Chapter 2

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUDGE!

What on earth was he doing here?!

"Waiting for you" he smirked and Nandini could have kicked herself for realizing that she had spoken the words out loud. Still it took her a good few minutes to understand that the reason why her usually always-on-alert-mode mind was not working was because she was still in his arms and because she couldn't look away from his eyes!

She tried to step back. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she yelled while trying to remove his hands from her waist but it was useless. If anything, that only made him hold her tighter!

"Listen, relax" he tried to say in a patient voice but sadly, patience wasn't one of Nandini Murthy's virtues. Going with impulse, she reacted without thinking and kneed the man hard where sun didn't shine. But that action was useless too. Apparently, the man didn't only look smart but was actually smart too because already been anticipating this move, not only he dodged her attack, he also managed to turn her around in a jiffy and held her hands behind her back. He pushed her further and the next moment, Nandini found herself trapped between him and the wall with her back pressed tightly to his front.

She could feel his hot breath all over her backless top and it was doing strange things to her body, like sending constant shivers down her spine though her body was still hot and tired after the long performance, making her pant which she usually didn't since her long practice hours had increased her stamina to an admirable level, making her wish she was here but at the same time not here which was really weird and bad because she did not give herself the luxury to ever remain confused about anything. That just didn't work in her world! And after a long time, she felt a touch on her skin which didn't feel dirty.

Dirty!

Wham!

Back to reality!

"Mujhe bas chillane ki der hai and I guarantee ki agle five minutes k baad tumhaari body koi pehchaan bhi nahi paayega" she threatened through gritted teeth because if truth be told, though her mind was back on track, almost, his touch was still captivating and distracting and...

"Wow" she heard him whisper and closed her eyes. Why was the sound of his awed voice was acting like music to her ears? "This is incredible"

"Holding a girl against her will is incredible for you?" Had she not been held like this, Nandini was sure she would have spat on his face!

"No" the surprise was still there in his voice "Mumbai's top dancer who can make an guy dance to her tune is bad at lying, that's incredible"

Shocked beyond words, Nandini could only wait for him to either make his next move or say something else. How had he guessed she was lying? She thought for a moment. He appeared to be a businessman, so maybe it was because of that. Being a profit earner, he would have the ability to see through a person's facade. Hers too. Fuck this was bad. Really, really bad.

"Koi nahi aayega yahaan, hain na?" he asked in a soft voice.

Nandini didn't reply. It was the truth. She hated this place and the people who lived here. Be it Ellis or someone else, she hated everybody who had chosen to make this dirt their life. And that hatred included herself too. If only she had been more educated or had had other means to support herself then no way in hell she would have been stranded here. Nandini maintained a huge possibledistance from every person living here. That was why she had strictly instructed, rather threatened Ellison to ensure that nobody came after her or near her after she finished her performance.

Only the girls were allowed to see her if they were not being held in chambers to get fucked. No one else was. Usually she was alone because girls like Jessica and Tracy did not hold a power over Ellis. They were not as skilled as Nandini and so the only way through which they could survive was to believe that their body didn't belong to them but for the hordes of men out there who could pinch and pull and eat them the way they liked. She was the only one who had managed to keep her honor or rather her virginity intact till now though honestly, dancing ninety percent naked in front of heartless monsters every night was certainly not an honorable job. Still, she hadn't had any bastard inside her, yet.

But this man was right. Nobody would come. For someone who was always so careful and confident, today Nandini realized what a big mistake she had committed by shutting all lines of communication after performance. Physically this man was overpowering and she had no other way to ask someone for help. And the fact that he knew this only got her double screwed.

"I take your silence as a yes" his voice broke her chain of thoughts and Nandini gritted her teeth again. Fuck it! She didn't need anyone to protect her! She would handle it and she would show him that just because she was tiny did not mean that she could be messed around with. She had always been on her own and had managed to take care of herself and today was going to be no different.

Nandini smirked. So he knew she wasn't lying. Well, then right now, it was time for honesty is the best policy.

"You are right" she said in a husky voice, a complete contrast to her rude tone. "I'm all alone" she leaned further back into him, letting his body feel hers, and smirked with satisfaction when she heard his sharp intake of breath. "Koi nahi aayega" she knew her hands were near his stomach. Unclenching her fingers, she began to softly trace his blazer, caressing him. "To phir hum time kyun waste kar rahe hain?"

Bas ek baar haath chhode de kaminey! She swore. Phir bataoongi ki ye red beauty kya-kya kar sakti hai.

Manik, whose senses had gone haywire the moment she had leaned into him, well his mind had gone for a vacation since the moment he had seen her but with his usual control he had managed to make it  start working again, smirked. He was well familiar with this game of cat and mouse. So the red beauty wanted to play.

Well, well. Game on baby!

"You are right" sighing, he bent and blew air all over the back of her neck and grinned when she reacted exactly how he had reacted a few seconds before. Momentarily out of control. "Since nobody is here to disturb us, we can talk"

Nandini smiled. Now was her chance!

"Talk?" she said in a complaining voice and this time when she gently tried to free her hands, he let her. Turning, she held his collar and pulled him closer. Bad mistake. His eyes were still very hypnotizing. But what had to be done had to be done. Their breaths were almost mingling with such a less distance between their mouths. A small move and then...

"I sent you a note" freeing his collar from her hands, Manik gently pushed her back. It was for his sanity. The girl knew her moves alright. One more minute of this torture and he would not be responsible for the consequences.

"Which note?" Nandini pretended to think though she knew what he was talking about.

Manik could easily see through her pretence but something in him decided to give her benefit of doubt. Grinning his rare mischievous grin, he brought his hand in front to shake. "Hi. I'm M.M. aka Manik Malhotra"

Instead of shaking his hand, Nandini looked at him carefully. What the hell was going on? What was this guy up to? She knew from experience that had it been any other guy in his place, he would have been onto her till now. But this man, he was different. What game was he playing at?

"Can I know the real name of the 'Red Beauty'?" he asked. His hand was still stretched for shaking.

Without thinking, Nandini answered "Nandini Murthy" and she bit her tongue the very next moment. Shit! Here, except the people who worked at the club, nobody else knew her real name. For others, she was a sexy slut with the grace of gold whom many wanted to sleep with. And she preferred to keep it that way. But the man in front of her was driving her out of senses. She had been aware of his gaze on her all the while during her performance which was a first because she never gave a damn about any one particular person and now, only two minutes with him and he knew her real name already. Not good. Not good at all.

"Nandini" he whispered as his hold tightened on her hand.

Nandini held her breath. She did not believe in god. Not anymore. Life had made her an atheist. But she knew what it was to pray, how to pray. There was a time when she used to do it when her father was there to protect her and love and tell her not to give up hope because good always won over evil. Then he had died and the stepmonsters in her life had confirmed that god didn't exist. Then why, why did his tone, the way he had taken her name, sound like a prayer?

"Beautiful" he murmured.

Nandini knew he wasn't talking only about the name and her body. It was more. A genuine compliment. What was happening? She had never thought so much in the presence of a man before. What magic did this guy possess then? Her thoughts were unstoppable today. No, she had to put an end to this madness. And she had to do it quickly.

"So" she said slowly, struggling to remain patient "you want to talk"

"Yes" he smiled.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Why not?"

"Maine tumhaare note ka koi jawaab nahi diya, wo apne aap mein hi ek jawaab tha" her hands were itching to punch off the smirk on his face! "I'm not interested!"

"Tumhe baat karna pasand nahi?"

"Nahi" she replied coldly.

"Kyun?" he asked curiously.

"Kyunki jab main baat karna chaahti thi, tab koi nahi tha.Nandini felt a stinging sensation at the back of her eyes. She wanted to commit murder at that very moment! Why did she feel like crying? WHAT THE FU*K WAS WRONG WITH HER? Emotions were meant for control, not for expression. But this man, he was bringing out the fire inside her which she thought she had extinguished..

"Get out!" she nearly spat and without thinking, pushed him away from her.

"Listen..." he began but Nandini was having none of it. Enough stupidity for tonight and a lifetime! Pehli aur aakhri baar. Dubara nahi hoga. "I SAID GET OUT!" Her eyes were wet and she was going crazy. Control was there but it was on the verge of getting shattered.

Manik held her wrists when she attempted to push him away once again and looked at her quietly for a long moment. Nandini did not want to meet his eyes because she knew hers were wet. But at the same time she didn't want to appear as a weakling so using the anger and hatred she had been saving within herself all these years, she used them as a shield and met his gaze head on.

It worked. Because Manik's gaze hardened at the look in her eyes and letting go of her hands, he turned around and left, not looking back even once.

Nandini watched him leaving. She wanted to shout 'Don't ever come back again' or something abusive but her throat felt too weak to conjure up any sound. Seeing him, Manik, walk away from her, maybe, was painful...

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"Sir there's a phone call for you from Kuwait"

"Later" Manik said without thinking and gestured his assistant to leave him alone with his hand. The man knew better than to argue so he left. Feeling a rare adrenaline rush through his body, Manik was finding it difficult to sit in one place tonight. For once, he did not know what to about what. It was confusing which was a first because he was never confused. Oh he knew the reason behind this craziness but he didn't know the why of it. Unable to take it anymore, he left his chair and started pacing around.

A pair of hazel eyes was imprinted at the back of his mind and he couldn't stop thinking about them. Everything else had become secondary. The way they had shone amidst different lights yet had managed to remain cold all the time, wow, it was ... different, amazing, just, wow! He was well aware of the fact that people wore thousands of masks every day. Being a businessman, this was something he dealt with every day. Like when his rival smiled and called for truce while plotting to stab him in the back, or when any of his employee lied to him for a holiday by giving fake reasons which were usually unsolvable family problems, or any other game of deception or dishonesty, Manik knew it all. He actually liked playing around with the game of lies as it made the truth all the more interesting, and gave him an insight in the mind of the person in front of him.

But the red beauty he had seen and met tonight, she was no rival. She did not belong to his world and he did not belong to hers. There was no connection between them yet, he was drawn towards her since the moment he had seen her taking her position at the pole. The way she had looked at him angrily when he had sort of stolen her spotlight after entering in the club, then the way she had found him rich and handsome and had got more disgusted by it, the way she had hidden everything behind her sensual smile, screw it man! She was an enigma. A drugging, enigma.

She was also the first person who had managed to drive him out of control. He hadn't been able to hide his desperation when she had come near him. He had felt angry when she had walked away from him. When she had been dancing around, he had been amazed by her ability to get so close and yet stay so far. What a perfect, precarious balance. What style. What an ability,

What a beauty.

"Nandini" he whispered.

He had seen the surprise in her eyes when she had blurted out her name. The anger she had felt towards herself but had expressed on him. The way she had changed moves and moods by burning him hot and bathing him cold. What a swing it had been. He had found it hard to keep up. He hadn't felt angry when she had refused to meet him, not much, just a bit because he was not used to being refused for anything. In fact, the refusal had been kind of expected after the way she had let herself get to him but hadn't let him get to her. If anything, it had only made him more curious and he had been unable to stop himself from following her.

Her skin had been soft, very very soft. But her hands were hard, because of practicing on the pole. It was a strange, and an exotic combination. She worked hard alright. She gave it her all to remain at the top of her game. And she was the best too.

The vulnerability in her eyes had almost been his undoing. There had been a lot of hidden pain which he was certain she did not let even herself feel. She was closed that way, by choice. And somehow, he had managed to open her, a small, very tiny part of her. And she hated him for it!

Manik smirked. Hate. The ice princess felt a hot emotion for him. Now, that was something which could not be ignored.

She had made him react. That meant something. Well, he wanted to know more and find more. After a long time, he had found someone to challenge him. How could he let go of this chance?

If she could play the game, he could do it too. Playing became more fun when both the players were experts.

Grinning, Manik took out his phone and called a number.

Time for the first move.

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Nandini had just stepped out of the bathroom when she heard the insistent knocking on her door. All the relaxation she had gathered after a nice hot, long bath flew out the window! Who the fuck was it now? Swearing to blast of Ellis for not doing her job properly, Nandini walked up to the door. This was her privatetime!

But at the same time her heartbeat had quickened too. Was there any chance that it could be...? No, no, no. That was impossible. He could not come again.

"Screw you Nandini Murthy" she clenched her fists. "Enough!"

Opening the door, she was ready to scream her lungs out but was surprised to find no one there. Huh? Was this some sort of joke? Then her gaze fell on a huge bouquet of yellow sunflowers at the doorstep. Puzzled beyond words, Nandini bent and picked it up. It was heavy. She was sure that there were more than a hundred flowers in it.

Before closing the door, she checked the corridor again. It was deserted. The person who had come to deliver the bouquet must have run away immediately after keeping it. Not having any idea who had sent this but at the same time having a wild guess about the sender, Nandini kept the bouquet on the table and continued to stare at it for some time. Only her parents knew that ... she loved sunflowers! They were her favorite. Unlike other girls, she wasn't a fan of roses. She wasn't some stupid dreamy girl who wished for a prince charming to shower her with lots of romance but yeah, she was a sucker for sunflowers. She spotted a card at the corner of the plant and read it.

For your eyes which spit fire even when they are cold with anger.

-M.M.

P.S. We will meet again.

Her knees gave away and she had to take support of the chair to steady herself. She hadn't really expected him to give up but she had been hoping for the same. He had confirmed her doubts now. A hungry dog was on her tail, and he was planning to trap her for the reasons best known to him. She didn't know why. It couldn't just be her body. Nah. He had his chance when she hadn't been able to fight against him, but he hadn't done anything. So it meant that whatever he was planning, it was something else and it was big.

Caressing the flowers with her hands, she read the last line of the message again. It was not a request or an offer. It was also not an order. It was a simple fact, a promise which she knew she couldn't fight with. This was going to happen. She could do nothing about it. But there was something else which she could do. And that was avoid adding any complication to her already super fucked life.

Because if he was dog, then she wasn't some meek cat either. She was a bitch who could bite him right back. If he thought he was going to have the last say in all this then he couldn't have been more wrong.

Taking out her phone from her dressing gown, Nandini dialed a number. Ellison picked her call after three attempts.

"What is it you b!tch?" she panted heavily. Nandini closed her eyes in disgust as she guessed what was going on in the sl*t's room. The sounds in the background proved that she was getting fu*ked by two men together.

"Watch out your tongue you piece of sh!t!" she said angrily. "And do as I say"..

"But it's nearly midnight" The sound of kissing was making Nandini nauseous.

"Does it look like I care? Stop selling your body and do what I tell you!" she said coldly.

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The knock on the door made Manik smile. It felt good to know that there was something he could pinpoint about Nandini. He had been expecting a reaction tonight itself and he had got one.

"Come in" he said.

His assistant walked in with a card.

"A man had come. He asked me to deliver it to you right away"

"Hmm" Manik took the card and his grin widened. It was is card, the one he had sent to the Red Beauty. He let out a chuckle when he saw that his message had been cancelled with a black marker. At the back of the card, four words were written in block letters.

'STAY AWAY FROM ME!'

Manik threw his head back and laughed loudly. Gosh this was fun! So her ability to send double messages was not restricted to merely dancing. Well, he hadn't underestimated her. She had cancelled his message but, she hadn't sent back the flowers. She didn't want to meet him but at the same time she was up for the game. The ice had started melting.

He re read the words. Stay away hm?

He grinned. "Like hell I will"

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Nine hundred and seventy, nine hundred and seventy one... Nandini kept counting her steps as she jogged along her favorite cum secret spot. The garden was far from the club and one of her most cherished spots. It was the only place where she felt clean. She had come across that place four years back after her first performance when she had been shattered and had been feeling disgusted with herself for letting herself become a bar dancer. At that time she still had been learning ways of the world because of which she had let Ellis bully her around initially. After her performance Ellis had ordered her to take visitors. Horrified, she had run away from the club and had kept running without looking back till her legs had given away.

That was when she had come across this garden in the middle of the night. It had been locked but something rebellious had given her the courage to enter in it so she had climbed over the locked gate and had entered inside. It had been empty and peaceful. She remembered walking, walking and walking, not knowing where she was going and why she was going. Her body had taken over her mind and after some time she had found herself under a tree of lilies. There had been a strange comforting aura about the place as she had set on the bench and had let the quiet calm her jagged nerves.

Then, like a baby, she had cried her heart out, releasing her anguish for losing her parents and being kicked out of her own home, for being punished for no faults of hers and for every challenge life had thrown at her when the world had wanted to have its dirty way with her. She had cried for the loss of her hopes and dreams knowing she would never be able to fulfill them but most saddening was when she had cried for the loss of her innocence when she had understood too early that happiness was merely an illusion for orphans like her. Their only job was to earn pennies to remain alive and if somehow they were able to remain untouched while doing all sorts of work then well and good otherwise even if they lost it they were still mocked upon anyway. That was when she had made herself promise not to become weak ever again. Happiness wasn't for her, fine, she was ready to accept it. But if the bitches like Ellis thought that they could sell her around then she was going to make sure that they bit the dust so hard that forget about thinking twice they remembered not to ever mess with Nandini Murthy.

With that, she had killed the 'bechari' Nandini Murthy and from there had emerged a cold Nandini Murthy who did not give a fuck about anyone. She was unapproachable and uncatchable. Let the world go to hell! Since then, this spot had become her favorite spot and she used to come here every morning just to let herself feel for a few moments. The peace of those few seconds was very precious to her and it gave her the strength to get through the rest of the day. Nobody knew about this place and nobody else was going to find out ever, because Nandini Murthy didn't share.

Nine hundred and ninety eight, nine hundred and ninety nine and...

"Ahem" the sound broke Nandini's usual record of running a thousand steps in one stretch. Furious, she turned to look at who had dared to disturb her routine when the person standing in front of her made her go speechless.

What the hell was he doing here? And how did he come to know about this place?

"I followed you" Manik grinned. Nandini frowned. She hadn't spoken the words out loud this time. She didn't like repeating her mistakes. Then how did...

"Tumhaari aankhein" he answered her unspoken question. "Shaayad tumhe pata nahi, per jab tumne koi parda nahi pehna hota hai, to tumhaari aankhein bahut baate karti hain. Sab kuch keh deti hain"

Immediately, the shutters came down and Nandini's curiosity was now masked with a cold anger. Now she looked like that girl last night who had been super pissed with Manik for entering in her personal space.

"Aur same cheez tumhaare chehre k saath bhi hoti hai" Manik continued though he wasn't grinning like before. It was clear that he hadn't liked Nandini's transformation.

"Tum yahaan kyun aaye ho?" she asked in a slow voice Her stance was relaxed but the waves of anger were radiating from her in such strong waves that had it been any other man except Manik, he surely would have run back with his tail between his legs.

But then, Manik was Manik. He was different. He acted differently, reacted differently, did stuff differently, felt differently and made others feel differently. For example, only he had been able to make Nandini's heart beat loudly in her chest by looking like Adonis in casual black tracks, white hoodie t-shirt and black converse shoes with a water bottle in one hand. His tall frame was intimidating to the surroundings and the spiky hairstyle was making Nandini's insides do flip flops. She was trying to breath yet she was feeling breathless at the same time. And she knew it wasn't because of jogging! There had been countless handsome men in the bar but none of them, none of them had made her body react like this. For the first time she was experiencing how it felt to become aware of a man.

"Our talk remained incomplete last night" Manik replied simply. His face was smooth, unreadable, so Nandini and no fucking idea what was going on in his mind and it was angering and frustrating the hell out of her! "Main bas use khatm karne, aur jo baat tumse kahi thi, use poora karne aaya tha"

"Koi baat nahi hai khatm karne k liye!" Nandini nearly shouted. But yes, he had said they would meet again and he had kept the promise. Though why on earth he was doing this, she didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. Just one gaze of this man and already the defenses she had built over the years were shaking massively. She wanted to stay away from him as far as possible.

"That's what you think" Manik said in a mocking tone. Did she have any idea how beautiful she was? Apparently not. With her sweaty face, long hair tied in a messy bun, black track suit which did nothing to hide her curves and small white sports shoes, there was a trace of freshness and a simmering vulnerability which was making him unsure of his movements. He was not sure of what he was doing was right or wrong. It was just like last night, heartily appealing but very confusing. He knew that right now if he paid her a compliment, she would take it as an insult and would claw the skin off his face. The thought brought a smile on his face. The more time he was spending with the wild cat, the more he was liking it.

Bristling for a punch, Nandini had just started clenching her fists when suddenly, Manik came and stood close to her. The movement was so sudden that it startled her and in her haste to step back she lost her balance.. But she didn't fall. He caught her. With hands holding tight, they stared in each other's eyes. His touch was still the same, warm, protective, not dirty. The hardness of her hands was doing strange things to his insides. Slowly, he straightened her. Nandini attempted to free her hand but he didn't let go of it. Tightening his hold, he gently whispered "Wait"

And to her own surprise, she obeyed him!

Out of nowhere, he brought a sunflower and this time, it was red in color. Nandini could only stare at his face and then at the sunflower. How did...? All her thoughts came to a standstill when he brought the flower close to her face and without a word, simply traced her face with it. Cheeks, forehead, eyes, nose, lips, chin and finally her throat. Nandini's breath got caught in her throat and she closed her eyes to feel the softest touch of her life. Never, never had she been held with so much care before, like she was something precious. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel her tears emerging.

She felt a hot breath on her ear and automatically, her hold tightened on Manik's hand.

"Take care" he whispered as his nose lightly traced the side of her face. Her mind went blank. Everything else was an illusion and he was the only, blistering reality...

When Nandini opened her eyes, she was alone on her spot. Manik was nowhere. Letting out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding, she looked around. Had all that really happened? Or had it just been a stupid dream? Then her gaze fell on her other hand, and she knew it had really happened.

The red sunflower was facing her innocently, having no idea that this silent gesture had already created a havoc in her world.

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Okay! So how was it? Good enough? Yeah! It was superb I know! Haha! VatsDWriter was sick so the chapters has been delayed a little! Apologize for that though and yes please do tag VatsDWriter in your comments!

Love,Mawara & VatsDWriter