No Escape from Love

by Reet Singh

  He shook his head slowly from side to side, and his mouth twisted. 'It's going to be a big problem if it's broken.'

  'Look, I'm really sorry about that. I imagined you were about to ... fall.' Goose bumps prickled her skin again as she recalled the flash of fear that had made her react without thinking. Her legs still felt uncomfortably hollow. 'Come on, then, before it gets too dark, or before Tiger finds it and decides it's an after dinner treat.'

  Aalok had a languorous shoulder propped against the water tank, but he leaped upright at her words. 'Tiger? Who the heck is Tiger?'

  'Haven't you met her yet? She is very vociferous when people visit. And she likes shiny things.'

  'Don't tell me you call that scabby feline Tiger?' Aalok's snarky laugh set Mohini's teeth on edge. 'Tiger?' he snickered. 'Really?'

  'Tiger’s great-grandfather was a Siamese cat, brought over all the way from ...!'

  'Whatever! I met that cat and it's horribly ill-mannered - it sharpened its claws on me. And it smells'

  Mohini snorted, refusing to acknowledge such cruel criticism. Nose in the air, she stalked off to the stairwell and flipped a switch.

  Fluorescent light flared and dispelled the gloom but did nothing for her black mood. Lips stiffly clamped together, she made her way downstairs, not bothering to see if he followed. He had insulted Tiger and that, with all the other black marks against him, was quite enough. The man obviously couldn't be trusted to be nice for long - he'd managed to set her back up again right after she'd convinced herself to play gracious hostess.

  Conscious of him following her down the narrow stairs - close enough that the heat of him warmed her back - Mohini wanted to hurry away. The sheer size of the man unnerved her; still, she consciously forced her feet to slow down - it wouldn't do to let him rattle her.

  Aalok's calm assumption that he could say or do whatever he liked in her home was annoying. Just because he was Ritvik's friend didn't mean a thing. Presumed friend, since she had no actual proof that he really was one - it was suspicious that Ritvik hadn't warned her of an imminent guest. Her heart thudded and a shiver of anxiety ran through her.

  'How did you get into the house while I was out?' Her voice was just this side of icy, although the back of her neck seemed to be burning.

  'Several very helpful women were loitering about when I drove up to the gates. I mentioned them earlier, didn't I? One of them - Bindro - let me in.'

  Mohini stopped abruptly on the last step.

  What had Bindro been thinking? Letting a strange man have the run of the property - why, he could be anybody!

  Her ill-advised and very sudden stop caused Aalok to collide heavily into her.

  When she would have tottered and fallen off the step, strong arms caught her and pulled her back - into a rock-hard wall of muscle. Effortlessly lifting her at least a foot off the ground, he made her heart thud.

  Unbidden - undeniable - panic clawed at her throat and her fingers grabbed for his hands, trying, without success, to pry them apart.

  She didn't know him at all!

  A hyper-acute sense of danger caused a desperate, lancing terror to scramble through her. She couldn't breathe, and still he held on. A panic attack, or was her instinct about this man warning her off? She was all ready to wriggle free and run, when Aalok stepped off the stairway and set her down.

  Gently.

  She was immediately better with her feet on the paved walk - safe, because the zig-zag stones led around the building to the front veranda and to Bindro.

  The man let her go but then firm, warm hands moved to her shoulders. Pivoting her as if she was a wooden puppet, he turned her about so that she stood facing him. He towered a whole foot above her and was much too close for comfort.

  The sight of the strong column of his neck - the golden brown skin lightly peppered with hair - distracted Mohini and she cleared her throat for no apparent reason, aware that her wits had deserted her.

  She was unable to account for her extreme reaction to being imprisoned in his arms. Had he noticed? What would he think?

  Mohini tilted her head up, and then wished she hadn't. Aalok was looking right at her, a tiny frown in place, and a question in the dark, ebony eyes.

  Darn! He had noticed!

  She lowered her lashes quickly and turned her face away. Her lips were horribly dry, but - tempted though she was to moisten them - she kept her mouth shut.

  Clenching her hands into fists helped deal with the tremors. Now all she had to do was to somehow convince her boneless legs to move - and carry her away from him.

  If he asked her what had just transpired, she wouldn't be able to explain ... but he didn't; he followed her down the path, his brooding silence deafening her with its thousand unasked questions.

  She hadn't had a panic attack in months. Had his unexpected move to stop her from flying off the stairs triggered a loathsome memory in her head? She shuddered.

  Wrapping her arms around a queasy midriff, Mohini tottered off in the direction of the main house. She didn't want to think. Didn't want to remember.

  Three years. She'd put that dreadful time behind her. Had made a lovely life for herself, and for Ria, here in Tejopur. She liked it - it was quiet and busy and safe. And now this man had appeared out of nowhere and made her feel vulnerable again.

  Icy fingers of dread played up and down her quaking soul. Thank goodness Ria was away in Delhi with Mama.

  She didn't want him here, this large, aggressive man. For some reason he made her remember.

  Two

  What the hell was that?

  Aalok wanted to stop Mohini's mad, clumsy dash across the mossy stones. If she slipped she would cause herself serious damage. But he couldn't touch her, not after that ... what a strange, complicated moment that had been back at the stairwell!

  He hadn't meant anything, hadn't even thought twice before grabbing her - she would have broken her neck for sure crashing down that high last step.

  Shockingly, she hadn't appreciated his help. Aalok rubbed at the stinging at his wrists. She'd scratched him something fierce. What had she imagined he was up to? Why would he hurt her? He was Ritvik's friend, for crying out loud!

  He'd caught up with her now. One look at her resolutely bent head, and he had to ask, 'Are you all right?'

  'I'm fine,' she mumbled, not making eye contact.

  'Sure. Great. So listen, you asked how I got into the house in your absence. That girl, Bindro? She wasn't an easy one to convince. Then I called Ritvik and got him to talk to her.'

  Somehow he didn't think his companion remembered her earlier question, but for want of any other ploy to break the disturbing mood, he went with the Bindro angle.

  Mohini kept walking, but her steps were slower now, and her breathing less ragged. Aalok stole a glance at her - the shoulders had straightened and her head was up. She slowed down some more and half turned towards him. Much better - there was a nice pink in her cheeks and a definite gleam in those beautiful, secretive eyes. Her voice didn't sound dead anymore when she spoke.

  'That explains only part of it - why didn't Ritvik let me know so I'd have been prepared? It's unlike him.'

  Mohini stopped mid-stride and he narrowly escaped bumping into her again. She turned to face him, and glared with eyes made coal-black by the rapidly descending dusk.

  Damn!

  He tried not to squirm. How much could he tell her? He didn't know if he should lie to her, or even how much to lie. He had upped and taken off from Delhi, slightly petrified, and without thinking too much. Would he be endangering her by telling her everything? He didn't know, but better to play it safe.

  Wiping the consternation off his face, he smiled, putting into it all the charm that he possessed. He simultaneously prayed for divine intervention.

  'You weren't supposed to be here,' he repeated, wishing he had a ready-made story to tell her. He would have had it all thought out in his head if Ritvik hadn't led him to believe that no explanations would be
needed - he had expected there'd only be the servants to contend with.

  Bloody overconfidence! And now he needed a plausible story.

  Aalok dug his hands into the pockets of dark blue jeans - the action drew her eyes but almost immediately her gaze flew back to his face. He tried not to look shifty-eyed, but she seemed to be an expert at picking up signs that he didn't want her to pick up. She cocked her head at him. 'What are you not telling me?'

  'Nothing - sorry to disappoint. It’s just that the decision was very sudden.'

  Aalok could almost hear the gritting together of annoyed, sharp little teeth.

  'Ritvik may have believed there was no need to trouble you since you weren’t going to be around, so …' he shrugged.

  As a counter-attack, his explanation mis-fired. 'Oh!' The frost was back in dollops. 'This is my home now - whether I'm in residence or not shouldn't matter. My brother knows that. So why don't you just tell me the truth? What are you hiding?'

  'Whoa! Hang on! You're quite the tenacious little bulldog, aren't you? And suspicious. I'm not...'

  He was mercifully interrupted by a loud, delighted hiss. A large mess of black and brown fur sneaked out of the bushes and flung itself at his ankles. There was a great deal of confusion for a minute or two as Aalok negotiated to save himself.

  'Tiger! Stop! No! Behave!' Mohini's shrill exhortations fell on deaf ears.

  Grateful for the diversion, Aalok went with the flow, his primary aim being for Mohini to forget what they'd been talking about. And for him to prevent his socks from getting shredded. And his very classy, buffed suede shoes from acquiring cat-scratch disease.

  He wasn't ready to spit out the ugly, embarrassing details of his urgent exodus from Delhi - not just yet.

  'Oye!' he groaned, when it was clear that the animal was winning. 'We've already met, you crazy animal! Get away!' He danced and weaved to no avail, and finally lunged at the large fur ball. A noisy struggle ensued, with the cat yowling, Mohini shrieking useless commands, and Aalok grunting with the effort of trying to pluck a reluctant cat off terra firma.

  Once the feline was captured, it took only a minute for Aalok to work his magic. Long fingers stroked rebellious fur and sounds of contented purring filled the air. The cat's high speed capitulation took even Aalok by surprise. Sure, he had a way with animals, but this cat was softer than putty in his hands. After having tried its best to demolish him, the illogical animal now begged for a back rub.

  Contrary creatures both of them - the cat and the woman.

  The latter seemed to have forgotten her earlier ill humor. She was in a merry mood now - looking wickedly amused - almost as if delighted at the fracas. For all he knew, she may secretly have enjoyed watching him suffer at the hands of her pet. Even now, though they had declared a cease-fire, the dratted creature had managed to rub mud and cat-fur all over him.

  He tried to set the animal down, but the cat hung on, digging its claws into his skin through the thin cotton of the borrowed, and now ruined, T-shirt.

  Aalok turned to his human companion, beseeching her with every non-verbal cue in the book.

  Mohini didn't help. She seemed hard-heartedly unmoved. It pained him that she peered in the dim light at his ankles, pouting as though gravely disappointed that there was no ripped tendon.

  She relented evidently, because the next moment she walked over and almost snatched the animal from his arms.

  'Get along now,' she told the cat, putting it down despite its obvious reluctance. As it stalked off, back arched in displeasure, Mohini turned her attention to Aalok and he felt a faint stirring of alarm. Would she bring up the why-are-you-here stuff again? He still didn't have a ready answer.

  'She'll be back. It's her favorite game - stalking humans, especially newbies. You're warned!'

  'Yuck!' He would do well to keep her talking about her pet. Grabbing the hem of the T-shirt, he looked down at it and wrinkled his nose. 'I'm smothered in cat smell. And hair - or fur - whatever you call it. Your precious Tiger is shedding!'

  He attempted to rid his clothing of the stuff. The hapless tee, the one he'd borrowed without permission, was constrained about his torso and it was impossible to do much with it. With a muttered oath, he ripped it off his body and, bunching it up, was about to toss it into the bushes when he caught the warning look on Mohini's face.

  'Oh! All right, I'll wash it. And return it. It washes off, right? The hair and stuff? That mangy creature is yet another reason I had to exchange my own shirt for this one.'

  Mohini didn’t answer - Aalok glanced at her and surprised an odd expression on her face. She was staring at him, her mouth slightly open, and Aalok obliged by surreptitiously flexing the muscles that seemed to have caught her attention. He noticed the widening of her eyes, but then she averted her gaze with a speed that gave her away.

  Nice! So she wasn't as irreparably distressed as he'd imagined earlier. He rippled some more but she refused to look again.

  Grinning, Aalok addressed himself to her back. 'Now, kind cat-lady, if you could just show me where I can clean up?'

  §§§

  'Certainly. Let me see ... why don't you come with me?' Mohini offered. The matter was of some urgency - not so much because the man was struggling to mop up with her minuscule cotton T-shirt, but because she needed him covered before the impressionable Bindro clapped eyes on him in all his shirtless glory.

  'Yes, please!' The large man slung the tiny tee over a bare, bronzed shoulder and followed as she stepped off the paved path and straight into a grove of low trees.

  She was going to offer him the East annexe. It was a spur of the moment decision, one that she made seconds after she'd caught a glimpse of that muscular torso.

  She could have easily put him up in the main house - in her late grandfather's room - the one that Mama and Papa used when they visited. Perhaps she would have if he hadn't taken off the tee!

  It was silly to be prudish in this day and age, but she didn't know Aalok at all and couldn't imagine sharing her personal space with him - even with him covered from head to toe. Also, she couldn't forget the terror she'd felt in his arms earlier.

  Blast Ritvik! Why had he foisted this tall, unnerving stranger on to her?

  Her head spun from the circus of emotions that she'd come to associate with the man - in less than an hour he'd raised a fair amount of ruckus in her well-ordered life.

  It was a longish way to the East annexe through orchards that occupied much of the property. A narrow, winding, well-beaten track, drenched with the scent of nascent oranges, took them away from the main house.

  She led him past the barely manicured lawn that boasted a garden swing which was still her favorite reading spot, and past the crumbling bird bath that her grandfather had commissioned from the local potter. A sharp turn around the ancient rabbit hutch - empty for years - and there it was.

  'This is the East Annexe,' she said. 'I hope it’ll suit.'

  'No problem. I'm sure it'll be great. Really sorry to barge in like this...anyway ... um ...well, I'm not sure, yet, how long I'll stay, so this is fine.'

  Still secretive! Never mind how long he planned to stay - why was he here? Who was he?

  Mohini decided to keep quiet for the time being. It was more important to get Mister Hot Bod clothed. She'd call Ritvik later and worm everything out of him. She still had to find the man’s cell phone. And she’d have to remember to ask Bindro to ensure, before she left for the day, that there was enough dinner to feed the guest.

  Hopefully, the list she'd drawn up in her head would keep her so busy she wouldn't have time to dwell on the panic attack that had thrown her off keel.

  'What about your stuff?' she asked as she pushed open the large, intricately carved, wooden doors to the annexe. 'How did you reach the village?'

  'Every thing's in the boot of my car. I parked, as instructed by Bindro, in the field behind the main house. I hope that's all right?'

  When she nodded, he continued, 'I'll go
get my bags. Give me a mo...'

  'No!... I mean, I'll have them fetched. Nikkoo should be here by now and I'll ask him. That's Bindro's brother. You - er - get cleaned up meanwhile, and - um - put something on ... that is, after I have your stuff sent over.'

  Hoping he wouldn't notice that she was babbling, Mohini hurried inside a large, well-proportioned room. It had the typical high ceiling of a home built to combat torrid six-month summers. And survive humid monsoons.

  Flipping switches as she went, she soon had the room bathed in cool fluorescent light. Another switch turned the mosquito repellent on. Drawing back curtains, she pointed out the bathroom, a dressing room, and two tiny bedrooms.