Happy Monday everyone!🤗
Here's the next extremely belated instalment! Hope you enjoy!👍🏼
Chapter 17
She looked over towards His back to her and stared, slightly shocked
"Can he resist me as easily as that?," She thought indignantly
"Does my lying next to him, sharing a bed with him have so little effect on him?"
Accepting the challenge of his indifference, She narrowed her eyes and decided to test Him and this seemingly impossible situation.
Reaching out her hand She slid the nail of her index finger ever so gently from his neck down,slowly over his back and stopped at his waist.
No response
She did the same action again, except this time with all her fingers gently tickling him up and down his back, egging him on to react but again, He resisted her attempts for attention.
Finally, she shuffled just a little closer towards him, close enough to wriggle her whole hand under his tee shirt at the back and dig her nails into his warm skin, dragging them as far up as the material would allow her
Finally, he stirred, a quiet but nonetheless distinct moan in reaction to her nails and their path as She moved her hand up and down.
Satisfied to finally get an acknowledgement from him She turned to speak to the back of his head
"I knew it," Her tone purposefully seductive
"You'd have to give in sooner or later...go on admit it! Tell me to my face - you cant resist me for long..."
As He turned round slowly to face her, Her smiling face froze not in anticipation but in complete horror as she saw his beautiful and bloodied face, oozing gore and maggots feeding and crawling all over the skin that was barely hanging on to his bones. His eyes stood out, devoid of their usual sensual depths, instead eerily vacant as they bore into her
Even as She screamed and sat upright, her eyes remained closed, trying to shut out the terrible image in front of her
"Hey Wake up!! It's OK! You just had a dream - it's OK. it's all OK...Hey Fatty! Fatty listen it's OK!!""
She could vaguely hear His voice and felt herself being shaken.
Her eyes flew open and in the dim light She saw his face, devoid of any blood or maggots, just His welcome familiar, concerned face
After her initial scream He had immediately turned to find her sitting upright, panting furiously. He rubbed her back, trying to settle her. After a while Her breathing slowed down until finally She appeared to be her usual self.
He reached over to his side of the bed and grabbed a bottle of water for her to drink from.
"What the hell happened there? You scared the hell out of me!"
"You did the same to me with all those bloody maggots!"
She spoke after drinking some water straight from the bottle, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand
"What???" He looked at her as if She were insane.
"I must have had a nightmare, that's all!"
" You're not kidding! hope you're not like that normally..."
When she put her head down into her hands, He stopped his ribbing and became serious. Much as She wasn't letting on, the parcel incident had obviously affected her and She was clearly still upset about it. Giving her a moment, he placed his arm around her protectively and kissed the top of her head.
"Look fatty, you've had a lot to deal with so I'm not surprised its freaked you out a bit. But its OK,"
He stroked her head and pushed back her hair from her face
"I'm here right? You have nothing to worry about. C'mon - lie down, get some sleep - you know you don't need the bags under your eyes - everyone will think I've kept you awake all night!"
She listened quietly, then turned to look at him with moist eyes
"Everything will be OK wont it? I mean, we are doing the right thing aren't we?"
He had already laid back down on the bed, his hands behind his head as he listened attentively
"Yes we are. We've done nothing wrong yaar! Come here, and mind your leg"
He drew her close so she lay next to him, her head cushioned on his arm as he leaned in towards her.
"This time next week your leg will be completely recovered and we can have some time far away from here. You can leave all these worries behind and I promise you, you'll have new memories to replace these rubbish ones and you wont even remember feeling low"
As She looked straight into his eyes, She knew He would do whatever it took to keep her safe and secure. All She wanted was to forget the last few days events, stop time dead and just be here with him, was that so much to ask?
She touched his cheek gently with her fingers
"Are you sure you don't regret this? Despite all the hassle - you still want to be with me?"
His kiss answered all of her questions and She felt her unease gradually disappear.
As She closed her eyes to give into sleep one more time, She allowed herself a small smile feeling his arm draped protectively over her, his face nuzzled close to her neck.
ooo00000ooo
She slept soundly and deeply and had forgotten where She was until She found herself being shaken gently.
"Wake up Fatty! Car will be here in 45 minutes! Better go freshen up!"
As She looked around sleepily She saw He had already showered and could smell his signature scent wafting around the room. He continued to get ready, running his fingers through his hair and setting it straight in the mirror, when he caught a glimpse of her stretching her arms out in a long yawn, making her nightshirt stretch too and showcasing her cleavage spectacularly.
Catching her unawares, He dived onto the bed, careful to avoid her injured leg, and buried his head in the teasing gap in her nightshirt as He planted soft kisses along the gap between her breasts
"Hey! Now that's called taking advantage!"
She laughed as She fell back onto the pillows. He had caught her out completely and she was unprepared for him as He indulged himself
"Don't lie, you're loving it as much as I am, "
He murmured as He made his way further up to her neck and to her jaw, his beard tantalisingly rubbing her skin. His lips found their way to hers and he kissed her softly, lingering, unwilling to let go till She broke off finally for breath
"Now that's what I call a good morning kiss! How long before the car arrives?"
She asked seductively, as She reached out again for his more than willing lips, pulling him closer.
"Mmmh, too soon," he whispered in between kisses,
"Ahhh! gotta get ready Fatty but, believe me, I'd rather not..."
He groaned his displeasure as He got up off the bed. As She watched Him leave to let her get ready She smiled to herself.
"Could there be a better start to the day," She wondered as She remembered her leg and her smile became wry
"Don't bet on it baby!" her inner voice let itself be known
ooo0000ooo
"Hello? Who is this?"
"A well wisher."
"What do you mean? A well wisher for what? Is this some idea of a joke?"
"I can assure you its no joke. Just ask yourself with whom the man you were spending all your free time with is now?"
"What? Who is this - what are you talking about?"
"We both know who I'm talking about. Your little friend has the hots for your onscreen sister - the one you think is with someone else - but isn't. They're fooling everyone - but not me."
"What? But - are you talking about Her? But She's with-"
"Don't waste my time. Figure it out for yourself. What you see isn't necessarily what you believe. You have been warned"
ooo0000ooo
One of His most endearing qualities, She mused, was his dependability. He helped her to get ready just in time for the car to take them to the shoot.
He was such a professional and worked incredibly hard on perfecting his character. She didnt work nearly as hard but noticed that whenever She was around him in the context of work, She automatically upped her game and neither of them had any difficulty in focusing on the task ahead and working together to get the best outcome. His suggestions on trying something a different way for the better almost invariably were guaranteed to be good.
Their on screen chemistry was the talk of many a showbiz gossip and industry magazine, everyone raving on and on about how well they acted, how great they looked together. However the publicity was not always positive and considering this was his first show, He didnt play the rookie part so well for the media, often shunning awards and reporters from certain outfits, declining to give interviews for some of the masala media and invoking their wrath.
No one had ever linked them together though, and that was due to them all knowing of her relationship with her ex, about which She had always been upfront about, albeit at times at the behest of her ex, who definitely lapped up the attention.
The other reason no one would probably think of linking them together was because they were like chalk and cheese - She was the happy go lucky one, happy to talk to all, speak cooperatively to the media, agreeing to events, and promotional activities whereas he was more discerning and no media darling to say the least.
Casting a glance over at him, He was engrossed in his lines, totally concentrating on the task in front of him. He looked up suddenly as He felt her eyes on Him
"What?" He was curious to know what She was thinking
"Nothing," She lied.
"We're mostly at the studio today right? The outdoor shoot is in, what, 2 days time?"
"Maybe, but - like I said - push to do as much as you can in one go. We have more chance of finishing early that way. How's the leg?"
He looked, checking quickly for any obvious swelling.
"OK - pain free for now and the swelling has reduced after keeping it elevated last night. Listen if we pack in the shoot hours, I'll have no time to search for another place, so I was wondering"
"Its OK - I'll put up with you for a few more nights-"
"No" She lowered her voice "I wanna go back to my own place,"
He didn't look up and continued to focus on his lines, so She continued
"Aren't you worried about what people may think and them adding 2 and 2 together?" She whispered
"because I am. I don't want anyone knowing about...us...not yet! I need to get back on my feet and -"
"Cool - you can go back to your place,"
He looked at her for the merest of glances then returned to look back at his lines. Was He annoyed?
"Oh," She had not seen that one coming and now felt ever so slightly miffed he had agreed so easily
"OK then - that's fine. I'll make my way home after pack up tonight."
"Cool - hey!- can we just go through that scene again when we're at your maternal home, just before I overhear about me being the one who cant have kids, those lines - yeah..."
ooo00000ooo
The car got to the studio in good time and He came round to open the door for her. She had brought her crutches along as extra assistance but begrudged having to use them, feeling they attracted undue attention. He however was having none of it and presented them to her, his eyes daring her to disobey
One look at him and She knew she had no chance. Sighing resignedly, She took them and hobbled in as He walked next to her.
Seeing them, their co-stars spontaneously applauded Her as She walked through, and She smiled appreciatively, albeit a little embarrassed. Cleverly, He faded into the background amongst everyone else and allowed them all to mull over her and get the low down on her welbeing whilst He busied himself elsewhere with his script.
Everyone was pleased to see her making such an effort and show her sporting spirit. Two pairs of eyes were however following her every movement, as soon as She emerged on to the studio floor with Him a little behind.
Those eyes were far from pleased.
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