FF - Destiny (Ch-51, Pg-178: Jan 7th) - Page 64

Originally posted by: fj08

dont u DARE suggest this estee ...... a lot of us are as addicted to Destiny as much as u hate prem, try reading it u ll be hooked.... and smita is a dear she updates very regularly and never goes on strike 😃
awww....u r such a dear....🤗don't worry....no strike...and i won't let estee sway me..😃

Originally posted by: ashpush

smithsie!! just caught ur update now...the net connection was not working n i was cursing it coz i wanted to read ur update...grrr...
hello ash!! i did wonder where u were...good at least u caught the update....😃
Anyway,coming 2 the update..

U left us at a cliff hanger and that 2 a steep 1...gosh, u cant think wat all im imagining right now(ahem! ahem!)...heer-meher were sooo cute loved the sisterly relationship u showed..so prem knows about sanjan's love huh...plz update on thursday..im soo eager to know wat happens...
sorry dear!! see that is why i am updating now....😆 thanks....

Chapter 30

"Let me go," she said with gritted teeth. Her fingers tried to pry his hand off her.

"Why, so you can take off for a couple more days?" It was dark in the hall way and the only light was spilling from the living room. Since his back was to the light, Heer could not really see Prem's face.

"What?" She stopped struggling. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly, what I said." There was a note of barely suppressed fury in his voice. "When are you going to stop running away and start facing what is happening between us?" Prem demanded.

Maybe there was some truth in what he said about her running away, but she was in no mood to hear it from him just now. "Let me go," she said again, a little hoarsely. She needed to get out of here before she started crying. "You are hurting me."

Immediately his grip slackened, still not letting her go and his thumb made a soothing gesture on her arm. The rigid tension in his body seemed to disperse and Prem sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I am sorry," he muttered. "I am an idiot."

"Well, I am not going to argue with you there," said Heer, still smarting from his abruptness.

To her surprise, he laughed, a low breathy laugh and he pulled her closer, linking his arms behind her waist to gaze down at her. "Brutal honesty, that's what I lo…like about you."

"Well, what did you expect?" she asked tartly. The sudden change in him made her wary.

"I am an idiot," he repeated, a little softly perhaps and bent to kiss her cheek, in apology. "For not seeing that you were obviously waiting up for me…weren't you?" There was a faint trace of uncertainty. He nuzzled behind her ear and she closed her eyes, turning her head. She realized her mistake, for he had better access now and Heer drew a sharp breath, her hands resting on his chest, clenched into fists.

"Weren't you?" he pressed an open mouth kiss in the exact spot that her neck met the shoulders. Any thought of lying just flew out the window as she moaned a "Yes."

"Why, Heer?" he asked and she felt the words against her skin, sending goose bumps.

"I…umm" she had great trouble thinking. "I…we need to…umm…talk," she managed to gasp.

"I know, but this is so much better than talking," he muttered, almost to himself. "I am so glad that you waited for me." Prem kissed the exposed part of her throat.

"Prem…please...I have to go." She was not even sure if he had heard her. Her fingers unclenched and clung to the fabric of his shirt as soft lips trailed up from the base of her throat to her jaw and Heer was having trouble breathing. "I wondered when you would come home," he murmured against her skin. "I waited, hoping you would call," slowly he raised his head and looked at her. "Why didn't you?"

"I…I didn't have your number," she admitted, eyes half closed and drowsy with desire.

Prem laughed and kissed her nose. He brought his hand to her face and the thumb moved in a hypnotic pattern from chin to jaw, the touch leaving tingles in its wake.

"I didn't see you for two days," he said almost petulantly and so softly that she barely heard him. Two and a half days, Heer wanted to say but then the next moment Prem cupped her neck and brought her mouth in contact with his. It felt so natural for her to respond to him, to surrender to this desire for him. They stood completely wrapped in each other, the semi-darkness cocooning them and the only sound was of ragged breathing as they strained, driving to erase the memory of their loneliness when they had been apart, re-learning all the feelings that only the other could evoke.

There was a loud thud from somewhere directly above them and that broke them apart. Heer rested her forehead just above his thundering heart feeling like she had run a mile and his hands stroked her back. If it was meant to calm her, Prem was failing miserably.

"We really need to talk," Prem said. She nodded her. "And this is not the time or the place to do it," Prem went on softly. "Will you meet me for coffee tomorrow?" He brought his hands to hold her head and gently raise it.

"I am not coming over to your office again," she whispered immediately, eyes snapping open.

"No," he agreed. "There is a coffee shop near my office," and he told where it was. "I'll see you there at eleven, then?"

Heer nodded and was instantly mesmerized by how the shadows accentuated his jaw, the stubborn set of his chin and her eyes were drawn back to his lips.

"You better go now," Prem muttered. She could still feel his racing heart under her hand. It was a heady realization that all his reaction was just for her. Fascinated, Heer brought her hand to his cheek, her thumb brushing his chin. A male hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"Heer," his voice was strangled. "Keep going if you want me to finish what we started."

Appalled at her non-existent control around him, Heer turned around and fled.

-----

"Hi," said a male voice from the door and Ash looked up from the drawing board in her office to see Preet leaning against the doorjamb. A quick glance at the clock said that it was still only ten. He never started this early.

"Hi," she said a little warily, straightening. Ever since their truce, they had fallen into a compatible routine, very polite with each other and always on guard with what they said. It was always about work and their conversations never steered to anything personal.

Preet held out an edition of Vogue. The word 'copy' was stamped across the cover and she knew that this was just a mock up. "It won't be out for another couple of weeks and I just thought you might want to see what it looks like," he explained.

Ash walked forward to take it from him. She turned her back to him as she fumbled with the magazine. Her hands were shaking so badly that she was having trouble with getting the pages to open. She felt him stand behind her shoulder a pair of hands moving on either side of her, to assist her.

"Here," he said softly and opened the first page of twelve. Ash had seen all the proofs and final photos and thought that they had been brilliant, but these were beyond that. One after the other, she flipped through the pages, staring at each one, conscious that Preet was standing behind her, his hands still holding hers. When they came to the last page, he let go of her fingers and Ash took that moment to compose and turned to smile at him.

He was looking around her office, walking over to the drawing board. "It's my last day today." He picked up a piece of cloth lying on the floor to put it back on the table.

"Listen," he started, turning to her. "I was wondering, you know, if you are free, we could…umm…maybe go out to dinner today?"

Ash started at him. He was asking her out? "Sorry, I can't."

Preet's smile faltered. "Oh, ok. I understand."

She suddenly realized how it must have sounded and hastened to explain. "No…no it's just that I have Heer, Meher and Sanjana coming over for dinner today." He only raised his eyebrows. "We…we could go tomorrow, if you like?"

His smile was back. "Sure. You pick where to go."

Ash nodded and quickly wrote on a piece of paper. "My number, you know, just in case you change your mind."

"I won't," he said, but took the piece of paper anyway. "See you tomorrow."

She watched him walk away and couldn't believe it. Did this mean that he trusted her about Heer and Meher? Willing her heart to slow down, Ash went back to her drawing board.