by P. G. Van
“Why are you acting like a bitch, I just…” Sari’s voice trailed off when Neil got off the concrete floor to stand in between Narmada and her.
“What’s wrong?” His tone was flat as usual.
“Why are you here… with her?” Narmada growled.
“Plucking flowers,” he declared.
“No… you can’t… I…” She turned away, unable to bear the burn of jealousy. She had barely taken a step away from them before she felt his hand circle her wrist.
“Sari, go inside.”
“Okay…” her friend mumbled before disappearing into the farmhouse.
“Narmada…”
“Neil, let me go,” she demanded.
“Not until you tell me what’s bothering you.” He pulled her closer to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going into the garden.” She sniffled.
“Look at me. Is this how you look when you cry?” He turned her to look at him.
“Leave me alone, Neil.” She pulled her hand away from his and hid her face in her hands.
“Will this stop you from crying?” His voice was soft, a novel sound. She looked up from her hands through her teary eyes almost in reaction to the sweetness in his voice.
Neil held two water lilies, the fragrance and the sight of the white flowers calming her instantly.
“For me?” her voice a whisper.
“Yes.” He handed them to her and slowly reached out to wipe her cheeks.
“Don’t ever do this?” His voice was cajoling.
“Do what?”
“Cry… I…” His voice trailed off when she put her arms around him still holding onto the flowers.
“Neil, you are my friend, and I didn’t like it when I saw you with Sari,” she confessed.
“She was helping me pluck the flowers… for you. I had to ask her because it is her farmhouse.” His voice resonated against her cheek.
“I love them,” she said, gently pulling back to look at the flowers.
“I knew you would like them.” He smiled.
“You know me so well… I…” She let her words get lost in the cool breeze. She took one hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes.
They stood frozen for what seemed like a long time before he slowly moved closer, his lips grazed her cheek before they moved to the edge of her mouth. She ran her hand around his neck and angled her face to move her lips over his.
After a moment of hesitation, his lips claimed hers. She took in the sweetness of the moment and closed her eyes feeling the ripples of sensations she had never experienced charge through her body.
His hands came up to cup her face, making her feel precious. She was lost in the moment, feeling an emotion she had never felt, something so strong, she couldn’t identify it.
“Narmada… Neil… we are cutting the cake,” someone called out in the background, and he pulled back. He pulled away so fast she dropped the flowers and almost lost her footing.
He caught her before she fell into the pond. “We should go.”
“Neil…”
“We can talk later.” His voice was back to being gruff.
The very next morning, he was gone. The family he was staying in the guesthouse with told them he had to go and gave no other details.
Narmada opened her eyes to look at the man in the driver’s seat. He may have grown out of the boyish looks, but his heart, it was hers. She had no option but to fight to be his, forever.
CHAPTER 17
“Abhay, I just sent you a pencil sketch of a woman,” Dev said on the phone.
“Hang on, let me look at it.” Abhay pulled up the black and white image of a woman in her twenties.
“Who is this, Dev?”
“I think this is a very bad sketch of Narmada Senani.”
“Where did you get this?”
“In the newspaper. I knew the Chief Minister’s son was injured but did not realize how. This sketch has been on the news channels and in the newspapers the past couple of days.”
“Do you think Rana is with her?” Abhay cut through Dev’s thoughts.
“Five men were brutally beaten up near the women’s restroom. I’m guessing he had to be with her.”
“Will they make it?”
“Abhay, it would have been easier for the person who beat them up to just end their lives, but he beat them up so they live like vegetables the rest of their life, if they survive.”
“Makes me feel so proud, Dev. I have no sympathy for those animals.” Abhay laughed.
“Same here. I can’t wait to meet him, Abhay.”
“We will, Dev, very soon,” Abhay assured.
“I am planning to talk to Mr. Senani about Narmada. Do you think she eloped?” Dev pondered out loud.
“It’s probably a bad idea if you do. Let me call him and ask him about this sketch on TV and see what he says.”
“I have a feeling they will deny it is her. The family has been awfully quiet since Revanth was killed, and I am wondering if it has anything to do with Narmada being with Neil.”
“For the life of me, I cannot see how Rana met her and why she is moving around to various places with him.” Dev shook his head.
“What did we find out about her when we looked her up last time?” Abhay asked.
“Nothing much.”
“Run a check again, this time go back six or seven years.”
“Yes… do talk to Mr. Senani,” Dev reminded his brother before ending the call.
“I will, and I will put in a sympathy call to the Chief Minister. I want one of those bastards to wake and tell me it was Neil,” Abhay growled.
“I’ll pull up the Senani girl’s profile.” Dev ended the call and sent a note to his team that has been busy the past few months.
Abhay hung up the phone and dialed another number. “I need time with the Chief Minister and with Mr. Sagar Senani.”
*****
“Narmada,” his voice was soft, but it was enough to bring her out of slumber.
She opened her eyes to look at him holding the car door open. It was dark, and she couldn’t remember when she had fallen asleep. Her body felt weak as she moved her legs. Her mouth was dry, and her head hurt like someone had scooped out the insides.
She gripped the handle on the door before placing her foot on the ground. A sharp, shooting pain went up her leg, and she lost her footing. She shut her eyes and braced for impact, but the strong grip around her waist helped her stay up.
She tightly shut her eyes fighting back tears as he scooped her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest and let his beating heart talk to her. It told her he loved her and yet could not love her.
He carried her indoors, and she heard the door shut behind them. She held onto him as he walked into another room and gently sat her on a chair.
She opened her eyes to look into his somber ones but did not say anything.
“I am going to go get food from the car. Will you be okay here?”
She nodded looking away from him.
She sat rooted to the spot and watched him set the food on the table. She looked around the old structure they were in but did not bother asking him where they were because she didn’t care.
“This region’s food is extremely spicy, so I picked up some fruits for you.” His voice was flat.
“I’m sick of eating fruits. I want something spicy,” she grumbled.
“You can’t handle this, Narmada. I will get you something tomorrow.”
“No, I’m sick of the fruits and sick of being told I can’t handle anything,” she barked.
“Eat anything you want then.” He pushed the boxes of food in front of her.
She opened the boxes one after the other and found an angry looking curry in one box and another had a green-colored rice that looked less intimidating than the curry. She took two big scoops of the rice, her eyes on him for some reaction.
“Do you want some curry, too?” His tone was weighed down by mockery.
<
br /> “Sure, why not.” Narmada wasn’t sure how spicy the food was going to be, but she was sick of the bland food she had been eating lately.
She gathered the curry and the rice and took a large bite giving a taunting glance his way. Her glare died in its tracks when the heat from the food hit her tongue and then the rest of her mouth.
She winced internally when she felt the rush of heat making sweat breakout on her face. She felt the fumes escape from her ears, but she refused to cave. She knew it was stupid of her to keep eating the ridiculously spicy food, but it was a mental challenge for her.
He had told her she could not live the life he lived, and if eating spicy food was part of it, she had to.
“You should eat, too.” She almost choked on her words.
“Are you okay?”
“Totally fine, this is yummy.” Every bite of the food she took she was sure she was going to have a seizure. She didn’t know what she expected from putting on a brave face with the spicy food, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Don’t drink the water, it’ll make it worse,” he warned when she finally reached for the bottle of water.
“What? I just need a sip for my thirst not because the food is spicy.”
He shook his head and watched as she gulped down the cold water. The initial contact with the water was heavenly, but as soon as the water washed down her throat, a new level of burning started, and it was worse than what it was before.
She dropped the spoon and sat holding her breath. The burning was intolerable, but she couldn’t let him see her as a person who couldn’t handle the food he preferred.
She looked at him through the layer of moisture in her eyes as he watched her, an amused look on his face. “Are you done eating, Narmada?”
She nodded unable to open her mouth. She feared she would blow fire if she spoke.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
Her eyes followed him to the small kitchen in the house. He opened one cabinet after another and finally pulled out a small container. He walked back to where she sat and placed the container in front of her.
“Sugar helps with the burning.”
“Don’t need it.” She pushed it away.
“Why are you suffering like that?” His voice was soft.
“Really, since when do you care about me?” She got up from the chair and took an intimidating step toward him.
He smiled at her adoringly but did not say anything.
“Laugh at me. This is what I get for loving you,” she sneered.
“Just a little bit of sugar, and it will help with the burn.”
“Don’t want it. I’m fine.”
“I’m worried you will pass out from the way you are holding your breath.” He laughed, infuriating her even more.
“Why do you care? It’ll probably be easier for you to transport me to your client.” She was angry, but it only made him want to take her burn away.
“Come here,” he whispered pulling her to him. She gasped into his mouth when she felt his lips on hers. She fisted her hands to the fabric on his chest as he sucked the burn away.
She moaned when his tongue explored every corner of her mouth soothing away the flare-up. His lips worshiped hers to put out the burn in her mouth while setting her being on fire.
She moaned his name against his lips sending a shudder through him. He released her like something pulled him away and stood looking down at her.
“I still don’t want the sugar,” she purred before going on her toes to suck his lower lip between her lips. He didn’t fight her but didn’t comply either. She ran her arms around his neck refusing to let go.
“You are such a fucking liar,” she murmured against his lips.
She felt the shift in his manner when he gripped her hair pulling her lips away from his to make her look into his eyes.
“Never lied to you.”
“You are still a liar because you are lying to yourself,” she rasped, feeling the pressure in her head.
He looked away from her to take his lips to the edge of her mouth as if in a tease. “Don’t call me a liar.”
“Liar,” she taunted, pulling him closer.
He growled trailing his lips away from her mouth, as her fingers snaked into his hair.
“I will keep calling you a liar until…” Her voice was lost on a yelp.
She felt the sharp pain on the side of the neck when he sunk his teeth into her flesh. The pain was undeniably pleasurable, and it made her want to rip his clothes off.
He swore under his breath as he ran his tongue over the dented skin. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sorry.” She felt the waves of thrill that originated from her neck spreading throughout her veins.
Neil went rigid and let her go. He took a step away from her, his eyes riveted on her face.
She met his gaze running the back of her hand on her lips. “I need to talk to you but after you are done eating.”
“Talk to me now,” he urged.
“I need to change first. Give me ten minutes.”
“The bedroom is the first door on the right.” He gestured.
“Meet me in the bedroom in ten. Hopefully, I will have cooled off by then,” she purred before picking up her bag and turning away from him.
She had spent all day in the car, wrapped in a saree and weighed down by a heavy braid and jewelry. She ran her hands over the soft material of the saree before taking it off. She wore some of the jewelry she had on her when Neil kidnapped her over a week ago.
It was only a week she spent with him, but she felt like a different person. Her outlook on life had changed. She absent-mindedly took off one piece of jewelry and lay it on the bed before walking into the bathroom.
She was halfway through with washing her face when she felt him behind her. The one week they had been together, he had given her the privacy she needed, but now she sensed something else. Something she felt inside her, a feeling of losing a part of her.
She wiped the excess water off her face with her hand and looked into the mirror in front of her. He stood behind her meeting her gaze in the mirror.
“I brought you a towel.”
“Thank you.” She took the towel and walked past him without saying another word.
“I thought you wanted to talk,” he grumbled.
“In ten minutes,” she said curtly.
“I can’t sit around waiting for you to talk to me. What do you want to talk to me about?”
“You don’t need to wait. I just won’t talk if you aren’t here.” She shrugged.
“Fine, I’ll wait.”
She slowly applied the moisturizer on her face while he watched her. She sat on the bed and moved to one side and patted the space next to her. “Can you sit with me?”
He hesitated for a moment and moved to sit next to her on the bed.
“Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Her heart wrenched for him.
He nodded leaning his back on the wall next to the bed, his eyes on her.
“Just so you know, we both agreed to what we had the past few days, and you don’t get to be the one to call off the pretense. I’m agreeing to it because that’s what you want.” Her voice was soft.
“You know it’s the best thing to do.”
“No, it’s not, and I know you can figure out a way for us to be together if you put your heart to it but… I don’t know what you want in life.” She sounded dejected making him want to kick himself.
When he didn’t say anything, she took his hand and pillowed it under her cheek. “I still love you, and I know you won’t change. Give me the time I now have with you.”
Something deep inside his chest ached like someone was squeezing his insides. The sight of tiny droplets of salt water escaping her eyes burned him on the inside.
“Neil…” her voice was barely a whisper.
“Go to sleep,” he responded in a similar tone.
“Do you realize I am alive and breathing
because of you?”
“Narmada…”
“I would have been killed in college if you weren’t around and then the club…”
Neil moved his hand to wipe off the beads of moisture and hovered his fingers over her eyes forcing her to close her eyes. A few minutes later, she was fast asleep snoring adorably. He would kill or even die for her but could not put her in harm’s way. His lifestyle was a threat to her life, and he could not let any harm come to her.
“Hold me, Neil,” she whimpered.
“Narmada…”
“I just need you to hold me. Give me that for tonight,” she pleaded.
He felt his heart stop and painfully writhe in his chest. He slowly moved closer to her and lay by her side. His arms wrapped around her as he pulled her onto his chest.
“I will love you forever.” Her voice was a mumble against his chest, but it sent shudders through his entirety.
CHAPTER 18
An eerie darkness enveloped them as they drove toward their final destination. It was early in the morning, and their SUV was the only vehicle on the single-lane highway.
“You can run, but you can’t hide from me. I will find you, Neil,” Narmada said looking at Neil’s profile as he kept his eyes on the road.
“Narmada…what are…”
She didn’t let him finish. “I am not asking you for an opinion, I’m just letting you know.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am dead serious. Did you think I would stay with Raj and have his babies?” Her words sent jitters through his being. He couldn’t even think of the picture she was referencing. He couldn’t bear the idea of her with another man, but he knew he couldn’t have her, he couldn’t give her the life she is accustom to.
“Raj can give you the life you deserve.” His voice was cold.
“Who the fuck are you to decide what I want in life? I get to, and I want you. What part of that do you not understand,” she barked.
He tightened his fingers on the steering wheel but did not respond.
“I don’t care for the riches. I will live where you live, I will eat what you eat, and if I can’t handle the spice, you can kiss my burn away.” She sobbed angry tears rolling down her cheek.