Falling In Love With You

Chapter-35

Inside Lavanya's room, Vasudha paced the floor quietly to and fro not wanting to disturb the exhausted and tired Lavanya in her sleep. Taking out her phone, she typed a quick message to her husband.
                   Vasudha : Terrace, NOW !!
                   Within a moment of sending the message to her husband, she saw the tick mark on the chat indicating that he had read it. But she didn't get any counter message from her husband. Frustrated and a bit angered at what he was trying to play, Vasudha waited for a few minutes just to check if he was sending her any reply, but nothing popped up. Trying hard to not let her anger get ahead of her, Vasudha decided to check out the terrace to see if he had reached there before her after seeing the message, but if he didn't - she thought she would just barge into his bedroom in that dead of the night to demand an answer for his weird behaviour at the dining table that evening.
                   Slowly tiptoeing towards the door and gently opening it, Vasudha peeked outside to see if any of the family members were up and about in the living room or in the kitchen. When she saw no such movement, she slipped out of the room and closed the door softly behind her, Vasudha made her way up the stairs.
                  The moment she stepped onto the threshold of the open terrace a fresh blast of cold night air hit her ferociously, making all of her hair stand on end. She thought the terrace lights would be lit but it was pitch dark and she could barely make out anything in that dark night. Slowly stepping into the wide expanse of the terrace Vasudha's eyes searched for him. It was a very dark night indeed, for the heavy clouds in the sky tried to hide what little light was coming from the thin-blooming crescent moon.
                   Within a few minutes it felt like the darkness of the night was trying to close in around her and absurdly enough, the children's concern about the sleeping ghost inside the closed room popped up in her mind. She knew, as a grown up woman, it was very foolish of her to acknowledge such stupid stories but the quiet stillness of the moment kind of made all her silly fears take a frightening shape.
                    Shaking her head in an attempt to clear all those thoughts away, Vasudha turned around to go to her husband's room to give a piece of her mind. Just then she heard something, at first she thought it was the sound from the trees rustling against the terrace balcony and the railings but as she turned around to see what it was out of curiosity, the heavy grey clouds that were obscuring the moon floated away. Few soft moonlight streaked past the tall frame of her husband making his features a hollow of dark shadow against the slivers of faint light.
                   Slowly walking up to him, Vasudha stopped a few feet from him. Keeping her eyes fixed on the sky, Vasudha tried to keep her voice down for she feared that her outburst in that silent night would awaken the people in the house from their slumber. So as softly as she could, Vasudha spoke up "Why wasn't there any reply from you ? I'm sure it's not that much of a painstaking labour... You could have hit send a thumbs-up button or you could've just sent me a text stating that you were already here... I thought of barging into your room at this ungodly hour after not being able to find you in this dark night..." Vasudha slightly turned her head to his side and looked pointedly at him.
                   Pallavan gave his reply in a very solemn tone in contrast to his wife's words that were moulded with compressed anger and frustration, that too without even sparing her a glance, "I rushed to the terrace as soon as I got your message thinking that you were already here waiting for me and when I was about to send you a message, I heard you coming up the stairs... Anyway you found me, what did you want to talk about, Vasudha?"
                   Something about his mien felt odd for Vasudha, even his responses seemed forced and distant. His responses were very mechanical, to a point where he was not even willing to turn his head towards her even for a moment of acknowledgement. Vasudha remained still, completely facing him straight ahead. Sensing her and a tad bit annoyed at her silence, Pallavan too turned towards her. Unlike before, neither did he try to go near her nor did he try to pull her to him. And this somehow pulled at what little hold she had over her barely veiled anger. However, Vasudha tried to hold it in together.
                    Narrowing her eyes on him Vasudha spoke up while taking a step towards him, " Nothing... I just wanted to know...." Now as she tried to close the gap between them - to her surprise Pallavan stepped away from her keeping up the space between them and when once again she took a step towards him, he backed up from her. And...that was the last straw for her... To say that it made her anger shoot through the roof would only be mere comparison to how much anger she felt at that moment.
                    "Now this is what I wanted to talk to you about... You did the same thing this evening at the dining table too...!" Vasudha blurted out the words, extremely angered in frustration.
                     "What are you talking about, Vasudha? I don't understand what you are trying to say...!" Pallavan tried to look away from her. Hearing him, that fine thread of patience she had been holding onto with what can be related to something of an uncanny devotion destroyed into shreds in seconds. Deliberately stomping her way to him, Vasudha cornered him to the nearby balcony wall of the terrace making it impossible for her husband to go anywhere away from her.
                      Even then instead of looking at her, Pallavan turned his head side to side. Placing a hand on her hip and pointing an accusing finger at him, Vasudha almost shouted at her husband, "This is what I was talking about... What are you trying to do here, Mister? Leaning away from me more than what was necessary, stepping away from me when I try to come close to you or serve you something, even now you are not looking at me...! It seems like you would be sprinting to your room any moment now, if it were not for me pushing you into a corner. This was not how it was in your bedroom this afternoon... What had changed in the few hours you were away...?" Vasudha pulled him down by his shirt collar.
                     Before she could react to what was happening, Pallavan had put his hand around her waist and pulled her to him with force. For a moment all she could feel was the warmth of her husband's skin on that cold night, at the same moment she heard him say in a very pained and frustrated tone, "You wanted to know why I was trying to keep my distance from you! Here is your answer, Vasudha !! Do not pretend as if you don't understand what chaos you've ignited within me back in my room this afternoon... You really want to know what I want to do to you ?! Then so be it..." He pulled her forcefully over his feet, bunched up the soft flesh of her hips in his hands and as she whimpered at his wicked touch, he growled into her ear. "...Now this is what I want to do to you every time you are near me...
                    "Not only this, I want to do so much more to you... More salacious and fervidly erotic things that are way too depraved for your innocent ears, Vasudha ! Everytime you are near me... When you stood so close to me, it was a whole nother level of hell for me and it took all of my willpower to keep my hands from tearing your clothes off and eating you out then and there on the dining table in front of all my family members like a caveman... So, tell me Vasudha ! What am I supposed to do... You have already pushed me to the verge of insanity with your little stunt this afternoon. Even my self-control could only handle so much restrain... Tell me, Vasudha? Tell me... how am I supposed to help myself from losing my mind when I am around you...!" Pallavan's voice dropped into a pained whisper against Vasudha's ear.
                      His lips softly trailed along the outline of her ear, his hands snaked skillfully down her back and squeezed her round butt cheeks - pulling her...pressing her to him, trapping her within his embrace and forcing her to lean her head into the crook of his neck. Vasudha bunched up his nightshirt in her fingers tightly in an useless attempt to stop the shuddering moan that tumbled off of her lips against his heated skin.
                       Pallavan's other hand came up and cupped the base of her head to make her look up at him. Leaning in, he asked her, "Tell me, Vasudha ? Do the reasons for my actions from now and before seem justified...?" At first Vasudha's mouth opened and closed in a silent gasp like a fish out of water trying to find a breath of air. Somehow exhaling a nervous breath she tried to mask the tremble in her voice, "I wouldn't say justified... But what you are saying does make sense! It really is a very serious problem. But I don't think there is a solution for your predicament... at least not until the wedding, you know.....! But we could think of something..." Vasudha somehow succeeded in gathering her composure and looked up at him with a worried pout on her lips.
                    "... Oh no need to worry about that, Ammadi ! I figured out a solution for it already...!" Pallavan said in an enthusiastic tone.
                    " And here I was wondering what that might be...'' Vasudha raised her eyebrows at him.
                    " I was thinking....!"
                    " Hhhmmm....!"
                    " Perhaps...." Pallavan let his thumb lazily run over her chin, the tip of his finger barely touching her lips. ".... Perhaps, a kiss could be a temporary solution to our problems for the time being... I would kiss you... Every night until the day we get married again... of course after everyone in the house had gone to sleep ...."
                     As Pallavan leaned in to kiss her, Vasudha placed a finger on his lips , " Ahh.. ahh! Not fair, Mister Pallavan ! Shouldn't you have run it with me first... About this little solution of yours ?"
                    Pallavan stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face, thinking whether she had gone daft over his proposition.
                    "Don't look at me like I've gone completely mad... All I'm trying to ask is what am I getting from this smartass arrangement of yours...?" Vasudha asked him sincerely.
                    "What are you saying... Am I not KISSING you ? It's a win-win for both of us... Is it not ?" Pallavan told her in a very self-satisfied tone.
                     "Oh my dear husband ! You've got it all wrong ... It's actually the other way around. I AM letting you kiss me ! You get to have your wish fulfilled, but what is your offer on the table for me...?" Vasudha asked her husband with a mischievous glint on her face.
                    For a moment Pallavan looked at her, just to figure out what she was trying to say. Conscious of each and every word, " ...the satisfaction of being kissed by me...?" Pallavan gave her a smug reply but at the same time he couldn't believe the fact that she was making him bargain over a kiss.
                    "Not enough for me, my dear ! I want more... !" Slightly shaking her head, Vasudha tried to step away from his embrace. But it made Pallavan's hands tighten even more around her.
                    "Oh come on, Vasudha! It's just a kiss...!" His voice took the tone of a parent who was absolutely annoyed with his child.
                    "Nah... Nahh... Don't you take that tone with me... Like I am an impertinent child. It's never just a kiss... If it's just a kiss for you, you can go and kiss that wall behind you and leave me out of this...!" Once again Vasudha tried to step out of his embrace, pulling her more firmly Pallavan rushed in to say, "Alright ! Alright ! What do you want me to do ?''
                   "Hmmm... I don't know ! Woo me... Pursue me...! Make me anticipate... Make me desire for your kiss... Make me FALL for your kiss... In any way you can...! Then we can go for the actual kissing part...!" Vasudha tried hard to keep a straigh face and not burst out laughing at such an disbelieving expression on his face.
                    He couldn't believe that she was putting out such a demand in the first place,"You are kidding me, right ?" When there was no change in her solemn expression, Pallavan realised that she was indeed very serious about her terms.
                     "Are you challenging me, Vasudha ?" He asked her skeptically, trying his best to convince himself of her demands and narrowed his eyes on her.
                     ''I think I did...!" She gave him a cheeky grin.
                     "Be careful with what you are asking for, Miss Vasudha ! Because I take my challenges very seriously ! I could push you to the edge where you would be begging for my kisses...!" Pallavan's deep voice and the way his fingers dug painfully into her soft flesh, made his threat sound all the more wicked and delicious.
                    "Wouldn't THAT be a win-win situation for me, Mister Pallavan !" Vasudha playfully whispered in his ear, leaning in. When he turned to look at her face, Vasudha let her teeth gently pull the soft flesh of his cheek into her mouth. It was only a second, barely can be classified into a moment- Pallavan's grip around her loosened... Expertly pushing him away, Vasudha stepped away from his reach.
                    "You know... It's getting really late and my eyes are becoming drowsy...! I think you should get some sleep too, now that you have more on the plate. Rest would be something you might need immensely at a time like this... I wish you have a good night of sleep, Mister Pallavan !''