FF: Desert Rose (Chapter 7, Pg 35) 11/07 - Page 23

"The heart has questions and the answers at the same time."

Jodha gave the man a long suffering look, and turned to hobble towards the chair. He stepped in front of her, nearly making her smack into his broad chest. She shrieked as he picked up her up, walking purposefully towards the only bed in the hut. Before she could think about doing him bodily harm, he dumped her unceremoniously on a fluffy mattress. She shrieked again, this time in rage, trying to sit upright on the thing trying to swallow her whole.

"Oh, cease the god awful screaming, woman," he complained, comically rubbing his ears. "And stop fighting with my bedding. I am partial to it and I do not want your claws spoiling it."

"Claws! I will show you claws," she gritted out, balancing herself precariously. "What is this thing? Why would you want to sleep in something that tries to smother you?"

He sighed, placing a hand low on his hips. "It's filled with goose feathers and is the most comfortable place to bed in this forest. It is one of the finest creations in the Sultanate."

"Why do you have it here?"

"Because I am entitled to certain privileges."

Jodha gingerly fingered the plump white silk covering, wondering at the unparalleled generosity of the Mughal King. Did he have such overflowing coffers then that he would supply these luxuries to even the lower ranked officers? She gave voice to her thoughts,"The Shahenshah does like to spoil his lackeys. Marauding the countryside and suppressing dissent must be a profitable occupation indeed."

"You dare insult the Shahenshah!" he began, his posture stiffening. His eyes gleamed dangerously, rage turning his features harsh. She stared in fascination at the sudden change. "You dare insult an officer under the greatest King of Hindustan?" He bent down towards her, making her lean away in trepidation. "You are nothing but a chit of a girl, hardly even a woman. What do you know about politics and dissent? What do you know about the battles the Emperor has had to wage to maintain the semblance of peace you see today? Without his intervention, Hindustan would have crumbled against the insatiability of the Kings you revere! There would have been rapes and mass slaughter all over, just like they happen in the small Kingdoms than exist due to the magnanimity of the Shahenshah. As for my honor, if I so desire, I can bind you into slavery to me, kill you or toss your skirts up and make you regret the day you sniped at me . There is nothing that stops me from doing all that and more."

Her eyes were round as saucers, her heart beating a furious rhythm. She was almost stretched out on the bed, his face hovering close to hers. "But I will not do any of that," he spoke in a furious hiss, brandishing a finger beneath her nose. "Because I am an afsar and I have a moral code I cannot break for a hollow being I will not remember tomorrow. Because I am answerable to laws of the Sultanate you scoff at! So, the next time you open that pretty mouth to degrade the integrity of an officer of the realm, bear in mind why you are still alive and untouched, and do not cross me more than you can help. Do you comprehend?"

His eyes glittered with pure black rage. She nodded quickly, his finger hovering at her lips. She saw him strive for control, a turbulent storm in himself. This man had so much anger within him! It terrified her and reminded her of the predator she had witnessed outside her window a while back. Somehow, she had forgotten this side of this enigmatic man too soon, choosing to focus on the one that was mischievous and gallant in a perverse way. He was evidently biased in favour of the King he served. It would behoove her to tread carefully around him on this matter.

The man exhaled harshly, his warm breath brushing across her temple. She felt him withdraw, making the mattress jostle her. Jodha sat up warily, eyeing his rigid demeanor. Would he combust again?

"I.. ," he exhaled again, turning away from her. "I want answers, Jodha. Just.. answer, will you?"

She nodded. Realizing he couldn't see her, she answered hurriedly, "Yes, yes. Certainly." Anything to prevent him from becoming a human fire spouting mountain again.

'He would have you mewling and playing with a string next,' sniggered her subconscious at her abrupt timidity.

"Who are you? Where are you from?" he fired away, before she could answer her snarky self. "How can you afford that ring you wear? Why were you traipsing around a forest? Why were you wearing the uniform of the rebels? And lastly, what are you hiding?"

Kanha, he asks all the questions that I cannot answer honestly', she prayed to her deity, her mind whirling with possibilities. Forgive me for these lies.'

"Speak!" he snapped, turning around to face her again.

"Jodha!" she blurted out. Seeing exasperation flash across his face, she hurriedly concocted the biggest tale of her life. "My name really is Jodha. I am the daughter of a man of the land in Amer, a small province in Rajputana. I was engaged to marry the zamindar of the village against my will. My father needed the wealth that such an alliance would bring. The zamindar gave me this ring as a token of his affection. I convinced him to bring me to the temple of Ambe Maa in Agra to seek Her blessings and ran away. I had the misfortune to run into some blue uniformed men in the forest who wanted to..to.."

She faltered, quailing under the intensity of his dark gaze. Glancing away, she spoke softly, "I had hurt my ankle and couldn't fight. So, I distracted them and killed them. To prevent more of them from pursuing me, I wore their uniform, and took their horse."

This atleast was true. Her voice became stronger, taking courage from his silence. "I am not hiding anything. I just wish to provide for my father without selling myself to the highest bidder." She met his eyes and gave him a hard look. "I am not chattel to be bargained away."

He met her gaze unflinchingly, giving nothing away from his expression. Had he bought her yarn? She only needed him to believe her for a few days. She would be gone before he could conduct any investigation into her person. She bit her lip uncertainly, looking away towards the window. A cold wind blew gently through the hut, the rain having mellowed down to a gentle downpour.

Jodha shivered. Her lehenga was no protection against the cold. She started feeling conscious of her unbound breasts and the lack of an odhni in front of the man staring down at her. The last thing she wanted was for her body to provide fodder for her embarassment. She ran a hand through her hair, drawing parts of the long strands in front fretfully. Atleast they would cover her breasts should her nipples harden in the cool air.

"Give me your foot," she heard the man whisper hoarsely. Jodha glanced up at him. He was watching her hands move over her hair. A strange light glimmered in his eyes, making her feel self conscious. She dropped her hands onto her lap. Now what was on his mind?

"W-why?" she asked nervously, watching as he walked towards the bed. He sat down gently, careful not to jostle the bedding.

"Because I am not certain I believe your tale and I wish to distract myself from dragging out the answers."

She was balanced on her elbows on either side, her legs stretched out beside him. She was watching him warily, when his words suddenly registered in her preoccupied mind. "You d-don't believe me? Why?" She made to sit up and gasped as his hand came to rest on her foot. Her eyes flew to his hooded ones.

"You ask too many questions."

Her breath hitched as he pulled her lehenga back. She tried to scramble away, only to find him enclosing her feet in a tight grip. "Let me go," she breathed out, kicking her foot in panic. She only succeeded in driving the lehenga up higher. Her shapely calves peeked out of a swirl of red fabric. Heat coursed through her, making her still her struggles and lean forward hurriedly to cover them again.

"Are you trying to entice me, kitten?" he murmured huskily, his hot gaze searing through her. He still had her foot in his hands. She felt the imprint of his fingers branding her skin.

"Are you trying to ravish me, Sire?" she returned tartly, a quiver at the end the only indication of her awareness of him. He gave her a half smile, lifting her foot onto his lap. He ran a finger over it lazily, making her twitch at the ticklish sensation. A trail of fire blazed through where he touched her.

"As if I would ever need to ravish you. When I want you, you will come willingly, wench." She gaped at the confidence in his voice, the certainty that she would welcome his advances like a shameless harlot. "As for now, I merely wish to ease your discomfort."

"Then perhaps you should consider boiling your head by the fire. Your pigheaded ideas do cause me much discomfort," she hissed, ire shooting through her at his assumption that she would be easy, her virtue a foregone conclusion of his whims. He was an attractive man. He did set her heart racing. He was making her nervous and intrigued with his machinations. But she was no one's to command. She had broken those shackles. He would have to work to earn her favours and even then, her birthright itself put her above such diversions.

"On which blade did you sharpen that tongue of yours?" he asked casually, putting her foot down and getting up. Something like relief and disappointment coursed through her. Was he giving up so soon? Immediately she gave herself a mental shake, annoyed at the direction of her thoughts.

Jodha saw him take a tiny bowl and fill it with the freshwater in the matki by the cooking area. She watched curiously as he picked up a washcloth and moved towards her. He sat down and made to take her foot again, making her jump and shoot him a glare. "Don't."

He sighed, lifting her foot firmly and keeping it on his thigh. She blushed, turning her face away. The man was incorrigible! He did whatever he wanted irrespective of her taunts. She heard the gentle sounds of the water as the cloth was dipped in the bowl. The steady splatter of droplets as he squeezed the excess wetness out. The coolness of the damp cloth against her injured foot..

She turned to look at him appraisingly. His jaw was locked, his gaze determined as he cleaned the grime off gently. The muscles in his arms flexed with his movements, his hands sure on her feet. It was a striking sight. A rugged virile man caring for her this way, humbling himself to ease her ache. She felt something tug at her heart.

He dropped the dirty cloth in the bowl and put it on the floor unceremoniously. Putting a steadying hand over her foot, he pressed a thumb into the arch. She cried out, the sound veering between pleasure and protest at the sharp pain. His gaze swung to hers, pinning her where she reclined with their intensity. "Did I hurt you?" he murmured the question, sending silky tendrils coursing down her back.

"A little," she exhaled, her eyes locked to his. He glanced down, breaking the connection. It sparked to life again as he massaged the foot soothingly, his movements deft and strong. She closed her eyes, the pain and pleasure making her arch her spine. She moaned as he hit a particularly sore spot, her foot jerking in his lap. It brushed against something hard, making him curse loudly and hold her foot away.

Jodha opened her eyes to a blazing dark fire.

To be continued..