AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Agastya?” Veda’s groggy voice cut through the quiet. She raised her head from the pillow, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t answer, dabbing her foot dry now. He shifted closer to where she lay and rummaged through the nightstand for the first aid kit he always stashed there. He opened it up and pulled out an antiseptic cream, smoothing it over her poor, abused foot.
Veda watched him in silence, the only light in the room the dim glow from her nightlamp. Agastya finished tending to her foot, gently wrapping the bandage back and fastening it securely this time. He slipped the first aid kit back into the drawer of the nightstand and shut it with a decisive click. He was about to get up and go to the bathroom to clean up and change when Veda’s hand wrapped around his arm.
He glanced down at her, her tired, beautiful face turned towards him.
“Why?” she whispered.
He brushed strands of hair off her face. “Because,” he whispered back.
“Because?” She kissed the tips of his fingers as they lingered by her mouth.
“Because you’re you.” He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, his eyes closing as he swallowed hard. “And I…”
Veda’s hand came up to cup the back of his head and then slid to the nape of his neck, her fingers slowly massaging the hard knot of muscles in his neck and shoulders.
“And you?” she asked, her breath whispering across his lips.
“And I can’t stand to see you in pain. I’d line the paths you walk with rose petals to never have to see your feet in that condition again.”
He didn’t mention the fact that he knew she’d been crying in her sleep. He couldn’t. Not when his heart cracked the slightest bit more every time he thought about it.
“I’m a professional classical dancer, Agastya. It’s going to take an awful lot of rose petals to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Her lips curved in a smile, amusement trickling through her voice. Agastya moved an infinitesimal inch, his lips covering hers as he stole that smile from her, drinking in her laughter, soaking in her essence. He kissed her with all the confused emotions in his heart, his lips trying to convey a wealth of feelings he didn’t dare voice.
And Veda kissed him back, her own urgency rising to meet his. He ripped his lips from hers, dropping frantic, wet kisses down the side of her neck, a desperate, frantic need coursing through him.
“Agastya?” she asked, the hope and wonder in her voice humbling him.
“Please,” he said in response. “Please let me.”
Let me hold you. Let me worship you. Let me try and be the man I strive to be for you. Let me try and be the man you see in me.
He wanted to say it all but instead, all he said was, “Please Veda?”
She spread her arms wide, welcoming him to her. “You never have to ask,” she told him sweetly. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours Agastya.”
Twenty-Four
VEDA
She woke the next morning with a heavy, muscled arm draped over her waist, anchoring her in place. Agastya spooned her like a massive, hot water bottle cradled against her back. Contentment simmered inside her as the events of the previous night played out in her head.
This was the life she’d dreamed of but had never dared to hope would ever be reality. And yet, here she was.
Guruma’s voice flashed through her head, her words from the previous evening playing in a continuous loop. Veda worried her lower lip with her teeth. Would Agastya want children immediately? Surely not. He was working nonstop, she had performances lined up until the end of the year. She wanted children, of course she did, just not right now. These were things they should have discussed before they got married. Everything had happened so quickly that they hadn’t had a chance to have any of these conversations.
“Stop it,” Agastya grumbled, his voice vibrating through her body.
“Stop what?” She tried to turn towards him but he held her pinned in place with his arm.
“Stop thinking so loudly. It’s making it very hard to sleep in,” he muttered, nuzzling her hair to one side and kissing her softly.
“Sleep in? It’s seven in the morning. That’s hardly sleeping in,” she grumbled right back.
“Shush,” he ordered, pulling her closer and settling in.
