Well, not a lot, really.
But many.
Not many,actually.
Quite a few.
Yes,that was the word.
A few .
But right now, all his memories of those few lips, and the faces attached to them, flew right out of his mind.
The only thought that remained was that he never wanted to move from where he was.
The touch of her lips, and the scent of her skin were slowly driving him insane.
And he never wanted this insanity to end.
He forgot all about the spilled wine, and the killer heel.
He even forgot about the almost-ruined pageant, and the canine comparisons.
All he could think of was that he wanted more.
So much more.
And when Arnav Singh Raizada wanted more, he didn't think twice before going all out for it.
In this instance, that meant doing it right, and turning this almost - kiss into an actual, toe-curling, bone-melting , tongue-dueling kiss..
Even as that thought formed in his mind , he registered the fact that she was trying to pull away.
And he couldn't have that.
So he put one hand on the back of her head to keep those luscious lips on his, but then he promptly got distracted by yet another sensation .
The luxurious feel of her silky black hair.
It was simply too much.
Why did she have this effect on him, dammit?
Why had he thought about her constantly since he had met her ?
He didn't have the answer to any of his questions, but he did know one thing.
He had to find out what it would be like to kiss her.
He just had to.
He tried to pull her closer, but she turned her face away from his, and braced her hands on his chest.
This angered him like nothing else had.
How dare she take those delicious lips away from him?!
Didn't she know who he was,and what his lips were capable of?
And then, Arnav Singh Raizada lost it.
And when he lost it, he lost control of his tongue too.
Without further thought, he spoke the first words that came to mind.
"Don't you dare turn away from me when I'm trying to kiss you!"
Khushi couldn't believe what was happening to her right now.
Was she really lying on top of Arnavji in front of the hotel entrance?
And were her lips really touching his?
Well, they had been touching his, until she moved them away.
But why hadn't she done that immediately?
The answer was simple, of course .
Red wine.
His lips were the equivalent of red wine.
A forbidden temptation that she wanted to experience, just once.
With her Buaji's constant spying, who knew when she might get the chance?
And he wasn't bad-looking either.
Hadn't she thought he was attractive when she saw him yesterday?
His lips looked like they were capable of wicked things, just like they described in those hindi romance novels she sneaked in when her parents weren't looking.
But then she suddenly remembered exactly what had happened at the restaurant today, and the fact that those lips belonged to the arrogant Laad Governor had burst her bubble pretty quick.
She withstood the second bout of temptation too, and turned her face away from his
Embarrassment had now turned her cheeks pink , and she wondered what had possessed her to lie on top of a man, with her lips pressed against his!
Hai Devi Maiyya, what if someone had seen them ?!
Her thoughts had flown from anxiety to shyness to anger at this man, and right back to worry again.
Which was when she heard his last words.
And anger had won.
Dare?!
She would show him what she dared!
Arnav watched as Khushi raised her head, her arms resting on his chest . Her face was still close to his,but their lips weren't touching anymore.
Her gorgeous hazel eyes glittered with anger , and as he continued watching, her lips parted, with the obvious intent of delivering some scathing comeback.
How dare she even think of getting angry with him?
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he heard a voice .
A woman's voice .
A woman's voice that didn't come from the luscious lips he had been admiring .
A voice that made him wince.
"Chotey?!"
He tore his eyes away from the lips that were responsible for all this, and looked up at the woman to whom the voice belonged.
His Di.
Only,she wasn't alone.
Her husband,Shyam, was with her.
And the two of them were looking down at him in astonishment .
He mentally face palmed himself.
This was the last thing he needed in his current situation.
Just how was he going to explain this fiasco to Di?
He realized that any explanation would have to wait, the first order of business was to get himself out from under the red-saree wearing witch!
He waited while she pushed herself off of him, and then sat up himself.
She wasn't even looking at Di, all her attention was focused on her saree, which she seemed to be holding around herself with great difficulty.
Her cheeks were pink, and her fingers fumbled with the pleats of the saree even while she stumbled on her high heels.
While he looked at her hapless form, the words just spilled from his lips without any forethought .
"Tum theek ho?"
He regretted his words the very next second.
Why was he concerned about her?
He should be worried about his Di, who was no doubt dying of curiosity here!
Khushi looked up at him, her mouth forming that perfect 'O' that drew his attention to her lips again.
Damn those lips!
He needed to concentrate here,if he intended to get out of this situation with his sanity intact.
He decided that offence would indeed be the best form of defense in this case , and turned to Di.
"Di, what are you doing here? I thought you and Shyam were busy with that health camp in the middle-of -nowhere?"
As Di continued to stare, her gaze alternating between him and Khushi, Shyam answered for her.
"We took a break from the camp ,Saale-Saab. Doctors deserve some time off too, don't you think? And then we decided to spend the night here at Sheesh Mahal, and we came up to the Palms for dinner..where we saw you lying on the floor..."
Shyam was obviously controlling his laughter with great difficulty, but Arnav didn't have the time to worry about him either.
As Khushi finally turned to Di, Arnav quickly realized one important thing.
He needed to get her away from his sister.
Any minute now, Di would recover from her state of shock, and then the questions would start.
Who was the girl?
How long had they known each other?
Were they on a date?
He had no doubt whatsoever that the questions would only end when she had Khushi's family details and home address, along with her height and waist size.
Because his Anjali Di had only two great passions in life,apart from her Shyamji .
Medicine, and his wedding.
As he tried to gather his thoughts, Di spoke up.
"I'm Anjali Jha, Chotey's sister..and you are..?"
He realized that he had to step in quickly if he intended to defuse this situation before it got out of control.
"Di,she's Ms.Gupta. An employee.And we were just leaving."
He watched his sisters gaze move from Khushi's open hair to her red saree, and he knew she was wondering why an employee would dress that way for a business dinner with her boss.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
Help suddenly arrived from an unexpected source.
His phone rang, and he pulled it out immediately.
He raised it to his ear, completely forgetting the fact that he already had the Bluetooth in his ear.
Now all three of them were staring at him as if he was mad.
He ignored them, and finally answered the call.
"Hello? Aman?Wait, I can't hear you..let me get away from this building..it must be interfering with the cellphone signals.."
He made a quick decision, and pulled Khushi along with one hand while he addressed Di.
"Sorry, Di..this call is important, and I need Khushi to take notes while I talk.."
"But Chotey!"
He didn't wait to hear the rest.
Pulling Khushi along, he didn't stop until he reached his white SUV.
Once he was there, he finally spoke to a confused Aman.
"Aman,I'll have to call you later."
He looked at Khushi, who was still staring at him with open mouthed surprise.
"Laad Governor, have you ever had wine before ?"
"What?! Of course I have! What kind of question is that?"
"And red wine? What about that?"
"Of course!"
"So you aren't drunk?"
"NO!!"
"Then if it's not that, you must be crazy.Why else would someone run away from his sister like that?"
"Don't talk about things you know nothing about. Now get in!"
"In?"
Arnav had decided that it wasn't safe to leave Khushi alone here. He wouldn't put it past his Di to seek her out, she might even be following them here right this minute !
"Yes.Get into the car, I'll drop you home."
"Uh..no thanks..I'll just take an auto.."
There was no way Khushi was getting into the car with him.
He wasn't just arrogant and bad-mannered, he was downright crazy!
Her phone suddenly rang,startling her with the song she had set as her ringtone .
Chal Maiyya ke bhavan bhavan bhavan..
She answered quickly, knowing exactly who it would be.
"Buaji?"
"Hai re Nandkishore! Where are you, Sanka Devi?"
"I'm just leaving for home, Buaji.."
"You are leaving now? Do you know what time it is? If you don't get home in twenty minutes, I'll make sure you don't have any jalebis for a month!"
Khushi realized that Buaji had cut the call, and she turned immediately to look for an auto.
Her gaze went up and down the main street, looking for one.
Only ,there weren't any.
Devi Maiyya, what should she do now?
Her Buaji's threats were not to be taken lightly, she knew she had to get home soon!
The last time she had committed a similar crime was when she has tripped in front of all those people in the temple. Buaji had stopped her supply of jalebis or two weeks, and to top it all, she hadn't even let her watch her Salmanji on TV!
Once again, she was faced with a choice .
This time,between the crazy Laad Governor, and a furious Buaji.
A choice between getting into the car of an angry ex-boss, and jalebi-deprivation for a month.
And once again, she chose the Laad Governor.
Or as she reasoned with herself, she chose her jalebis.
A few minutes later, she questioned her choice.
She has turned back to him, accepting his offer of a ride home, and apparently he had been in a great hurry because he hadn't said a word.
Holding open the passenger door for her, he had waited while she settled herself inside , and then walked over to the drivers side.
He had pulled out onto the road and started driving , and complete silence had settled in since then.
And Khushi hated silence, almost as much as she hated dogs.
She looked up at him, and decided that she had to say something .
Even if she didn't particularly want to speak to him right now.
"You didn't answer me earlier ..why were you in a hurry to get away from.."
She stopped talking as he slammed on the brakes abruptly, and only the seat belt around her stopped her from hitting the dashboard .
"Devi Maiyya, raksha karna!"
She braced her hands on front of her as the car jerked to a sudden stop, and looked up at him.
He didn't appear to have heard her,and got down from the car , slamming the door behind him .
Confused, she unstrapped her own seatbelt in order to follow him out if the car .
Had she made him angry with her question?
What was wrong with him?
As she stepped out, she saw him walk towards the front tyre, and winced as he hit it with his expensive looking leather shoe.
"Why are you taking out your anger on that poor tyre ?I was the one who asked you that question,and .."
"Question?Are you crazy?Do you think your question has punctured my tyre?"
Khushi winced again as all the pieces finally fell into place.
"A puncture ?Why didn't you say so? That's not a problem , it's easy to replace..."
"It might be easy for someone who actually knows how to do it, but I don't, so..."
"Wait, are you telling me that the great Arnav Singh Raizada doesn't know how to replace a tyre?!"
"I've never had to, so how would I know? I'm just going to call home and ask them to send another car..."
He took one step towards the car , and stopped dead.
And then he let loose with a string of profanities that made her cover her ears.
"What's wrong now? Don't tell me another tyre is punctured too !"
He turned to her,his eyes glinting with anger.
He took one step towards her, and she automatically took one step back, not wanting to get close to him when he was in his crazy madman mode.
"Wrong?You are asking me what's wrong?"
He took another step,and she stepped back again, holding up her saree so she wouldn't trip on it .
"What's wrong is that you have managed to lock my car, and the keys are inside, along with my cellphone!"
He took one final step, and she stepped back once more, only to find her back pressed against the side of the SUV.
He put his arms on either side of her, caging her in.
She didn't know what to think , had she really done that?
"But..but I didn't know that you left the keys inside !Who does that anyway ?!"
"Khushi Kumari Gupta,you are unbelievable!"
As if on cue, the heavens opened up, the heavy downpour drenching them in seconds .
As Khushi raised her hands to push her wet hair from her eyes, intending to tell him that she had her phone with her in her purse ,she saw the sudden change in his gaze.
The anger had given way to another emotion.
One she had never seen before .
An emotion that turned his eyes into molten caramel , and caused her own insides to twist with a new sensation .
Her chest heaved with her rapid breathing ,and her lips trembled as she struggled to understand what was happening..
The rain continued to pour down on them , and yet,neither of them moved.
Mesmerized by the intense look in his eyes ,she continued to stare..
But then he dropped his gaze, taking in her wet form.
Embarrassed , unsure, yet unable to break away from whatever this was that pulled them together, Khushi closed her eyes,trying to block out the man who overwhelmed her with just his gaze.
Arnav wondered just what he had done wrong.
Maybe he shouldn't have been so abrupt with Di.
Or maybe he shouldn't have yelled at HP this morning.
He was convinced that he had committed some grave sin, and he was now being punished for it.
What else could account for the fact that she was standing in front of him , clad in that rain-drenched red saree that clung to her slim curves like a second skin?
Why was he being tested like this by the Gods?
Wait,what?
He didn't even believe in the Gods, dammit!
Khushi Kumari Gupta had messed with his mind to this extent, and she was now tempting him beyond measure!
His eyes traced every dip and hollow of her wet figure, and then he finally brought his gaze back to her face.
Instead of running for her life, she looked like she had surrendered to whatever this was that existed between them, and he didn't pause to question why.
He noticed that she had even closed her eyes .
He lost the battle then.
He couldn't fight this..thing..between them anymore.
He just couldn't.
So he leaned down , and pressed his lips to hers.
And was promptly overwhelmed by sensations unlike any he had ever felt before.
Her lips were soft , and cool with the moisture from the rain, and he caressed them gently, not wanting to scare her away.
As he did so, he wondered what she would do if he deepened the kiss..
Would she respond with the all the passion he suspected lay behind that feisty exterior?
Or more likely, would she slam her sharp heel on his foot?
Maybe she would just strangle him with her Gotas and be done with it.
He didn't particularly care about the consequences right now.
If he was honest with himself, he had lost the battle much earlier, when he had realized that his plan for this date had flopped spectacularly.
But when he had hurried her into his car with the intention of dropping her home and then forgetting all about her, he thought he had made his escape.
But he had obviously been mistaken.
He was still caught in her spell.
And so he continued kissing her.
Khushi finally knew just what a first kiss felt like.
It was even better than what she had read in those novels .
As his lips traveled over hers, an exquisite sensation took hold of her, and all she knew was that she wanted more, whatever that was.
The gentleness of the kiss was unexpected, coming from a man like him..
Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she knew that this was wrong.
She shouldn't be standing here in the rain, being kissed by this man she had known for just one day.
A man who had humiliated her, threatened her, and manhandled her, all in the space of twenty-four hours.
Not to mention the fact that he had insulted her beloved Gotas.
But all she could remember right now was the fact that this was also the man who made her feel like a woman, for the first time ever.
His lips promised and demanded, all at once, and she never wanted it to end.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, he pulled away, a question burning in those eyes.
Lost in a whirlwind of sensations, she barely realized the fact that rain had stopped as abruptly as it had begun .
All she could do was stare into those brown eyes that mesmerized her.
Arnav was drowning in the passion darkened hazel eyes looking back at him.
Did she even realize how beautiful she looked at this moment?
Helpless to resist, he learned towards her again, but stopped abruptly when he he heard a wolf whistle right behind him.
What the #*$& ??
He whirled around to find that the sound had come from the driver of a jeep that had pulled up right behind his SUV while he had been preoccupied with her.
The two men in the jeep were openly leering at Khushi.
His blood boiled.
How dare they ogle her?!
He took one step towards them, but stopped suddenly when he heard the driver address the man beside him.
"Hey look, Rocky, a live item number!"
That did it.
He started walking towards them, his plan of attack unsure.
All he knew was that he wanted to beat them to a pulp for talking about her like that.
How dare they!
A hand on his shoulder stopped him, and he looked at Khushi, intending to tell her to step back.
But she wasn't even looking at him.
Staring straight ahead at the men in the jeep, she addressed him in a bold, loud voice.
"Step back, Arnavji. Chulbul Pandey ki kasam, I'll handle this!"
***************************
Chapter 6:
http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3341953&TPN=136
A/N: Thank you to all the writers before me, for creating such beautiful characters.
And thank you to all the readers for the wonderful response to this FF.
Hope I didn't disappoint either of you!
My Index:
http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3220559
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