"Prince Rhaegar loved his lady Lyanna and thousands died for it"
-George R.R. Martin
A week had passed since the arrival of Salim's letter and during the interim, the Russian mobster had been suspiciously quiet. Shruti no longer went to her favorite coffee shop in Brooklyn but they knew that even if she were to go there, the mob boss wouldn't be waiting for her, he wasn't that stupid. Mishti could see how restless Ronobir was becoming, he feared his people were going to believe him unfit to rule if he didn't manage to catch Salim. Although she had heard Rishabh saying that whatever uprising might have been hatching, had come to a complete stop after the action Ronobir had taken the night she had found him bloodied and bruised.
It surprised Mishti that the Russian man hadn't made an appearance even after his sister had ended up in the hospital. Ronobir had told her about Ayesha Kamali; a girl who refused to share the lifestyle of her family and had distanced herself from them. Unfortunately, that didn't help her because she was still trapped in their crossfire and had suffered collateral damage. Ronobir and his people had put her in the hospital trying to send a message to Salim; the man had yet to respond. When Ronobir had told her about what they had done, she had been horrified but not nearly as much as she thought she would be, Salim was responsible for her brother's death and he had to pay, it didn't matter who had to suffer because of it.
Mishti was lost in her thoughts, as one of Arya Sareen's men drove her back to the Chatterjee mansion, with two more cars trailing behind them, as at the moment nothing could be too safe. The girls had been busy, going through some of the designs for Shruti's bridesmaids and they had even gone to see some wedding dresses, although the bride had yet to find 'the' perfect dress that spoke to her heart.
During the moments Mishti spent with her friend busy planning her wedding, she could almost make herself forget the events that had turned their lives upside down, she could pretend to be carefree and forget that a high-rate criminal was out to destroy them and that her brother had been brutally put to the ground only a few months ago. These moments served as a reprieve from the constant nightmare that was like a shroud upon their lives. Sipping champagne and laughing next to Arya, while Shruti modeled wedding dresses, Mishti felt as lighthearted as any twenty-five-year-old could feel. She wished Ananya had agreed to come with them, but she was still not ready to go out in the world. Mishti's heart ached every time she saw her wandering the halls like a ghost. It wasn't that Mishti didn't mourn her brother because she did, there were days when the pain was so intense that she felt like she was choking but those days seemed to be few and far between now. She grieved but she didn't let the pain sink her into despondency, unlike Ananya who had given herself up to it completely.
Mishti walked inside the house and was surprised to find it so quiet, Shanaya was going to school now so she wasn't around as often as before and she guessed Ronobir and his men were in the basement working out. She went upstairs to freshen up and was on her way to see Ronobir when something caught her attention, the door to Ananya's room was ajar and she could hear the faint sounds of music coming from it.
"I don't think I'll ever be good at this!"
"Relax sweetheart; you've been on this a few days only. You'll get better with time," Mishti's eyes widened when she heard Sikander's voice and even though every bone in her body was telling her not to, she couldn't help stepping closer and peaking inside the room.
Ananya was currently slumped on her bed with a guitar carelessly tossed to the side and Sikander was sitting at the edge of the bed.
"No, I don't think I can do it," Ananya said in a voice that sounded so defeated, it made Mishti's heart sink in her chest.
They remained silent for a few seconds until Sikander reached out and picked up the guitar Ananya had thrown aside. "Here, let me show you," he took the instrument in his hand and started playing the chords softly, while he tried to show Ananya what she was supposed to do.
Mishti recognized the tune being 'Shiddat' by Manan Bhardwaj; Ananya was focused on watching Sikander's fingers on the strings while he was staring intently at her. Mishti knew that he had feelings for Ananya, anyone with a pair of eyes could see that and although it didn't upset Mishti it did make her nervous, only because she didn't know Sikander well enough to trust him and she didn't want her friend to get hurt again.
"Let me try!" Ananya said and he handed the guitar over to her. She started playing again and then missed one of the notes and cursed, "Fuck, I'll never be able to!" her eyes welled up with tears
"Hey, hey it's all right," Sikander's eyes were soft and he raised his hand as if to reach out and touch her but in the end decided against it, "It'll get better eventually!"
Ananya looked down with evident distress, "No it won't!"
Sikander smiled kindly at her, "Trust me it will."
After staring at her quietly for a few seconds, Sikander decided to pick up the guitar again and started playing another melody. Ananya stared at him silently before asking him something she had been dying to ask him, "Don't you hate this life?"
He didn't even hesitate for a minute, "The one I had before was worse," he replied, his fingers still focused on the instrument in his hands.
Ananya looked at him as if he had lost his mind, before shaking her head and moving to rest her back on the headboard, "I don't believe it. Here there's danger on every corner...I hate that I was born in the middle of it."
Sikander's fingers stopped moving and he raised his head to stare at her, "I am an orphan you know. Was born in Manchester and was raised in different orphanages, the next one is always worse than the one before. When I was ten I ran away with some other kids."
"I'm sorry!" Ananya said as she winced slightly.
"We lived on the streets, stealing, doing anything to survive," Sikander's eyes had a faraway look and Mishti felt bad for spying on their private moment but she couldn't find the strength to leave. "We had thought that life in the orphanages was hard...we had no idea. Cold nights with no blanket to cover you, dirty clothes, not showering for days, and the violence... the violence on the streets..."
"How did you get to meet Mr. Chatterjee?"
"I stole from him," Sikander said with a wince, "I know...stupid move, right? It was only a watch but he beat the crap out of me. I was twelve at the time. He told me there was potential in me but that I should never steal from a man like him... I think he was going to kill me but Ronobir interjected, he was fifteen around that time," a smile appeared on his lips at the mention of his friend.
"And?"
"Udayveer took me in. Taught me everything and even gave me a family. An elderly woman in the Italian mafia grew fond of me and she and her husband adopted me. Udayveer gave me everything and I became his soldier, and with time Ronobir's most trusted soldier as well."
Ananya seemed to absorb his words for a few seconds before responding, "And you like it here?"
His smile was warm as he looked at her, "They gave me a home Ananya, something I never had before. Ronobir is my best friend, he and Rishabh are my family too and I would gladly die for them."
"They sure know how to inspire loyalty."
He chuckled, "They do and mine lies with them. So no, I don't regret this life."
Ananya leaned down with a smile and took the guitar from his hands again ending their conversation. She started to play as he watched her starry-eyed; Mishti felt like she had intruded enough on their intimate moment, so she finally pulled away from the door and headed back to the hallway.
The Chatterjee mansion had a complete underground floor, which they called the basement, but Mishti thought it resembled a bunker more than anything. On one side of the floor was the clinic-like place where Ronobir had recuperated from his injuries and on the other side was the training room, where her husband and his men worked out almost on daily basis.
As she walked down the stairs her mind went back to Sikander and his life story. Although with time he had grown on her and she now considered him a friend of sorts, when she had first met him she had thought him to be a cold-hearted man who only enjoyed violence. She thought of how easy it was to prejudge people according to their belief systems and moral dispositions without trying to find out what had led them to become what they had and what lay in their hearts.
Once downstairs, Mishti followed the direction of the noise which led her to the room where the guys were training. When she reached the glass windows that separated her from them she felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs at the alluring sight of her shirtless husband who was clad in a pair of dark pants hanging dangerously low on his hips. He was boxing with Rishabh, his naked chest glistened with sweat and a lock of hair fell over his forehead, her reaction was so intense and so visceral, she felt her gut tighten and her panties moisten with an immediate rush of potent arousal.
She was never one to get turned out by violent men, well before she had met him that is, but as she watched her husband in a boxing match with his brother, her entire body started to burn with need, her core clenched and throbbed with a pulsating heat that made her tighten and release her inner muscles to ease some of the growing tension between her legs. She saw his muscles contracting as he lunged for Rishabh, the crowd gathered below the ring cheering them as they went against each other, and at that moment all she wanted to do was run her hands along the muscles in his smooth back longing to feel their power as he thrust his cock inside her.
Mishti felt herself getting even wetter as she watched Ronobir moving around with the agility of a panther and the fierceness of a wolf. She absently rubbed her legs together trying to ease the ache that was threatening to make her attack his body in front of everybody. It was insane how Ronobir could take her from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds; she never felt more alive than when she was in his presence.
As if he sensed her watching him, he turned his head to the window to look at her, there was a cut across his brow and a taint of blood on his lips which only made him look more appealing to her. He looked rugged and dangerous and his lips curled in a smirk as he winked at her before charging back at his brother Mishti knew that she needed to relieve the tension inside her or she would go crazy with frustration.
She let out a shaky breath and rushed back in the direction of her bedroom. Her skin was on fire and her entire core tingled with burgeoning desire. She never knew it could be like this; never knew that merely a look from him could turn her crazy with lust, that one glance in his direction would make her entire body come alive with need.
Mishti reached her room and almost in a daze went to her dresser where she had hidden the vibrator, she had bought on a dare by Shruti. She had never used it before but now she thought it could come in handy.
Feeling decidedly naughty, Mishti slid her panties down sensuously feeling her smooth skin, and lay down in the bed with her dress bunched up around her waist; she checked the batteries in the device and turned it on as her mind wandered back to images of Ronobir in the training room.
She threw her head back as she pinched her nipples with one hand and let the other guide the vibrator to the bundle of nerves that was by now throbbing wildly. Every nerve ending in her body was tingling with arousal as she imagined Ronobir running his hands through her body, his fingers pumping in and out, as his teeth nipped her sensitive bud and his expert tongue took her to unimaginable heights of pleasure, she moaned and whimpered as she thrashed around desperate to reach the release that was alluding her. She moved the vibrator up and down her clit all the while her other hand imitated Ronobir playing with her nipples.
Mishti was so caught up in her wanton world filled with hedonistic pleasures of the flesh, that she didn't hear the bedroom door opening or the quiet footsteps approaching the bed. She was only aware of someone's presence when he leaned down over her and took the vibrator in his own hands.
"What the..." her words died down in her throat as she opened her lust-filled eyes to find the sweaty figure of her husband hovering over her.
"Someone's being a bad girl," he said with a smirk, his eyes darkened to black with desire, before leaning down and kissing her hungrily. Mishti moaned into his mouth as she released her hand from the vibrator, letting him be the one to control it. "What were you thinking about my love? Were you imagining me rubbing my hard cock along your pussy?" he asked against her mouth as he put a knee on each side of her, trapping her under his body as his hand moved the object between her legs in small circles, playing with its intensity driving her crazier. "Answer my question, Mishti!"
"You!" she breathed out as her belly clenched even tighter at his crude words, she felt chills run up and down her spine as she imagined his cock in her mouth, in her hands, slamming inside her repeatedly, "I always think about you."
"Good answer!" she could feel him smirking against the skin of her neck, his breath hot against her, his teeth biting her and his tongue laving the spot he bit. She could feel his throbbing erection against her and she mindlessly start to grind herself against him and he let out an animalistic growl. Her hands took a mind of her own and she got rid of his shirt, her fingers roamed the expanse of damp skin as she undid the drawstrings of his pants to slide them down. Her mind reminded her how his muscles had flexed as he fought his brother, and she squeezed his ass. "Do you like this?" he said hoarsely, looking as turned as she was feeling, as he inched the tip of the vibrator inside her, "Do you like feeling it, does it remind you of my cock as I slowly thrust in and then pull out?"
"Yes," she whimpered, the sensation of the vibrator inside her and Ronobir's throbbing erection against her thighs.
He raised his head and his brown eyes stared so deeply at her that she swore she was drowning in them, "Enjoy it then my dear, because this is the closest to fucking any other cock you're going to get," that he plunged the device almost up and flicked his finger against her clit sending her into an explosion of pleasure so intense she thought she would never recover. She almost passed out, her vision blinding as uncontrollable tremors wrecked her entire body
"Oh Ne...Ronobir...oh... God!" she cried out as he lunged for her breast and started sucking them through the fabric of her dress, her hands went to his hair to hold him to her. The aftershocks of her climax still ran through her.
He released her breasts and smirked with satisfaction as he saw her flushed face and perky nipples, "Who would have thought you'd be such a naughty girl?" He sat back on his haunches and tossed the vibrator to the side, the sight of his impressive erection arousing her all over again. His gaze roamed hungrily over her body and Mishti felt the telltale sign of another impending orgasm coming on. "You like it don't you? You like it when I am in control?"
Mishti could feel herself blushing and wanted to refute him, wanted to tell him he didn't control her and that no one ever would but she knew deep down that it was a lie. Because at least in this aspect, she loved giving him all the control, loved knowing she was at his mercy and he could do whatever he wanted with her because she knew that he would rock her world.
"What do you want Mishti?" his hand started roaming the expanse of her legs inching closer and closer to where she wanted them to be.
"Tell me," he demanded hoarsely.
"You!" her mouth went dry as she breathed out. "I want you, I want your mouth on me everywhere, I want your hands, I want you!"
He smirked at her and leaned towards the bed to retrieve a condom before he got rid of his pants. "On your hands and knees baby," he ordered and she complied willingly, her heart racing when she felt him behind her.
"You have no idea how much I need you, Mishti," he ran his hand towards her back, making her dress ride even higher before he got rid of it completely. "I am in a constant state of arousal because of you."
She moaned as he kneaded the flesh of her buttocks and when he slapped her slightly, the pain and pleasure centers of her brain combined to send such a wave of unparalleled pleasure that she screamed. When he took his member in his hand to guide the tip into the tighter opening in her back, she couldn't help but hiss and tense in response. He chuckled, "Relax baby, I won't be taking that route today. But maybe someday I will, as I want to feel myself in every inch of your body, I want you to feel me everywhere, I want you to be mine and only mine, and I want to own you completely," with that he surged forward into her pussy and filled her.
Mishti moaned as she threw her head back, his hand tangled in her hair as he pulled it and pounded into her wildly. He began entering and withdrawing her with erotic precision, his one hand squeezed her ass and the other tugged her hair as he pulled her forward to impale her over and over. The slapping sound of their skin meeting each other, the symphony of their pleasure-filled moans and groans, and the smell of their intimacy, pervaded the entire bedroom as they lost themselves in carnal delight. She braced her hands against the headboard as he dove into her over and over.
"Fuck Ronobir!"
"You were made for me baby doll," he said in a voice muffled with desire, "Only for me." He hovered over her so his chest was pressed into her back and his hand released her hair to reach for her full and aching breasts and started to flick at her nipples, "Tell me you're mine, Mishti"
"You know I am," she panted as his hips flexed brutally behind her and his teeth nipped the skin leaving wet kisses all over her neck.
"Tell me"
"I am yours Ronobir-oh fuck please don't stop!" she shouted as she felt him growing thicker inside and as he hit that spongy spot inside her, she cried out loud as stars appeared in her line of vision and she almost blacked out again.
He gripped her tightly as he thrust a couple of more times, her clenching muscles as she came, toppled him over the edge, his whole body stiffened and he released himself inside her. They let out a primal shout as they both came together in one of the most intense orgasms of their lives. Sweaty bodies tangled around each other as they both collapsed onto the bed panting frantically as they tried to gain control of their breaths.
"You are going to be the death of me," he huffed breathlessly as he drew her into his arms and snuggled his face into her soft hair.
"I am going to be the death of you?" she said in fake indignation, but with a smile on her face as she enjoyed the feel of his body against hers.
"I would not be so consumed with thoughts of you if you weren't so damn alluring," he nipped her shoulder playfully and she giggled in response. Her heart was bursting with happiness at the thought that she hounded his mind as much as he plagued hers.
"I think you're the alluring one!"
"Let's just agree to disagree," he told her as he kissed her cheek and she couldn't help but relax completely in his embrace. There was no place she'd rather be right now than on this bed with him, the skin of his chest against her back as his hands traced absent circles on her stomach. It was the epitome of perfection for her.
They remained in silence for a few minutes and Mishti felt a delicious exhaustion start to invade her body, her mind getting foggy with each rhythmic stroke of his hand on her body. She yawned and heard him chuckling behind her, "Go to sleep sweety."
"Uhmm!" dreamland was already starting to claim her for its own. "I love you Ronobir!" she said softly before succumbing completely to its embrace.
Ronobir remained in silence watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept, he kept mulling her words in his head. He swore his heart stopped beating every time she whispered, 'I love you' to him and a part of him wanted nothing more than to say them back, but there was another part that did nothing but wonder how it was possible for her to feel that way about him and how long before she would realize that he was a psychopath with no redeeming qualities and then she would leave him.
With a resigned sigh, he did his best to extricate himself from her body as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her and headed towards the bathroom for a shower. Afterward, he stepped outside in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else, he glanced towards the bed where his wife was still soundlessly asleep. He felt his heart constricting at the sight of her, so innocent and pure, a girl who loved him despite the monster he was.
He walked towards the bed and covered her with the comforter, knowing how cold she felt most of the time, before placing a kiss on her forehead and walking out of the bedroom. He headed to the living room and poured himself a generous glass of bourbon before sitting down in front of the fireplace lost in his thoughts.
What was love? He wondered briefly. He wasn't even sure if he knew what the emotion felt like. He had felt 'love' for Rishabh and Sarah only and for his mother to some degree but that was different. They were his blood; he had to love them, didn't he?
Mishti was a whole different ballgame; she was his wife and by the rules of the society he was supposed to love her, yet his father hadn't loved his mother nor had his mother loved him. But Mishti loved him, she told him that repeatedly and he could see the evidence in her eyes whenever she looked at him tenderly.
But the burning question that troubled him was whether he loved her back.
In his weak moments, during the heat of passion and the darkness of the night he had allowed himself to whisper those words to her but was he capable of such a thing? Did he even know what being in love mean? Or was he confusing lust with love? Was he holding onto the fantasy that somehow he could be something more than the monster he was supposed to be?
"I can hear the wheels churning against each other from here," Rishabh said with a hint of mockery in his voice as he walked inside the room and headed toward where his brother was sitting.
"Go away, Rishabh!" Ronobir muttered before bringing the tumbler to his lips.
The youngest Chatterjee chuckled as he sat next to his brother, "Penny for your thoughts."
"I don't need more pennies."
"Show off!"
They gazed quietly at the fireplace for a few seconds, both of them with a glass in their hands as the fire blazed in front of them, the cracking sounds of the logs seemed even louder in the quietness of the night.
"Do you ever wish for life to be different?" Rishabh asked out of the blue as Ronobir looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What? I'm feeling philosophical today."
"No Rishu," Ronobir lied. "My life is exactly like I want it to be."
Rishabh let out a soft laugh while shaking his head, "You do realize that I've known you my whole life?" Ronobir shrugged as if to say it didn't make a difference. "I never thanked you right?"
Ronobir looked startled for a second as his eyes found his brother's, "Thanked me?"
Rishabh gave him a sympathetic smile before moving his eyes back to the crackling fire in front of them, "I know that dad only went easy on me because of you."
Ronobir felt an ache start in his chest at his words and he quickly polished off his drinks in hopes that it would numb the twinge, "Rishu..."
"You always protected me, Ronobir, and you still do. I always felt that you were more like a father to me than our real dad."
The Chatterjee brothers were not used to showing emotion but every once in a while they would let their guard down and open up to each other, just like Rishabh was doing at the moment, "And you know why you did that?"
"Because it was my duty," Ronobir said without hesitation.
Rishabh shook his head in the direction of his brother, "Because you love me."
"You're my family!"
"That doesn't mean anything. Sikander is not our blood, Rudra either," Ronobir let the words sink in for a moment. In some way his brother was right, those men were not related by blood to them and yet he cared about them just as much.
A frown appeared on his face as he got up and went to the cart to pour more bourbon into his tumbler, "And your point being?"
Rishabh snorted as he watched his brother walk back to the couch, "You got to get your head out of your ass and tell the poor girl you love her."
Ronobir stopped in his tracks and glanced at his brother, "What?"
"Even a blind man can see it," Rishabh said with a roll of his eyes.
The elder Chatterjee's jaw clenched as she sat back down and sipped his liquor slowly, "You don't know what you're talking about."
Rishabh sighed and leaned back onto the couch, one leg crossed on top of his knee as he looked kindly at his brother, "When you first told me about your plan I thought you were insane. I mean you had spent your whole life running away from marriage, why would you want it? You had dozens of women throwing themselves at you."
"I had to, you know the Italian mafia would have thought less of me."
"I do but it didn't have to be her. Pari came here herself asking to be your 'queen'," Rishabh rolled his eyes at the words his now-sister-in-law had used. "But the moment you saw Mishti, you knew you wanted her, I couldn't see it then but I do now."
Ronobir's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline, "You do?"
"There's a light in her, she's good and kind. Refreshing and somehow the darkness that lurks inside of you gets drawn to her."
"You are feeling poetic as well as philosophical it seems," Ronobir muttered. "When I first told dad about the deal I wanted to strike with Ishaan he applauded me you know? Said I was acting like a Chatterjee and going after what I wanted."
And in some ways that had made Ronobir soar, he had spent his whole life doing things to please his father, trying to be the perfect son in his eyes, and yet despite winning the admiration of every member of the family, Udayveer still seemed to be the hardest to please.
"Dad was a dick!" Rishabh said under his breath and it surprised Ronobir to hear the bitterness in his brother's tone.
"Yea he was, but so am I," he said harshly. All anyone had to do was take a look at the way he had treated Mishti when he had first brought her to his home, to realize he was nothing but his father's child. "And I did what I wanted without caring about her and you know what the funny thing is? Before it wouldn't have mattered! It didn't for a few weeks but then she... she snuck up on me and Bappa...I...!" Ronobir downed the rest of his glass and leaned towards the couch, his eyes almost frantic as they gazed at the fire, "I get so angry with her sometimes you know? Because I shouldn't be caring and somehow she manages to make me!"
Rishabh gave him a kind smile, "Love does that Ronobir, it changes people."
"Not me. It can't!"
Because then he wouldn't be strong enough to keep them all safe.
"Don't let his ghost still reign over you brother," Rishabh told him softly. "You're the only one still giving him power." Ronobir remained silent, his brother's words affecting him more than they should. "I think I might become a psychologist," the younger brother said with a chuckle and Ronobir couldn't help but laugh as he mentally thanked him for lightening the mood again.
Ronobir had always thought himself to be a man without feelings but he was afraid that Mishti Khanna was changing that about him.