#3 Arshi FF: Smitten By The Neighbour ~Next thread link on Page 134~ - Page 50

Khushi had already packed her bags and was getting Samrat dressed. He seemed to be a little low, and it did not go unnoticed by the Momma bear. "Hey sweetie! What happened? Why are you so sad?" He looked up at her with his big eyes after Khushi kissed his forehead, "Daddy will come for the picnic, right? He will not disa... disappoint me, no?" "No he will not" Ratna said, listening to their conversation, "Daddy will come to the resort. He told Akaash Chachu in the evening" Samrat grinned and looked at his Mommy with his eyes full of wonder and shine. "Really Ma?" Khushi asked, and Ratna grinned when she saw similar expressions on Khushi and Samrat's face. Khushi then realized she was being excited for no reason at all. He was probably still mad at her. "Yes, really" Ratna smiled as she ran her hand over Khushi's head. Khushi only smiled at the elderly woman's warmth and motherly affection. "Now hurry up, or else the Raizada men will keep grumbling that we women take a lot of time to get ready" Khushi nodded with a grin as Ratna laughed.

Arnav packed his bags after his return-ticket to Mumbai was confirmed. After a warm shower and slipping into bed, wearing nothing but boxers, he stared at the ceiling. Akaash had informed him that the whole family would be leaving at 7.00PM. He looked at the wall clock, and noticed that it was half past seven already. "They must be on their way" he murmured. He knew that it would take eleven hours for them to reach the resort, and if there was no traffic block on the ghats, they would reach Pineridge by 5.00 AM. He stretched lazily in bed and closed his eyes. Half a minute later, his eyes shot open. Khushi! Her thoughts haunted him. He missed looking at her and having her around him. Truly, one week had been sheer torture for him. He longed to listen to her voice; if not her laughter, at least he wanted to hear her fight with him. He was desperate to hear her voice. Throwing all his thoughts aside, he picked up the phone and dialed her number.

The entire family was busy giggling to some joke that Akaash cracked, while Khushi was sulking in the corner. The whole family knew the reason for her sadness, and in one way they were glad that she was missing Arnav. It meant that she was coming to terms with the real dimensions of their marital relationship. Khushi, unaware that the entire family was throwing glances in her direction, heaved a sigh as she watched the passing scenery while seated at the window seat of the mini-bus. She looked up at the sky and watched the moon hiding behind the clouds. The cold wind ran in her hair and she closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. Just then, she felt her phone vibrating, and when she saw the caller's name, her face lit up.

"Arnav!" she almost screamed his name, causing all heads to turn towards her. Everyone smiled as she froze and then turned red in embarrassment. Kavya and Samrat, of course, were lost in their own world as she played with her Barbie doll and he played a beginner's level of pacman. "Hi Arnav" she said again in a softer voice. "Hi" he replied in a low voice. She knew he was upset with her, but wasn't angry. If he was, he wouldn't have called.

He did not know what to say further. Her voice told him that she was glad to talk to him. But she was probably happy, only because she did not have to bear the guilt, now that's he knew he wanted to talk to her. A sudden burst of pride engulfed him. Why should I talk to her? Why should I make her feel as if I am not hurt? Let her carry that load of guilt. Let her suffer, just as I am suffering. He cleared his throat, "I need to speak to Akaash" he said and her smile faded as he continued to talk, "I tried his phone, but it wasn't reachable. I had no option but to call you" he lied. He was a terrible liar but Khushi was too upset to notice it. "So you called to talk to Akaash. Not me?" she asked him in a whisper, still wondering if he was just teasing her. She hoped that he would say otherwise; that he called to talk to her. But he didn't. "Did you not hear me clearly? Have you turned deaf? Give the phone to Akaash" he demanded rudely. He heard her give the phone to Akaash. "Arnav? What happened?" Arnav sighed, "Akaash, I just called to say that I'll be leaving tomorrow noon. And I'll leave from Mumbai to the resort tomorrow night. I'll reach in the morning, day after tomorrow." "Alright Arnav. See you soon" Akaash said, and handed over the phone back to Khushi. He noticed that she was back to sulking and even had tears in the pockets of her eyes. "Arnav said he'll reach day after tomorrow, in the morning." Akaash announced. Everyone nodded and Ratna made a silent prayer so that he would reach back safely. Khushi continued to stare outside the window while a lone tear fell off her cheek. Why did he have to be so mad at her, in spite of her begging him to forgive her? "Let him come to the resort. I will not look at his face" she promised herself and wiped her cheek, after which she closed her eyes ad leaned against the window.

Arnav threw the phone on the bed and screamed in frustration. Why could he not talk to her normally? Why was he so hell bent on hurting her? He could feel her pain when he said that he did not call to talk to her. He felt her disappointment. "She doesn't miss you. She's just guilty and wants you to forgive her. She was happy thinking that you've forgiven what she said. How can you forget her words? She said that you deserve to be alone; you do not deserve to be loved. Did you forget? She loves Rishi. She thinks only about him. Even when you were leaving from home, she had Rishi in her mind. And even if she misses you, it will definitely not be the way you've missed her. Even this very moment, she must be looking up at the stars and talking to that dead man" Arnav picked up a vase and threw it on the floor in anger. He immediately regretted it and called the room service to clean it up. He wasn't the man who would turn violent; Khushi was bringing him to an edge and testing his limits. "Put that in the bill" he said to the staff, apologizing about the broken vase. He knew it was an expensive piece. The staff was too courteous to him; also, they were more than happy to add it up in the bill. After the house keeping staff left, Arnav fell into bed, exhausted with his own turmoil. Turning to his side, he hugged the pillow as an overwhelming sadness filled him up. "Damn it, Khushi! How am I supposed to be myself and keep my cool around you, without losing my head!" His thoughts plagued him into the early hours of morning, until eventually he drifted into a fitful, exhausted sleep.

Khushi felt a warm hand on her shoulder. It was Ratna. "Khushi, wake up. We reached" she said. Khushi looked around and realized that the mini-bus had halted and the cleaner was moving the luggage out of the bus. "Good morning Ma" She whispered and Ratna greeted her too. She got out the bus and shivered when she realized how cold it actually was. "Here..." Ratna handed a shawl to her, "It will keep you warm" Khushi looked at Samrat who was jumping around at a distance of few feet from her. She had made him wear a sweater last night, much to his annoyance, knowing that it would be quite cold. The minute he saw her, he ran up to her, "Mommy, it's so beautiful here. And Daadaji said that there's a beach close by. He said he would take us there later" Samrat kept chattering, and unfortunately Khushi couldn't concentrate on what he spoke. Her mind was echoing Arnav's harsh tone in her head. "Khushi," Payal called out to her, "Are you alright?" she asked. Khushi nodded with a smile. Payal patted her back and hugged her. "Don't worry. I'm sure Arnav will come around. He's stubborn but he'll come around. I'm sure of it." Khushi took a deep breath and smiled; it made her feel better and relaxed. She wasn't going to spoil her vacation because of Arnav. If he wanted to talk, he would come up to her. She wasn't going to plead him anymore. Picking up her luggage, she took Sam's hand and proceeded towards the room which they were allotted.

Once everything was set, Khushi tucked a sleepy Sam into bed and lied down next to him. Soon, she heard soft snores and smiled to herself when he cuddled closer to her. She drew her baby closer and hugged him tight, kissing his soft hair. However, she wasn't sleepy. Her mind wandered to Arnav. Her sadness was overpowering her ego now. She knew she missed him. But she did not understand why she wanted to cry at his coldness towards her. Why was everything beginning to become so difficult for her to process? Why was she craving to talk to him? She never felt such helplessness earlier. Of course, when she was with Rishi, she would fight with him. But he never ignored her. The moment she apologized, he would hug her. Why did Arnav have to be so stubborn? Why did he make her feel so vulnerable? Every time she thought about his cold attitude, she told herself she did not care about him. But in the very next minute, she would find herself thinking of ways to make him talk to her. Why was he beginning to have such importance in her life? Why couldn't she be at peace? Samrat stirred in his sleep, mumbling something about Lulu and a beach. She heaved a sigh as she patted his back. Closing her eyes, she hoped to get some shut eye, and hopefully, Arnav's thoughts would stop bothering her too.

An hour later, she was woken up by the knock on the door; they were called for breakfast. Mr. Sukhlal Mehta- Arvind Raizada's close friend and the proud owner of Pineridge Resort, greeted the entire Raizada family. "Arey, Arvind ji, your younger son hasn't come?" "He's in Delhi. He said he'll join us tomorrow morning" he replied with a smile. Arvind and Sukhlal kept talking, while the rest of the family proceeded for breakfast. An hour later, all guests had assembled at the lawns where a ceremony was to take place in commemoration of the silver jubilee celebrations. After that, various games and entertainment for the guests were arranged. Everyone enjoyed themselves, except for Khushi. She wanted to, and was trying her best to smile and enjoy, but she failed miserably. "Damn you, Arnav Singh Raizada! What sort of black magic have you done! I cannot even stop thinking about you!" she scolded him mentally.

As evening wore on, Akaash informed them that Arnav had reached Mumbai, and would leave from home at night. "How is he going to come here? Is he's driving all by himself? That too, at night?" a worried Ratna asked. "Ratna!" Arvind smiled at her, "He's a grown man. He'll manage" he said with a shrug of a shoulder. Khushi, who heard Ratna, began to get worried. Was it safe for him to drive for eleven hours, especially when he was just back from a tiring flight? She tried calling him up to ask him to bring the driver along, but as expected, he did not pick up. "Keep him safe" she prayed silently, looking heavenward.

That night, every minute seemed like an hour for Khushi. Even though Sam was cozily nestled in her arms while she cooed him to sleep, her mind was disturbed. She felt something huge was to happen; an unknown fear was gnawing on her peace. The night was eerily silent, and she shivered as if someone was walking over her grave. Her mouth was dry, yet she couldn't quite put a finger on why she was feeling that way. After a million attempts to go to sleep, and hugging Samrat close to her in assurance that nothing bad could happen, she closed her eyes.

Khushi's eyes shot open while covered in her own perspiration as she breathed irratically. Samrat was sleeping diagonally, with his head on the other pillow and his leg on her thigh. She looked around to find the room dimly lit by the sunlight. It was morning already. She slipped out of bed and went for a shower. Dressed in a pale yellow kurta and a pair of pink leggings, she rushed out of the room. Arnav should have been here by now, but was nowhere to be seen. She had tried calling him up, but his phone wasn't reachable. She ran to Akaash and Payal's room, to find out if Arnav had told Akaash anything. Much to her luck, Akaash and Payal were awake and were having breakfast in their room. Looking at a worried Khushi, Payal tensed up and asked her to take a seat. "Akaash, have you spoken to Arnav?" she asked. Akaash frowned, "No Khushi, I've been trying his phone since early morning. It's not reachable" Khushi threw her face in her hands and shook her head. "What is wrong, Khushi? You're scaring us. Please don't worry about Arnav. He'll be here. May be the traffic has blocked the roads?" Payal said, trying to convince her distressed sister-in-law. "I had a bad dream this morning, Payal. I'm scared." She confided and Payal pulled her into a hug, after asking Akaash to find out where Arnav is. Akaash nodded and walked out of the room.

Two hours passed by, but there was no sign of Arnav. Everyone began to get worried now. Ratna was seated in the corner, cold and numb, praying silently that her Arnav was safe. Sukhlal comforted Arvind saying that Arnav would be there soon; surely, the traffic must have kept him waiting. As if to make matters worse, a bellboy came running to Sukhlal and said, "Saheb, it seems a landslide has occurred about 150 kilometers from here. The rains at the ghats had been heavy last night, and apparently a whole hill came collapsing down. People are stranded while certain workers are trying to get the road repaired. Hopefully, no one is injured." Ratna panicked and Akaash had to rush to her side to calm her down. Khushi fell numb as she heard the news. "Arnav..." she whispered and leaned against Payal. "He'll be fine. I know he will" Payal said, hoping and praying that she was right.

The whole day passed and it was almost five o'clock in the evening. Khushi couldn't bear the tension in the air. "Dad, can I take a walk?" She asked Arvind, who nodded. "Just don't wander far off" he said and she nodded. She put on her slippers and went down the road that led to the beach. She needed to get out of that place so that she could breathe properly. Every breath she took just hoped for one thing- Arnav's safety. She hugged herself and walked to the shore. Finding a lonely and comfortable spot, she sat down on the sand and stared into the horizon. She gazed at the reddish-orange sky and watched the fiery globe drown into the sea. After the sun set, she knew she had to reach back to the resort; or else Ratna and Payal would begin to worry. They were worried enough for Arnav and she did not want to add to their misery. She stood up, dusting the sand off her kurta and slowly walked back to the room. The sky was already gloomy and the cold winds indicated a mighty shower tonight.

As she dragged her feet back towards the lodge, she saw Payal and Ratna relaxing in the garden. As soon as Payal saw Khushi, she came running towards her. "Where were you, Khushi? It's been more than an hour since you left. You got us worried" Khushi was about to reply, when she heard Payal say with a smile, "Arnav is back. He reached just twenty minutes earlier. He's in the room" Khushi forgot everything and rushed towards the room, to believe what Payal just told her. Ratna and Payal just shared a knowing smile and resumed their gossips.

Khushi opened the room door with her key and saw a shirtless Arnav in tan chinos combing his hair in front of the tiny mirror. Arnav had just showered; she could tell when she saw the water droplets glide down his forehead. Samrat was busy rummaging through the huge briefcase to see what Daddy had brought for him from his trip. "Samrat..." Khushi said, and both Raizada males looked at her. "yes Mommy?" he asked as Arnav royally ignored her and continued to look into the mirror. "Your Daadi has been asking for you. Go to her" Sam looked puzzled. He had spoken to Daadi just a few minutes back; what did she want again? Without another question, a confused Samrat ran outside and Khushi closed the door behind him.

Khushi looked at Arnav while she walked up to him, and he continued to ignore her. She held his arm and turned him around. Before he knew it, her hand was hard against his cheek. Arnav held his cheek where he had been slapped and he glared at her. Physically, he did not feel a thing; that slap was barely a tickle for him. But he was enraged at the audacity she had to slap him. Just when he opened his mouth to yell at her, she grabbed his face and pressed her lips into his. The kiss was neither gentle nor aggressive. She was just leaning into him and drinking the feel his lips against hers. "Thank God you're safe... thank God" she whispered against his lips. He knew why she said it. His entire family had been chanting the same litany when they saw him come back safe. The three landslides had blocked the entire road and all vehicles were stranded since there was no other way to go. Khushi kept saying the same thing, over and over again, against his lips. Just when he was beginning to enjoy the taste of her lips on his, she pulled away. He saw tears down her cheek. He wiped her cheek with his thumb and smiled. "She cares for you, Arnav! She loves you!" his head and heart told him in sync, for the very first time. "Don't touch me" she growled and pushed his hand away. He looked in confusion as she yelled at him, "First you make me cry, you get me all worried and now you wipe my tears. You did not even think how tensed I was. I couldn't even sleep peacefully for a week. And since last night, I wasn't even able to get some shut eye. You did not even have the courtesy to call me up. Even when I called you, you did not bother to answer. Do you even know how..."

Her words fell insignificant when he lunged at her, pushing her against the wall behind her. Before she knew it, he'd got both of her hands in a grip above her head, and was pinning her to the wall using his hips. His other hand grabbed her ponytail and yanked it down, bringing her face up. The next thing she knew was that his lips were on hers. She moaned into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He took full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring her mouth. She had never been kissed like this, ever. Desire radiated through every part of her body, and at the same time, her insides began a slow meltdown under the intense heat. It was desire of a magnitude that had never invaded her body before. Her tongue tentatively stroked and joined his, in a slow erotic dance that was all about touch and sensation. Gradually, when their tongues began mating with an intensity that shook every nerve in their body, Arnav wasn't able to be aware of anything, except the feel of his tongue stroking hers, the feel of hers stroking his, the rush of sensations flooding and overpowering him. He was also aware of the fire stirring in his loins and of the way his body was beginning to ache. A moment later, Khushi felt his erection against her belly. He wanted her, and she wanted him right now. No second thoughts involved. In fact, their brains had shut itself down, as soon as their bodies touched intimately. They stumbled around until they found the bed, the springs groaning under their weight. In a fraction of a second, their bodies were grinding together.

No words were spoken and nothing between them gentle. There was hunger, greed and a desperation; they both hadn't been used to it before, but were getting familiar with now. They both needed this passionate aggressive sex. She clawed and scratched him, wanting for more, and he returned the favour by biting her with equal rough passion. For some reason she felt right in his arms. Right in his mouth. Right with her body pressed intimately against his. A primal need throbbed in their veins. Both of them needed their bodies to become one and connect in the most primitive way known to humankind. He looked down at the beautiful woman below him, opening herself to him, so brave in letting her core desires rise to the surface. Her eyes shone with such radiance, such need and want. He found himself drowning in her softness, wanting to smother himself in all that she was offering.

Their bodies begged for consummation, the friction of rubbing together a sweet torture. He pressed deep into her and held still, while her body welcomed him inside her, as it clenched round him. He then picked up his rhythm when she relaxed, moving against her hard and deep. His hands found her breasts as he leaned over her, dominating her smaller body. Her breasts overflowed in his large, rough hands as he tweaked her nipples, while his member was still slamming away in her. He began to thrust more forcefully, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow. He watched her reaction as he surprised her with his movements, rocking back and forth; fast and furious. The bed creaked, the headboard slammed against the wall as their bodies collided again and again. She grabbed the sheets with her teeth, as he continued his magical ministrations on her.

Khushi's body was suddenly hit with something akin to an electrical shock and she felt her muscles clenching, tightening. She pulled him deeper inside of her when waves of pleasure consumed her body. Sensations rippled through her body when she was hurled into an orgasm and felt intense pleasure consume every part of her. The exact moment she came, he did, as well, and she heard his deep, guttural growl and felt him release himself inside her. He bent down to kiss her hard while slipping his hands into her hair to grip the silkiness of it and to hold her mouth in place. He then collapsed, spent and satisfied, on top of her exhausted body, both of them beaded in perspiration and too tired to move.