Let Me Hold You

Avyan had had a rough day right from the beginning that day. Earlier, on such days, he used to either get shit-faced drunk with his friends or sit by the pool strumming his guitar after breaking more than half of the things in his room; one can perfectly sum it up as a rich brat's tantrums. However, things had changed a little since Nitya had arrived in his life. He still had his moments of violent outbursts but those stopped giving him satisfaction after he found his way into Nitya's arms.

If a few months ago someone had told him that he could find a home in someone's arms, he would have laughed in their face, and called them a fool. Now? Now he wasn't sure anymore.

He used to claim to be in a seven-year relationship, one of love, with Shanaya.

'If that was love, then this is madness!' He thought.

"Let me hold you for a while, Nitya." Nitya looked into his eyes and saw the exhaustion lurking in his eyes as if he was tired of fighting the world. Alone. But his request was not easy for Nitya to give in to because she knew what he didn't. An embrace would only complicate things when they both longed for each other. That would only make letting go harder.

"Please!" The plea in his voice did it for her. Abandoning all sense, she nodded. Avyan didn't waste a second to wrap his arms around her. Nuzzling his face in her hair, he breathed in her scent, one of pink peonies and white musk. Flowery yet sensual, sweet yet spicy, just like her.

Nitya tried to stop herself from melting in his embrace but she couldn't help herself. The Avyan Oberoi charm was something she was intoxicated on. A drug she was scared of, its addiction powerful; something she could hold off but could never get out of her system, that was what the man in her arms was to her.

Avyan moved a little to say something but his lower lip brushed against her neck which made them both freeze in place as a shiver ran down their spines. Both were equally affected by the simmering chemistry between them. In a daze, he pursed his lips and brushed them against Nitya's skin in one of the softest kisses one would have ever known. This made her jerk a little as sense struck into her with a force.

"Avyan, Tarun!" Nitya reminded him as she pushed him away a little with her tiny hands. Avyan couldn't help but remember their moments from not so long ago when she used to push him away reminding him of Shanaya, his 'girlfriend' back then. Avyan rolled his tongue in his cheek, obviously annoyed by the interruption but then, internally, he knew she was right. He couldn't make her a cheater, just like she never allowed him to become one.

"I'm sorry!" Nitya couldn't imagine how much it took Avyan to utter those words. He was a proud, arrogant man with everything available at his disposal. Even at times when he knew he was wrong, he never felt the need to apologize because according to him, it was better that way. But then, Nitya was not just any another person in the world for him.

"It's okay, it's alright. But, please leave." Nitya, although flabbergasted at this unexpected gesture, thought his apology was for what had transpired between them a few moments ago.

"No, Nitya. I'm not apologizing for now. In fact, I assure you, I'm never going to apologize for coming close to you, or touching you when even you want the same thing." He stepped forward towards her with his fingers outstretched, not touching hers but just letting his touch ghost over them, inducing a longing feeling inside her heart to gather them in her palms.

"Trust me, Nitya when I say this; this is not the last time you'll find me close, close to you." He leaned forward, his forehead touching hers, "closer to you!" Nitya's breath hitched in her throat hearing Avyan's words. The 'oh-so visible' reaction of hers definitely didn't go unnoticed by the perceptive man in front of her and he couldn't help but let a grin take over his face.

'Oh, yeah! She's still affected by me.' He wanted to fist-bump in the air but refrained from acting like a total buffoon in front of her.

Nitya was annoyed with herself for letting her emotions show on her face, annoyed with the shit-eating grin that Avyan sported on his face. With a poker face on, she asked, "So what were you actually apologizing for?"

"Uhm, that, hmm" Avyan was suddenly nervous as he cleared his throat a few times in hesitation. It was a big thing for him to admit his wrong-doings. It was easier for him to accept it within his heart but a lot harder to bow down in front of someone else.

"What? Do you need cough drops or something to speak now?" Nitya asked sarcastically. She didn't know what to base her annoyance on, Avyan's dilly-dallying or her own body's reaction to him.

"You know what? Forget it." Nitya's sarcastic tone didn't sit well with Avyan. If only she could control her tongue for a few seconds! Maybe he was finally rubbing off on her.

This made Nitya feel guilty for a second before she let it pass. She could worry about Avyan's apology later because for now, she needed him to go out of her room.

After their little intimate encounter, she was feeling as if the room had shrunk in size and of course, Avyan's overbearing presence only just added fuel to the fire. This was not her plan. She wasn't supposed to go all soft on him; she wasn't supposed to succumb to his charms.

He turned on his heel and walked out of her room, not before taking in her face to reminisce about the sleepless night awaiting him. Nitya failed to hide the blush that had crept on her face under Avyan's soul-searching gaze but thankfully, he didn't notice due to the dim lighting in the room. Or maybe he just didn't want to call her out on it.