Chapter Twenty Six
Going days without physical intimacy with Asad, all because Zoya had feared their relationship would fall apart afterward, had been stupid. Asad Was right. They had to trust each other, and they had to share with each other. They wouldn't survive otherwise.
Last night they had cuddled in bed together, and talked in hushed, secret tones.
"Since you can't ride my nonexistent mustache everywhere," he said, "what kind of car would you like? And don't tell me a car is too expensive a gift to""
"Please. I like gifts. Gimme. But a car is a car. I don't care what kind."
He made a noise of disbelief. "A car is not a car, Miss Faaroqui. You take that back right now."
"Never!" She squealed when he tickled her, finally admitting, "I don't even have a driver's license."
"What?" he demanded, and she shrugged.
"I had one, but I let it expire in high school and never got it renewed."
"You have a reason to get it renewed now."
"True, but I haven't driven in years. I'll endanger the entire town."
"It means you need to practice. You can drive us to the Winter Carnival."
"You'll be placing your life in my hands."
His eyelids grew heavy, hooding the dark, carnal gaze underneath. "Baby, there's no place else I'd rather be."
She curled around him, resting her head on his shoulder, drawing little hearts over, well, his heart. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."
"He chuckled, his warm breath tickling the top of her head. "I'm feeling safer already. I'm also thinking I should give you a bumper car instead of the key to my Jag."
"No take-backs," she said. "You offered the Jag, so I'm driving it. I've developed a need for speed."
"In the past two minutes?"
She nipped her lips. "Seems like forever."
He kissed her while Zoya ran her fingers through his hair. "I missed you so much."
"Good. Wrap your legs around me," he said while pulling her onto him.
She stiffened suddenly, he lifted his head. "What's wrong?"
Habit urged her to say the typical, "Nothing. I'm fine." But if she trusted him, she would share with him. "I've heard you say that very thing to other women."
His brow furrowed with confusion. "How do you know?"
"When I was camping on my"your"land, I would come to see the house every night and there you'd be. And it doesn't bother me anymore, it really doesn't. I don't know why I reacted that way. I'm sorry."
He peered at her for a long while, his expression intense but unreadable. Finally he said, "Wrap your legs around me, Zoya."
She did"without stiffening"fitting her body around his, placing her core right against his massive erection. His hiss of breath blended with her deliciously agonized gasp.
"Do you know what I remember about those women?"
She shook her head, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.
"Nothing. And do you know what I'll always remember about you?"
Melting into the mattress while somehow dissolving into him, she scraped her nails down the plane of his back and said, "Tell me."
"Absolutely everything."
He gently pinched her chin between his fingers, making sure her gaze remained on him, perhaps wanting her to know, to see, that he meant what he said with his entire being.
He loves me. He has to love me. But as screwed up as his life had been, he might not recognize the emotion.
Zoya smiled up at him. "I believe you. Now shut up and earn some points of your own.
* * *
The next morning dawned dark and hazy, rain clouds smeared across the sky, fat and gray, creating the perfect atmosphere for a winter carnival. Tents were set up all along Main road, offering food and games.
Zoya, grateful to be alive after driving a car for the first time in years"so slowly half the town honked at her and Asad Asked if she'd taken lessons from the good people at the senior citizen home"sipped a sweet tea and leaned against Asad as they strolled down the street. He had his arm around her, proud to be with her no matter how many incredulous stares they received.
Adults and kids were dressed playing games inside different tents. Red and black balloons stretched from buildings on the left to buildings on the right, forming an arch in the center.
Well over a decade had passed since Zoya had actually attended the festival. As a teenager she'd been "too cool," and as an adult she probably would have been stuffed in the dunk tank. Oh, how times had changed. She soaked up every moment of this.
"Zoya! Zoya! Over here!" Priya called. She wore a colorful dress. She waved from inside the You've Got It Coming booth, a crowd stretching out a mile long to buy bowls of casserole, different sandwiches and slices of pie.
Zoya waved back. Samar, Khushi and Anjali were working inside the booth, as well, and when they heard her name they glanced up to smile at her.
As Zoya acknowledged each of them, so happy she could burst, Khushi called, "If you're hungry, get over here. I promise not to spit in your food."
"No, thanks. I'm good for now." Besides, if she cut to the front of the line, the crowd would mob her. Ever since she'd started working at the inn, they'd been more tolerant of her. Maybe because they'd had closure...or because they'd gotten to spoon-feed her a little of her own medicine. Whatever it was, she would take it over being the town pariah. But there were just some things she dare not risk.
Rehaan, who flanked Zoya's other side, mumbled, "That woman is a menace."
"Who? Khushi?"
"As if there's anyone else even half as dangerous."
Dangerous? "She's awesome," Zoya snapped, defending her friend. "One of the best people I know."
Asad Kissed Zoya's temple. "He's just bitter because he hasn't been able to ask her out."
"Watch your mouth," Rehaan said.
Asad Held up his hands in surrender. "How are things going with your relationship search, my man?"
"You're finally ready to settle down?" Zoya asked. "Well, make sure any girl you date knows you have no taste and wouldn't recognize perfect girlfriend material if she bit you. Oh, who am I kidding? She'll figure it out on her own after a few minutes in your presence."
Asad Laughed.
"You guys annoy me," Rehaan grumbled.
Tara past Zoya and nodded, publicly acknowledging her presence. Mita, looking gorgeous in a pink gown kept pace beside her mother. She smiled and waved, and Zoya eagerly returned the greeting.
When Mita disappeared around a corner, Zoya's gaze collided with Akram. He stood across the street, watching her.
Asad Stiffened, gritting out, "I swear that man wants me to help him."
"He isn't cursing at me. I'd say he's backed off," she said.
"Doesn't matter if he's backed off or not," Rehaan said. "He still looked at another man's property, and that's a crime deserving of torture."
With the bitter twinge in his voice, he sounded as if he knew a little something about that.
"Property?" she said.
"I prefer the word toy," Asad Said, and nipped at her ear. "Let me play with you."
Mahek and Chanchal bounded over. They each held a gourmet corn dog from Priya's booth, and Zoya made a mental note: next stop, Priya's booth, whether the town revolted or not. I want.
"Hi, Asad. Hi, Rehaan," Mahek said, her gaze locked on Asad. She twirled a lock of pale hair between her fingers and licked at the tip of her corn dog.
"You're looking good, Asad," Chanchal said. She once helped Zoya terrorize the town, becoming the new queen bee when Zoya retired.
"Gotta say, you are absolutely adorable as a plain Jane now," Chanchal added, shooting Zoya a gleeful smirk.
Mahek nodded enthusiastically. "I second that."
Zoya stiffened.
Asad Offered the pair a cold but gorgeous smile and they preened happily, not seeming to realize the danger zone they'd entered. "Have you guys met my girlfriend, Zoya? Nowadays I spend all my time with my girlfriend, Zoya." Just for good measure, he added, "My girlfriend"Zoya."
"Hi. I'm his girlfriend. Zoya," she said with a little wave.
Mahek bared her teeth in a scowl.
"Zoya Faaroqui," a voice boomed. Akram's voice. She turned, right along with Asad And Rehaan. "No one wants you here. Go home."
Asad Vibrated with barely suppressed violence as Akram, who'd said his piece, tipped his hat and ambled off.
"I'm fine," she told Asad. "He's not worth ruining our day."
"You're not worth it, either," Mahek said, now radiating smug satisfaction, "but that hasn't stopped you from ruining ours."
Rehaan smiled a seducer's smile"one Zoya had never seen him use before, and oh, wow, it might possibly have beaten Asad's for World's Most Devastating. The girls certainly weren't immune. They released dreamy sighs and instinctively stepped closer to the man.
"Ladies," he said. "We don't know each other well enough, and that's a mighty shame. He stepped toward them, widening his arms to snake around both their waists. "Why don't we start with you two telling me every detail about your childhoods and end with your crush on me," he said, drawing them away.
Chanchal went eagerly, while Mahek threw a devious glance at Zoya before heading off.
Asad didn't say another word and neither did Zoya, who was too afraid she'd start cussing.
A Ferris wheel had been erected down the street, the first the town had ever had. There was a line almost as long as the one at Priya's booth, but Asad bypassed it without apology. Not that anyone seemed to care. He even received several pats on the shoulder.
"Best Carnival yet," someone said.
"You sure know how to give good Carnival," someone else said.
That's right. He, Rehaan and Samar had paid for everything. No wonder no one minded that he'd cut the line.
"We're next," he told Sonia, who stood at the front collecting money.
"Twenty. Each."
"The sign says five rupees a ride," Zoya pointed out.
She smacked her gum. "Take it or leave it."
"We'll take it."
Zoya finished off her sweet tea with three big gulps, and oh, gross! Tea leaves must have settled at the bottom of the cup, because the drink left a bitter aftertaste for the first time.
Asad Threw the cup in the trash, then dug two twenties from his pocket. Sonia pocketed the cash, unabashed. Never mind the carnival's profits were supposed to help add a gymnasium to High school.
With a few button pushes, the wheel soon came to a stop.
Asad Dragged Zoya to the empty cart, and helped her buckling in, and then waited until they were in the air to speak.
"I can't change my past," he said as the wheel started its slow ascent and Zoya had no means of escape.
"I know." She peered out at the town; the higher they lifted the more she saw. Sweeping hills, flat plains, fields of wheat, cotton trees shedding the small white blooms, valleys with strawberry vines drying out for the cold months ahead.
"You can't change yours, either."
"I know that, too." The air smelled so fresh up here."
"The dew of coming rain dampened her skin. A cool breeze blustered past and she shivered. With Asad, run-ins like this would happen again and again. Women would always throw themselves at him. Always desire him.
"Talk to me." Asad Drew her firmly against his side, shielding her from the worst of the wind. "Tell me what you're feeling."
A thousand different things. Upset. Remorse. Regret. Resignation. Determination. But at the forefront? "Jealousy," she admitted. "You're mine, and yet they know intimate details about you. They probably discuss you, and even hope to get you back into bed again."
He kissed her temple, lingering over her skin. "They will never succeed. I've had a taste of you, love, and I am utterly addicted."
Love. The endearment rocked her, as precious as it was life changing. Did he mean it the way she prayed he did? Did he actually love her as she'd suspected?
"I know we discussed this, but I need to hear the answer again. Do you ever compare me to them?" she asked.
"All the time." At her outraged gasp, he laughed. "They lose. Always."
Slowly she relaxed against him. As the Ferris wheel made its descent, it seemed as if half the town watched her and Asad's cart. He received a few winks, even more thumbs-up. Giving everyone a show, Asad Anchored two fingers under her chin, turned her head and kissed her.
The crowd cheered, and the wheel began another ascent, throwing Zoya's stomach into her feet, making her light-headed and deliciously dizzy. At the same time, passion burned through her, white-hot. With Asad, passion always burned through her. He tasted so good, his heat a soothing balm to her tattered soul, and by the time he pulled away, she was panting, squirming in her seat.
"He rubbed his nose against hers, his thumbs brushing over her cheekbones in a featherlight caress. "You're not thinking of leaving me, are you?"
"I'd rather die," she said, putting everything on the line.
A flash of relief in eyes now hot with more than desire. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but we are open and honest with each other, so you need to know a different answer would have meant I haven't decided yet ."
Her smile stretched from ear to ear. "You are incorrigible. You know that, right?"
"I believe the word is pronounced irresistible."
"And you have no shame," she added.
"But you love me anyway." As the words echoed between them, he frowned and shifted away from her.
Did he not like the thought of her love? Despite the fact he'd used the endearment with her twice already?
Her stomach roiled so hard she gasped, and as the wheel continued to climb, the roiling only grew worse. In all her life, she'd only been sick only a handful of times. Her mom used to say she had the immune system of a champion. But the times she had gotten sick, she'd fervently prayed to be wiped from the planet forever; the fever, chills, sweats, and trembles so violent she'd looked as if she were having a seizure had been almost too much to bear.
This was somehow worse.
She clutched her stomach, beads of sweat popping up on her brow. She could actually feel the blood draining from her face and knew she was deathly pale, judging by the horror suddenly radiating from Asad.
"What's wrong, Zoya?"
"My stomach hurts. Bad."
"Get us down," he shouted to Sonia. "Now."
The girl held out her arms, what am I supposed to do?
Asad Flattened his palm on Zoya's belly and gently rubbed. "Just hold on a little longer, baby. I'll get you home."
Nausea churned faster, harder, and she gagged. She judged the remaining distance with dread. Not even halfway down yet. She wasn't going to make it, was she?
"Asad," she said on a moan.
He understood. "Nothing will happen to you."
She vomited before collapsing in his arms.
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