Whispers of the Heart

Chapter- 10

It was sometime in the middle of the night or so Nihal thought when he heard a whimper. He was tucked deep into his warm blanket and he had to raise his head a little to hear the sound. He strained his ears to hear something. He heard nothing. Thinking it must a small bandicoot or a house shrew living in the woodwork and there were many residing in old Army properties, Nihal settled back into his position. He had settled back into the sleeping mode, when he heard a sniffing and a sob this time. It was definitely a sob. Bandicoots or house shrews don't sob.

He heard another one. This time it was a little louder and he was able to gage that it was from his left side. It sounded like a person was silently crying. His heart came in his mouth. Veera! He opened his eyes instantly. Sleep fled as anxiety settled in the pit of his stomach. He turned around and looked at Veera. She was lying with her back towards him on the extreme end of her side of the bed. Her shoulders were shaking softly and she had pulled her legs up to her stomach.

"Veera?" Nihal asked concerned, his voice hoarse with fear and concern. Why was she crying? All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind. Is she hurt? Had somebody hurt her? Had he been too pre-occupied with other things to not notice if she was hurt or somebody hurt her in his absence? Is she crying because she is here? He sat up in panic.

"Are you alright?" He put his hand on her shoulder and immediately felt Veera stiffen under his hand. Nihal immediately felt trepidation wash all over him. His heart was racing and his hands felt cold. He had to see Veera. The window over the door was throwing enough porch light to sleep, however, it wasn't bright enough to enable a person to see properly. Nihal turned back to his side table and switched on his small emergency light that he always carried with him. He was mighty thankful for it today. It threw enough light to see things properly.

He turned back to Veera, who, by now, had straightened her legs and was trying to take in full breaths.

"Veera?!" he said and slowly moved his hand over her chin to cup her cheek. He felt the tears on her cheek. "Why are you crying?" He asked softy. Veera didn't answer. "Veera, are you alright?" He asked again. He left so helpless. He was scared now. She wasn't even answering his questions. He tried to keep panic at bay. He really didn't know what he'd do if she was hurt or if somebody had hurt her. He would truly kill the bastard. But it would not help if this uncertainty killed him first. "Veera, please talk to me." He tried again. "Are you hurt?" He asked her. He was about to start Veera's physical examination when Veera turned her cheek in his hand and rolled into a ball.

"I miss Sartaj sooo much!" She said in a broken voice and started sobbing uncontrollably. Relief flooded his core, however, it was short lived. Grief and heart wrenching pain quickly filled his heart- of loosing Sartaj and of watching Veera so broken and fragile. She was shaking and was cold.

"Why did it happen to Sartaj? Why him?" she said in a choked brittle voice. Nihal simply couldn't take it anymore. He slid next to her and moved into her blanket. She was cold as ice. He pulled her tightly against his chest and aligned his warm feet and legs to hers. He felt goosebumps develop on his skin as he came in contact with her cold feet. He rubbed her arms and her hands. He had no words to answer Veera questions. Honestly, he felt the same. He'd lost his best friend. The one person who had been there for Nihal, always. "I miss him too." He replied. Her sobs continued. "Shh..." He said softly. In a bid to seek comfort, Veera turned around and borrowed her head in the space between his head and his shoulder. Nihal wrapped his right arm around her and slowly massaged her back. He rested his chin on her head. Her hair were soft and smelt of shampoo. In his arms, Veera felt soft as cotton and smelt of lemons. He took a deep breath. To Nihal, she always reminded him of a late summer's afternoon.

He kept massaging her back till her sobs eased into hiccups and she calmed down. Soon her uneven breathing eased into snores and Veera fell asleep. As Veera slumbered into a deep sleep, Nihal let go of the tension that had accumulated in his shoulders when he saw her cry her heart out. The pain and grief of loosing a loved one is unparrelled. He thought about Sartaj till, he too, fell asleep.

~

Veera stirred slowly. She felt hot. She moved her foot out of the blanket. Yes, it was cold outside. There, she felt better. She tried to move her body when she felt a heavy arm settled upon her waist, anchoring her there, drawing her snugly against his body. She became aware of an appealing scent of leather and cloves. Nihal!

And he was hugging her. She opened her eyes and saw his Adam's apple. His Adam's apple covered with brisk stubble. Unable to resist herself, she inched her way further into him. He stilled.

"Nihal?" She said softly.

"Hmm..." Nihal murmured and he began to caress her arm. A feeling of awareness began to build in her core. Veera wanted him to continue further and never stop. She felt so safe, warm and cocooned with . . . dare she give a name to it, 'desire'. She simply wasn't ready to disentangle herself from his arms. She gave a throaty sigh. Nihal raised his head to look at her. She raised her eyes. Their eyes met.

"Nihal..." She moaned his name. She couldn't help herself. She didn't even know what she was asking for. Thankfully, Nihal understood as his eyes turned shouldering hot and she saw raw desire reflected in them. His hand tightened on her arm.

She took a sharp intake of breadth as Nihal's lips descended on her's. His warm lips kissed her with advertent desire and tenderness. Nihal gave her soft kisses as he licked her lips coaxing her to open her mouth for him. She opened her mouth and Nihal invaded her mouth with his tongue. She responded with avidity, following wherever Nihal was leading her.

Before she could register this exquisite feeling, Nihal's hand moved from her arm to her buttocks and pulled her closer to him. Her breasts were crushed into his hard chest. She marveled at her softness and his hard solid chest. He kept his hand on her buttock, slowing caressing her and he deepened the kiss. She realized that he was hard for her and almost immediately felt another wave of wanton desire wash over her. She gave an involuntary moan and her breasts felt so heavy. Her nipples harden and she hungrily sucked Nihal's mouth, their tongues intertwined in seeking pleasure.

She truly felt the essence of being a woman and became hype-aware of his maleness. He smelt so thoroughly male that molten desire began to settle in her pit of her stomach. She felt hot and suddenly felt like she was wearing too many clothes. "Oh Veera..." Nihal breathed warmly into her ear as he planted wet kisses from her ear to her neck. She shivered with pleasure when his tongue traced over the shallow dip of her throat. She sighed with pleasure.

She moved her hands from his waist to his chest. She wanted to touch him too. She slid her hand inside his shirt.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

Nihal became still and slowly moved his hands to hold her hands from sliding further. He withdrew his touch, and moved away from her. She almost protested aloud at the loss of him. But she held her tongue, wishing to cling to whatever shred of dignity yet remaining her own, and watched his hands disappear from sight. He turned towards the alarm clock and pressed the button down to stop the alarm from ringing.

He sat up on the bed and moved towards the edge. He planted his feet on the jute-carpeted floor. He sat there for a few seconds with his back towards Veera. He ran his hand through his hair. He looked disoriented and muddled. He gave a shaky breath. He turned his face towards her.

"I am sorry Veera." He said softly. "This shouldn't have happened. I am truly sorry. I shouldn't have touched you."

Without waiting for Veera's answer, he stood upand left. He didn't even look at Veera as he walked to the dressing room andlocked the door behind him.