Chamkili. Part 16, The Hunter and the Prey

                        Chamkili
                        Part 16
                 The Hunter and the Prey

Her back rose and fell gently, indicating that she was still deep in sleep. The duvet covering them had slid to her waist in the back, while she clutched the front of it to her chest, along with one of his hands. She mumbled something in her sleep and he couldn’t help but smile, her voice had sounded a little whiny, and he was sure she was dreaming about him, complaining about something or the other. He treasured these few moments every morning, looked forward to them, in fact. These were the simple moments, the ones he had craved his entire life, the ones that had eluded him, and the ones that actually mattered. And so he held on to these moments, clasping them in his palm, closing his fingers tightly around them, making sure that these moments would not escape him again, unaware that the tighter his grip got, the faster they’d slid from his hold…

She stirred a little and then her hold on his hand loosened. She was awake, and he knew that. Well, he knew that she would be on edge after last night and had he been Mr. Merciful Singh Raizada, he could have pretended to be asleep and let her slip off the bed quietly. But no, he was Arnav Singh Raizada…

She felt the cold touch of his finger on her lower-back and a shiver passed through her entire body. It was after quite a while that the haze dissolved and she noticed that her husband wasn’t just drawing random patterns on her back, but was actually writing something… o r n i n g… she smiled at that and then nodded lightly. She felt him rub her back then, as if he was erasing something written on a board. Some long forgotten memory of rubbing an eight year old Payal’s back while playing the same game floated in her mind, before the ravishing sensuality of the present moment overpowered the untouched innocence of the previous one. He was writing on her again and her mind struggled with her body to make sense of it… S o r r y…

She lay still… thinking… contemplating. When and how had he changed so much? Was it really her, was she the one who had managed to change him so much. She turned to him then, hugged him to her.

“It’s okay, I understand.” She always did and it made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world. He hid his face in the crook of her neck and let out a sigh.

It had been quite some time. They didn’t want the moment to end, but it did.

 They had to head back to their real lives soon, leaving this dream world behind. She was in the wash-room, freshening-up, and he was busy with packing, frankly Khushi had many talents but organized packing was one of his. However, with the amount of trinkets that she had managed to get for everyone, it was becoming almost impossible. She came out of the wash-room right when he chained the over-stuffed bag.

“Oh Arnavji, I needed to get my pink shawl from the bag.” Arnav groaned but opened it anyway.

“It won’t always be like this you know.” She said while brushing her hair, her back to him.

“Hmm?” he halted amidst tying the knot of his tie.

“I might not be so easy to pacify every-time, you can’t take me for granted.”

“I know Khushi and I am really sorry. I don’t know what came over me last night. He was just sprouting bull-shit about you and I couldn’t take it. But, that’s no excuse, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” He had moved closer to her and was holding her arms by the end of that very passionate admission.

“It’s okay Arnavji, I understand” she said while planting a chaste kiss on his lips.

“I don’t deserve you Khushi.” He would come to regret these words soon…

“Well, that’s for me to decide.” She had no inkling of the choices and decisions that lay ahead of her… but she’ll know soon…

He saw the SUV leave the hotel grounds. The couple seemed happy, subconsciously attuned to one another,  a romantic person might even say they were made for each other or that they were so in love. But he was not a romantic, he didn’t even believe in happiness or humanity. No… he was a hunter… a predator. And it had been quite a while since he had found a chase worth his while, he was going to have his fun. And by time he was done not even the ruins of the lovely couple would be left behind for their loved ones to commemorate.

 The unattended wounds from last night were blue in the morning cold, blue and raw. He wanted to keep those raw, he wanted a reminder, needed the pain... the pain made him feel alive and he hadn’t felt this alive in a long long time.  A predatory smile grazed his lips…Hunter was ready for the hunt…

AN: Hey guys, so long time huh? Sorry about that but I was going through a writers block and had to delete 4 drafts before coming up with this crap. I m really sorry if u don't find this upto the mark, as even i m not completely satisfied. However, the next part s going to be a very crucial one, a lot of twists and turns there, so stay tuned :)

Love,
Srija :)