HONEYDEW (A murder mystery)

Chapter 19~

With a superhuman effort, I denied myself the drugging warmth of his embrace.

As soon as I was free of his hold, I raced to my wardrobe to collect a clean pair of clothes and rushed to the washroom.

As I stepped under the mercifully cooling flow of water from the shower, I wondered why was I becoming so aware of his touch and nearness. Why had it started to affect me so much?

At first, I felt that maybe him acting sweet with me, had shaken me up. But now I had started experiencing a magnetic attraction towards him that had mortifyingly reduced me to a positive jelly of juvenile confusion.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I did not find him in the room. Dragging the towel from my wet hair, I started to ease a comb through the tangled mass of hair.

I was so absorbed in the task that I did not hear him enter and then I suddenly saw him in the mirror, he looked exhausted from his busy day but still managed to look handsome.

His bemused gaze connected with mine and time seemed to slow down yet move in curious synchronization with the pounding of the blood in my veins.

Reaching over my head, he took the comb from my suddenly nerveless hand and calmly began to employ it with dexterity.

"I can do it myself," I said weakly.

"Your hair is the most eye-catching colour and it enhances your fair complexion," Aahil murmured wryly.

"It is just a lighter shade of brown," I completed in driven discomfiture.

"Let us concede that we met for the first time in not-so-good circumstances," Aahil murmured, "But the time for argument is now past and I want to make a fresh start."

Pale and tensed, I snatched in a ragged breath, "I need time to think. Why don't you leave me alone for some time?"

"But you know the answer to that. I'm already finding myself loving your company," His reflection threw back the reckless, dangerous smile on his sensual mouth.

I sat there like a statue while he removed the last snarl from my hair. But as his hands cupped my shoulders to slowly draw me up from the dressing table, I started to tremble.

"This...us being together," He seemed to savour the words, "It's inevitable."

Under the dark spell, I had to struggle to find the right words.

He pulled me against the hard wall of his chest and I was about to gently push him when I felt his heartbeat speeding up against my palm.

We were startled out of our magical moment by the soft knock on the door, followed by Dilshad whispering Aahil's name.

It was clearly visible that Aahil did not like the interruption but nevertheless, he went and pulled open the bedroom door. After a few sentences which were exchanged between the two men in whispers, Aahil stalked along with Dilshad towards his study.

When I woke up for fajr, I found him fast asleep on the other side of the bed, which rarely happened as most of the times he was the one to wake me up. In a bewildered daze, I surveyed him.

He looked breathtaking even with his hair tousled and weird position. Close up, I noticed how pale he was. As I recalled the roller coaster ride of emotions he was going through and how Aahil's father had outlined that he wasn't good at expressing himself, the strangest little pang of guilt nudged at my conscience and provoked in me a deep sense of concern for him.

I woke him by gently pushing him in his upper arm. But he was in deep slumber, in unconscious response, he shifted slightly but did not wake up. I suddenly felt an urge to touch his cheeks and that made me really scared. Without doubt, Aahil was a good man but I still wasn't sure whether I could trust him enough to give him my heart.