Locked - Part 22

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Chapter 22



Khushi’s POV


I touch the marital chain on my neck and blush recollecting how Arnav made me wear this during the wedding rituals. We didn’t have a grand wedding as the present curbs in Mumbai strictly mentioned of not having more than 50 people for the wedding. Neither we booked any hotel for this occasion. No destination wedding plans either. The wedding happened in our Gupta mansion in the most traditional and simplest way. The guests were asked to perform the tests before attending the rituals and fortunately no one complained. Despite me dreaming of a big fat wedding, I enjoyed this low budget event too and it will always be close to my heart. Me and Payal hugged Dad and cried straight for no longer how many minutes during the Bidaai and if Arnav and Akash hadn’t intervened, I don’t think we would have even been ready to leave our home and shift here. Dad is alone now but Buaji has plans to shift Mumbai and stay with him. That should work for all of us.

The Raizada family greeted us with lots of love and warmth. After a tiresome post-wedding game, I am finally in Arnav’s bedroom, waiting for my husband to show up. I still can’t believe I am going to stay in the same house with a family who pets a dog and he is a part of their lives. Maxi and my relationship has slowly developed in the past one month. I haven’t touched him yet but I think with Arnav next to me, I can give it a try. Maxi is extremely humble and unlike the other dogs that scared me so far. Payal is better than me. She has touched Maxi last week and said it felt good.


The book I bought on how to get acquainted with dogs helped a lot. Though I still fear them, I don’t run away anymore when Maxi and me are in the same room. It’s just that I still fear when it’s just me and him. I need a third person to ensure I am safe.. Maxi keeps wagging his tail every time I talk to him and that shows how much he likes having me around. I ensured that during all the marriage rituals, he too was around us and that brought smile on Arnav’s face too. I couldn’t have let Maxi locked up because of my fear.


I quickly check my Bridal dress which is so heavy that I wish to take it off soon. I am waiting for Arnav on his bed from past 25 minutes but he isn’t here yet and I wonder why? I am about to message him when the door opens and there he is… He locks the door and reaches straight to me.


“Sorry.. my friends didn’t leave me and Akash to head back to our brides.. They were purposely doing this..”


I smile. His smile drops as we both realize its just us in the room now. No one else.. No family to intervene. No relatives to greet and congratulate us and most importantly, we are no longer fiancées to each other. We are officially a couple now and legally married.


I wince as the bangles bite me and Arnav instantly comes out of his trance and takes a seat next to me on the bed.


“You okay?” he asks pulling my arm to see why I was rubbing it.

“Yea.. These bangles hurt..”


He nods and begins to take them off.

“Arnav? I am not supposed to take them off now.. I mean.. The traditions say…”

“You can’t sleep with those Khushi. Not when they bit you so bad… Look here..”


He shows me my wrist which has turned red due to the strong itching. I sigh knowing he is right.


“I have allergy of such jewelry..” I confess and he looks serious.

“Why didn’t you tell us before? Khushi.. you didn’t had to wear all this only because.”


I hold his hand. “I loved wearing them. It’s once in a lifetime to become a bride Arnav. Let me enjoy..”


He passes me a weak smile. “You enjoyed a lot, now you better do as I say. It’s your duty to listen to your husband..”

“Yes Boss” I mock and we both laugh. He helps me take off the bangles and the rest of the jewelry too. I tell him how heavy the wedding lehnga is .. all thanks to the gold border and diamonds studded on it.

“Then take it off too..” Arnav says casually and my throat goes dry.


In fact the moment he completes that statement, he too swallows painfully for being so open about it.


“I .. I mean.. go change it while I fix this bed..”


Fix the bed? I watch the bed and find nothing wrong with it. In fact its beautifully decorated with rose petals. As if reading my query Arnav replies before I ask.


“I can’t sleep with all that under my body..”


I giggle.

“Me neither. Never thought in that angle though.”


He helps me get down the bed. I never thought Arnav will be so casual on our wedding night. He is so unlike the rest of the men who wouldn’t waste time to pounce on their wives on this night but then we are talking about Arnav Singh Raizada. He is a gentleman and the best in that category.


Luckily, I had sent a bag of my clothes two days prior of the wedding to Shantivan and Anjali Di had arranged the stuff in Arnav’s closet. So now I didn’t had to fetch around what I had to wear. Still.. I decide to check with Arnav.


“Umm.. what should I wear for the night?”


He is busy taking off the petals from the mattress when I ask. He turns around and has a wicked grin on his face already.


“Do you really want to ask me that?”


My face heats up. Should I not have asked him? Oh… Okay.. I see him striding to me and my body burns for his touch already. All those pent-up desires and expectations we had from each other and this night, already is at its peak. The last one month after the Raizadas were invited for lunch at my place, me and Arnav never got this “ME” time and we were always surrounded by the family. So, obviously whatever we desired from each other, we pushed to this day… this night… this moment and knowing we were finally living that moment, made my heart flutter with new desires.


In an instant, Arnav pins me to the closet door with both his arms on either sides.


“Don’t ask me something you will repent later, Mrs Khushi Singh Raizada..” he teases. “If you ask me to choose, I might want you to wear…” he pauses to lean at my ear and whispers. “nothing..”


My eyes turn wide in surprise and I push him with all my force.


“Dirty mind..” I hold my giggle before turning to the closet and pick my favorite night gown. I am not really a nightgown woman and feel more comfortable in night suits instead but I didn’t hesitate to buy a few gowns too for a change. All pastel colors and I hope Arnav likes them. I pick a soft pink one and rush to the bathroom.


By the time I am out, Arnav is already on the bed, checking his phone. I have no clue what to expect out of this night so I decide to go with the flow.


“Which side do you prefer?” he asks, the moment he sees me back.

“Left..”

“Perfect.. come.”


I blush harder when Arnav takes the right side of the bed and turns off the light. Really? Can he get any cuter and understanding than he is now? I get on the bed and wait for him to … I don’t know.. maybe take a lead or something. I am definitely not a woman who can be bold otherwise.


“Maxi slept?” I pick the safer topic and he nods.

“Yea. Must be snoring by now..”

“So will Payal..” I add, giggling. “Payal can’t stay awake for long..”


Arnav smiles as I take my side of the bed, but turned to him so that we can see each other. There’s enough distance between us and I don’t know why I am waiting for him to close it. I can do that too. I want to!!


“Akash will keep her up the whole night..” Arnav mocks. “he has huge plans..”


The immediate mention of “Plans” gets another blush on my face.

“He has plans not you?”


Shit!! I didn’t mean to ask. Totally a slip of tongue.. We keep staring at each other for a long moment and then Arnav holds my hand, plays with my fingers.


“What plans do you think I could make?”


Now he is clearly pushing the ball in my court and I have no reply.


“I don’t know.. But this is definitely not what I expected our first night to be.. So cold and… easy…”


My comment riles him up and soon he pulls me to his body. It’s so sudden that my heart beats like a Dolby studio.

“I made thousands of plans for tonight and scratched it all.” He admits.

“Why?”

I am not happy that he cancelled all those plans. Why would he do that?


“Because I remember you telling me you need time to take that next step. We have hardly met and you are not ready to jump into the final act..”


He raises my arm and kisses my fingers, so very delicately that I am already in heaven. I remember saying that to him when he proposed me during our quarantined period.


“So..” he pulls away his lips from my fingers and smiles. “I didn’t plan much..”

“Nothing at all?” I shamelessly ask having no idea where did I get that courage from.


Arnav’s lopsided smirk is back.

“Uh huh!!” he exhales. “I don’t think I can sustain having you but in limits. The day you are ready to give me all of yourself… will be the day I touch you Khushi Singh Raizada..”


What the hell!! I don’t like it at all.


“Really?” I groan, annoyance dripping in my tone. “are you serious about this?”


He nods kissing my forehead this time. “Very.”


I pout at his denial and scoop him in my arms. It’s like he is punishing me and not himself. I might be all shy and confused about this night but I had a few glimpses of what it could be.. Nothing I desired ever came up to this.. Arnav hugs me back.


“All you have to do is … ASK.” Arnav whispers in my ears and I shut my eyes, feeling extremely shy. Thank God I can’t see his face and vice versa.

“Hmm” I reply, giving him a tight hug.


********************

Arnav’s POV


I mean it. I mean every word I said to Khushi about taking the next step only when she is comfortable enough to give every right to me and not in chunks like this. Though it’s extremely difficult to sustain, I can only hope she gets comfortable with all this soon and says a Yes.. The way she has hugged me, shows she is already thinking on those lines. Soon, I hear her snore. Very sure my wife was extremely tired and exhausted by the wedding rituals and she needs this much needed peaceful sleep to start the coming days of our married life. I cuddle her further into me, curbing every desire to claim her right away and try hard to fall asleep. But I get sleep only in the early hours of the morning.


*************

I wake up at the tinkling of the bangles and open my eyes to see my wife freshly showered, in a saree and drying her hair. Damn!!! If this is going to be my morning view every day, I don’t mind waking up daily after her. She sees me from the mirror.


“Good morning.”

“Very good morning.” I add sitting, with my back to the headboard. She quickly picks the coffee mugs and reaches me. “I got this just now. Still hot.”


I can see the coffees are hot but I can avoid them for a few minutes.


“Right now, all I need is a good morning kiss..” I demand and before she could run away, I grab her hand and haul her to my side of the bed. She wriggles at first but then gives in. Our first kiss after marriage, had to be the best and it is. When we pull away for breaths, she stares at me with a frown.


“So kisses are alright to take but not beyond this?”


I sip the coffee and nod.

“You wish to add more to it?”


She pats my chest and is about to walk away when I force her to sit.


“Have coffee with me..”

She agrees but before she could grab her own mug, I pass her mine. Unless she objects drinking from my mug. Thankfully she doesn’t. Khushi sips coffee and passes it to me again.

“Now its sweet..” I wink and drink some more. “Got a good sleep?”

“Very… You?”

“Not really but the best compared to the last few nights. I had my wife in arms.. So, can’t complain.”


She stares at me for long when the door knocks.


“Must be Maxi..” I say..

“WHAT?” she looks scared and confused.

“Relax. He is used to knock my room door to wake me up and then we spend some time together.. You mind then I..”

“no..” she exhales. “I don’t want to disturb your schedule.”

“Sure?”


She nods and I quickly finish the coffee and get down the bed to open the door for Maxi. He jumps on me as soon as he enters. Khushi sits tight on the bed, not willing to move at all. Maxi is about to go to her but I stop him.


“Maxi No.. Mumma is still scared of you..”

Maxi hops around me and keeps wagging his tail.

“You want to touch him?” I ask Khushi who wants to but is still afraid to do so. She had told me she wanted to touch Maxi and I wanted that day to be today..

“He wont bite right?” she swallows.

“Never.. And what am I here for? Come here..”


She slowly gets down the bed and reaches us. I keep holding Maxi, ensuring he doesn’t jump on Khushi and scare her. When Khushi sits next to me on the recliner, I help her hold her hand and make her touch Maxi’s back. Maxi wags his tail faster.


“He likes it..” I say boosting Khushi’s confidence. She then strokes his back better than before and slowly touches his head too. Maxi raises his head and licks her hand.


Khushi instantly cringes and hides behind me.


“Its okay.. he wont bite.. He just licked you..”

“yea..” she laughs.. “he.. just licked me.. Its so … different. His tongue is rough.. like a brush..”


I grin.


“Want to do it again?”


She readily agrees and I help her touch Maxi’s head again. She strokes his head and brushes his hair for long.. Maxi keeps taking it all, loving every bit of his Mumma’s attention. Looks like the distance between Maxi and his Mumma will fill up soon. Now all I wonder is when will I get that honor to devour my wife the way she deserves to be.. Wish she demands that from me soon and I would be the happiest man on this earth to fulfil them.


To be Continued.

NEXT PART 

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Sneak Peek 2 - BACK TO YOU - The Car kiss Scene

SNEAK PEEK 2

Rajveer's POV

We finally get back in the car, and I drive to the hotel. While I am all quiet and nervous, she is entirely the opposite. Ananya’s enthusiasm and her silly blabbering about how she loved rain doesn’t even make me realize when we reach the hotel parking lot and park the vehicle. She isn’t interested in getting down nor me. But we got to change our clothes before we fall sick. She is still tipsy from the alcohol but not like before. Rain has re-energized her senses.


“I just love rain.” Ananya resumes while I patiently listen, showing no urgency to get down the car. “And you know what’s so special about it? The fragrance of the wet soil, the magic lightning, the sounds of the thunder.”


I simply nod. More than her talks, her cute expressions allure me. She’s having no effing clue how hot and bothered I am at the moment seeing her sharing such little secrets with me. I didn’t know she loved rain this much.

“And the best part of it…” she continues. “Hot Jalebis and a heated kiss. That’s how I’d like to end the rainy night with my partner.”


She giggles. Did I hear that right? Heated kiss? I feel like my heart is going to explode. As if she realizes her mistake, she shuts her mouth with her palm and laughs again.


“Ignore that. Slip of tongue.”


She laughs again, but I don’t. Whatever she confronted is burning me so bad that only she could soothe this pain down. Our eyes meet again for longer than usual and when hers gleam with the same desire as in mine, it shoots a pang of need in my already aching body. I stretch my arm for her to hold that she glances at, and then looks back in my eyes as if confirming if I am serious about it. I have never been this sure, never this needy and achy either. If she pulls back this time, I don’t think I can survive; that’s my state.

I’m still juggling with my inner turmoil when she finally places her hand on mine. She’s In. She isn’t stepping back. Neither I. Making sure she really wants this as much as I do, I then pull her to my seat.

CONTINUING READING HERE

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SNEAK PEEK 1 HERE

BLURB 

“I need a divorce.”

“You stole my line, Ananya. Doesn't matter how much our lives mismatch, this time, we are on the same page. I need a divorce too.”

“Great. So, let's catch up at your sister’s fifth wedding anniversary and get this done with.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Message conveyed!! The phone line disconnects!!!

Rajveer Chopra, CFO of a multinational telecom company in Australia, married his childhood enemy Ananya Mathur, a social media influencer for a fashion brand in New York, to satiate the long-lasting desires of the two families to see them together as a couple. If Rajveer loved East, Ananya preferred West. The only thing common between them was the passion for their respective profession and the countries they lived in. If Rajveer was adamant to stay in Australia forever, Ananya had no plans of leaving New York ever. They dragged their loveless marriage for ten months without seeing each other, with less than a dozen messages exchanged between them only on important events. Finally, they mutually agreed to put an end to this assault and move on. Breaking their family’s hearts would be difficult, but it was better than dragging a loveless marriage.


What will happen when these two meet again in India during their one-month stay? Can they ever sacrifice their priorities for each other? Can love frame an equation between the two, or will they part ways amicably?

A Standalone Enemies to Lovers Contemporary Romance Novel.