Clouds stormed over Darjleeing’s mountains, the evening brought a promise of rain and thunder all through the night. Destiny was also brewing a storm along with nature and two souls who should be one were oblivious. One had come to the mountains to seek refuge a year ago and other has come after running for a year for comfort. Theri paths were about to cross again. Though husband and wife, they could not possibly be more of strangers, such was the plight of silent love. Sometimes initiative needs to be taken and the words need to be said.
A year to date today when Anurag Basu, the man child of Basu Industries has lit a fire in his heart that has not subsided yet. For the first time in years he was content. He had been married to Prerna for six months. To keep his promise to her he had kept all his animosity go for the Basus aside and she had taken charge of his daughter as if she was the one who gave birth to her. They were inseparable. Three months into Prerna's care KuKi has said her first word, which along with happiness had made him green with envy. She had said, "Mamma," during breakfast. Prerna had hugged her and cried, a proud smile was plastered on her face the entire day.
Later that night, after dinner, when he told her how jealous he was that Kuki’s first word was Mamma, she had just laughed and said, "Mother's are special for daughters, Mr. Bajaj. She is definitely your princess, you come into sight the world fades for her but mothers are simply the lifeline. She will tell you all of her problems but come to me for comfort and peace.” His wife was very happy that night, “Did you hear how sweet her voice is?”Prerna had asked with giddy excitement. That was the first night they had a real conversation. They were slowly transitioning their relationship from parents to man and wife when Junior Basu, in a misguided attempt to ruin his business has killed that budding relationship. He had made sure Basus paid for that mistake but Junior Basu did ruin him in a way. He managed to take away his contentment. In the end, he served her divorce papers and she left him without a word.
So here, he was a year later trying to find some peace on a tea estate in Darjeeling. The clouds thundered as he walked along the lines of tea plants. He looked up and mentaly scoffed at the sky after all the storm that was brewing above him was miniscule compared to the one he had been carrying in his heart for a year.In the end, he had fallen in love with her and she had just picked up and left. No message, no note, no trace. She was there and then she wasn’t. Lost in his thoughts he did not look before turning onto the path from the plants and bumped into his life.
Yeh mulaqat phir nahi hogi
Assay badal toh phir bhi ayen ge
Aisi barsaat phir nahi hogi
Raat un ko bhi yun hua mehsoos
Jaise yeh raat phir nahi hogi
Ek nazar mur ke dekhne wale
Kya ye khairaat phir ni hogi
Thundering skies were nothing compared to the argument she just had with the farm supervisor, Prerna thought looking at his retreating back. He was an arhaic, egotistical man who felt insulted to be bossed by a woman. Too bad for him, she had learned to maneuver and negotiate from the best, her husband. Prerna took the job of estate manager about a year ago when the man called Rishabh Bajaj had killed every reason for her to live. Initially he was angry that she had not trusted him to take care of his family and went to beg Anurag, her lover for mercy. Mr. Bajaj’s warth burned everything that had the name Basu attached to it. She wanted him to have mercy but not for Basus sake but for his. Rage was a monster and she did not want it to consume the man she loved.
The Rishabh Bajaj that the world feared had shown her respect, listened to her fears and assured her for the future. Anurag had become a faded memory the day Kuki had said Mamma for the first time. She could not pinpoint the moment she fell in love with her husband, it was so gradual that she did not even realize it was happening until it had consumed her entirely. He always put her needs before her and she had hoped that maybe he would see the woman as well as he sees the mother. But her hopes were squashed,at the first sign of doubt he had served her divorce papers. How was it possible that the man was both her pain and comfort?
She was lost in her thoughts when someone bumped into her from the back,frustrated she turned to request the straggler tourists of the estate to go back their cottage before the rain started, but found herself looking into familiar ink black eyes which went midnight when they saw her. Thunder struck again, raindrops fell and anger turned the fire that had been on a slow burn for a year into an inferno.
“You left,”He accused, grabbing her by arms, bringing her close.
“You served me divorce papers,” She fired back, looking straight into his eyes.
Maine masoom baharo me tumhe dekha hai
Maine pur noor sitaro me tumhe dekha hai
Mere mehboob teri parda nashini ki qasam
Maine ashkon ki qataron mein tumhe dekha hai
They both were getting drenched but neither cared, too busy to take an eyeful of the other. Both sensed that something was different today. They had imagined this meeting in their own ways but everything fell short to reality.
“Let me go Mr. Bajaj.”Prerna said.
He simply traveled his hands down her arms to her waist, wrapped them around her twisting her arms behind her back as he pulled her closer to him, “Never again,” he swore. His promise rang with the intensity of the thunder upon them.There was no space for anything between them as their bodies touched. Then he brought his lips close to his and whispered, “You look ravishing, churidars suit you,” How was it possible for her to grow more beautiful over the year? He had realized that she was ready for a fight with him so he changed tactics.
“ And you look older, Mr. Bajaj, not a very becoming look on you,” Prerna retorted though her insides were on fire from the closeness they shared, his hot breath on her neck was setting fire to her insides. Her husband threw his head back and laughed but did not let go of her. Who was this man and what has he done to her husband? Prerna wondered. Raindrops were making the silver in his hair shine like ice. How she wished her hands were free so that she could run them through his hair.
“You did not even think about my daughter, “ Rishab began.
Prerna did not even give him a chance to finish, “Our daughter,Mr.Bajaj” she corrected, “of whom you were clearly thinking of, when you sent me those divorce papers,” she taunted looking him straight in the eyes.
Hum buto ko jo pyar karte hain
Naqal e parwardigar karte hain
Itni kasame na khao ghabra kar
Jao hum aitbaar karte hain
He bit back the urge to kiss her when she taunted him but replied to her with heat blazing in his eyes, “You went behind my back, you did not trust me to take care of you and our daughter,” he fired back, “You went running back to Junior Basu for help.You should have come to me with your fears.”
“And whose fault is that?” She fought back, “ you went silent on everyone,would not share anything with me, I was worried for my husband and daughter. Had you shared your plans with me, things would not have gotten out of hand.” Her fire matched his.
“Yes, I should have mentioned to my wife that I was going to destroy her beloved Anurag Basu. That would have been a great conversation to have with my wife,” he retorted back, heat of his eyes suddenly turned ice, “And you weren’t exactly happy when you eventually did find out about my plans.” He said icily as he twisted her arms to bring her even closer, “It burned my insides that you wanted me to stop even after what he had done to us and our family. It was as if we did not matter at all to you. You were protecting him as he was ruining us. You had clearly made a choice and it was him. So I served you those divorce papers to give you what you wanted”he hurled his hurts at her, then asked with false calmness, “What I do not understand is why did you not sign them?” He threw the challenge as he took both her hands in one, still holding her close, removed the wet hair away from her face by slowly caressing her cheeks with the back of hands making his way down to her throat. He smiled victoriously as her breath hitched when his thumb brushed her lips. After all he had done a lot of soul searching and he had a theory that his wife loved him. She will simply had to admit it to him first but all she was doing right now was looking straight into soul with her aroused eyes.
Ab bhi aa jao kuch nahi bigra
Ab bhi hum intezaar karte hain
Saaz-e-hasti baja raha ho mai
Chashm e masti mana raha hoon main
Kya ada hai nisar hone ki
Un se pehlu bacha raha hoon main
Kitni pukhta hai meri nadani
Tujh ko tujh se chupa raha hoon main
Prena’s breath trembled with desire as her husband rubbed his thumb across her lips. This was new, the man had never showed any signs of intimacy. She had always been Kuki’s mother to him and never a woman. Tonight told her a different story. He was jealous, the mighty Bajaj was jealous. Her senses elated with joy at her husband’s words and his touch but she could not drop her walls now. Her opponent was a master of tricks who will do anything to get what he wanted and she knew he wanted her, but she was not ready to give in so easily. Trust will need to be earned this time and her husband was not the only one who could play dirty, so she gathered all her courage, rose on her toes and did what she wanted to do the minute she had seen him again, she brushed her lips against him once, her husband stilled, she smiled and whispered against his lips, “You took away my daughter Mr. Bajaj and I took away your freedom, that is why I did not sign those divorce papers, so that no one else becomes the mother of my daughter.”
Dil dobota ho chashm-e-saqi main
Main ko main mein mila raha hon main
Na hum samjhe na tum aaye kahin se
Pasina puchye apni jabeen se
Hai kahan ka irada tumhara sanam
Kis k dil ko adaao se behlao ge
Sach batao k is chandni raat me
Kis se wada kiya hai kahan jao ge
As her lips brushed his, all the blood drained out of his brain. Who was this siren? It definitely was not his wife. His wife was safe and careful. Then it clicked, she was trying to master the master, so he pressed her against him, his lips hovering over hers he drawled, “You are playing a very dangerous game Mrs. Bajaj.”
“I married you Mr Bajaj,” Prerna swallowed in anticipation. Her body on fire and heart in throat she looked him in the eyes and finished, “What could possibly be more dangerous?”
Her husband smiled his rakish smile that sent shivers down to her toes. “So, you do remember that you married the devil,” he said and in the next moment she was in his arms and he was walking towards the cottages. “Something tells me Kuki is a reason and not the reason for not signing those papers” He said as her arms went around his neck for support, taking advantage of the situation, he nuzzled her neck and placed a small kiss on her earlobe and whispered seductively, “Your eyes are turning gold like my whisky. Why is that Mrs.Bajaj?”
Dekho acha nahi hai tumhara chalan
Yeh jawani k din aur ye shokhiyan
Yun na aaya karo baal khule howay
Warna duniya mein bad naam ho jaoge
Aaj jao na bechain karke mujhe
Jaan-e-jaan dil dukhana buri baat he
His wife in his arms, he navigated the tea fields as the cold drops of rain added to the desire. His wife hid her face in his neck at his question, her heavy breaths betrayed her, giving away her desire. Grateful for access he buried his face in her neck and inhaled, “Peaches, Roses and desire, if only I could bottle the way you smell right now I would be a billionaire all over again and envy of every man on this planet,” he bit her earlobe gently that made her press herself to him tighter, her hands making her way to his hairs. Her whimpers shot heat straight to his lions, trailing kisses up her collarbone, he brought his lips to her, “ Let me look at you,” he asked and she simply nodded negatively, face buried in his neck he could feel her lips turn up in a smile, “Soon,” he promised as he picked up his pace.
Zulf rukh se hata k baat karo
Raat ko din bana k baat karo
Mae kaday k chirag madham hain
Zara ankhain utha k baat karo
Phool kuch chahye huzoor humain
Tum zara muskura ke baat karo
Ye bhi andaz-e-guftagu hai koi
Jab karo dil dukha k baat karo
As her husband entered her cottage, he made his way straight to her bedroom. He gently put her down sliding her body against him. Wet and aroused they looked at each other for a second that seemed liked an eternity to Prerna. She gave into her urge and trailed her hands through his silver mane that covered his angelic face, “ Who are you?” Prerna asked running her tiny hands through his hair, “Where is my stoic and aloof husband?” Feeling adventurous and testing her waters she removed his jacket when her hands reached his shoulders, his well muscled body filled out the t-shirt in all the right places,“T-Shirt?” She asked raising an eyebrow.
“I have a young wife, you see, I am just trying to keep up,” He simply replied not moving, letting his wife explore as desire shot through his body.
“Up,” She quietly said and her husband raised his arms and she relieved him of his t-shirt. Her husband was built, Prerna thought as she traced his abs with her hands and as they reached mole on his chest, she looked straight into his eyes, placed a light kiss on his chest and asked, “Who am I, Mr. Bajaj?”
Aaj jao na bechain karke mujhe
Jaan-e-jaan dil dukhana buri baat he
Hum tarapte rahe ge yahan raat bhar
Tum tu aram ki neend so jao ge
Paas aao tu tum ko lagaye galay
Muskurate ho q door se dekh ker
Yun hi guzre agar ye jawani k din
Hum bhi patchtaayen ge tum b pachtaoge
Desire made his body hum as his hand went around her waist to pull her closer,other cupped the back of her neck, “You are Mrs. Prerna Rishabh Bajaj,” he replied as his lips captured hers. Slow and gentle, he took his time, enjoying her taste, teasing her he replied, “You are the woman whose absence made my life worthless.” He relieved her of her dupatta, “You are the woman who breathes a new life into me every time she looks at me,” He unzipped her churidaar’s shirt and slipped it off her shoulders as he captured her mouth again, this time he lightly bit her bottom lip for a silent permission to enter. She whimpered as her lips parted and the sound made all the blood drain from his brain from desire. He devoured her taste, gliding and flicking his tongue against hers. Hard and aching for her, he broke the kiss, tugged on her bottoms, “Out of these” he ordered and she obliged. His pants met her clothes on the floor.As his hands glided down her back he picked her up and placed on the bed. His body covered hers, “I agree that I made a mistake, but I am not a foolish man. By not choosing to sign the divorce papers, you chose me.Everything, you are my everything. I love you.”
With a low growl of desire her husband captured her mouth again. He had teased her with kisses all night today but this was different. This time his mouth was hungry and needy which made her body tremble with desire. His mouth assaulted her senses as his body warmed her through and through. His kiss was so intense that her legs wrapped around his instinctively as air drove out of her lungs. She was insanely aware of her body as his muscled chest pressed against her front. His hand glided down her spine setting her body on fire as he unclasped the hook of her bra and threw it on the floor. Heat traveled all through her body as he placed feather light kisses on her breast before taking one of them in his mouth and suckling it. Like a moth drawn to the flame he worshipped her body.He separated her thighs with his knee and pressed his need to hers. Her toes curled in anticipation at this new level of arousal. She relished the feel of his hot skin agianst hers.
With only a few milimiters of cloth separating them, he could feel the need clutching her body. “ You are so damned beautiful,” he whispered as he frantically suckled on breats. He smiled when her felt her arch her body into his with need. His hand traveled down and got rid of few pieces of cloths that were keeping them apart. She was ready for him, “ You are mine,” He swore before he joined his body with her in the most intimate way and made her his wife in every way.
Be wafa be murawat hain unki nazar
Yeh badal jain ge zindagi dhoond ker
Husn walo se dil ko lgaya agar ae fana
Dekho be maut mar jao ge.!!
Writer: Eternized Blues
