Lavender [2]: New Thread link posted on p. 1 - Page 56

Let the games begin!!! Awesome!! I wonder who is going to say something first!! I have a feeling Khushi might get a little passive aggressive after seeing Arnav with someone else!!!

hahaha!! oh my sweet jesus! i cannot control my laughter... is it getting interesting or what! i love it...

just when i was loving the chemistry building up between khushi and rajeev... its not fiery but more a mature, thinking relationship which arnav and khushi cannot manage because of their passion!

at the back of my mind i knew arnav had to come.. but not so soon! lo and behold... there he is... smooching...

ooo let the fireworks begin!

Chapter 35: The Bait

He had suspected as much, but the confirmation was still somewhat of a surprise when it came. He felt her entire body stiffen against him, in quite the contrast to how she had been just a moment ago, and looked up following her gaze.

And there he was, Arnav Singh Raizada, sitting by the bar with quite a long drink of water perched on his lap.

What was it that she had said that day, two months ago?

I am pretty content with my life, which I am starting to think maybe a bad thing. I think it's starting to affect my judgment, making me seek excitement in ways that I would find distasteful otherwise.

Having feelings for one's boss would be distasteful indeed. Especially when the man was someone like Arnav who dated and dropped women like shedding skin.

"This is rather serious, I see." He whispered in her ear, making her jump up, startled.

"What?" she asked, her eyes darting back and forth nervously now as she avoided his gaze.

"Having a crush on a man like Arnav. You are indeed in grave trouble, my lady."

She looked like she was going to refute it, and so he placed an index finger against her lips. "You don't need to affirm or deny. Really. I would rather you not lie to me or to yourself. You can hold your silence as long as you want."

She was quiet for a moment and he removed his finger.

When they looked back towards Arnav, they saw that Arnav had seen them as well.

He kept his gaze on his boss as he whispered again, this time giving the impression to those looking that he was whispering naughty nothings in her ear.

"And now he has seen you as well. So what will you do?"

She turned towards him and just as he saw the intent in her eyes and said, "That's not a good idea..." she stopped him with a "Please..."

"Are you sure?" he asked, for a moment confused as to whether he should respond to the entreaty in her eyes or the logic that he knew should prevail.

But for a woman, pride was more important than they were allowed to acknowledge. And maybe he wanted this little show of power for her just as much as she needed it. He didn't pause to question his own motives or why he wasn't particularly upset about the situation in just that moment as he lowered his lips to kiss her truly now.

He tilted her chin up and stroked her hair back and watched her eyes close before he deepened the kiss. She tasted sweet, as he had imagined that she would, a combination of the Savignon that she had been sipping and something of her own. He liked kissing her, as he had known that he would as well, and just as he eased into it, an image of something else popped up in his head, almost as if it had been hiding there to trip him up like this when he was vulnerable. Another woman's lips appeared, the ones that he had kissed on impulse thinking that it was the one that he was holding now... the one that had yielded one moment and bit him the next, the one that had elbowed him in the gut, stepped on his chest with her boot, maligned his name, the one who had told him that she was not a bad person...

He pulled back as his eyes snapped open.

Khushi's eyes remained closed for a moment longer, but then she opened them and said, "Thank you. Let's leave."

He was more than happy to do so.

His mood was shot.

And he could tell that hers was as well.

"Yes." He agreed as they started to straighten.

Just as they turned around, he heard her gasp and fall back against him and he caught her and looked up to see ASR standing there just in front of them.

He felt Khushi's hand tighten its hold on his and he opened his palm under hers so that she could hold on.

She clearly had it quite badly for their boss.

A man with power was a powerful aphrodisiac indeed.

"Imagine running into you both here." He heard ASR's voice and looked up once again.

"I guess we have similar taste in music." He said in response knowing that Khushi had not yet recovered to be able to actually say anything.

"Oh, I am indifferent to Jazz. It's just as good as any other type of music they play in these places. V, on the other hand, is nuts about it."

"That didn't look like that was your cousin with you." He remarked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

ASR laughed, although without much humor, as he said, "No, that wasn't my cousin on my lap. That would be somewhat incestuous, wouldn't you think?"

Ah, touch. The man was pissed. Clearly, he wasn't entirely as immune to Khushi as he was trying to make this seem.

"Ah, I was merely curious as I didn't see her."

He shouldn't have said that, he knew, even as he heard the words come out of his mouth. That was the second time that he had made mention of the cousin, which was exactly one time too many.

"Oh, she's around here somewhere. Likely up there schmoozing with the musicians."

They heard the click of stilettos just then and he saw Khushi look up just in time to see the long legs of the other woman pull up to Arnav, her arms snaking around his waist.

He saw the man stiffen for just a hair-breadth of a second before his smile returned and he eased into the woman's embrace.

"Meet my date. Ms. Brianna Rao."

"Nice to meet you." he acknowledged the introduction as he extended his hand for the woman to shake. "I am Rajeev. Rajeev Joshi."

He could tell that Khushi wanted to leave, but he squeezed her hand in reassurance. To leave now would be to admit vulnerability... defeat, even. Something Arnav would enjoy greatly, he was sure.

Her feelings were already a weakness; she couldn't afford her reactions to be so as well.

She finally responded to his non-verbal cue and extended her hand as well to the woman. "Khushi Gupta. Nice to meet you."

The woman smiled, but her attention quickly reverted back to Arnav.

"Let's dance. V has caught the drummer's fancy and he is going to play a peppy tune just for her."

The drummer. Of course, the drummer. That seemed just her type.

The tune started just on cue and they could see various couples leading up to the dance floor.

"Would you both care to join us?" the woman asked. He knew that Khushi was about to shake her head, so he squeezed her hand once again before he said, "We will relax here for a bit. But thank you for asking."

"Oh come on, Rajeev. You take a woman out to a place like this, you should show her a good time. Not let her hide out in a corner."

He saw Khushi's head snap up at that comment.

She had taken the bait.

Shit.

Am i allowed to merely GRIN as a comment?😃

OMG!! fabulous update..just loved it..:) and i am loving your updating trance..:) keep on updating this way only..:)

wohooo finally!!!! jealousiess :D 👏

And when someone takes the bait generally it doesn't end very nicely.Uh-oh.

love, lust, hurt, jealousy, pretence - a lethal cocktail of emotions. Lord save us! :D

ha ha i enjoy this game...4 people to show they are not vulnerable ...i want khushi to be strong enough to show arnav that she is not affected or she is not weak...i want them to explode and open up and accept their feeling...from both side,...i loved this chapter...its like double treat...