Proof | a Choose Your Own Ending AbhiGya MMS track OS by mina

"Fine," Pragya said, meeting his eyes full. "Fine, if you need your proof so badly - fine, go ahead. Find out for yourself."

Abhi didn't need to be told again.

Abhi marched towards Pragya and backed her against the door. Then he roughly took hold of her chin and kissed her.

It was an angry, demanding kiss. His lips pulled at hers punishingly, his mouth claiming hers with raw possession.

He poured all his frustration and jealousy into the kiss, forceful in his need for proof. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, claiming her there as he wanted to claim her everywhere. When his breathing grew ragged he pulled back only enough to nip at her lips with his teeth, wanting to mark her soft flesh.

He did not notice at first that she wasn't responding. She had hesitantly set her hands on his shoulders when he'd started the kiss, but as he overwhelmed her with his savage passion, her hands had dropped. She was standing still, letting him have his way, giving no hint of acceptance let alone any indication of returned desire.

Eventually he felt her tears spill against his cheek, and then he finally broke the kiss.

"You don't want this," Abhi said, panting to regain his breath.

Pragya reached up quickly to dash away her tears. "I want you to believe me," she said, her voice quavering. "I do want you to - to claim me. But not like this, when you're so angry and you only want -"

His hands gripped her shoulders, but he stopped just short of shaking her as he wanted to. "But you'll let me? You don't want this, but you'll let me so that I can find out for myself -"

"Yes," she breathed heavily. "If it's the only way, then yes, do whatever you need to find your proof."

He stared at her in confusion, his mind whirling with doubts. If she was willing to submit to this test, then could she really be lying? But if she wasn't lying, what did that video actually show?

He realized that he wanted to believe her. The video seemed like irrefutable proof, but he'd given her the choice of offering her own evidence, and she had accepted. That was enough to believe her, wasn't it?

One last measure for clarity occurred to him. Staring into her eyes, he instructed, "Swear on your mother that you've never slept with him."

She gasped, and her face went grey. He thought it was strange that she was somehow more offended by this demand than by his low proposition.

But then, she always was strange.

Pragya argued, "But I've already -"

"Swear," Abhi repeated through gritted teeth, impatience starting to unsettle him again.

"Fine...fine. Maa ki kasam, I've never been with Suresh like that. I've never been with anyone," she affirmed, and he couldn't deny that her words rang of truth.

Still, he wanted to make the point absolutely clear. He persisted, "And if I - if I took you now, it would be your first time?"

She flushed, embarrassment bringing colour back to her cheeks. "Yes."

And with that, his possessive rage burnt itself out. If she was willing to go so far to prove her innocence, then he had to believe her.

He still hated to remember what he'd seen in the MMS, but now at least he was convinced that it wasn't true.

Abhi sighed and let go of Pragya, stepping back and running a hand through his hair in agitation. "Fine. Then what the hell was in that video?"

Relief lightened Pragya's face. She took a steadying breath and started to explain. "I fell down the stairs. The kids left out their marbles and I didn't see."

She continued, "Suresh was here to tutor them and I guess he heard me falling. I was unconscious until he shouted my name. Then I couldn't walk, so he picked me up."

Abhi closed his eyes as the simplicity of this explanation finally put the video into perspective. The clip hadn't shown her fall, but otherwise her story seemed like a very straightforward setup for what had been filmed.

Pragya elaborated, "He wanted to call a doctor for me, but I told him I just needed to lie down in my room. He carried me here, and - and he helped me by putting some ointment on my feet." Her voice faltered as she admitted the last point.

He met her gaze and saw that her blush had intensified. Good, he thought. At least I can say that I wasn't wrong to hit him, since he dared to touch you.

But then he realized that Suresh had only touched her because she was injured, and an unpleasant wave of self-disgust made him look away from her again.

Pragya had more to tell him. "He was just putting the ointment back in the drawer when he tripped on that toy car you gave Bunty - I really have to tell those kids to be more careful with their stuff," she sighed. She gestured to the ottoman at the foot of their coverless bed, and he saw that the little red car was indeed there.

Abhi had never before known his niece and nephew to be so careless with their possessions, and the idea of all these toys just lying around was starting to bother him. He remembered Bunty's excited joy when he'd given him the car, and he felt sure that the little boy would not have just left that gift in some random place in the house. At least, not on the same day that he'd received it.

"Suresh tripped on the car, which made him sort of fall over me, but he stopped himself from landing on me by resting on his palms. I know it looked awful, but believe me, we weren't really even touching," Pragya insisted.

Abhi didn't want to keep thinking of what it had awfully looked like, and he just nodded at her to continue her narration.

"Well, that was it really. The lights went out just when he was falling, so he stayed in that weird position a few moments extra out of disorientation. They came back on shortly after, but the video cut off there," Pragya concluded.

Abhi looked at her and frowned, thinking for the first time how strange it was that someone had been in a position to film the whole thing. And the lights going out, just like that? His house was not subject to electrical failures - he paid the city handsomely to ensure that.

But one last point about the suggestive MMS bothered him, and he prompted her, "And that ecstatic moan in the middle of the video?"

Pragya scowled, evidently outraged by that spin on the story. "That was not an ecstatic moan. That was a yelp of pain from when he was putting me down on the bed. He could barely carry me, by the way. He's a good friend but really not that useful to have around when you need help after rolling down the stairs," Pragya said, venting a mix of frustrations in one breath.

Abhi almost laughed at this, and for the first time since seeing the video, he started to feel relaxed. Something very odd was going on, but if Chashmish was willingly disparaging Double Battery, then all was right with his world.

"Did you really roll down the stairs?" he asked slowly, sweeping his eyes up and down her for any sign of injury.

"Yes!" she huffed. "And my leg still hurts, actually. It's a miracle I didn't break anything."

"Right," Abhi said distractedly. He had an urge to pick her up and put her on the bed himself, because if she was still hurting then she shouldn't be standing. But he could hardly put her on a bed with all the sheets ripped off, and he didn't think either of them felt up to remaking the bed at the moment.

"Do you need to see a doctor, then?" he finally asked.

"No," she said, with a small smile. "I think we both just need to go to sleep."

"Then let's sleep in the guest room," he said, deciding that it would be easier to get rest outside of this particular room tonight.

She blinked at him in confusion. "Let's - both - sleep in the guest room?"

"Yes," he said impatiently. "Robin can fix all this tomorrow." Then he went to his cupboard to grab his night clothes.

"Umm - but - I can still sleep here, on the sofa," she said in a rush.

He didn't understand why she was being difficult, and he turned around to tell her to stop being silly, but then he saw the half-scared, half-nervous look on her face. He realized what she was thinking and said hastily, "It's just to sleep, Chashmish, come on. We can make the pillow border, don't worry."

"Oh..." Pragya said, and to Abhi's confusion she sounded both relieved and a little...disappointed?

The thought that she might be disappointed made him want to grin, but his delight was tainted by a lingering sense of self-reproach for giving her such an ultimatum. If - when? - they finally took that step, he didn't want her to agree to it out of pressure or duty. He'd never bullied a woman into bed before and he certainly wasn't going to start with his wife.

His wife...after everything that happened this night, he couldn't deny that he really did see her as his wife. He didn't know what he was going to do about that.

He owed her an apology. He owed Suresh an apology. He still had to figure out how to manage this whole mess without it affecting Daadi. And he had to hunt down whoever had made that filthy video and punish them with all the rage he'd mistakenly directed at two innocent people.

It had been a long and exhausting evening, and his knuckles were still stinging from having beaten up Suresh, and his whole body was confused with the mixed messages he had been sending it by first making a proposition to Chashmish and then retreating from it. He didn't have the mental resources to deal with any of it now.

He finished gathering his sleepwear and started to head out of the room. "Just come and sleep, Chashmish," he said, walking past her with exaggerated casualness. "We'll see about the rest tomorrow."

She gave him an uncertain smile, and he continued out into the hall.

"Fine," Pragya said, meeting his eyes full. "Fine, if you need your proof so badly - fine, go ahead. Find out for yourself."

Abhi's eyes widened, and she wondered if he was really surprised that she'd agreed. "You mean it?" he questioned. "You're ready to have sex with me, now?"

"Yes."

His eyes narrowed as some new complication occurred to him, and she wished restlessly that he would just get on with it. "Don't think you can pretend," he warned. "I'll be able to tell."

She felt an urge to roll her eyes, only the moment felt too tense for that. "Do you think I would even know how to pretend? Just - just do what you have to do."

Abhi didn't need to be told again.

He pulled Pragya to him and claimed her mouth. He kissed her with frustration and raw need, seeking not just submission, but surrender. He wanted to conquer her, lay claim to her, erase and overlay all trace of anyone else's touch.

He didn't even care really if she was telling the truth about being a virgin. It didn't matter if he wasn't her first; he was damn well going to be her only from now on.

Abhi was so lost in his own need that he wasn't paying much attention to Pragya's response. If he were a fraction calmer he would have realized that she didn't even know how to kiss. Her mouth was pliant under his, and she was trying slowly to match his movements, but to a man of his experience it should've been completely obvious that she had none.

All that mattered to him was that she was responding. He had let go of her arms to hold her by the waist, and she had tentatively set her hands on his shoulders. As the kiss continued, her hands found their way around his neck and into his hair, and she drew herself close to him.

He held her tight, crushing her to his chest. The feel of her, soft and yielding everywhere, only inflamed him further.

Finally he broke the kiss, his breath heaving. He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "I can't stop thinking of what you looked like on that bed, under him," he told her gruffly. "I need to make new memories of you on that bed. Under me. Do you understand?"

Pragya nodded shakily, her eyes wide and dazed behind her glasses.

Abhi stroked his thumb across her plump lower lip. "Last chance, Chashmish. Are we going to do this? Am I going to find my proof?"

"I - I don't understand what you want me to say," she said unsteadily. Then she inhaled sharply and continued, "Yes, let's - make memories. And I don't know what you'll find, but my truth won't change. I've really never done this before."

Abhi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Then, come on," he murmured.

He took her hand and led her to the bed. He turned to her and took off her glasses, setting them safely on the night table. She blinked as he turned back to her, which made him laugh a little. Already the urgency of his anger was fading, because now she had agreed to be his...and he couldn't help noticing how sweetly confused she looked without her glasses.

"So how blind are you without those?" he asked teasingly.

She tilted her head, obviously confused by the change in his tone. She answered him straight-forwardly, sounding like she was deliberately humoring him. "I can see you clearly, but the wallpaper by the closet is blurry."

He grinned. "Ah. Then you'll be able to see just what you need to see."

"And what's that?"

"Me."

He took her hand and pulled her close again. He tugged her dupatta from her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard as the fabric slid down her body.

She was still fully dressed, but she looked so vulnerable that Abhi thought he had never seen a woman more naked. Her every fear and hope was written clearly in the lines of her face, tension and doubt pulling her soft features taut.

He touched her cheek, and her skin was smooth and warm. He realized then that he was holding something precious. He hadn't earned her trust or her love and deep down he knew he didn't deserve either, but here she stood, ready to share her body with him, submitting to his beastly demand for proof.

In that moment he had all the proof he needed. He believed fully that she wasn't lying. Whatever had happened between her and Suresh, it certainly hadn't been sexual. And without a doubt, she had never even been close to doing this with anyone before.

He knew that he should stop. He should let her go, back off from this debasing proposition. She was right - they shouldn't do it this way.

But he didn't care about should anymore.

He wanted her. The video had blown through all the stupid excuses and lies he'd blinded himself with, and he could no longer deny the simple truth that he wanted her.

He wanted her in his life, and he wanted her in his arms.

He'd been trying to avoid this truth, because it wasn't that simple. There was Aaliya to think of, and Tanu, and the lingering sense that he'd never chosen her, and the shameful fact that he'd mistreated her time and again for faults she'd been proven blameless of, time and again.

It was complicated and damned inconvenient to want her, so he'd told himself he didn't.

But oh, he did.

And now she was giving herself to him.

And he was glad.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with nervous confusion. He realized he'd been staring too long.

He didn't know how to make the next move.

How could he reassure her, tell her that his intentions had changed? He no longer wanted to test her, but he still wanted to make her his...

He couldn't tell her in words; he would try to tell her by touch.

He drew her into another kiss, soft and slow. Again she tried clumsily to reciprocate, and with patience he showed her how it was done.

Finally she started to relax in his arms, to seem comfortable in the moment.

He knew he shouldn't rush her, but the night had been too intense and exhausting and he didn't have the patience to go slow and steady and careful as she deserved. He mentally promised himself he would do better for her later. Then, eager to get on with things, he carried her onto the bed.

As he laid her down, he felt a momentary pang of regret at stripping the beddings. He thought that now at least she should have a pillow. But he also liked the idea of them doing this on a bare bed, a fresh bed, to be made by them and them alone...

He lay down on his side and pulled her to him and kept kissing her. His mouth wandered along her jaw and down her neck, and her breath hitched as he discovered a sensitive spot along her throat. His hands moved of their own accord, learning every swell and curve of her body.

Her hands were wandering too, exploring him with cautious curiosity. Her touch was feather light. She skimmed her palms down his arms, and when she made it from his shirtsleeve to his skin, he felt a pulse of electricity race through him.

He tugged at the dori on the back of her kameez, knowing it wasn't enough to undress her but wanting to communicate his intention. She stiffened for a moment, obviously overwhelmed by this signal, but then she took a breath and relaxed.

The knot on the dori came free, and he pulled restlessly at her sleeves. Her kameez only loosened slightly, and he couldn't think straight about how to completely get it off her. His hands continued snatching uselessly at the fabric.

Finally Pragya pulled away from him and sat up. She met his eyes for a long moment but he was too lost in just looking at her to realize that she was trying to ask him something.

Without her glasses, her face shone with unmistakeable beauty, a kind of purity shining from her skin. He thought nonsensically that it really was like looking at the moon, and remembered their odd moment beneath the kitchen window on karwa chauth.

That night, he'd taunted her about them not having a proper relationship behind closed doors. Thank God that tonight, they were going to change that.

She huffed in impatience, clearly tired of him just blankly looking at her. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pulled off her kameez.

Well. He wasn't expecting that.

Again for a moment all he could do was helplessly stare. All that creamy skin, bared to his sight...and her so sensible, plain bra, fully covering her high, round breasts. It made him realize that he'd never gone to bed with a woman wearing an everyday bra; his girlfriends always had lacy, provocative things on, knowing to expect him.

But she was his wife, and she hadn't been expecting him.

And he would get to have her anyway.

Abhi shook himself free of his trance and finally sat up and reached for her. He ran the back of his hand along her bare shoulder, and her eyes fluttered open.

He read anxiety and resignation in her gaze. What, did she think he wouldn't like what he saw?

He'd never seen better. How to tell her that?

He had never genuinely given her compliments or praise, and to try it now would feel false.

So he simply told her, with a small grin, "Not bad, chashmish."

She smiled back tentatively, and there was so much hesitation in her expression, he couldn't stand it.

He drew her close again, and set his mind to showing her again with his touch what he couldn't find words for.

The kissing and exploratory touching went on and on, as for a time Abhi lost himself in the wonder of just being with her. The rest of their clothes came off one by one, but when he reached to her waist to remove the last thing between them, she set her hands on his to stop him.

He looked at her then, wondering if she had changed her mind. She licked her lips nervously and said, "Not yet, please."

He accepted her request, and went back to kissing his way along her body. She encouraged him, turning his head in new directions, holding him against particular places.

Once he made it to her toes, he went back to her mouth. Then as he kept her distracted with kisses, he worked his hand between their bodies.

She gasped at the intimate touch.

He was gratified to find her already damp. He knew she'd been responding, but he also understood that all the tension of the night had to be working against her arousal. On some distant level he felt ashamed of himself for pushing her into this, knowing that he had pressured her past her comfort zone.

But he was too far gone to care about that, especially when she was growing more and more responsive by the minute.

He kept his hand busy until she was slick with readiness. She had buried her face against his shoulder, and her hand clutched at his other arm. Her breathing was growing increasingly uneven.

When he moved to bare her again, she rolled onto her back to make it easy for him.

And then they were naked, nothing between them but raw wordless need.

He sat back and looked at her, taking his fill of the gorgeous sight of her body. A surge of possessiveness coursed through him again. Mine, he thought with primal satisfaction. And First.

He gathered her into his arms again and laid claim to her mouth with a dominating kiss. She responded, melting under him, kissing him back, throwing one leg over his hip.

He shifted them and brought his hand to her again. Before he'd kept his explorations to the surface, but now he moved deeper, intent on making her as ready as he could.

His probing finger met tightness, and if he'd needed it there was proof enough that she really was untouched. The way she tensed and choked at the new touch was proof, too.

A fresh wave of conscience made him finally stop and pull back.

She whimpered with annoyance at his withdrawal, and she tipped her head to frown at him.

He wanted to laugh, but the trouble in his mind kept his voice serious. "Ok," he conceded roughly. "I still want you. But we don't need to do this. Do you want to stop?"

Her frown turned into a glare. "This far and now you're asking? That's not fair. Finish what you started."

"Ok, but we're in this together. I know it's late but I want to give you a choice -"

"The time for a choice was long back. We've come this far. I don't want to stop."

"Ok," he agreed, smiling again as he dismissed the last of his doubts.

Once more he kissed her, and this time she responded with more than acceptance. She kissed him back with enthusiasm, making demands of her own, and he started to feel lost in her desire.

She pulled him over her, turning onto her back and inviting him to get into position. He broke from her mouth as he realized this, and touched his forehead to hers, needing a moment to celebrate the idea that she really wanted him.

After a moment he had enough composure to continue.

He held her legs apart with his hands on her hips and started to shift into place, but something about the angle bothered him. He thought for a moment, and then he bent over the side of the bed and picked up some pillows.

The image of her lying on them while Suresh leaned over her flashed through his mind, and a spark of annoyance flared in his blood.

But then he looked down to see her open and ready for him, a pout forming on her face as she waited for his next move, and the annoyance dissipated. She was allowing him to be her first; nothing else mattered in this moment.

He placed one pillow under her head and two firm cushions under her hips as she watched in confusion.

"Abhishek, what - this is - strange?" she asked falteringly.

"Just trust me, I know what I'm doing," he told her distractedly.

He knelt between her legs and planted his palms at her sides. Then, finally, he moved into her.

Again, if he still wanted proof, he would have it. It took more than one thrust to push through her untouched body's natural resistance, and her sharp cry of shock spoke volumes.

But then, finally, he was inside her, and no moment had felt so perfect. She was his, fully in the moment, occupied by his body and under him. And she was trusting him to take her somewhere she'd never gone.

He leaned into her then, his hands sliding up to cradle her head as he continued pumping his hips.

She tossed her head to the side, gasping and whimpering as she got used to the sensations, but they were sounds of surprise and discovery, not pain.

He continued his movements, pulling himself up onto his wrists so he could watch her. She met his gaze, but her head kept tossing and her eyes kept clenching closed. Her hands scrabbled against the mattress, and if there had been bedsheets she would have been grasping them.

He continued working her, losing himself to the rhythm, not even realizing that a chorus of Mine. Mine. Mine, was playing in his head.

The angle he'd placed her at had made it easier for him to enter her, and it also meant that her most sensitive part was stimulated with his every thrust. As he continued his actions, trying but not exactly succeeding to go slow and steady, her arousal grew and grew, and gradually her gasps turned to moans.

"Abhishek," she said into his ear, her voice thick and deep with desire. "Oh, God, Abhishek!"

His name had never sounded so good.

He was too lost in the moment to do anything but thrust, but still somehow he led her to her peak. Her breathing grew ragged, her moans turned wordless, and her hands wildly gripped at his arms and back.

Then finally she broke, coming apart under him with magnificent force, her whole body trembling in release.

His rhythm faltered as her climax threw him off, but then the way she clenched around him pulled him to his fulfillment too, and he was spilling into her, coming so hard and fierce it made his head spin.

He realized belatedly that there was no protection, no barriers between them. The consequences of tonight could be lifelong...and yet that didn't worry him at all.

He kept himself on his arms above her, still and tense, gasping to recover his breath. His climax had been so intense that he was utterly spent, already softening inside her. He knew he should give her space to cool off, but the possessive instinct hadn't left him yet.

Abhi rolled onto his back and pulled Pragya on top of him, chest to chest. He held her tight, his arms locked around her waist. Her head was pillowed on his shoulder, and her long hair was spread messily across her back, brushing his arms and tickling his skin.

"Well, Chashmish," he murmured at length. "Welcome to wifely duties. You can expect to be doing that at least twice a day from now until eternity."

She snorted in amusement. "You wish. I'll decide how much or how little I'll be doing that, thank you."

"Uh uh, that's not the way it works."

"It's my body. I decide how it works. And now are you finally satisfied? You have your proof." He heard a note of anxiety in her voice, and it flooded him with a rush of guilt.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you," he said softly. "Your word...your willingness was proof enough. But, see, I had to have you."

"You did?"

"Yes. And thank you for giving yourself to me."

"Well. Thank you for accepting your husbandly duties, I guess. You do understand that if you go back to Tanu after this, I will have to kill you? And no one would blame me, by the way."

"OK. I'm not going back. In fact I'm not sure I want to leave this bed at all."

"Well, that's too bad, because we need blankets. And I need to...wash up."

So saying, she slipped out of his arms before he could say anything. She grabbed her kameez and walked quickly to the bathroom, obviously moving fast because she was self-conscious about him watching her.

He watched her go inside with a lazy grin, and then stretched out his arms in relaxation. It had been a torturous night, but now, finally, he could be content.

It had been wrong of him to ask this of her, but at least now they were closer than ever. Next time he'd make a point of being careful and loving, though she didn't seem to mind too much that he'd been so demanding tonight.

Apparently he owed that Double Battery an apology, and God only knew how he was going to face Rockstar Daadi again.

Something had to be done about that appalling video, but now that he was sure it was false, he wasn't too bothered by it. Let anyone say something against his Chashmish's character - he'd make them pay.

And for his own part, he would not make the mistake of mistrusting her again.

He picked up a few more pillows, no longer hating them and even feeling a little sorry that he'd wanted to burn them. He still planned to replace them soon, but that was no reason to spend the rest of the night uncomfortably.

He settled in with his arms behind his head and waited for his wife to come back with a smile on his face.

"Fine," Pragya said, meeting his eyes full. "Fine, if you need your proof so badly - fine, go ahead. Find out for yourself."

Abhi's eyes widened, and she wondered if he was really surprised that she'd agreed. "You mean it?" he questioned. "You're ready to have sex with me, now?"

"Yes."

His eyes narrowed as some new complication occurred to him, and she wished restlessly that he would just get on with it. "Don't think you can pretend," he warned. "I'll be able to tell."

She felt an urge to roll her eyes, only the moment felt too tense for that. "Do you think I would even know how to pretend? Just - just do what you have to do."

Abhi didn't need to be told again.

He tugged her close and took her mouth in a rough kiss. Rage and frustration drove the furious movement of his lips and teeth and tongue, and for the first few moments Pragya could barely breathe. Then his pace settled a little, and the kiss felt manageable, and she started to kiss him back.

Pragya wrapped her arms around Abhi's neck, pulling him flush against her. If they were going to do this, she wasn't going to just "let it happen."

God knew if he would even accept his supposed proof. She suspected that he was fully capable of taking her all the way and then deciding that he hadn't felt or seen anything to prove that she really was a virgin.

He said he'd be able to tell, but she knew that there wouldn't necessarily be a physical sign. It would be up to his subjective judgment, and in all the time they'd known each other, his judgment had almost never been in her favour.

But Pragya was willing to take the risk that agreeing to this test would end badly for her. More than anything, she just wanted to break this stalemate of conflicting feelings between them.

Whatever happened, after tonight they couldn't go back to the same old circle of blame and misunderstandings. Either Abhi would take what he wanted and throw her out, or he would find what he was looking for, and then, maybe, they could have something...new.

At first she thought that she shouldn't show too much enthusiasm. He probably expected that as a virgin she would be shy and confused, and it might be better if she just let him take the lead.

But she found that she couldn't be bothered to suppress her own long-buried appetite. This was happening, and she was going to take what she wanted. The least she could get out of this outrageous, offensive proposition was a chance to finally do this, on her own terms. She made up her mind to give in to every impulse, to not hide anything about her needs and desires, and damn what he might think...

Pragya's active response seemed to further provoke Abhi's temper. He tipped her head back and nipped at her neck, and she thought that surely there would be marks there by morning. His hand was already pulling at the dori at the back of her kameez, and the brush of his knuckles against her exposed skin sent sparks straight down her spine.

They made their way to the bed in jerky, distracted movements, kissing and touching all the while. Finally he pushed her onto her back and climbed over her. He was so lost in his own need that he wasn't talking to her or looking at her - at least, he was looking, but not at her face.

She didn't care that they were suddenly beyond words. Her own need grew with every possessive sweep of his hands against her, and she felt that they had tumbled into a world of pure instinct...

The aggression Abhi had poured out on Suresh found a different outlet as Pragya gave herself over to him. He was dominating in his approach, holding her down while he moved his mouth and hands along her, claiming and branding every part of her with his frenzied touch.

He sat up to pull off her salwar, and then came back to take her mouth again. As he kissed her, he impatiently pulled up her kameez, and his hand made its way to her womanhood.

She knew he wasn't in the mood for foreplay and she didn't expect tenderness from him, so she was surprised that when his hand found its destination, he was...almost gentle. His frantic energy slowed as he stroked her, his fingertips moving against her still-covered femininity in the same steady rhythm as his lips moved on her mouth.

Abhi was calming down, but the fire in Pragya's blood grew and raged as her body responded to the amazing friction of his firm, forceful fingers. He wasn't even directly touching her skin, but still it was beyond anything she had felt before.

Excitement and anticipation took over Pragya, as arousal drowned out the last of her doubts and negative feelings. It was true that she had never wanted it like this, never imagined that her first time would involve so much anger and mistrust, but she was fed up of waiting for romance and love. She would take what she could get, starting now. She reached to undo Abhi's jeans, determined to undress him herself.

In a furious tangle of limbs and back-and-forth tugging and sliding, eventually they were both undressed. And then there was the glorious feeling of being skin-to-skin with him everywhere, hot and overpowering.

Abhi kept kissing Pragya, holding her against him so that she could do no more than run her hands restlessly against his arms. She felt him hard and solid against her thigh, and that was it, right then she wanted him inside her.

She pulled out of his arms and reached for him. He groaned when her fist closed around him, and she thought that now at least she could have him at her mercy, explore him on her own schedule as he reveled in her touch...

But then his need for mastery returned, and he toppled her onto her back. He held her arms wide and stared down at her, his chest heaving as he panted for breath. "You're so enthusiastic, Chashmish," he said thickly. "Did he teach you that? Are you like this with him?" Abhi's voice grew harsher with his words, and the initial wonder in his face twisted as he once again let ugly thoughts take over him.

Pragya glared at him, frustrated that they'd come this far and he still had the wrong idea about her. "It's you. You drive me mad," she told him, unable to contain the truth with him finally so close to her. "You make me forget myself. I deserve so much better than than this, but we decided to do it this way. So now, stop wasting time -"

He returned her glare, outrage firing his voice as he declared, "Better? Better than me? You'll never have better." His grip on her arms tightened. "I'll make you forget him, them, everyone," he vowed, every word dripping with fury.

She shook her head, and couldn't help a sarcastic little laugh. "You want to erase memories that don't even exist." She wrapped her fingers in his hair and made him meet her eyes. "You thought you could tell, but you can't really. What do you want for proof? Do you want me to cry? Is that that what you thought, that as a virgin I'd be scared and helpless?"

"Virgin sounds wrong on your lips," he taunted, avoiding her question.

Pragya let go of him, her hands dropping to her sides in defeat. "Just finish this. What are you waiting for?"

Abhi scowled. "Bossy Chashmish...I'll do this my way." Then his expression shifted, a wicked smile starting from the corners of his mouth. "You said I could f--k you, and I'll do it how I like."

She huffed in annoyance. "You want me to just lie still and take it? That's what does it for you?"

A part of her wondered where she was finding the nerve to speak to him this way, but it wasn't something she could figure out now. She continued bitterly, "Is that how she is, passive and -"

"Don't - not here - it's just you and me, we're not talking about anyone else -"

"You're the one who -"

"Shh." He kissed her again, but now instead of anger there was only intent - to silence her, to claim her, to focus her attention wholly on him.

Pragya felt restless, her frustration growing as Abhi continued to hold himself away from her. She felt so ready, and more than a little crazy with need. She was going mad for him and wanted to move on, to chase through the adrenaline energizing her every nerve.

But because he delighted in thwarting her - it seemed even in bed he wanted to continue the habit - he didn't give her what she wanted. Instead he started to kiss her slowly all over, revisiting and teasing all the places he'd already explored. As if they had all the time in the world...as if they were doing this for affection and amusement instead of to prove a point...as if wanted her, just her, and wasn't investigating for "proof"...

Pragya wanted to hold on to her anger and irritation, wanted to yell at Abhi to just get on with it. But his skilled attentions overcame her temper, and she relaxed into his touch. The feeling of madness changed, taking on a sweeter edge. Arousal turned to desire; hot electricity became enveloping warmth...

She started to lose herself in the wonder he was creating for her. She let her hands roam along his broad back, discovering the geography of his fit, muscled body.

She felt his stubble burning against the sensitive skin of her inner breast as he lavished attention on her, caressing and sucking and nipping. His mouth worked in tandem with his hands, introducing her to a level of pleasure beyond anything she'd ever dreamed of.

She didn't know exactly when raw need turned into deep passion, but it did. She was still so angry and disappointed with him, but now they were outside time, outside the tumultuous feelings of all the drama earlier in the night. What was happening between them wasn't about giving him proof or trying to hold onto him or making him be her husband, not anymore. It was just this, her woman's body discovering the primal meaning of being with a man, learning how far instinct could take her.

Her breathing slowed, becoming not peaceful, but...so deep. Her heart shuddered as the pulsing electricity between them seemed to flip it over.

He concluded his long tour of her body by rolling them both onto their sides and kissing her again. He worked his hands back to her core, which he'd avoided since undressing her. Now that there was no fabric between them, his touch affected her even more fiercely.

She was already moist but somehow his determined fingers pushed her further. She hadn't known she could be so wet, and with the small part of her brain that was still thinking, she couldn't believe that she was responding like this to him. She should still be angry with him, but somehow - and she didn't know whether it was because of this irresistible physical desire or her stupidly enduring unspoken love, just somehow - she couldn't help being open to him, both in body and heart.

He slipped a finger inside her, and that finally shocked her back into the moment. She broke from his mouth and buried her face against his neck. She didn't know if he could tell, but for her it was so unfamiliar...

"What's wrong baby..." he breathed into her ear. "Don't like it?"

"It's...new..." she said helplessly.

"He doesn't touch you like this?"

"Abhishek..." she groaned, agitated that he still wouldn't believe her, that he was taunting her with his tone and teasing her with his hand. "I swear no one has ever...I've never even...this is my first, really, it is..."

"I don't know what to believe," he admitted, and finally she could hear uncertainty in his voice. "You're so ready and responsive..."

"Because I want this. I want you, I want sex." She felt a strong need to explain, hoping that he might now accept her reasons.

She kept talking as his hand kept working. "I didn't think it would start this way but I've wanted - oh! Oh God - w-wanted this for so long..."

His hand slowed, becoming almost reverent. "You really want me to believe...no one has been here before...brand new territory..."

"Mm..."

He added a second digit, and because he had her so keyed up, it slid in easily. But internally she still felt a slight ache, and of course the continuing surprise of this unprecedented touch...

"Your body knows how to welcome me," he said gruffly, his breath hot on her ear. "As if you've done this a hundred times. And you want me to believe..."

Her anger resurged, and she pulled her head back, not wanting to be as close to him anymore. "I want you to stop talking and just do it, damn you!"

She exhaled sharply, trying to contain her feelings, but she found that she could not calm herself after all. "I don't care anymore," she declared. "Believe what you want. You were never going to believe about 'proof' anyway. I don't know why you started this, but finish it, now!"

He stared at her in amazement. She could tell that it stung at his pride to be told what to do. Even though he was upset with her, even though he was doing this to put her in her place, he didn't want to be hurried. He was so perverse that he would probably go on making leisurely love to every part of her instead of just going for what he had claimed he wanted, all because he didn't want to ever do anything on her terms.

But then he tipped her onto her back and positioned himself over her, and she was relieved that finally they were moving ahead.

He parted her thighs with a light touch to her knees and frowned down at her. "Are you sure about this?"

"You really expect me to change my mind now, when I'm a needy mess?"

"I just...If it really is your first time, I don't want you to later regret -"

"If? Still if? Well, don't worry about my regrets. I've already made my decision."

"But if -"

"Are you going to leave me hanging? You don't want to, is that it? Your anger is gone and there was never desire to begin with -"

"You think this isn't desire?" He pulled her hand to him, made her feel his girth and solidity.

She closed her fist around him, liking that she had him in her hold again. "Desire, natural reflex - I wouldn't know the difference."

He pushed her hand away and leaned into her, bringing his face above hers. "If we're doing this - you'll be mine. I'm not taking you to let you go, do you understand? Mine, in all ways, from now on."

"Yours - to use and mock and set in a corner while you have fun?" she taunted, remembering what he'd often said to her about her being stuck in their marriage while he was free to take his pleasure from the world.

"No, damn it!" he growled. He linked their hands together, spreading her arms out above her head. "Mine, just mine -"

"And what would that mean, being yours?" He had her pinned so that she could barely move, but still she thrust her chest up to meet his, needing some way to provoke him because she couldn't stand to just be in his power. "Tell me, what would you want, what would you expect?"

He pushed back, his heavy body holding her down with its sheer bulk. His mouth was inches from hers and his breath hit her skin as he answered, "I'd expect that you never look at another man. That you don't ever spend another minute alone with that - that Double Battery."

He swept one hand along her side, greedily indicating her whole body and gesturing to the very little space remaining between them. "I'd expect that this will be just for me, just here, iss bandh kamre mein meri biwi par mera haq jo hai..."

She reached up to clutch his shoulders, sliding one hand along his neck and behind his head. "Iss bandh kamre mein aap haq jaateyenge, mujhe biwi mannenge - and outside this room? I'll still just be your burden, just Chashmish the joke, the sukhi hui behenji who could never be good enough for the rockstar -"

He set his finger across her lips. "Don't talk like that -"

She shook him off. "I'm just repeating what you've said -"

"I didn't mean it!" he snapped. Then the self-righteous, possessive anger left his face, and she saw an unbearable tenderness in his eyes. "I never meant - I say a lot of things," he whispered, and she understood what he was trying to tell her, but she was in no mood to save him the trouble of actually putting it into words.

"And what you're saying now - that you want me, that I'll be yours - is that any different from all the things you say and don't mean?" she demanded.

Their gazes locked, and for a long moment, silence stretched between them. She wanted so much to take comfort from his suddenly soft look, but she couldn't yet forget all the awful things he'd said to her over the last months.

Finally he answered, "Yes. Yes, it is different..."

She shook her head, breaking the gaze. "And why would I want to be yours, when you won't be mine? I'll give you this, tonight, and then you'll expect it whenever because of your rights, but in the meantime you'll still go to her - "

"No, I won't! Is that your condition? Then fine, I won't, I'm done with her -"

"But she's the love of your life -"

"She's not! I don't - I don't need her. But I have to have you."

Again she looked into his eyes, and she could feel herself losing the battle to hold on to her anger. She knew it was dangerous to believe him, but finally he was saying what she wanted to hear, and she didn't have it in her to keep trying to see the worst in him.

"Do you?" she whispered, hoping against hope that she wasn't making a mistake to give him this chance.

"Yes," he said firmly. He continued, "So...will you be mine? Can we...not start over, but can we go on differently? You're mine, I'm...I'm yours..."

"Are you mine? My husband? My man? Only mine?"

"Yes, yours. You win, Chashmish." He laughed then, a smile slashing across his face though his eyes were still serious. "Your jadoo wins. All I want is you."

"Then...yes, I'm yours," she said, giving in to the need to believe him, putting her heart at risk once more in the hope that this time he would deserve it.

"Good," he breathed, and satisfaction lightened his face, but it wasn't the arrogant satisfaction she was used to seeing. It was something sweet and pure, and it soothed her to see him finally looking at her with happiness.

He leaned forward and kissed her again, a quick smack on the lips, apparently for reassurance. Then he pulled himself onto his knees and settled close to her. He hooked his arm under of one of her thighs, splaying her other leg wide.

He took himself in hand and directed himself to her.

Just the first touch of him on her untried folds was...mind-shattering. And then he started to sink in.

He met resistance. The invasion wasn't exactly painful, but it felt strange and uncomfortable to have him just...stuck...there.

His brow wrinkled as he frowned. He was staring between them, focused on the join, watching her take him in.

He pushed forward with his hips and passed through the resistance. It pinched a little, and she tensed. He noticed that and looked at her, and their eyes locked again.

He knew now. His eyes were stormy with the realization, apology mixing with triumph as he finally accepted the proof he'd wanted to find.

He looked back down to their connection, and with a short quick movement he got in the rest of the way. Then he leaned up to her again, covering her, his palms landing above her shoulders.

He kissed her neck and chin and whispered, "I'm sorry...thank you."

"For...?"

"For giving this to me. It means...everything. The only thing that feels better than being inside you is knowing that I'm the first and only...that you weren't lying..."

It still bothered her that he had ever thought she was lying. In their time together, she had developed complete faith in him, but it seemed that he had never truly seen her.

But now with him deep inside her, she couldn't hold on to resentment. She let it go, and she felt free.

Her heart unclenched as months of tension and distress melted away. She breathed deep and wrapped her arms around his back, wanting to be as close as she could to him, needing to hear his heart beat for her, too.

"Abhishek...please...make me feel good," Pragya whispered, ready at last to share her deepest need with him.

Abhi kissed her temple and smiled at her. "Yes, baby..."

He started to move against her, slow and deliberate. Her body adjusted to him, and the initial feeling of intrusion faded away. She gripped his shoulders, trying to find some balance to combat the growing sense that he was taking her somewhere she didn't understand.

He shifted, pulling away from though not out of her. She heard herself whimpering in protest before even realizing that she was disappointed to lose the all-body contact. Her thinking had slowed to match the rhythm of his progress, and she hardly knew what was happening from one moment to the next. All she could think was that everything felt good, just as she'd asked.

She saw that he was looking between them again. As she watched, his hand slid across her thigh, and down, and then he found that exasperating bundle of nerves that had been throbbing almost since he started touching her. For the first time he started stroking there directly, and her back arched off the bed as the delicious shock of his touch raced through her.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she bit her lip. Her hands dropped to the mattress and she pulled uselessly at the plush surface, finding no purchase as there were no blankets to clutch for support.

Gradually her body adjusted to his attentions to that most sensitive place, too, and soon the initial sensation of sharp pleasure ebbed into just a steady warmth. She wished nonsensically that he had more hands, because she wanted him touching her everywhere, all at once.

Her own hands drifted up her sides and along her chest, and she started to ply her soft full flesh the way she wished he could. It was unsatisfying because her hands were so much smaller than his, and to make up for that she squeezed and cupped with greater force.

He leaned forward a little, and she felt his hot breath closer to her. She opened her eyes and saw that he was watching her in fascination, and the look of wonder on his face made her smile.

"What is it?" she asked, surprisingly herself with how sultry and teasing her voice sounded. She never knew she could sound like that. But then she'd never been in this position before, filled by him and half-lost to ecstasy...

"Why are you so...how are you so..." He couldn't finish his question. Instead he just shook his head and bent forward to kiss her again.

As he kept her mouth occupied, his hands were busy shifting their position. He hooked her knees under his shoulders and pushed up, folding her under him and making her legs lock around his waist. He rocked into her harder and faster, and it was all suddenly so much more intense that her soft gasps and moans started to grow shrill and loud.

She couldn't focus enough to form words, and her voice and breath went on making their own inarticulate song in response to his actions, but her thoughts were full of him only. His name became a mantra in her mind - Abhishek, Abhishek, Abhishek, Abhi, AbhiAbhiAbhi ABHI...

His deep, steady movements clearly had a goal. She could feel herself getting further and further down this new road he was guiding her on, and at the same time it seemed like he was somehow trying to break her apart, in the sweetest way. She wanted to break for him, to fall to pieces, and she was getting closer and closer. The tension built under her skin, pulsing through her blood and making her feel claimed and full, everywhere.

Her breathing choked, and everything burned with searing pleasure, and then all at once it happened. She went tense and then twisted, and her eyes squeezed shut. She let out one long, low moan as she came apart under him, her limbs turning liquid with the rush of her release. And belatedly she felt the movement of her most intimate muscles too, clenching and quivering as they never had before, pulling him even deeper into her.

His thrusting slowed as he let her recover from her peak. When she almost had her breath back she opened her eyes, and he was smiling smugly down at her.

"So...good?" he asked, his voice lush with pride and self-satisfaction. Obviously he thought he knew the answer, and just wanted to hear her praise him.

So she didn't respond, instead trailing her hands up along his neck, and into his hair. "Finish in me now, please...Then it will be good."

She was beyond wondering where this bold coyness came from. She'd never imagined she could say something like that, but after fragmenting for him, and then coming back together, it felt like she was in a new world. The limits of whoever she'd been before, whatever she'd been capable of, no longer mattered. Now she knew that she had the capacity for this primal, carnal satisfaction, and it made all the difference.

His eyes widened at her brazen words, but then he smirked, and she could see that he wouldn't take her challenge. He would follow his own agenda, the top item of which always seemed to be doing the exact opposite of what she wanted.

He kept strict control of himself, deliberately delaying his own gratification. He thrust slow and steady for minutes on end, keeping her gaze on his, kissing away her impatient protests, making her stay with him when she tried to hurry him on.

"Abhishek" she groaned. "Even torture has its limit...please..."

He laughed, but finally his attitude changed, and he applied his focus to finishing. He pulled her legs straight up, introducing her to a dramatic yet surprisingly enjoyable position, and moved against her at a faster pace.

He reached his climax, going still as he flooded into her. She watched closely as his face twisted with a kind of agonized pleasure. It occurred to her that maybe it could be fun to figure out how to make him look that tortured on a regular basis. Heaven knew he deserved some suffering, even if it came with pleasure, too.

He rolled onto his side with a deep sigh, and then he gathered her close, her back to his chest. He threw his thigh over hers, and his hand found her breast.

She was distantly amused that he felt the need to be so possessive after what they'd just shared, but it felt good to be held that way, so she decided not to tease him about it.

She snuggled against him and set her hand over his, drawing it down to the curve of her waist.

"So..." she whispered.

"Mmm?"

"What now?"

"Now? Sleep...and later, more of this."

He already sounded half-asleep, which she couldn't believe because she felt alive with energy. She realized she would have to let him recover, apparently with sleep, but she didn't like the idea of just lying there, exposed and sticky.

"But...pillows...blankets..." she prompted.

He huffed, and bent his head to kiss the back of her neck. "I'm your pillow. You're my blanket."

"I want my own blanket."

"Baby, I was just covering you," he protested, and it sounded like he was actually serious about them not need bedding.

"Aap bhi naa," she said in exasperation. "Kitne bakwaas karte hain." She disentangled herself from him and reached for one of the blankets on the floor.

"No, not that one." He reached over to stop her with a hand on her wrist. "I'm still going to burn those. Get one from the closet."

"Still going to burn them?" She turned to him with a frown. "Why? I thought you had your proof -"

"Doesn't matter," he said, and an angry light had returned to his eyes. "After that stupid video I can't stand the sight of those sheets. You're never getting on or under them again."

"But -"

He took her hand and squeezed it, and his angry look went away. "I know the video wasn't true. That's not the point. Anyway, baby, if you want a blanket...get a fresh one." He smirked at her then, apparently once again finding joy in annoying her.

She rolled her eyes. "So this is how it's going to be now? You'll be the demanding husband and I'll be the obedient wife, following your every command?

"You, and obedient? Not in this universe," he scoffed. "You're always doing the opposite of what I want. See, even now you're leaving the bed. If you were an obedient wife you'd quietly fall asleep in my arms...!"

"Ridiculous," Pragya murmured, smiling as she made her way to the closet.

She grabbed a blanket and tossed it at Abhi, but he made no move to open it, instead rolling onto his stomach and obnoxiously pretending to sleep.

She suppressed a laugh, knowing he was waiting to hear her response. Without saying anything, she headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

When she came back, he was asleep for real, one of his arms hanging off the side of the bed and his chest rising and falling peacefully with his breath.

She carefully got back into bed, taking her place next to him and gently covering them both with the new blanket.

She still wished that they had extra pillows. But, for this one night, she could accept that they'd just have to make do with each other.