Prithvi dipped the strip of cloth in the bowl of water that he had placed on the chair next to the bed, and then gently placed it on the forehead of the sleeping girl. When he began peeling it off after a few minutes, she wriggled and snuggled deeper under the covers. Keeping the cloth aside, he placed his hand against her skin. Her temperature had definitely reduced a lot in the past two hours, he registered with a surge of immense relief.
He looked down searchingly at her with troubled eyes, idly studying her beautiful features in the starlight come in through the window. Her hair had come open from the knot she had tied, and now the black, silken tresses lay lazily across the pillow. With a will of their own, his strong fingers reached out and tenderly stroked a soft cheek that had been damp with tears an hour ago. Tears that he couldn't bear to see in her eyes….tears that always made him very uneasily aware that he had become dangerously vulnerable when it came to her….
Especially since the accident….
She moved uncomfortably again, dislodging the pillow from under her head until it was almost falling off the cot. He caught the pillow before it tumbled down, and hesitated for a moment. Then he slid an arm under her shoulders and gently raised her to rearrange the pillow comfortably under her head. He was just beginning to draw back when she stirred again and her eyes fluttered open.
*****************
In sleep-induced confusion, Nandini stared at the handsome face that was just inches away from hers. Suddenly, her gorgeous eyes widened with fright, and she began to push at his broad shoulders with all the strength she could muster.
"Hey!" he said irately, catching hold of her slim wrists.
"What were you doing?" she asked heatedly.
He drew back and let go of her hands with a grim frown. She immediately shuffled a bit away towards the wall to put more distance between them.
The action stoked the already strong glimmer of anger in his gaze.
"I was adjusting your pillow…..your rape will have to wait for another day," he retorted with plain disgust.
She flinched at his choice of words, and started to sit up, looking around the room uneasily to evade the condemnation in his eyes. Her perplexed gaze fell on the small cloth and bowl of water on the chair.
Guilt swamped her.
She had broken down like an idiot in front of him, talking about her sickness and about missing her family. But he had consoled her and brought her up here and settled her in the bed. And he'd been sitting by her bedside for God knew how long, trying to bring down her fever by applying the damp cloth to her forehead.
"I didn't think that you were….I was just….I'm sorry," she apologised weakly, and then uncertainly asked, "How long have you been sitting here?"
"About 2 hours," he said curtly. "How are you feeling now?"
She didn't answer for a moment as she tried to take inventory of the changes in her condition. Her skin felt cool to the touch, the headache had almost disappeared, her throat wasn't aching much, and that sense of dizzying weakness had also subsided.
"Better….much better. Could you put on the light?" she requested, drowsily gathering the thick, shiny swathe of her tousled hair and bringing it forward to drape it over a slight shoulder.
He silently reached out and put on a dim bulb that cast a warm yellow pall over the room and turned back towards her.
"Feel safer now?" he mocked and looked away in palpable irritation.
She looked at him helplessly, wondering how to make up. It didn't help that she was feeling even more horribly unsure of her appearance than usual. Her eyes felt puffy, her face was probably sapped of any colour, her hair was definitely a mess, and her simple nightdress was crumpled. There was nothing that would work in her favour, unless…..
"This isn't fair!" she complained crossly.
The belligerent statement compelled him into looking at her, though she could have done without the intimidating glimmer in his gaze.
"What?" he asked edgily.
"You have no right to be angry with me when I'm not feeling well….especially when I've fallen ill because you didn't let me get out of the rain," she said indignantly. "So in penance, you should take care of me very nicely, not get angry with me no matter how I behave, make sure I'm feeling comfortable and do everything I ask you to!" she instructed, holding up her fingers to count the guidelines and trying extremely hard not to laugh at the cute look of insulted irritation on his face.
He didn't respond, but intently studied the entrancingly pretty face, the captivating smile trembling naughtily on soft pink lips, and huge black eyes looking up at him with warm mischief in their depths.
She read the intention in his softening gaze before he moved, and though she wanted nothing more than to surrender to the cosy haven of his arms, she kept a very stern hand on his chest to forestall his attempt.
"Don't! What if you fall sick too!" she said anxiously.
"I won't," he dismissed her fears with characteristic arrogance.
With an unsteady sigh, she gave into the insistent pressure of his arms and her own need for some loving comfort and gratefully accepted the hard reassurance of his embrace. Resting her cheek against the solid strength of his shoulder, she closed her eyes and simply soaked in the wondrous sense of peace and safety.
"I'm sorry I forced you to get drenched," he said ruefully.
"I was just joking about that! I love getting wet in the rain myself," she chuckled, and then earnestly added, "I'm really sorry I reacted like that when I woke up….I was just a little startled."
"Forget it….to be honest, if you weren't ill, you'd have enough reason to not want me in your room," he confessed, making her smile softly against the smooth fabric of his shirt.
He knotted his fingers into her luxuriant hair and pulled lightly to gaze with concern into her flushed face.
"Have you eaten anything? I brought some food for you if you're hungry?"
"I ate a lot in the canteen before leaving college. I couldn't eat a thing now."
"Your fever has come down…..how's the headache?"
"Almost gone….and my throat feels better too," she said thoughtfully, as her mind vaguely recollected being coaxed to wakefulness to keep a thermometer between her lips, and then being convinced to gulp down a hot, bitter brew that had provided blissful relief to her sore throat.
"Did you give me something to drink?" she asked curiously.
The question caused a slightly familiar look of discomfort flit across his features.
Without answering the question, he reluctantly disengaged his arms from around her, and gently but decisively settled her back on the bed.
"Why aren't you telling me….what did you give me to drink?" she asked with rising amusement, as he rearranged the coverlet around her
Once again, she saw the cute discomfiture on his somewhat red face. She had seen that expression before. It was an adorable look that said he had done something incredibly sweet for her and didn't want it highlighted.
"It was nothing….just a concoction choti - someone - had taught me long ago," he said uneasily.
Nandini gaped at him in amazement. "You made it for me?"
Looking more ill at ease than ever, he irately muttered, "You don't need to sound so surprised. It was no big deal."
"No, I wasn't….I'm just…thank you so much," she said softly, exceedingly touched.
The idea of him working in a kitchen was unimaginable to say the least. From all that she had seen, heard and sensed, he was used to just raising a finger to have people running around to do his bidding. He didn't wait on anyone…..they served him…
But he had done something so atypical…so sweet….for her….
Out of nowhere, she felt a stirring urge to kiss him. The craziness only lasted for a split-second…..but the boldness and strength of the impulse rattled her to the core.
Struggling to cover up her blushing confusion, she hastily asked, "So who taught you to make it? Sumer uncle?"
At her query, a heart-stopping smile lit up his countenance, and in the captivating innocence of the grin she got a fleeting glimpse of the extremely lovable child he must have been…
"No, one of the cooks in my grandfather's house. I used to call her choti maa," he answered, and although his tone was casual, there were traces of a deep affection in his voice that she had almost never heard before.
Delighted at being granted this rare titbit about his past and eager to know more, Nandini sat up again without realising it. She drew up her knees and then wrapped her arms around them.
"She would take care of me all the time because my mother – maa used to fall ill very often," he said hesitantly, "Choti maa used to make this medicine for me whenever I was down with fever and I'd feel better within hours. Sometimes, I used to help her brew it for others if needed."
"So she made life very easy for your doctor," she smiled.
He shrugged impassively. "I never saw a doctor for the first 7 years of my life."
"Never? That's amazing," she mused, thinking of her own brother whose penchant for getting into minor accidents because of playing rough games with the other boys had made him a very frequent visit to their doctor. And she thought about Prithvi, who exuded an aura of restless energy even when he was still….she had assumed it would have been even more pronounced when he was a child…
"My dear old grandfather had barred everyone from calling one for me no matter how sick I got," he said indifferently.
She went ice-cold with horror, unable to even comprehend what he'd said so nonchalantly. Then enraged anguish erupted in her beautiful eyes as the shock subsided and fury exploded within her chest.
"He – your grandfather - what? How could he do that? How could he be so cruel?!" she burst out angrily, overcome with unbearable wrath and grief that someone had ill-treated Prithvi so viciously.
He met her vehement rage with raw amusement. "Don't judge him too harshly…..The poor man just couldn't give up hope that one of my illnesses would kill me," he grinned.
"I just can't believe anyone could be so – doesn't he have any heart at all?" she demanded passionately. "I never could understand why….but if he could be that hateful towards a child, it's no wonder he sent that horrible man with that disgusting message for me," she seethed, "Now I only wish I had said something more -"
She stopped talking abruptly and turned ashen as a dangerous frown line formed on Prithvi's forehead.
She had completely forgotten that she had never told him about that nauseating incident. And the truth was that she hadn't ever planned to tell him. She was outraged at his grandfather's heartlessness and desperately wished she could somehow erase the awfulness of Prithvi's past. But she definitely didn't want to be the cause of any trouble between him and his grandfather. From what she'd understood, they were already estranged. Anything she said now would act as fuel on fire…
"He sent what man with what message?" Prithvi asked with treacherous calm.
Striving to rally around, she tried to smile. "It was nothing….I was talking about something else….not your grandfather….got some events mixed up!"
His wintry dark eyes made mincemeat of all her hope that he would let go of the topic. "Nandini, he sent what man with what message?" he demanded again in an icily controlled tone.
With suffocating anxiety, she cast her thoughts around wildly to find some other topic but her mind was blank…
She reached out and kept a small hand on his forearm appealingly. "Can we – can we talk about it tomorrow?" she implored.
"Alright….tomorrow it is," he said grimly, clear anger at her concealment still evident in the taut lines of his stunning face. "Go to sleep now."
Greatly relieved at the temporary reprieve, she hastened to comply with his order with unusual obedience. She was settling back on the pillow when a sudden twinge of pain in the cramped muscles of her leg made her wince.
He didn't miss the fleeting discomfort on her countenance, and immediately asked, "Is your leg still hurting?"
"A little," she admitted, stifling a yawn.
She watched in bemusement as Prithvi stood up wordlessly, walked to the other end of the bed and sat down near her feet.
The first graze of his strong fingers on the skin of her calf made a strangely delightful quiver travel up her leg.
She only just barely managed to hold back a yelp of surprise. "What are you doing?" she squeakily asked, raising herself up on her elbows.
"Checking if there is any swelling," he said briefly, without looking up. After a careful examination, he said, "No…no swelling."
"I think it's hurting more because I was standing all day than because of the fall," she said quickly, earnestly wishing he would let go of her leg before noticing the havoc he was wrecking with his touch.
But to her helpless disbelief, he coolly proceeded to balance her foot on his thigh and began massaging the aching flesh with soothing care.
"No, please…..you don't need to do that!" she protested feverishly, and then stifled a groan at the sheer bliss resulting from his ministrations.
"I'm not doing it for you," he smiled roguishly, and then wistfully murmured, "This is the only way I'll get to see and touch a little more of that skin."
Even as he spoke, his hand caressingly moved a few inches up the creamy softness of her leg, brazenly pushing the hem of the nightdress out of his way.
The silken stroke of his fingers caused a stronger, more luscious tremor dart throughout her body. She sat up with a shocked gasp and instinctively tried to pull her foot out of his grasp.
But he retained a ruthless grip on the limb, forcing her to frantically rearrange the nightdress so that once again only her ankles were visible.
"I'm not sorry," he clarified with an insolent grin.
With her skin flushed crimson and a still thudding heart, Nandini glowered at him. "If you do that again, I'll -"
"Grow to like it and let me get some more action?" Prithvi asked enthusiastically.
The sincere hope in his voice made her forget the violent threat she had been about to make.
"There is absolutely no chance of that happening," she laughed.
"I wont give up hope," he grinned back at her.
That was true….he was stubborn…even in this little matter of kneading the soreness out of her feet. It definitely wasn't the first time he had touched her, she thought wryly, but it still was a struggle to stay immobile because of the curious jolts caused by the tender movements of his fingers on her skin.
Feeling extremely awkward but shyly delighted at his attentions, Nandini leaned back against the pillow and watched him lovingly.
He had changed. He had changed since the day of her accident. She knew it with intuitive certainty…..She had seen it in the way he looked at her…..
He'd become more gentle, patient and thoughtful...
Now if only he'd always stay like this…
But maybe…just while it lasted….she could make the request and maybe he wouldn't refuse…
Clearing her throat, she hesitantly began, "Prithvi, tomorrow…in college…could you -"
"No," he interrupted flatly, and then raised a magnificent head with an abruptly chilling gaze, "unless he's been misbehaving with you," he adjoined in a razor sharp tone.
A delicate pink suffused her cheeks with embarrassment, but she attempted to appear unruffled at the ease with which he had once again read her thoughts as though they were printed on her face.
"You're refusing without even waiting to know what I was going to ask?" she said indignantly as he transferred flattering attention to the other foot.
Prithvi dealt her an ironical smile. "Let me guess. You want me in the auditorium while you rehearse your lines with that bas***d."
He knew…he always knew, Nandini thought resignedly.
Trying to cover up her discomfiture with annoyance, she exasperatedly asked, "Can you please stop calling him names? And no, he has not been misbehaving with me," she said firmly.
And that was the truth. Suvek hadn't really misbehaved with her. He had just not left her alone for a single second during the day. But even if he had tried to cross the line, she was definitely not going to run to Prithvi with complaints…..not after having assured him that very day that she could deal with Suvek on her own.
She tenaciously continued, "I'm not asking you to be there to save me from Suvek….I know you don't like him, but he really isn't a bad person," she insisted. "He's just -"
"A numbskull with a death wish," he supplied helpfully.
Nandini fixed an admonishing expression on him and wagged a reproving finger. "You really shouldn't get so jealous, you know. All that negativity isn't good for the heart and mind!"
A faint trace of an angry red tinted his skin. Raising sardonic brows, he grimly enquired, "And you never get jealous, is it?"
"Of course I don't. I'm above all such petty feelings!" she declared with mock piousness, holding a perfect little nose high up in the air, and then chuckled at her own stupid histrionics.
"Cant wait to test that theory," Prithvi murmured.
"What did you say?" she asked doubtfully.
"Oh nothing – nothing," he said blithely. "So all those times that I saw you breathing fire when anything that remotely looks like a woman talked to me was…." he prompted with growing interest.
She glared at him with acute resentment at being reminded of her silliness.
"I was just trying to protect those girls from a devil like you," she said stoutly. "So like I was saying, you should simply get rid of those nasty feelings of jealousy," she advised kindly with the profound wisdom of a hundred-year-old. "Because I don't know if I'd want to marry someone who is so possessive about me."
The words had slipped out so naturally that for the first two seconds she didn't even comprehend the significance of what she'd said carelessly.
Then she abruptly realised that his devastatingly striking features and powerful frame had unexpectedly acquired a disturbing stillness. And just as swiftly, it dawned with excruciating embarrassment just what she'd unwittingly revealed about her innermost thoughts….about her most precious dream…
But more than the astonishment on his face, it was the tinge of something that looked almost like derisive amusement in his gaze that suddenly filled her with stomach-churning uneasiness.
With a terrifying contempt, he slowly demanded, "You aren't expecting us to end up married, are you?"
Hot colour swamped her face, and her heart began racing as she absorbed the pulsing aggression in his stare with mute dismay. But somehow….through the appalling flash of humiliation…..a faint flicker of defiance brought the words to her dry mouth
"Why not? Why shouldn't I expect that?" she asked with a quiet determination.
He looked at her with something close to mocking pity. "I don't intend to get married – ever," he said bluntly. "So if that is what you're waiting for, you're wasting time….both yours and mine. And even if I do change my mind and plan to get married, I'd choose someone from a more – suitable family. Don't want to mess with the purity of the bloodline," he went on carelessly.
An unwanted stinging was beginning at the back of her eyes. But she fought the weakness and stared at him searchingly, trying to find some sign that he was merely teasing.
"But what about me?" she thoughtlessly blurted.
"You don't need to worry….I have it all planned out," he confided with a chilling smoothness. "We could move to another city, or even abroad if you wish…someplace where it isn't a big deal to live together without marriage. That way when I get tired – I mean, if and when we get tired of each other," he amended considerately, "it will easy for us to go our separate ways. That would be best for both of us. What do you think?" he asked innocently.
If she had not been feeling so foolishly pathetic after listening to all he'd said, she knew she would have been doing her utmost to butcher him in cold blood at this moment. As it was, she simply wanted him to leave and never return….
Taking advantage of his relaxed hold on her leg, she tugged it out of his grasp and drew up her knees.
"I think you should go home," she said lifelessly. "Its very late and I'm sleepy. You should go and get some sleep yourself."
Not waiting for a response, she turned to her side with her back to him and lied down. Shutting her eyes tightly, she prayed hard that he should have the good sense to leave quietly and not -
The dip in the mattress told her that her prayers had not been heard.
She rolled over, all geared up for a bloody battle, fully expecting to see him sitting by her side….
Instead, to her staggered disbelief, he was lying beside her with his head propped up on an arm, regarding her with an intensity that made her insides somersault in a decidedly wicked fashion. She immediately began to edge away against the wall but his hand swiftly wound itself around her and brought her back against his rock-solid frame.
"Let me go!" she demanded angrily, making a futile attempt to unfasten his arm from around her waist.
"I can't sleep without knowing for sure that you like the future I've planned," he replied solemnly.
She stopped struggling and looked up at him with icy composure.
"It's a beautiful plan……but it needs a small change," she said cuttingly. "You see….I'm not going to be part of your wonderful future. Because I've decided that I'm going to marry the first man who'll ask me," she hissed venomously.
"Well…if you're going to be adamant about this, I'll just have to make you my mistress - by force if needed," he reflected lazily.
Instantaneously ablaze with utter wrath, she raised her hands to slash at his face, but found both her wrists imprisoned in his strong clasp before they had even reached halfway.
"I'll rip the skin off your face if you say something like that again," she spluttered viciously.
"Withdraw the claws, wild cat," he said amusedly.
"Then stop teasing me, spoilt brat!" she returned spitefully.
He sighed. "I can't….because you look insanely hot when you get angry," he grinned wickedly, kissing her suddenly passive fingers before releasing them. "And then I start thinking about how bloody sizzling you'll be in bed when we -"
Indescribably mortified, Nandini groaned and clapped her hands over her flaming face as an exquisite red coloured her ivory complexion.
"Why do you say such shameless things!" she wailed.
"Alright, alright, no more for today," he conceded with teasing laughter in his voice.
He sat up and reached out to put off the light, and the darkness gave her a little courage to finally lower her hands from her burning face. Then she felt his fingers stray over her face, tenderly smoothing away errant strands of hair.
"Go to sleep. I'll be right here if you need anything," he asserted softly, rising from the bed with the clear intention of sitting on the straight-backed, uncomfortable wooden chair for the rest of the night, while she slept comfortably.
Impulsively, she kept a warm palm on his hand and stopped him from getting up, and yet again felt grateful for the darkness in which she could avoid his surprised gaze. Before she could change her mind, she snuggled closer, put her arms around him and rested her cheek on his chest. After a moment, his arms closed warmly around her and he kissed the top of her downy head.
Feeling impossibly relaxed and cherished, she almost instantly drifted off to sleep.
**********************
A man was shouting at a doctor who was giving medicines to a child…..a woman was crying somewhere out of sight…..
Then Indrajit walked in….and she was standing next to Prithvi….Indrajit had a sword, and suddenly, to her horror, there was blood all over the place…..Prithvi's blood….and it was on her clothes and she was screaming for help…..
Her eyes flew open in the dark.
She had to get some help….she had to save him…..but someone's hands were wrapped around her body.
"What's wrong? Do you need anything?"
The concerned male voice and the hands stroking her hair instantly calmed her senses and she stopped stirring restlessly.
It had been a bad dream…Prithvi wasn't in danger…he was right here, holding her snugly….
Feeling amazingly peaceful, she slumped back into the refuge of his arms.
"Nightmare," she mumbled.
"Its alright. Go back to sleep," he murmured, continuing to stroke her tresses soothingly.
"Prithvi…"
"Hmmm…"
"Don't worry….I'll save you," she promised him sleepily.
"Thanks," he said dryly, after a moment of bemused silence, "That's very kind of you."
She wanted to tell him that she wouldn't let anyone hurt him but her lids were too heavy, and within seconds, she entered the pleasant realm of sweet, dreamless sleep…
*******************