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Asad entered his house with a tired look on his face. It had been a long and exhausting day at Dilshad Constructions. With new requirements and a sudden rush of projects, he barely had time to sit down and have a moment of peace.
Zoya is going to murder me, thought Asad as he took a glance at the time - 12:04 a.m.
He walked towards the kitchen, starving, and rummaged through the refrigerator. His face lit up like a child in a candy store when he found his favorite. The bowl had a note on it with heating instructions. I love you Zoya Begum! After quickly heating it and scarfing down the food, he turned off all the lights, checked the locks and headed towards his bedroom.
Very quietly, he opened the door and found his way about the room in darkness. Dead tired on his feet, Asad untied his tie, removed his shirt and trousers and threw them in the general direction of the settee. He was way too spent to care about his OCD tendencies.
He crawled into their bed and reached out to pull his wife towards himself. Before his hands could touch Zoya, they encountered a line of pillows laid along the length of the bed in the center. Bewildered, Asad was confused for a second before the intent and meaning of the pillow army was clear.
*Flashback*
"Zoya! Listen to me, love! I said I am sorry!" Asad pleaded with his wife of ten days as she flitted around the room, gathering pillows.
"No, Mr. Khan! I have had enough. Hamare nikaah ko abhi das din huye hain and app already mujhe ignore kar rahe hain. I wonder what will happen in the future. Allan miyan! Why did I have to fall in love with this Serious Ahmed Khan!" Zoya kept on mumbling while moving away from Asad's grasp.
Asad pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I am really very sorry Zoya, par aaj ki meeting bahut important thi. I know I promised that we will go out but you have to understand that sometimes unexpected things come up. And why are you back to calling me Mr. Khan?"
Zoya huffed and said," Theek hai, ASAD."
"What?!" said a surprised Asad. He had not expected his stubborn wife to give up so easily. Well, good for him! He smiled and flashed his dimple at her and approached her. But before he could pull her into an embrace, she moved away and started placing the pillows she had gathered on the bed, making a line in the middle of the bed.
"What are you doing?" Inquired Asad with his hands on his hips?
"Placing pillows" Zoya said, nonchalantly.
"I can see that, Zoya. I am not blind. I mean, why are you doing this?"
"Well, you see Asad, since you ignored me today, totally and completely, I am revoking your rights towards my happening body tonight." Zoya answered as if it was not a big deal.
"WH-WHAT?" spluttered Asad. "What do you mean revoking my rights? I am your husband, not an employee or something."
"I know, babe! It's a way of saying that there will be no hanky-panky. That's it." Zoya moved towards the bed and lay down on her side."Oh! And, these are chastity pillows. Okay?"
"Chastity PILLOWS? Are you out of your mind, Zoe? What do you intent on doing with these?" asked a thoroughly confused Asad.
Zoya sat up and crossed her legs. "Well, hubby dear, these are exactly what they sound like. You are not allowed to cross the PBL."
"PBL?"
"Pillow Border Line! This line means I am enforcing a no- sex rule." Zoya explained her incredible idea.
Asad's mind boggled by his wife's silly antics. "Zoya, there is no such thing as chastity pillows! Belts, rings, yes but no pillows." said Asad as he moved towards the bed and reached out to remove the pillows.
"Oh, really? You think you know everything, Mr. Encyclopedia Ahmed Khan? But guess what? You are wrong. There absolutely are these pillows." she said and reached out towards her beloved iPad. "Look for yourself. Huh!"
Asad took the device from her hand and looked at the link she opened for him to see. It was an Urban Dictionary link explaining the term "Chastity Pillow". Asad looked up to his smug wife and sighed.
"Zoya, come on! Seriously? You are using these weird terms and concepts?"
"Yes, I am using these and I will bring these out every time you ignore me. Every relation is give and take, Asad. You ignore me, I ignore you. Simple. Now, good night!"
*End of flashback*
Asad groaned as his tired mind made sense of his wife's behavior. These chastity pillows' had not made an appearance again in the eleven months of their marriage. Not in the mood to follow through her ideas, he shoved all the pillows off the bed and pulled a sleeping Zoya towards him. He relished in the fragrance of her hair as he snuggled closer to her. It was only a few seconds before his was asleep.
***
Zoya woke up early in the morning as the sun rays hit her face. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself pressed close Asad. Smiling, she took in his sleeping face. Her smile widened as she realized he was only wearing his boxers. Hmmm, this could mean for an interesting morning. She trailed her fingers over his chiseled chest. Allah Miya! He was one fine man and totally hers. Just as her hand started its journey downwards, her eyes landed on the ground which had scattered pillows thrown around.
Zoya scrunched her face as she tried to understand the mess. She definitely hadn't made the mess. She had changed her messy ways considerably since getting married to her Jahanpanah OCD.
Her eyes widened as she remembered how she waited excitedly for him to come home, how he had not picked up her calls and she had thought of ignoring him as well. But, it appeared that her plan had failed since she woke up snuggling with him. Huffing, she got up and marched towards the bathroom. Her anger from last night returned in full force and she slammed the door of the bathroom.
The noise woke up Asad and he got up with a start. Rubbing his eyes, he realized that his wife had just slammed the bathroom door and hence, she was still angry with him. Groaning, he got up and wondered if it was safe to talk to Zoya right now or not. Before he could make a decision, he realized the mess that was his room. Immediately he set off to work out the mess all around him. Quickly, he picked up his clothes from last night which were on the floor instead of the settee and proceeded to gather the pillows and keeping the ones belonging to the chairs back on the seats and the rest in the upper shelf of the closet.
In the bathroom, Zoya realized that in her anger, she had forgotten to bring her clothes in the bathroom. She pulled on her robe and emerged out of the bathroom to find her husband straightening out the room.
Asad stopped what he was doing as he saw Zoya enter the room only in her bathrobe. She was so damn sexy. His eyes followed the tiny droplets as they made their way from her wet hair onto her neck and disappearing underneath the V of her robe. Unconsciously, he licked his lips and moved closer to her.
Zoya was standing facing the closet, wondering what to wear when she felt a pair of strong arms circling her waist. She felt Asad pull her back and she crashed against his hard chest. Asad skimmed his nose along the column of her neck and placed tiny open mouthed kisses on her sensitive nape, causing her breath to come in quick gasps and heat to pool between her thighs.
"A-as-dd!"
"Hmmm. Zoya" whispered Asad in a deep, hoarse voice which sent tingles down her back. His hands started making random patterns on the waist as his lips on her neck wreaked havoc within her. Zoya's breathing got shallower. His hand proceeded towards the knot of her robe and worked on getting it undone. Zoya was seconds away from ripping apart her robe herself if he did not hurry.
"Asad?!"
Dilshad's voice brought them out of their bubble and they sprang apart.
"J-ji Ammi?" Asad called back in a broken voice as he tried to get his breathing under control. Zoya's proximity never ceased to reduce him to a hormonal teenager. He took deep breaths and willed his lower body to cooperate.
"Asad?" Dilshad spoke from the other side of the door. "Abhi abhi Bhojpur wali Khala ki beti ka phone aaya tha. Khala ki tabiyat kafi nasaaz hai. Main soch rahi thi ke unhe dekh aayon. Najma aur main abhi nikal rahe hai. Theek hai?"
Asad went to open the door and noticed Zoya sneaking back into the bathroom. "Ji Ammi. Theek hai. Bas sambhal kar jayiga."
"Ofcourse. We'll be fine. Tum bhi meri bahu ka khyaal rakhna. Samjhe? Bechari ko tang mat karna!"
"Ammi! Voh bechari nahi hain!"
Dilshad merely chuckled at her son and left. Najma yelled her bye' from the stairs and soon enough, he heard the front door of the house opening and closing shut. Asad turned around and saw Zoya come out of the bathroom, this time she was completely dressed. Damn it!
"Zoya, I am really sorry about last night. I had to finish the presentation for the Mehta project by last night itself. Voh, uss project ki meeting pre-pone ho gayi hai and the deadline was pulled back. You understand my situation here, right?" Asad tried to explain his plight before his firecracker of a wife could launch her complaints.
Zoya merely nodded at him and went of the room, presumably towards the kitchen to prepare their breakfast. Hearing her banging the pots and pans in the kitchen, Asad followed her.
She was standing at the counter with a scowl on her face and was muttering under her breath. He watched her flitting around the kitchen, collecting ingredients and things. In the year they have spent together, Asad learned many things about Zoya - some that were annoying and some that are endearing. One of such things is the fact that whenever she gets angry or annoyed, her working speed increases.
And attesting to that fact, very soon, their breakfast was ready and served.
"Zoya, love, I told you I am sorry. I truly am." Asad tried to get her talking after few minutes of silence at the breakfast table. Khan household was not used to the silence anymore, ever since Ms. Hurricane New York stepped over the threshold. And frankly, Asad had grown fond of her silly antics and shayris.
"Asad, I understand that work is important and I also understand that you had some urgent matters to tend to. I am not angry about that. What I am angry about is that you did not even inform me that you were going to be late. I mean, I am your wife and it's my right to know your whereabouts. Why didn't you tell me? Am I not important enough?"
"Zoya! How can you even think that? You are the most important person in my life. And I wish I had a reason for my negligence but all I can say is that it completely skipped my mind. I had been working on the presentation for so long that I did not realize how late it had gotten. I looked up the time when I finished all the work and was wrapping up. I am sorry, love." Asad looked at her imploringly.
"Hmmm. Thank you for being honest and not saying the clichd, Mera phone kharab ho gya that'. But I am still not happy about it. Mere pass inti important news thi and you never showed up. Itni preprations ki maine aur saari waste ho gayi" Pouted Zoya.
"News? What news? You can tell me now."
Zoya looked at him and without a word, left the table and went outside to the garden. Confused, Asad followed her outside and found her sitting on their' bench.
"Kya baat hai, Zoya? Is everything all right? You want to tell me something, na? Batao phir. Acha rukko, I'll get our coffees, and then tell me. Okay?"
As he moved to make their coffees, Zoya grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"No, Asad. Don't make the coffee. In fact, I am going to throw away any coffee that we have in the house. Less temptation, you see?"
"What?" asked a thoroughly baffled Asad.
"Allah Miya! What's wrong with you, Asad? Kyun? Won't you support me when I give up coffee? It's for your child after all." Zoya bit her lip and looked at her husband shyly.
Asad was looking at her as if she had asked him to solve a mystery. After a few agonizing seconds, realization dawned on Asad and his face broke into a huge grin. He leapt towards Zoya, gathering her in his arms, he swung her around causing her to shriek and giggle.
"Asad! Put me down or I'll puke all over you!"
He immediately placed her back on the ground and touched her stomach with his hands. "A baby, Zoya? Really? Thank you so much! I am going to be a father! Zoya!"
She smiled back at him, all her anger and frustration at him forgotten. " Yes, Asad. We are going to become parents. I found out yesterday. You know how I was feeling off this past week? So, I took a home test and it was positive. We should probably book an appointment soon."
Asad nodded at her and then suddenly, he picked her up and ran towards their room.
"What are you doing, Asad?"
"This is the happiest news, Zoya. It calls for a celebration. We are all alone, perfect timing." Asad replied as he lowered her on their bed and crawled up her body. He placed small kisses on her neck, moving along her jaw towards her plump and waiting lips. His lips hovered hers, teasing her.
Zoya groaned in frustration. Tangling her hand in his hair, she pulled his mouth towards her and smashed their lips together. His answering groan caused her to shiver in anticipation. Their kiss grew in passion as their hands started exploring each other's body. They broke the kiss when the need for oxygen became necessary. Not leaving her skin, Asad attached his lips to her neck and murmured against the hollow of her neck, "So, what do you say? You still want me to get your pillows and make a line, huh?" smirked Asad, knowing well that she was way past gone to say no.
His lioness was in no mood to joke. The ache between her legs was making it difficult for her to even think coherently. She wrapped her legs around him, grinding their lower bodies together and looked him squarely in his eyes.
"You. Naked. NOW."
"Yes, ma'am" said Asad already working to remove the annoying fabrics out of the way. What his lady wanted, she got.
A/n: Hope those who hadn't read it earlier, enjoyed it!😊
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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