Chapter 22
MEHER
I stumbled a little as the full meaning of his words sank in.
“Samrat… I’m not sure we should go down that path,” I began.
“Did you or did you not tell Nilanjana that I was only yours?” he demanded.
“I did, but…”
“And did you mean it?”
“Of course, I did! But…what if something else happens and you don’t trust me again? I don’t know if I could survive losing you all over again,” I said softly.
“Meher, you risked your life to save my baby girl. There is nobody I trust more than you.”
“You jackass, I have never given you any reason not to trust me. But you destroyed my trust in love itself. Eight years ago, I was a twenty-two-year-old virgin who’d only had one casual boyfriend until you.
And you knew that! And yet, you believed Sanjay and Nilanjana so easily that you didn’t even pause for a minute to give me a chance to defend myself,” I said hoarsely.
“I believed what I saw,” he said, trying to keep his voice from rising as he set Navya down on his bed. “God, I was so wrong. I know that now. But what would you have done if you’d found me in bed with another woman, Meher?”
“I would have asked you what happened. I would have given you a chance to prove yourself innocent,” I yelled. “You did not fight for our love. So, how can I be sure you won’t react the same way if something similar happens ever again?”
“Meher, my love, my life, I promise you that I will never doubt you again until the day I die. I did my best to cut you out of my heart eight years ago, but I failed miserably. And now that I have you again, I can’t let you go because you’re the only shining star in my bleak world.
I know I will have to earn your trust all over again.
Can you at least give me one more chance to prove my love? ”
Could I do it, I asked myself. Could I forgive him for what he had put me through? I didn’t blame Nilanjana and Sanjay as much as I blamed Samrat because if he had stood by me, we would have weathered all the accusations and gossip.
But even though I was still hurt about what had happened, I hadn’t stopped loving him. And I never would. Loving Samrat was like a madness in my blood. In my soul.
And even if I walked away from him today, I wouldn’t stop loving the man who risked his life for me, even though he had claimed to hate me at that point.
The man who defended me in public, even when he didn’t need to.
The man who gave up his dream career to care for his little niece.
The man who gave me the freedom to walk away from him in the throes of very heated sex because he understood the essence of consent.
The man who would give his life to avenge the death of his best friend.
The man who was willing to defend his country at any cost. The man who loved me despite everything we had been through.
That man was asking for a second chance.
I nodded slowly because where was I going to go without him anyway? My world began and ended with Samrat. I couldn’t even think of leaving him and Navya.
“On one condition,” I said finally. “We have to go for therapy and work on our trust issues.”
“Babe, I’ve been in therapy ever since I lost Mani,” Samrat said gently, and my heart melted a little more.
This wasn’t a man who doubled down on his actions and waited for someone else to come along and fix him. This was a man who had the balls to accept his mistakes and put in the work to fix himself.
“Meher Rathore, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything.
Once upon a time, I thought you had destroyed my faith in love.
But now I realise that you’re the one who taught me to love all those years ago, and now, you’ve only reinforced my ability to love harder.
I’m incomplete without you. Help me be whole again? ” he asked softly.
Happy tears streamed down my face as I nodded vigorously.
Samrat pulled me into his arms and claimed my lips in a deep, loving kiss that got steamy real fast. When he pulled away, we were both breathing hard. I cast a guilty glance at Navya, but she was still fast asleep.
“I’ll just drop her off in her room,” said Samrat. “Stay here and don’t move.”
“Actually, I need a shower.”
“Even better,” he growled. “Get in that shower and don’t move.”
Ten minutes later, I had just finished soaping myself, when the door to the shower cubicle opened and Samrat stepped in.
He wrapped his arms around my wet, soapy body and kissed me hard.
In what had to be the fastest shower on record, he soaped himself, rinsed us both off, and wrapped me in a towel before he carried me out.
I gasped in wonder when I saw that his bed was covered in rose petals, and there was a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket on the coffee table.
“What is all this?” I yelped as he threw me onto the bed.
“I wanted your first time to be special,” he murmured, as he sprinkled some rose petals over my head.
“My first time is with you, Samrat. That makes it special enough,” I whispered.
“Do not cry,” he said sternly.
“Then stop being so nice to me,” I retorted, before I grabbed his face and kissed him hard.
He kissed me back with a glorious mix of kisses that were sweet, hot, and wet at the same time. My breath began to come in choppy spurts, and Samrat pulled his lips away from mine as he began to explore my body.
“I’m going to kiss every inch of this gorgeous body,” he vowed, dropping soft kisses down the side of my neck. He slowly moved lower, pushing the towel out of the way as he kissed his way down to my heaving breasts.
I moaned as he squeezed my breasts, nibbling on one nipple at a time, sucking on it hard until I shook with need, before moving onto the other one.
I raked my nails down his spine, and he chucked my towel across the room before getting rid of his own.
I stared at his bare body, wondering how anyone could be made so perfectly.
When I caught sight of his jutting erection, I gulped in fear.
“Umm, this has been very nice, but I think I’m done for the day,” I said nervously.
Samrat frowned at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I pointed at his hardness and shook my head in despair.
“I don’t think that’s going to fit, Samrat.”
He threw his head back and laughed, which was a bit rude in my opinion.
So I ran a finger gently from the base of his cock to the tip, and was very happy to hear his laughter stop abruptly.
Emboldened by his response, I reached out and touched it properly, squeezing it with one hand as I moved up and down.
Samrat groaned and grabbed my hand. He held my eyes as he taught me how to stroke him. But he didn’t let me do it for too long. He bent to drop a quick kiss on my lips before he resumed his exploration of my body. He nibbled and licked his way down to the very core of me.
When he got there, he placed two pillows under my hips and settled down to eat me out.
First, he ran his finger along my slit, soaking it in my wetness, before he stroked my clit.
When my hips began to move in response, he held me down and parted my labia.
I moved under his hands because I had never felt so exposed in my life.
But Samrat soon made me forget all of that, as he began to lick and nibble on the lips before he moved to my clit.
He gave it the same attention, only now, he pushed a finger into my wetness and began to move in and out, in time with his licks.
I parted my legs as wide as I could and held his head in place, as my hips began to thrust in rhythm with his strokes.
Then he added another finger and stretched me out, as he kept licking and teasing my clit.
It wasn’t too long before I felt sparks racing up the back of my legs and coalescing inside me just before they erupted like a volcano.
My whole body convulsed as I came apart in Samrat’s arms with a loud cry.
When I stopped shaking, he pulled his fingers out gently and kissed me hard, his tongue invading my mouth like his fingers had just invaded me.
I sucked on it hard, and Samrat groaned against my lips.
He pulled the pillows out from under me and covered my body with his, as he rolled a condom on his hard length. I parted my legs and welcomed the weight of him on me.
“Are you sure?” he asked one last time, and I nodded.
Samrat pushed into me slowly, giving me time to adjust to his girth. When he met resistance, he stopped, but I raised my hips and told him to keep going. I kept breathing slowly and raising my hips a little every time, until he slid in completely.
He stayed very still, giving me time to get used to the feel of him inside me, but I wanted to move.
I rocked my hips a little and squeezed my inner muscles.
Samrat’s fingers gripped my hips tightly as he began to move.
I matched him stroke for stroke as he began to pick up speed, thrusting into me with all his might.
I raised my hips even more and opened myself up to him, going by instinct, and sure enough, that familiar feeling began to build again. In no time, Samrat’s thrusts sent me over the edge for a second time. I cried out with the force of my orgasm, my whole body shaking like a leaf.
Samrat’s thrusts picked up even more speed and power, and it wasn’t long before he came in my arms, breathing heavily into the crook of my shoulder.
After his breathing slowed down, he slid out of me and vanished into the bathroom, only to return with a warm washcloth.
I sat up, and he helped me clean up gently before he took me in his arms and spooned me.
It was much later, after he’d poured us some champagne, that he leaned over and pulled something out of his wallet.
“When I was twenty-five, I wanted to propose to you with my grandmother’s wedding ring. But I discovered that Nilanjana had already claimed that without telling us. This time around, I don’t want to wait for the perfect ring. Will my army dog tags work as a proxy ring until I buy you a real one?”
I set my champagne glass down on the bedside table and held out my hand nervously.
“Meher Rathore, I have never loved any woman but you. You’re my rage, you’re my calm.
You’re my peace. You’re my pride. You’re my joy.
You are everything. I promise you I will spend the rest of my life making up for every tear you’ve shed because of me.
I will love you until my dying breath and even after. Will you marry me?”
I nodded happily, tears streaming down my face, and watched as Samrat wound his dog tags around my finger. I knew what they meant to an army man. And I was proud to wear them.
When he was done, I went up on my knees and kissed him deeply.
“You are the love of my life, you maddening, funny, loving man. I can’t wait to be Meher Singh Deora, army boy. And I promise you I will love Navya like she’s my own baby.”
‘Badi meherbani,” he teased, as he pushed me back on the bed and started kissing me again.