164. OS: 7: The Other Woman (Part 30)

Part 30

Khushi wondered what was wrong with her. She was tongue-tied. Panic was springing from some hidden well in her heart. Her head whirled and his husky voice in her ear was doing nothing to help. Nor was the feel of his warm, hard body against her back.

She quickly moved a step forward, away from Hot Singh Raizada.

He followed, his hands lifting to her shoulders to pull her against him. He bent to her ear and whispered, “Will you marry me, Khushi?”

She shivered. “Why?” she asked tremulously. “Why should I marry you?” What she really wanted to ask him was why he wanted to marry her, but somehow her heart quailed to voice what she wanted to know.

Arnav considered her question seriously. He could not come up with a single reason why she should marry him, the akhdoo of the century!

 “To punish me,” he said finally.

Khushi turned in his hold to look at him with disbelief in her eyes.

“I have plagued you from the moment we met,” he reminded her.

“Yes, you have,” she corroborated.

“Insulted you, bugged you, pestered you with my gifts...” he added.

“And spied on me,” Khushi added, her eyes on his.

“And spied on you,” he agreed. “Made you lie and cheat to save your reputation.”

“And gobble an entire packet of jalebi to hide them from Buaji and Jiji,” Khushi reminded him.

Arnav nodded and bent his head to hide his smile.

“Don’t smile, don’t you dare smile!” she threatened him.

“No, I won’t smile,” he exerted superhuman effort to keep his lips in a straight line but his eyes twinkled.

“Your eyes are smiling!” she accused him.

He looked away for a second to stop himself from guffawing but brought his eyes back to her. How could he not look at her? How could his eyes stray from her when she was before him? How could he hide the joy her very presence gave him?

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Arnav choked on his laughter.

She turned away in a huff.

He gently pulled her in to his arms and held her close to his heart, his arms holding her captive like prison bars.

Khushi trembled. “Why do you touch me all the time? Give me pappi?” She aquirmed in his hold.

He tightened his arms around her. “Don’t you like it when I touch you? Give you...pappi?” he asked. Charming Singh Raizada’s voice was sweeter than honey, thicker than usual.

Khushi swallowed. Who had permitted him to speak? He should be Silent Singh raizada for the health of her heart. He could slay armies with his seductive voice.

“Chodiye hamein,” she requested. That was easier than answering his disturbing questions. “Kya kar rahe he aap?”

“Don’t you know?” he asked provocatively, his hot breath against her ear sending a tingle down her spine.

“Why should I marry you?” Khushi asked again to bring Bewitching Singh Raizada back on track.

“Because Buaji loves me,” he replied, his nose touching her ear lobe.

Khushi jerked.

“She does not,” Khushi said in a shaky voice.

“She doesn’t?” Arnav asked against her neck, his eyes shut to savour the feel of her skin better.

“She is waiting for you with her belan,” Khushi gasped, trying to twist her neck away, out of the reach of his lips. “I told her the truth...the truth...”

“How cruel of you,” he murmured against the spot where her neck met the line of her shoulder.

Khushi shuddered at the touch of his hard lips on her soft, sensitive skin.

Ravishing Singh Raizada blew against the spot.

She moaned in shock.

“Kya hua, Khushi?” he asked, his lips capturing her ear lobe. 

His teeth bit in to the succulent flesh gently.

Khushi jumped. Panic made her fight his arms.

He let her go.

She put some distance between them and turned to look at him.

“You..you..Incorrigible Singh Raizada!” she called him to his face.

Arnav stared at her for a moment in shock. Then he burst out laughing.

Khushi stared at the man who was laughing uproariously as though she had told him a joke. She put her arms on her waist and scowled at him.

“You are not Arnav Singh Raizada,” she bit out. “You are Menace Singh Raizada.”

That set him off again.

She looked daggers at him. “Don’t come anywhere near our house. The whole of Laxmi Nagar is out of bounds to you,” Khushi announced. “Or you will feel the power of Buaji’s belan,” she warned.

“The path to our marriage seems strewn with kaante, Khushi,” he grinned.

“What marriage? Whose marriage? We are not getting married,” Khushi stated. “I have already forgiven you. Now you don’t have to propose to me,” she freed him from all obligations.

His eyes sharpened. A frown appeared on his face. “What the!”

“And why should I marry a man who goes around trying to buy women? Asking them their price? Chee!” she shuddered fastidiously.

“Khushi!” he gasped. “I..”

A timid knock sounded on the door.

“Chotey? Khushiji? Are you there?” Anjali asked.

Arnav looked at the door in exasperation. Where else could they be? Did Di think that they had sprouted wings and flown out through the window?

He strode to the door, unlatched it and pulled it open. “What is it, Di?” he asked impatiently. Did Khushi really think him immoral? Why had Khushi linked her forgiveness to his proposal? His Haridwar-educated brain grappled with the problems even as he stared at Anjali.

“Chotey, Shyamji called. He said that the house is ready,” Anjali looked at Arnav with limpid eyes.

Arnav frowned. “Pack your things, Di. I will take you there after I talk to Jiju.” Did Khushi really believe that he misbehaved with women on a regular basis, really think that his proposal was motivated by his feeling of guilt?

“It is time I left,” Khushi said quickly. She looked around the room. The red rose and the necklace were lying on the bed near her bag. She quickly grabbed the cloth bag and passed its strap over her head to lie across her trunk.

“Khushi,” he called out urgently.

She walked out on quick feet, refusing to heed his call. It was better to stay away from Temptation Singh Raizada!