Page 154 of One Hellish Desire

“I don’t treat you as a separate identity. You and me are one,” he replies, entwining our fingers, and brings them to his mouth.

I watch him kiss my fingers, and he doesn’t drop his gaze from me either. We are one. Are we yet? I smile back, knowing that emotionally we are, but physically, I still haven’t given him that liberty.

My phone rings hard on the couch where I had discarded it. He picks it up first and puts it to my ear.

“Hey,” I mouth a thank you to Vikram, continuing my talk, sitting on his lap. “I’m in the washroom,” I lie. “Coming there in a bit.”

I disconnect the call and try to get off him, but he holds me there.

“Sorry, Vikram, but I have to go. I’m the host of that party.”

He sighs.

“Why don’t you join us? It’ll be fun.”

“No thanks.” He kisses the back of my hand and helps me get down, even pulls my dress to make it presentable again. His eyes never leave me as I arrange the spaghetti straps on my shoulders properly.

“You said something about the zip earlier...” He asks, pulling me to him again and fiddling with the zip of my dress.

“Don’t...” I giggle and wriggle in his hold as he unzips it an inch and zips it back.

“Go enjoy your party while I do some business here.”

I’m glad he’s letting me go and not dragging me home. And how can I forget, he still owns this club and has work to do since he’s here after a long time.

“I’ll call you once the party is over. Does Daadi know you’re here?”

“She knows. I went home first before coming here.”

“Right.” I’m so excited. I peck his cheek, raising on my toes, and quickly rush to the door.

“Cub...” he calls out, and I turn. “Avoid the man in the green jacket. He’s been drooling over you a lot.”

Green jacket? Oh yes, I caught that man from the party looking at me once tonight.

“I will. Wonder why you didn’t throw him out of the party yet.”

“If he crosses his limits, he’ll be out of this city, not just the club, baby.”

I laugh at his possessiveness, and passing a flying kiss, I’m out.

The party is no longer the same for me. I know my husband is watching me all the time, and it gives me both joy and goosebumps. But I stop being conscious soon and join my girl gang for a dance. I want him to see me, my dance moves, my happiness, my everything, now that he’s here. I glance at the CCTV cameras occasionally, letting him know I’m aware he’s watching me, and I love it.

VIKRAM

Maahi knows I’m watching her, and hence all her dance moves are seductive… I grip the edge of my desk as I gawk at my wife on my laptop screen, a live feed from the CCTV cameras installed at various angles of the club. It’s not her beauty that captivates me, but her heart, and it gives me immense relief that she has given that heart to me, not to own it but to protect and cherish.

I check my watch. It’s 11:30 pm here, and I decide to call my parents in New York, who might have begun their day, to know how they are doing. Mom doesn’t answer my call, but Dad does after a few rings.

“Dad.” I clear my throat.

“Got your message, Son. I know you reached safe. You don’t have to do any formalities by calling us up every day.”

I sigh, leaning back on the chair. “I’m not going to call you once a month, Dad.”

That wasn’t a taunt, but it felt like one to my dad.

“You’re just counting my mistakes!”

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