As Sanam had predicted, Arjun's room at the mansion had been romantically decorated with candles and red roses from every corner of it. The bed was transformed into a canopy style with strings of rose petals hanging off the ceiling and in the center of the bed was a heart, again, made out of rose petals. With the number of countless candles burning and the scent it spread around the room, Sanam was sure they didn't need to turn on any more lights for brightness. If anything, the candles needed to be blown out.

Neha grinned at the sparkle in Sanam's eyes, "Welcome home, Mrs. Mehta." She had performed all the rituals to welcome her home and some of the post-wedding ceremonies were left for the next day.

And truly, she did feel as if she had returned home, for home was around these people and the relationships that she had been binded with because of Arjun.

"Thank you, Mrs. Mehta." Sanam grinned back for it was unreal how the two of them were married to the brothers.

Neha was quick to leave after, "Well, I'm exhausted. Have fun." She winked at the end before rushing out the door.

Sanam shook her head in amusement. Dragging her heavy outfit, she went on to blow out some of the candles to dim the brightness. It was after 1 in the night. Such brightness was sure to hurt her eyes. She had left only about five candles burning, just enough to not turn it into complete darkness and for her to be able to navigate through the room. She was quite used to the bedroom at the penthouse, but she had only stayed here at the mansion this week and even that had been in a different room. She would have surely walked into things if she'd blown them all out.

She sat on the bed, waiting for Arjun. She had a faint idea of how everyone must have been troubling him, not allowing him to go to his own room. And before she knew it, the exhaustion took over and she'd dozed off for a few minutes.

She did stir awake when she heard the door creak open, and sat up in bed. "Hey... sorry," She spoke while rubbing her eyes, "I didn't realize when I dozed off."

He walked to the bed after a quick glance around his room. No, their room. Even though they wouldn't be living here. "I don't blame you. I am dead tired myself."

"Who even thinks people have their first night on the same night after what they put the bride and groom through?" She sordidly questioned, causing him to smile as he pushed past the hanging curtains of flowers and settled on the bed.

"I surely didn't expect this much." He admitted, reaching forward to take her hand in his. "When did this turn into such a debacle?" He asked rhetorically with an exhale. "I'm sorry sweetheart; you wanted a small and intimate wedding and I couldn't even give you that."

She smiled tenderly at him, squeezing his hand back. "Arjun, yes, we're exhausted right now but still, what matters to me is that we're married. For the right reasons. And it might have been too grand for my simple ways, but it was a beautiful ceremony."

His hand met her cheek where she gladly leaned into his warm touch. "You're beautiful."

She chuckled turning it in light moment, "Yeah, you couldn't take your eyes off me. I noticed."

Though he caught her humor, he repeated in seriousness. "No, Sanam. You are beautiful. It wasn't what you wanted at all, but you are still accepting it with an open heart."

Her teasing grin faded, replaced by a genuine smile that mirrored the emotions in his eyes. "All I need is you, Arjun. I love you. As long as I have you, I don't mind accepting anything else that comes in the package."

He recalled the day she had asked him to marry her, and how she had grumbled about why he had to be rich. And then there was today. An evolved person in front of him who was ready to embrace it all because that was just a part of what made him Arjun Mehta.

He leaned in for a gentle kiss. "I love you too." As he inhaled, he didn't catch the scent of sandalwood he always did. Making a face, he complained. "You have too much hair spray in your hair."

She laughed, "You just ruined a moment, Arjun."

He pulled back, "What, it's true!"

She couldn't deny that, "That's what I get for being the bride. You have no idea of the 3-4 hours torture they put me through. Come to think of it, I am still wearing this dress. I seem to recall you making big claims of how you couldn't wait to take it off."

His lips turned up in a smirk as his fingers trailed down her neck and over her gold jewelries. "I wouldn't mind, but are you sure you want our first time to be when we're both half dead?"

As if on cue, a yawn escaped her mouth, indicating just how late in the night it was and their bodies were aching to just get in bed and have a peaceful sleep, calling it a night.

She said after, for she did not have the energy to get the layers of jewelry off her body. "You're still helping." She got off the bed to change.

He did come around to help her, but before that, he just had to wrap his arms around her from the back and take her in a tight embrace. "Are we really married?"

He didn't think the feeling or the reality had settled in yet.

~

Arjun sat up on his elbow with his head rested on his palm. For the longest few seconds after waking up at the first ray of sun in the morning, he could just admire Sanam. He didn't want to disturb her sleep at all. She looked angelic and at such peace. He lifted his free hand to gather the strands of hair away from her face so he could have an undisturbed view. She swallowed as she snuggled further in the soft pillow at the lightest of his touch.

A smile appeared on his face, void of any mischief it usually might have held. There was so much he wanted to say to her. However, he didn't think words could express just how excited he was for the life that was waiting for them. Sure, they had been living together, married, for the past year. Still, this time felt different.

This time, she was his.

This time, she loved him just as he loved her.

He promised himself he never wanted to stop feeling this way. He considered himself lucky to have her in his life. To have and to hold. To cherish. To wake up next to her and every day, realize just how much he was in love with this life with her and the one they would eventually create for themselves.

He leaned away at the start of his alarm going off that he had on every morning. He scolded himself, why didn't you turn it off, dumbass? Quickly, he turned it off so as to not disturb her sleep.

Still, she turned on her side and unconsciously forwarded her hand to reach for him. She then shifted closer and placed her head on his chest. "Good morning." She greeted, draping her arm over his torso and making herself comfortable.

"Morning, love," She could hear his smile in his voice just as he rested his hand on the blanket over her hips. He kissed the top of her head and she sighed in bliss. She didn't want to wake up yet; her feet aching from being overworked the last few days at all the wedding rituals.

"I need some sort of a body massage."

"Hmm." He agreed silently, for now just wanting to stay in their own world.

Fifteen minutes must have passed by before she rubbed her eyes and opened them to welcome their new life. It was an amazing feeling in itself to wake up and see his face, and know that this was how it was going to be for the rest of their lives.

~

"I had some help from Esha," Arjun informed as they walked back to the waiting area after getting their boarding passes. "She said you always wanted to go back for a visit. We'll be in Kerala for 4 days. I've rented this beautiful two-story house boat that you're going to love. Then we'll fly to Delhi, stay there for 3 days and from there, Venice. You love historical places so, yeah."

Sanam asked, noticing how he had planned the whole trip keeping her likes in mind. "And where's the places that you love?"

"I'll love any place as long as you're there." He offered the truth, for this was one thing he wasn't picky about. He had said it multiple times, and he planned on saying it however many times he had to in the future. All he wanted was her. Her presence, her love, her smile; it's all he needed to be happy himself.

~

Arjun pushed open the door to the room on the house boat they had come to after landing in Kerala. He had been below deck trying to get dinner since it was way past dinner time. He announced, "Alright my lady, dinner is ser...," and almost dropped the plate when he glanced up at Sanam. He quickly tightened his grip around it, swearing. "Fuck, sweetheart. Give a man a heart attack, why don't you?"

She laughed at his reaction and slowly walked up to him with nothing but mischief laced in her eyes.

He scolded, "Just because I said lace is your thing doesn't mean you take it seriously, you know?"

She had been dressed in a skimpy night dress that did cover her modestly, but still didn't fail to hint at her curves with her waist covered simply by lace. Coming to a stop in front of him, she lifted her hand to take the plate, fingers brushing past his. "Don't pretend that you don't like this on me."

Just as she discarded the plate full of food on a table, he huskily informed. "I'd like it much better off you."

She casually shrugged, stepping away. "Well, too bad. I'm hungry." She went on to pull out the chair and took a seat.

He groaned in frustration. "Babe."

She closed her eyes and sniffed at the food. "Hmm. Smells yum. Come, take a seat."

He decided to get back at her with a bit of a sweet revenge. "Sure," he replied and suddenly, her elbow was tugged at, pulling her out of the chair. She was about to scold him saying there was another chair when he sat on the chair and pulled her to sit on his lap.

She tried to nudge away, "Arjun, let go. I want to eat."

He tilted his head back, "I'm not stopping you." He nodded towards her plate, hinting at her to eat. She realized he wasn't going to let her sit elsewhere and eat. She picked up the spoon to break the idli in pieces. Just as she did, his hand rested on her thigh right at the hem of her lingerie. At first, she didn't think much of it – just that he wanted to put his hand somewhere. But then, it started to travel upwards, sliding under the silk fabric.

The spoon froze at her lips and he certainly took notice of the reaction as her body stiffened. He teased, "What, not hungry anymore?"

The moment had turned from playful to intense in a blink, and she felt hot tingles all over her skin. Her lips closed around the spoon taking in the morsel and gulping it down without even chewing. How could she remember to chew when his hands were lingering at the inside of her thighs and threatening to continue trailing up to forbidden regions?

His thumb caressed her tensed skin as his lips found her shoulder. "Go on. Eat." He insisted, his breath falling over her nape.

Her hand fell next to the plate, fingers tight around the spoon. "Ar-Arjun..." She said his name and it would have been impossible to tell whether she meant to stop him or urge him on.

Nuzzling his nose to the hollow of her collarbone, he replied. "Hmm."

She attempted to inch away from him but didn't realize it would result in grinding against him. His fingers on her leg dug into her skin as he grunted at the pressure over his member. She froze just as he bit her skin over her pulse.

"Wrong move, sweetheart."

There was no way her mind was still on her empty stomach. No, it wasn't empty anymore. It was overflowing with thousands of butterflies fluttering away, turning her breath shallow as she inhaled sharply when his teeth met her skin before he nibbled over the area, churning up sensations she'd never felt before. Her head fell back giving him more space to work with as her hand released the spoon and rested on his chest only for the briefest of moment before they trailed up to his shoulder. Finding his neck, her fingers slid down the collar of his shirt to meet skin against skin.

Refusing to move his hand away from her thigh, he used his teeth to push the straps off her shoulder and trailing hot, peppery kisses over every inch of exposed skin. He continued to push her over the edge by finally moving his other hand from holding her to his lap and sliding them up her side, feeling her curves over the lace. Stopping by her shoulder blades, his thumb teased over her breast. Her eyes just about rolled to the back of her head, biting back a whimper and craving more.

She suddenly gasped when his lips left his skin, irking her. "I think you're right. We should eat first." Her jaw dropped when he ever so casually moved his hands off her altogether and reached for the spoon.

She instantly felt the lack of his touch.

She muttered under her breath, "Tease."

He dipped the piece of idli in the curry before bringing it to his mouth and winked. "No, that was just revenge of your teasing session."

She had to focus on her breathing to bring it in control again, all the while glaring at him. She could still very well feel his erection under her, but how could he pretend to be so normal? Her eyes narrowed at him before an idea played in her head. She gave a very innocent smile. "Let's eat." She turned her head to the plate and picked up a second piece instead of the spoon. She brought it to her lips and took a bite not caring for the sambhar.

He doubted her at first, but she took another tiny bite of the white round item. He carelessly dropped his defense and just then, she draped an arm around his neck. He turned his head to her. She questioned, "What? Just getting comfortable."

That should have raised flashing red light of alerts, but he didn't anticipate her to be the one to take revenge so he let it be. "Here," She said a few seconds later, reaching for the spoon from his hand after she'd finished the second piece. He figured she now wanted to eat it with the sambhar and so released his grip around the silverware. She raised the spoonful to her mouth, carelessly letting a trail off the corner of her lip. She swept it up using her thumb before plopping it in her mouth.

His eyes darkened and he couldn't find a single reason as to why he shouldn't just kiss her senseless and give in to her torture.

"You don't usually eat these South Indian dishes, do you?"

Her question made him blink away from his fixated state on her lips. His throat felt dry as he answered. "N-no."

"Me either." She replied, dipping a piece in the gravy again. "It's pretty good. Maybe we should learn how to make it while we're here. What do you think?" She added the question, raising the spoon to his lips, offering him a morsel since they were sharing the spoon.

"Yeah," his lips parted to take in the morsel, but just then, her hand shook and some of the gravy dripped over his chin.

"Ops, I seem to be a messy eater today." She muttered under her breath, moving the spoon away to the plate and used her index finger to wipe it away.

He knew she would put it in her mouth again instead of using a damn tissue.

God, damn, Sanam. He thought, relinquishing his control. He hated swearing on God's name in vain, but desperate times. Before it would reach her lips, he grabbed her wrist. Her eyes snapped up to his dilating ones. He brought her finger to his mouth and sucked the drop away. Her jaw clenched, biting back a moan, and her stomach pulling in as it sent a trickle straight to her core. Before releasing her wrist, his tongue wrapped around her finger, satisfied when she tensed further.

His hand forwarded towards the plate again, and she wasn't going to let him do this to her for the second time in less than five minutes. Her fingers wrapped over his wrist to stop him. "Not again," she ordered just before she lessened the distance between their faces and going straight for an open-mouth kiss instead of starting small and gradually making their way there. She was done with foreplay. Their foreplay had lasted for months now.

He moaned as their tongues stroked each other, fighting for dominance. They could taste the food on each other, but it didn't matter. He deepened the kiss if it was even possible with rhythmic strokes and biting and devouring every inch of her mouth. The pad of his thumb resting on her cheek while his palm on her neck directed her face.

"Bed."

He abided her request by bringing his arm under her thighs and another around her back, lifting her up without a strain and carelessly pushing the chair back. They heard it falling on the floor, but neither stopped to care over it. His long strides brought them to the bed within a second or two.

His knee came to the bed before he gently lowered her on it without once breaking their kiss. She shifted up in bed, bringing him to tower over her. His hand grazed down her side resting on her hips for a second or two, thumb caressing before trailing down further and hiking her leg over his. Her dress puddled around her waist. She moaned again at feeling his arousal over her center.

Her hand came to the hem of his shirt and reached under. Finally, her fingers were directly over his skin and this time, he didn't stop her from exploring his skin. They traced over his six packs before pushing the material up. He briefly pulled away from their kiss to swiftly take off the shirt in one fluid motion before closing the distance between their bodies again. She inhaled sharply as his abs pressed against her bare waist, for the lace did nothing to act as a barrier in between. Without a second thought, her back arched in desperation to have more skin against skin.

His hands found the curve of her breasts again and instead of returning kisses to her lips, they kissed down her throat, to her chest and lowering further. Her chest raised up and down in short pants, needing to breathe through a parted mouth. Her nails were making their mark down his back causing him to groan before they pulled up to the waistband of his jeans.

He complained while leaning back to put some distance between them, "It seems highly unfair that I'm half naked and you're still fully clothed."

"As if this can be counted as fully clothed," She remarked. He nudged her off the mattress to reach for the zip on her back. She didn't mind towering him while his fingers fumbled with that to find enough focus when her face leaned down to his neck, taking her turn to press kisses down his sculpted chest and further down his torso while hands explored his abs again as if wanting to etch the image in her brain.

He let her have some fun, for it meant even he got something out of it as he took his sweet time unzipping her and trailing his fingers down her bare spine. She tucked her hair behind her ear, straddling around him and lips kissing his jawline. He turned the tables again, her back meeting the mattress as he peeled the dress of her and lost himself in her, exploring every inch of her skin.

~