|| Never Without You || [ The Tale Of Arjun-Draupadi ] (I)

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝟹𝟻

Kaampilya, Paanchaal

Her breath caught in her throat for a while. 

He was looking at her, or rather, his eyes that were deeper than the deepest ghats seemed to be awakened with the arrival of the monsoon. The depth of oceans seemed nothing in front of it, nor the warmth of fire. The reflection of the nearby lamp flickered in those amber orbs, and it looked like flames danced on crimson waters. It was unintentionally magnetic, flaring with toe-curling mischief and desire simultaneously.

She seemed frozen for a while, the way his eyes took in everything with an unintentional, unabashed laudation. His soft lips were painted with a hint of cherry red, which parted slightly as a long breath came out. His dark, curly locks that seemed darker than ebony flared amorously along his shoulders, and her fingers twitched with the urge to feel the silky threads.

The moonlight touched upon his swarthy skin, like a cool embalm of fervidity. The silken white angavastra was barely concealing his chiselled, honed chest; the garland of roses and jasmine rising and falling with each of his dreamy breaths. 

Draupadi's lashes flickered slightly, feeling his fingers hovering near her lips; shaking a bit, perhaps in excitement, curiosity, and fervor. Her heart did a jolt as he tilted his head towards one side of his shoulder, his lips curving up to a corner; his long lashes almost as rhythmic with the strum of the sensual veena dimmed down, landing over her lips. A small, inaudible gasp escaped her, feeling the feathery touch of his finger on the corner of her lips.

Arjun's touch felt electrifying, like the lightning scorching into flames, sending a shiver of goosebumps all over her. The contrasting texture of his thumb felt like a wing of a butterfly that had learnt to fly sometime ago, over the soft petals of roses. His brows knitted slightly, almost amused and curious simultaneously, his touch almost light and exploratory as it skimmed slowly over velvety lips. His mouth opened and closed lightly with a hint of excitement, as if he had touched something he had always wanted to. 

Draupadi felt it harder to keep her eyes open, her lashes fluttering, feeling an enchanted enigma engulfing her, while his fingers were emboldened over her lips after a moment. She felt mushy with his scent of sandalwood and musk, and the earthy, natural fragrance of him that she almost forgot where she was. 

The tinkle of anklets snapped them from the reverie, and Draupadi almost gasped with an instant blush on her cheeks. Arjun didn't flinch, but his lips curled up into a smirk as his gaze followed the sound. 

The lady raised her brows sensually, folding her saree across her waist with a smirk. A man dressed in a similar garb of red strode towards her, kneeling and cupping her cheek with a smile. 

The tune from the veena escalated to a higher note. . .

"When you held my hand under the water during the game, you didn't seem this shy. . ." Arjun husked, shifting closer to Draupadi, who was reddened and was looking away from the tiny encounter. She breathed heavily, her ears turning pink, as she tried to focus on the couple instead.

'The way I fell in love with you'

'Every feeling turned new'

'What did just happen. . . what did just happen to me?'

A woman with a deep velvety voice echoed through the courtyard, her fingers stringing fluidly across the veena. The man held the lady's wrist and skimmed his fingers till her bare arm, causing her to cover her face with her free hand, blushing and peering at him sensually. She leaned rhythmically towards him, as if enchanted.

Her cheeks turned even redder. 

"I for once thought you were a lover of flirting in front of everyone."