Chapter 1: Heaven
"I see light in your loving eyes
Its so beautiful to me
When I look at you I'm in heaven
I want to spend my life with you
Cause you got
Paradise in your eyes"
- Jermaine Jackson
As they were boarding the plane, Jeevika bit her lower lip nervously, "Viren, I'm not sure about this...leaving Vidhi alone..."
Viren put an arm around her reassuringly, "Jeevika, I already told you, Badi Maa and Maa will take care of her, don't worry. Maa, herself, told me we should go out." He didn't tell her what his mother's reasons were precisely. As much as he was fond of Vidhi, he didn't feel anything more for her than as a friend and it was necessary that she saw that as well. Vidhi's feelings for him, that he had been completely oblivious to, until Vanshika had shed some light on the situation, were of a young girl, alone, neglected and nave. Putting some distance between them for a while, would hopefully clear the awkward air between them.
"Virenji?" Jeevika's sweet voice interrupted his troubled thoughts, as they took their seats on the plane.
He smiled down at her lovingly, "Haanji?"
"Don't you think it's wrong to just go off and enjoy ourselves while Vidhi is at home, carrying our baby?" Her concern for the girl was endearing.
He shook his head, "Jeevika, both you and I have been overworking ourselves, we haven't had any time to each other...alone..." he put emphasis on the last word, and she looked down, smiling shyly. He tilted her face back up so she met his eyes directly, "Don't you think we deserve to enjoy ourselves?"
"But, Vidhi-"
"Vidhi will be completely fine," he told her firmly, "I want you to put Vidhi out of your head for a while and relax."
"It's not just Vidhi...it's our baby." After the whole emotional roller coaster they'd been through, with becoming parents, then aborting their baby, trying to get pregnant again and then finally realizing that it was impossible...was it no wonder, she was afraid to face another loss?
"Nothing will happen," he said softly, cupping her face in his hands, "I promise. We'll call and check up on her everyday and remind Maa of what she needs. Besides, do you think anyone is more qualified to take care of Vidhi than Maa?"
Jeevika smiled. Vanshika was the most gentle, compassionate woman she knew, accepting Jeevika as not just her daughter-in-law, but her daughter. She would take care of Vidhi well, she was sure.
He grinned, "And besides, it's a little late now to change your mind."
The plane was just taking off and Jeevika turned excitedly to look out the window. A plane ride for her was a rare thing; she loved watching the take-off, as cities became distant specks in the distance and they rose above the clouds, which were fluffy, ethereal beds in the sky. And Viren loved watching her; the way her face brightened and her eyes lit up with tiny starbursts of excitement.
Once she'd had her fill of the visual splendour, she relaxed in her seat and turned to him, "I'm really happy we're going to the same place from our first honeymoon. The beaches, the water-sports and the sightseeing...I want to do them all again."
"I want to do everything again too," he laced his fingers with hers on the armrest between them, "Especially one thing."
"What's that?" she inquired innocently.
He simply smirked in reply, watching as her eyes suddenly widened in understanding and she smacked him on his arm, looking around, as though anxious they had been overheard, "Virenji!"
"Jeevika," he put an arm around her shoulder, "Look around. Half the people on this plane are couples. Whatever we're going to do, they're going to do too."
At first she hid her face in her hands at the suggestive comment, but Viren whispered in her ear, "Look."
She did and then immediately wished she hadn't. Seated across from them, were a young couple cloistered together in blankets, sneaking furtive kisses. "Would you like to do that too, Mrs. Vadhera?"
She hid her face in his shirt, but was unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face. He held her closely, laughing softly. Although he would never kiss her in public, he had a certain thrill in teasing her to do so herself. Kissing her was heavenly. For now, he was simply content with having her in his arms, but once they reached their hotel, he was determined to kiss her until the sun set and dark fell, and then more.
They finally reached Goa and Viren got a taxi for them to their hotel.
"Thank God, this time a bodyguard isn't here to watch us everywhere," Viren declared.
"Virenji...the poor man, you treated him very badly," Jeevika reprimanded him, "He was just doing his job."
"He was completely unnecessary! I was never in any danger," he argued.
"No, of course not," she retorted, "Because getting shot at isn't dangerous at all."
"No one came after us on our honeymoon, there were never any problems."
"Probably because they saw the bodyguard and got scared off."
"Or me...I am quite intimidating, you know," he lowered his voice and glared at her in what was clearly meant to be a daunting manner.
She simply looked at him, amused, until his expression turned petulant. "I am intimidating! Go see all the criminals I've put in jail and tell them you're Mr. Vadhera's wife and see what they do."
"Probably plan my death to get revenge," she mused.
He sighed in exasperation, "They wouldn't dare, they'd be too afraid of me."
"Who would possibly be afraid of you?" she teased.
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Aren't you?" All of a sudden, waiting until they reached their suite, seemed redundant. He slid his hand over her knee and traced a lingering path, higher and higher. She swatted his hand away, and snuck a worried glance at the driver who thankfully had his eyes on the road. He caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips before she could pull it away, "Aren't you?"
She snatched her hand away from him and scooted as far away from him as possible, blushing. Seducing his wife in a taxi was proving difficult, seeing as the driver was only a foot away from them.
Slyly, he pulled his foot out of his shoe, while she was looking out the window, and nudged it against hers. She was only wearing sandals and she felt his touch immediately, but still didn't look at him, although she visibly tensed. He traced the heel of her foot with his own and she kicked back at him. But, she couldn't move away and could do nothing without alerting the driver of what was happening, while Viren moved his foot back to hers and continued lightly teasing her. She remained still for a few moments, but when he managed to creep under the fabric of her sari and skim her ankle, she abruptly turned to face him.
He shrugged, with a silent, what?
She mouthed, stop, and eyed the driver meaningfully.
As far as Viren knew, the driver had no idea what was going on, so he had no reason to stop. His toes scratched lightly along her calves, bare skin on skin, and Jeevika clenched her fingers into fists on the seat. He grinned and then surrepitously moved closer to her, removing his foot. She gave him a suspicious glance, but said nothing.
Until he wrapped his leg around one of hers and she uttered a startled squeak. Both of them looked anxiously at the rear-view mirror, but still the driver seemed to have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't as though he could see what was going on. To all appearances, it merely looked as though they were sitting side-by-side.
Jeevika looked at him imploringly, but Viren continued his slow seduction, sneaking his free foot back under her sari and trailing up her other leg. His hand, he placed over hers, holding it firmly, even though she struggled, and then bent to whisper in her ear, again, "Aren't you?"
"No."
"Liar," he brushed her hair away from her neck.
She again fearfully looked to the mirror, and finally whispered back, "Yes."
Immediately, he removed his foot and inched slightly away, although he still held her hand in his. He spoke again, the sound of his voice this time seemed overly loud after his hushed murmurs, "You see? The bodyguard was unnecessary."
She looked at him, incredulous. All that, just to prove a point?
He merely smirked at her and she shook her head at him, clearly irritated, pulling her hand forcefully out of his.
After unsuccessfully trying to start a few conversations with her, he realized she wasn't very happy with him. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
She said nothing, still looking out the window.
"Can I help it? Here we are on our honeymoon and I haven't got you to myself yet. Can you blame me for being impatient?" he said quietly. She still refused to look at him.
"I've missed you," he whispered, so softly, he wasn't sure she heard it.
She didn't look at him, but her hand made her way back into his and clasped it in hers. She didn't say anything, but her thoughts were as evident as though she'd spoken them aloud. She'd missed him too.
Jeevika's head had fallen over his shoulder and she was sleeping peacefully as they reached the hotel. He didn't want to wake her; she'd been too restless of late, so concerned over their baby that she hadn't had time to relax, so he carried her out carefully.
The driver looked at them speculatively, "Newly married?"
Viren smiled, "No, this is our second honeymoon."
The driver raised his brows, "Never seen a couple past their first honeymoon still behave like that."
Apparently the driver had not been as oblivious as he'd thought.
Viren cleared his throat and paid the man, before getting one of the staff at the hotel to bring in their luggage. He was still carrying Jeevika as he retrieved the keys to their room at the front desk, regardless of the knowing smiles of the staff and visitors. He didn't care. All that mattered was that she was sleeping restfully. The past nights, she'd been turning and twisting in her sleep, murmuring to herself unconsciously. She'd been extremely stressed out, with all the events that had transpired of late, not to mention, caring for Vidhi, never taking time for herself.
And so, when they were finally in their room, alone, with the sun just beginning to set, Viren tucked her in under the covers, removed her sandals, went to take a shower and then curled up beside her, one arm over her stomach. He didn't kiss her till the sun went down and dark fell and then more.
But, he held her close and felt completely at peace because he was with her. And that was a sort of heaven in itself. Edited by KryanVirikaLuv - 10 years ago
