The Captive (A Dark, Romantic Thriller set in India)

by MV Kasi

  CHAPTER 37

  By the time Nina woke up, her captor wasn’t next to her on the bed.

  No, not her captor. Gaurav.

  Nina smiled. She didn’t know whether that was his real name or not, but somehow it felt right.

  She got down from the bed and made use of the bathroom before going upstairs.

  Gaurav was making them breakfast. He didn’t see her yet, so she took the time to observe him.

  How could she even think he wasn’t the kind she would ever be attracted to?

  The strong, handsome face that was completely focused on the task at hand, the lean and muscular body combined with the smooth efficient movements, made her body warm and tingly.

  He turned towards the dining table when he saw her and froze.

  “Good morning,” she said with a small smile. “What’s for breakfast?”

  He placed a plate he had prepared for her on the small kitchen table. It was a humongous heap of eggs and vegetables along with toasted bread. The portion size was twice as much as he served for himself.

  “I want you to finish all of it,” he said with a slightly stern voice.

  Nina smiled. She knew Khan must have told him that she hadn’t eaten since two days.

  “I will,” she said and began to dig into her food.

  He was quiet, and kept his eyes away from her while he finished his breakfast. She noticed because she couldn’t stop herself from staring at him. The grim, unsmiling mouth, the strong roman-nose, the small cleft she spied on his chin within the stubble—all of them fascinated her.

  She missed seeing his eyes. But even without his gaze on her, she felt a strong potent force making her gravitate towards him.

  They finished rest of the breakfast quietly.

  When she cleared the plates and was washing them in the kitchen sink, she felt his gaze on her back.

  “I’m going for a walk. Would you like to join me?” he asked

  Turning around, she held his gaze. “Yes,” she said with a smile.

  CHAPTER 38

  Two weeks had passed since Khan had left.

  Everything was almost the same as before, when Khan had fallen sick .

  Each morning Nina and Gaurav prepared their meals and had them together. And then, they went on long walks into the forest. Sometimes, when the weather was beautiful, Nina packed the food so they could enjoy a picnic by the lake.

  “Almost done,” said Nina, pulling the last flower through the needle and thread, and then tying a knot at the end of the garland.

  They had just finished their picnic lunch by the lake, but Nina kept them waiting to finish making a garland out of the wildflowers that grew in the forest.

  Gaurav had picked most of the flowers.

  Each time Gaurav went to the lake for a bath, he came back with flowers for her. Nina knew he did that because she had told him about her affinity towards wildflowers.

  During her childhood, Devi and she would pick flowers from the roadside or parks to decorate their small room. Even though the places they lived were tiny, with the beautiful fragrant flowers, they felt like home.

  Nina was touched that Gaurav had remembered and tried to make their cabin like a home.

  Smiling, Nina ran her fingers on the delicate petals of the flowers in the garland.

  Gaurav was sitting on the grass, watching her quietly. Nina wasn’t looking at him, but could sense his gaze. She knew that as soon as she looked at him, he would turn his gaze away.

  Raising her eyes towards him, “How do I look?” Nina asked, putting a lone hibiscus flower in her ear.

  As expected, Gaurav looked away. And when she continued to wait for his response, he reluctantly turned and looked at her for a brief second before looking away once again. “Good,” he murmured.

  Nina laughed. “Flatterer.”

  She leaned towards him and put the garland she made around his neck. “I made this for you.”

  Gaurav’s eyes fell on the bright colorful garland, and then, at her. His eyes lingered on her mouth as she smiled before he looked away once again.

  “Let’s go,” he said softly, and picked up their picnic basket.

  She got up from the grass, and grabbed his free hand, before twining her fingers with his as they headed back to their cabin.

  Nina knew that even though Gaurav didn’t want to look at her, he didn’t mind her touch.

  Or maybe he just didn’t want to be rude by shaking her off. But either way, Nina always found a reason to touch him.

  Each night, Gaurav continued to bring her to his room. As soon as she lay on his bed, he lay next to her keeping a few inches between them while she talked about her past.

  And as soon as she finished talking, just before she went to sleep, she always put her hand on his chest. She liked the feel of his heartbeat underneath.

  She also touched him because she felt the need to connect with him with at least one of her senses. Either she had to talk to him, or listen to him, or touch him.

  The compulsion only seemed to grow as days ticked by.

  Was it a psychological thing one felt for a captor? Or something that one felt towards the only human around them? Nina didn’t know the answers.

  All she knew was that she wanted a connection to Gaurav. A connection that went much beyond lust or desire.

  She knew that on some level Gaurav understood how her feelings were changing. Because each time she placed her hand on his chest, he waited until he thought she had gone to sleep before he slowly picked up her arm and returned it to her side. But not before he gently kissed her hand first.

  That only made her smile inside. And also, more determined.

  Nina deliberately began to hog the bed space. And even though she was a quiet sleeper, she pretended to be a restless one, always placing an arm or a leg on top of him.

  Despite her teasing, and his restless sleep because of her, Gaurav didn’t stop bringing her into his room each night.

  And Nina no longer asked or spoke about why she was taken. Even when she spoke to him a little about her life in the past ten years, she didn’t talk about Suraj. And neither did Gaurav ask her.

  It was as though they were both in denial of their true circumstances. They preferred to be lost in their self-made bubble where outside world didn’t touch them.

  But Nina was well aware that what had initially started as a desperate plan on her end to escape and save Suraj’s life, was turning into something else.

  The lines were beginning to blur between what was needed and what she wanted.

  CHAPTER 39

  Gaurav woke up to the sounds of birds chirping in the forest.

  Nina Bhupati was lying next to him.

  Her arm was curled around his upper torso, and her leg was thrown across his hips.

  Like all mornings, he felt a strong urge to reach out to her, and kiss her soft skin all over, waking her up. But with great difficulty, he stopped himself. The wedding ring she continued to wear helped him keep his hands to himself.

  He slowly moved her arm away from his chest. But when he tried to move her leg, it rubbed against his morning arousal, shooting a bolt of pleasure through him.

  He inhaled sharply, and then instead of moving her leg, he slid out the bed.

  Nina stirred awake with the movements. Her eyes fell on him. “Gaurav?” she said in her sleepy voice.

  Even though she had been calling him by his name from the past three weeks, each time he heard his name on her lips, a strange thrill ran through him.

  “Yes?”

  “Nothing. I like calling your name out aloud.” She smiled. “The name suits you,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “I think so, too,” he returned in a dry tone.

  She laughed out loud and sat up on the bed.

  With the sun rising behind her and her sleep softened face with a wide smile, she looked quite a sight.

  I could wake up to this sight every morning.

  As soon as the stupid
thought came to him, Gaurav squelched it.

  “What?” she asked softly when she caught him staring at her.

  “Nothing,” he replied. “You are a very beautiful woman. Like everyone else, I like looking at you.”

  She smiled. “You barely look at me, Gaurav,” she said. “But my question wasn’t whether or not you were looking at me. My question was more about what do you see when you look at me.”

  He saw. He saw the real her—her beautiful soul along with her beautiful body.

  The soul and body he badly wanted as his own, but knew he couldn’t. Because she belonged to his enemy.

  Gaurav didn’t tell her any of those things.

  “Breakfast?” he asked instead, to change the topic and also to distract himself. She didn’t call him out and demand and answer. Instead, she continued to smile. “Yes. Teach me to make something new today.”

  CHAPTER 40

  “Almost there… higher.”

  The large hands holding her upright pushed her a few inches higher.

  “Little bit more.”

  This time, she went up several inches, way past the branch.

  Grinning, Nina grabbed the fruit from top of the tree and threw it on the forest floor.

  “Okay, I think I have everything we need for our healthy snacks,” she said.

  When there was no response or movement, she looked down. “Uh… Gaurav. You can put me down now.”

  He slowly lowered her to the ground. And even when her feet touched the ground and she was stable, she felt his hands linger on her waist before he stepped away from her in a hurried manner.

  That brought a smile on her face.

  Nina picked the fruit from the forest floor and placed them into a basket. “Whew! It’s getting hot,” she said, wiping the drops of sweat that had formed on her forehead.

  It was barely seven in the morning and the heat was slowly beginning to take over.

  “I badly need a bath,” she said.

  Gaurav was sweating too. His thin sleeveless shirt was completely wet on the back.

  “Join me at the lake for a bath,” he said.

  The thought of the cool water of the lake tempted her. Nina was sure it would be much better than taking shower with the metallic smelling water in the bathroom.

  “I wish I could, but I’m not good at swimming,” she replied.

  “I’ll be there with you. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

  That brought a grin to Nina’s face. “If I recall you almost drowned me the last time we were in that lake.”

  A small smile covered Gaurav’s face. “If I remember correctly, it was you who was trying your best to knee me in the groin in the lake. I was only trying to drag you out.”

  A laugh burst out of her. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  “Okay, maybe at that time I wasn’t sorry. But now, I am.”

  He smiled. “Fine. Let’s go. Grab a towel and some soap.”

  They went back to their cabin and packed their toiletries and clothes into a small bag before heading to the lake.

  It was just like she had imagined. The water felt amazing.

  Nina wasn’t a good swimmer. Suraj had tried to teach her to swim in their large swimming pool, but for some reason, Nina could never learn. She just didn’t feel comfortable in the deep water.

  But something about being in an open lake surrounded by the natural beauty appealed to her.

  Gaurav was right next to her. “Hold on to me,” he said and took her into the slightly deeper water.

  Nina didn’t panic. She had curled her hands around his neck and liked the sensation of being free and weightless as she floated on top of the water.

  “Do you want to try swimming?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  Gently, he let go.

  All Nina knew was to doggy-paddle. But over the last few weeks, she had seen Gaurav swim in powerful strokes while she sat on the grass next to the lake with their breakfast.

  She tried to mimic him. She didn’t succeed at first. She ended going under and swallowing a mouthful of water.

  He pulled her up. “It’s okay,” he said in a gentle tone. “I’ll hold you. Try again.”

  He placed his large palm under her stomach while she kicked and swept the water with her hands. She didn’t move very far, but determined, she kept trying, until she got a slight hang of it.

  She had only taken two laps when her arms and legs protested.

  “Tired?” he asked.

  She nodded as response, her breath coming out in a wheeze.

  He held her with one arm and swam in powerful strokes taking her to the shore.

  “I’ll be back,” he said and went back to the lake.

  Nina stared at him as he resumed his usual exercise. She had noticed that he always took twenty laps. Maybe because there was no other form of exercise to do in the forest, apart from walking, he used swimming to keep him fit and strong,.

  Nina knew Gaurav would take a while. So she lay on her back on top of the fluffy pink and red towel before closing her eyes. Even though her muscles were overworked, she felt exhilarated and her mind felt free of worries.

  She shivered slightly as a soft breeze blew over her wet clothes. Although, she was tempted to remove her shirt and pants before getting into the lake, she had chosen to keep them on.

  But now the wet clothes clung to her body, making her cold.

  She turned her head and saw that Gaurav was still swimming. So, she quickly shed her clothes and wrapped a thick towel and lay back on the grass, feeling lazy and content.

  She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest.

  But after a few moments, she opened her eyes when she sensed a gaze on her.

  It was Gaurav.

  She smiled at him sleepily.

  He didn’t return her smile. In fact, he was watching her with an angry look.

  All her sleep vanished. Nina felt confused. “What happened?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer. His angry eyes took in her face and then moved down lower to her towel-clad body. They especially glared at her chest and her legs.

  Nina wasn’t scared. However, her heart began to thud as she felt open and exposed.

  There was nothing separating them except their two towels.

  She stared back at him. She watched as drops of water trickled down from his wet hair to his muscled abs. When she moved her eyes lower, she saw his hard arousal straining his wet towel.

  Slowly, with heart thudding even more loudly in her ears, she waited.

  He kept watching her, his eyes alive with an intense fire. “I want you.” His statement erupted and sat heavily in the quiet forest.

  “Did you hear me?” he demanded.

  A small smile hovered on her lips even while her heart thundered. “Yes. You are shouting loud enough for it to be heard outside the forest as well.”

  He didn’t return the smile. He stepped closer to her. “I’m tired of fighting a battle I know I won’t win. A battle I don’t want to win.”

  That made Nina’s heart flutter. She widened her smile. “You are making me sound like an evil seductress.”

  She gasped when he suddenly leapt on her. He caged her body, using his hands and knees in a predatory position.

  “You are a seductress,” he said. “Teasing me and taunting me each night with what I badly crave.”

  “Then why are you denying us?” she asked softly. “Why not take what is offered?”

  His eyes continued to watch her with the heated look.

  Nina took a deep breath. Then keeping her eyes locked to his, she loosened the knot on her towel and pushed it aside. She bared herself completely to him—offering her heart along with her body.

  His eyes blazed as his gaze swept over her.

  Nina felt his gaze like a physical touch while he took in every part of her exposed body in a slow, heated perusal. The last time they were together, it was night time. Even th
ough there was lighting from a night lamp at that time, it wasn’t anything like the bright shining sun above.

  She felt conscious of her body, but it was overshadowed by the thrumming of her body due to anticipation.

  When he still didn’t move or touch her quickly enough, she raised her hands to grab his head and pull him closer for a kiss. But he captured both her hands and pinned them on top of her head in the soft grass.

  She wanted to protest, but he killed her resolve as soon as he closed the distance between their lips and bodies.

  He kissed her. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was open mouthed, wild and hungry. And it was all consuming.

  She kissed him back with equal desperation. And then, she moaned in protest when his mouth left hers. Soon it turned into a pleasurable sigh when he nipped her neck and then moved lower, until he reached the peaks of her breasts. There he lingered.

  He paid homage to her aching peaks, until greedy moans and gasps were let out from her throat. She wanted to touch his body, but he kept her hands captured in his. When her breath turned too choppy, he slid even lower. He left a trail of kisses on her stomach before reaching his destination.

  Her body trembled as anticipation filled her.

  As soon as his mouth met with her core, she gasped. She clutched his head with her now freed hands. But his buzz-cut didn’t allow her to grab on to his hair as he wreaked havoc within her.

  His hot breath, his lips and his tongue lay siege while she twisted and thrashed underneath him.

  “Gaurav,” she begged again.

  He slid up higher, and she watched him with glazed eyes.

  His own burned with intensity. “Tell me you want this,” he ordered softly as he spread her quivering thighs wider.

  “I want this. I want you. I need you,” she whispered.

  His lips smashed on hers, and then he swallowed her gasp as he joined their bodies in one swift thrust.

  As she predicted, it wasn’t the careful joining like the first time.

  This time the joining was wild.

  He was rough. He was hard. He was everything she wanted.