Chapter 6
At her words, a flicker of desire sparked hungrily in his eyes; Raman flipped their bodies, confining her between himself and the bed. For a long moment, he lay over her, blanketing her body with his heat as his gaze affixed on the surprised and somewhat scared look that had replaced her boldness. Then finally he leaned down slightly to place a chaste kiss on her temple, his eyes warm as he stared down at her.
"Get ready Ishita."
Her eyes widened, while his sparkled with mischief. He knew what she had taken his words to mean. His lips pulled up in a smirk as he revelled in the knowledge that his wife had a dirty mind.
"Ruhi ko school nahin chodna kya? Pehle tum shower le lo, mujhe thoda kaam hai."
With that he rolled off her and headed out the room, leaving behind a flustered Ishita. She groaned aloud as she cursed herself.
"Aiyyo Ishu, kya zaroorat thi tujhe yeh sab karne ki, ab Raman pata nahi kya kya umeed rakhe ge tujhse."
Not wanting to dwell on the thought longer, Ishita got off the bed, grabbed her towel and clothes from the wardrobe and ran to the washroom.
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Ishita came out of the shower and headed straight to her room, only to stop in her tracks when she saw Raman sitting on the bed watching a cricket match. At the sound of her footsteps Raman took hold of his belongings and made his way to the door, where he had to stop because Ishita was frozen in place as she saw him advancing towards her.
"Aa gayi tum? Itni der koi lagata hai kya shower mein? Chalo acha hai, kam se kam iss lambe shower se tumhara vazan tho kam hua na, pata nahin kitne saalo ka gand charhaya hua tha... Ab hato bhi."
Ishita moved out of his way, turning to watch him leave. Her body relaxed as she realised Raman was back to being Ravan Kumar and yet she felt an overwhelming pain in her heart at not receiving any romantic attention from her husband, even after she had kissed him. She recalled the kiss and wondered why Raman had backed away when his eyes spoke differently. Was it because he didn't feel anything? But then she remembered his smile and desire-ridden eyes. Then what could be the reason, why wo-
"Oh."
She groaned as soon as she realised why he had backed away - Because he felt she wasn't ready and of course he would think that, she had looked at him in fear when he had rolled their bodies over on the bed, she had stood frozen in place when he approached her just a few minutes ago. Ishita headed to the dressing table and picked up the hairbrush. She lectured herself while furiously brushing out the tangles in her hair.
"Kya karti hoon mein? Pati hai woh mere, mere paas aayege to kya ho jayega? Mein darr kyun rahi thi, jab ke unka mere paas aana mujhe acha lagta h-"
Ishita stopped her lecture and the hair brushing as soon as she realised what had slipped out of her mouth. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw a blushing and happy woman staring back at her.
"Unka mere paas aana mujhe acha lagta hai."
A small giggle escaped her as she blushed even more; she resumed brushing her hair, but this time gently, as she remembered all those moments in which Raman had been touching her. Moments that she wanted more of. Her fear and inexperience of the physical aspect of a marriage had stopped her, but not anymore. She was ready, to be his wife in every way, to make him hers and only hers. There was just the small problem of getting him to confess his love - she knew he loved her, sensed it in his care and concern for her, she even sensed it in their nok-jhoks, but she needed to hear the words from his mouth before she could give him all of her.
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Raman stood under the shower as water dripped down his body. He shook his head in amusement and frustration. He had only reverted back to their nok-jhok because he felt she wasn't ready to move forward in their marriage, even though she had initiated the first kiss - a kiss she probably regretted if her recent actions were anything to go by. But Raman was not willing to give up, especially not when he had finally accepted the fact that she was an important part of his life now, his better half. And if he was going to expect anything from her, it'd have to be after he got rid of the fear in her mind. A fear that he knew was the result of his un-confessed love. A fear that he knew would go as soon as he said the three words.
But until he found the right moment to confess, he wasn't exactly going to keep away from her. It was practically impossible, especially when she looked the way she did when she came out of the shower - her cheeks flushed and glowing, remnants of water glistening on her throat, her blouse wet from her dripping hair and her heaving chest when he stood near her.
His shower today took longer than usual.
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Ishita had dropped Ruhi to school and made her way back home in the time that Raman took showering and getting ready for the office. So when he came out of their bedroom it was to find an empty house with only him and Ishita; the latter kneading dough in the kitchen.
"Raman, aap bhetiye, mein abhi nashta deti h-"
Ishita stopped kneading and breathing as she felt his fingers sliding across her waist as he tucked the pallu of her sari in her underskirt. His breath fanned her ear as he spoke,
"Baar baar gir raha tha, mujhe bhook lagi hai, tum usse sambhal ne mein ziyaada der na lagao iss liye maine kiya."
He headed to the fridge to get a cold bottle of water for himself.
"Toh mere baal bhi clip se nikal aaye hai, unhe bhi teekh kar do na Raman."
Raman froze at her words, wondering what had gotten into her today. Nevertheless, he wasn't one to pass up such a good chance of getting close to her, so putting the water bottle aside he took one large step and found himself revelling in her proximity again. She stepped away from the dough she was kneading to keep it hair free, her movement causing her back to press against his front. Raman removed the clip, letting the hair fall around her face before he gathered it and set it right.
They stood flush against each other for longer than was necessary, both basking in the moment until they heard the beeping noise coming from the open fridge.
Raman headed back to the fridge to shut it and grabbed the water bottle he had put on the kitchen counter.
"Baaki sab kahan hai?"
"Woh neeche hall mein kisi event ke liye meeting thi tho Papa Ji aur Mummy Ji wahan gaye hai, Romi pehle hi kaam pe chala gaya tha aur Simmi Ananya ko le kar market gayi hai."
"Aur tum? Tumne aaj koi daant nahin thodne jaana?"
"Ramaaan, aap ki problem kya hai?"
Raman watched in amusement as she stomped her foot and pouted.
"Maine kuch galat kaha? Yehi tho pooch raha hoon ke tum aaj clinic jaa rahi ho ya nahin?"
"Iss baat se aap ko kya? Khair, aap itne pyaar se pooch rahe hai to mein bata hi deti hoon. Aaj meri chutti hai."
"Normal logon ki tarah sirf haa ya naa mein jawab dena nahin aata kya tumhe? Uh uh - iss ka jawab nahin chahiye mujhe. Sirf khaana chahiye, de bhi do ab."
"Aap jaake bheto, mein laati hoon."
Ishita finished kneading the dough, washed her hands and heated their food.
"Ishitaaa!"
"De rahi hoon Raman, zarah sa bhi sabar nahin hai."
Ishita placed two plates of food on the table, where Raman had already seated himself.
"Do plates? Itni bhi bhook nahin lagi."
"Aap ko kisne kaha ke yeh doosri plate aap ke liye hai, waise bhi pehle hi aap short hai, aur mujhe aap ko short and fat nahin banana."
Raman narrowed his eyes at her as he opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he saw her taking the seat on his right. Forgetting her comment on his shortness, Raman looked at her in surprise, confusion and affection. What was going on? Raman was sure that he hadn't imagined the fear in her eyes when she was under him, or when she stood at the door of their bedroom clutching the towel she held in her hands tightly. And now all of a sudden she was once again initiating their closeness. Raman decided to test this new development in their relationship.
He scooped up the rice with a spoon and brought it to Ishita's mouth. Ishita looked down at the spoon and then at him. He cocked an eyebrow as he spoke,
"Tumne abhi tak nashta nahin kiya, maine socha shayad Ruhi sahi keh rahi thi, tumhe khaana mere haath se kha kar zyaada acha lagta hai."
Ishita closed her lips around the spoon, looking at Raman as she drew on it with light suction. Raman slowly retracted the spoon from her pursed lips as warmth took over his features. She really was over her fear of being near him; pleased at the thought Raman lifted another bite to her lips.
Ishita shook her head and lifted her own spoon to Raman's lips. Raman put his spoon back in his plate and turned to look at her again, waiting for her to speak. Ishita understood what he wanted; putting aside all her fears and insecurities she took a leap of faith as she spoke her next words,
"Mummy Ji ne kaha tha ke aadmiyon ke dil ka raasta unn ke pet se hokar jaata hai, toh mein toh sirf ussi raaste par chal rahi hoon."
Raman stopped breathing. His gaze remained glued to hers as it dawned on him that she had finally accepted their marriage; it truly was no longer 'Sirf Ruhi ke liye', a phrase she had used as protection against the pain he had inflicted on her by saving Shagun.
Not knowing the perfect reply to that and not wanting to spoil the moment with a one-liner, Raman chose to remain silent and bask in the beauty of the moment. He ate the serving she still held in the air making Ishita's tensed face break out in a smile. While not getting a verbal reply, that simple action had been all the answer she needed.
Her words had served to strengthen Raman's resolve in waiting to confess his love to her, because he knew that after all she had done for him and his family, the woman sitting beside him deserved everything and so much more. And he would see to it that when he said the three words this time it'd be a perfect and romantic moment shared between only the two of them. He was already conjuring up ideas of where, when and how to confess, but nothing felt perfect. He'd have to call in the reinforcements, they'd be more than willing to help him in this 'project'.
The two continued feeding each other until there was nothing left on both plates. They stayed seated even after they had finished, just looking at each other. But the moment was disrupted by Raman's ringing mobile. Ishita got up and silently headed back to the kitchen as Raman answered the call.
As she was rinsing the plates, she felt Raman come and stand on her side, she continued with her work as she waited for him to speak. Only what he did next put an end to the task at hand. Feeling his lips on her cheeks, Ishita dropped the plate in the sink and whirled to face him, her lips brushing his in the process.
She came to a halt when she realised what she'd done, moving her head back a little, she lowered her gaze as she fumbled for words.
"Woh, I'm sorry, galti se-"
"Aisi galtiyan har din karogi toh mujhe koi aitraaz nahin."
She looked up to see Raman grinning at her, and she found herself smiling in return. He leaned forward as he cupped her face, planting a tender kiss on her lips.
"Aur agar har subah aisi hogi toh mein khushi khushi jaldi uth jaaya karooga."
She smiled against his lips as she remembered the countless times she'd had to force Raman awake, sometimes screaming cockroaches and other times scaring him with the injection needle she had in her first aid kit.
The two parted with blushing cheeks and smiling lips. Raman grabbed his keys and files from their room and left the house, but not before giving Ishita another kiss on the cheek, catching her off-guard once again. By the time she turned to face him, he was already running out the door. Ishita shook her head in amusement at his antics as she went about cleaning the house.
Edited by Arooj.M - 11 years ago
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