||~Something About You~||#7 *COMPLETED* - Page 18

Khushi gasped loudly at the untimely comeback of his rude & practical manner, & out of her sheer annoyance, she swatted at his left shoulder with her right hand, & immediately wished she hadn't, because as soon as the blow was delivered, Arnav winced sharply in pain involuntarily. He quickly masked his reaction by schooling his features to portray a stony mask again, but Khushi had seen as much as she needed to. She immediately tried to pull away from his embrace, but Arnav just pressed her back to himself with a jerk. Khushi looked at him for several moments, with eyes getting moister by the second, & when she felt Arnav trying to pull away from their embrace awkwardly, Khushi's arms went around his waist automatically. She pressed herself more firmly to his body & then leaning over, she pressed a firm kiss over his left shoulder where she suspected he was hurt, & she felt him relaxing within her arms. Then pulling back, she smiled up at him & pressed a feather light kiss over the bruise on his jaw, & she felt his arms tightening around her waist in response. Finally Khushi drew back from him, & reaching behind her waist, she grabbed his right hand in her left, & holding it up to her mouth, she started kissing his swollen, bruised knuckles, & in between kissing each knuckle, she counted, "1 KP.. 2 KPs.. 3 KPs.. 4KPs.. & 5KPs.." Then looking up, she smiled invitingly at him & whispered, "& now you've enough KPs! You can collect you hard-earned kiss!' Arnav stood very still for a moment, looking at her with seemingly expressionless eyes, & then those eyes smiled down at her, & without wasting any more time before collecting his dues, his head swooped down & he started kissing her with unchecked fervor.

For Khushi, this was the first time she was being kissed by the man she loved with her whole heart secured in the knowledge that he loved her too. & maybe due to that added connection, every touch of his roughened hands seemed to ignite her heightened senses. Her fingers itched to touch every delicious, rough & at the same time satiny inch of him, but she was simultaneously scared of hurting him further by again reviving an injury of him. She felt his hands go about her throat over her messy hair to tilt her face up to receive his ravenous smooch. She just clutched at his wrists & kissed him back with equal hunger, telling him in action what she hadn't said in words yet. She felt Arnav's right hand suddenly leaving her cheek, traveling down her jaw while shaking off her own hands from his wrist, & then it settled over her left breast.

As soon as Arnav cupped her breast, he realized with a knee-weakening jolt of desire that this crazy thing was wearing only the top of her PJs, & nothing else whatsoever, as he felt her hardened peek graze his palm through the thin cotton material of her top. & he just had to touch her skin for his sanity's sake, so after a fleeting, but soul-shuddering flick of his thumb over her over-sensitized peak, his hands moved further down, & with a gasp from her that left her lips vulnerably open under his lips for his greedy assault, he pushed his hands under her top & ran his rough heated hand over the smooth, creamy expanse of her waist. & then, he instantly stopped as he felt her whole body shake violently inside his arms as she moaned like a trapped, helpless creature.

Khushi couldn't believe, the quivery little moan that reverberated around them, was coming out of her. This was one of the few intimate skin-to-skin contacts she had had with him, & despite their several making out sessions over the past, Khushi felt almost mad with yearning at the rough brush of his palm over the sensitive skin of her waist. But when Arnav stilled his hand, & pulled back from the kiss a little, that's what pushed Khushi over the edge. She had been trying not to rub her hands all over him like a crazy, hormonal girl in heat, just because she didn't want to hurt him even accidentally, so the least he could do was touch her & kiss her, & he pulled back! Groaning her displeasure, Khushi leaned towards him, grabbed his shirt's collars, & pulling him forcefully down, she took his lips in a rough, swift, & desperately passionate kiss. & although he immediately obliged with her, it just wasn't enough. Not knowing what would satiate this hunger of hers satisfyingly, she pressed short, hard kisses down his jaw to his throat & the friction of his stubble against her soft lips only ignited her further. & finally, not knowing what to do & how to put this fire out once & for all, she just did what her heart craved. She sank her teeth onto his right jaw, right along his jaw line, biting him hard, really hard.

& as soon as she heard his sharp hiss of pain, all of the wantonness left Khushi. She immediately jumped back from him, & gasped loud enough to pass as a half-shout at the angry red teeth marks on Arnav's right jaw now matching the purplish bruise on his left jaw. & as Khushi looked on horrified at her own creation, Arnav too looked on at her stunned for a moment, & then his expression changed to pleasant surprised, & in the next instant his eyes glowed as they suddenly looked downright gleeful as he said in a purr, "Hello, Kitty!" Khushi's head jerked up at him, & seeing the overly-joyed glint in his eyes, she narrowed her eyes warningly & hastily stepping away from him, she said in an embarrassed voice, "Wo.. Hum.. Humne socha.. Humne chaha.." & then watching the smirk on his lips widening with each syllable she uttered, Khushi huffed angrily, & went on aggressive mode in her own defense, "Don't make fun of my PJ! It's very comfortable! & I got it for 350rs from New Market when the asking price was 1000rs!! I am very proud of it!" Saying this she hugged her mid-riff as if trying to hug the PJ itself. Arnav's grin widened as he scanned her from head to toe with his tongue in his cheek, & then shaking his head in a disbelieving manner he dryly said, "& to think, I actually made a fortune selling clothes to women.. Unbelievable!"

Khushi knew as clearly as daylight that he was mocking her to his immense pleasure, & feeling dejected at how the tables got turned on her due to her own shamelessness, she grabbed his right hand & turning towards the houses, said hurriedly, "Walk me to the guesthouse.. Tomorrow is the Sangeet, & I need to practice in the morning!" Arnav came upon her in one long stride, snaked his left hand around her midriff, & bending down, dropped a swift kiss on her right shoulder. In answer, he felt Khushi entwining her fingers with his over her stomach, & in silence, they both slowly walked over to the guesthouse. Arnav kept Khushi inside the circle of his arms as he could say she really was afraid of what could be lurking around in the shadows, as she would frequently start & look around her shoulders. Arnav hid a smile, & once they reached the guesthouse, he pushed Khushi inside the door & leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her forehead & then pulled away saying, "Good night, Kitty." & seeing her eyes immediately burning with amber fires, he amended with barely suppressed mirth in his voice, "What?! I was talking to your shirt!" & then he swiftly went away while the sound of his soft chuckles disturbed Khushi's sleep for the entire night.

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When Arnav came down for breakfast the next morning, it was quite late. He had just taken a cold-shower after entering his room last night, & then feeling dog-tired, he had hit the bed & had slept in no time. Although he had felt the dull-throbbing ache from his bruises, he had given pain-killers a pass as he didn't like the groggy feeling they gave him. As a result, his bruises were aching persistently & looked an ugly shade of bluish-purple when he finally came down the stairs. But his discomfort instantly vanished as he saw with surprise that Khushi was sitting beside Rohan on the breakfast table, along with Anjali, Payal, Akaash & NK. The elders of the families were nowhere to be seen, but as it was, it was too late for them to be still waiting for Arnav on the breakfast table, as he suspected those currently occupying the table were doing. As he climbed the last step down to the dining area, Khushi, as if warned by some inner alarm, looked up straight at him, & then she gasped very loudly in a shocked shriek & following her horrified gaze, everyone looked up at Arnav too.

Before Arnav could ask what the problem was, Anjali swiftly stood up from her chair & came as quickly to him as she could, & then cupping her jaw, she gingerly thumbed the bruise on his jaw, & Arnav barely stopped himself from wincing. He had seen it in the mirror before coming down, the contusion has swollen too. But Anjali did see his non-existent flinch, & immediately turning around she started hurling rapid instructions to the battery of servants standing nearby to serve them, sounding very much like ASR's sister, & before Arnav knew what was happening, he was shoved down into an armchair, & Anjali, Akaash, Rohan, all were hovering over him like concerned mother hens. & amidst all this chaos, the first thing Arnav noted was, he couldn't find Khushi amidst the crowd clucking over him.

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Khushi bit her lips to stop them from shaking in helpless whimpers. She should have been more adamant about doing something about his wounds. So what if she wasn't in her own home, & didn't know where anything was in broad daylight, let alone in the dark of the night. He had known where to find the gauze to dress her wound in her home! & she had done nothing to lessen his pain! His love for her was so all-consuming, that she could feel it's presence surrounding her even when he didn't know about its existence, & her love for him was so petty that she couldn't even lessen his pain when he needed her to! Khushi squeezed her eyes tightly shut against the sudden feeling of wretchedness that shot through her, & blinking back tears of despair, she took the bowl of Milk-Turmeric paste in her hand & hurriedly made her way back to the hall.

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"Bhaabi, yeh.. Haldi wala doodh.." As soon as Arnav heard the hushed words, he jerked his head around to look at her, not knowing when she had reappeared behind his head on the edge of the sofa. The sight of her was a balm to his frazzled senses. A vision in pink, his own brand of freshness in her breezy dress, so fragile, so delicate, yet so there, just when he had needed her presence.

Arnav said nothing more, as he straightened back again, & let his Di apply the paste on his jaw, knuckles & then to his obvious embarrassment, on his left shoulder. While Anjali kept busy, Akaash showed him the Page 3 headline of a corner story in the Hindustan Times, "Mad Mayhem in Delhi Sub-urban Club: Raizada & Raeeszada Had One Drink Too Many?" There was a press-photo of Arnav from where he was inaugurating a new plant for Raizada Designs from 3 weeks back, & with it, there was a snapshot of Karan being led away surrounded by a group of his friends, his bruised hand covering his face from the photographers. As Anjali flicked the newspaper away from Arnav before he could read anymore, Akaash piped up in a gloomy, complaining manner, "Why didn't you call me up before you started hammering the bas***d? I wanted to take a few shots at him too.. Hell, I deserved the first shot after what he had done to Payal & Khushi, Bhai!" & before he could finish, Rohan spoke up with calm fury in his voice from where he now stood with his arm around Khushi's shoulder in a protective manner, "Yes! You should've called us up.. That way you wouldn't have this costume makeup on through the wedding functions, & I sure would've loved to knock the leech's teeth back down his throat!"

Payal held Akaash's elbow & massaged his back in a calming manner & Khushi wrapped her arms around Rohan's waist to draw some comfort from him, when they all heard Anjali's shocked yell, "Chhote! Did the creep bit you also?!" & Arnav felt with infinitely increasing discomfort that all the 5 pairs of eyes got trained on his right jaw on the unmistakably distinct bite-mark there as Anjali held his jaw up for better inspection. & before he could say anything or pull his chin out of Anjali's grasp, they heard a shocked dramatic yell from the door, "Nannav!! Mere bhai! That's a hickey! Kissne tumhara pyaar se yeh chaal karr diya?!" NK asked in his Aussy drawl & his broken Hindi with a wink, & before she could stop herself, Khushi corrected him by force of habit, "Chaal nahi.. Haal, NK!" & she immediately felt Arnav's narrowed eyes zoom on her face. But thankfully for Khushi, Arnav had to look away, as this turned out to be one of those rare moments in his life when he was under attack, as Akaash suddenly yelled too, "Yes!! I knew it!! I knew it! Didn't I tell you Payal?.. Di, this was what I was telling you about! I knew he had found someone in India too, although how can he work so fast & sneakily, even in India, I have no idea! Di, ask him! Just ask him, who called him during the MGM last morning? & ask him, why he couldn't hold the smile back that made him look like almost an alien? & ask him, where he went to last Sunday night ditching the La Mode wrap up party, in that Prabal-designed jacket?!" Akaash finally stopped to draw a breath in as he shook his head in an unbelieving manner & NK piped up to, "Really?? Come on, Nannav! Tell, tell!"

& as Arnav opened his mouth to blast them both off to silence, another calm voice with barely suppressed amusement came his way, as he turned to see a widely grinning Rohan with his arm snugly around a suddenly meek Khushi staring down at her own shoes. & Rohan asked his best pal with an upward sweep of his handsome brows, "This is interesting! Do tell, Arnav, who's the.. errm.. affectionate girl?"

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