The silence of the night was broken by a faint sound of a car door closing. The street was completely deserted. It was fifteen minutes to midnight.

Sameer reached Naina's society with Munna Pandit. The wooden ladder that Arjun had placed before going home after dropping Preeti was lying against the wall, hidden from the view of passerbys.

With the help of his friends, Sameer got the ladder in place... right under her balcony. With his friends holding it secure, he climbed up. Once he was inside, he waved at them. Without a sound, they placed the ladder back and walked to the parked car. They had four hours to sleep. Sameer would wait for them at four in the morning.

The door was half ajar. Naina liked to keep it open at night... he had come to know from experience at the hostel.

He entered the room. There was no lamp... just the faint light of streetlight. It was enough for him to make out the silhouette of things. He waited a few seconds, recalling the placement of furniture from his visit last year... and walked to the small carton kept with the pile of cardboard boxes that had come from Mumbai.

With hardly any sound, he did everything that he wanted. Then he bent down to pull out the box from under the bed. Opening it, he took out the white and pink round cake and placed it on the glass tray that was in the carton. One lit candle in the center and he was ready to wish his beautiful wife on her most important day... at the stroke of twelve.

But before that, he had to do something very important. He pulled out a black cloth strip from his pocket... and tied it around her eyes. She stirred slightly, when he took it under the side which rested on her arm... then settled back.

"Happy birthday darling." He whispered in her ear, lips brushing against it... leaning on her sleeping form.

Naina was sleeping on her side, with a hand under her cheek. In her dream, she could see him... she could feel him... she could hear him...

With a soft sigh, she turned on her back... and smelt him.

She tried to open her eyes... but something stopped them... she could feel more darkness around her... and she could feel his breath falling on her face. A surprised sound was muffled against his mouth as he pressed her shoulders into the pillow, kissing gently.

"Happy birthday darling." He repeated the wish, lifting his face but not making any effort to move away.

She blinked, still not able to believe he was here... in her room... wishing her on her birthday... or was she still dreaming... after all it was still dark.

"Sameer tum... " Her words were cut short as he bent again, taking her mouth more fiercely this time.

She was lost... lost in the sensation that filled her up... lost in the musky scent that surrounded her... lost in the pressure of his hands on her...

He was here.

And she parted her mouth... kissing him back... all thoughts about how, when, why taking a back seat.

He slipped his hands behind her once he felt she was over the shock... arching her up to fit against his half lying form. He held her head at the angle he could get best access... exploring her back and waist with the other.

Her hands went up to thread his hair, fisting their silky softness as her stomach clenched with his heated kiss. He left her mouth and started to shower her face with small kisses, going to the soft skin behind the ear. She let out a soft whimper, stiffening as he took her ear between his teeth.

"Kya hua?" He immediately lifted his head, knowing that it was a sound of pain.

"Kuch nahi." She lied.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, then the smile was back.

He pushed himself up, resting both palms on the bed, beside her waist, "Tumhare liye surprise hai."

"Par dekhun kaise? Yeh hatao toh aankhon se... mujhe dekhna hai tumhe." She pleaded.

He slid a hand behind her waist and made her sit up... and slowly opened her blindfold.

Naina looked at him... filling up her hungry eyes with his sight... then cupped his face and gave a quick kiss.

"Thank you."

Her eyes then moved behind him... and widened like saucers... the room was glowing with strings of fairy lights, tiny bulbs twinkling as they imparted a magical look to everything... the chair was placed in the center, with a red heart shaped balloon, that had her name written on it in silver letters... there were gift wrapped packages kept everywhere in the room... on the door of hers and Preeti's cupboard was a banner that said 'Happy Birthday'...

And in the middle of all this was a small cake... with one candle, along with another wrapped packet.

She gaped at the changed room... enchanted...

"Kaisa laga?" His low whisper made her come out of the spell.

"Sameer, yeh... yeh... kaise... tum yahan..." She was at loss of words.

"Meri jaan ka birthday hai aur main nahi aata... ho sakta tha kya?" He looked intensely into her eyes.

Her eyes started to well up.

"Ahaan... aaj yeh sab nahi chalega... khushi ka din hai... khushi se shuru karo na... muh meetha kar ke." He grinned with mischief.

Her face broke into a smile... then turned white with fear.

She slipped out of the bed, running to the door... it was bolted from inside.

Turning back in surprise, she found him holding the tray with the cake.

"Maine pehle hi lock kar diya tha... koi nahi aayega... chalo ab cake kato... nahi toh yeh candle khatam ho jayegi... mere paas doosri nahi hai." He said truthfully.

She chuckled, coming back to sit on the bed. He kept the cake in front of her. She blew the candle and cut out a small piece, giving it to him.

He shook his head, took the piece from her and brought it to her mouth, "Ek baar fir se happy birthday, Mrs Maheshwari."

She took a bite, lifting a hand to clean the white frosting that stuck to her lips and chin. He held her hand, shaking his head. She looked at him, perplexed, but stayed the way he wanted.

When she tried to feed him a piece now, he refused again.

"Tum mere birthday ka cake bhi nahi khaoge?" She asked, disappointed.

"Khaunga na..." He took the tray and placed it on the table... shifting closer to her.

He held her hand, taking each finger in his mouth one by one... cleaning all the frosting from her hand. When his eyes moved to her lips... her already drumming heartbeat escalated to another level.

He leaned and licked the cream from her chin, holding her wrists firmly on the bed. She shuddered at the touch. His lips picked up the crumbs from the side of her mouth... dotting her with tiny kisses, each one cleaning her lips of the frosting stuck on them.

"Isse achha cake maine aaj tak nahi khaya." He muttered in a raspy voice.

She stared at him, eyes stuck on a tiny white piece in the middle of his lower lip. When she moved ahead to taste it, she was not as gentle as him... taking the entire lip in her mouth, nipping it before releasing.

His eyes shone with appreciation... Naina had learned to give... as well as demand... as he could see from her expression. Her hungry eyes roamed on his chin, the dark stubble enticing her again. Pulling her hand out of his grasp, she rubbed the back of her fingers on it, closing her eyes as the prickly feeling made her break into goosebumps.

"Apne gifts nahi dekhogi?" He whispered, trying to divert her attention... and his own... his tremulous control slipping every moment at the sight of her flushed, dishevelled appearance.

She opened her eyes, "Mera gift hi toh dekh rahi hun."

He wanted nothing more than holding her tight and kissing her till he could breathe no more...

Sighing, he picked up a packet from the bed and held it in front of her. She opened it to find a beautiful pearl bracelet in it.

The next one he handed her was bigger. She unwrapped it to see a long, full sleeved pink dress.

"Sameer, tum dress... kab li?" She was amazed.

"Woh sab chodo... yeh dekho." He handed another wrapped package. It had a delicate golden watch.

She looked up at him, "Itna sab kyon laaye tum?"

"Main toh saara Ahmedabad khareed ke laana chahta tha... mera pyaar dikhane ke liye woh bhi kam rehta." He dipped his head to the side.

"Tumhara pyar tumhaari aankhon mein hai... jo mujhe hamesha dikhta hai... uske liye tumhe kuch khareedne ki zaroorat nahi hai." She touched his hand.

"Matlab tumhe yeh sab pasand nahi aaya?" His face fell.

"Nahi, nahi... mujhe bohot pasand aaya... bohot zyada." She picked up the dress, holding it close to her chest.

"Toh pehen ke dikhao na." He demanded.

"Abhi?" She was skeptical.

"Kyon nahi... yahan hostel jaisa thodi hai... bathroom hai na tumhare kamre mein... aur yeh koi nighty toh hai nahi." His voice dropped at the end.

She contemplated, and decided to go for it... it wasn't a saree or a nighty.

Sameer paced the room impatiently, waiting for her.

The door opened and she stepped out.

His breath stopped.

She looked like a doll... or a fairy from some fable. The colour made her skin look like porcelain. In the warm light of the strings he had put up, she walked to him like a dream.

"Kaisi lag rahi hun?" She could see the admiration on his face.

"Meri pari." He looked her up and down.

The dress hugged her curves beautifully, clinching at the waist, highlighting its narrowness... long sleeves covered her arms, giving a soft look... the neck wasn't too deep, but it showed her alluring collar bones... it reached down to her ankles, flowing as she walked.

He picked up the bracelet and tied it around her wrist. In the other hand, he made her wear the watch.

Then he held the balloon against his chest, "Aur yeh hai mera dil... jispe sirf ek naam likha hai."

She laughed, taking it from him... and kissed it hard.

"Mujhe bhi itne pyar se do na... akhir dil toh mera hi hai." He pouted.

Putting the balloon back on the chair, she flung her arms around him, kissing him square on the mouth... with all the emotions that were churning inside her since she opened her eyes to the beautifully decorated room.

He was taken aback... the sheer force with which she made him give in to her demanding mouth was nothing but pure ecstasy. Her hand moved beneath his collar, touching the upper part of his back, other hand fisting in his hair as her tongue pushed further in his mouth.

His girl was savage.

In one quick motion, he lifted her off the ground, leaving the kiss only for a second to draw a deep breath... and locked lips again, this time raising his head to meet her leaning face as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

When he left her mouth, he was shaking with raging emotions that made the blood pound in his ears.

She clutched his shoulders, still in his arms, feet not reaching the ground. He brought her down, gently making her stand. She held onto his shirt, for support, her legs too weak to stand on her own.

"Tumne kaise kiya yeh sab?" She asked a little later when she could breathe better.

He smiled, "Akele nahi kiya, sabne madad ki... Munna, Pandit, Swati, Preeti aur Arjun."

"Arjun bhaiya?" She shrieked, making him cover her mouth with his hand.

"Dheere bolo... chachiji uth gayi toh dhakke maar ke bahar nikal dengi mujhe." He frowned.

She pulled his hand away, "Jee nahi, isse bhi shandar swagat hoga aapka."

He raised his brows... and they laughed together, keeping their voices low.

When Sameer told her Preeti was actually at Swati's house and not for the parlour job, she was not surprised. Preeti could easily come up with such lies. But when he told her how Arjun had helped to sneak in all decorations along with the boxes delivered from Mumbai... and how he was the one who had placed the cake in her room... Naina was astounded.

She remembered her brother's demand for kadha... and laughed again. He had to drink the bitter concoction just to be a part of this plan. She was sure he wouldn't have thrown it.

"Sameer, sab kitna saath de rahe hain hamara." She was suddenly overwhelmed.

"Pyar ka saath de rahe hain sab, kyonki samajhte hain pyar ko... bas woh log nahi maante jinhone apni zindagi mein kabhi pyar mehsoos hi nahi kiya... na apne dil mein, na kisi ke liye." He tucked a strand behind her ear.

"Ahh." Naina kept a palm on the ear.

"Naina, kya hua tumhe? Lagi hai kya?" He was worried... she had cried in pain earlier too when he had touched her ear.

"Nahi... woh... woh bas mud gaya tha... sote waqt... isliye dard ho raha hai." She could not tell him how harsh taiji was.

He would not be able to control his reaction...

"Dikhao zara." He turned her sideways, looking at the ear.

It was swollen, with slight scratches along the inner line.