SNOW HUNTER-FF Chapter 4 part 3

Chapter 4 (part #3)

HER

Khushi watched him stoke the embers to keep the fire blazing. She was sitting on the ground with her legs hunched up and her back resting against the cottage wall. Since they had come back, Arnav had lit all the lanterns in the yard and cooked them both a meal while she had cleaned herself up. But she couldn't understand why he was so quiet.

She had been so relieved when he had held her protectively in the woods. Then, they had walked back through the woods, peacefully sharing the silence. It seemed like an age had passed since then. The silence had been cosy and comfortable while they were walking. But since their return, the same silence had become cold and suffocating. Arnav 's face had hardened and twice when their eyes had met, she had only seen cold detachment in them. At this point she was too apprehensive to disturb the stillness of the night by asking him anything. She was aware of his mood swings but the situation was so strained that she couldn't think of what to say when there was so much she didn't know. She had run away to save herself from him and gotten into trouble of the worst kind, only to be saved by him instead. She was beginning to doubt her conclusions. What if I've been wrong about him all along?

HIM

Arnav swore silently when he found her staring at him again. He tore his eyes away from her with effort , staring at the flames instead. He was sitting towards her left and every now and then, he had the urge to look at her. Her face was glowing in the firelight and he watched her run fingers through her loose hair. They had come undone when she had bandaged the cut on his hand with her scarf. He looked at his hand and her beloved scarf bound around it and suddenly felt tied to her, against his own will. Her troubled eyes asked him a hundred questions and he had no answer to give. Nothing to give to her.

Worst of all, no matter how much he tried to convince himself, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her. But if I don't kill her then what else am I supposed to do? The queen will have her killed one way or another and I will lose the only chance of ever earning enough to get out of this hellhole. He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his good hand in frustration. He had to kill her and he knew he couldn't.

"Thank you for saving me again." Khushi said, hesitantly.

"What?" He looked up.

"You saved my life. And here I was thinking that you were planning to'"

"I didn't do it for you!" he interrupted, "and I'm sorry if you felt that way. I'm damn sure you are not stupid, princess. So, why would you think so? I did it because I want you all for myself ," he added sarcastically.

"But you'" Khushi shut her mouth and finally realized what a fool she had been. He had to kill her himself or there would be no gold from the queen. He had saved her just so he could finish his job himself. It was all business. Her life was as cheap as a few gold coins. She closed her eyes to hide the disappointment and hurt in her eyes. In a moment, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes, her face blank.

Arnav watched her, waiting for an emotional outburst from her. But it didn't happen. He had tried to inflict pain on her and it had backfired pitifully. He was surprised at her calmness while his own insides were in an upheaval. He could feel the hammering of his heart against his chest and it was all he could do to stop himself from holding her again and repenting.

"I have known men like you all my life," she said. The ground, where she was sitting, was cold. She shivered.

"No, you haven't." Arnav's face hardened again.

"Isn't it true that you would do anything for money?" she mocked.

"Anything that my conscience allows." He said, casually, prodding the embers.

"Oh, so your conscience allows you to kill me." It was a statement, rather than a question.

Arnav was taken aback and looked up to stare at her but remained quiet. He had never met someone like her. She was staring at her death without a flinch, without a treble of fear in her voice.

"You don't have to lie to me anymore. I know the queen has sent you to kill me." Khushi said, looking straight in to his eyes, trying to read him.

"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?"Arnav said, smirking, unwilling to give anything away, even though his heart raced.

"Yes, but that's beside the point. Let's talk about you. Who are you, Arnav?"

"A huntsman."

"A huntsman hired to kill me?" she asked again.

Arnav was losing his temper. He looked at her fiercely.

"Yes, your highness. I am going to kill you." he said finally, his voice menacing. What was she trying to do?

"Then what have you been waiting for? Why don't you just kill me now and rid us both of this suffering?" challenged Khushi.

Arnav pounced at her, his hand at her throat. She fell back on the ground, as he loomed over her.

"Maybe I should." he said, roughly.

Her innocent face was marked by surprise, her eyes widened in shock and her rose-petal lips trembled as she looked into his eyes. He took in her delicate features, lit up in the fire-light, and she held his gaze for the longest moment, as if by magic.

Without thinking, he took his hand from her throat to the back of her neck and kissed her with the need that had built up in him ever since he had held her in his arms for the first time. As the kiss deepened, Khushi didn't protest and Arnav kept thinking that if he stopped, he'd never breathe again.

(Rest of the parts and all chapters on my blog. Link below.

www.alldromance.wordpress.com)