Virika OS: The Secrets of Sweethearts
He lifted her in a smooth, swift motion, without breaking their interlocked gazes. Her arms around his bare shoulders, he carried her into their bedroom, the sharp cool air hitting them as soon as the water turned off. Yet neither felt cold, the heat between their bodies too heady, too strong.
He laid her down gently on the bed, his body hovering over hers, all lean muscle, with cooled drops of water from his face and chest falling to her own. Sweeping his thumb slowly across her mouth, removing all traces of water, her breaths came quicker. He pressed a kiss to her forehead with the utmost sweetness, reaching over her head to turn the lamplight off, engulfing them in darkness. Her eyes fluttered closed, face uplifted as he leaned closer, his breath whispering along her lips.
He kissed her gently, slowly, deeply, stealing her breath away. His warm hand curved around her cheek, pulling her closer, her hands almost of their own will reaching to his neck and drenched hair, accepting his kiss. She'd never felt this way with any man before, had never desired this closeness or intimacy. Her own emotions had frightened her at first and confused her, her mind a swirl of inexplicable wanting and her natural reservation. She'd constantly pulled away, shied from his affections even when they were wanted and yet he seemed to know she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
She kissed him back with endearing alacrity, her small soft hands touching his hair and face. He'd never felt this way with any woman before, had never sought after a close relationship with anyone other than his family, only agreeing to an arranged marriage for the sake of his mother and aunt. But when he met her, he knew. He knew why no other had ever caught his attention or his heart for the simple reason they weren't her. Her innocence of expression, her unassuming beauty and gentility drew him to her, had caused these intense feelings. And now he finally had her to himself, without family or work or other menial distractions separating them from each other.
His mouth left hers, leaving her bereft as she let out a small gasp, but only to travel lower, across her jaw, kissing away the remnants of water on her skin. His body pressed closer, his chest against hers as he buried his face in her neck...
She was suffocating, his hand roughly tightening over her mouth, his arm traveling up her waist. A knee was pressed between her legs as he pushed his face in front of hers, horrifyingly close. She struggled against him with all her strength, tears running freely from her furious, terrified eyes.
A shudder racked through her entire body and she turned away, gasping, eyes tightly shut, willing this nightmare to disappear. Viren pulled away immediately, realizing something was wrong, "Jeevika? Jeevika, kya hua? Are you okay?"
Tears escaped from her eyes; her breaths were coming more evenly now, yet the fear remained, as she curled up tightly in a ball. Viren touched her shoulder tentatively, but she moved away, still caught between reality and memory. "Jeevika, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. I will never force you," he spoke quietly, disrupting her muddled thoughts like a bright light, hurt evident in his tone, "But, I promise I would never hurt you." The mattress under them shifted and she opened her eyes to see him getting up to leave.
Realizing he had misinterpreted her actions, she caught his hand, "Virenji..." He looked down at her, unsure, and she tugged him closer, to sit back down. "Virenji, I'm sorry-" she shivered, this time from actual cold, her wet ghagra choli chilled, plastered against her body without his warmth to combat it.
He reached for the bed covers, pulling it around her shoulders, still with the same care and consideration he had shown her since the day they'd met, despite his evident hurt. "Why are you sorry?" he pushed his hand through his hair, not meeting her eyes, "I can understand-"
"Nahi, Virenji!" this time she reached for his arm and crept closer next to him, pulling the covers around his shoulders as well so they were face-to-face. She couldn't bear for him to think he had repulsed her with his tender love...but she was afraid to tell him this carefully hidden truth that could possibly cause his repulsion of her, "I have something to tell you...that I didn't tell you before..." she took a deep breath and he waited patiently, "When I was in college...there was this boy," his body stiffened, but she continued on bravely, "I thought he was my friend. He would help me with math after classes so I would do well on my exams. I never realized he didn't think of me as a friend also. One day, he told me loved me and asked me if I would be his girlfriend, but I never thought of him like that!" her voice broke in suppressed emotion, "He asked me again and again, but I said no. I thought that would be the end of it, but he started to follow me around the campus, always watching me. Then, one day I was walking home late, alone in the evening and he grabbed my arm and put a hand over my mouth. He took me behind the school building...but he didn't do anything, only bruised my arm. Manvi had realized I was late and getting worried so she got to the school with some of her school friends. Thankfully there were a lot of them and the boy ran away. We told Beeji and she reported it to the principal." At this point she could not continue, crying with pain and wretchedness. Viren's face was hidden in shadow, his body stiff, unmoving next to hers and she was sure she had disgusted him so completely.
At last he spoke, his voice low and shaking, "It's good you didn't tell me his name or I would have left now to kill him!" he brought his arms tightly around her, stroking her back and kissing the top of her head. "Jeevika, you are so brave, so strong, I never realized you had suffered so much..." she laid her head on his shoulder, crying with relief now as she let out all her tension and fear. She felt so safe, so secure in his arms as though no harm could befall her when she was with him. He loved her so much, she knew it truly now, from the stark emotion in his voice and the comforting shelter of his body. She no longer felt cold anymore, felt warmer in fact now that he was with her.
He lifted her face with his hands and told her softly, "We don't have to do this, not when you have gone through so much. I would never expect you-"
Gathering her courage she came closer and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him sweetly. He was greatly surprised at first, but happy at this demonstration of her love for him, when she was normally too shy, too timid. Now he realized the reasons behind her fear and he marvelled at the knowledge that it was he who had brought her carefully constructed walls down, had made his way unsuspectingly to her heart. He kissed her back, more deeply and entwined his hands in her silken hair. She pulled back and said shyly, "I know you would never hurt me."
He touched his forehead to hers, trying to calm his quick breaths, "It's my first time too. I don't know anymore than you do."
"My chachi told me..." she blushed, looking down, unsure whether to continue.
He tilted her chin up, "You don't need to be afraid to tell me anything."
"She said it will hurt," she whispered, betraying traces of anxiety, the innocent embarrassment in her expression comforting his own nerves.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
"Haan. Are you?"
"Bahaut," he admitted. A small smile touched her lips and she brought her arms around him, hugging him close to her, the blankets falling to the bed, forgotten, unneeded.
Her hand brushed an uneven mark at his back and she frowned, moving behind him, her fingers lightly tracing a lengthy scar, causing his heart to jump erratically. "What happened here?" she asked and he struggled to collect his thoughts.
"When I was eighteen, Virat got into a fight with some older boys after school. I was trying to protect him so I stepped in, but in the process I scraped my back against a sharp rock," he winced at the memory, unsure of what his gentle wife would think of such rowdy behaviour.
Jeevika smiled; he had such care and compassion for his brother, he would do anything for him, just as she would do anything for Manvi. She kissed the scar lightly and she felt Viren take a deep intake of breath before he pulled her around back to face him, passion flaring in his darkened eyes. Her immediate response was to pull away, even while she was drawn to him, but he tenderly ran his knuckles down her cheek and she lifted her eyes to meet his again. He kissed the corner of her mouth and she smiled; he kissed her jawline and she closed her eyes; he kissed her neck and she let out a soft breath. With careful gentility, he removed her dupatta slowly, giving her the chance to protest or move away, but she did neither. Pressing a kiss to her collarbone, he let the sheer cloth flutter down to the bed, leaving her midriff bare.
Facing each other, he pulled her onto his lap and pushed his forehead to hers, sweeping her hair to one side so he could undo the tie at the back of her blouse with unsteady fingers, then tugging the material at her shoulder aside a mere centimetre, just so he could kiss more of her skin that he had never kissed before.
He pushed her down to the bed and lay next to her, his hand ghosting across her stomach lightly. He brushed her hair behind her ear, asking her hesitantly, "Are you sure?"
She didn't answer as he expected, not meeting his eyes as she said for the first time directly, without prompt or expectation, "I love you."
"Kya?" he had to hear it again, running his hand down her arm and bringing her hand to his mouth.
She looked up at him, blushing and smiling, but repeated herself, an affirmation of her complete love and trust in him, "I love you, Virenji."
He wrapped his arms around her, "I love you too, Mrs. Vadhera."
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