The Segment (Completed)

16. How Would It Feel?

Farrah slid into the seat next to Richard slowly, not giving anything away. No one would have guessed that her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. Or that her stomach was twisting away with nerves. "Richard, what are you doing here?" she asked softly, leaning her head against the head rest as she looked at him. Why? Why are you here?, she wondered silently.

Richard looked at her, and he could see that she was looking for something in his eyes. She was looking for answers that were so blatantly visible. Instead of telling her that he had missed her, that he had missed her laugh, her smile, and her presence; he leaned back and let her continue searching his face.

"You still have a house full of guests, Richard," Farrah said breaking the silence, as she looked away.

"I couldn't let you go home without an escort. That would be extremely un-prince-like of me, don't you think?" He said teasingly as he looked into her eyes and they both broke out in laughter. As their laughter quieted down, Farrah rested her head against the head rest and closed her eyes.

"Tired?" Richard asked.

"Mmhmm," Farrah answered. The excitement of the night left her feeling drained, and the lulling motions of the car made her drowsy.

"Close your eyes for a bit, I'll wake you once we get there," Richard said softly.

It didn't even take Farrah 10 minutes to fall into a deep sleep. As Rich watched her sleep, her head lolling from side to side, there were two things that he could do. One, he could secure her to the side by the window and hope that her neck wouldn't feel too strained when she wakes up. Two, he could tuck her into his arms and allow her to snuggle up to him.

Obviously, he chose the most unselfish thing to do; he allowed her to use his body as a pillow. Richard gently reached over and tucked Farrah into his arms. Even with the added bulk of her winter coat, she fit just perfectly in his arms. As they both got comfortable in the new position, Farrah turned her body towards Richard burrowing her nose into his neck and her arms snaked across his abdomen. Richard's breath hitched as he felt the warmth of her skin against his.

He could feel every warm exhalation of her breath across his neck. He could even feel the soft outline of her lips against his neck. Richard took advantage of the proximity that he had and buried his nose in her hair. For every warm breath that Farrah exhaled against his neck, Richard breathed her in. He didn't even realise when it was that he started brushing soft kisses against her temple, it felt that natural to have her in his arms. He closed his eyes wishing that he'd never had to let go.

Richard didn't know when he fell asleep and when the car had stopped moving. The next thing he knew was that his driver was knocking against the window. Shit, I fell asleep, Richard thought to himself; already anticipating the loss of feeling Farrah's warm body snuggled into his side.

"Farrah," Richard said softly, "we're here."

"Hmmm, five more minutes," she grumbled sleepily, her voice husky. Farrah continued burrowing her face into his neck when he felt her freeze. Her entire body tensing in his arms.

Farrah could feel the slightly coarse brush of Richard's beard against her temple. There was a faint smell, something like sandalwood but she couldn't be too sure. She wanted to inhale a great big breath and commit to memory the smell of Richard's cologne, the clean smell of his clothes, the smell of the oil that he rubbed into his beard. She felt positively insane at that moment, to be thinking things like that.

Clearing her throat, without looking up; she slowly untangled the mess of her limbs that were holding on to Richard. Her heart that was in a restful state started pounding as the reality of her actions. Any time she was ensconced in his arms, her moral sense of right and wrong seemed to fade away into oblivion.

"I'm sorry," she heard Richard say softly. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm not your mahram," he continued.

Fighting back a smile, she looked up at him and said sounding impressed, "You learnt a new word."

He shrugged noncommittally, "If that's what it takes to impress you."

He watched her transfixed as she laughed a full, hearty laugh. Her laugh still rough, edged with sleep. In his eyes, she was the sexiest woman in the world at that very moment. Her mascara was sleep smudged, and so was her lipstick; but that sparkle in her eyes, and the way she laughed without a care in the world made his heart stutter.

Composing herself, Farrah got down from the car with a smile still playing on her lips. She was surprised to see that Richard had followed her down, and without a word was leading the way to her flat. It was nights like these where she was so thankful that her flat was on the first floor. Just one flight of stairs and she could remove her heels. Her shoes were killing her.

Unlocking the door, she turned around to face Richard. But all she saw was the top of his head. He was looking down and seemed in deep thought. Farrah cleared her throat, to get his attention.

"You okay?" she asked carefully.

"Yes," he said quietly, he looked up and his eyes were ablaze with emotions. The heat of his gaze, was setting her aflame. Richard leaned forward keeping his head down. It almost felt like a hug but there wasn't even an inch of their bodies touching.

"Thank you for coming tonight," Richard almost whispered. His hot breath brushing her shoulder gently.

"You're welcome," Farrah answered breathlessly, her eyes closed without her will. They were so close, that she could feel the heat radiating off him.

"Sweet dreams Farrah," Richard whispered, tilting his head a little that his lips brushed her hair. Richard retreated slowly, as he watched Farrah. Her eyes closed, her lips parted, and her face flushed as she leaned against the door.

"Good night Richard," Farrah said shakily to Richard who stood there. He watched her open the door and go in. He only left when he heard the clicking of the locks from the inside. As he walked down the stairs, there was a skip in his step. Farrah fancies me, he smirked to himself as he got into his car to head back to the castle.

Upstairs in the flat, Farrah walked into her bathroom in a daze; her face still flushed. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest like it was trying to escape her confines. Her whole body felt warm. She had once or twice wondered how her first kiss would feel. A real first kiss; not those stolen pecks as children in the playground, would feel.

If an almost hug from Richard, felt this intense – how would it feel to kiss him?, she wondered absently as she did her ablutions to perform her namaz. 

***

Naughty, naughty Farrah. Thinking about kissing as she goes to pray. tsk tsk tsk.

*cackles evilly*

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