Vihaan picked up one dainty hand and shimmied the bracelet on, needing a moment to prepare himself to speak again. He bent his head and pressed a kiss on top of her wrist, where gold glinted against brown skin. “This bangle is to show that you can trust me to take care of you, Princess. Because I love you.”
Every other noise around her faded, and Vera’s focus remained solely on the last words she’d heard. She stared at him, taking in the warmth of his hand, the tremulous grin on his face, the way his eyes were soft with worry even as he tried to remain silent, waiting for her to speak. What could she say? She’d never been good with expressing her love with words and now, nothing seemed like it would appropriately convey all that she felt.
“It can’t be this much of a surprise, Vera,” Vihaan finally sighed, concerned by how she kept staring at him. “We’ve been dating for over six months now. I think I’ve waited long enough to tell you Ilove you, considering I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since I was five.”
Silence.
“Babe, I’m starting to panic a little so now would be a great time to say something. Anything. Just blink if words are too much.”
Vera launched herself at him, toppling them both onto the ground. She buried her face in the nook of his neck and tightened her hug as though she couldn’t get close enough. Her breath heated his skin when she mumbled something unintelligible that caused his arms to loop tighter around her, holding her safely to his chest.
“What did you say?”
She lifted her head, eyes glimmering like jewels in a mine, her cheeks flushed. She felt like a wild child who’d been freed from confinement. “I love you.”
She wanted to say more, but those three little words alone were sufficient for him. A huff of relief escaped him as he reached up, brushing her hair off her face and holding them back so he could see her.
“Yeah?” he softly confirmed, clearly elated when she nodded shyly.
He pulled her down towards him, capturing her mouth with his. With a familiarity that was comforting, he drew her lips between his, suckling her, nudging her to give him a little more today. Urgency and heat built quickly when her lips parted to let him in, the tip of her tongue dancing with his, teasing him but never fully submitting to his demand. The grip on her hair tightened, but instead of deepening the kiss, Vihaan broke it off with a groan. “We have to stop, Princess.”
“Why?” she asked, sitting up, straddling his hips.
“Because I’m trying to be on my best behaviour,” he said. Colour rushed up his skin when she quietly began to unbutton the front of her dress.
“Vera,” he croaked, his eyes widening when she popped two more buttons loose, the neckline of her dress seconds away from falling off her shoulders.
“I won’t be able to stop if you keep teasing me,” he warned her, his bare hands burning the skin of her thighs as the edges of her dress kissed his knuckles.
Leaning forward to drop a peck on his chin, she ran the tips of her fingers along the underside of his jaw, his slow-growing stubble prickling her skin. “You’ve been patient long enough, Charming. I’m ready. I want my first time to be with you.”
Vihaan’s brows shot up. Before she could take her next breath, Vera found herself swung over and lying under her fully aroused boyfriend who was staring at her like she was a waterfall of ambrosia in the midst of the Sahara.
“It won’t be just your first I take from you,” Vihaan said seriously. “I’ll want everything, and I won’t stop even after that.”
She smiled, starry eyed, reaching up to loop her arms around his neck before whispering against his lips, “Promise?”
22
New Moon
Vera
“And we’re shooting thescenes over there, Nanu,” Vera chirped, pointing in the distance where her team was busy working. “And these sarees drying here were all hand-dyed. We are showcasing handlooms and crafting from this village.”
“Looks like a bridal saree.”
“It is! Good eye, Nanu,” Vera beamed, rewarding her grandfather with a massive smile. She looked down into her phone, turning the camera over so he could see her again. He smiled back at her, a small, timid sort of response in comparison to what she’d have expected. He looked tired, his skin a little grey, his body frailer in recent months. The doctors had warned her of what was to come. Nearly a decade since Nanaji had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and in that time, the disease had whittled down her previously active and independent grandfather into someone who needed assistance for the simplest tasks.
The initial slowing of his body or tremors had been chalked up to his age. But shortly after her eighteenth birthday, his health had deteriorated so quickly that they’d been forced to sell all their assets in Nagpur to pay for healthcare. Those had been some of the darkest days of her life—not knowing if Nanu would pull through, where they’d get financing to move to a better hospital, where they’d live even. Vera tried not to think about those nights when she was afraid to go to sleep because she didn’t know if she’d wake up an orphan.
She shook her head, forcing the dark clouds away before they threatened to douse her with the same fears again. Despite his ill-health, Nanaji was still perceptive enough that any hint of trouble in her life worried him too.
“We-we. . . should b-buy it,” he rasped. She watched as a nurse helped him drink some water. “It will b-be useful when y-you get married.”
“That again. Stop worrying about my marriage, please.”
“H-how could I? Life is t-too long to live alone, beta.”