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“Sometimes I do… but not always.”

His fingers softened, and pulled back. She clamped her thighs, as much as she could with the way he had spread her. “Don’t stop.”

“I am not stopping.”

His fingers pulled back and he went in slower again, using his thumb to soften the assault. She had once loved this siege of his — sudden, all at once. She still loved it. Her hips began to gyrate and move of their own accord.

“Oooh!” Her head fell back, inviting his mouth to her breasts. He laved his way from one to the other, his other hand reaching for her leg and stroking down to the space behind her knee. With those pressure points activated, she felt her body begin to tighten — “Samarth, it’s happening!”

“Let it happen.”

“You too!”

“Later.”

“You too!” Her hands reached for him and left her body into the support of his arm.

He bucked in her hold. She squeezed. If he remembered every pressure point in her body, so did she.

And within seconds they escalated to a place where they were just movement and waves and grunts until he exploded, making her go off.

The water rippled in waves around them, their bodies imitating that movement until they were spent and still. A jumble of limbs.

Silence fell between them, broken by slow pants. Her body collapsed into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’ll have to take a shower now,” she breathed.

“Huh?”

She pulled her head back to look at him — “Eww! I don’t kiss sweaty guys, now I am floating in fluids.”

Samarth threw his head back and laughed, grabbing her jaw in his hand and pulling her to him. Her own laughter reverberated until it was cut off by his mouth.

————————————————————

He didn’t dress again. Instead, he wrapped a towel around his hips and dried himself with another as he helped her out, dried her and drained the tub. She would think he was used to staff and servants. But even Samarth-the-Rawal was as independent as they came.

“Aren’t you getting dressed?” She asked, pulling on her silk night spaghetti and shorts.

Her choice of nightdress hadn’t changed in all these years, neither had his appreciation.

These were lavender, selected by their daughter, with a bow on the waistband of her shorts.

Samarth fingered it, his face softening.

“I don’t want to sleep in last night’s pants.”

He moved to her bed and sat down on the edge.

“Wait, are you staying?”

“Of course,” he pushed back and half lay on her pillows, hands behind his head.

“What if Brahmi comes back?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… what if she cries there or can’t sleep or annoys your Rajmata and she packs her up to me?”

He chuckled — “Rajmata has the patience of Chaatak.”

“You seem to suddenly be her advocate.”

Samarth held out his hand — “Come here.”

She sighed, but took it, crawling into bed until her body wound up under his arm and her head landed on his chest. He stroked her bare arm with one hand, his other hand opening to hold her fingers in his.

“You only know her from hearsay of her actions. You never saw the person behind them, the reason behind them.”

“There is no reason legitimate enough to extract a 15-year-old’s oath to destroy his life with his own hands. Or make him king the moment your own son is threatened.”

“Both are half-truths.”

She was angry. She understood a woman’s insecurity, more so now. But she couldn’t look at her and Samarth in the same room and not get worked up.

“Remember I told you… some unfinished parts of my childhood feel like they are settling in place?” His fingers stroked the ball of her shoulder.

“Hmm.”

“It was her.”

“How?”

“I never missed my mother, but until her, until these last few years, I didn’t realise I missed a mother. If you would spend one hour with her without your prejudice, chances are, you will be able to see what I am trying to show.”

“Mother-in-law drama is real then.”

Samarth laughed, kissing the apple of her cheek. “We are moving away soon so that won’t be a problem. I am just asking you so that our life going forward with my family is smooth. We will move away from this royal life like Maan bhai once did. But we will always be connected to family, isn’t it?”

She nodded. Silence fell. He caressed her ring finger — “I didn’t give you a ring.”

“Happy realisation.”

“Everything happened so quickly. It still seems like a dream that your parents agreed on the first attempt.”

“How many attempts had you anticipated?”

“Four or five. At least.”

“My parents have always been liberal in their outlook. They gave us wings and became the wind underneath them. But in this, I know they are not 100% in.”

“I figured.”

“But they will not be 100% in until they get to know you,” Avantika nudged her chin up and met his eyes. “They met you once, for five minutes. They don’t know the amazing man you are.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I will do everything I can for them to forgive me.”

“And that right there is my amazing man. They will know it too.”

Warm breath left his mouth, flying the stray hairs at her temple.

“Listen, call your father and ask if Brahmi is asleep.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“If she wouldn’t be then I would have to go get her back and then I wouldn’t be able to sleep with you.” He tugged her tighter and nuzzled her temple.

She laughed — “Are you jealous of your own daughter?”

“I am not. I just think… that I need this night with you. For the next one month we might not get time to talk properly forget touch and lie like this. We already had a rushed couple of weeks. It feels like after I found you again — massive decisions of our lives got taken but I did not get a chance to even hold you enough.”

She caressed the hair of his forearms, “I know.”

“I love my daughter. But tonight is her mother’s.” He tipped her face back up and planted a kiss on her mouth. “Tonight is for Ava and Sam.”

“I never liked Sam much.”

“My daughter seems to like that name so it sticks.”

“Fiiine!” She nuzzled his jaw. “But please confirm with your father once. She is a bed hogger. What if they are uncomfortable all night but do not call me?”

He nodded, leaning over to grab his phone and made the call. She pushed close to his jaw, pasting her ear to the phone. He pulled it from between them and toggled the loudspeaker on.

“Yes, beta,” his father’s deep voice answered.

“Is Brahmi asleep?”

“Yes. Why?”

Samarth gave her an ‘I-told-you-so’ look. She cuffed his throat and shook it hard.

“I just thought that in case she is unable to sleep there I’ll come and take her…” Samarth managed solemnly between her assaults, holding her arms down. “She also hogs the bed.”

“I’ll find out one way or another.”

Samarth’s face suddenly morphed from amusement into thought. She frowned at him, waggling her eyebrows.

“Was there anything else, Samarth?” His father caught on too.

He hesitated, eyes still on her, then blurted out — “The DNA test.”

Avantika sat back, stroking his chest, over his heart, rubbing the area in soothing circles.

“This is not the time to be emotional about it, Samarth,” his father was soft about it this time, unlike his stance at dinner. Samarth switched to handset as his father went on. She respected that. His eyes found hers and paused.

“No. She wants me to do it,” he answered. “It just feels wrong to me. How will I look at Brahmi when she grows up and discovers that I needed a test to figure out that she was my daughter.”

She loves you, Avantika mimed, making him smile. His father must have had a longer monologue on the other end because he sighed. Long and hard. He was sighing a lot nowadays, as if tensions held for lifetimes were finally releasing.

“Hmm… alright,” he agreed. Then chuckled. “Rajmata and her moon are always waiting.”

What was that about? Avantika pushed her ear back to his phone.

“Brahmi is dreaming right now of the moon talking to her so be careful,” she managed to hear his father.

“Yes, Bade Rawal.”

“Are you in your room? Check on Sharan.”

Samarth’s eyes widened, meeting hers. She snickered.

“I checked, he was asleep.” The good boy lied. Liar — she mouthed, tickling his chin. He slapped her hand away.

“Alright. Go to sleep now. You have long days starting tomorrow.”

“Yes, Papa.”

Samarth ended the call and swooped her over him, rolling her to his other side until she was wedged underneath him.

“Liar, huh?”

“You didn’t check on Sharan,” she giggled.

“I did. Before coming here. He was pretending to sleep thinking I was Papa.”

“Then?”

“I let him believe it. Who knows? He’ll sleep early tonight pretending.”

“You have become such a spoilsport. Once you used to keep him awake for your Late Night Boys’ Club,” she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He kissed her, pushing his tongue inside her mouth and settling his hips between hers.

“I am a father now and suddenly concerned about my injured brother’s sleeping habits,” he palmed the top of her head and angled her face to take his tongue better.

“Why am I hot with you talking domestic stuff?” She moved her hips.

He grinned, pulling up and whipping his towel off — “Your memory has been successfully jogged, Raje.”

“So all the way then?”

“Not yet,” he kissed her again, reminding her again that they had spent months skimming the threshold before 'all the way’ and why those were still the most pleasurable days of her life.