Chapter 55

To all those who commented for the last update and wished me in the Special Thread...

As promised... MY BIRTHDAY BLOCKBUSTER!!

Chapter One Hundred Thirteen: By the River

Lord Arnav stood before the moon-glimmered river, his hands in his pockets, his shirt dirtied and with the first few buttons still undone .

Night had fallen on the land and standing in the pitch darkness lit by the moonlight, he grumbled as to how a whole day of his had been wasted because of a reckless village girl.

Reminded of her, he cast his glance towards the trees bending over the river.

Kushi had made him make a curtain by using her blanket from her box and tying it along the two trees for her to change into a new gown behind it. But she was taking such a long time that he was wondering what was so laborious in changing into a new gown.

That was when he heard her giggle.

"What the!" he frowned towards the curtain in the shadows, "What are you doing there, Kushi?"

There was a long silence before she replied, "The water's cold and my legs are freezing."

He frowned at the ground, thinking, "Legs? What is she--washing the gown with her legs?"

"I never knew it would be so refreshing to bathe in the river."

Lord Arnav gaped at the curtain, she was bathing? He closed his eyes, No, not this.

And then he stepped away, should I walk back to the hermit? He cast a look to the curtain, should I stay?

Then he heard her giggling again and the sound of water splashing.

He closed his eyes, standing there.

He was not going to let his imagination paint supposed pictures of what might be behind the curtain. He was not going to make his bored mind make this moment harder for him.

Water splashed again and she began singing. Singing as she washed herself. He clenched his fists.

And then he didn't know why, but to kill his own thoughts from wandering, he decided to dip himself in the cold numbing water.

He moved away from where the curtain was, away from where she was bathing and then stripped down to nothing. He slipped into the water, cold water washing over him and calming the heat rising in his body.

He emerged out to the surface and let his arms and legs wade in the cool water. It felt really good. No wonder she was giggling and singing.

That was when he realized she had stopped singing.

He looked in the direction of the curtain.

"Kushi?" he called out.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

"Changing my gown. Why?"

He didn't wait to answer, and quickly swam to the shore. As soon as he was on land, he slipped into his pants and had just bent down to pick up his shirt when the curtain dropped and out emerged a most ethereal woman his eyes had ever beheld.

With her long wet hair let open to frame her radiant moon-kissed face, she was dressed in a thin white gown that reached to her toes but it was so thin that even in the darkness, his sharp vision could make out the outline of her curves.

And then she draped the curtain-or more correctly, her dark blanket-protectively around her, killing the fascinated look in his eyes.

She picked up her washed gown and her tiny box and walked towards him.

And then she stopped.

From far, she could not see things clearly in the dark the way he could. But a few inches away from him, the moonlight cast its caress on his wet hair and his wet chest and she realized he was dripping wet and shirtless.

"You bathed?" she asked in panic.

"Quite away from where you were bathing," he assured her casually, and then began slipping into his shirt.

He had not buttoned it when she gasped, "Your hair is wet."

He frowned at her, "Yes, are you deaf? I said I had a bath."

"No, that is not what I meant," she said, shaking her head and dropping her gown and box to the ground, "You will catch a cold."

He stood there looking at her for a moment and then coolly looked away, "I don't catch colds."

And then he began buttoning his shirt, only to stop and realize that she had eased towards him and was standing before him.

He stared at her, his eyes confused, and before he could react, she had slipped the blanket off her, exposing the beauty he had seen before.

Her dark hair against the white of her night gown made it impossible for him to remember that he still had to do the top buttons of his shirt.

She held the blanket before her, looked to the ground and asked, "Shall you or should I?"

He tilted his head in query, his gaze confused.

She saw it from the corner of her eye and, with her gaze still on the ground, asked as though unaffected by their proximity and their attire, "What else but your hair needs drying'''."

He considered and then he nodded.

She held out the blanket to him.

His gaze slid from her face to the blanket she was holding, "Me touch your dirty blanket that was draped around you?"

Kushi frowned at him, "I suppose you deserve to catch a cold, then."

And she was about to drape the blanket over her shoulders again when he said, "I suppose I can let my hair be dried by that blanket."

She looked at him for a minute, "You do not want to touch it but you don't mind it touching your hair?"

He lowered his eyebrows, "If you want to spend more time in talking, I think I would better retain a wet head."

"No, I'll dry it," said Kushi and held out her blanket before her again.

He waited.

She didn't move.

He frowned, "What now?"

"Your head is too tall for me to reach it well enough to dry your hair."

His eyes glinted, "Are you suggesting I bow before you so you can dry my hair?"

Kushi gritted her teeth, "You turn every instance into a question of power, don't you?" She sighed and pointed out, "I was intending you make it easier for me to reach you."

"I will not bow my head nor kneel," he stated firmly, crossing his arms before his chest.

"Then I see no other option," she sighed coolly and was about to drape her blanket over her shoulders again when he said, "I can't lower myself but you can lift yourself to reach me."

Kushi looked around the territory they were standing in, "There is no rock or tree stump on which I can stand."

"There is another way to lift yourself up," he pointed out, his eyes shining mischievously, and before Kushi could fully grasp the potency of that statement, he had crossed the little distance between them and hoisted her up, his strong arms around her knees, pressing her to him and his face before her waist.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" she panicked, her hands pushing on his shoulders to force him to release her.

He looked up at her, "You've killed too much of my time already, so make this quick or I have a good mind to drop you."

Kushi looked down and realized how tall he actually was. It felt as though she could see the whole world, being hoisted above his shoulders (although it was virtually impossible when tall trees loomed all around them in the nightly darkness of the forest). She felt dizzy with the height and hastily pulled at the blanket which was around her. She draped it over his head and began drying his hair and he stood rooted to the spot.

His head shook as she dried it and he accidently pressed his face against her waist and she gasped.

But with trembling fingers, she continued with her drying of his hair. The faster it got over, the better. As soon as he would put her down, she might kick herself for thinking up the idea of getting his hair dried in the first place.

"Is it done?" he asked impatiently.

She withdrew her hands and let the blanket drop to the ground.

"Yes," her feeble voice managed to say, as his face looked up to gaze at her.

Washed in the moonlight, his disheveled hair only made him look more alluring. As though he had struggled among the sheets in his bed...

Kushi gulped down that thought and asked him to put her down. But instead of putting her down like how he had lifted her, he released his hold gradually and let her slide slowly down his chest.

NO! she winced when she realized what he intended but it was too late.

Her body pressed upon his exposed chest as she slid down until her feet touched the ground. She stood there against him, clutching the sides of his shirt, trembling from the awakened passion of the touch and breathing against his chest. The wetness on his chest was no longer there. It was on her.

She closed her eyes and tried to gather the strength to move away from him.

He stood immobilized by what he had let happen. What he had intended as torture for her was greater torture upon himself. How could he have been such an idiot? He would have considered that question if his mind was clear. But presently, it was not.

All he could think of was how her waist and her breasts had felt when they had slid down his open chest. And now, as she stood against him, he could not stop himself. He dug his face into her wet hair, breathed in and lost himself.

It was Kushi who recovered first. Feeling his warm breath on her, she was alarmed and stepped away hastily.

He stared at her, breaking from the spell of the moment.

Her gaze fell on the blanket lying on the ground and, quickly picking it up, she draped it around her, wanting to not let his eyes see her anymore in a way that left her flustered.

He looked away, angered by his own hapless emotions and then, to change the mood, said, "I'm starving. Aren't you hungry?"

She shook her head, her eyes cast on the ground.

He frowned into the air, trying to think of another question, "Why are you wearing your night gown instead of another gown?"

Kushi took a moment to find the voice to answer, "I did not want to dirty my good gowns because I presumed we would have to sleep on the ground."

"Sleep?" he looked at her as though she had blasphemed and she looked at him, surprised, "Yes, it's too late to return on foot."

"No time is late," he stated angrily and then marched back towards where the hermit would be seated and Kushi picked up her box and wet gown and rushed after him, the sensations of the past few minutes sinking to rise again at a later time.

To return to the INDEX

*smirk* So how did you like my little thank you gift?

Aquiline2012-12-05 10:00:31