Specks Of Love They Hate...

Thirty Two

Atirek's lips brushed lightly against hers for a few seconds, before his hand clasped onto her thigh and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
Vanya felt his hand dangerously close to her core and her mind cleared up. She pushed him away. Atirek didn't feel her light push, so she pushed at his chest harder, feeling his hardened muscles under her palms, even through his shirt.

"Please, don't." She whimpered when she found Atirek looking at her quizzically. His intensity was making her feel hot and bothered, but she felt it was wrong to be making out with the enemy, on the moral grounds.

"Vanya-" Atirek breathed hard, letting go of her. He leaned his head back and tried to get a grip on his twitching controls. "You're killing me, you know. This hot and cold thing, it's not what I like."

Vanya felt her anger flare up.

"Hot and cold is what you don't like?" She asked him incredulously. "You were the one who switched off your entire personality as soon as your father came to your room. You are the one who pitted me against my own father. You keep kissing me in private but you insult me whenever it suits you."

"You don't understand." Atirek spoke with gritted teeth. " It's because-"

He stopped, because this was strictly family business and even though his driver was trustworthy, he didn't want him to know what only Raghav and Veer knew. Also, he was undecided upon what to tell Vanya. She wasn't family, after all.

"It's because this is a hostage situation." Vanya spoke up when he didn't continue. "You're holding me trapped here, against my will; I don't have a home anymore, thanks to you; and it doesn't matter how much you pretend that this is a normal interaction, it isn't. I'm not in a relationship with you."

There was a moment of silence, and Vanya stared out of the window, ignoring him. The silence was broken by Atirek slamming his hand on the passenger seat in front of him. She could swear that even his driver flinched at his sudden action.

"Listen." Atirek turned around at her with hostility, making her cower in fear. "You were the one who asked me to treat you like a girlfriend, not the other way around. You were the one who sealed the deal with a kiss. You wanted this, me, to make your stay bearable." He dipped in, grabbed her by the hair and planted a rough kiss on her lips, before pushing her away. "I'm just doing what you asked babe."

He turned away from her, proceeding to look outside the window.

Vanya did the same, but only to hide the new stream of tears rolling down her face. This side of him was scary, but this time, it was her own fault. What had she been thinking, striking a deal with the devil himself? The back of head was hurting from when he had grabbed her hair, and so were her lips. On top of that, she was embarrassed that his driver had witnessed and heard everything. She wished that she hadn't moved to Lucknow at all.

"We're here, Sir." The driver's voice came just moments after.

Atirek stepped out and waited for her. Vanya wrung her hands together, afraid to step out.

"He's not a bad man, Ms. Rajan. We drove here for you, right?" The driver spoke up, looking at her through the rearview mirror.
Vanya nodded at him and stepped out, breathing in deeply.
She walked over to where Atirek stood and soon, saw her brother across the road. She felt fresh tears spring up, but her happiness trumped it all.
Just as she took a step forward, Atirek's strong hand gripped her arm, making her look up at him quizzically.

"He has company."

And sure enough, two policemen were escorting him to her father's car.

"Looks like your father learnt his lesson after losing you." Atirek said coldly. "You can't go up there, as I'm sure you know what'll happen if you do."