-41-
She looked at him, almost taken aback by the offer. Why would she sit behind him on his sports bike? The sheer intimacy of the situation made her hesitate at the very thought. Who had even asked him to bring his bike here in the first place?
She stood frozen in her place, feeling entirely too intimidated by the situation. Looking up at the darkening clouds, she nibbled on her lower lip, debating internally whether to listen to him or ignore the offer entirely.
"I am sure I made myself clear the first time.
I didn't know you had developed a hearing disability so soon," he stated, clearly indicating his mounting impatience over the situation.
She wanted to throw something at his face just to wipe that dark look from his eyes.
And yet, for once, she couldn't entirely blame him for it.
She had thrown such a massive fit when she heard another girl's name associated with him, and here he had found her in a cafe with the exact guy he had clearly told her to maintain her distance from.
He waited for a few more minutes before groaning under his breath. He marched toward her, putting one arm over her back and the other beneath her knees, lifting her swiftly into the air. Her eyes widened, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, staring at him completely dumbfounded.
"After meeting your mother and dadi, I honestly don't know from whom you inherited this kind of stubbornness.
I never had a proper conversation with your father, so maybe we finally know where your attitude comes from," he implied, meeting her eyes before carefully depositing her onto the back of his bike, ensuring her legs were on either side of the seat for maximum comfort.
He settled into his own place, passing a helmet over to her.
"I don't know what has gotten into you, Raghav, but you can't just force me into doing things," Jayasvi argued, finally regaining control over her own senses.
Still, she could vividly feel the ghost of his breath against her face from when he picked her up so suddenly, and the touch over her back and the back of her knees was still burning directly into her skin.
"Jayasvi, with all due respect, I am controlling my anger right now.
Don't make me burst out. Do you realize what I felt when my security team let me know you lied to your mother just to meet that joker in that stupid cafe?
" Raghav's seething voice made her tremble.
It was abundantly clear he was beyond frustrated, but her eyes narrowed as she deciphered the weight of his words.
He had guards following her. What was wrong with him? Was he trying to cage her or something?
"Raghav, even though I was wrong, you had absolutely no right to have your security team keep eyes on me like I am some damn criminal!
And yes, how could I forget what you were saying back at the cafe?
Mein abhi tak aapki biwi nahi bani hu toh mujhpr vo haq jamane ki koshish bilkul mt kariyega.
Maanti hu meri galti hai. Aur ye bhi maanti hu ki ye situation bohot galat portray hui hai.
But it doesn't allow you to treat me the way you want," she snarled.
Raghav looked at her reflection in his bike's side mirror, not saying a single word, but his dark eyes clearly indicated how deeply disappointed he was by her words.
He reached back without looking away from the mirror, putting his hands on her thighs and pulling her closer to him until she was tucked tightly against his backside.
She let out a shocked gasp, clutching his leather jacket tightly, blinking her eyes rapidly as she tried to take control of her erratic breathing.
He raised his eyes, almost mockingly meeting hers through the same mirror.
"Hold tight. I like to ride fast," he rasped, feeling her grip tightening significantly over the back of his jacket.
Her face turned bright red as she understood the deeper meaning hidden behind that sentence.
He could feel her thighs clench tightly against him before she even realized he could feel it.
She gulped hard, feeling the vibration as he started the bike.
She let out a shrill cry when he suddenly sped down the road at a velocity that made it incredibly difficult to control her long, flying hair. She adjusted her helmet properly, feeling the biting cold wind hitting her face.
"Good girl," he stated suddenly when she finally secured her helmet properly. She froze at the way it sounded, blinking her eyes to push away whatever dirty thoughts immediately took control of her head. Was he saying all this knowingly? Or just randomly? She wondered, anxiously nibbling her lips.
"I don't want you to meet that guy again. And this time, I would expect you to follow my words. It's not about commanding you..." he stated in an authoritative voice after a long pause, driving through a smooth road flanked by lush greenery on both sides. "It's about safety."
His words and his way of saying them did not match up in any way.
"I have a properly functioning brain which can make decisions for my own safety," she retorted with a sharp huff, her grip remaining incredibly tight around him because of the underlying fear of falling off at the speed he was going.
He raised his eyebrow, noticing her defiant attitude.
"You must be the first woman in the entire world who would still be throwing an attitude even after making such mistakes," he said, clearly amazed at her absolute audacity.
"Toh kya karu ho gai galti. Nahi mana kar pai use.
Ab kya karu? Aapke pero mein girkr maafi maangu?
Bataiye? Itni baar bol diya maanti hu galti hai meri.
Aap koi maante hai meri," she grumbled in pure frustration.
This was the very thing she had been uncomfortable with ever since she was a child.
She could never apologize properly to anyone.
He increased the speed further, and her grip turned desperate as she wrapped her arms tightly around his torso in fear, digging her face flat against his back.
"I knew you don't use your brain properly; you proved how right I was today," he stated, gritting his teeth hard.
"Raghav, slow down! Are you trying to kill me?" she snapped, raising her head and meeting his eyes for a fleeting second through the rearview mirror.
"And what about me, Jayasvi? Did you leave any chance not to kill me? Do you know how I felt when I saw you sitting opposite to him?" he growled, bringing the bike to a sudden stop on the side of the road, waiting for her to get down.
She looked at the dense surroundings of the lush greenery around her, hesitantly stepping down from the vehicle.
"Raghav, he messaged me to go there. He just wanted to talk things out," she tried to make herself clear in front of him, defending her actions.
"And you just went there? Have you lost every last cell in your brain?
Going out to a strange cafe with a complete stranger?
Do you have absolutely no sense of self-preservation inside you?
" he exploded, getting down himself and walking menacingly toward her.
His face was turning red with the sheer anger bursting through his veins.
She flinched slightly, taking a cautious step back.
His hands gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly, making her tremble even more.
"You claim to act all mature. Have you stopped even once to think about what would've happened if it was orchestrated?
What if he had given money to people to mix something into your coffee?
Your family members had no knowledge of where the hell you went, and here you were with a complete stranger who looks at you like he'll tear through you at any moment!
" He flared up, his eyes burning fire directly through her scared pair.
She was finally understanding the true depth of the situation, a gravity she hadn't properly deciphered before.
She realized just how stupidly she had acted.
But Aahan wasn't that kind of guy... Was he?
Raghav pushed her away, not using a lot of force, yet she still stumbled slightly as he turned his back to her.
"Your family back there thinks you are out with a friend.
And here you are, stepping all over everyone's trust. Jayasvi, do I really need to make you understand how hard you worked your whole life to have your parents trust you?
One mistake, and it would be gone forever.
You keep telling me how I broke your trust. What were you doing today, hmm?
... If, God forbid, anything wrong had happened, and my security hadn't informed me about your location.
.. where do you think we would have even searched for you?
" He was completely losing it at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
She had made a mistake. He understood that. But the fact that she was still actively trying to blame things upon him at this moment, rather than acknowledging her own massive blunder, was something that made him beyond angry. He was completely feral.
And he knew that if he continued looking at her right now, he would end up doing something he shouldn't be doing out here.
"I am sorry," she whispered, clearly shaken by the confrontation. She looked down at the dark road before looking up at his turned back, seeing him taking deep, heavy breaths, clutching the handlebar of his bike hard as he tried to calm his raging temper.
She hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out to rest her palm gently over his.
"I am really sorry, Raghav. I really did act stupid today," she whispered, her voice trembling. She had never seen him this angry before, and the fact that it was all entirely subjected to her was terrifying.
The very next moment, his palm was wrapped around her throat, pushing her back over his bike as he breathed heavily. The grip around her throat wasn't tight yet it was unexpected, it made her breathing even more heavier meeting his eyes with her glassy ones.
"Do you know what I want to do to you right now?
I am barely holding myself back, Jayasvi.
I haven't forgotten my words from before.
Jayasvi, if we were married and I was allowed to touch you.
.. I would've taken you so hard right on this bike.
You wouldn't have ever imagined going to any other man again," he seethed, breathing directly over her face.
A violent shudder left her lips, completely shaken up by the sudden physical attack, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily.
Her eyes met his burning irises, which instinctively moved down to track her lips.
She let out a shaken breath, feeling the weight of his burning eyes on her mouth.
The next moment, he pulled away abruptly, punching his fist violently against a nearby tree to control the possessive beast craving control inside him.
She could feel her entire body burning with an intense heat.
And yet, looking at the way he was trying so hard to control himself, a small, hidden part of her hated him for pulling away.
That same dark part of her wanted him to lose complete control.
She blinked, resting against the bike as she tried to reign in her own dark thoughts.
What on earth was wrong with her?
"You know we shouldn't be meeting before this marriage," Raghav declared in a shaky, breathless voice, still keeping his back turned toward her.
"I lose myself when you are around," he confessed after a long, heavy pause. Her breath hitched at his words, and she looked at his broad back with immense hesitation.
"You are a beast," she whispered, nervously playing with the hem of her t-shirt.
He turned to look at her, laughing with a dangerous, dark intent in his eyes.
He observed her slightly pink face, his gaze moving deliberately down to the curves of her body before looking back up.
That same cynical laughter echoed in the silent environment as he shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair.
"You have absolutely no idea what I wish to do to you," he announced with a prominent smirk before locking eyes with her.
"One moment you are scolding me, and the next moment you are teasing me. Get your own brain checked first," she mumbled under her breath, leaning further back against the bike.
The problem isn't that I'm angry, Jayasvi.
The problem is how much I want to ruin you.
When I look at you, I don't want to talk; I want to pin you down and remind you of the consequences of testing me.
I want to punish you until you're breathless, arching into my touch, begging me to claim you until there's nothing left of your defiance but a desperate, needy wreck.
A wreck which only belongs to me" he spoke in a low deep voice making her shudder for a moment
"I belong to no one," she stated firmly, standing her ground even though her body was betraying her at the moment. He raised his eyebrow mockingly at her words before moving significantly closer to her. Her eyes cast downward immediately.
"You sure about that?" he asked, leaning down and breathing directly over her neck. The sensation made her let out a shaky breath, fisting her hands tightly as her eyes closed instinctively.
His fingers brushed slightly lower, moving just past her navel over the fabric of her t-shirt, which made her toes curl the very next moment as a powerful shudder ran entirely through her. She gasped out loud at the sudden touch, shocked by how much her own body was betraying her right now.
"Your body clearly just informed you who owns it," he spoke with a mischievous, knowing smile, as if he had just successfully proven an important theory.
"And one day, I will take you so damn hard on this very bike. Keep that in mind," he stated, delivering it like an absolute confession that made her tremble even more, entirely unable to meet his eyes any longer. She had never expected this innocent meeting to turn out like this.
Raghav was making her more confused than ever. She couldn't even understand her own feelings any longer.