"Khushi...", Arnav stood up and took a step closer to her. Like a frightened rabbit, Khushi jumped down from her perch on the table, and scooted away.
"It..it is time for you to go back to your office, Arnavji...", she reminded him, struggling to keep her voice steady.
Her fingers had a death grip on the magazine that would have prompted it to protest vociferously if it had a tongue.
"It is?", Arnav asked, his husky voice as fascinating to Khushi as a snake was to the mouse it was going to sting, kill, and swallow whole.
He took slow but sure steps towards her. She moved backwards, stopping only when she hit the wall.
"Arnavji...", she breathed, wanting to dissuade him, but not knowing why and how.
Arnav was in no mood to be distracted. He paused only when he was close to her, his face inches from hers, his body separated from hers by a very, very narrow gap.
"Arnavji...", Khushi tried again. "I... I need to go home..."
"Why?", he asked softly, his hot breath stinging the soft plumpness of her left cheek.
Khushi shivered. "Sweets...", she gasped, trying hard not to breathe too deeply, lest her chest rub against his.
"Sweets?", Arnav whispered.
"I... I... have to m..make sweets... with badam..."
"Badam...?", he enquired seductively.
"Kismis..."
"Kissmiss...?", he drawled.
"Haa... an..", she whispered.
"They mean more to you than me?", Arnav asked, rubbing his nose against her cheek.
Khushi shuddered and tried to dig a hole in the wall with her back.
"Can badam do this, Khushi?", Arnav asked. He kissed her cheek, his warm lips moving tenderly on the soft, sensitive skin.
Khushi shut her eyes, unable to bear the acute pleasure. The magazine fell to the floor with a soft plop. Her nails bit into the fabric of her suit at her hips, in a futile attempt to gain control over her own body that had turned traitor.
Her body swayed towards the warmth of his, and his moved closer to hers, swallowing the narrow gap between them.
"Can kissmiss do this, Khushi?", Arnav murmured near the seam of her lips, rubbing his lips against the spot, but making no move towards her lips.
Khushi opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, to take in the naughty look in his eyes and the sinfully tempting lips held close to hers, but not on hers.
Khushi looked into her eyes for a moment, desperate for his kiss.
But he made no movement towards her. He continued to look at her with waiting eyes, tracing the plump lines of her lips and lingering on the rising desire in her eyes.
She parted her lips, hoping that he would understand and comply with her wishes, satisfying this hunger within her that only he could assuage.
But he remained waiting.
At the end of her tether, she lifted her arms and caught hold of his shoulders. She tried to pull him closer, his lips closer to hers.
But he kept away, looking at her, waiting for her to make the next move.
Khushi ran her hands up the breadth of his shoulders, up his neck, and cupped his face.
Arnav smiled at her, loving her need for him, a need she couldn't hide, a need she was too inexperienced to hide.
His smile! His smile was the last straw on this particular camel's back.
Khushi firmed her hands on his cheeks, turned her head, and captured his lips with hers. She surprised the socks off him and herself.
A few minutes later, when Arnav & Khushi surfaced for air, Arnav murmured in her ear, "I need you more than badam & kissmiss do, Khushi..."
Khushi blushed, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
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