WILDFLOWER

Chapter 6

Half an hour later, she was still shaking when she sat up to kick off her sandals and slip out of her dress before walking to the section of Archie's closet that had her clothes. Pulling on some shorts and a comfortable baby blue smock cotton top, she unclipped her hair and strolled to the balcony.

Moonlight spilled over the balcony in abundance and Jazzy stood there, stretching her arms above her as her eyes adjusted to the natural light of night. The sounds from the room next to hers meant Aditya was prowling around. His room adjoined Archie's with the long balcony being common. Aditya rarely came to the balcony so it had become their space since childhood. She remembered how they had smuggled some wine as teenagers and giggled all night till they were overcome with sleep. They had spent the night before Megha's first wedding on the balcony and she had taken her first puff of a cigarette here. She smiled now, remembering how she had almost started a fire when her cigarette had landed on a nylon cushion. She had always been clumsy but that day had been a riot with Megha pouring a bucket load of water on her and the flaming cushion. A lot of her firsts had been here, even losing her first milk tooth. She remembered how they had hidden her tooth under one cushion for the tooth fairy and jumping gleefully on finding a shiny coin in its place the next morning. Archie's mom must have sneaked it several times each year with all three of them hiding their fallen teeth for the ceremonial fairy.

She stiffened at the sound the glass door sliding behind her and felt his presence even before he walked to where she stood. Maybe if she ignored him he'd go away? He didn't try to touch her and that surprised her. She had expected him to at least throw an arm around her or reach for her hand. Instead, he stood silently beside her, gazing into the surrounding greenery bathed in the moon.

"You shouldn't be here," she commented without turning.

"Scared?"

She slowly turned and rested her back against the high balcony railing. "Terrified."

Except for his feet being bare, he hadn't changed his clothes. The jeans hung low at his hips emphasizing his broad chest under the black tee. He inclined his head slightly. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you my head is still reeling?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Tell me why you're terrified."

She stretched a finger out over his lips to silence him and her eyes grew large as she realized she'd made the first move this time. He closed his eyes for a full minute and she let her finger slide across his firm lips, tracing their outline with fascination till he groaned aloud, dragging one hand into her hair to pull her closer. "Dear God Jazz, do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

She saw fleeting pain in his eyes when they opened and of their own accord, her hands pulled his head slowly towards her. With lips only inches away from each other, they stared for what seemed like an eternity. Then his lips were suddenly devouring hers, her worries and all other sane thoughts completely forgotten. A dam of emotions broke free and she let herself surrender to what she had known was inevitable. Like the kiss they shared on the staircase, this kiss was everything she remembered and more, his lips more demanding as he drew her closer till she felt the need to be nearer. When his head moved lower, trailing tiny kisses across her neck and over the swell of her breasts, she dug her nails into his shoulders to keep from falling.

"Oh God, I can't do this!" she cried when she felt his fingers outline the stud on her bellybutton before sliding up under her top.

"Babe, I've been dreaming of this for far too long," he muttered against the beginning of one breast.

She inhaled deeply, reveling his touch yet afraid to let go of her sanity completely.

"This is insane," she whispered into his thick black hair. The smell of shampoo and cologne filled her senses and she found her fingers inching under his shirt on their own free will. His sudden intake of breath when her fingers trailed over his shoulders had her smiling till she felt his tongue snake lower over a nipple while one thumb drew circles around her pierced belly button. She groaned with pleasure.