"Come on!"

Jeet grunts in frustration, pulling me closer, "Do you trust me?" he asks, eyes ablaze, burning holes into me.

I ponder over what he said, "I don't know if I can trust anyone, anymore," I answer truthfully, pulling my hands away, "so far, everyone I trusted has only disappointed me. I am not sure, if I want to subject myself to heartbreak again."

"I am sorry," he says, "sometimes things are not what they seem. But it could be easily explained, if you would just listen." I look at his handsome crestfallen face, wanting so badly to hold it in my hands and kiss away the sadness.

Now that I am observing him up close, I can see his eyes look weary and tired, almost like he has not slept well for a few nights.

I gulp down the lump in my throat, changing my voice to a slightly cheery one, "I am so grateful for your help. Without you, I probably would have ended up dead somewhere. Somehow, whenever I am in trouble, you magically appear to pull me out." I wrinkle my nose, "You are either an angel or a harbinger of trouble for me."

He chortles in amusement, before turning serious, "You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Even without me, you would have been more than able to look after yourself," he gives a brief smile, "Besides, you are my wife. It is my responsibility to protect you," he says gently, his face softening into a wistful look.

I let out a dry laugh, "We are not really married, it was simply circumstantial. I don't know how to thank you though, for all you are doing."

"I know of a way," he replies, his tone dropping to a low smoky. My cheeks immediately heat up, my heart starts doing somersaults and my stomach has jumped on a roller coaster, at the sound of his sultry voice.

'He is getting married to Zenia! Flirting with him is out of bounds!!' inner voice screams.

I bolt up from the couch, "Right! It's late. Now that Appu is arrested, I guess it's safe to go home."

"Wait! You should stay the night here, just to be sure that this guy got no other accomplices who might ambush you."

"You think he has other men waiting for me?"

"We cannot say anything till the police extract a full confession. As far as we know, he was working alone, but we want to be absolutely sure."

Spend another night with Jeet? I don't know if my heart can take it anymore.

As usual, Jeet's phone rings, but this time he smiles when he sees the number. Accepting the call his face breaks into an even larger grin.

"Mom! You look really well," Jeet attends the video call, keeping the phone on speaker.

"I have really great news!" Jeet's mother sounds excited, "I have been declared cancer free as of today. All tests have reported negative." His dad joins in, "We are so ecstatic and happy, we are going out to celebrate tonight!"

"Woohooo!!"Jeet cheers euphorically, "that is the best news I have been longing to hear. See! I told you, no one can win against you.. not even cancer!!!"

Jeet's dad laughs in agreement, "Who would know that better than me? And where is Akash? We want to give him the good news as well, but his phone is switched off. His secretary said he had to travel out of the country, to take care of an urgent matter. Did he tell you anything?"

"No, nothing. I haven't spoken to him since my birthday."

I get up from the sofa, furtively trying to leave the room, to allow the family to continue their conversation in private.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jeet asks, even though the call is still on.

"Well, umm, I was leaving to give you privacy."

"No, wait! Mom, Dad, this is Tarana," without warning, he turns his phone's screen towards me.

Caught unaware at the surprise introduction, I stare stupidly at Mr. and Mrs. Grewal who are beaming at me from beyond the screen. Mr. Dev Grewal, speaks first, "Oh Tarana, how lovely to finally see you."

Finally see me? What is that supposed to mean?

Mrs. Grewal leans into the frame of the camera.

"My, my, so we finally get to meet the one my son cannot stop talking about. Now I can understand why!" She is beaming widely from ear to ear.

"Good evening Sir, Ma'am, I mean good morning, I mean I hope it's morning out there, I really don't know what time of the day it is," I blather, too dumbstruck and confused to respond. Jeet spoke to his parents - about me?

I sit next Jeet. Looking at him, I gesture with my hands under the phone, unseen by the parents - 'what is going on?' He waves his hand dismissively, 'it's nothing,' he gestures back.

"I hope my son is taking good care of you, my dear," Mrs. Grewal continues, oblivious to our nonverbal communication.

"Uh, I suppose so! Congratulations Mrs. Grewal. I happened to overhear the good news. I am so very happy for you."

"Come now, don't be so formal. You can call me m...."

"Aunty!" Jeet interjects loudly, cutting off the rest of his mother's words, "You can call her aunty," he repeats, turning the phone towards him, giving his mother a very pointed look.

Mrs. Grewal, raises one of her eyebrows at her son, before replacing the astonishment on her face with a stiff, forced smile, "You can call me aunty ... for now," she says before turning to her son, "So how is the injury now? Have you bandaged it like I told you?"

"I haven't bandaged it, but it's getting better. Should heal soon. It's not a big deal."

"How can you say that? Show me!"

"Mo...m!" Jeet whines like a teenager, but mother's persistence wins.

Jeet removes his shirt, turning his back to the screen while I hold the phone. I am startled to see a deep, long gash on his right shoulder blade, with bright bluish-purple bruising around it.

"What?! How?!" I exclaim looking at the bruise. When Jeet does not reply, his mother speaks on his behalf, "He said he slipped while swimming a few days ago."

I forcefully let out a puff of breath, annoyed at myself. I checked his head but did not consider he could be injured elsewhere.

"Tarana, please be a dear and dress the wound for my son. He takes care of everyone, except himself," Mrs. Grewal shakes her head in exasperation, rolling her eyes for good measure, "Jeet give her the first aid kit," his mother commands.

"Yes mom," he drawls in surrender, knowing better than to argue with his mother.

We bid goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Grewal, the elders extracting a promise from me that I will talk to them again soon, to give them a detailed report on their son. As soon as the call is disconnected, I turn to look at Jeet accusingly, "why did you not tell me you were injured?"

Again, he waves his hand dismissively, "My mother worries a bit too much, even if there is nothing to worry about. It's just a minor cut, it will heal soon."

"It looks pretty deep to me. You should certainly get it bandaged before it gets infected. Now, get me the first aid kit," I use an authoritative tone, which he does not seem to mind.

"It's in my bedroom, I'll go fetch it."

"Wait! I will come along. It will be easier for me to dress the wound if you lie down."

Jeet hands me the box, and lies on his stomach on his bed, like I instructed him to. I clean his wound with an antiseptic solution. He flinches a bit at the solutions stings him, but I hold down his shoulder to keep him still. I then proceed to apply the antibacterial cream on the gash. Finally, I cover the wound with a thin layer of cotton and wrap medical gauze around his shoulder to keep the cotton in place.

"There all done. Now avoid getting it wet. I will check on the wound tomo... oh!"

Two things strike me at the same time. One, it is not my place to dictate to him or order him around. Second, my hand is resting on his back, absentmindedly stroking it. Jeet attempts to turn himself, to face me. The sudden movement, makes my hand slide across his back, thrusting me forward into his chest.

Reminiscent of the incident on the train, his hands automatically wrap around me, holding me in place, my cheek resting against his bare, hard chest. My senses go on a spin as soon as his warm, sensual scent hits me.

Jeet seems in no hurry to let go, his fingers gripping me tightly. I look to his face to apologise, but forget what I want to say, when I see the dilated pupils of his beautiful caramel eyes calling to me, inviting me to let go my inhibitions and succumb in its depths. Both our breathing has become heavy and laboured.

"Tarana," he whispers in his deep, velvety voice. At the sound of the longing in his voice, the fire of desire in the pit of my stomach is sparked, slowly spreading its long fiery fingers across my body. Jeet's hands slowly move upwards, gently caressing my back, moving over my arms, shoulders, reaching my neck. My mouth has gone dry, my lips itching to touch his.

"Don't go," he implores earnestly. I place my hand on his chest and he takes an audible intake of breath. Applying a little pressure, I push against his chest, breaking away from his intoxicating presence, getting up from the bed.

"Please, Jeet.. this is not right! You are getting married to Zenia. I can't.. we can't..."

He pushes himself off the bed, sitting upright. Threading his fingers through his hair, he says, "I am not getting married to Zee."

I gasp midway into swallowing some air to get my breathing back to normal, making me splutter and choke on my own saliva.

"What?" I shriek, once I have regained by breath. "How can you say that? She seemed so excited at the party, when she announced that you two are getting married," I rebuke him, "you cannot do that. No! You can't take away her happiness!"

I start to walk away, angry at the both of us. Poor Zenia will be heartbroken if she finds out what is happening behind her back. This is all my fault.

"She doesn't want to marry me either," he says quietly, making me stop in my tracks.

I whirl around in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Jeet picks up his discarded t-shirt, wearing it in one swift movement, covering up his delicious torso, much to my disappointment.

"We never planned on getting married. We love each other, but only as friends. Not romantically. The marriage announcement was all a big, fat lie."

"Why would you do that?"

Jeets lips lift up at the corners, a naughty twinkle in his eyes, "That was for the benefit of my idiot brother."

"Huh?"

"As you know, we have known Zee since we were kids. Ash and Zee spent a lot of time together and over time, they developed feelings for each other. I have never seen Ash happier than when he was with Zee. She understands him completely, like no one else. They make the perfect couple, but they never made their relationship official."

He wriggles behind to rest his back against the massive, upholstered headboard, clicking the TV remote to bring up photos of young Zenia and Akash. He beckons me to sit down next to him on the bed, which I do. I scoot behind as well, resting my back to the headboard, watching the slideshow of pictures of the two of them, that Jeet has stored on his phone. There are photos of them at a beach, at restaurants, at various functions, at home. Some candid, some posed, but in all of them, their wide smiles and laughing eyes, abundantly show how deep in love, they are with each other.

"Things started going downhill for them, ever since he joined the film industry. The odd working hours and his constant travel for work, pushed a wedge between them. Fed up of waiting for him, Zee moved to London to pursue her studies. When she left, Ash retaliated by developing a reputation as a playboy."

My yawns keep coming at faster intervals, but I fight to keep my eyes open, very interested in listening to the rest of the story.

"Then when he was signed on for this movie, his lead actress Ayrene, wiggled her way into his life, and it further strained the already tenuous relationship of Ash and Zee. Ayrene relentlessly pursued him, deliberately creating misunderstandings between my brother and Zee, so much so that they stopped talking to each other altogether." Jeet shuffles closer to me, our shoulders now touching.

"Akash is Ayrene's ticket to the high life, even if her career wanes. She is pushing Ash hard for marriage. We all know he is still madly in love with Zee and misses her terribly but is too stubborn to admit his mistake. Zee too confided to me that she will always love Ash. So, I decided to something about it."

Now that I think about it, I did notice Akash and Zenia stealing glances at each other. What I thought was contempt, was actually unrequited love.

I let out another yawn, my eyes drooping with sleep. I burrow myself closer to the warmth of Jeet as he continues talking. "I persuaded Zee to announce our wedding, to gauge his reaction – to see if he cared. I think it worked, because Ash has been a mess since he heard the news." I am listening to him with my eyes closed, no longer able to keep them open.

"We had actually planned to tell him in private, a few days later. But when Zee saw Ayrene's desperate message to him at the party, she lost her resolve to play it cool and before I could stop her, she announced our 'wedding'.  Unfortunately, the situation spiralled out of my control, and you left before I got the chance to explain. I really am truly sorry that I kept you in the dark and hurt you in the process."

The gloom that had settled into my heart after the party is slowly lifting, even as I am drifting off to sleep, unable to stay awake any longer. "You mean to say that, you and Zenia are.. not..couple..," I try to form a coherent sentence, my tongue losing connection with my sleepy brain.

His voice seems far away as he says to me, "In case you hadn't realized it, my little piece of heaven, I've had eyes for only one girl, ever since she bumped into me in the morning on my first day of work at the PR department."

His words, spring up hope in my heart filling my insides with lightness till I think I am floating away. I close my eyes, my head dropping to his shoulder, the last thing I remember before being carried away to a land of happy dreams, is that maybe Jeet likes me too.

*********
Jeet's POV

My brain is slowly whirring into consciousness. My eyes still closed, I take a deep breath pulling my blanket to my chin, like I always do, except this blanket seems to be made of hair. The mild scent of a floral shampoo, one that always drives me wild, hits my nostrils, jolting me awake. Tarana is sleeping on my shoulder, with my arm under her, her hair spread over my shoulder and under my chin.

Moving my face to the side, I watch the steady rising and falling of her chest telling me that she is deep in sleep. I try to extricate my arm from under her, but she wriggles, turning towards me, throwing her hand around my abdomen. Her warm, soft body, melds into mine as she snuggles closer. I hold on to her tightly, feeling so blissful. This is way better than what I imagined waking next to her, would be like. This is how I want every morning of mine to be.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted this," I mumble against her neck. I look at her immaculate and peaceful sleeping face. This is the first time I have seen her sleep peacefully without nightmares and worry marring her beautiful features. I could keep looking at her forever. There is something ethereal about her. The innocence that shines in her eyes, and raw simplicity was what attracted me to her in the first place. And her smile, gosh, her dazzling smile! I would do anything, to see the smile that not only lights up her face, but everything around her.

I don't know if she heard what I told her about her being the only one I have eyes for, she seemed to be asleep by then. But it's true, I cannot keep myself away from her, no matter how hard I try. And I have tried! Last night, I could have carried her to Alishka's room, but I could not muster the willpower to keep her away. So, I let her sleep in my bed, convincing myself that otherwise I would disturb her, even though in my heart I knew, I just want to spend as much time as possible near her.

I move the hair covering her face and tuck it behind her ear. She said she was moving in with Akshay. I just hope my instinct that she was lying about it, is true. It hurts so much, to even think of her with someone else. When I went to US, her thought occupied my mind every waking minute. I am so far gone in love - mom, dad and even Zee noticed it.

I look at my watch - it's six in the morning. As much as I would love to continue lying next to Tarana, I must finish a lot of work to clear my schedule before we leave for Nainital today and make sure all arrangements are in place, when we land there. I tug my arm as gently as I can, but it still manages to shake her awake.

Her eyes flutter open, as she takes in her surrounding, rolling away when she comprehends her sleeping position. I already miss her warmth and stop myself from pulling her in again.

"Good morning," she smiles shyly, "I don't know when I dozed off."

Her slightly coarse, sleep laden voice sounds so sexy, my senses get all fired up. If she only knew the effect, she has on me. I need to have another cold shower this morning! The feeling seems mutual though, at the way her beautiful almond eyes widen, as she looks at me.

"I must be really boring you," I joke, trying to lighten the situation, before I do something foolish, like smother her with kisses.

She rubs her eyes, sitting up on the bed, "Actually it means I feel so safe with you, that I can let my guard down and be comfortable enough to fall asleep around you," she smiles shyly.

My chest swells with happiness but deflates when I think of Akshay. Does she feel the same with him? "I hope Akshay won't mind," I reply, batting away the thought of her like this, with him.

Her brows furrow for a second, before her lips turn into a wicked smile, her eyes teasing, "Akshay is too busy with his boyfriend Samar, to care."

"Are you saying," I ask tentatively, hope and excitement budding in my chest, "you are not dating Akshay?"

She shakes her head sheepishly, "Akshay bats for the other team. There never was or will ever be, any attraction between us, let alone dating. We are just really good friends. I lied to you, because I didn't want to come between you and Zenia. I thought I was protecting all of us."

I almost cry with happiness, embracing her tightly. It feels like a large weight has lifted off my chest. I could feel her smile into my shoulder, before she wraps her arms around me, equally tightly.

After what could be hours or seconds, I get up from the bed "Let's go take care of your relatives once and for all," I hold out my hand to her. A plan is forming in my head and I have no time to waste.

"Come on!"

*********
End of Jeet's POV