70.1| Long Drive | AayRa special
She shifts against my thigh, sitting curled up, physically with me, mentally in another world. The words I just brushed against her ear pull her out almost instantly, fear and anticipation oozing in those honey-brown eyes.
And as much as I enjoy unsettling her, at this moment, she's genuinely vulnerable, yet trying too hard to act normal.
I gaze down at her face, her cheeks, her flushed little nose, and her lips before my focus settles on her eyes, lingering there.
The tension in her features clearly says her brother has stuffed her brain with useless shit.
Reaching forward, I pour myself a glass of wine while she lifts her juice to her lips. "So, what did you do all day?" I ask quietly.
Her brows crease. She takes a sip before beginning, "I was in my studio all day. Then I came back, got ready, and waited for you. You came late."
Taking a sip, I set the glass down.
And as she speaks, my eyes settle on the bite mark on her collarbone, the skin around it is still warm and red.
Without interrupting her, I bring my hand to the mark, smoothing my thumb over it in slow, back-and-forth strokes. She whimpers at the sting, her pulse fluttering beneath my palm.
Her lips part. "Aayansh..."
There she is.
My thumb keeps running across the mark. "Hmm. Listening."
Her soft fingers trail across my bare chest, her warm breath fanning my skin. "Do you think our relationship is... perfect? I mean... my brother doesn't like us together. He thinks you're not... safe for me. And..." She hesitates, her voice barely above a whisper. "... you'll hurt me. Will you?"
My thumb stills. And I look straight into her eyes. "What do you think?"
She tears her gaze away, as though afraid I'll read every thought behind those eyes.
"I don't know what to think anymore!" she blurts.
"I love you. Nothing can change that, but the way you manipulated me into this marriage... that wasn't right. If you loved me, you should've proposed to me. I would've said no back then anyway, but-" Her tongue slips between her teeth as she realizes what she's just said.
Silence settles. I stay quiet, waiting for her to say everything she's been holding back.
Then, she sighs. "I've made countless mistakes in my life," she trails off, moisture gathering beneath those thick lashes as she stares at me. "Choosing you for the very first time is one of them. That time, I did it out of hurt, confusion and... and because you twisted every emotion I had."
Her fingers come up to my shoulders, as she bleeds her heart out. "But this time... When I stayed even after seeing who you are... It was because I love you. With everything that's alive in me. And nothing has made me feel this insane. Nothing."
Her words satisfy the part of me that loves instilling the thought of me so deeply into her mind that everyone, and everything else in her world ceases to exist. Just me.
Like she's embedded in every part of me.
"Why is everything so complicated between us..."
"Why-"
I press my thumb to her lips.
We both look into each other's eyes. Silently. Deeply. Completely.
She blinks once. Twice. I don't.
I remove my thumb, letting my palm cradle her cheek.
"I don't love like you," I whisper, wanting her to see the truth. "Because I have nothing pure inside me."
She doesn't interrupt... Just listens. Curious. Uncertain. Dazed.
My fingers close around her wrist, placing her hand over my chest. "What's beating here is a black heart... that rarely feels anything."
She holds my gaze, trying to see if these are just words, or the truth she hasn't completely understood.
I leave that to her.
And then, she reaches forward, melting into my arms like she's finally letting herself fall.
And I know I have no interest in fixing what I did in the past to get her, but rewriting certain parts of it... for her, is something I'd never refuse.
I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her closer until she settles against me. Just then, her expression drops, and she rubs her chest. "I-I want to go to the washroom!"
She pushes herself up and hurries toward the washroom. I shut my eyes, a muscle in my jaw twitching.
The bell outside their room rings. Once. Twice.
Aayansh's fingers close around the handle as he pulls the door open, and there stands Aashika, already glaring at him as he's offended her entire existence.
"I need to talk," She says firmly.
He casually leans against the doorframe, folding his arms as he watches her with an unreadable expression.
She lets out a quiet sigh before speaking. "What did you say that time? That I'm your sister, and that can't protect me from you, huh?" She cocks a brow, folding her arms across her chest. "You really think that scares me?"
A slight, mocking grin twists his lips. "Right. That's why you're here at midnight."
Aashika's eyes narrow. "I'm here to clear things up," she says firmly. "And what was that in the basement? 'No one's hands should get on you.' Who are you to decide that?"
She exhales through her nose, all traces of softness gone. "Aayansh, you know I don't like anyone getting into my matters. I don't need you to protect me-"
"You don't," he cuts in, his voice calm and even. "And I have no interest in interfering in your life. Do whatever you want. But what happened today should never happen again."
"Oh, is it?" Aashika sneers, "Agar hua toh kya karoge tum..."
Just then, a faint sound comes from inside the room.
Aashika instinctively turns toward it, but before she can even glance inside the room-
"Eyes here." Aayansh's cold voice stops her.
Inside, Tara-standing in nothing but Aayansh's T-shirt-stiffens at the sound of his voice, realizing someone is there at the door.
The offense on Aashika's face deepens.
"You ordered me?" She barks.
Aayansh doesn't bother replying, looking at her with bored indifference.
But then, Tara calls from inside the room. "Aayansh... who's there?"
Aayansh keeps staring at Aashika the same way and after a brief hesitation, she exhales. "I think... I shouldn't have come at this time."
"Good realization." With that, he shuts the door in her face.
"You-!" Aashika curses, but the door is already closed.
Back inside, Aayansh walks straight to the closet. Tara watches him, confused. Moments later, he steps out wearing a black leather jacket over a T-shirt and pants, a black hoodie in one hand.
He walks to Tara. Without a word, he wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. Her hands instinctively come to rest against his chest as she blinks up at him. "Kya kar rahe ho..."
His fingers hook beneath the hem of the T-shirt before he eases it off her in one smooth motion.
"We're going out," he murmurs as he slips the hoodie over her, and Tara's eyes instantly light up.
"Where?!"
The oversized hoodie nearly swallows her whole, the hem brushing her knees while the sleeves hang past her hands, making her look even smaller inside it.
Pulling the hood over her head, he grabs his car keys, takes her by the wrist and leads her out. "Dekh lena."
The private lift takes them outside the estate, where his black Bugatti is already waiting.
Opening the driver's door, instead of settling her into the passenger seat, he lifts her onto his lap in the driver's seat.
Moments later, the Bugatti rolls onto the quiet streets. Seated on Aayansh's lap, Tara gazes out the open window as the cool night air brushes against her face.
And while she remains lost in the view outside, Aayansh's one hand stays on the steering wheel, and the other beneath her hoodie, caressing her soft skin as he drives.
Then, all of a sudden, she points excitedly at something outside. "Woh kitna achha hai!"
Without even glancing at what she's pointing to, he dips his head, his voice a low husk against her ear. "Mujhse bhi achha, hm?"
Tara's eyes lift to his face. For a moment, she simply stares. Then, pushing herself up, she presses a kiss to his cheek. "Nahi," she murmurs. "Tumse achha to kuch nahi hai."
A few more minutes pass the same way. With busy scrolling through his phone, Tara is now officially bored.
That's when a wicked glint flickers across her eyes. With deliberate innocence, she shifts against him, fully intending to make him uncomfortable.
Aayansh doesn't react in the slightest. His fingers continue their slow strokes beneath her hoodie.
Tara's eyes narrow in offense. Refusing to give up, she shifts again, pressing herself closer until she's almost brushing against his crotch.
...and starts rocking against him with slow, seductive movements.
---------Censored Smut part- 3.7k words-----
Tara's eyes flutter open, sluggish and unfocused. She has been lying in the backseat for all that while, her body limp with exhaustion. The cool air from the air conditioner brushing against her skin as she blinks, trying to clear her blurred vision.
Aayansh is nowhere to be seen.
She manages to push herself upright, her breathing is still a little unsteady, but more than that, her stomach is twisting with hunger.
After expending every bit of her strength on that unholy activity...
"Aayansh...?" she murmurs under her breath. But the moment she moves to swing her feet down, a sharp, searing ache shoots through her core and down her thighs, making her wince and sit back.
She shuts her eyes and waits until the ache eases before forcing herself upright anyway.
Then, ignoring all of it, she gets out of the car.