The brilliant sunshine poured in from the windows in the Maheshwari residence, lending a golden glow to the cream tiles. Songs poured out of a new music player, and the sound of tapping and thudding could be heard from the bathroom. A black boxing bag hung from the ceiling and a man wearing grey tracks and white vest shifted stances and threw punches. Soon a worker came out of the bathroom to inform that the work is done.
Sameer removed his gloves and wiped his face, then went to check the work. Finally, the bathroom renovation was done, the new tub and shower fittings also installed. He stood at the centre and beamed around. This was it. The first change in their home. The new furniture would arrive, the electrical fitting would also change, and he had also decided to get the house painted. But the first change was done. He ran his fingers over the edge of the bathtub, and his eyes gleamed at the thought of seeing Naina taking a soak in it. Sauntering over the new shower area, he looked at the glass door and tiled walls, and he began to stir and harden at the thought of taking Naina in here, probably against the wall. Breathing heavily he stroked the shower fittings she had selected, and turned onn the nozzle to check the flow of water, and immediately visualized the water dripping over Naina’s body – little rivulets running down the centre of her breasts, curving across her belly to disappear beneath – and he thought of tasting the water on her body making her moan. The glass doors would probably fog with their heat, he imagined with satisfaction.
He turned off the nozzle and shook his head, trying to clear the buzzing. It seemed as if the more he had of Naina, the more he wanted. Her physical abandon, the passion oozing out of her, the surprising moves he had witnessed, made him feel as if he had been parched for years and years and now he couldn’t stop drinking. He had lost the count of how many times they had kissed, yet that’s the first thing he wanted to do as soon as he laid his eyes on her. He wondered how would it be after their marriage. Will this yearning ever lessen? Or he would keep wanting her like this forever? Would she reciprocate the same feeling?
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see the worker, realizing that he was standing in the shower cabinet lost in his daydreams. He smiled to himself, and walked out to talk to the workers and pay them. After they left, he started boxing again, and found his thoughts wandering back to Naina. The way she had welcomed him back from Delhi, had surprised him and given him extreme happiness. He had never expected her to be there. Yet he now recalled how despite all restrictions she had managed to come here before too, when he had returned from Delhi the first time after Nanu’s death. She had been here, to soothe him, to comfort him, to make him happy. It was the day she had hugged him first time. He had experienced bliss that day, and even now having her in his arms was bliss. He didn’t think that feeling would ever change.
Yesterday, the way she had kissed him, laid out the mattress for them, given him the freedom to move forward more, everything had literally taken his breath away. Every time they progressed a little more, and it was getting difficult for him to maintain a hold over his control. He had never thought that they would reach to these levels of intimacy before their wedding. But now that they had, he knew that there would be no turning back. He had denied himself for so many years, he couldn’t do that anymore, especially no when Naina was so willing. He just needed to be careful for a few more days or actually exactly two months.
As sweat rolled off his body, he recalled how Naina hadn’t let him get off her. So many times, he had thought he must be heavy for her, but she wouldn’t leave him. It made him swell with happiness when she accepted him like that; it seemed as if for her, in her mind, it was meant to be. Another moment of sheer pleasure for him was when she had curled her hips, pushing against his erection, telling him without words that she yearned for the exact same thing. He recalled that it hadn’t taken long after that for him to almost lose control. Her boldness had blown off his mind, when she had reached out to remove his shirt. This was the same woman who had closed her eyes when he had removed his shirt during their last meeting, before he left for Delhi. But yesterday, she had tugged and pulled off the fabric, impatient to touch his skin. He had done the same thing with her, for a moment still hesitant of her reaction. But, she had been completely comfortable.
The biggest thing, or should he say the thing that surprised him the most was her initiative when he had failed to unhook her bra. Had she been expecting him to do that? Well, given her reaction he was sure she had. He had almost held his breath, his thoughts tumbling around, his body tense with need. It had been probably less than a minute, yet it had felt more than thousand minutes by the time he had removed that black fabric and seen her for the first time. From the moment she had unhooked her bra, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else but the soft skin being revealed by each movement of his fingers. She hadn’t tried to be coy; she hadn’t needed to. He had been so hard, straining against his jeans, that he probably had the imprint of his zipper running down his length.
He had always thought she had lovely skin, a little golden, and completely luminous. But her breasts had literally taken his breath away – creamy, full, surprisingly round and upright, exquisitely formed, with the dark nipples drawn into puckered buds that made his mouth water. He had touched her then, and felt her quiver under his hand. He had teased her with daring caresses and looked up to find her eyes closed. Somehow, he couldn’t quite believe that Naina was there, beneath him, yielding her body to his exploration. He had thought to stop, had meant to tell it to her. But he hadn’t. He had stopped, and tried to think clearly through the pheromone fog clouding his brain. Her action, her surrender to him, the way she had closed her eyes and was patiently waiting for him, had made him realize that Naina was willing and ready for anything, to even go to the last step of lovemaking with him. The knowledge of her acceptance had seared through him. And combined with that there had been another knowledge that Naina had grown up in a household where almost everyone had commented on her simple looks, she had faced more rejection than acceptance. Even in school people had teased her with names like behenji. He sometimes still felt guilty that he too had thought of her that way initially, had failed to see the beauty in her simplicity. But later, it was him, and his love that had given her the self-confidence which had enabled her to go to this extent with him. His one thoughtless act or word could devastate her. It had dawned on him how much courage she had needed to do this, how much trust she had bestowed on him, how much love she held for him to give him this privilege before wedding. It was a very big step in their relationship, and an equally big step for her as a woman. Already she had questioned him once earlier, if he had stopped because of her. It was a discovery of self in a way. She had never seen herself as beautiful. She had just accepted that she was an average-looking girl who never deserved anything more than average in her life. He knew that when she had met him or rather seen him, the first instant she had fallen for his looks. She had accepted that herself. Later she had gotten to know him as a person, and loved him even more. He himself had rather prided in his own looks always. But, her selfless attitude, caring nature, pure and kind heart, everything made her more beautiful to him.
And finally, when he had slowly started noticing her physically, the little details of her features had allured him more than any sophisticated female ever could. Her skin was clean, slightly translucent at the temples that enabled him to see her blue veins. Her dark hair, now cascading to her waist was dark as mink, and baby fine. It brought to his mind thoughts of fisting them in his hands while he kissed her thoroughly, or using that hold to tilt her head back while he thrust into her. Her eyes were deep, brilliant and exotic; he had lost count of the hours he had spent lost in them and he could still do that for his whole lifetime. Even in college, when she had been always covered up in decent clothes, when he couldn’t touch her, the curves of her body had aroused him. And now, when he could touch her, see her, it was a hardship to control the violent reactions surging through his body. He had realized that she needed to know, to understand, how desirable he found her.
So he had leaned and whispered to her, only managing a rough compliment rather than any eloquent sentences. But he had let her see, let her watch how he admired her. And it wasn’t an act. He was truly completely taken in by the sight of her. He had again opened his mouth to tell her that they should stop there, that he won’t be able to control himself if he looked at her for one more minute. He had wanted to tell her that he couldn’t go any further without making love to her, wanted to try and make her understand how frayed his control was. But his body had revolted, he had only managed to utter her name and then he had had to taste her. And he had felt the answering need in her slender body as it arched to his touch. It had been next to impossible for him to stop, but he had, because he had realized that Naina wouldn’t stop him at all. So he had. Somehow, he had.
He had clearly let her know that if she didn’t put on her clothes again then she couldn’t blame him for what would happen next. She had worn her clothes, but then surprised him by saying she felt the same herself on seeing his bare torso. He couldn’t believe that this wild abandon that he was seeing was his Naina. But he had to. And he could only imagine how she would be after their marriage, but somehow, he now had started to feel that his imagination was only the tip of iceberg. His wife certainly had much more sensuous depths that he could ever imagine. And he couldn’t wait to explore those unexplored depths. God only knew, how the two months would pass.
He stopped boxing, and removed his gloves, panting hard for breathe, as another realization dawned upon him – boxing and thinking about Naina didn’t go well together. Now he needed a long cold shower. He grabbed the bottle from the table, guzzling water, trying to soak his parched throat, then shucked his tracks and sauntered into the newly renovated bathroom. This was another habit he had formed over the years, he didn’t wear boxers while exercising. Suddenly, as he turned on the shower, he wondered what would Naina think of this habit. It was strange. He and Naina knew almost everything about each other, yet there were so many new things to discover. They could understand each other without words, yet when they met, they had so much to speak. Would it be the same after marriage? Would they always have topics to talk on? Would they still keep discovering things about each other? He didn’t think there would be one single boring moment with Naina. If nothing to do or speak, he could just sit and stare at her for hours. Hadn’t he been doing that for all these years? And yet, he always found something new to look at each time – like how she tucked her hair, how her eyes creased when she grinned, how her nose scrunched up when she had cold, how she tilted her head when she tried to understand him versus when she was just thinking to herself. Yes, he was sure he could spend several lifetime with her and still not get tired of her.
He finished his shower, then wrapped a towel around his waist and stood in front of the vanity mirror to shave. Usually he shaved before shower, but Naina had the ability of making him forget the simple order of things. He grinned. Hell, forget order of doing things, sometimes he even forgot to breathe at her sight. He washed his face, checking his face to ensure the task was done to perfection. He looked around and wished there was a way he could show the bathroom to Naina today. But he would have to wait. He couldn’t bring her here today, when she had been here just yesterday. As he came out and opened his wardrobe to select clothes, belatedly he wondered what Naina would have told Taiji and Tauji about yesterday. Chachaji and Chachiji might have given her permission to come over and surprise him, but Taiji would never agree to that. He was sure she had made up some story, and he would need to ensure that he didn’t blurt out anything.
He donned on dark blue jeans and white shirt, and combed his hair. Carefully packing everything he had bought, except of course the nightgown, he set out for his in-laws place. There were a lot of things to accomplish – to talk to Naina about Taiji, to tell her about his mother’s visit, to gain her opinion about joining his business, and he also needed to start planning for her surprise. As he reached the society, he saw a few ladies gossiping and suddenly felt a sense of deja-vu of when he had first arrived in his Nanu’s blue Maruti 800 before Pooja didi’s wedding. At that time he had felt, that people were staring at him and standing outside to welcome their jamai, Naina’s dulha. It had been his dream then, and today it was his reality. He chuckled to himself as he heaved the bags and proceeded inside and up the stairs. The first sight he saw was of Taiji showing off her new glass door to their neighbours’ guests, “Oh Bai! Pure 7000 rupaye ka hai. Parlay babu ke papa ne abhi Diwali pe hi lagvaya. Vialyeti nakashi hai.”
Sameer shook his head – somethings never change. Taiji suddenly spotted him and swelled with even more pride; after the imported glass door it was time to show off the handsome and rich damad.
“Aree damadji”, Taiji exclaimed, “aao aao. Bela ne bataya tha ke tum aaj aaoge.”
Sameer took her blessings, “Namaste Taiji.”
Taiji beamed, “Nirmala, inse milo. Yeh Sameer Maheshwari hamare hone wale damadji. Ab tumko toh pata hi hoga na inke baare me, Maheshwari industries ke maalik.”
Nirmala nodded and smiled as expected, “ji ji… Maheshwari naam to sabne suna hai. Lekin yeh aapke damad kaise hue, aapki toh koi beti nahi hai na.”
Sameer bit his cheeks to stop his smile. Taiji scowled, “Neva! Ab Naina bitiya se shaadi ho rahi hai. Hamari beti hi hai na woh, itne naazo se paala hai uske maa ke guzar jaaneke baad. Naina ke Tauji ne bhi kitne laad-jatan kare hai. Warna bin maa ki bachchi ko itna achcha rishta milta kya kabhi?”
The small smile on Sameer’s face disappeared as he heard the taunt. He instead smirked, “Aisi baat nahi hai Taiji. Naina se pyaar karne se pehle maine yeh dekha nahi tha ke uske maa-baap hai ya nahi. Lekin woh hamesha kehti zarur thi ke Chachiji hi uski maa hai.”
Taiji stuttered as she realized she had offended Sameer. Nirmala’s eyes on the other hand had rounded like saucers, “Pyaar”, she whispered, “aap Naina se pyaar karte hai?”
Sameer nodded, “ji. School me tha tabse”, he turned to Taiji, “achcha main chalta hun andar.” He moved towards Bela Chachi’s home and raised his hand to ring the bell, but the door opened before that. Naina stood with a broad smile on her face, and he knew she had sensed his arrival. He had an impish urge to kiss her in front of Taiji, but controlling his impulse, he instead lifted his hand to touch her cheek lightly. He saw her eyes widen in surprise, just as he knew Taiji and Nirmala Aunty’s eyes must have also widened, but in shock. He grinned and stepped inside.
Chachiji came out of the kitchen and welcomed him. He kept down all the bags and took his place on the sofa, looking at the notes spread on the coffee table in front of him.
“Yeh sab kya hai?”, he enquired.
Chachiji gave him a glass of water, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye beta, shaadi me zyada din nahi bache hai na ab toh saare kaam ki list bana rahe the. Ab shaadi ghar se ho rahi hai toh soch rahe the ke card ke design dekh le.”
Sameer frowned, “Lekin Pooja didi ke shaadi me toh card bahot late chapvaye the.”
“Haan woh toh hai”, Bela sat down on a chair, “lekin Preeti ke papa keh rahe the ke tum logo ki shaadi me khaas wala card chapvayenge. Aur fir Phulla buaji hai na, unka bhi phone aaya tha ke woh Mumbai se card ke naye design bhejegi.”
Sameer fondly remembered Phulla bua-dadi, how much she loved Naina and how she would scold Taiji. He was glad she would be coming for the wedding.
“Aur fir decoration wale, sangeet wale, sabko abhi se bolna padega na. Farvary me kitni shaadiya hoti hai”, Bela continued, “zyada der ki to achche log nahi milenge.”
He nodded, “kahin bhi meri zarurat ho toh mujhe zarur batana.”
Naina meanwhile had gone into the kitchen for preparing lunch, and after another ten minutes Taiji waddled in. “Zara paani pila de Naina”, she ordered and sat on the swing, “aur batao bholuram, aaj idhar kaise? Wapas kab laute?”
Sameer glanced at Naina who came in with water, “ji main kal dupahar ko wapas aaya.”
Taiji’s eyes narrowed, “tu bhi to kal bahar gai thi na.”
“Ji Taiji”, Naina answered, “meri saheli ki birthday pe, aur fir wahan se Sameer mujhe pickup karke ghar chodne aaye the.”
Sameer smiled as he received the answer to his question too. Before Taiji could bombard Naina with more questions he interrupted, “waise Mummy parso aa rahi hai. Naina ke liye shaadi ka joda silvane, aur zevar bhi banvane hai.”
Taiji’s eyes rounded, “zevar?”
“Haan. Shaadi me deneke liye”, Sameer offered, “do-teen din ka kaam hoga toh aaj main Chachaji se bhi baat kar lunga. Kyunki mummy kisi tailor se khaas lehenga silvana chahti hai aur Nanu ke koi pehchaan wale johri hai, unko bhi bulaya hai.”
Bela smiled happily, “aree waah beta. Vishakhaji ko yahan zarur leke aana.”
Sameer nodded and then picked up the bag containing the packed sarees, and took out one offering it to Taiji, “yeh main Delhi se laaya tha.” Taiji greedily snatched the saree, while muttering that there was no need. An amused Sameer, smiled slightly and offered the other one to Chachiji, “pehli baar khud se kharida, pata nahi aap logo ko achcha lagega ke nahi.”
He waited patiently while Chachiji opened the butter paper wrapping sedately while Taiji almost tore if off in haste. “Bahot khubsurat hai beta”, Bela appreciated.
Taiji swallowed, “haan bahot sundar hai.” Even though it was a cotton-silk saree, she could understand that it was expensive. Still she would have preferred Bela’s saree, but she of course couldn’t tell that to Sameer. Sameer handed over the kurta he had bought for Tauji, Pralay and Chachaji, and even one for his sasurji. Next, he gave a t-shirt for Arjun and a dress material for Preeti.
“Beta itna sab laane ki kya zarurat thi?”, Chachiji uttered overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness.
Before Sameer could reply however, Taiji asked, “woh dusre bags me kya hai bholuram?”
He looked towards the kitchen window, “yeh sab Naina ke liye hai.”
“Oh bai”, Taiji exclaimed, “itna saara kharida.”
Sameer shrugged, “thoda kharida aur thoda gharwalo ne bhijwaya.” Debating for a half a minute, and with a slight glance towards Bela, he called out, “Naina, bahar aaona.”
In the kitchen, Naina gripped the counter top. What was Sameer doing? First, he had touched her in front of Taiji and that other lady. And now he was calling her as if they were already married and he had full right to holler her name while her family was seated around.
“Naina.” She jerked as the deep voice sounded again. “Haan aayi”, she automatically replied, and washed her hands.
She walked out to see Taiji almost still in surprise, Chachiji trying to control her smile, and Sameer was not smiling but his eyes were glittering in triumph, that only she could recognize. She wondered what game he was playing. And with whom? He signalled her to sit, and docilely she took a seat on the empty chair opposite Chachiji. Sameer handed over one of the remaining bags to her, “yeh tumhare liye Rohan, Deepika aur Mummy ne bheja hai”, and then he passed on all the other bags, “aur yeh main laaya.”
She wasn’t surprised as she had already seen what all he had bought, but Taiji coughed nearly choking at the quantity of bags she could see. Incredibly enough the glitter in Sameer’s eyes deepened, and now she could see a faint curl of his lips in amusement. What was he upto? Naina tried to wrap up the bags to keep them all in cupboard, when Taiji stopped her, “oh maharani, kaha chal di? Hume bhi toh dikha ke kya leke aaya hai bholuram.”
Naina halted, nervousness entering her eyes. How could she show Taiji what all Sameer has bought? He hadn’t bought anything indecent. But the saree was chiffon, so transparent and his shopping included tops to wear with jeans. Taiji would raise hell. Chachiji understood that Naina was reluctant, “rehne dijiye na bhabhiji. Sameer leke aaya hai toh achcha hi hoga na. Fir Naina ke sasural walo ne uske liye bheja hai toh hum….”
Taiji interrupted, “Neva Bela. Main konsa Naina ka samaan churane wali hun. Sirf dekhne hi toh maanga. Kyun bholuram?”
“Haan bilkul”, Sameer agreed amiably, “khadi kya ho Naina, yahan wapas aao aur dikhao na kya hai bags me.”
Still, Naina hesitated. She looked at Sameer, who held her gaze, trying to reassure her. Sighing she walked back to the chair and plopped down, her fingers trembled as she opened one bag. It contained two sarees and a sweater sent over by Vishakha. The peacock blue Paithani silk and Beige gold Chnaderi silk sarees were enough to raise Taiji’s eyebrows almost to her hairline. She could only imagine the cost of these richly printed, soft textured sarees. The cable-knit sweater was made of the softest baby-pink wool. Next, Taiji saw the carved marble showpiece from Rohan, and satin ruby-red shirt from Deepika. Naina waited to Taiji to yell, but to her surprise there wasn’t any comment. She looked over at Chachiji who now sat tensed, and then at Sameer who nodded and encouraged her to open the other bags. Apprehensively she opened the bag containing the dress materials, then the cardigan, and then the maroon saree. Taiji mumbled something almost inaudible, but Naina didn’t look up, and quickly opened the other bag containing the winter top, shirt and kurti.
Taiji who had almost sat frozen till now, picked up the red and blue shirt, “yeh kya hai?”
“S…shirt hai Taiji”, Naina replied. Sameer leaned back on the sofa, crossing his right leg at the ankle over his left leg, waiting and observing.
“Oh bai”, Taiji dropped the fabric as if it had scalded her, “tu aise kapde pehnegi?”
Naina swallowed, wondering what to say. Her hands trembled, and she fervently prayed for some escape route. “Haan, shirt pehenne ke liye hi hoti hai”, a calm voice sounded over from the sofa, and all three heads whipped to towards Sameer. He calmly continued, “aur isme problem kya hai. Naina toh jeans aur tops vagera pehenti hai na.” He knelt to pick up the dropped shirt, “jahan tak meri samajh hai yeh kapda bahot achchi quality ka hai.”
Taiji adjusted her pallu, “sawaal qua…q..quelty ka nahi lekin kapdo ka hai. Agarwal khandaan ki ladkiya aise kapde nahi pehenti shaadi ke baad.”
Sameer tilted his head, “Thike. Naina shaadi se pehle pehen legi. Aur shaadi ke baad toh waise bhi woh Maheshwari ho jayegi.”
Bela who had been worried about the ongoing drama, now relaxed and sat up straight. She understood Sameer was capable of handling the objections. And somehow she felt he was doing this on purpose.
“Par rahegi to isi khandaan ki na”, Taiji argued.
Sameer frowned, as if highly confused, “meri aur Naina ke shaadi ke baad uska naam, Mrs. Naina Sameer Maheshwari hoga. Toh fir woh Agarwal kaise rahi. Aur waise bhi filhaal to main shaadi se pehle pehenne ki baat kar raha hun na. Naina pehenti hai yeh sab, aur khubsurat bhi lagti hai, toh main uske liye apni pasand se kuch kharid ke laaya. Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha isme aapko kaisa aitraaz.”
Taiji scowled, “lekin tum bhul rahe ho shayad ke ab tak shaadi hui nai hai, aur…”
She didn’t get to finish the sentence, as Sameer suddenly sat up straight, his stance shifting and the expression on his face changing from amiable curiosity to ruthless suppressed anger. He looked like it was a matter of seconds before the volcano would erupt and destroy everything in its path. He leaned forward towards Taiji, “aur…?”, he asked in a menacing undertone.
Taiji stammered, “aur… aur…” Just at that time, Tauji and Rakesh entered. Rakesh took one look at the spread on the coffee table and turned around, “bhabhiji, main ghar me hun.” He left without one word to his daughter or Sameer. Tauji also glanced at the clothes, and then at Sameer who still looked like a simmering volcano. He hastily enquired, “kya hua damadji?”
Sameer stood up, “Namaste Tauji. Main Delhi se aap sab ke liye aur Naina ke liye shopping karke laaya tha. Lekin Taiji ko kuch aitraaz hai shayad, aur woh mujhe yaad dila rahi hai ke meri aur Naina ki shaadi hui nahi hai ab tak. Ab maine to iss ghar se aur ghar ke logo se apnepan ka rishta banake rakha…”, he let the implication sit in, “aapke kaam me bhi rishtedaari ka khayal rakha, par shayad woh soch galat thi. Taiji ke hisab se toh mera rishta juda nahi hai na ab tak, toh fir main…”
Tauji almost saw the fat bundles of note flying away from him. He couldn’t lose the work of Maheshwari Industries, “Aree nahi beta. Tum toh apni Taiji ko jaante ho na, kabhi kabhi bolne pe kabu nahi rehta. Uska galat matlab nahi tha. Tum toh iss ghar ke bete ho. Pura haq hai tumhara.”
Sameer tilted his head, considering the words. He nodded tersely, “thike fir. Naina, tum yeh sab apne paas rakho.”
“Haan haan beta”, Tauji immediately added, “jao andar le jao saara samaan.”
As Naina stuffed the things inside the bags again, Tauji beckoned Taiji to come away. Sameer picked up the last bag, and moved towards them, “yeh aapke liye hai Taiji.”
Taiji hesitantly took the package, and saw it was box full of glasses. “Woh maine aapke bahot saare kaanch ke bartan tod diye na galti se, isiliye”, he added, “khaas delhi ke badi dukan se laaya hun.”
It didn’t take a minute for Taiji’s resentful expressions to clear and she beamed at the box as if it didn’t contain six glasses but rather a treasure costlier than gold.
As they left, Sameer closed and locked the door and turned to see Naina and Chachiji still standing at the same spot. He walked towards them, and picked up the bags Naina had packed, “andar rakhke aao”, he instructed. She took the bags and left.
Sameer looked over at Chachiji, “Taiji ne Naina ke upar galat baat boli bahar kisi Nirmala aunty ke saamne. Unka kehna tha ke mera aur Naina ka rishta unke wajah se ho raha hai warna bina maa ki ladki ko achcha rishta kahan milta. Mujhse bardasht nahi hua.”
Bela nodded, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye, mujhe laga hi ke kuch toh baat hai. Par ab woh kahin Naina…” She stopped mid-way as Naina came back, but the half-finished sentence was enough for Sameer to know that his guess had been right. Taiji was still taunting Naina. And today was not the end yet.
Bela went to re-heat the lunch, while Sameer surreptitiously held Naina’s hand, “tum thik ho?”
She nodded, still perplexed at what had transpired, but having full faith on Sameer, “haan. Tum betho, main khana lagati hun.”
Sameer felt right at home as the three of them enjoyed a simple meal of kadhi-pulao and bhindi-roti, followed by homemade hot gulab-jamun. After lunch, Chachiji helped Naina in the kitchen for some time and then went to sleep. Sameer waited patiently on the swing until Naina finished her work and came over. He held out his hand to her and pulled her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her, he secured her in his hold. She turned slightly and put an arm around his neck, so that his head rested on her breasts. They sat in silence as Sameer rocked the swing, and she stroked his hair. He felt so much at peace sitting with her like that, that he would not have moved for another few hours. However, his body had other plans as it started to respond to her proximity.
He heard Naina giggling, and looked up frowning, “kya hua?”
She bit her lip, “umm… woh Rohan ki baat yaad aa gai.”
“Konsi baat?”, he enquired dreamily, his gaze heating up on seeing the slight mark on her lips from her own teeth.
She chuckled, “yahin ke raat ko tum uske saath kya kya karte the.”
His mouth fell open at her statement, and she laughed. He had never thought that Naina would tease him over that. He felt mortified by his actions, and lifted her arm from around him, and straightened. He also pulled back his own arms, his expression grumpy, however, when she started to slip from his lap he held her again.
“Tum mujhe ched rahi ho?”, he asked disbelievingly. She hiccupped, trying to control her laughter and nodded.
He scowled, pretending to be angrier than he felt. It surprised him to be teased by her on this topic, but at the same time, he felt light-hearted thinking of how she understood what he must have been up to. He puffed up his cheeks, jerking the swing to a stop, “jao, main tumse baat nahi karunga.”
She tilted her head, watching him – the scowling mouth, swollen cheeks, his hair falling on his forehead, the mutinous expression in his eyes. She understood the pretentious anger; she understood that he wanted her to pacify him, to pamper him, to coddle him. But she had always done that in college. There had been many a time when she had wondered, how would she pacify him if they quarrelled after marriage. Now looking at his cherubic face, she suddenly knew what she wanted to do.
She flicked the hair on his forehead once, making his brows furrow. But after that she didn’t give him a chance to think. Her hand fisted on the carelessly silky locks of his hair, as she used the pressure to tilt his head back almost forcefully, taking his mouth with her. Heat slammed into him at the first soft brush of her lips, but immensely surprised by her action, he held back, letting her have control, allowing her to shape the kiss, yielding to her rhythm. She tasted of the sweet minty fennel she had eaten after lunch, and of woman – her lips soft and warm. He groaned softly, thinking of his almost ruined control, he thought of Chachiji just beyond one door, he thought of pulling back. But then she slipped her tongue inside his mouth, gave his tongue a tentative flick – and he no longer gave a damn about anything.
Naina felt Sameer’s control snap. He groaned, fisted a hand in her hair, and in a move that she couldn’t even comprehend she suddenly found herself on her back on the swing, with him on top of her as the swing rocked gently with their movements. There would have been a time when she would be embarrassed by what they were doing, conscious about where they were. But today her senses were flooded with him – his hot male scent, his hard body covering her, the unyielding weight of his hips, his callused hands roaming over her body, his lips leaving a scorching trail over her throat. She didn’t care about anything except him. Her hands lifted to quickly undo the top buttons of his shirt, to bare the view of his chest that she so loved to see. She moved her fingers through the patch of hair and raised her head to nuzzle his shoulders. He caught her lips, lazily kissing her, but she fisted both hands in his hair, wrapped one leg around his hips, and returned the caress of his tongue with a full scale invasion of her own, taking over with a forcefulness that left him breathless.
God, yes!
This woman was the only one in the entire world who had the capability to make his head spin, to turn him into a puddle of sensations. The way she was kissing him, it felt as if there was no tomorrow, as if she didn’t care about one single thing in the world except him, as if he were her reason for breathing. How could he have gone so long without him, without this? Well, that didn’t matter. She was here now with him, her mouth working magic, the slick glide of her tongue making him ache to take her in other ways. Finally, when she released his lips, he was panting so hard as if he had run a marathon. He noticed her flushed face, ragged breathing, and the glint in her eye that told him how much she had enjoyed it.
“Ab bhi baat nahi karoge?”, she enquired.
His brows dipped in confusion as he tried to recall what were they talking about before she had decided to kiss him senseless. But, try as much, he couldn’t remember, “umm… hum kya baat kar rahe the pehle?”
She laughed softly, pulling his mouth back down to her, “koi fark nahi padta, bhul jao.” And as he let himself be kissed again by his temptress, he did just that, forget everything except her.
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Wowwwwwwww...had to read this part again to get the continuity as it's been a long time since I have read this story
As usual brilliant ...I guess the update is longer here than in IF ....which is good for me 😍😍
Will catch up on other parts and come back again