Chapter 51
*****
Isha woke up to a distant call of a sea gull and realized she must have dozed off on the balcony chaise.
She blinked a few times and her eyes fell on the tall figure standing by the large entry way.
Ashok was standing in the doorway backlit by the golden hour light, looking stunning in his dress shirt and well fitted pants.
The relief that flooded through her was so intense it was almost painful. She was overwhelmed by his presence and she was at a loss of words.
“I missed you,” his voice was rough and his words urgent.
She rose from the chaise and was in his arms in a flash, his mouth finding hers with desperate and deep hunger.
Longing from being away for over a week poured into that kiss, into the way his hands tangled in her hair, the way she pressed against him as if she could merge their bodies with her sheer will.
He pushed her against the open balcony doors, the warm island breeze washing over them as his lips traced the column of her throat. “I missed you,” he murmured against her skin. “God, I missed you so much.”
Her breath got trapped as his hands found the hem of her dress, his fingers skimming bare skin.
The frustration, the longing, the sudden ache for him, it all crystallized into pure need.
She pulled him closer, losing herself in the weight of his body against hers, the familiar scent of him, the way he whispered her name against her heated skin.
“Take me,” it was a plea.
With those words playing on her lips, Isha jolted awake, heart racing, and her skin flushed.
She felt sensitive all over as she took in her surroundings.
It was dawn as she lay on the balcony and became aware of the warmth that lined her body.
The mattress beneath her was damp with her perspiration.
Her body was still humming with the phantom sensations from the hot dream, still shuddering with the intensity of the moment.
For a brief moment, the disappointment was crushing before she felt movement beside her. Her body was still trembling from her passionate dream added to the awareness of waking to find him beside her.
She turned slowly as she was still in denial it was him for real and that he was so close to her.
His arm was wrapped around her, their bodies mashed.
She moved her eyes up to look at him and face looked tired like the night he had returned, stubbled from the travel, but his eyes were soft as he rested.
The twins were nowhere in sight. She couldn’t hear them either, which only meant they were still asleep, maybe in their cribs. The sun had still not come up and all she could think of was snuggling up to him. And that’s what she did.
Inching in closer to him slowly, not to wake him she pasted her face to the side of his chest, her body sliding along his. She fell back asleep, turning off all rational reasoning as to why she was snuggling closer when she should be walking away.