Note: I actually wanted this to be the Valentines Day Special Update. But as I had to get the background and other scenes finished first, this update comes today. But as promised... a nice long very Rishab-Madhu centered update. Just a warning, don't know what would construe as smut or adult in this forum, but be warned!!!
Chapter 32
Sikander had literally frozen to the ground in terror as he had witnessed the rescue mission and now that she was finally safe, he was anxious and worried about his sister. He saw Rishab entering Madhu's tent and followed after him. The tent was now a little too cramped for comfort.
"Where is she?" Sikander shouted, grabbing his collar and shaking him. "Tell me where she is!" Rishab reached up to take his hands off his collar, "She's fine, Sikander. A little banged up, but she's fine. She's with Harpreet and Akash so they can keep an eye on her overnight."
"I wanna see her," he said stubbornly, reaching for the zipper. Rishab leaned forward and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. "Hey, listen to me, you need to stay inside. There's no room for another person in that tent and she needs to stay where she'll be safest."
"Rishab...", Sikander paused, wanting to say something but couldn't find the words. Finally he just jumped forward hugging Rishab saying, "Thankyou Rishab. Thankyou. I know she is quite a pain in the ass sometimes but she is still my sister. I know you don't like her too much let alone love her, but still putting your life in danger to save her... Thankyou!"
Rishab was not used to overt displays of emotion, so he just patted Sikander on the back and said, "It's just one of the responsibilities of a guide."
Adam felt guilty of viewing the situation as an opportunity to get Madhu and Rishab together. But he couldn't miss out on the opportunity too. So he interjected in between suggesting, "Hey Sikander, you have had a hell of a day. Why don't I take you to your tent so that you can rest." He looked at Abby pointedly hoping that she would understand his underlying message. The only clue as to Abby understanding what he was doing was her slight nod of the head. She held Sikander by the arm lightly patting it so as to comfort him. "Don't worry Sikander, Deepali will be just fine. Come, Adam and I will take you to your tent." Before Rishab or Madhu could say anything, she turned to them saying, "He looks very distraught with today's events. I and Adam will take turns tonight and watch over him." They moved out faster than the speed of light before either Rishab or Madhu could protest.
As they trotted to Sikander's tent with an extra sleeping bag for Adam, Adam winked at Abby at a job well done and hoped that their actions would be fruitful.
Madhu scooted to the other side of the tent. "Great, now I'm stuck with you in one tent and can't get out." So much for staying away from him, she thought bitterly. "You don't have to jump across the tent like you think I'm gonna attack you or something," he muttered, irritated with her behavior.
"Yeah, who knows," she muttered. He had already tried to kiss her once. She shoved those thoughts away. She knew she was perfectly safe with Rishab; she just couldn't seem to stop the mean thoughts.
"Trust me, baby, I'm not that hard up," he snapped as he unzipped his coat and shrugged out of it. "Don't call me baby," she snapped back. "Whatever," he muttered as he finished pulling off his outerwear. "I'm tired and I'm not gonna spend the rest of the day and potentially all night arguing with you."
The radio suddenly started to crackle to life and Akash's voice came over the speaker. "Just a scratch on the head we could staple. Her leg doesn't seem to be broken; it's probably just a sprain."
Rishab reached for his radio and pressed the button on the side. "She's coherent?" "Yeah." "Put her on the radio, I need to make sure she is fine" he glanced at Madhu, surprised that he still had any skin on his bones when he met her burning gaze.
Rishab called into the radio, "I'm here, Deepali. Are you okay?" "Think so. They think I sprained something... it doesn't hurt as bad now. They gave me something for it and it's making me kinda fuzzy." "Try to get some sleep now".
"Okay," she said as she fought to keep her eyes open. "Thankyou Rishu Darlin'." Her tone was sluggish as her hand slipped off of the radio and sleep pulled her under.
"Hey, Kundra," Akash was back on the radio. "What about you? Looked like you hit the rocks pretty hard when you caught her." "I'll be okay... just a few bumps and bruises, I'm sure I'll live." "Alright. Base camp says the storm should be over in a couple of hours."
"What about Kapoor's team? Base camp say if they made it down yet or not?" "Yeah, they arrived about an hour ago." Rishab nodded, relieved that his friend was safely down off of the mountain. "Alright, I'm gonna try to catch a couple hours of sleep. You guys should do the same."
Madhu's stomach grumbled loudly when she put her gear aside so she would have more space to move around. God, she was so hungry and tired at the same time. "You should probably eat something," he muttered as he situated his pack and leaned back against it with his eyes closed. "Don't have anything to warm it up in here," she said quietly and wrapped her sleeping bag around her.
He was tempted to just shrug it off and go to sleep because even though he knew he deserved some of it, he was tired of her pissy attitude towards him. Instead though, he sat up again and dug around in his pack to pull out an emergency heating kit. "Dig out an MRE and mix it up," he said.
She nodded. "Thanks." Damn, why did he always have to be nice, even if they fought? She chose one of the MRE's and heated it up slowly. "Are you hungry?"
He shrugged. "I never turn down a meal." She nodded and handed him the MRE she had just heated up while she looked around for a new one for her.
He nodded at the heating pouch. "Pretty cool invention. Without it we'd be stuck eating trail mix or granola bars." "God, I hate those things," she said and made a face. "I'm surprised you didn't pick one of these up; they're easy to use and practically no mess." He rolled his eyes. What a moronic conversation, he thought. "I never take the easy way," she turned to him.
"And what do you think you're doing, running away seems to me as the easy way." He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth because he knew she wasn't going to appreciate the comment. She glared at him. "You know what, let's just not talk anymore." He snorted. "Yeah, that'll last all of five minutes knowing you." She didn't reply and concentrated on her food.
Rishab winced as he lay back against his pack, feeling the aches from being slammed against the mountain on several occasions throughout the day as his body began to relax. As much as he loved her and wished they could be together, he couldn't think of a single place he wanted to be less than he wanted to be in the tent with her at that moment.
Madhu heard him take in a sharp breath. "You okay?" She couldn't help but ask, damn it! "Fine," he grumbled. "Fine," she said back.
He wished he'd had time to grab his own sleeping bag because he'd be damned if he was gonna climb into Abby's girly pink sleeping bag to catch some sleep. He grabbed his coat and draped it over him for warmth and closed his eyes.
Madhu watched him out of the corner of her eyes and almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He could sleep in Abby's sleeping bag, but she bit her tongue before she could make the offer. It was only 6pm, weird time to sleep, but what else could you do during a storm? Do not go there! she thought when her mind automatically supplied an answer for her. She put the things she had needed to prepare the meal aside and moved around a little to slip into her sleeping bag.
Rishab shifted around uncomfortably and wished he wasn't so aware of every breath she took and every sound she made. Madhu stared up at the ceiling of the tent, thinking about how weird it was to lay there next him.
"I'm sorry you got stuck with me," he growled finally. "I just wanted to check on you before... before I rested for the night. I didn't realise that Adam and Abby would just up and leave with Sikander."
"But why?", she asked quietly. When he did not answer she repeated herself, "But why did you want to check up on me? It's not like we are good friends like you are with Deepali."
Rishab sighed, "Deepali is not a friend. She is just the self centered daughter of my business associate." "Then why Rishab, why did you go after her like that risking your life, if she is just an acquaintance and not a friend? Why?", Madhu lashed out at him.
"Because out here in the mountains I am responsible for you all." Rishab replied a little agitated. "You are not the only guide here. There is Akash and Harpreet too. Why did you have to go jumping off the edge to save her?" Madhu shouted out. "So I saved her. So what? What did you want me to do? Let her die?" Rishab yelled right back at her. He was tired and hurt and really didn't want to get into a fight with her over saving Deepali's life and was about to say so when he noticed her wet eyes.
Her eyes glistened in the dim light of the lantern. She looked away because she didn't want him to see her crying.
Oh hell... Rishab Kundra what is wrong with you. Why did you have to go yell at her. You know she is mad at you because she was afraid, afraid for you. You saw the fear in her eyes when she came out of the tent and saw you going after Deepali. She was almost ready to come after you. Thats the reason why you told Akash to keep her back. Thats the reason you came to check on her in the first place. To make sure she is okay, but got distracted with the others presence. But they aren't there now. Are they? No. So what is keeping you from her?
He slowly crawled to her side of the tent and called out to her, "Madhu..".
When she finally turned to look at him, he held her by her shoulders and tried to explain the situation to her calmly and softly, as if speaking to a child. "Madhu, I was the first guide to notice Deepali's location. And so it immediately became my responsibility to get her back to safety. Yes there was a certain risk involved, but it was a calculated risk. I knew exactly what I was doing and I also had Akash and Harpreet to help me out of the situation. And let me tell you, if it had been Akash or Harpreet who had noticed Deepali before me, they would have done exactly what I did."
Madhu grabbed onto his tee and looking into his eyes, she said "Rishab, you have no idea what I went thru when I saw you dangle over the egde risking your life. I wasn't able to breathe till I knew you were safe. I don't know what I would have done if something did happen to you."
She shook her head sadly and wiped away another tear, which was totally unnecessary because new ones were already on their way."I may not mean much to you but you mean a lot to me."
"I know and I never for a single second doubted that."
She looked up into his eyes, trying to find answers. Did he feel the same way she felt?
He suddenly realized that their upper bodies were pressed together and his right hand came up to reverently touch her face. The knowledge of time and place fell away as he met her gaze and for just a moment it was like they were back at the parking lot with the girl he didn't know but fell in love with at his side and the world at his fingertips.
She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for several moments, enjoying the feeling of his hands on her. Madhu knew it was wrong and that she had to put an end to it because it was only going to hurt her more in the end, but she was afraid that she might lose him and her heart screamed for him so badly.
Rishab knew he should stop, knew that this was wrong for so many reasons, but he had a better chance of stopping an avalanche with his bare hands. "Madhu..." He whispered her name softly as he lowered his head and kissed her gently.
Madhu felt the familiar dizziness in her head, the weird feeling in her stomach and the heat in her body as soon as his lips met hers. She had felt the exact same way in her dream when he touched and kissed her.
His lips moved over hers slowly and she realized just how much she had wanted him to kiss her the way he had kissed her in her dream.
How long would it last before one of them would regret it, she wondered.
Rishab felt the familiar feelings hit him when she shifted under him and returned the kiss. He realised that he had been crazy in love with her since the first time he had seen her and he wanted her to feel his love for her in every possible way. It wasn't possible for him to ever go back and stop himself from walking away from her at the car park, but the least he could do now was never to leave her side. He resolved to never making her regret ever letting him in.
Madhu reached up to grasp his collar. She couldn't stand the thought that he would end this kiss and back away and for it to be all a dream again.
Her touch encouraged him and he deepened the kiss even as he fumbled with the zipper on the sleeping bag and shoved it out of the way so he could slip his hand under several layers of clothing to get to her skin.
"Rishab," she moaned into his mouth, unable to hold back her reaction to him.
One seriously negative factor about this chosen place and time was the many layers of clothing necessary to stay warm, he thought as he finally felt her top shirt come undone. "God, Madhu..." he rasped. He wanted her so much and no matter how much time may pass he knew he would still be in love with her.
She hissed when his ice cold hand touched the bare skin of her belly and she bit his bottom lip playfully. "Cold," she whispered.
"Just give it a second," he said with a smile. He leaned up and jerked his own shirt up. "Feel free to warm your hands up."
Madhu tried to move further back into the sleeping back to make some room for him to squeeze in as much as possible. Her hands came up under his shirt since he had offered, and her fingertips slowly wandered over his well-toned upper body. "You're so sexy," she admitted with an almost shy smirk.
Rishab shifted up onto his knees long enough to flip the top of her sleeping bag over and jerk his shirts over his head. He tossed them across the tent and braced his arms on either side of her as he settled over her more fully.
"What're you doing to me, Rishab?" she mumbled, feeling lightheaded.
"Same damn thing you're doing to me." He had finally reached the last shirt and he raised his eyes to hers, looking for permission before removing that barrier.
She reached up to caress his face with her hand and her thumb drove carefully over his lips while their eyes were locked. She was falling for him hard, she loved him, as much as she could love her family and maybe even more. What should she do about that, she wondered.
He kissed her before removing the shirt and tracing his fingers over the flushed skin of her breasts. "You have no idea how beautiful you are. I had never in my life seen anything so beautiful." He pressed a kiss to each breast before levering himself up to take her mouth in another heated kiss.
He wondered if she had done this before with anyone and felt instantly jealous at the thought of another man laying his hand on her. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, because it wasn't that he had saved himself for her.
She opened her eyes and looked at him with confusion when he stopped his ministrations on her body. He looked deep into her eyes and asked her softly, "Are you... Have you done this before?"
Madhu shook her head and nervously said, "Sorry, did I do something wrong? I know I have never done this before and I am not good at it. And since you are so experienced.." She cut her sentence short and flushed thinking of all the other women who might have done things to him that she knows nothing of to give him pleasure.
"Baby, look at me. They didn't mean anything. None of them have made me feel as elated as I am now with you. Your single touch is driving me crazier than I have ever and could ever be. I will never need anyone else again."
Baby... How many times had he used that term of endearment with someone else? He knew that he would never use it with any other woman because Madhu is the only woman he would ever need.
Looking into his eyes, she knew she could trust him."Me either."
His right hand settled at her waist and his fingers dipped between her pants and her skin. He watched her eyes, knowing that she would let him know if he could continue or if she wanted him to stop.
Madhu stared up into his dark eyes. He had said that he would never need anyone else but her. What did that mean? Did that mean he loved her and this was not just carnal needs talking? Would they be together even after they got off the mountain? She knew her answer would be yes to all of that if it was him asking her those questions and it almost freaked her out. She had to know before she could go any farther.
"Rishab, I need to know'"
She didn't make it any further before the radio suddenly started to make noise again and a female voice could be heard over the static. "Hey, Rishab, can you hear me?"
Edited by luvera - 12 years ago
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