Charade (IPKKND AU)

Chapter 33: Coax

Khushi

Khushi woke with the sheets bunched around her legs. She blinked hazily in the morning light before turning to where her husband still slept. Arnav-ji was on his front, one arm curled around his pillow, and the fingers of his other hand twined with hers as was his habit. Emotion surged in her chest as she rolled to face him.

Her eyes traced the curve of his shoulder, the golden span of muscle that was his back. The dip along his spine. Heat crept into her cheeks. She'd felt wild with wanting him last night, but he hadn't minded.

He'd been a little wild himself, she recalled.

Some part of her struggled to believe that he'd touched her like that. Twice. And she'd ...

Her mind skipped to his words as she'd held him. He'd spoken of using his fingers, his body, his mouth, in ways she'd never imagined. A part of her doubted that she ever be curious — or brave — enough to try any of it. But however much that part shied away, Khushi acknowledged that last night had revealed an inner fire that answered his passion. There was something within her that wanted to try it all.

Everything she felt for him — admiration and trust and so much love that it threatened to overwhelm her — washed over her. Arnav Singh Raizada was a puzzle wrapped in a three-piece suit. But her Arnav-ji was a man like no other.

Smiling, she traced her fingers over his stubbled jaw, his cheek, his nose. She followed the line of his lips.

"When you're asleep like this, you don't look like a Laad Governor at all."

He trapped her fingers between his teeth as his eyes snapped open.

"Arnav-ji!"

Releasing her with a small laugh, Arnav-ji rubbed his eyes and yawned. When he stretched, his body moved against hers in a way that made her breath catch.

His voice was thick with sleep. "Arnav-ji? You had no problem calling me Arnav last night."

"Uhh ... I ... um ..." she blushed, turning to concentrate on the ceiling.

"Hmmm," he pulled her close. "You can call me anything you want."

"Even Laad Governor?"

"Maybe you can think of something else?"

"How about Chhote?"

"Absolutely not."

His scowl was so severe that Khushi burst into giggles.

"You're a little mad, you know that?" she heard him ask.

"Yes, but you married me so what does that say about you?"

At this, Arnav-ji gave a playful growl and trapped her against the mattress. He leaned in to kiss her, smiling, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"I haven't brushed."

A kiss to her palm, "Don't care."

He coaxed her into parting her lips for him. Khushi shifted to allow him to settle between her thighs and gasped when she felt him press against her.

"It's okay," he kissed her nose. "We're just playing."

Playing.

The word took on new meaning as she ran her hands over his bare shoulders and down his back. Khushi pressed kisses to all the parts of him that she could reach — his chest, shoulders, neck, and lips. A soft ache bloomed in low, hot places when one of his hands skimmed under the shirt she wore. He was gentle, shaping her and circling his thumb over a hardened peak as he feathered kisses down her neck. But when he touched a particularly tender spot above her breast, she squirmed. Arnav-ji froze.