‘Just king size,’ she exclaimed. ‘How I wish Sandhya sees us mate.’

‘How my queen mates think about each other even as they mate their men!’ he said, patting her feelingly, and narrated to Roopa’s joyous ears as to how Sandhya never ceased thinking about her all through their honeymoon.

‘Lesbian like, isn’t it?’ she said mirthfully.

‘Or even more,’ he said admiringly. ‘Well, keep it up.’

She got up to switch on the geyser and when she returned, they went about scanning each other, admiring the charms of their frames that occasioned their emotional integration. In their bath that followed, he soaped her breasts admiringly, and said, ‘What a size!’

‘Why, the cup hasn’t changed since,’ she teased him, as she pointed at the clothesline

‘What a romantic spy you are,’ he said smiling, squeezing them both.

‘If only you had me then!’ she sighed, resting on him.

‘I thought for long but gave up in the end,’ he said, and explained what all he had contemplated then.

‘Raja, why didn’t you grab me then?’ she cried in his embrace. ‘Unsure of your love, oh, what suffering it was? All through, I was torn apart by the hope of love and the despair of passion. But as if to compound the miseries of my life and the dilemmas of my love, came in Prasad to push me into a liaison. Even as I was attracted to him, being in love with you, I felt ashamed of myself, and the more I was flattered by his attentions, the more I suffered in guilt. But as he began to charm me with his passion, in despair, I clung on to my love for you. Well, I always wanted to give myself heart and soul to you, and you alone. How I used to wish every night that you would come storming into my life.’

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‘Roopa, forget about all that,’ he kissed her to assure her, ‘I’ll ensure you have no cause for worry any more.’

‘Though I shudder to think about the past now,’ she buried herself into his chest. ‘The pain I’ve had has made this pleasure even more intense. Don’t ever leave me darling. Now I’ll die without you.’

‘Can I imagine my life without you,’ he said, lifting her head. ‘You’ll be in my arms till I breathe my last.’

‘I’ll live by your promise,’ she said taking his hand.

‘Hold your breath,’ he said fondling her hand. ‘I’m going to shift here soon.’

Like a child in disbelief, she asked him to repeat himself and sank back into his embrace seeking solace.