Page 63 of Always With You

“I didn’t expect us to wake up together. Last night when you said we would be sharing a room, all I wanted to do was find a way out.”

Her words hurt me. “Way out?”

“I mean, I would have never thought we would land up on the bed together, you know, taking a step forward in our relationship.” Pain reflects in her eyes as she adds, “And when I saw that photo frame, my mind became even more firm to run the hell out of here. Let me be honest. The thought of another woman with you makes me sick in my stomach. I know it’s silly of me to be jealous, but I can’t help it.”

“It’s not silly. I would feel the same if I saw another man’s hands on you. This relationship is everything to me. It consumes me in an amazing way.” I place the palm of my hand against her cheek. “And I have full faith that you will soon say the words I am waiting to hear. Be rest assured, I’m never letting you go.” I will love her a little more every single day.And the more time we spend together, the stronger our feelings will grow, which she will not be able to deny for long.

Alisha licks her lips nervously. “Don’t you think you are giving yourself too much credit?”

“Not at all.” I bend a little, bringing our faces close to each other. “Not a day will go by when I don’t show how much I love you. Deep down in my heart, I know you feel for me exactly the way I do for you. All I have to do is make you accept your feelings aloud. Soon, you will say those three magical words to me. You will give me your….” I place my hand over her heart, “willingly.”

The love overflowing in her eyes is all the confirmation I need. Without warning, I lean forward and my lips cover hers in a warm kiss. The kiss is long and light. I enjoy the sensations of her body as she becomes aroused beneath me. Her hands clutch my t-shirt and she responds to me with equal passion, no longer doubtful about us as she had been earlier. I smile against her lips, teasing her with a hint of promise. I let go of her lips only when we run out of breath. Closing my eyes, I press my forehead against hers. We both are panting hard, gasping for air.

“Ranveer, we need to slow down… This…” She tries to speak, but I stop her by placing my finger on her soft lips.

After regaining my breath, I open my eyes and lift my head. “We will go slow. You hold all the power here,” I promise her. I then flash her a cocky grin. “But you can’t stop me from kissing my wife.” I place a quick kiss on her lips, and then hop out of bed. “Now, get up, Lady, you need to cook breakfast. I am starving. And Grandpa will be up soon. I will freshen up in the other room.” The sight of her stretched out on my bed is so tempting that I can feel myself getting hard. Leaning down over the bed, I kiss her forehead. Aware that things can escalate and get out of hand any minute, which would be overwhelming for her, I distance myself. Without lingering, I get up and walk out of the room.

After freshening up, Alisha comes down in the clothes she wore last night and walks straight into the kitchen. Grandpa and I get into a conversation regarding our upcoming employee benefit programme. Once the breakfast is ready, Alisha serves us. As soon as Grandpa takes the first bite, his eyes glimmer with appreciation for her. I am sure he adores her even more now.

We spend the rest of the day together at Grandpa’s house, skipping work. We chat, watch a movie, and order dinner from Grandpa’s favourite Indian restaurant.

Once we are through with dinner, we bid Grandpa bye and are on the way home. Once we reach, as promised, Alisha changes into her nightwear and comes to my room.

“Should I help you move your stuff?”

She shakes her head. “No stamina or inclination to get into all that right now. Shall tackle it tomorrow before going in for work.”

I don’t argue with her on that as all I want is to soak in her warmth rather than waste time in shifting stuff. I make a note of asking one of my staff to help her. My eyes soak in the sight of her getting into my bed while I hop in beside her.

Damn! Nobody else makes my heart beat like she does or can come close to what we share. No matter what may come, this connection we have between us will never die. My dreams of a forever with her will never stop, and someday, she too will confess that she loves me. Until then, I will say it for both of us.

I kiss her forehead as I pull her closer. Within no time, her breathing is even, and she is sound asleep. I, too, close my eyes to surrender to sleep with her in my arms.I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us and am falling deeper in love with her.

Chapter 28

Alisha

We have breakfast together, after which Ranveer leaves for his office. I still have an hour before I have to get ready for the boutique, so I head back to his room — our room. I take a deep breath; my emotions are all over the place.‘He is really trying his best to make this marriage work.’My heart melts at the thought. I am starting to believe there might be more to Ranveer than he shows the rest of the world.

I open our room door and step in. My eyes scan the beautiful room accentuated in light blue with a master bed, classy minimum décor, and exquisite lightings. But what steals my heart is the balcony that has a gorgeous view of the sea.

I walk to the closet to change into my work clothes. True to his words, he asked one of his helpers to transfer my clothes toour room.I am debating on what to wear when my phone vibrates in my hand. When I look down, I see Siddh calling. I stop in my tracks and stare at my phone, blinking a couple of times. My heart stops beating for a minute, as I curse under my breath.Why the hell is he calling me?Why can’t I live my life peacefully? Just when I think my life is going smooth, something happens to disrupt it.I absentmindedly stare at myself in the mirror. My quickened heartbeats and blank face are an indication that if I don’t divert my mind, I would be pulled back into the vortex of my past. No! I won’t allow that to happen. Without giving it further thought, I end the call. Whatever it is, I am not interested. I have left my past behind, and it’s never going to come back to ruin my present. Siddh had his chance but he messed up. Big time. Something that I can neither forget nor forgive.

The mobile beeps with a message. With a groan, I open the message.

Siddh:Alisha, please talk to me. I am sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me. I love you so much and miss you.

What the hell? Damn if I give that nincompoop one more thought. He isn’t worth it. Deleting the message, I drop my mobile on the dressers.I refuse to be subjected to his mind games and lies. I will not play a part in his constant drama. He will not be able to manipulate me any longer. And I am not stupid enough to trust him again. Cheating me was his choice, not a mistake.He entirely mocked my feelings which I had for him. He doesn’t matter in my life any longer; he just doesn’t exist for me. I never imagined I would say this, but hurting me was probably the best thing he did to me. It’s because of that it gave me a chance to meet someone like Ranveer. Meeting him has fulfilled all my dreams.

Ranveer’s name brings a smile to my face. He came into my life and made it a paradise. Every time he kisses me, I lose my breath, and my heart sings with joy. And when he is by my side, all my worries and fears melt away, and I am filled with bliss. He is my happy place. The tenderness in his touch melts my apprehensions. I didn’t want to fall in love, but he captured my heart and made me his. Now I can’t wait to tell him the words he wants to hear. Soon, I will tell him what he means to me. I am waiting for the right moment. For a second, my mind sways towards the unwanted message from a person who no longer holds any position in my life. However, I determine to ignore him and divert my mind. He did what he wanted to without bothering about me. Now I can’t let him ruin my life. My heart belongs to the one who makes me feel happy and cared for.

Smiling like a fool as my thoughts revolve around Ranveer, I pull out my work clothes and turn on the music. “Alexa, play ‘Love Me Like You Do’,” I call out. The device echoes it back to me and the music starts playing.

Swaying my hips to the beat, I follow the lyrics and move around, getting dressed. Once I put on my black formal pants and blue button silk shirt, I tilt the dressing table mirror and begin to comb my hair, all the while singing the words to the song that is blasting in the room.

I have never felt so carefree in life; I guess that’s the effect Ranveer has on me. I am even pouting as I look at myself in the mirror, turning my face from one side to the other, looking at myself through his eyes. ‘Love seriously makes you lose your sensibilities.’ I tap my head and chuckle.

I continue to sing and shake my ass. However, when I swirl around, I am in for a shock and come to an abrupt stop when I see Ranveer standing there, staring at me, his mouth agape. He doesn’t move closer. Rooted to our spots, we keep staring at each other. His chest is heaving with each breath he takes, and he blinks a few times. His eyes don’t hide the fact that his desire for me is at its peak.God! The lyrics of the song seem to be as if written to describe the chemistry between us. Every time he looks at me with that intensity, I drown in his enigmatic eyes and lose myself in the sheer delightfulness each time.

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