi realized that they would have to leave
before things got out of hand. They could talk about the deal on the way back
to the Haveli.
'Arnavji, thank you for bringing me to the
Desert Festival,' began Khushi, 'I think we can talk on the way back.'
They had reached camel stand where
colourfully dressed camels stood looking royal and elegant.
'We will talk over dinner,' he said firmly
guiding her toward a seated camel. 'And this camel is going to take us there.'
They were going to ride the camel to
get to the camp site which was a little further away. Arnav helped Khushi onto
the cushioned saddle before getting on behind her.
As
they began their ride, Arnav pointed toward a herd of Chinkaras making their
way toward home across the silent sands. Khushi felt Arnav's heart beating '
albeit unsteadily ---at her back triggering her own dhak-dhak. Arnav began to
speak proudly about how people of the Thar lived in perfect harmony with this
seemingly inhospitable landscape, that kept shifting as the strong winds
re-arranged the terrain at will. These people led a simple life completely at ease
with their surroundings and were fiercely proud of their roots and traditions.
Just like him thought
Khushi as she looked into the distant silvery dunes bathed by the full moon. She
closed her eyes trying to tell herself that all this was just an illusion --- a
mirage, and that none of this was real.
Nothing had been real since the time she
had arrived at Raisar. She had been so sure of her ability to handle things,
but looking back it seemed like she might just have made the situation worse.
Participating in the deception might
have been the only way to make amends for Payal, but she hadn't anticipated the
consequences to herself. Physical damages eventually healed. But emotional damage
could scar for life.
This was not something she could go
back home and forget as a casual holiday flirtation.
Because Arnav Singh Raizada mattered. He was in her mind and her heart, in the blood running
through her veins, and she didn't have the least idea how or when it had begun
to happen. She had been in to0 deep before she had even seen the danger.
But what she needed to remember, above
all, was that it wasn't mutual. She was an annoyance to Arnav ' a small problem
to be resolved, and that was all.
Khushi.
Khushi opened her eyes startled to hear
Arnav's throaty voice whispering into her ear. He was telling her that they had
arrived at their destination.
The campsite had a few groups of people
mostly foreigners who had come here to experience desert life. Tents were erected
around a central area where they had a huge bon fire going. Dinner was being
served in the banquet area. Khushi loved
it that they had gatte ki kadi on the menu. After dinner, they sat down on the
sand to watch a group of musicians and dancers displaying their talents to the
assembled group. Khushi watched in fascination as colourfully dressed fire
dancers moved their hands delicately whilst balancing pots of fire on their
heads.
'You love dancing a lot don't you?' Arnav
asked quietly.
'Yes.'
'I wouldn't have guessed until I saw
you in that hotel that night,' he said looking into her eyes. 'That is the only
time you smile.' He paused, 'I see anger, defiance and anxiety but what I never
see is a smile.'
'Well'.' She turned away her face
swiftly. 'There hasn't been much to smile about since I got here.'
'Or before that, either, I think.' His
voice was perceptive. 'How long have you been taking care of your sister?'
'It is almost seven years since my
parents died. ' Her voice shook as she briefly told him about the accident.
'But --- please don't think it's been some kind of a burden,' she added
hurriedly. 'We have been each other's support.'
'At least you didn't fight with them
before they died.' Arnav said quietly, his voice choked with emotion. He looked
up at the sky as he told her about the argument he had had with them.
'You can't blame yourself like that
Arnavji,' said Khushi placing a soft hand on his arm. 'I am sure they don't.'
'How do you know that?'
'Look there,' she told him pointing at
the stars in the sky, 'they are up there shining brightly which means that are
proud of you -- of how you took care of
your family, of how you revived the factory, of what you have become today.'
They sat silently staring at the stars
in the sky.
'F@#$!' Arnav swore under his breath as
something she had said earlier flashed to him. 'You said your parents died in
the Jaipur-Delhi highway accident seven years ago! You are the girl I saw''.'
'What?' She asked him trying to
comprehend what he was saying.
'You wore a red dupatta that day'...'
he said quietly. He went on, 'You stood under the tree, crying, I think, and then
suddenly lost your balance and fell ---'
Right into my arms. Strands of hair covering your flushed face, your
luminous almond eyes moist with tears and your luscious pink lips had quivered tremulously
reminding me of the flowers of the tree beyond --- the Desert Rose.
This was the elusive memory that kept
haunting him since he laid eyes on her. As she had run away from him into the
dwindling light, he had stood there for several minutes trying to compose
himself until he had been reminded of the real reason he had set out on this
journey ' Lavanya'.
Arnav stood up abruptly and walked away
from Khushi, his whole body seething with rage as unwanted memories came
crashing back into his mind.
Hey Devi Maiyya! The baazigar with the molten chocolate eyes
who had been haunting her dreams was Arnav Singh Raizada?
'Arnavji!' Khushi called out to him as
she got up and ran after him trying to find out what was going on. Suddenly she
cried out as felt something sharp pierced the soft sole of her bare feet,
realizing too late that she had forgotten to put on her joothis in her haste.
'Khushi!' He was at her side instantly.
'What the f@#$!' he swore vehemently
when he saw the piece of broken glass piercing her delicate skin. 'Why aren't
you wearing your goddamn slippers?'
'I am fine!' she snapped, her eyes
tearing up due to excruciating pain, the blood gushing out of the cut as he
removed the shard of glass from her sole.
'Like hell you are!' he rasped,
sweeping her up in his arms swiftly as he walked back toward the camp site.
As the staff came up asking what
happened, Arnav gave them a dressing down for their negligence. They began to
apologize in earnest and requested Arnav to take her into one of the tents so
that she could rest her feet on the bed.
Arnav gently laid her on the bed and told
her he would be right back as he went out of the tent. Khushi looked around to
see that the small, but cozy interior had a tented roof in red silk, with the
yellow silk curtained walls, aglow with the light from an oil lamp placed
strategically on an ornate brass night stand. The floor bed, on which she lay, was
covered in yellow and red silk sheets accompanied by several throw pillows in
the red silk. Suddenly, Khushi began to imagine herself as Queen Razia Sultana
walking the deserts singing the song ---
Aye Dil e Naadan '.Aye dile e naadan
Aarzu kya hai '..justju kya hai''
Unbelievable! Arnav muttered
under his breath as he entered the tent and saw Khushi giggling all by herself.
This girl is crazy, he thought as he came up to her. Khushi was startled out of
her reverie as Arnav held her feet so he could clean up the wound. She jumped
nervously.
'Stop fidgeting dammit!' Arnav rasped
as he grasped her feet firmly and dabbed her cut.
'It hurts!' bit out Khushi as the Savlon
began to sting.
'Of course it does,' he returned
angrily. 'I can't believe you could be stupid enough to run without your foot
wear.'
'And I can't believe you are actually
yelling at me,' she hit back equally angry. 'You shouted at those poor people
out there as well' she went on, 'mistakes happen you know. Haven't you heard of
the saying'.? Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.'
'I don't believe in that nonsense,' he
said looking at her, his brown eyes glittering. 'In my world, people pay for
their mistakes.' He finished dressing her wound and put away the first aid box.
''That's cruel,' said Khushi gave him a
direct look. 'Although, I found out today how kind you have been --- to
Keshavji and the people of Raisar -' by reviving the factory. I just wish you
could spare some kindness for Payal and Akash.'
He shrugged. 'Sometimes you must be
cruel to be kind. I am sure you have heard about that.'
'Yes,' she said. 'But I am not sure I
believe it.'
'Then you should,' he said softly.
'Also that you should not let your heart rule your head. That can only lead to
' disaster.'
Khushi looked into the glow of the
lamp. She heard herself say, 'You met Lavanyaji in college, didn't you?' and
braced herself for an explosion.
'Yes.' His quiet reply surprized her. 'Back
then, we were good friends. It was only a few years later when her modelling
career was dwindling that she decided that she needed a change of direction ---
which I provided.'
Khushi's breath caught in her throat.
She said, 'There must have been more to your relationship than that.'
'At first, yes.' His voice slowed to a
drawl. 'She was a beautiful, smart woman and I enjoyed spending time with her.
But unfortunately things didn't stay that way for long.'
He took a glass of water from the brass
jug kept on the table, his fingers holding the glass really hard.
He went on. 'I had made it clear to her
from the beginning that I was not interested in marriage and she seemed to be
okay with that. But after a while she began to want more.
'Co-incidentally, my nani back home
found out about Lavanya and began to kick up a big fuss about her being a
ultra-modern girl, unfit to become a Raizada bahu. This irked me to no extent.
I didn't like anyone making decisions on my behalf. So, I rebelled just for the
heck of it and threatened to walk out of the house. Di was very upset. So my
brother-in-law, Shyam intervened and convinced everyone that Lavanya should
come and stay with us, allowing her adapt to our customs and traditions while
getting to know the members of the family. I played along just to keep my
sister happy.
'At first, Lavanya being the actress
that she was, played the role of an ideal bahu to perfection. She loved Raisar.
She thought it was exotic. But that was a view of a tourist ' someone passing
through, who looks but does not see. But soon, she realized that life here would
be very dull and boring. She couldn't adapt to the culture and traditions, nor could
she get along with anyone in the house. She began to miss city life, her
friends, the restaurants and the parties.'
His voice was weary. 'Though I had
other houses, I would always want to come back home ' here to Raisar. For me
work always came first and I could not give her the attention she needed. She
began to feel neglected. One day, she told me that I had my life and that she
should be allowed to have hers. So she left me and took up a movie offer.'
'Please,' Khushi broke in urgently.
'You don't have tell me all this.'
'No Khushi, I do.' For a moment the
dark eyes glittered at her. His voice deepened. 'Couple of months later, I
found out she had been sacked from the movie for unprofessional conduct. I
think this was the time she had started experimenting with drugs. I knew that
in the modelling industry, indulging in some drugs was common. But I didn't
want to get involved in that mess. But she kept calling me again and again.
Finally I gave in and went to her apartment one night after work. She swore
that she would never do drugs again and begged me to take her back. She said
she was sorry'.
'When I told her it was not possible,
she offered me a drink for old time's sake. After that, all I remember is
waking up in her bed with a raging headache.
'About a month later, she called me to
tell me she was pregnant with our child.'
'Oh God!' said Khushi constrictedly.
'I decided to do the right thing and
asked her to marry me,' he continued his face stoic. 'We got engaged in a
private ceremony and set the date for a quick wedding.
'But she didn't seem to taking her
pregnancy seriously. She continued partying. When I saw her drinking at a
party, I tried to tell her it was not good for the baby and she lost it. We
quarrelled and I left the party. I was angry.
'Then one week before we were supposed
to get married, she called me and begged me to forgive her. She asked me to
come and meet her at a hotel. I decided to give it another chance for the sake
of the baby. That is the same day I visited the memorial ''
'After I left there, I went to see her at
the hotel. She was already dead. Initially the police thought I had a hand in
it, because of the public fight we had earlier.
'Eventually
the police found an eye witness who had seen me at the memorial ' with you ' at
the time of death. I was finally exonerated.'
'The baby!' Khushi's voice was an
anguished whisper, her throat choking up with emotion.
'Wait Khushi, you haven't even heard
the best part yet. During the course of investigation another piece of
information came to light. It turns out I wasn't the father of her baby.'
'Oh God!'
He turned his head slowly and looked at
her. 'Are you wondering why I have told you all this Khushi? Why I spoke about
things I had buried in my memories forever? It is to make you understand once
and for all, why I must protect my family ' stop them from making the same
mistakes as I did.' His shrug was cynical. 'I know you will tell me that Payal
is not Lavanya. And that Lavanya was self-destructive. But it is not that
simple.'
He beat a clenched fist into the palm
of his hand. 'When you are young, you think love can solve everything ' that it
can tear down the barriers of background and culture. Overcome all difficulties
and misunderstandings.' He shook his head. 'It is just crap! I had money, and
power, but I could not offer Lavanya what she wanted, or save her from what she
ultimately chose.'
It was all there in his voice ' the
anger, the regret, the underlying sense of desolation.
There was a loneliness, an isolation in
the tense, dark figure beside her that caught Khushi by the throat. Although
the things he'd spoken of where light-years form her own experience, the
instinct to offer some kind of comfort however inadequate, was overwhelming.
Going up to him, she said his name. Put
a hand tentatively on the hard muscle of his shoulder. Felt the hard muscle
clench beneath her touch, and the harsh tremor which seemed to shake this whole
body. She wrapped her slim arms around his shoulders, pressing herself to him
as she held him in a tight embrace.
Eyes brimming with unshed tears he
buried his face in the crook of her neck, snaking his arms around her in
deathly grip, holding her like his life depended on it.
As she smoothed her hands gently over
the back of his head in a comforting gesture, he swiftly raised his head,
almost savagely, his eyes dark and intense as he bent his head to capture her
lips in an urgent possession. She gasped, her lips parting to allow the urgent,
aching dart of his tongue.
She didn't know which was worse ' the
warm, aroused masculine scent of his skin, the erotic taste of him or the feel
of his body pressed against hers -- but
she responded by digging her own fingers into the sensitive area of his back,
her senses thrilling as he responded by raising his hands to her hair,
threading them through the long wavy strands of black silk, imprisoning her
head so that she had to press even
closer against him, forcing her to lift her face as the heat of his body
transmitted itself to her.
When his weight carried her backwards,
downwards on the silk mattress, his lips still joined to hers, she had no
thought of resistance. Her hands held on to him ' an anchor to a drowning
person. As he moved his hand over her breasts rolling one hardened peak between
his fingers, a shaft of pain bordering on pleasure shot through her, all the
way to her toes. He thrust one knee between her legs separating them, pressing
his throbbing arousal into her heated core. As his tongue continued to plunder
her mouth moving in and out of her moist warmth, his hips began to undulate,
mimicking the motions of his tongue.
A liquid heat began to pool at her
core, as his assault on her body went on and on, turning the bewildering
sensations into a vortex. As the
sensations reached a crescendo, she clutched the hair at the back of his head
stiffening, shuddering and curling her toes as she splintered into a million
pieces.
He slowly raised his head to see her in
throes of a release. He had never seen a woman this sensitive and seeing her
come apart in his arms like this was too much for him to handle. He couldn't
wait any longer.
Impatiently, he wrenched at the dori of
her choli, almost ripping it apart in his haste. His stomach did a double take
when he saw the rounded beauty of her unbound breasts and the delectable peaks
of her rosy nipples. His hands shook as he undid the ties on her lehenga,
sliding them down the flare of her hips, revealing the satiny skin of her long
long legs inch by inch. His fingers slipped into the waist band of her panties,
peeling them off her to reveal the silky triangle of her womanhood. Arnav felt
like his heart had stopped as drank in her beauty. She lay in front of him like
delicate flower ' a Desert Rose.
He felt like a man who had found an
oasis in the desert. With reverence, he grazed his fingers over her throat,
down to her heaving breasts, her ribs, her quivering stomach and then lower as
he dipped his fingers into her molten core.
Her eyes sprang open as she woke up
from the daze, clutching his hands in surprise. Arnav removed them firmly
pinning them above her head equally surprized at her diffidence. She began to
writhe against his stroking fingers, an involuntary moan breaking out from her
lips as the bewildering sensations from which she had just gained respite took
over her once again.
Letting go of her hands, he quickly
undressed and brought her hands to his chest, suddenly assailed by a need to be
touched by her. As her fingers came in contact with the smooth skin of his
muscled chest, she was startled into an even greater jolt and she moved her
hands quickly over his neck to the back of his head to pull him down to her
mouth. That was it. Moving her legs
apart, Arnav thrust into her in one smooth motion.
A sob arose in Khushi's throat at the
shooting pain and he stilled, his face going pale at the realization.
Recovering quickly, he took her lips in a tender kiss, soothing away her cry as
he continued a little slowly, assuaging the pain, turning it bit by bit into a
pleasurable sensation.
He left her lips to trail kisses down
her throat until he took the delicate skin at the nape of her neck between his
lips, still moving slowly inside her. Wordlessly, trailing her hands down the
hard planes of his back, she began to move in accordance with him. As he sensed
the need for patience was past, and that her desire was as complete as his own,
his initial gentleness splintered rawly into driving passionate urgency.
An anguished moan escaped her lips, her
fingers nails raking down his back as an intense pleasure engulfed her, her
body convulsed in tremors, stars exploding in her brain throwing her spiralling
downwards into an abyss.
Then she saw Arnav's head rearing back
as he made one final thrust, his face strained, almost anguished as he reached
his own climax.
As they floated back together, to a
normal breathing consciousness, Khushi held Arnav to her, their bodies
delirious with a mind numbing satisfaction.
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