"Yum yum!" Little Muskaan smacked her lips together in obvious delight.

Devangana had seen a recipe for baby custard pudding on YouTube and she tried it.

Muskaan absolutely loved it.

"Horsiee," Muskaan said, forwarding her favourite horse soft toy to be fed.

Devangana played along, acting as if she was feeding the toy.

Muskaan grinned.

"What are my beautiful girls doing?" They both looked up to see Sathvik walking in with a huge smile on his face.

"Sathee!" Muskaan squealed happily as she slapped her hands on her high chair in delight.

Sathvik brought a package forward, and Muskaan unpacked it in seconds.

Another squeal followed upon seeing a new toy.

"A cow?" Devangana asked, amused. She had never seen a soft toy in the form of a cow before.

"I have never seen one before. And I thought this could give company to Horsiee. But we won't be calling it cowwie," Sathvik said.

"Moo Moo!" Muskaan tried to imitate the sound of a cow and collided with the faces of both the cow and the horse.

"Moo Moo sounds pretty good," Sathvik said, and Muskaan forwarded the new toy towards Devangana to be fed.

It had been a week since the visit from Kalki, and thankfully Muskaan was not around to witness the ugly nature of her paternal grandmother.

"Is that custard?" Sathvik asked, sniffing.

"Yes," Devangana said and forwarded a spoonful of custard to Sathvik, who happily had it.

"Yum yum?" Muskaan asked, looking at Sathvik.

"Yes, young lady. It is yummy," Sathvik said, flicking Muskaan's nose playfully.

"Why don't you go have a shower? I will have your tea ready by then," Devangana said.

"I was thinking about teaching Muskaan swimming. Why don't we start today?" Sathvik asked.

"Swimming? She is only two," Devangana said in horror.

"So what? The earlier she is taught, the faster she will learn," Sathvik said.

"Oh, I didn't know. Ishaan bhaiyya knows swimming. I never learned," Devangana said with a pout.

"Ah! Maybe I should teach you also," Sathvik said with a naughty grin, making Devangana blush.

"Let's focus on teaching Muskaan how to swim," Devangana said, wiping Muskaan's mouth with a washcloth.

"That's right. I will teach you how to swim when we are alone," Sathvik whispered, leaning close to Devangana and pressed a seductive kiss on her cheeks.

Devangana's eyes widened, and she pushed him away as she saw Muskaan clapping her hands, looking at them.

"Sathee kissiee!" Muskaan squealed and leaned towards Devangana and pressed a kiss on her cheeks, imitating Sathvik.

Devangana glared at a cheeky Sathvik.

****

Muskaan looked absolutely adorable. She was wearing her little swimsuit and the inflatable armbands that Sathvik had bought on the way home.

Muskaan's squeals and giggles echoed through the poolside area as she happily splashed around in the water.

"Okay, that's enough for the day, Sathvik. Get her out of the water," Nilima said, coming to the poolside.

Muskaan protested loudly, refusing to get out of the pool.

Nilima wrapped the wiggling toddler in a dry towel.

"I will take her, Mom," Devangana said, coming towards her mother-in-law.

"I will put her to sleep, Angana. She is fading. You guys have exhausted her, and she will sleep through the night," Nilima said with a smile and left the poolside, leaving the couple some privacy.

"Aren't you getting out of the water?" Devangana asked.

"Yeah, pass me the towel," Sathvik asked.

Devangana forwarded the dry towel, and Sathvik held her wrist and pulled her into the pool.

"Aaa! Help, help!" Devangana cried, waving her hands and splashing water around with her eyes tightly closed.

Sathvik folded his arms on his chest and looked at her.

"Are you done?" Devangana opened her eyes and saw her husband looking at her amused.

She looked down at the water and realised that she hadn't drowned.

"Uh oh."

"It's the shallow end of the pool, Deva."

"Do we really need to do this now?" Devangana asked.

"Swimming is a life-saving skill, Deva. It's always helpful to learn how to swim," Sathvik said.

"How am I going to float in water? I don't know how to."

"I don't expect you to float in water on the first day, Deva," Sathvik said, rolling his eyes.

"So what am I going to do today?"

"I am going to teach you the basics. Now, listen carefully."

"Okay."

"Inhale deeply," Sathvik said, and Devangana took in a deep breath.

"Now, place your face in water and exhale for five seconds," Sathvik said.

"But I already exhaled," Devangana said.

"Inhale deeply and place your face in water and exhale right after that," Sathvik said.

Devangana inhaled deeply and placed her face in the water and exhaled.

She came out coughing and spluttering water.

Sathvik patted her head, trying to soothe her.

"Deva, did you inhale while inside the pool?" Sathvik asked in disbelief.

"I didn't mean to. It just happened," Devangana cried.

"How can it happen? Isn't it common sense? Arrey, it's a subconscious thing that you never inhale when you are in water. How did you manage to do that?" Sathvik asked in confusion.

Devangana pushed him angrily.

"I don't want to learn how to swim. Not from you anyway," Devangana said furiously and waded through the water towards the edge of the pool.

Sathvik was quick to grab her hands and pull her back.

"Aww, baby got angry?" Sathvik teased.

"Let me go."

"It's red," he said, flicking her nose playfully.

Devangana pushed him, and he pulled her closer.

"You are gorgeous," he said huskily.

"What are you doing?" Devangana's voice came out as a whisper.

"I am trying to romance my wife."

"Someone will come."

"No one will come. I regret telling you that everything will go according to your pace. You move at a snail's pace, Deva, and I am turning into an impatient man," Sathvik said, and heat spread across Devangana's cheeks.

"Leave me, Sathvik ji."

"Tell me with more conviction. I might leave you then."

"Sathvik ji."

"How much more time will you need, Deva?" Sathvik asked, trying hard to control his raging hormones.

He had been surviving on cold showers for a while now.

Devangana blushed hard.

"What is the meaning of this blush, Deva? Does it mean you are ready, or does it mean you are still shy?" Sathvik asked, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.

Devangana hugged him tightly.

"You are everything I never thought I wanted, Sathvik ji. You mean the world to me," Devangana whispered into the crook of his neck.

That was all Sathvik needed to hear.

He pulled away from her lightly and looked into her eyes.

"And you, Devangana Acharya, are my world," he said and pressed his lips on hers with all the love in his heart.

Slowly, gently, he moved his lips over hers. He nipped at her bottom lip gently, then ran his tongue over it back and forth, relishing her soft warmth and the sweet heat.

She gasped, and he half expected her to draw back, but she didn't. She pressed her lips more firmly to his, moved them against his just as slowly as he had, and then with alarming seductiveness, her tongue traced the line of his bottom lip.

His insides turned to molten fire.

He pulled back, his breathing ragged.

He saw her looking at him with wide-eyed wonder.

"Oh my," she breathed out, and Sathvik grinned.

"For the first time, that was one hell of a kiss," Sathvik said and folded her into his arms, cocooning her with his body.

A/N

Here goes the next shot..

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Love,

SF❤️