SS: The Love Loophole: Part 6 Updated Pg 52 (Complete) - Page 35

Originally posted by: neiralove

Rachna Di and Loveleen, both of you should sleep! It's so early in the morning for you!😲

Originally posted by: loveleen3

My morning has started, Shikha. :D

Originally posted by: poetic

I am a late riser but I woke up in between to give danda to Nidhi.

Originally posted by: poetic

I am a late riser but I woke up in between to give danda to Nidhi.

So there will likely be another part to this to round out the ending. This is dedicated to all who were so eagerly anticipating - really hope this satisfies in some respect. If not...tough 😛 (JK, go read some of our other supremely talented authors). ❤️

Not for the kiddos!

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"Nachiket," she sighed drowsily. "That was amazing."

He grinned and watched her eyelids droop once, twice, a third time before winning the battle as she lay in front of him.

"I thought you might enjoy it," he replied, clearly pleased with himself.

"We should do this more often."

"Isn't that what I've been trying to tell you? But no, the children... "

Ragini opened one eye in annoyance. "Well now that they're gone I see no issue with it."

"Oh? You mean this could be a regular occurrence?" He waggled his eyebrows.

A smile played on her lips. "Just don't tell Karan."

"That your favorite place to order from isn't his restaurant? Never." He solemnly placed a hand over his heart.

"Good. Now come over here already," she laughed.

Nachiket didn't need to be told twice but still let her pull him down on the sofa next to her, hands tugging at his sleeve before capturing his fingers. He watched her slender fingers slide between his and marveled at the warmth that bloomed in his chest from such a simple gesture. Her head rested against his shoulder, allowing him to inhale the sweet scent of her hair as he turned towards her. "Are you sure you don't want to go to bed?"

"Not just yet," she replied, stifling a yawn even as she spoke. He was glad she had changed into her sleepwear, though the red satin called to him and his fingers itched to travel up the soft skin of her arm hiding beneath the fabric of her robe. But he was just as content to watch her fall asleep in his arms...for now.

"Ragini," he said finally.

"Hmm? I'm awake." She shifted and burrowed in against his chest and he wondered if she could hear his heartbeat respond.

"I need to ask you something."

She made an attempt to face him but missing the warmth of her body against his he gently wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back down. "And I need you to be honest."

"What is it?" Her voice betrayed a hint of nervousness and she began toying with the ends of his button-down shirt.

"Are you happy?"

Her fingers froze. "What do you mean?"

"Are you happy...with me?"

He could hear her mind turning his question over, searching for meaning in what should have been a simple inquiry. "You? Yes, you've done everything the contract asked for."

He tugged her up to meet his eyes then, his heart seeking answers in the dark brown orbs staring back at him. "Forget the contract," he pleaded. "Could you be happy with just me?"

Her eyes filled with tears and he felt his heart breaking slowly, slowly and definitively as she struggled to answer. "Nachiket, I can't - " her words stuck in her throat. "I can't answer that, not when you're...engaged."

Amid the ray of hope his heart ached once again at how completely she had given up all her rights to him.

"There's nobody," he gazed deep into her eyes. "How could I even think of anyone else except you?"

"It's always been you," his words settled somewhere deep in her chest but even as hope desperately beat its wings amid the thumping of her heart she couldn't find the courage to set it free.

"Am I dreaming?" she finally choked out.

He cradled her face in his hands. "I promise you I'm right here," he said, and his eyes were warm and sincere. But she needed more, and he understood. "I'm not leaving...I don't think I could survive it."

It was everything she had longed to hear from his lips from the moment he had so patiently tied the mangalsutra around her neck.

"I don't think I could survive it either," she whispered, and the joy in his gaze spilled forth in the form of tears. They mingled with the wetness on her own face as he clutched her tighter to him. A sense of peace settled over her at his familiar scent and she inhaled deeply in an effort to commit this moment to memory: the crisp fabric of his shirt under her chin, his broad shoulders, the way his arms cocooned her from the outside world, his warm sigh in her ear because maybe he was having trouble believing it too.

When they finally separated she reached out to wipe the moisture from his cheeks. His fingers encircled her wrist and he turned his head so that the tips of her fingers met his lips instead. She could only hold her breath as they traveled down to press a kiss into her palm, then down to the delicate skin at her wrist, and when they moved down further still her fingers burrowed into his hair for some semblance of control.

"Nachiket." Her mouth was dry. He looked up at her and what she saw in his dark eyes sent her pulse racing. "Kiss me," she heard herself saying.

He obliged, so gently at first that the need rushing through her veins made her tremble against him. She sighed against his mouth in frustration and he swallowed the small whimper, leisurely tasting her as if it was their first time. And yet it was different from the other kisses they'd shared...she knew if she let herself fall he would be there to catch her.

For now her fall was broken by the couch cushions digging into her back as she tugged him ever closer and he followed her descent, his fingers fumbling at the sash cinching her robe, unable to gain purchase against the smooth satin. She stretched to welcome the weight of his hips against hers and her own hands moved past his collar to busy themselves with his buttons.

He pulled away, breathing ragged. "Ragini...not here."

Her heavy eyelids slowly opened and he felt dizzy at the desire reflected in them. His need for her threatened to overwhelm him, but she was once again his wife in the truest sense of the word...she deserved better.

He found the strength to stand and scooped up her lithe form, her hands automatically looping around his neck. Ragini's mouth soon followed, traveling along the shell of his ear.

"You're distracting me," he growled.

"Sorry," she whispered, without sounding the least bit apologetic.

Somehow he made it to their room and gently placed her on the bed, taking a moment to drink her in: her disheveled hair against the pillow, the flushed cheeks and swollen lips, the hem of her robe hinting at the soft skin he was free to explore...

"Nachiket?" She interrupted his reverie. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

He grinned and lowered himself to a sitting position next to her. "Can't a man admire his wife?" His hands pulled at the knot on her robe as he spoke, finally freeing her from the confines of the offending garment.

Her eyes dropped to the patch of exposed skin on his chest. "Of course...as long as he does it properly."

"I see...will you let me learn how?" he asked, mouth brushing against her neck.

"It may take...practice," she said breathlessly as his fingers dawdled up her leg.

"Not to worry," he smiled against her. "We have the rest of our lives."