His Captive Indian Princess

by Tanu Jain

  Caught by surprise, Gauri plucked at his sleeve and felt the strength in his arms and the power pulsing in his chest.

  Held this close to him, she looked and saw the harsh drawn lines of his face and shadows that bespoke a weariness which tugged at her. It had been a stressful day for him, too, she realised suddenly. His cheekbones looked sharper, there were grooves bracketing his mouth and his black hair was dishevelled as if he had been running his fingers through it. He was a man to whom family honour, propriety and decorum mattered a lot and for such a man to endure a disgusting public scene must have been a disturbing experience.

  She wanted to soothe away the troubled expression on his face and wipe away the tiredness etched there. Her fingers itched to run through his hair and smoothen it. But she squashed down the urge, regretting her weakness.

  She became uncomfortably aware of her body’s reaction to being held so close to Vikram and felt the tingles of awareness turning into rays of pleasure running helter-skelter across her body.

  She closed her eyes and felt herself being laid none too gently on the bed. She felt her sari being unwound and opened her eyes in panic. Her hands came up to cover her breasts, which were enticingly revealed in the low-cut blouse, and her panicked gaze encountered his measured look. She would have scrambled to her feet except her body seemed to have stopped listening to her mind.

  Vikram removed her sari and said, ‘Relax. You need to rest. Just go to sleep.’ He placed the coverlet over her and expressionlessly tucked her in. His anger seemed to have disappeared.

  He went out. Gauri relaxed slowly, her heartbeat returning to normal. She hadn’t known about Vikram’s tender side. Her eyelids grew heavy and, despite not wanting to, Gauri slept.

  A little while later Vikram came and watched her sleeping curled up on her side.

  In sleep she again appeared like a young girl, untouched and innocent, and he could no longer control the overwhelming feeling of protectiveness which swept through him. He frowned as a maelstrom of emotions swirled inside him. Emotions created a mess and he had always steered clear of such messes. How should he get out of this one?

  He knew what she was—a devious, lying and cunning woman—facts pointed to it. But certain things weren’t adding up and now he’d finally calmed down, he was processing all the information. The conversation he had overheard between Maya and Gauri raised many questions in his mind. And maybe she was telling the truth about Raghav having accosted her because he knew that Raghav was a flirt and a womaniser.

  The whole situation was very troubling and stressful. The strong, almost violent, emotions that she roused in him were tearing him apart. Apart from his mother, he had never felt an emotional tug for any woman. Gauri was proving to be dangerous for his sanity. She had bewitched him.

  It was pure lust, he thought. He wanted to make her his. But he couldn’t do that. He had promised Madhav that he would take care of his sister.

  He remembered the night vividly. It was just before Madhav had left for the fatal trip.

  They had both been drinking and an emotional Madhav was bemoaning the absence of his sister. He’d insisted that Gauri was innocent and that she hadn’t run off with the stable boy. It was all a mix-up, he added. Vikram had schooled his expression and remained non-committal but Madhav had sensed his distrust.

  He still remembered Madhav’s words. ‘I know you hate being emotional and think I’m a sentimental fool, but one day you will realise that I am right! I’ve always listened to my gut instincts where family and relationships are concerned and I’ve never been let down yet.’

  Vikram had given a cold laugh. ‘Emotions, sentiments, gut instincts—always blind you and lead you astray! There are enough examples in both our lives of the havoc that uncontrolled emotions have wreaked.’

  Madhav had downed another drink and in a slurred voice insisted, ‘Emotions give meaning and fulfilment to life. One day, Vikram, you will fall in love and then you will realise the truth of what I am saying!’

  ‘Never! People and emotions are fickle and unreliable and it’s foolishness to depend on either of them. We are born alone and die alone and that is the only truth worth remembering,’ Vikram had stated unequivocally.

  Madhav had shaken his head and said, ‘I don’t agree with you! My family depends on me and I have to fulfil my duty as a son and a brother. Promise me one thing! If anything happens to me you will take care of my family and get Gauri married to a suitable boy.’ Vikram had promised, unaware at that time how prophetic the words would prove to be.

  His promise came back to haunt him. He had promised Madhav that he would look out for her and get her married to a suitable boy. But where would he find a suitable boy? He thought of that fancy lawyer she had mentioned. He could go with his proposal on Madhav’s behalf and talk to him. His chest tightened with an unnamed feeling. What if the lawyer didn’t prove good enough for her? Vikram would have to bear the guilt all his life.

  So, why not marry her himself? The thought crept in insidiously. He almost stopped breathing. It was a brilliant thought.

  He was tired of fighting the overwhelming attraction to her and of being torn apart in various directions.

  He couldn’t have an affair with her. An affair would dishonour Madhav’s memory and would be an insult to Kaka Maharaj. And since she was the rightful heir, their marriage would also ensure that he would be in control of Kaka Maharaj’s wealth till he regained consciousness. His promise to Madhav, too, would be fulfilled. He felt as if a load had been lifted off his shoulders.

  Well satisfied with his plan, he went to his room and lay down. A little later he heard a slight sound and got up to investigate. It was Gauri. Still asleep, she was moaning piteously and her face was wet with tears. He sat down and gently wiped her tears away but her whimpers didn’t abate. The urge to take her in his arms was overwhelming and he finally gave in to it. Carefully, he eased himself onto the bed and put his arms across her and attempted to soothe her. Gradually, her whimpers ceased and she slid into a peaceful sleep.

  Vikram was holding her close and he could feel her bare back and her voluptuous breasts. Her petticoat had ridden up and got entangled in the quilt, and her bare legs brushed against him. He was swamped by desire. He wanted to crush her in his arms and taste every inch of her luscious body. But he curbed his desire and exerted immense self-control on his libido.

  His erection had grown hard and he shifted surreptitiously, trying to ease the hardening of his groin by keeping a modicum of distance between their bodies but she protested sleepily and he stilled. It was a long, torturous battle to relax but eventually he managed to sleep, enfolding her protectively in his arms.

  Despite his reservations, sleep came quickly. He woke to find Gauri nestled against him. His body sprang into life. His blood pumped hotly in his veins, urging him on, and his warm breath feathered across her ear and nape and woke Gauri.

  She woke up to find herself cradled gently in Vikram’s arms.

  Liquid fire filled her body, and she trembled. Her eyes met his and she saw the slumbering need in his eyes. She closed her eyes to shut out the answering response of her body and felt his lips descend on hers slowly. It was a tender kiss, tentative and exploratory. The tenderness touched her and she couldn’t protest when she felt his tongue coaxing her mouth open. His tongue tangled with hers. It was heaven.

  Slowly, his kiss turned urgent, and heat coiled in her stomach. His kisses then turned towards her jaw and he kissed and licked the tender line of it. His hands began caressing her body. His gentle fingers spanned her tiny waist and moved on to the undersides of her luscious breasts.

  Lightly, his fingers teased and ignited a longing deep down in her body. She could feel heat pooling between her thighs. With deft movements he removed her blouse and impatiently ripped off her bra. She was too stunned to do anything. With a fierce hunger he took her breast in his mouth. First one and then the other one received lavish attention. She moaned as unbearably powerful se
nsations assaulted her body. Her hands dug into his bronzed shoulders and her nails left their imprint on them.

  She ignored the voice inside her which was screaming caution. She was tired of fighting this attraction between them. She needed his loving and his strength. She needed him. She could no longer deny herself or him. His lips moved on down to her belly button. Gauri felt her insides contract when his tongue darted across it and then explored it intimately. His hands were busy with their own exploration as they moved over her hips and removed her petticoat and then her underwear. He shrugged off his robe, and his fingers trailed over the jet-black curls below her belly, skimmed and pulled and finally reached the nub of her desire.

  He rubbed and gently prised apart the folds of her desire. He found her sensitive point and rubbed slickly, and Gauri bit her lip to stop her wanton cries from escaping. The hot pulsing ache between her thighs made her cross her legs.

  He returned to her lips and kissed her deeply while his hands pushed apart her thighs and his clever fingers forged a path inside her. Shock made her cry out loudly, and her body bucked wildly. He swallowed her cries in his mouth, and his fingers continued to wriggle and tease. Gauri twisted and thrashed her head from side to side. Pleasure made her lift her body up from the bed, but his muscular body held her down. Her nails scored deep marks on his back as she gave in to the heights his clever fingers seemed to be taking her to.

  He waited while she was almost frantic with need and when he was sure that she was ready he caught her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head. He pinched her nipples with his free hand and she almost exploded. He dropped soft kisses on her face and her lips, watching her all the time as he slid between her legs, and his erection nudged at her sex. He paused for a moment and then slid his engorged length inside her, gently but surely.

  Gauri was beyond speech, caught up as she was in a vortex of sensation. She gazed at him, her eyes glazed with the ecstatic sensations he was making her feel. As Vikram penetrated deeper she felt a little discomfort at being stretched so wide but before she could protest a numbing stab of pain followed and she let out a hoarse cry.

  Vikram stopped, suddenly winded. It couldn’t be! His mind had been so caught up in the sexual haze of excitement that he hadn’t immediately registered the tightness his penis had encountered. But Gauri’s cry of pain and the tears that appeared in her eyes crucified him. She had been a virgin. But how?

  He felt as if he had been punched deep in the gut. He paled. Unable to formulate any explanation, he felt the world suddenly tilt dangerously on its axis and the bottom fell out.

  He looked at her, stunned, and the sight of tears seeping out from the sides of her eyes scorched into his consciousness. Still in a daze, he eased out of her body gently and, ignoring his hard erection, covered her body with the quilt. He would not be distracted by the sexual chemistry between them. Guilt was gnawing at him. What had he done? He had misjudged her terribly and had hurt her physically, too. He held her close. He closed her tear-drenched eyes with soft kisses and stroked her tenderly. She burrowed her face into his shoulder.

  Gradually her breathing subsided and he held her chin and forced her to look at him.

  She wouldn’t meet his eyes but he made her look at him and said, ‘I’m sorry for hurting you. Are you all right?’

  Gauri nodded, a blush staining her cheeks.

  ‘If only I’d known,’ Vikram said, his voice full of burning regret. ‘You did try to tell me but I…’ He faltered, unable to go on, still unable to believe how mistaken he had been.

  ‘I wish I’d believed you. Can you forgive me?’ he asked softly, tilting up her chin with his finger and looking deep into her beautiful doe eyes.

  Gauri swallowed the lump in her throat. She had never imagined Vikram would ever be tender with her. She nodded uncertainly.

  Vikram looked at her silently, an indefinable emotion clouding his eyes. Gauri’s heart skipped several beats and her lashes flickered under the intensity of his gaze.

  ‘So, Maya was lying all along,’ Vikram said, his mouth tightening and a grim look on his face. She had trapped Gauri in her web of lies and deception.

  ‘Now, tell me from the beginning. Maya was having an affair with the stable boy and she framed you and blackmailed you into silence. But why didn’t you try to tell Madhav later on? You know he would have believed you!’ Vikram said with a dark frown.

  Gauri kept silent. She couldn’t reveal that last confrontation with her grandmother to anyone. Vikram waited, clearly expecting an answer.

  She stammered, ‘I was confused and thought that he wouldn’t believe me. Maya gloated that she would never own up to the truth.’

  Vikram’s insides clenched as he recalled the stinging slap Maya had given Gauri in the hospital after Kaka Maharaj’s heart attack. He would make Maya pay for treating Gauri thus.

  ‘But why did you run away?’ he asked, trying to get to the bottom of things.

  Gauri hung her head, trying to hide the panic welling inside her. She couldn’t reveal the whole truth. It would implicate too many people and was too shameful. Everyone would shun her and she would be sent away in disgrace. She remembered the fate of the woman who had claimed that her daughter was Vikram’s father’s child. Vikram had rubbished her claims and sent her packing. If Gauri told Vikram what her grandmother had revealed to her, she, too, would be ridiculed and discarded.

  ‘I … I thought that it would save a lot of heartache for the family if I disappeared. So I left. But I didn’t go with Ravi. I went alone,’ she said lamely, her chest tight with suppressed emotion.

  Vikram felt another punch in his gut.

  She had been alone.

  A sixteen-year-old girl who had led a sheltered life had suddenly been thrust into the big bad world. How had she coped? He and Madhav had failed in their duty.

  ‘Where did you go? Weren’t you afraid?’ he asked harshly, self-recrimination churning inside him.

  ‘I had some money with me and I went to the railway station and boarded the first train which came. Luckily I met Mrs Singh in the train and she took me under her wing.’ Gauri’s voice softened as she recalled the tenderness she had been shown.

  ‘Mrs Singh? Isn’t she the lady you were defending?’ he said gruffly, trying to control the waves of emotion tumbling inside him.

  ‘Yes, she is a very nice person. She runs a charitable organization which works for the benefit of young girls, especially runaways like me. She took care of me and made sure I studied and became a lawyer,’ Gauri recounted.

  ‘Thank God you met her and she took care of you all these years! I don’t know what Madhav would say if he were here. We failed in our duty towards you. I’m feeling ashamed of myself,’ Vikram lashed himself angrily.

  Gauri was speechless. She could never have envisaged such an immense change in Vikram’s demeanour. She felt like pinching herself to find out if she was dreaming. She looked at him with a hint of wariness in her eyes.

  Vikram saw the wariness and felt something clench inside him, almost squeezing out his breath. It was no wonder that she didn’t believe him. He had treated her terribly—they all had. She had suffered so much for the sake of her family. In her own way she had tried to uphold the family honour at great cost to herself. And he had been full of smug pride about his notions of honour and justice. He felt very small in front of her.

  He hugged Gauri tight and caressed her soft back. She would no longer suffer. He would protect her. He silently vowed to track down the stable boy and make him pay. Vikram thought of all the heartache he had suffered in the past. If only he had known.

  Cuddled against Vikram, Gauri was feeling a lightness of spirit after having told her story. She had omitted many details but she felt relieved and some burden seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders. Her wish had been granted. Vikram was finally looking at her with tenderness and was no longer contemptuous or angry with her. Totally worn out, she slept.

  Vikram watched
her sleeping with tormented eyes and strained features and castigated himself for all the scorn and contempt he had shown her. He felt like an absolute heel for behaving so cruelly to her. He had hurt her physically, too. He could not forget her cry of pain or the tears which had sprung into her eyes as he had breached her virginity. He should have put aside his prejudices and listened to her properly. It had been her first time and he had shown her none of the gentleness and tenderness that she deserved. He had simply been carried away by his desire for her. He had behaved like a callous lout and if Madhav were alive he would have … His mind shut down, loath to go on.

  For the first time in his life, he was deeply ashamed of his ruthless and callous manner. He suddenly disliked the cold and suspicious person that he had become. Recollection of the various cruel words he had hurled at her ran through his mind like a corrosive acid, and he was filled with self-loathing. She had tried to protect her family honour, bravely accepting the slur of being a slut and gold-digger. She had been the victim and not the perpetrator he had believed her to be.

  Madhav and Kaka Maharaj had been right in their assessment of her. If only he, too, had accepted their judgement. If only he hadn’t been blinded by cynicism and a lifelong mistrust of women. If only he hadn’t judged her by the yardstick of his father’s unscrupulous and greedy mistresses.

  There were too many if onlys, he decided in harsh self-condemnation. He was flayed by guilt and self-revulsion. He had dishonoured his friend’s memory and reparation had to be made.

  He decided to go to his room. Grimacing at his still hard and painful erection, he got up. He didn’t trust himself around her. A cold shower was needed.

  Gauri awoke after a deep and restful sleep to find sunlight peeping through the curtains. It took her a moment to realise where she was. Memory returned and last night’s events came rushing in. Vikram’s lovemaking, his subsequent shock at her being a virgin and the resultant interrogation were all etched in vivid detail. He had accepted that she was innocent of all the charges. His attitude had also changed towards her. She remembered he had acknowledged kissing her during Holi. That meant he, too, had been attracted to her all those years ago.