Together For-Ever

Chapter Twenty Five

Arjun

The sheets were tangled around us, our limbs loosely intertwined, her thigh resting lazily over mine. My head was nestled right against her chest, rising and falling with each of her slow, relaxed breaths.

I could hear her heartbeat. Not fast, not frantic — just warm and steady. Like it had made space for me.

Adrika's fingers ran through my hair with a rhythm that was soft and soothing. It should've made me sleepy. Instead, it anchored me.

"You make a decent pillow," I murmured against her skin.

She chuckled, voice still scratchy from exhaustion. "You say that like you didn't just crush me under you ten minutes ago."

"That wasn't crushing," I replied smugly. "That was worship."

Her fingers scratched lightly at the back of my neck, making me shiver. "That was shameless."

"Same difference."

We didn't talk after that. We didn't need to. The silence wasn't heavy. It was full — of heat, of emotion, of things still lingering in the air. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn't tensed or bracing for something. I just... was.

Then I felt her shift slightly under me. Her hand slowed, the touch more deliberate now.

"Adrika...?"

She didn't answer. Just leaned down and placed a kiss behind my ear. Then another at the crook of my neck. And then — she bit.

"Hey—" I started, but I groaned as her lips sucked firmly, deliberately, on my skin.

"Adrika..."

She didn't stop. And she didn't need to. There was no teasing in it. No smugness. This was something else — something more. A silent claim. A promise.

When she pulled away, I looked up at her. Her eyes were dark, her breathing a little uneven.

"That's going to show," I murmured.

"Good," she whispered. "Let them know you're not as cold as you pretend to be."

That glint in her eye — that spark — it wasn't just mischief. It was her. The real her. The one I hadn't seen since before... everything.

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss just above her breast, right where her blouse tomorrow would barely cover. She gasped softly.

"You started this," I said against her skin.

"And you're finishing it?"

"No," I smirked. "Just signing it."

I sucked at the spot, watching her body arch subtly under me. When I pulled back, a mark bloomed under her skin.

"That pallu better behave tomorrow," I whispered.

She laughed, breathless and surprised.

We were still tangled in the sheets when we heard it.

BZZZZZT.

We froze.

Then Aishu's voice buzzed through the intercom:
"Arjun! Amma and chachis are here. I'm keying in the code. We're coming in!"

"Shit," I muttered, scrambling off the bed. "She's coming up. She's really coming up."

I rushed to the door, locking it just in time. Behind me, Adrika was still sitting on the bed, wrapped in the blanket, staring at me — and laughing.

"What?" I hissed.

She opened her mouth to answer, but the knock on the bedroom door came first.

"I'll tell you later!" she grinned and dashed into the closet, blanket still wrapped around her like a warrior cape.