INSEPARABLE II

XXXIV

Noor was awakened by the soft whispers just outside their door. Taking a moment to scan her surroundings, she shot up into a sitting position at the realization that she had spent the night in that room. Zora, in all of his beauty, laid curled up under the blanket next to her and Prem slept leaned up against the wall next to him. Pushing aside the panic her mind waged at the thought of the Dhaliwal family finding out she had spent her night there for only a few moments, she stared at the two gorgeous boys next to her.

They were impossibly similar. The gold of their skin complexions was the same shade. Both of them had eyes guarded by the same enviously thick lashes. Their lips were the same shape and their cheeks carried the same dimples. If the memories of her son getting killed were not as fresh as yesterday in Noor's mind, there wouldn't be a power on earth that could convince her Zora was not her son. Gently moving the couple strands of curly hair from his forehead, Noor brought her fingertips to her lips and kissed them. He was so indescribably precious to her.

Moving her eyes to Prem, she watched his mesmerizing face titled slightly to the side against the back wall. He must have been so uncomfortable sleeping in that position. She knew it was a conscious choice, however, because finding him in a sitting position would be much more easily digested by the eyes of the onlookers than him laying next to her. Instead of a blanket, he only had a shawl wrapped around him and that too had fallen off his right shoulder.

Unable to help herself, Noor quietly rose to her feet and walked around both Zora and Prem's legs and arrived next to him. Taking a silent seat, she watched his face for a moment. Her heart fluttered. She would do anything under the sun for that man. As much as he had troubled her in the last few days, she still had the strongest urge to take his face in her hands and kiss him. She desperately wanted to put her lips onto his. Holding back nonetheless, she slowly brought his fallen shawl back across his sculpted chest and fixed it atop his shoulder.

Glancing at his face again, she sat absolutely still for a moment. She had been saddened to her limits in the last few days. As much as she convinced herself that his behavior was acceptable and she understood, anger still managed to creep into her emotions. That anger lingered even at in moment but, as always, a glimpse at his beautiful face and she was rendered helpless. So, she slowly leaned in. A small kiss on the cheek wouldn't hurt, she decided.

As her face inched closer to his, Noor found her heart uplifted with joy. Even the smallest moments in his presence were nothing short of ecstatic for her and here she had just spent a night in the same room as him. Her lips prepared to lay a tender kiss on his cheek when his eyes flickered open. Taken aback by her closeness, Prem took a moment to process the scene. His dimples inevitably surfaced on his cheeks and his lips settled into his classic smile. Filled with uncontainable delight at the sight of his gorgeous smile, Noor thought her heart would erupt.

Fuck...how the hell was he so unbelievably charming even in a freshly awakened state so early in the morning? She had it bad for this man...so so bad. He was beyond beautiful and unfathomably sexy.

Prem stared into her eyes, quietly reading her thoughts. In no time, his glowing smile had transformed into a shy one and he gradually lowered his eyes, breaking their eye contact.

"Fuck..." Noor slowly said, out loud this time. No longer worried about controlling their contact to prevent waking him, she melted towards him and laid her face into his.

Prem laughed underneath her face, circling his arms around her back. His hands settling intently on her back at the curve of her waist.

Also laughing, Noor too worked her arms around his neck. And for a few moments, they just sat in complete joy, vibrating in soft laughter that danced on the line between shy and flirtatious.