His lips curved in a faint smile as she burrowed herself further onto his warmth.Staying true to her epithet,she hasn't taken long to doze off but for the life of him he couldn't fall asleep.Brushing the loose tendrils off her face,his fingers lovingly caressed every contour of her face.
The vermillion was smudged, her lips swollen and the dark shadows beneath her eyes stating the story of the night that followed.To him she has never looked more beautiful than she did at this moment.
It would be a blatant lie if he said,he hadn't envisioned how it would feel to hold her without any barriers or veils between them,to love her the way he has always wanted too without any inhibitions and restrictions.He had bathed her in his love,conveying through his touch and kisses what he would never be able to express in words.
She had been the only woman to cause desire rushing through his veins,who set his heart on fire.The one he wanted to carry away to a place where there was only him and her.Intimacy was special he had always known in his subconscious and after she happened he had known why he had eluded from it all.
To bare and share it all with the woman who held his heart and soul was a feeling that no words could ever describe.
He wasn't a prude but casual flings and meaningless hookups had never spiked his interest.He just can't fathom being with someone just for fulfilling for what was termed as carnal desires.Temptations are always around,what one decides to do with them is a personal choice.
After their avowal of love,the little hesitation that existed between them has went flying right out of the window and though they were still best friends who did all the craziest things together,the air between them went from comfortable to electric in blink of an eyelid.The passionate haze clouded them far more times than he could count and her unabated trust in him did nothing except flaming the intensity of their emotions.
But there has always been a voice at the back of his head which restricted him before things got too far between them.Knowing that the only way they could be was to be together,they have wanted to be bonded in the sacred bond of marriage before crossing that final threshold in their relationship.
The night years back that led to their painful separation,when her parents rejected his proposal,he may have died a thousand deaths but his conscience had stood tall with its head held high.He had been able to look straight into her parents eyes knowing he had honoured his love.
His time with his parents hadn't been long but those years had shaped him to what he was today.After losing them to death,he hasn't let anyone close enough to break through the ironclad walls that surrounded his heart.Letting people in gave rise to the fear of losing them as well and he wasn't the one to sign for that suffering again.
His only aim has been to become someone his parents could be proud of,his sole focus on achieving his aim.He even kept his friends at a distance never letting anyone get too close for comfort.For the longest time,his life had been all about going through ordeals mechanically.He was used to coming to an empty home where loneliness enveloped him in its blanket.
Until that fateful day when it has all gone for a spin and his eyes had caught the sight of the girl who literally fainted in his arms.He hadn't even come terms with the protective instinct that arose from deep within him when his heart that had just been an organ in his body till then had started struggling to give in to the invisible thread that pulled him towards her.
And 3 months later he had found himself standing in the same spot waiting earnestly for her.He had brushed it away as concern but the moment he had seen her glancing around with anticipation in her eyes,his heart had caved in to the longing he hadn't known existed till then.
It had been the start of their journey.She had been the breath of fresh air in his life.Slowly and Steadily he hadn't even realised when she broke through all his defences and ended up becoming the elixir of his life.He had known what it was like to wake up with a smile on his face and fall asleep knowing there would be someone waiting to see him come morning.
It may have been when he had brought her to now their sanctuary the first time or when he the one to never miss his lectures had done it in a heartbeat for her or it could have been during those carefree hours of conversations or maybe it was in all those subtle touches and heartfelt gestures.
She was and always will be the only exception in his life.He couldn't pinpoint a particular moment when it had happened but he who himself has only known parental love and family for miniscule duration of time was in love irrevocably with his careless,weird,lazybump, best friend.
Their relationship was laid on the foundation of trust ,cemented on the layers of friendship and blossomed beneath the wings of their all encompassing love.
Leaning down to press a chaste kiss to her slightly parted lips,his heart threatened to burst out of his body with love he felt for this incredible woman.She was the answer to all his unspoken pleas.He never believed in the existence of the supreme power but she changed that.
How else he could have been blessed with a woman like her?.She who never demanded anything from him,who never needed him to voice what she meant to him and how much he loved her.She protected him like a motherhen and said she could read everything she wanted in his eyes.
And she had always.Neither there had been any formal proposal nor he went down on one knee asking her to marry him.After a lifetime of wait they were where where they belonged.
5 years back he had walked away doing what was right with the hope of them finding their way back to each other but now the thought of it was enough to suck the life out of him.It may be nerverwrecking fearful for someone to have his entire existence aligned with one person but it didn't bother him.
When you love someone,you offer reigns to your heart and soul to them with free will and Khushi was not only the love of his life.She was the only one he could call his own,his best friend,his soulmate.With her he smiled wider,laughed harder and breathed easier and if he ever worded it aloud,he knew she would never let him live it down.
They both have suffered enough heartache and pain for a lifetime.The nightmare they both had lived for all those long lonely days and nights had finally ended,as they began their journey of being man and woman together.The past 5 years weren't going to fade away with a mere snap of fingers but he will be damned if they didn't replaced every painful memory with a much happier one.
So lost was he was in his thoughts,he never realised when a lone tear slipped from his eye and landed on her cheek waking her up.Her touch jolted him back from his reverie as she spoke in her sleep induced voice.
"If you didn't know its an unspoken rule that any thought except your wife in bed is forbidden and since its you we are talking about,any thought that doesn't concern me is something you won't want to get yourself into Mr Raizada"
"It was you who fell asleep on me Mrs Raizada and here you are accusing me of something that I won't even dare commit". He replied in same stern tone knowing it was her way of lightening the moment.
Their stared at each other for long moment taking it all in as their lips stretched into the most heartfelt smile in years.Acceptance clouded in as they laid there entwined with each other.
Cupping her face he asked tenderly "How are you feeling?".
"Like I am floating in the sky"
"Khushi".That one word was enough for her to know the graveness of his question.
"I am more than okay Mr worrywart.Besides you yourself took such good care of me then how can I be not".She waited for a momemtarily pause making him acknowledge his actions after they had made love.Stretching up on her elbow,she looked at him square in his eyes ,questioning demandingly.
"Now tell me why didnt you sleep?".
"Sleep would be the last thing on my mind when you are this close to me".He replied non commitally tightening his arms around her,wanting her to leave it for timebeing,not wanting anything to ruin the beauty of this moment.
She rolled her eyes at his reply.Usually she would play along,having fun with their endless bickering but she knew her man enough to notice the difference.
"I am always going to be this close to you Arnav.So Spill".
The underlining threat in her tone cleary stated she meant business.He was stupid to even think for a second she would buy his bluff.Sighing he leaned on his pillow and muttered in a low voice staring at the ceiling.
"The new dawn of our life together,I didn't want to miss it".
It may have been a simple statement of a couple wanting to see their first morning after together but there was an enormous difference when it came to them.It wasn't just a dawn,it was the new lease of life,for them to stop existing and start living together.
The gravity of his words could only be understood by her and though she was well versed with the right words to say,this time she followed his approach and went for direct actions.
She leaned over him,her eyes glinting mischievously making him curious and as the first ray of sunlight glittered through the curtains,she murmured "I have a much better way for it" on his lips before eliminating the distance between them kissing him with every ounce of love in her being.
After a late ordered in brunch when they have finally managed to manouever their way out of their cozy bedroom,he got around to show Khushi all the renovations.The raw natural essence of the place staying intact, with the empty space been put to efficient use by constructing all the modern amenties and fixtures .
The oak tree sitting beneath which he has heard her first poem,where they have spent countless afternoons now hoisted a swing.Picking her up,he swiftly deposited her on it making her giggle aloud.It was his most favourite sound in the world as they both relished the serenity cocooning them.
He hadn't wanted to leave but the meeting with travel agent was not something he could put off for later.They have to leave for States at the designated date and he wanted no complications.The sight that greeted him as he entered home made him halt at his steps.
There she was,his happiness literally and figuratvely juggling around the kitchen with her earphones plugged in,singing along all the while stirring something in the pan.He just stood there taking in his fill of her.
He was longing to see her like this since he came back.Carefree,spirited,lively,his lazybump.Did she realised how outright adorable and sexy she looked?.His mind reeling back to the day she has cooked for him the first time.
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