INSEPARABLE I

XXIX

In the afternoon, Noor arrived at her chambers to rest for a while. Dropping her shawl on the bed, she stood at the large chest on one end of the room going through her jewelry. She was to donate one of her necklaces so her maids had laid them out for her to choose from. Running her finger over an intricately designed diamond necklace, she had just leaned in to get a closer look when she heard movement in her closet. Knowing exactly who it was, her heart skipped a beat. The sound of the closet door swinging open entered her ears but she remained still, maintaining her back to it.

Prem stepped onto the marble floor of her chambers and gently closed the closet door behind him. To his surprise, despite being well aware of his presence, she did not turn around. And when she did, a dagger flew out of her hand at the speed of lightening towards him. Missing him by inches, it dug itself into the wooden closet door behind him. Having been caught completely off guard, Prem paused in his tracks for a second to study the path of the dagger and then the fire in the eyes of woman who had released it. Unable to help himself, he shook his head in lowered eyes as his stubborn dimples dug into his cheeks against his will.

That fucking smile will be the end of me. Noor thought outright mesmerized as he worked on getting rid of his stunning expression before starting over to her again. Not done punishing him, she began to walk away when he reached her but he was quick to grasp onto a corner of her chunni and successfully stopped her in her tracks. Facing him once again, she swiftly drew out his dagger this time, and slashed the tightened phulkari cloth between his hold and hers. The cloth tore in an even line and freed Noor from his hold.

Taken aback yet again, Prem stared at her wide-eyed. He knew she would be agitated by his recent show of friendliness towards Chand but hadn't quite expected this. She never did fail to surprise him. When she attempted to walk away yet again, he got a hold of her wrist and stepped up to her. "Enough," he said in a lowered voice.

Letting him turn her towards him, Noor did not fight his hold this time. Still holding her wrist with one hand, he circled his other arm around her waist and pulled her into himself. Landing against his hard abdomen, Noor took her time in travelling her lowered eyes from his chest to his face. When their eyes finally met, they looked at each other in expressions that said that everything their lips refused to say. Both stared on a little angry, a little hungry, a little depressed, a little obsessed. A couple moments ticked by as they stood frozen in that position.

Finally, unable to help himself, Prem angled his face and inched towards her lips. Just before their lips could touch though, Noor turned her face to the side and his lips planted onto her cheek. His eager frustration in response was communicated by the further tightening of his hold around her waist. Slowly, she felt his lips press into a small smile on her cheek before making a quick move downwards and imitating a wild bite on her jawline. As his teeth gently grasped her skin, she felt her stomach flutter. How he still managed to give her butterflies after all these years was beyond her. Noticing her breathing start to grow uneven, he further went ahead and laid a small trail of kisses deeper into her neck. She felt the impact of those between her legs, suddenly making her weak in the knees. There was a rush inside her body increasing in intensity with every passing moment. Unable to help herself, she exhaled a deep sigh of pleasure and reached for his collar in the moment of passion. The further down her neck he went, the tighter her grip grew on his collar. She hadn't realized her body was famished for his touch to this extent. Understanding he was in control now, Prem retrieved his position before her distracted eyes and smiled victoriously before leaning into her ear and finally speaking up. "Won't you ask me what I'm doing here?"

He withdrew to look at her face again and Noor stared back at him with slight disapproval in her eyes.

"Oh, that's right...you're not talking to me." He then proceeded answer his own question. "How are managing that though? Don't you have like a thousand questions to ask me?