The water from the shower was warm, and Akshara's muscles came undone as the water rolled down her body. Reluctantly, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower reaching for the towel that was being warmed on the heating rack. She smiled to herself feeling the warmth from the towel as it absorbed the moisture off her skin. She rolled her eyes shut and let out a moan enjoying the feel of soft, warm cotton that felt like a cloud surrounded her.
"It feels like someone is hugging you, huh?"
The familiar baritone made her eyes flutter open.
Abhimanyu stood in front of her wearing a t-shirt and running shorts. He had just gotten back from his run, and the sweat coated his skin adding more definition to his arms.
"Did you have a good run?" She smiled at him.
He nodded. "Did you have a good shower?"
"Yes." Her voice hissed.
"How good?" Abhimanyu took a few steps closer to her, and she held her ground.
"Very good... it would have been better if I could enjoy my after-shower time in some privacy." She winked.
"Privacy? Aren't we a married couple?"
"True, but I like my..." Her words were lost in a low gasp when Abhimanyu stepped right into her personal space invading it with the beautiful masculine scent that made her feel sensations she hadn't felt before.
She looked up at him as if questioning his intentions. He looked at her in silence for a long time before taking a half step closer to her. He moved his hands upward slowly to cup her cheeks with them.
One thumb ran over her skin right below her lower lip wiping off the last bit of excess moisture.
"We are married."
Akshara looked up at him unsure of what she wanted at that moment as she was lost in a swarm of sensations, her heart thudding hard in her chest, and newfound sensations and emotions gripped her entirety.
"Can I kiss my wife, Akshu?" His fingers gently gripped her wet hair.
She looked up into his dark eyes and let out a moan. The tugging of her hair made her raise her chin up, and a wave of pleasure rippled through her when his lips descended on her neck sucking and blowing alternatively on the water droplets.
Her hands flew to his arms, her fingertips digging into his solid muscles.
"So beautiful," he murmured against her tingling skin.
"Abhimanyu..." She was in no position to say another word, let alone form a sentence.
"I want you to be mine, make you mine in every way." His voice was gravelly making her tremble deep inside.
Whatever she was trying to say was no objection to his want, but it was lost as soon as his mouth came down on hers claiming her with an urgency that made her knees turn to jelly.
He kissed her with hunger, and she welcomed it with equal passion. His hands roamed lower to the perfect curves on her back, and he pulled her to him to deepen the kiss.
"Abhimanyu..." Her voice was a deep groan.
"Akshu?" His voice suddenly sounded aloof, and she felt a weird pressure on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Abhimanyu sounded concerned, and her eyes fluttered open.
The lamp on his side of the bed was turned on, and he was looking at her, worried. Heat crept up her cheeks when she realized she had dreamed the entire bathroom scene. She recovered quickly and smiled at him.
"Yeah... just a bad dream."
He chuckled. "I'm sure you were dreaming about me."
Her breath got trapped in her throat in surprise, but she was thankful he had turned away from her to turn off the light. The rest of the night she stayed awake with a million thoughts around why she had that certain dream. It got her worried as to what led to something she had just dreamed about.
Did she secretly intend for something like that to happen?
She started to freak out as she lay only a foot away from him in his bed. It had been over two months since they were married. They've been sharing a bed and nothing more, but for the first time, she felt insecure because of her thoughts that she was convinced had manifested itself as a dream.
"Go back to sleep." His voice was soft, and yet it caught her by surprise.
"I am."
"Are you okay?" he asked and felt him turn to her side, but she kept her back to him.
"I'm fine."
Abhimanyu stayed silent for a few moments before placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm worried about the baby getting vaccinations."
She turned to look at him in the dim night light. "She will be fine. Very standard process."
"She is so little... only two months old."
"Babies are little, and she is technically three months old... premature born but that's her age."
"I'm sure she will be thrilled she looks much younger than her age,"
Abhimanyu said, softly.
She laughed out a moment later at his remark, and that eased her out of her weird thoughts.
"She'll be fine."
Akshara shut her eyes with the thought that her dream meant nothing and that her mind was playing tricks on her, conjuring what had happened a month ago when she ran out of the shower in a towel to comfort the baby and also ended up comforting Abhimanyu.
Later that day, she watched as Abhimanyu set the baby into a car seat to go to the hospital for her vaccinations. He looked the part of a nervous father taking his child to school for the first time.
"Abhimanyu, we need a different car for her," she said sliding into the back seat of the Mercedes sedan.
"This is the safest car."
"No... we need something that is high rise... more like an SUV."
"Hmm... do you have a specific model in mind?" He turned to look at her.
"I might." She winked at him, smiling.
"Are you a safe driver?"
"Yes." She rolled her eyes.
"Very well then, let's pick up the SUV on our way back from the hospital."
"You're kidding."
He shook his head. "Were you kidding?"
"No."
"So, why would you think I'm not serious."
She laughed. "Okay then... do I get to pick the color?"
"A color the baby would like?" he teased.
"Of course!"
Thirty minutes later, Akshara and Abhimanyu walked out of the paediatrician's office, beaming. The doctor was surprised with the progress in weight with the baby and said the little one's development was ahead of the curve.
"Good job, I knew you were the right person." Abhimanyu patted her shoulder as she held the baby in her arms.
She smiled looking at the baby. "She is a fighter."
"I am terrified about the vaccinations." He confessed.
"It will happen so fast, she won't even know," she assured.
Ten minutes later, Abhimanyu held Akshara tightly as she fought to free herself.
"Don't give her the vaccination. We want to wait another week."
"Akshara, you've done this yourself before, why are you overreacting like this?" One of her former colleagues asked as she prepped the vaccinations.
What Akshara had not expected was the sudden panic attack she had about allowing a needle to poke through the baby's skin-her baby. She kept her eyes on the needle, feeling the pain of the sharp object in the pit of her stomach.
"Abhimanyu, please ask them to stop. I can't deal with her crying."
Akshara sobbed.
Abhimanyu cupped her face with his hands wiping away the moisture with the pad of his thumbs. "Hey, she will be fine."
Akshara let out a sniffle and buried her face into his chest. "I can't even look."
Abhimanyu wrapped one arm around her, the other covering her ear that was not pressed into his chest and suddenly she felt like she was part of him, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. She took a deep breath and realized her heart was racing just like his, and the way his hand caressed her back, she wanted to be there forever if that was an option.
Akshara suddenly became aware of the strong, hard body pressed against hers. His muscles were tight like he was bracing himself for impact, but his touch was tender, just like in her dream. An inadvertent moan resonated inside her as she dug her fingertips into his flesh, pressing her cheek closer to him yearning for the warmth his embrace offered.
She was lost in a sea of emotions. Being in his arms gave her a strength she didn't think she had. It gave her confidence to face any challenge and the longing grew, the need to be close to him, make her heart beat to the same rhythm as his, breathe in the air that held his signature, and most of all, feel as one with him.
"Akshu..." he crooned, running his fingers through her hair moving the veil of hair away from her face.
Akshara moaned in response, hugging him, and a moment later, she became aware of the sounds around them. Inara was whining from the aftereffect of the vaccination, and Akshara pulled away from him like she was hit by an electric shock.
She stepped away from him, her skin tingling with the way he held her, but she ignored all of them as she took the baby back into her arms glaring at her former colleagues as they made fun of her for her panic attack.
"Are you okay, Inara? Did that mean lady poke you on your butt?"
Akshara asked making the hospital staffs laugh. Abhimanyu laughed and picked up the bag of baby essentials and followed her out of the vaccination clinic.
"You almost caused a riot in there. I almost used all my strength to stop you from attacking the woman who was merely doing her job."
"We should have waited another week," Akshara grumbled.
"And?"
Akshara shrugged. "Maybe I would not have attacked the nurse."
Abhimanyu laughed and held the door for her as she placed Inara back into the car seat strapping her securely.
"Hey," he said squatting next to the car, his eyes level with hers.
"Thank you for holding me. I was a nervous wreck in there."
Akshara laughed. "I should be thanking you. I didn't hear anything when you held me like that. All I heard was your heart beating."
Something flickered in Abhimanyu's eyes, but it was gone before she could read it. "Are you ready to go pick up your ride?"
"Inara's ride," Akshara corrected laughing as he shut the car door.