Chapter 23 Liplocked

It was twilight as Awnirudh and Vandita drove back to their banglow from The Sinha's. The sun had already set behind the mountains, painting the sky with it's reddish tinge. Vandita was sitting quietly on the front seat, looking thoughtfully at the retreating trail through the window. Awnirudh steered silently sitting beside her. They almost reached their banglow as Awnirudh broke the silence first.

"What are you thinking Vandita?" His mind was racing restlessly.

Vandita didn't move, nor did she reply to his question. She kept staring at a distance and spoke a few words instead.

"The sky is what she wanted,

the sun, the clouds and the rain.

He gave her the night instead

With darkness, endless, pain."

Awnirudh hit the brakes abruptly and the car stopped with a screech. He turned towards Vandita and asked,

"And what is it that you want Vandita?"

Vandita just smiled, a melancholic smile, and then slowly she turned around to face Awnirudh.

"The heart wants what it wants Barrister Babu." She spoke softly.

"Do you want to know what my heart wants?"

Awnirudh touched Vandita's right hand that she had kept resting on her lap. He gently brought it up to his chest and pressed it to his heart. Vandita trembled.

"Do you feel my heartbeat Vandita?" He asked her with a sudden eagerness.

Vandita gasped as she felt his tight chest muscles pressing against her palm. She felt the gradual lub dub of his heart. She felt her own heart racing, matching up to his rhythm.

Her thoughts muddled up as she parted her lips to asked him the question.

"What does your heart want Barrister Babu?"

Awnirudh's eyes lit up. He could sense Vandita's submission as he bend his head forward to touch her lips. Without hesitation, Vandita too, moved closer to aid him. It was as if this moment was expected, as if this moment was the only verity in their universe.

Her lips brushed against his. In that moment, she felt as if the entire world was fading away, all the events of the day, their hosts... everything seemed non-existent, insignificant. The only truth was Awnirudh, and the pleasantly overpowering surge of emotions that she was experiencing.

She closed her eyes and parted her lips willingly to give Awnirudh complete access to her mouth. He sucked her lower lips. She felt his tongue swirling at the entrance of mouth, spending pleasure sparks all over her body. Vandita reciprocated. Her hands automatically moved up to the back of his neck as she finger brushed his hairs. The feeling of his hand on her back, roaming freely, was only feeding the pleasure that was coursing through Vandita's body. She felt an excitement building at her core. She left out a soft moan as Awnirudh plunged his tongue into her mouth further, deepening the kiss. He explored every inch of her mouth, tasting every bit of it.

The duo lost track of time before they finally broke the kiss, breathing hard... gasping for air. Their eyes were locked together as if they both tried to search for some primitive instinct in themselves. It was an oxymoronic paradox as they wanted to devour and resist each other at the same time.

The faint glow of the lantern radiating from the porch increased as they saw Lachman, the old banglow caretaker approaching them slowly.

"We should go inside." Vandita tried to free herself from Awnirudh's arms. A sudden veil of shame had enveloped her as the reality dawned.

Awnirudh quickly got out of the car and held the door open for Vandita, guiding her smoothly out of her seat. A sudden drop of temperature in the atmosphere made Vandita shiver. Awnirudh sensed her discomfort immediately, and wrapped his coat around her shoulders with utmost affection. Vandita smiled bashfully as she entered the banglow.

.......

It was post supper when Awnirudh sat idly in his study reminiscing the later events of the day. His files and documents lay open on the table, unattended, while his mind was busy relishing the feeling of Vandita's lips on his. His hands had roamed freely on her neck, shoulders, arms, back,... as his mind constantly battled not to venture into the more dangerous terrains of her body.

He ran his fingers on his own lips and felt a sudden void... a void that can only be filled by sucking the nectar from Vandita's red swollen lips.

He sighed deeply.

Awnirudh had buried his head in his hands, lost in thoughts, when he heard a soft thud on his table. He looked up and saw Vandita standing infront of him. She had brought him a lantern to evade the darkness of the room, which she had kept on the table breaking Awnirudh's trans.

"Barrister Babu, why are you sitting in the dark?" She asked gently as she tended the lantern. "I don't think electricity would come back tonight. It's stormy outside."

Awnirudh looked at the lantern with an intensified expression. He looked fevered.

"This flame is not going to evade the darkness tonight Vandita." He said in a throaty voice.

"Then what would?" Vandita asked slowly in a shaky voice.

Awnirudh didn't answer. Instead, he leaned his head on his chair backward to get a good view of his questioner.

Vandita looked artistic!

Ditching the traditional saree that Awnirudh had always seen her wearing, Vandita was wearing an English nightgown instead. The white frills on the hem of her neckline and her wrists gave her an angelic appearance. Her hair was tied up in a bun.

He got up from his chair and stood dangerously close to her.

"You look beautiful!" He whispered as he lifted her chin gently with his fingers.

Vandita looked away coyly as her heart raced.

"I want to see you Vandita!" Awnirudh whispered under his breath.

"Barrister Babu..." Vandita murmured as she felt Awnirudh's lips pressed against hers with a tender touch of passion.

He bent over more to lift her up as he made her sit on his table. Without breaking the kiss, he mildly forced Vandita's legs to open a little apart and he positioned himself to stand in between them.

Vandita grabbed his hair instinctively as she meekly resisted his advances. He worked his hands up and pulled the bun open, shaking her long dark traces. His hands then worked it's way through her hair onto the back of her head, as he grabbed her head impossibly closer to the kiss.

"Call me by my name" He demanded in a whisper.

Vandita felt his warm breaths on her ear and neck as he spoke again.

"Say it... My name..." He grabbed her hair harder and his free hand moved from her waist upwards to the softness of her bosom.

"Awni..." Vandita almost moaned his name as her body burnt in an ecstatic arousal.

"Awnirudh... "

"Good... " Awnirudh pressed her again, a little harder this time.

He looked seductively in her eyes and said,

"I want you to scream my name as I turn you into a woman tonight."