But Arnav & Khushi heard none of it. They were looking at each other.
"Are you going to write my name on your palm?" Arnav whispered in her ear.
Khushi smiled. "Why should I write your name, Arnavji? I will write Salman Khanji's name"
Arnav's eyebrows rocketed.
"I am marrying you. Not Salman Khan." he claimed.
"Acha?" the minx asked. "Looks like I will have to settle for you." she sighed.
Arnav glowered.
"Will you write my name on your hand?" Khushi asked, a smile twinkling in her eyes.
"Ofcourse not." Arnav got his own back.
Khushi glared at him, and turned away from him. She told the mehendi lady, "Please write LGR on my hand."
The lady & Arnav stared at her.
"Laad Governor Rakshas." Khushi clarified.
Arnav looked away to hide a smile.
Arnav ran into his room, knowing that he could be sure of privacy there. Khushi, unsuspecting, walked into the trap. As soon as she was in the centre of the room, Arnav dashed to the door and locked it.
Khushi stood looking at him, her breath caught in her chest, her breathing suspended. The scheming, devious, crooked…. Arnav Singh Raizada! She could not think of any other derogatory word at that point of time.
He stood looking at her, a predatory look in his eyes, his gaze roaming over her alluring form in the green lehenga & red dupatta. Khushi gulped and tried to cover her waist with the dupatta, trying to move it over herself with nudges of her arms. Her hands were totally useless. She glowered at the mehendi.
Arnav smiled.
Khushi frowned. She mistrusted that smile of his.
As she watched, he began to walk towards her on slow but deliberate feet. Her eyes widened. His left foot… his right… then his left… his right… Khushi looked at her useless hands, and with a huff, turned and ran out of the room through the door that opened to the poolside.
"Khushi…" he called as he ran after her.
She circled the pool, trying to keep maximum distance between them. He Devi Maiyya, He Devi Maiyya, she chanted, as she ran in a clockwise direction. Arnav changed his route, and tried to reach her by taking the anti-clockwise path. She turned and ran away from him.
The edge of the dupatta that had been tucked in the waistband of her lehenga fell away, exposing the slim, creamy lines of her waist.
Arnav swallowed hard.
Khushi grit her teeth. She had 2 useless hands, a lover on the prowl, and a dupatta that refused to stay on her body! How was she to manage? She lowered her eyes to see if there was any way she could repair the damage.
This was the chance he had been waiting for. He moved in for the kill. Before Khushi could say, "Arnavji!", he was close to her. So close that she could feel his breath on her cheek.
She glanced up, startled.
"Now where will you go?" he asked, his voice a mere thread.
Khushi looked into his eyes, her breath coming in choppy waves.
"Arnavji…" she whispered.
"Hhmmm?" he asked, his lips coming closer and closer to her.
Khushi tried to move back, but his black recliner blocked her path.
She tried to slip away, but his hands clasped her shoulders, making it impossible for her to move an inch.
"My hands…." Khushi whispered. "The mehendi…"
"You don't need your hands to kiss me." he whispered back.
Khushi blushed. "I… I am not going to…" she paused.
"No?" Arnav asked. "Then I am afraid you are not going to leave this room." he smirked.
Khushi stared at him.
"Kiss me." he invited in his bedroom voice. Khushi gulped and gasped for air. "Then you can leave. Otherwise…"
Khushi looked into his wicked, chocolate brown eyes. How dare he look at her like that? How could he smile at her like that? He knew it made her knees feel weak and her body tremble. He was deliberately trying to give her a heart attack.
Khushi looked at his lips. The sinfully delicious curves beckoned her. Her own lips trembled.
Slowly, she moved closer to him. Her hot eyes lingered on his lips. He waited, his heart in his mouth, for the sweet touch.
Khushi fell on him, ravaging his defences, plundering his lips, taking her fill of the hard curves, pressing herself against him.
Arnav felt his heart stop, and then race at breakneck speed.
The hunter became the hunted.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Mangal Lakshmi
10