“Mukundo Babu!” she had wanted to scream, but barely managed a whisper.

“Hmm…” he was so overcome with arousal that he didn’t notice the panic in her voice. He proceeded to kiss her neck.

“Please don’t hurt me…”

The expression on his face changed instantly. Damn it! He had scared her. He immediately took off her blindfold and freed her wrists too. They weren’t tied too tight in the first place. If she had tried, she could have freed herself.

“Pihu!” He gathered her in his arms as she started crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Calm down, Piyali. I’m not going to hurt you. How can I?”

She, of course, knew that. She wasn’t running away from him, rather clinging to him as if for her life.

“Let’s get out of the room for a while,” he said and led her away. She had calmed down by now.

“I’m sorry,” she felt terribly embarrassed after the tension melted away. What had come upon her? How could she grow scared of Mukundo Babu, of all people? “I don’t know why I panicked…”

“I startled you. But I was just pulling a prank on you, Pihu Rani.”

“I know… I am… I am really sorry.”

“No. Don’t feel guilty about it. I should have been more careful and not hurried you like that…”

“No. I should have been more sporting.”

Mukundo laughed.  “All right. Let’s not fight over this. Are you feeling better now?”

She nodded. “We can go back.”

“Or we can just have a romantic night-out under the moon,” he grinned at her.

“And fall ill by the morning?”

He chuckled, “Let’s go.”

—

They looked uncomfortably at the two pieces of dupatta lying on the bed that he had discarded hurriedly. Then Piyali smiled and picked up one of them. “You can tie me up,” she said offering it to him.

He also smiled and shook his head. “No. It was a prank, Pihu Rani. I don’t need to tie you up. I know you aren’t going away. ”

Piyali felt a tinge of disappointment. She could enjoy getting tied up by him, although she didn’t fancy the other weird stuff from the book. Probably she would be able to persuade him sometime in future. Right now, if he would just take her in his arms and…

He did take her in his arms, but with no intention to celebrate their wedding night any longer.  “We are both tired. Let’s sleep well tonight, Pihu Rani.”

“But…”

“Time isn’t running out. We have our entire life before us. I don’t want to overwhelm you any further.”

As she snuggled up to him. She could feel a sharp intake of his breath as he tried to contain his arousal. How the hell could she ever get scared of him, she cursed herself. But she wasn’t complaining about sleeping beside him. Her thoughts went back to her ragging days. “I went to bed… with Mukundo Babu.” She had wondered how it would feel. Today, she had the answer. She felt warm, comfortable, safe and loved.

—

Piyali woke up before him. She clambered out of the bed carefully so as not to disturb him. Throughout the wedding preparation, he had taken extra care to not excessively tire her. That meant he himself had worked too hard. He needed the rest. She came to sit near him on bed after taking a shower. His eyes opened just then. He smiled at her as he stretched.

“Tea?” she asked.

“Hmm… Ask Sonelal to make some,” he replied and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

She was waiting with tea and some biscuits when he came. He sat down on the chair across the table and picked up his cup.

“Mukundo Babu,” she broke the silence after a while.

“Hmm?”

“I wanted to say something…”

“Then say it.”

“Don’t laugh at me, okay?”

“Piyali,” he reached out over the table and pressed her hand, “I’m not going to laugh at you. I might have given a different impression until now, but I do take you seriously. Always.”

“I… I know,” she stammered, “And you always give into my whims. I just… want to make sure, Mukundo Babu, that this marriage doesn’t turn out of one of those episodes. You giving into my wishes and whims. I want to… I want to be a good wife to you. And to make you happy.”

He gazed at her face for a long minute. How lovely she looked, even though the healthy pink color had not returned to her cheeks fully yet. There were things to be managed in near future. She didn’t yet know about her father’s illness, even though she had expressed concerns over his failing health several times. They were to move to Bangalore and start a new life. After having been in Kolkata all their lives, it was going to be stressful. She still had to recover from the health issues two years of neglect had created for her.  He was scarred from past betrayals. And between all this, they had to navigate through this new relationship. When he thought about all of this together it sounded formidable. But she was sitting before him. The anchor of his life through all its ups and downs. And they were together despite the impossibilities he had imagined. They would sail through it. Together.

“Piyali. It has probably been more obvious to you that I give into your whims. But here is something you didn’t realize. That you care for me like no one else does; like no one else can. You have done it even when you were younger and much more naïve. Do you remember when I had a minor accident with my bike? You were probably ten years old. It was just a bit of scratch on my hands and you had cried like it was the end of the world.”

“And instead of attending to your injury, everyone had to attend to me,” she said, her cheeks coloring.

“Yes,” he chuckled, “But you were older when Aporna had left. I was broken, then. I hated myself, and the world. And you had spent hours with me, distracting me from those thoughts. You, singlehandedly, brought me out of that depression, Piyali. Did you ever realize that?”

She shook her head, looking amazed and overwhelmed.

“For a very long time, my life has been anchored around you. And what I have today… this… our relationship… our future together, it wouldn’t have been possible if you hadn’t been insistent and stubborn about it. I had given up even before trying. You have been very good to me, Piyali. I don’t think you need to try hard to make me happy even in future.”

She smiled shyly, “But… I still want you to help me. I may not always know what you need, or what I should be doing. Didn’t have a mother to teach me. You should, you must, demand it from me. Will you?”

“Yes. I will,” he promised. And then he asked inexplicably and suddenly, “Are you hungry?”

“Not particularly,” she replied, puzzled.

“Can the breakfast wait?”

“Yes. I think so…”

He got up from the chair and held out his hand for her. She took it and followed the suit, still looking confused. He wasn’t inviting her for a dance all of a sudden, was he?

He held her close and whispered in her ears, “Be a good wife and come with me to bed.” She blushed so hard that Mukundo felt like he would be able to scoop some red color off her cheeks. She hid her face in his chest. He put his arms around her and led her to the bed. They sat on the edge and he kissed her hard and deep. She ran out of breath rather quickly and was panting by the time he withdrew. The kiss itself had her head spinning. With his strong hands guiding her it was a far cry for the sloppy ones she had with Ahwaan. She chided herself for doing that comparison at such a time, but couldn’t help feeling the elation. However, she forgot all about comparisons, even about herself, when he laid her down and started kissing her all over. She melted under the weight on his strong body. She opened her eyes when he pulled back once, to undress himself. She gasped when he took off his kurta. His arms were just muscular enough to look strong and dependable, but not intimidating. No wonder she felts so safe and secure, when enveloped in them.  He had started slowly, but lost his control soon. She wasn’t complaining. She had fantasized about him for so long now that even a touch from him was enough to get her ready. In fact, she was hardly in a position to sort anything in her mind as the sensations running through her body overwhelmed her. The ecstasy she felt, by the time he collapsed on top of her was nothing like what she had ever felt possible. When he rolled on her side, she kept her arms around him and rolled along with him. Then she snuggled up even closer, as he cuddled her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Hmm…” she groaned while continuing to keep her face buried in his chest. He stroked and played with her hair. He would have to get her an after-morning pill and remember to use protection from next time. But life would be good for him from then on. With her by his side. He kissed her hair and mumbled, “I love you.” She just pressed herself even harder against his body in response.

– The End –