Dark Night Dawning Chapter 9

Dark Night Dawning – Part9

The group reached home tired and exhausted and decided to skip dinner all together so that they could retire early for the night. Khushi looked at Arnav to see staring back at her. The look in his eyes reminded her of their intense kiss they had shared in the giant wheel. This feeling scared her so much that when Lavanya mentioned that she had to start packing for the travel the next day, she immediately offered to help her.

In the room, the two girls packed each lost in thought. Khushi looked up at Lavanya, ‘I am so glad you came,Lavanyaji,’ she said handing over some clothes, ‘I am going to miss you.’

‘I am going to miss you too Chamkili,’ said Lavanya using the old nickname she had for Khushi.

‘BTW, we never spoke about you Lavanyaji. Have you met the man of your dreams yet?’

‘I did Khushi,’ said Lavanya smiling little sadly, ‘But he broke my heart.’

‘I am so sorry Lavanyaji!’ she said emphatically, ‘How insensitive of me.’

‘No Khushi, why should you be sorry? It’s just that it takes some time to get over someone like ASR. In any case, I don’t think I ever stood a chance against your beauty.’

It sounded to Khushi as if Lavanya was telling her that Arnav had chosen Khushi over her.

‘Please don’t say that Lavanyaji,’ she said desperately, ‘Beauty is just skin deep and you are ____’

‘Exactly!’ exclaimed Lavanya, ‘you are beautiful from the inside as welland that is what made Arnav choose you.’

Oh God, if she only knew!‘It’s not like that _____’

Khushi could not complete her sentence as Lavanya continued like she had not heard her, ‘I know from my personal experience that ASR can be pretty insensitive at times. But there is something you should know. The reason why ASR and I actually broke up.On the day of the satyanarayan puja after Payal and Akash’s engagement was fixed, you seemed a little upset and left early. ASR had been trying to reach you and you weren’t picking up his calls. I had never seen him as restless as he was at that time. Later, when I went up to talk to him he apologized saying he was sorry for hurting me, except that -----he called me “Khushi”. So the next day when he came up to me, I knew it was over even before he said a word. And it was not just those incidents, I guess I had known for a long time that he didn’t love me the way I loved him.’

‘Lavanyaji!’ said Khushi urgently holding Lavanya’s hand.

‘Don’t worry about me Khushi, I will be fine.’ Lavanya brushed away a wayward tear that had rolled down her cheek.

She continued, ‘When I first came here a few days ago, I thought I saw a tension between the two of you. But when I saw you two together, I realized that you two are so made for each other. And today at the mela, I saw how much you cared for each other when he made sure you could participate in the dance and when you nagged him for not taking his meds, when he took you to the golgappa stand and then finally on the giant wheel…..’

At Khushi’s horrified look she assured her, ‘Don’t worry Khushi, I only guessed looking at your flushed face after the ride.’

‘Basically, what I am trying to tell you is that ASR is a changed man now.’

As Khushi remained silent, helpless to reveal to her friend the truth about her marriage to Arnav, she heard Lavanya ask, ‘Another important thing I realized was that you love him.’

‘What?’ Khushi looked up Lavanya surprized.

‘Don’t try denying it Khushi. It is written clearly on your face. You do love him, don’t you?’

‘Yes.’ She said simply, unable to hide the truth from her friend.

‘I think ASR loves you too. He is different with you. But, having said that, I would advise you to be a little careful. Though I don’t know much about his past, I know there is something that holds him back from letting his feeling come out in the open. Unless he resolves this he might never express his feelings.’

Khushi remained silent. There was so much Lavanya didn’t know about this marriage and Khushi felt guilty for hiding this from her dear friend. But this was a battle she had to fight for herself and she didn’t want to burden Lavanya with all her woes.

As the two girls chatted, unbeknownst to them, a lone figure stood outside their room eavesdropping. Shyam had heard about the saying that eavesdroppers never heard anything good about themselves and what he had heard was definitely not good. His face began to twitch.No! NoKhushiji, how could you?

When Khushi went up to the bedroom, she did not find Arnav anywhere. She went into the bathroom to change into her night suit and realized that Arnav must have showered as the shower area looked it had been used recently. She also decided to shower to clean herself from the dust and grime after having spent an entire day the mela. She came out of the shower, towelling her hair dry. When she still couldn’t find Arnav she stepped into the pool area. She saw that he had fallen asleep on the pool chair, his head slightly on one side with this cheek against the back of the chair, his dark hair falling on his face.

What did she do now? Khushi simply stood and watched him for a moment. She wasn’t able to make up her mind if she should let him sleep or try towake him so that he could go to bed and rest properly. If the truth were told, she felt nervous at the prospect of disturbing him. With those fierce bronze eyes hidden under heavy lids, and his face relaxed, he did not look at all dangerous. Sleep had softened harsh lines of his face, smoothing away the hard cynical expression he wore when he was awake, and, looking at him now, Khushi’s love for him just increased two fold.

She was so near him that she could hear the soft sound of his breathing, see the way his chest rose and fell, the occasional flicker of his long lashes that lay like dark crescents against his skin. His rich dark hair glowed in the light of the lamp, reminding her of that incomprehensible longing to touch it. As if of its own volition her hand reached out tentatively until it rested lightly on Arnav’s head, feeling the soft strands of his hair slide under her fingertips. The slight contact was intoxicating making her shiver involuntarily.

As if sensing her touch, Arnav stirred, sighing slightly as he shifted position. Perversely, in spite of the fact that only minutes before she had been glad that Arnav was asleep, she now wanted him to wake.

‘Arnavji,’ she said slowly, her voice soft and hesitant.

The long lashes fluttered slowly but Arnav did not open his eyes. Leaning forward Khushi touched his shoulder, meaning only to shake him gently, but the feeling of the hard muscle beneath the soft cotton of his sweatshirt affected her as swiftly and shockingly as the moment she had touched the silkiness of his hair, and to her horror her fingers tightened convulsively, exploring the strength beneath them.

Arnav’s eyes snapped open and Khushi snatched her hand away as if she had been burned. He swiftly caught her hand and murmured softly, ‘You think my eyes are beautiful ha?’

One long fingered hand moved to Khushi’s face, tracing the line of her cheekbone with infinite gentleness, then slid slowly down to her neck, holding her without the slightest effort when she made a small, half-hearted attempt to move away.

‘I …. I said that because you were nervous,’ she whispered.

‘Really?’  Arnav drawled in that low, seductive voice as he drew her face gently, but irresistibly towards his.

Khushi knew that she should move away ----- but she couldn’t find the strength to break free from that light but inexorable grip on the back of her neck, and, if she was strictly honest with herself she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to.

Arnav’s lips brushed hers in a tantalisingly brief caress and she felt all trace of resistance seep from her, to be replaced by a warm, glowing sensation that flowed through her veinslike the effect of some potent wine. She scarcely noticed as Arnav’s free arm slid round her waist, gently pulling her down so that she was half lying across him, her head on his chest. When Arnav’s mouth touched her for the second time in a slow, lingering exploration of her lips Khushi closed her eyes with a faint sigh, oblivious of anything beyond this moment of total abandonment to the exquisitely pleasurable sensations his kiss was awakening in her.

Sensing her surrender, Arnav tightened his grip around her waist, pulling he even closer, and her arms crept up around his neck, a small, wordless sound of disappointment escaping her when his mouth left her for a moment. Then, her lips were captured again, this time in a fierce, bruising kiss that forced her mouth open beneath his, sending shock-waves of reaction burning through her as if the blood in her veins were on fire. Arnav’s hands were against her back; Khushi could feel the warmth of his touch through the thin cotton of her kameez, and her own fingers clenched in his hair in response.

‘Hell!’

Arnav’s exclamation came huskily against Khushi’s lips as she moved in his arms, pressing herself closer still, her hands shaking as they tangled in the thick silkiness of his hair. Still keeping one strong arm tight around her, Arnav’s other hand moved to the back of her kameez, dealing swiftly with the dori that fastened it, dragging it down until his hand closed firm and warm over the creamy breast his impatient fingers had exposed.

A fiery sensation of pleasure shot through Khushi, a pleasure so sharply powerful that it was almost like a shaft of pain, making her gasp aloud. She cried out in disappointment when he moved away from her abruptly, lifting his head, his body suddenly very still.

‘Arnavji -----‘ she began, but Arnav laid a finger over her lips to silence her.

‘I thought I heard --------, let’s go inside,’ he whispered and stood up quickly lifting her in his arms. He carried her through to the bedroom, bearing her down against the softness of the bed by the weight of his own ardent body.

With urgent hands he discarded his sweatshirt before joining her on the bed. A second later, Arnav’s lips were on hers, moving sensually against her lips, sweeping her away to that dreamlike world where nothing existed but herself and this one man. As his hands slid down her back she could feel their warmth on her sweat slickened skin, and her flesh seemed to burn as if his gentle touch had scorched a path down her body. With a small, wordless sound she nestled closer, shuddering with pleasure as Arnav’s mouth moved down the side of her neck to place soft feather kisses on it, her hands tangling in the dark crispness of his hair as she sighed his name aloud.

‘You looked beautiful right after you have washed your hair,’ Arnav whispered huskily against her throat, and hot tears of happiness pricked at Khushi’s eyes so that her lashes were wet when his lips brushed them a moment later.

‘Khushi?’

Arnav’s voice was softly questioning, his hands still for a moment, but Khushi made a murmur of protest, pulling his head down to hers so that their lips met once more.

His hands were more urgent now, pulling impatiently at her kameez, but when his fingers closed over her breasts they were suddenly gentle again, caressing the soft flesh with a slow sureness that had Khushi arching against him, murmuring her pleasure incoherently. Seconds later, his lips were where his hands had been and Khushi’s voice was silenced, her heart seeming to stand still in delight. She was scarcely breathing conscious of only the aching need deep inside her that only Arnav could assuage. She wanted him to love her, needed him so desperately ------- suddenlythey heard a shrill piercing sound rent the air.

‘Dammit!’ Arnav let out an expletive as he moved away from Khushi.

‘What’s that?’ asked Khushi still breathing hard.

‘It’s the security alarm. I will have to go and check. Just wait for me here.’ Arnav said pulling on the sweatshirt.

Khushi put her clothes back in order and lied down on the bed thinking…... Hey Devimaiyya!

As Arnav came out to the living room, he found Akash, mamaji, Shyam, NK and Hariprakash trying to figure out what had happened. They checked the panel on the alarm system to see that it did not indicate that any door was open. Just then Arnav received a call from the police station as the alarm was linked to the police control room. Arnav explained to them that they weren’t sure if there had been a break in or not and was informed that a personnel would be sent over to make sure everything was ok. As they all waited for the officer to come they managed to check the ground floor and found nothing amiss. After the officer came he checked the entire house and the premises to see that everything seemed to be in order. He told them that it might have been a freak incident and that they should contact the station if there was any further problem.

After the officer left, they all retired to their respective rooms. When Arnav went into the bedroom he saw that Khushi was sound asleep. The whole ordeal with the alarm had taken a long time. The day spent at the mela had been exhausting and he had begun to feel the exhaustion himself. He slid into the bed next to her, slipped his hands around her waist and fell asleep in seconds.

How could Arnav do this? He was brainwashing Khushi into believing that he loved her. He was seducing her with his rosy words. Everyone seemed to think that there was love between them. First Anjali had told him a few days ago and today he had overheard Lavanya telling the same to Khushi. They were fools! They couldn’t see that Arnav was only using her. Only he loved her the way she deserved. He just didn’t love her, he worshipped her…….

After hearing Khushi confess to Lavanya that she loved Arnav, he hadn’t been able to sleep. He came to the usual place he lurked about these days ----- the corridor outside Arnav’s pool side area. The pool side had a partition that was made of wooden planks. No one in the house went to these corridors hence maintaining a semblance of privacy. But it provided the perfect opportunity to spy. Tonight he had heard them in the poolside; he had heard Khushi’s bangles clinking in frenzy and had immediately guessed what was happening. He had thought he would be caught when Arnav had stopped,unconsciously sensing his presence. But then, they had gone inside the bedroom. He had to stop it somehow! Suddenly an idea flashed to him. He had just gone up to the terrace and opened the exit door to set off the alarm.